guzelhan
23-06-10, 11:55
The Twenty-Ninth Letter(Part 4)
The Ninth Section
The Nine Allusions
[This Section is about the paths of sainthood, and consists of Nine Allusions.]
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Behold! Verily on the friends of God there is no fear, nor shall they grieve.(1)
FIRST ALLUSION
Underlying the terms 'Sufism,' 'path,' 'sainthood,' and 'spiritual journeying,' is an agreeable, luminous, joyful, and spiritual sacred truth. This truth has been proclaimed, taught, and described in thousands of books written by the scholars among the people of illumination and those who have had unfolded to them the reality of creation, who have told the Muslim community and us of that truth. May God reward them abundantly! In consequence of some of the compelling circumstances of the present time, we shall point out a few droplets, like sprinklings, from that vast ocean.
Q u e s t i o n : What is the Sufi path?
T h e A n s w e r : The aim and goal of the Sufi path is -knowledge of God and the unfolding of the truths of belief- through a spiritual journeying with the feet of the heart under the shadow of the Ascension of Muhammad (PBUH), to manifest the truths of belief and the Qur'an through illumination and certain states, and to a degree by 'witnessing;' it is an elevated human mystery and human perfection which is called 'the Sufi path' or 'Sufism.'
Yes, since man is a comprehensive index of the universe, his heart resembles a map of thousands of worlds. For just as innumerable human sciences and fields of knowledge show that man's brain in his head is a sort of centre of the universe, like a telephone and telegraph exchange for innumerable lines, so too the millions of luminous books written by incalculable saints show that man's heart in his essential being is the place of manifestation of innumerable truths of the universe, and is their means, and seed.
Thus, since the human heart and brain are at this centre, and comprise the members of a mighty tree in the form of a seed in which have been encapsulated the parts and components of an eternal, majestic machine pertaining to the hereafter, certainly the heart's Creator willed that the heart should be worked and brought out from the potential to the actual, and developed, and put into action, for that is what He did. Since He willed it, the heart will certainly work like the mind. And the most effective means of working the heart is to be turned towards the truths of belief on the Sufi path through the remembrance of God in the degrees of sainthood.
SECOND ALLUSION
The keys and means to this journeying of the heart and spiritual progress are remembrance of God and reflective thought. The virtues of these are too numerous to be described. Apart from uncountable benefits in the hereafter and human attainments and perfections, a minor benefit pertaining to this tumultuous worldly life is as follows: everyone wants a solace and seeks a pleasure in order to be saved a little from the upheavals of life and its heavy burdens, and to take a breather; everyone searches out something familiar and friendly to banish the loneliness. The social gatherings in civilized life afford a temporary, but heedless and drunken familiarity, intimacy, and solace for one or two out of ten people. However, eighty per cent live solitary lives in mountains or valleys, or are driven to distant places in search of a livelihood, or due to agencies like calamities and old age which make them think of the hereafter, they are deprived of the sociableness of man's groups and societies. The situation affords them no familiarity, friendliness, or consolation.
And so, the true solace and intimacy and sweet pleasure of such a person is, being turned to his heart in those distant places and desolate mountains and distressing valleys, to work it by means of the remembrance of God and reflective thought. Saying: "Allah!", it is to become familiar with Him with his heart, and through that familiarity to think of the things around him, which were regarding him savagely, as smiling on him familiarly, and saying: "My Creator, Whom I am recollecting, has innumerable servants here in my place of solitude, just as He has everywhere. I am not alone; loneliness has no meaning." Through his belief, he receives pleasure from that familiarity. He understands the meaning of the happiness of life, and offers thanks to God.
THIRD ALLUSION
Sainthood is a proof of Divine Messengership; the Sufi path is a proof of the Shari'a. For the truths of belief which Messengership preaches, sainthood sees and confirms with a sort of witnessing of the heart and illumination of the spirit at the degree of 'the vision of certainty.' Its confirmation is a certain proof of the truth of Messengership. Through its illuminations and unfoldings, and through its being benefited from and effulgence being received from it, the Sufi path is a clear proof of the truths and the matters which the Shari'a teaches; that they are the truth and that they come from the truth. Yes, just as sainthood and the Sufi path are evidence and proof of Messengership and the Shari'a, so too they are a perfection of Islam and a means to its lights, and through Islam, a source of the progress and prosperity of humanity.
Despite the great importance of this vast mystery, certain deviant sects have denied it. They have been deprived of those lights, and they have caused others to be deprived. The most regretable thing is this: making a pretext certain abuses and faults they have seen among the followers of the Sufi path, some externalist scholars from among the Sunnis and some neglectful politicians who are also Sunnis are trying to close up that supreme treasury, indeed, to destroy it, and to dry up that source of Kawthar which distributes a sort of water of life. However, there are few things and ways and paths which are without fault and are altogether good. There are bound to be some faults and abuses. For if the uninitiated undertake a matter, they are sure to misuse it. But in accordance with the accounting of deeds in the hereafter, Almighty God shows His dominical justice through the weighing up of good deeds and bad deeds. That is to say, if good deeds preponderate and weigh heavier, He rewards them and accepts them; whereas if evil deeds preponderate, he punishes for them, and rejects them. The balancing of good and evil deeds looks not to quantity, but to quality. It sometimes happens that a single good deed will weigh heavier than a thousand evils, and cause them to be forgiven. Divine justice judges thus and reality too sees it to be true. Thus, the evidence that the good deeds of the Sufi path -that is, the Sufi paths within the bounds of the Practices of the Prophet- definitely preponderate over their evils is that those who follow them preserve their belief at the times they are attacked by the people of misguidance. A sincere ordinary follower of the Sufi path preserves himself better than a superficial, externalist person with a modern, scientific background. Through the illumination of the Sufi path and the love of the saints, he saves his belief. If he commits grievous sins, he becomes a sinner, but not an unbeliever; he is not easily drawn into atheism. No power at all can refute in his view the chain of shaykhs he accepts, with a strong love and firm belief, to be spiritual poles. And because no power can refute it, his confidence in them cannot be destroyed. And so long as his confidence is not shaken, he cannot accept atheism. In the face of the stratagems of the atheists at the present time, it has become difficult for one who is not connected with the Sufi path and whose heart has not been brought to action, to preserve himself completely, even if he is a learned scholar.
There is another thing; the Sufi path may not be condemned because of the evils of certain ways which have adopted practices outside the bounds of taqwa, and even of Islam, and have wrongfully given themselves the name of Sufi paths. Quite apart from the important and elevated religious and spiritual results of the Sufi path and those that look to the hereafter, it is the Sufi paths which are the first and most effective and fervent means of expanding and developing brotherhood, a sacred bond within the World of Islam. They are also one of the three most important, unshakeable strongholds of Islam against the awesome attacks of the world of unbelief and the politics of Christendom. What preserved Istanbul, the centre of the Caliphate for five hundred and fifty years against the whole Christian world, were the lights of belief which poured out of five hundred places in Istanbul and the strength of belief of those who recited "Allah! Allah!" in the tekkes behind the big mosques, a firm point of support of the people of belief in that centre of Islam, and their spiritual love arising from knowledge of God, and their fervent murmurings.
O you unreasoning pseudo-patriots and false nationalists! Which of the evils of the Sufi paths can refute this good in the life of your society? You say!
FOURTH ALLUSION
Together with being very easy, the way of sainthood is very difficult. And together with being very short, it is very long. And in addition to being most valuable, it is very dangerous. And together with being very broad, it is very narrow. It is because of this that some of those who journey on the path sometimes drown, sometimes become harmful, and sometimes return and lead others away from the path.
I n S h o r t : There are two ways on the Sufi path, known by the terms of 'inner journeying' and 'outer journeying.'
The Inner Way starts from the self, and drawing the eyes away from the outer world, it looks at the heart. It pierces egotism, opens up a way from the heart, and finds reality. Then it enters the outer world. The outer world now looks luminous. It completes the journey quickly. The reality it sees in the inner world, it sees on a large scale in the outer world. Most of the paths which practise silent recollection take this way. The most important basis of this is to break the ego, give up desires of the flesh, and kill the evil-commanding soul.
The Second Way starts from the outer world; it gazes on the reflections of the Divine Names and attributes in their places of manifestation in that greater sphere, then it enters the inner world. It observes those lights on a small scale in the sphere of the heart and opens up the closest way in them. It sees that the heart is the mirror of the Eternally Besoughted One, and becomes united with the goal it was seeking.
Thus, if people who travel on the first way are not successful in killing the evil-commanding soul, and if they cannot give up desires of the flesh, and break the ego, they fall from the rank of thanks to that of pride, then from pride to conceit. If such a person experiences a captivation arising from love, and a sort of intoxication arising from the captivation, he will pour forth high-flown claims far exceeding his mark, called ecstatic utterances (shatahat). This is harmful both for himself and for others.
For example, if a lieutenant becomes conceited out of pleasure at his position of command, he will suppose himself to be a field marshal, and confuse his small sphere with the universal one. He will become the cause of a sun which appears in a small mirror being confused with the sun whose manifestation is seen in all its splendour on the surface of the sea, due to their similarity in one respect.
In just the same way, as with the degree of difference between a fly and a peacock, there are many people of sainthood who see themselves greater than those who in reality are greater than them to the same degree; they observe it thus, and consider themselves to be right. I myself even saw someone whose heart had just been awakened and had faintly perceived in himself the mystery of sainthood; he supposed himself to be the supreme spiritual pole and assumed airs accordingly. I said to him: "My brother, just as the law of sovereignty has particular and universal manifestations from the office of Prime Minister to that of District Officer, so sainthood and the rank of spiritual pole have varying spheres and manifestations. Each station has many shades and shadows. You have evidently seen the manifestation of the rank of supreme spiritual pole, the equivalent of Prime Minister, in your own sphere, which is like that of a District Officer, and you have been deceived. What you saw was right, but your judgement of it was wrong. To a fly, a cup of water is a small sea." The person came to his senses, God willing, as a result of this answer of mine, and was saved from that abyss.
I have also seen many people who thought themselves to be a sort of Mahdi, and they said that they were going to be the Mahdi. These people are not liars and deceivers, they are deceived. They suppose what they see to be reality. As the Divine Names have manifestations from the sphere of the Sublime Throne down to an atom, and the places of manifestation differ in that relation, so the degrees of sainthood, which consist of manifesting the Names, differ in the same way. The most important reason for the confusion is this:
In some of the stations of the saints, the characteristics of the Mahdi's function are found, or there is a special relation with the Supreme Spiritual Pole, or with Khidr; there are certain stations which are connected with certain famous persons. In fact, the stations are called 'the station of Khidr,' 'the station of Uvays,' or 'the station of the Mahdi.' As a consequence of this, those who attain to these stations, or to minor samples or shadows of them, suppose themselves to be the famous persons related with the station. They suppose themselves to be Khidr, or the Mahdi, or the Supreme Spiritual Pole. If such a person has no ego which seeks rank or position, then he is not condemned to that state. His excessive high-flown claims are considered to be ecstatic utterances; he is probably not responsible for them. But if his ego is secretly set on acquiring rank and position, and if he defeated by his ego, and leaves off thanks and becomes proud, from there he will gradually fall into conceit, or else fall to the depths of madness, or deviate from the path of truth. For he reckons the great saints to be like himself and his good opinion of them is destroyed. Because however arrogant a soul is, it still perceives its own faults. Comparing those great saints with himself, he imagines them to be at fault. His respect towards the prophets even lessens.
It is necessary for those afflicted with this state to hold fast to the balance of the Shari'a, and take for themselves the rules of the scholars of the principles of religion, and to take as their guides the instructions of the authoritative scholars from among the saints like Imam Ghazali and Imam-i Rabbani. They should constantly accuse their own souls, and attribute nothing to their souls other than fault, impotence, and want. The ecstatic utterances in this way arise from love of self, because the eye of love sees no faults. Since such a person loves his self, he supposes that faulty, unworthy fragment of glass to be a brilliant or a diamond. The most dangerous fault among these is this, that he imagines the partial meanings which occur to his heart in the form of inspiration to be "God's Word," and his calling them "verses." This is disrespect towards Revelation and its most holy and exalted degree. Yes, all the inspirations from the inspirations of bees and animals to those of ordinary people and the elite among men, and from the inspirations of ordinary angels to those of the sublime cherubim, are Divine words of a sort. But they are dominical speech in accordance with the capacity of the places of manifestation and their stations; they are the varying manifestations of dominical address shining through seventy thousand veils.
However, to signify such inspirations with the proper nouns, "Revelation” and "God's Word," and the word "verse," which is a noun proper to the stars of the Qur'an -the most evident exemplification of God's Word- is absolutely wrong. As is explained and proved in the Twelfth, Twenty-Fifth, and Thirty-First Words, whatever relation the tiny, dim, and obscure image of the sun which appears in the coloured mirror in your hand has with the sun in the sky, it is similar to the relation between the inspiration in the hearts of those making the above claims and the verses of the sun of the Qur'an, which is directly the Divine Word. Yes, if it said that the sun's images appearing in all mirrors are of the sun and are related to it, it would be right. But the globe of the earth cannot be attached to the mirrors of those tiny suns, and cannot be bound through their attraction!
FIFTH ALLUSION
Of the ways of the Sufi path, an extremely important one is 'the Unity of Witnessing,' which is called 'the Unity of Existence.' This way restricts the gaze to the existence of the Necessarily Existent, and sees other beings to be so weak and shadow-like in relation to the Necessarily Existent that it states that they are not worthy of the name of existence. Enveloping them in veils of imagination, it counts them as nothing in the station of 'abandoning all things other than God,' and even imagines them to be non-existent, going so far as relegating the manifestations of the Divine Names to the state of being mere imaginary mirrors.
A significant fact about this way is that through the existence of the Necessarily Existent One being unfolded to the degree of 'absolute certainty' through the strength of belief and unfolding of an elevated sainthood, the existence of contingent beings is so diminished that nothing remains in its view other than imagination and non-existence; it is as though it denies the universe on account of the Necessarily Existent One.
But this way holds dangers, the first of which is this: the pillars of belief are six. There are pillars like belief in the Last Day, in addition to belief in God, and these pillars require the existence of contingent beings. Those firmly-founded pillars of belief cannot be constructed on imagination! For this reason, when one who follows this way re-enters the world of sobriety from the worlds of ecstasy and intoxication, he should not bring that way together with him, and he should not act in accordance with it.
Furthermore, he should not change this way, which pertains to the heart and to illuminations and certain states, into a form which pertains to the reason, knowledge, and words. For the laws and principles pertaining to the reason, knowledge, and speech, which proceed from the Qur'an and the Sunna of the Prophet, cannot sustain that way; they cannot be applied. For this reason, this way is not to be seen explicitly in the Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs, the leading authorities and interpreters of the Law, and the authorities of the first generations of Islam. That means it is not the most elevated way. Perhaps it is elevated, but it is deficient. It is very important, but it is very perilous and difficult, yet still very pleasurable. Those who enter it for the pleasure, do not want to leave it; due to their self-centredness, they suppose it to be the highest degree. Since we have explained the basis and nature of this way to an extent in the treatise called Nokta Risalesi, and in some of the Words and the Letters, we shall suffice with them, and here describe an important abyss of that important way. It is as follows:
For the highest of the elite, who pass out of the sphere of causes and in accordance with renouncing everything other than God, sever their attachment to contingent beings and enter a state of absolute absorption in God, this way is a righteous way. But, to present it as intellectual knowledge to those who are submerged in causes, enamoured of the world, and plunged into materialist philosophy and Nature, is to drown them in Nature and materiality and to distance them from the reality of Islam. For one who is enamoured of the world and attached to the sphere of causes wants to attribute a sort of permanence to this transitory world. He does not want to lose his beloved, the world; through the pretext of the Unity of Existence, he imagines it to have a permanent existence; on account of the world, his beloved, and through ascribing permanence and eternity to it, he raises his beloved to being an object of worship; and, I seek refuge with God, this opens up the way to the abyss of denying God.
This century, materialism is so widespread, materiality is thought to be the source of everything. If in such an age, the elite believers consider materiality to be so unimportant as to be non-existent, thus furthering the way of the Unity of Existence, the materialists will lay claim to it, saying: "We say the same thing." Whereas, among all the ways in the world, the way furthest from that of the materialists and Nature-worshippers, is the way of the Unity of Existence. For the followers of the Unity of Existence attach so much importance, through their belief, to the Divine existence that they deny the universe and beings. Whereas the materialists attach so much importance to beings that on account of the universe they deny God. How can the two come together or be compared?
SIXTH ALLUSION
This consists of Three Points.
First Point: Among the ways of sainthood, the finest, straightest, richest, and modt brilliant is following the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH), That is, think of the Practices in acts and deeds, and to follow and imitate them, and in conduct and dealings whit others, to think of the rulings of the Shari'a and take them as guide.
By means of folowing them in this way, together with daily conduct and dealings and natural acts becoming worship, by thinking of the Practices and Shari'a for all actions, it recalls the injunctions of of the Shari'a. This causes a person to think of then owner of the Shari'a. By thinking of him, it brings to mind Almighty God, and that affords a sort of sense of His presensce. This may take all the moments of a person's life like worship in the Divine presence. Thus, this great highway is the highway of the Companions and the righteous of the first generations of Islam, who received the legacy of prophethood, the 'greater sainthood.'
Second Point: The most important basis of the ways of sainthood and the branchers of the Sufi path is sincerity, for salvation from the hidden association of partners with god is through sincerity. One who does nor obtain sincerity cannot travel those ways. The most powerful force of those ways if love. Yes, love does not seek pretexts for its beloved and does not wish to see its faults. And it sees frail signs to its beloved's perfection as powerful proofs. It always takes the part of its beloved.
It is because of this that those who are turned towards knowledge, of god with the feet of love, do not give ear to doubts and objections; they are saved easily. If even a thousand satans were to gather, they could not did negate in their view a hint to the perfectionnof their true beloved. If they did not love, then they would struggle despratelyin the face of their souls and Satan and the objections of the outside satans. They would have to possess an heroic fortitude and strength of belief and attentive gaze in order to save themselves.
It is because of this that in all the degrees of sainhood, the love arising from knowledge of God is the most important leaven and elixir. But love contains an abyss, which is this: it jumps from beseeching and selfeffacement, which are the essence of worship, to complaint and claims and to imbalnced action. By passing from the signified meaning of things to their literal meaning when reparding things other than God, while begin the cure, it becomes poison. That is to say, although when loving things other than god, it is necessary for a person to bind his heart for God's sake and in His name and due to their being mirrors of His Names, sometimes he thinks of the objects of his love on account of objects themselves, and their personal perfections and in the name of their essential beauty; he loves them for themselves. Even if he does not a think of God and His Messenger, he still loves them. This love is not a means to love of God; it is a veil to it. Whereas if he loves the persons for the meaning they signify, it is the means to love of God; indeed, it mat be said to be manifestation of it.
Third Point: this world is the realm of wisdom, the realm of service; it is not the realm of reward and recompense. The wage for deeds and acts of service here is given in the Intermediate Realm and the hereafter. Acts here produce fruits in the Intermediate Realm and the hereafter. Since the reality is this, the results of actions pertaining of the hereafter should not be sought in this world. If they are given, they should be received not gratefully, but regretfully. Because since in Paradise the more its fruits are picket the more they are produced, to eat in this world in transient fashion the fruits of actions pertaining to the hereafter, which are lasting, is not sensible. It is like exchanging a permanent lamp for one that will last a minute and then be extinguished.
It is because of this that the people of sainthood consider service, difficulty, misfortune, and hardship to be agreeable, and they do not complain and lament, but say: "All praise be to god for all conditions!" When illuminations and wonders, unfoldings and lights are given them, they accept them as sorts of Divine favour, and try to conceal them. They do not become proud, but offer more thanks and worship. Many of them have wanted those states of be concealed of to cease, lest they spoil the sincerity of their actions. Yes, the most important Divine favour for am acceptable person to make them realize His favour, so that they do mot cease beseeching and offering thanks, and start complaining and become proud.
It is due to this truth that if those who seek sainthood and the Sufi path do so for illuminations and wonders, which are some of the emanations of sainthood, and they are turned towards those and receive pleasure from them, they as though consume in transient fashion in this transient world the enduring fruits of the hereafter. This too opens up the way to losing sincerity, the leaven of sainthood, and to sainthood eluding them.
SEVENTH ALLUSION
This consists of Four points.
F i r s t P o i n t : The Shari'a is directly, without shadow or veil, the result of the Divine address, through the mystery of Divine Oneness in respect of absolute dominicality. The highest degrees of the Sufi path and of reality are like parts of the Shari'a. Or they are always like the means, introduction, and servant. Their results are the incontrovertible matters of the Shari'a. That is to say, the ways of the Sufi path and of reality are like means, servants, and steps for reaching the truths of the Shari'a, till at the highest level they are transformed into the meaning of reality and essence of the Sufi way, which are at the heart of the Shari'a. So then they become parts of the Greater Shari'a. So it is not right to think of the Shari'a as an outer shell, and reality as its inner part and result and aim, as some Sufis do. Yes, the Shari'a unfolds according to the levels of men. It is wrong to suppose what the mass of people imagine is the external aspect of the Shari'a to be its reality, and to give the name of 'reality' and 'Sufi path' to the degrees of the Shari'a which are unfolded to the elite. The Shari'a has degrees which look to all classes.
It is as a consequence of this that the further the Sufis and those who seek reality advance, their longing for the truths of the Shari'a and captivation by them, and their following them, increase. Considering the smallest aspect of the Practices of the Prophet to be their greatest aim, they work to follow them and imitate them. For to whatever degree Revelation is higher than inspiration, the conduct of the Shari'a, which is the fruit of Revelation, is that much higher and more important than the conduct of the Sufi path, the fruit of inspiration. Therefore, following the Practices of the Prophet is the most important basis of the Sufi path.
S e c o n d P o i n t : The Sufi path and way of reality should not exceed being means. If they become like the ultimate aim, then the incontrovertible teachings and actions of the Shari'a and following the Practices of the Prophet become as though official, while the heart is turned beyond them. That is to say, such a person thinks of his circle for the remembrance of God rather than the obligatory prayers; he is drawn more to his recitations and supplications than to his religious obligations; he is more concerned with avoiding offending against the rules of behaviour of the Sufi path more than avoiding grievous sins. Whereas the recitations of the Sufi path cannot be the equivalent of the obligatory acts which are the incontestible matters of the Shari'a; they cannot take their place. The rules of behaviour of the Sufi path and the invocations of Sufism should be a solace and means to true pleasure within those obligatory acts, not themselves be the source. That is, his tekke should be the means to the pleasure and correct performance of the five daily prayers in the mosque; one who hurriedly performs the prayers in the mosque as a formality and thinks he will find his true pleasure and perfection in the tekke, is drawing away from reality.
T h i r d P o i n t : It is sometimes asked: "Can there be any Sufi path outside the Practices of the Prophet and matters of the Shari'a?"
T h e A n s w e r : There are, and there are not. There are, because some of the highest saints were executed by the sword of the Shari'a. And there are not, because the authoritative scholars among the saints have agreed on this rule of Sa'di-i Shirazi: "It is impossible, Sa'di, to be victorious on the way of felicity, except by following the Chosen One." That is, it is impossible for one outside the highway of God's Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), who does not follow him, to attain the true lights of reality. The true meaning of this matter is this:
Since God's Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace)
was the Seal of the Prophets and was the addressee of God in the name of all mankind, mankind cannot advance outside his highway; it is essential to be under his banner. But since ecstatics and those immersed in Divine contemplation are not responsible for their opposition; and since in man are certain subtle faculties which cannot be bound by obligation, and when such faculties dominate, a person cannot be held responsible for opposing the obligations of the Shari'a; and since in man there are certain subtle faculties which just as they cannot be bound by obligation, they are also not under the jurisdiction of the will, and also cannot be controlled by the mind, for they do not heed the heart or the mind; certainly, when those faculties dominate in a person, -but only at that time- he does not fall from the position of sainthood by opposing the Shari'a, he is considered excused. On condition, however, that he displays no denial, insult, or contempt towards the truths of the Shari'a and rules of belief. Even if he does not carry out the injunctions, he has to know that they are right. But if he is overcome by that state and assumes a position, I seek refuge with God, which infers denial and giving the lie to those incontestible truths, it is the sign that he has fallen from the path!
I n S h o r t : There are two groups of those who follow the Sufi path outside the bounds of the Shari'a.
One group: As described above, these are either overwhelmed by their state, their immersion, their ecstasy or intoxication, or they are dominated by certain of their subtle faculties which do not heed the commands of religion or do not listen to the will, and so exceed the bounds of the Shari'a. But this is not due to their disliking the rulings of the Shari'a or not wanting to follow them; they are rather compelled to, involuntarily. There are people of sainthood among this group, among whom have been temporarily found important saints. Scholars from among the saints have stated even that some of these have been not only outside the bounds of the Shari'a, but outside the bounds of Islam. But they are people of sainthood on this condition, that they have not denied any of the injunctions Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) brought. They rather do not think of them, or cannot keep them in view, or are not aware of them. It is not acceptable for them not to accept them if they are aware of them.
As for the Second Group, these are carried away by the brilliant pleasures of the Sufi path and way of reality, and since they cannot attain to the pleasures of the truths of the Shari'a, which are far more elevated, they suppose them to be dull formalities and are indifferent towards them. They gradually accept the idea that the Shari'a is an external shell, and that the reality they have found is the basis and essential goal. They say: "I have found it; it is enough for me," and act in a way contrary to the injunctions of the Shari'a. Those from this group who are in their right minds are responsible; they stray from the path, indeed, become the playthings of Satan to an extent.
F o u r t h P o i n t : Some persons from the divisions of the people of misguidance and innovation are found acceptable by the Muslim community, while others, just like them with no apparent difference, are rejected. I always wondered at this. For example, although someone like Zamakhshari was one of the most bigoted members of the Mu'tazila sect, the Sunni scholars did not declare him to be an unbeliever or misguided in the face of his severe objections; they rather searched for a way to save him. But then they considered that Mu'tazila authorities like Abu 'Ali Jubba'i, whose bigotry was far less strong than Zamakhshari's, should be rejected and refuted. I was curious about this for a long time. Then through Divine favour I understood that Zamakhshari's objections concerning the Sunnis arose from the love of truth of his way, which he considered to be right. That is to say, for example, the reason for declaring God to be free of all fault and deficiency is because in his view, animals create their own actions. Therefore, because of his love of declaring God free of all fault, he did not accept the principles of the Sunnis concerning the creation of actions. Whereas, rather than love of the truth, the other Mu'tazila authorities were rejected because their inadequate intelligences could not aspire to the elevated principles of the Sunnis and they could not situate the Sunni's extensive laws within their own narrow ideas, and therefore denied them. In just the same way that the Mu'tazila opposed the Sunnis in theology, the opposition of some of those who follow the Sufi path outside the Practices of the Prophet is also of two kinds:
The First: Like Zamakhshari, out of love for their way or state, they remain somewhat indifferent towards the conduct of the Shari'a, because they cannot attain the same degree of pleasure.
As for the Other Kind: God forbid! They look on the conduct of the Shari'a as unimportant in relation to the principles of the Sufi path. For their narrow understanding cannot comprehend those broad pleasures, and their short stations cannot attain to that elevated conduct.
EIGHTH ALLUSION
This describes Eight Abysses.
The First: Some of those who embark on spiritual journeying do not conform completely to the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH), and fall into the abyss of preferring sainthood to prophethood. It is proved in the Twenty-Fourth and Thirty-First Words how elevated is prophethood, and how dull sainthood is in relation to it.
The Second: Some of those who follow the Sufi path fall into the abyss of preferring extremist saints to the Companions of the Prophet. It is proved decisively in the Twelfth and Twenty-Seventh Words and in the Addendum on the Companions, that the Companions acquired such qualities through conversation with the Prophet (PBUH) that it cannot be attained to through sainthood, and the Companions cannot be surpassed, and that the saints can never reach the degree of the Companions.
The Third: Some of those who are excessively bigoted concerning the Sufi path oppose the Practices of the Prophet and give them up because of their preference for the customs, conduct, and recitations of the Sufi way, which they do not give up. In this way, they become slack in practising the conduct of the Shari'a, and fall into that abyss.
As is proved in many of the Words, and as leading scholars of the Sufi path like Imam Ghazali and Imam-i Rabbani said: "The degree of acceptance gained by following a single of the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH) cannot be won by means of a hundred personal practices and private acts of worship. And just as a single obligatory act is superior to a thousand acts taken from the Practices of the Prophet, a single of those Practices is superior to a thousand practices of Sufism."
The Fourth: Some extremist Sufis suppose inspiration to be like Revelation, and of similar kind to Revelation, and fall into an abyss. It has been proved most definitely in the Twelfth Word and in the Twenty-Fifth Word on the Miraculousness of the Qur'an, how elevated, universal, and sacred is Revelation, and how insignificant and dull inspirations are in relation to it.
The Fifth: Some Sufis who do not understand the essence of the Sufi path, in order to strengthen the weak, encourage the slack, and to lighten the hardships and weariness arising from strenuous service, find the lights, illuminations, and wonders, which are not sought but given, to be pleasurable, and they become captivated by them and fall into the abyss of preferring them to worship, acts of service, and reciting of supplications. It is mentioned briefly in the Third Point of the Sixth Allusion in the present treatise and proved decisively in others of the Words that this world is the realm of service, not the realm of reward. For those who seek their recompense here, together with transforming enduring, perpetual fruits into a transitory and temporary form, permanence in this world is pleasing and they do not yearn for the Intermediate Realm; quite simply, they love the life of this world in one respect, for they find a sort of hereafter within it.
The Sixth: Some of those who embark on spiritual journeying fall into an abyss by confusing the shades and shadows and partial samples of the stations of sainthood with the fundamental, universal stations. As is proved clearly in the Second Branch of the Twenty-Fourth Word and in others of the Words, the sun becomes numerous by means of mirrors and thousands of similitudes of the sun possess light and heat like the sun itself, despite being very weak in relation to the actual sun. In exactly the same way, the stations of the prophets and of the great saints possess shades and shadows. Those who journey with the spirit enter these, and see themselves as greater than those great saints, or even to have advanced further than the prophets, thus falling into an abyss. However, the way to avoid falling into all these abysses is to always take the principles of belief and fundamentals of the Shari'a as the basis and the guide, and to consider to be opposed to them the illuminations or what is witnessed.
The Seventh: Some of the people of illumination and ecstasy fall into the abyss in their spiritual journeyings of preferring pride,complaint, ecstatic utterances, public regard, and being a place of recourse to offering thanks and supplication, beseeching Almighty God, and self-sufficiency. Whereas the highest degree is Muhammadan worship, which is termed 'belovedness.' While the basis and essence of worship is to manifest the perfection of that reality by reason of supplicating and beseeching Almighty God, showing deep humility before Him, offering thanks, through impotence and want, and through self-sufficiency before the people. Some of the great saints have involuntarily and temporarily become proud, complained, and made ecstatic utterances, but they may not be voluntarily followed on such points; they are rightly-guided but not the guide; their way may not be taken!
The Eighth Abyss: Some of those who journey spiritually who are self-centered and precipitate want to consume in this world the fruits of sainthood, which will be received in the hereafter, and fall into an abyss through seeking them on their spiritual journeyings. But, as verses like,
But the life of this world is but goods and chattels(2)
proclaim, and as is proved decisively in many of the Words, a single fruit in the realm of eternity is superior to a thousand gardens in this fleeting world. For this reason, those blessed fruits should not be consumed here. If without being wanted they are given to eat here, they should be thanked for, and considered to be Divine favours bestowed, not as reward, but for encouragement.
NINTH ALLUSION
Here we shall describe briefly Nine out of the truly numerous fruits and benefits of the Sufi path.
The First is the unfolding and clarification, by means of Sufi paths which are on the straight way, of the truths of belief, which are the keys, sources, and springs of the eternal treasuries in everlasting happiness; it is their manifestation at the degree of 'the vision of certainty.'
The Second: Through the Sufi path being a means of working the heart, the mainspring of the human machine, and causing the heart to stir into motion the other subtle faculties, it is to drive them to fulfil the purposes of their creation, and thus to making man into a true human being.
The Third: On the journey to the Intermediate Realm and the hereafter, it is to join one of the chains of the Sufi paths, and to be a companion in such a luminous caravan on the road to eternity, and to be saved from the desolation of loneliness, and to find familiarity with them in this world and in the Intermediate Realm; and relying on their consensus and accord in the face of the attacks of doubts and fears, and seeing each of their masters as a powerful support and proof, it is to repulse through them those doubts and instances of misguidance.
The Fourth is to understand by means of the pure Sufi way the knowledge of God to be found in belief in God, and the pleasure of love of God within the knowledge of God, and by so understanding, to be saved from the absolute desolation of this world and man's absolute exile in the universe. We have proved in many of the Words that the happiness of both worlds, and pain-free pleasure, and familiarity without loneliness, and true pleasure, and untroubled happiness are all to be found in the reality of belief and Islam. As explained in the Second Word, belief bears the seed of a Tuba-tree of Paradise. It is through the training and nurturing of the Sufi path that the seed grows and develops.
The Fifth is to perceive through an awakening of the heart resulting from the Sufi path and remembrance of God, the subtle truths contained in the obligations of the Shari'a, and to appreciate them. Then one obeys and performs his worship, not under compulsion, but with longing.
The Sixth is to rise to the station of reliance on God and rank of submission to Him and to gain His pleasure, which are the means to true pleasure, real solace, painfree pleasure, and familiarity without loneliness.
The Seventh is, through sincerity, the most important condition for travelling the Sufi way and its most important result, to be delivered from base qualities like the hidden associating of partners with God, hypocrisy, and artificiality. And it is to be saved by means
of the purification of the soul, which is like the surgical operation of the Sufi path, from the dangers of the evil-commanding soul and the perils of egotism.
The Eighth : By means of the regard, sense of the Divine presence, and powerful intentions which are gained through the remembrance of God with the heart and reflective thought of the mind on the Sufi path, it is to transform customary actions into worship and make mundane dealings into actions for the hereafter. And through utilizing the capital of life, it is to make all its minutes into seeds which will produce the shoots of eternal happiness.
The Ninth is to work to be a perfect human being through journeying with the heart and striving with the spirit and spiritual progress; that is to say, to be a true believer and total Muslim; that is, to gain not superficial belief, but the reality of belief and the reality of Islam; that is, to be directly the slave of the Glorious Creator of the Universe, in the universe and in one respect as the universe's representative, and to be His addressee, and His friend, and His beloved, and to be a mirror to Him; and through showing man to be on the best of patterns, it is to prove man's superiority over the angels. It is to fly through the lofty stations with the wings of belief and actions of the Shari'a, and to look on eternal happiness in this world, and even to enter that happiness.
Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise!(3)
O God! Grant blessings and peace to the Supreme Help in every age and the Sublime Spiritual Pole at all times, our master Muhammad, the magnificence of whose sainthood was manifested in his Ascension, as was the station of his being the beloved of God, and under the shadow of whose Ascension are included all sainthoods, and to all his Family and Companions. Amen. And all praise be to God, the Sustainer of All the Worlds.
* * *
Addendum
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
]This short Addendum has great importance; it is beneficial for everyone. [
The ways leading to Almighty God are truly numerous. While all true ways are taken from the Qur’an, some are shorter, safer, and more general than others. Of these ways taken from the Qur’an is that of impotence, poverty, compassion, and reflection, from which, with my defective understanding, I have benefited.
Indeed, like ecstatic love, impotence is a path which, by way of worship, leads to winning God’s love; but it is safer. Poverty too leads to the Divine Name of All-Merciful. And, like ecstatic love, compassion leads to the Name of All-Compassionate, but it is a swifter and broader path. Also like ecstatic love, reflection leads to the Name of All-Wise, but it is richer, broader, and more brilliant path. This path consists not of ten steps like the 'ten subtle faculties’ of some of the Sufi paths employing silent recollection, nor of seven stages like the 'seven souls’ of those practising public recitation, but of Four Steps. It is reality (haqiqat), rather than a Sufi way (tariqat), It is Shari'a.
However, let it not be misunderstood. It means to see one’s impotence, poverty and faults before Almighty God, not to fabricate them or display them to people. The method of this short path is to follow the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH), perform the religious obligations and give up serious sins. And it is especially to perform the prescribed prayers correctly and with attention, and following them to say the tesbihat.
The verse, Therefore, do not justify yourselves, (1) points to the First Step.
The verse, And be not like those who forget God, and He therefore makes them forget their own selves, (2) points to the Second Step.
The verse, Whatever good happens to you is from God, but whatever evil befalls you is from yourself, (3) points to the Third Step.
The verse, Everything will perish save His countenance,(4) points to the Fourth Step.
A brief explanation of these Four Steps is as follows:
THE FIRST STEP
As the verse,
Therefore, do not justify yourselves
suggests, it is to not purify the soul. For on account of his nature and innate disposition, man loves himself. Indeed, he loves himself before anything else, and only himself. He sacrifices everything other than himself to his own soul. He praises himself in a manner befitting some object worthy of worship. He absolves and exonerates himself from faults in the same way. As far as he possibly can, he does not see faults as being appropriate for him, and does not accept them. He defends himself passionately as though worshipping himself. Even, using on himself the members and faculties given him as part of his nature in order to praise and glorify the True Object of Worship, he displays the meaning of the verse,
Who takes as his god his own desires.(5)
He considers himself, he relies on himself, he fancies himself. Thus, his purification and cleansing at this stage, in this step, is to not purify himself; it is not to absolve himself.
THE SECOND STEP
As the verse,
And be not like those who forget God, and He therefore makes them forget their own selves
teaches, man is oblivious of himself, and is not aware of himself. If he thinks of death, it is in relation to others. If he sees transience and decline, he does not attribute them to himself. His evil-commanding soul demands that when it comes to inconvenience and service of others, he forgets himself, but when it comes to receiving his recompense, and to benefits and enjoyment, he thinks of himself, and takes his own part fervently. His purification, cleansing, and training at this stage is the reverse of this state. That is to say, when oblivious of himself, it is not to be oblivious. That is, to forget himself when it comes to pleasure, and ambition and greed, and to think of himself when it comes to death and service of others.
THE THIRD STEP
As the verse,
Whatever good happens to you is from God, but whatever evil befalls you is from yourself
teaches, the nature of the evil-commanding soul demands that it always considers goodness to be from itself and it becomes vain and conceited. Thus, in this Step, a person sees only faults, defects, impotence, and poverty in himself, and understands that all his good qualities and perfections are bounties bestowed on him by the All-Glorious Creator. He gives thanks instead of being conceited, and offers praise instead of boasting. According to the meaning of the verse,
Truly he succeeds who purifies it,(6)
his purification at this stage is to know his perfection to lie in imperfection, his power in impotence, and his wealth in poverty.
THE FOURTH STEP
As the verse,
Everything will perish save His countenance
teaches, the evil-commanding soul considers itself to be free and independent and to exist of itself. Because of this, man claims to possess a sort of dominicality. He harbours a hostile rebelliousness towards his True Object of Worship. Thus, through understanding the following fact, he is saved from this. The fact is this:
According to the apparent meaning of things, which looks to each thing itself, everything is transitory, wanting, accidental, non-existent. But according to the meaning that signifies something other than itself and in respect of each thing being a mirror to the All-Glorious Maker’s Names and charged with various duties, each is a witness, it is witnessed, it gives existence, and it is existent. The purification and cleansing of a person at this stage is as follows:
In his existence he is non-existent, and in his non-existence he has existence. That is to say, if he values himself and attributes existence to himself, he is in a darkness of non-existence as great as the universe. That is, if he relies on his individual existence and is unmindful of the True Giver of Existence, he has an individual light of existence like that of a fire-fly and is submerged in an endless darkness of non-existence and separation. But if he gives up egotism and sees that he is a mirror of the manifestations of the True Giver of Existence, he gains all beings and an infinite existence. For he who finds the Necessary Existent One, the manifestation of Whose Names all beings manifest, finds everything.
Conclusion
The Four Steps in this way of impotence, poverty, compassion, and reflection have been explained in the twenty-six Words so far written,(7) which are concerned with knowledge of reality, the reality of the Shari'a, and the wisdom of the Qur’an. So here, we shall allude briefly to only one or two points, as follows:
Indeed, this path is shorter, because it consists of four steps. When impotence removes the hand from the soul, it gives it directly to the All-Powerful One of Glory. Whereas, when the way of ecstatic love, the swiftest way, takes the hand away from the soul, it attaches it to the metaphorical beloved. Only after the beloved is found to be impermanent does it go to the True Beloved.
Also, this path is much safer, because the ravings and high-flown claims of the soul are not present on it. For, apart from impotence, poverty, and defect, the soul possesses nothing so that it oversteps its mark.
Also, this path is much broader and more universal. For, in order to attain to a constant awareness of God’s presence, a person is not compelled to imagine the universe to be condemned to non-existence and to declare:"There is no existent but He," like those who believe in 'the Unity of Existence,’ nor to suppose the universe to be condemned to imprisonment in absolute oblivion and to say, “There is nothing witnessed but He," like those who believe in 'the Unity of Witnessing.' Rather, since the Qur’an has most explicitly pardoned the universe and released it from execution and imprisonment, one on this path disregards the above, and dismissing beings from working on their own account and employing them on account of the All-Glorious Creator, and in the duty of manifesting the Most Beautiful Names and being mirrors to them, he considers them from the point of view of signifying something other than themselves; and being saved from absolute heedlessness, he enters the Divine presence permanently; he finds a way leading to the Almighty God in everything.
I n S h o r t : Dismissing beings from working on account of other beings, this way is to not look at them as signifying themselves.
The Ninth Section
The Nine Allusions
[This Section is about the paths of sainthood, and consists of Nine Allusions.]
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Behold! Verily on the friends of God there is no fear, nor shall they grieve.(1)
FIRST ALLUSION
Underlying the terms 'Sufism,' 'path,' 'sainthood,' and 'spiritual journeying,' is an agreeable, luminous, joyful, and spiritual sacred truth. This truth has been proclaimed, taught, and described in thousands of books written by the scholars among the people of illumination and those who have had unfolded to them the reality of creation, who have told the Muslim community and us of that truth. May God reward them abundantly! In consequence of some of the compelling circumstances of the present time, we shall point out a few droplets, like sprinklings, from that vast ocean.
Q u e s t i o n : What is the Sufi path?
T h e A n s w e r : The aim and goal of the Sufi path is -knowledge of God and the unfolding of the truths of belief- through a spiritual journeying with the feet of the heart under the shadow of the Ascension of Muhammad (PBUH), to manifest the truths of belief and the Qur'an through illumination and certain states, and to a degree by 'witnessing;' it is an elevated human mystery and human perfection which is called 'the Sufi path' or 'Sufism.'
Yes, since man is a comprehensive index of the universe, his heart resembles a map of thousands of worlds. For just as innumerable human sciences and fields of knowledge show that man's brain in his head is a sort of centre of the universe, like a telephone and telegraph exchange for innumerable lines, so too the millions of luminous books written by incalculable saints show that man's heart in his essential being is the place of manifestation of innumerable truths of the universe, and is their means, and seed.
Thus, since the human heart and brain are at this centre, and comprise the members of a mighty tree in the form of a seed in which have been encapsulated the parts and components of an eternal, majestic machine pertaining to the hereafter, certainly the heart's Creator willed that the heart should be worked and brought out from the potential to the actual, and developed, and put into action, for that is what He did. Since He willed it, the heart will certainly work like the mind. And the most effective means of working the heart is to be turned towards the truths of belief on the Sufi path through the remembrance of God in the degrees of sainthood.
SECOND ALLUSION
The keys and means to this journeying of the heart and spiritual progress are remembrance of God and reflective thought. The virtues of these are too numerous to be described. Apart from uncountable benefits in the hereafter and human attainments and perfections, a minor benefit pertaining to this tumultuous worldly life is as follows: everyone wants a solace and seeks a pleasure in order to be saved a little from the upheavals of life and its heavy burdens, and to take a breather; everyone searches out something familiar and friendly to banish the loneliness. The social gatherings in civilized life afford a temporary, but heedless and drunken familiarity, intimacy, and solace for one or two out of ten people. However, eighty per cent live solitary lives in mountains or valleys, or are driven to distant places in search of a livelihood, or due to agencies like calamities and old age which make them think of the hereafter, they are deprived of the sociableness of man's groups and societies. The situation affords them no familiarity, friendliness, or consolation.
And so, the true solace and intimacy and sweet pleasure of such a person is, being turned to his heart in those distant places and desolate mountains and distressing valleys, to work it by means of the remembrance of God and reflective thought. Saying: "Allah!", it is to become familiar with Him with his heart, and through that familiarity to think of the things around him, which were regarding him savagely, as smiling on him familiarly, and saying: "My Creator, Whom I am recollecting, has innumerable servants here in my place of solitude, just as He has everywhere. I am not alone; loneliness has no meaning." Through his belief, he receives pleasure from that familiarity. He understands the meaning of the happiness of life, and offers thanks to God.
THIRD ALLUSION
Sainthood is a proof of Divine Messengership; the Sufi path is a proof of the Shari'a. For the truths of belief which Messengership preaches, sainthood sees and confirms with a sort of witnessing of the heart and illumination of the spirit at the degree of 'the vision of certainty.' Its confirmation is a certain proof of the truth of Messengership. Through its illuminations and unfoldings, and through its being benefited from and effulgence being received from it, the Sufi path is a clear proof of the truths and the matters which the Shari'a teaches; that they are the truth and that they come from the truth. Yes, just as sainthood and the Sufi path are evidence and proof of Messengership and the Shari'a, so too they are a perfection of Islam and a means to its lights, and through Islam, a source of the progress and prosperity of humanity.
Despite the great importance of this vast mystery, certain deviant sects have denied it. They have been deprived of those lights, and they have caused others to be deprived. The most regretable thing is this: making a pretext certain abuses and faults they have seen among the followers of the Sufi path, some externalist scholars from among the Sunnis and some neglectful politicians who are also Sunnis are trying to close up that supreme treasury, indeed, to destroy it, and to dry up that source of Kawthar which distributes a sort of water of life. However, there are few things and ways and paths which are without fault and are altogether good. There are bound to be some faults and abuses. For if the uninitiated undertake a matter, they are sure to misuse it. But in accordance with the accounting of deeds in the hereafter, Almighty God shows His dominical justice through the weighing up of good deeds and bad deeds. That is to say, if good deeds preponderate and weigh heavier, He rewards them and accepts them; whereas if evil deeds preponderate, he punishes for them, and rejects them. The balancing of good and evil deeds looks not to quantity, but to quality. It sometimes happens that a single good deed will weigh heavier than a thousand evils, and cause them to be forgiven. Divine justice judges thus and reality too sees it to be true. Thus, the evidence that the good deeds of the Sufi path -that is, the Sufi paths within the bounds of the Practices of the Prophet- definitely preponderate over their evils is that those who follow them preserve their belief at the times they are attacked by the people of misguidance. A sincere ordinary follower of the Sufi path preserves himself better than a superficial, externalist person with a modern, scientific background. Through the illumination of the Sufi path and the love of the saints, he saves his belief. If he commits grievous sins, he becomes a sinner, but not an unbeliever; he is not easily drawn into atheism. No power at all can refute in his view the chain of shaykhs he accepts, with a strong love and firm belief, to be spiritual poles. And because no power can refute it, his confidence in them cannot be destroyed. And so long as his confidence is not shaken, he cannot accept atheism. In the face of the stratagems of the atheists at the present time, it has become difficult for one who is not connected with the Sufi path and whose heart has not been brought to action, to preserve himself completely, even if he is a learned scholar.
There is another thing; the Sufi path may not be condemned because of the evils of certain ways which have adopted practices outside the bounds of taqwa, and even of Islam, and have wrongfully given themselves the name of Sufi paths. Quite apart from the important and elevated religious and spiritual results of the Sufi path and those that look to the hereafter, it is the Sufi paths which are the first and most effective and fervent means of expanding and developing brotherhood, a sacred bond within the World of Islam. They are also one of the three most important, unshakeable strongholds of Islam against the awesome attacks of the world of unbelief and the politics of Christendom. What preserved Istanbul, the centre of the Caliphate for five hundred and fifty years against the whole Christian world, were the lights of belief which poured out of five hundred places in Istanbul and the strength of belief of those who recited "Allah! Allah!" in the tekkes behind the big mosques, a firm point of support of the people of belief in that centre of Islam, and their spiritual love arising from knowledge of God, and their fervent murmurings.
O you unreasoning pseudo-patriots and false nationalists! Which of the evils of the Sufi paths can refute this good in the life of your society? You say!
FOURTH ALLUSION
Together with being very easy, the way of sainthood is very difficult. And together with being very short, it is very long. And in addition to being most valuable, it is very dangerous. And together with being very broad, it is very narrow. It is because of this that some of those who journey on the path sometimes drown, sometimes become harmful, and sometimes return and lead others away from the path.
I n S h o r t : There are two ways on the Sufi path, known by the terms of 'inner journeying' and 'outer journeying.'
The Inner Way starts from the self, and drawing the eyes away from the outer world, it looks at the heart. It pierces egotism, opens up a way from the heart, and finds reality. Then it enters the outer world. The outer world now looks luminous. It completes the journey quickly. The reality it sees in the inner world, it sees on a large scale in the outer world. Most of the paths which practise silent recollection take this way. The most important basis of this is to break the ego, give up desires of the flesh, and kill the evil-commanding soul.
The Second Way starts from the outer world; it gazes on the reflections of the Divine Names and attributes in their places of manifestation in that greater sphere, then it enters the inner world. It observes those lights on a small scale in the sphere of the heart and opens up the closest way in them. It sees that the heart is the mirror of the Eternally Besoughted One, and becomes united with the goal it was seeking.
Thus, if people who travel on the first way are not successful in killing the evil-commanding soul, and if they cannot give up desires of the flesh, and break the ego, they fall from the rank of thanks to that of pride, then from pride to conceit. If such a person experiences a captivation arising from love, and a sort of intoxication arising from the captivation, he will pour forth high-flown claims far exceeding his mark, called ecstatic utterances (shatahat). This is harmful both for himself and for others.
For example, if a lieutenant becomes conceited out of pleasure at his position of command, he will suppose himself to be a field marshal, and confuse his small sphere with the universal one. He will become the cause of a sun which appears in a small mirror being confused with the sun whose manifestation is seen in all its splendour on the surface of the sea, due to their similarity in one respect.
In just the same way, as with the degree of difference between a fly and a peacock, there are many people of sainthood who see themselves greater than those who in reality are greater than them to the same degree; they observe it thus, and consider themselves to be right. I myself even saw someone whose heart had just been awakened and had faintly perceived in himself the mystery of sainthood; he supposed himself to be the supreme spiritual pole and assumed airs accordingly. I said to him: "My brother, just as the law of sovereignty has particular and universal manifestations from the office of Prime Minister to that of District Officer, so sainthood and the rank of spiritual pole have varying spheres and manifestations. Each station has many shades and shadows. You have evidently seen the manifestation of the rank of supreme spiritual pole, the equivalent of Prime Minister, in your own sphere, which is like that of a District Officer, and you have been deceived. What you saw was right, but your judgement of it was wrong. To a fly, a cup of water is a small sea." The person came to his senses, God willing, as a result of this answer of mine, and was saved from that abyss.
I have also seen many people who thought themselves to be a sort of Mahdi, and they said that they were going to be the Mahdi. These people are not liars and deceivers, they are deceived. They suppose what they see to be reality. As the Divine Names have manifestations from the sphere of the Sublime Throne down to an atom, and the places of manifestation differ in that relation, so the degrees of sainthood, which consist of manifesting the Names, differ in the same way. The most important reason for the confusion is this:
In some of the stations of the saints, the characteristics of the Mahdi's function are found, or there is a special relation with the Supreme Spiritual Pole, or with Khidr; there are certain stations which are connected with certain famous persons. In fact, the stations are called 'the station of Khidr,' 'the station of Uvays,' or 'the station of the Mahdi.' As a consequence of this, those who attain to these stations, or to minor samples or shadows of them, suppose themselves to be the famous persons related with the station. They suppose themselves to be Khidr, or the Mahdi, or the Supreme Spiritual Pole. If such a person has no ego which seeks rank or position, then he is not condemned to that state. His excessive high-flown claims are considered to be ecstatic utterances; he is probably not responsible for them. But if his ego is secretly set on acquiring rank and position, and if he defeated by his ego, and leaves off thanks and becomes proud, from there he will gradually fall into conceit, or else fall to the depths of madness, or deviate from the path of truth. For he reckons the great saints to be like himself and his good opinion of them is destroyed. Because however arrogant a soul is, it still perceives its own faults. Comparing those great saints with himself, he imagines them to be at fault. His respect towards the prophets even lessens.
It is necessary for those afflicted with this state to hold fast to the balance of the Shari'a, and take for themselves the rules of the scholars of the principles of religion, and to take as their guides the instructions of the authoritative scholars from among the saints like Imam Ghazali and Imam-i Rabbani. They should constantly accuse their own souls, and attribute nothing to their souls other than fault, impotence, and want. The ecstatic utterances in this way arise from love of self, because the eye of love sees no faults. Since such a person loves his self, he supposes that faulty, unworthy fragment of glass to be a brilliant or a diamond. The most dangerous fault among these is this, that he imagines the partial meanings which occur to his heart in the form of inspiration to be "God's Word," and his calling them "verses." This is disrespect towards Revelation and its most holy and exalted degree. Yes, all the inspirations from the inspirations of bees and animals to those of ordinary people and the elite among men, and from the inspirations of ordinary angels to those of the sublime cherubim, are Divine words of a sort. But they are dominical speech in accordance with the capacity of the places of manifestation and their stations; they are the varying manifestations of dominical address shining through seventy thousand veils.
However, to signify such inspirations with the proper nouns, "Revelation” and "God's Word," and the word "verse," which is a noun proper to the stars of the Qur'an -the most evident exemplification of God's Word- is absolutely wrong. As is explained and proved in the Twelfth, Twenty-Fifth, and Thirty-First Words, whatever relation the tiny, dim, and obscure image of the sun which appears in the coloured mirror in your hand has with the sun in the sky, it is similar to the relation between the inspiration in the hearts of those making the above claims and the verses of the sun of the Qur'an, which is directly the Divine Word. Yes, if it said that the sun's images appearing in all mirrors are of the sun and are related to it, it would be right. But the globe of the earth cannot be attached to the mirrors of those tiny suns, and cannot be bound through their attraction!
FIFTH ALLUSION
Of the ways of the Sufi path, an extremely important one is 'the Unity of Witnessing,' which is called 'the Unity of Existence.' This way restricts the gaze to the existence of the Necessarily Existent, and sees other beings to be so weak and shadow-like in relation to the Necessarily Existent that it states that they are not worthy of the name of existence. Enveloping them in veils of imagination, it counts them as nothing in the station of 'abandoning all things other than God,' and even imagines them to be non-existent, going so far as relegating the manifestations of the Divine Names to the state of being mere imaginary mirrors.
A significant fact about this way is that through the existence of the Necessarily Existent One being unfolded to the degree of 'absolute certainty' through the strength of belief and unfolding of an elevated sainthood, the existence of contingent beings is so diminished that nothing remains in its view other than imagination and non-existence; it is as though it denies the universe on account of the Necessarily Existent One.
But this way holds dangers, the first of which is this: the pillars of belief are six. There are pillars like belief in the Last Day, in addition to belief in God, and these pillars require the existence of contingent beings. Those firmly-founded pillars of belief cannot be constructed on imagination! For this reason, when one who follows this way re-enters the world of sobriety from the worlds of ecstasy and intoxication, he should not bring that way together with him, and he should not act in accordance with it.
Furthermore, he should not change this way, which pertains to the heart and to illuminations and certain states, into a form which pertains to the reason, knowledge, and words. For the laws and principles pertaining to the reason, knowledge, and speech, which proceed from the Qur'an and the Sunna of the Prophet, cannot sustain that way; they cannot be applied. For this reason, this way is not to be seen explicitly in the Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs, the leading authorities and interpreters of the Law, and the authorities of the first generations of Islam. That means it is not the most elevated way. Perhaps it is elevated, but it is deficient. It is very important, but it is very perilous and difficult, yet still very pleasurable. Those who enter it for the pleasure, do not want to leave it; due to their self-centredness, they suppose it to be the highest degree. Since we have explained the basis and nature of this way to an extent in the treatise called Nokta Risalesi, and in some of the Words and the Letters, we shall suffice with them, and here describe an important abyss of that important way. It is as follows:
For the highest of the elite, who pass out of the sphere of causes and in accordance with renouncing everything other than God, sever their attachment to contingent beings and enter a state of absolute absorption in God, this way is a righteous way. But, to present it as intellectual knowledge to those who are submerged in causes, enamoured of the world, and plunged into materialist philosophy and Nature, is to drown them in Nature and materiality and to distance them from the reality of Islam. For one who is enamoured of the world and attached to the sphere of causes wants to attribute a sort of permanence to this transitory world. He does not want to lose his beloved, the world; through the pretext of the Unity of Existence, he imagines it to have a permanent existence; on account of the world, his beloved, and through ascribing permanence and eternity to it, he raises his beloved to being an object of worship; and, I seek refuge with God, this opens up the way to the abyss of denying God.
This century, materialism is so widespread, materiality is thought to be the source of everything. If in such an age, the elite believers consider materiality to be so unimportant as to be non-existent, thus furthering the way of the Unity of Existence, the materialists will lay claim to it, saying: "We say the same thing." Whereas, among all the ways in the world, the way furthest from that of the materialists and Nature-worshippers, is the way of the Unity of Existence. For the followers of the Unity of Existence attach so much importance, through their belief, to the Divine existence that they deny the universe and beings. Whereas the materialists attach so much importance to beings that on account of the universe they deny God. How can the two come together or be compared?
SIXTH ALLUSION
This consists of Three Points.
First Point: Among the ways of sainthood, the finest, straightest, richest, and modt brilliant is following the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH), That is, think of the Practices in acts and deeds, and to follow and imitate them, and in conduct and dealings whit others, to think of the rulings of the Shari'a and take them as guide.
By means of folowing them in this way, together with daily conduct and dealings and natural acts becoming worship, by thinking of the Practices and Shari'a for all actions, it recalls the injunctions of of the Shari'a. This causes a person to think of then owner of the Shari'a. By thinking of him, it brings to mind Almighty God, and that affords a sort of sense of His presensce. This may take all the moments of a person's life like worship in the Divine presence. Thus, this great highway is the highway of the Companions and the righteous of the first generations of Islam, who received the legacy of prophethood, the 'greater sainthood.'
Second Point: The most important basis of the ways of sainthood and the branchers of the Sufi path is sincerity, for salvation from the hidden association of partners with god is through sincerity. One who does nor obtain sincerity cannot travel those ways. The most powerful force of those ways if love. Yes, love does not seek pretexts for its beloved and does not wish to see its faults. And it sees frail signs to its beloved's perfection as powerful proofs. It always takes the part of its beloved.
It is because of this that those who are turned towards knowledge, of god with the feet of love, do not give ear to doubts and objections; they are saved easily. If even a thousand satans were to gather, they could not did negate in their view a hint to the perfectionnof their true beloved. If they did not love, then they would struggle despratelyin the face of their souls and Satan and the objections of the outside satans. They would have to possess an heroic fortitude and strength of belief and attentive gaze in order to save themselves.
It is because of this that in all the degrees of sainhood, the love arising from knowledge of God is the most important leaven and elixir. But love contains an abyss, which is this: it jumps from beseeching and selfeffacement, which are the essence of worship, to complaint and claims and to imbalnced action. By passing from the signified meaning of things to their literal meaning when reparding things other than God, while begin the cure, it becomes poison. That is to say, although when loving things other than god, it is necessary for a person to bind his heart for God's sake and in His name and due to their being mirrors of His Names, sometimes he thinks of the objects of his love on account of objects themselves, and their personal perfections and in the name of their essential beauty; he loves them for themselves. Even if he does not a think of God and His Messenger, he still loves them. This love is not a means to love of God; it is a veil to it. Whereas if he loves the persons for the meaning they signify, it is the means to love of God; indeed, it mat be said to be manifestation of it.
Third Point: this world is the realm of wisdom, the realm of service; it is not the realm of reward and recompense. The wage for deeds and acts of service here is given in the Intermediate Realm and the hereafter. Acts here produce fruits in the Intermediate Realm and the hereafter. Since the reality is this, the results of actions pertaining of the hereafter should not be sought in this world. If they are given, they should be received not gratefully, but regretfully. Because since in Paradise the more its fruits are picket the more they are produced, to eat in this world in transient fashion the fruits of actions pertaining to the hereafter, which are lasting, is not sensible. It is like exchanging a permanent lamp for one that will last a minute and then be extinguished.
It is because of this that the people of sainthood consider service, difficulty, misfortune, and hardship to be agreeable, and they do not complain and lament, but say: "All praise be to god for all conditions!" When illuminations and wonders, unfoldings and lights are given them, they accept them as sorts of Divine favour, and try to conceal them. They do not become proud, but offer more thanks and worship. Many of them have wanted those states of be concealed of to cease, lest they spoil the sincerity of their actions. Yes, the most important Divine favour for am acceptable person to make them realize His favour, so that they do mot cease beseeching and offering thanks, and start complaining and become proud.
It is due to this truth that if those who seek sainthood and the Sufi path do so for illuminations and wonders, which are some of the emanations of sainthood, and they are turned towards those and receive pleasure from them, they as though consume in transient fashion in this transient world the enduring fruits of the hereafter. This too opens up the way to losing sincerity, the leaven of sainthood, and to sainthood eluding them.
SEVENTH ALLUSION
This consists of Four points.
F i r s t P o i n t : The Shari'a is directly, without shadow or veil, the result of the Divine address, through the mystery of Divine Oneness in respect of absolute dominicality. The highest degrees of the Sufi path and of reality are like parts of the Shari'a. Or they are always like the means, introduction, and servant. Their results are the incontrovertible matters of the Shari'a. That is to say, the ways of the Sufi path and of reality are like means, servants, and steps for reaching the truths of the Shari'a, till at the highest level they are transformed into the meaning of reality and essence of the Sufi way, which are at the heart of the Shari'a. So then they become parts of the Greater Shari'a. So it is not right to think of the Shari'a as an outer shell, and reality as its inner part and result and aim, as some Sufis do. Yes, the Shari'a unfolds according to the levels of men. It is wrong to suppose what the mass of people imagine is the external aspect of the Shari'a to be its reality, and to give the name of 'reality' and 'Sufi path' to the degrees of the Shari'a which are unfolded to the elite. The Shari'a has degrees which look to all classes.
It is as a consequence of this that the further the Sufis and those who seek reality advance, their longing for the truths of the Shari'a and captivation by them, and their following them, increase. Considering the smallest aspect of the Practices of the Prophet to be their greatest aim, they work to follow them and imitate them. For to whatever degree Revelation is higher than inspiration, the conduct of the Shari'a, which is the fruit of Revelation, is that much higher and more important than the conduct of the Sufi path, the fruit of inspiration. Therefore, following the Practices of the Prophet is the most important basis of the Sufi path.
S e c o n d P o i n t : The Sufi path and way of reality should not exceed being means. If they become like the ultimate aim, then the incontrovertible teachings and actions of the Shari'a and following the Practices of the Prophet become as though official, while the heart is turned beyond them. That is to say, such a person thinks of his circle for the remembrance of God rather than the obligatory prayers; he is drawn more to his recitations and supplications than to his religious obligations; he is more concerned with avoiding offending against the rules of behaviour of the Sufi path more than avoiding grievous sins. Whereas the recitations of the Sufi path cannot be the equivalent of the obligatory acts which are the incontestible matters of the Shari'a; they cannot take their place. The rules of behaviour of the Sufi path and the invocations of Sufism should be a solace and means to true pleasure within those obligatory acts, not themselves be the source. That is, his tekke should be the means to the pleasure and correct performance of the five daily prayers in the mosque; one who hurriedly performs the prayers in the mosque as a formality and thinks he will find his true pleasure and perfection in the tekke, is drawing away from reality.
T h i r d P o i n t : It is sometimes asked: "Can there be any Sufi path outside the Practices of the Prophet and matters of the Shari'a?"
T h e A n s w e r : There are, and there are not. There are, because some of the highest saints were executed by the sword of the Shari'a. And there are not, because the authoritative scholars among the saints have agreed on this rule of Sa'di-i Shirazi: "It is impossible, Sa'di, to be victorious on the way of felicity, except by following the Chosen One." That is, it is impossible for one outside the highway of God's Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), who does not follow him, to attain the true lights of reality. The true meaning of this matter is this:
Since God's Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace)
was the Seal of the Prophets and was the addressee of God in the name of all mankind, mankind cannot advance outside his highway; it is essential to be under his banner. But since ecstatics and those immersed in Divine contemplation are not responsible for their opposition; and since in man are certain subtle faculties which cannot be bound by obligation, and when such faculties dominate, a person cannot be held responsible for opposing the obligations of the Shari'a; and since in man there are certain subtle faculties which just as they cannot be bound by obligation, they are also not under the jurisdiction of the will, and also cannot be controlled by the mind, for they do not heed the heart or the mind; certainly, when those faculties dominate in a person, -but only at that time- he does not fall from the position of sainthood by opposing the Shari'a, he is considered excused. On condition, however, that he displays no denial, insult, or contempt towards the truths of the Shari'a and rules of belief. Even if he does not carry out the injunctions, he has to know that they are right. But if he is overcome by that state and assumes a position, I seek refuge with God, which infers denial and giving the lie to those incontestible truths, it is the sign that he has fallen from the path!
I n S h o r t : There are two groups of those who follow the Sufi path outside the bounds of the Shari'a.
One group: As described above, these are either overwhelmed by their state, their immersion, their ecstasy or intoxication, or they are dominated by certain of their subtle faculties which do not heed the commands of religion or do not listen to the will, and so exceed the bounds of the Shari'a. But this is not due to their disliking the rulings of the Shari'a or not wanting to follow them; they are rather compelled to, involuntarily. There are people of sainthood among this group, among whom have been temporarily found important saints. Scholars from among the saints have stated even that some of these have been not only outside the bounds of the Shari'a, but outside the bounds of Islam. But they are people of sainthood on this condition, that they have not denied any of the injunctions Muhammad (Upon whom be blessings and peace) brought. They rather do not think of them, or cannot keep them in view, or are not aware of them. It is not acceptable for them not to accept them if they are aware of them.
As for the Second Group, these are carried away by the brilliant pleasures of the Sufi path and way of reality, and since they cannot attain to the pleasures of the truths of the Shari'a, which are far more elevated, they suppose them to be dull formalities and are indifferent towards them. They gradually accept the idea that the Shari'a is an external shell, and that the reality they have found is the basis and essential goal. They say: "I have found it; it is enough for me," and act in a way contrary to the injunctions of the Shari'a. Those from this group who are in their right minds are responsible; they stray from the path, indeed, become the playthings of Satan to an extent.
F o u r t h P o i n t : Some persons from the divisions of the people of misguidance and innovation are found acceptable by the Muslim community, while others, just like them with no apparent difference, are rejected. I always wondered at this. For example, although someone like Zamakhshari was one of the most bigoted members of the Mu'tazila sect, the Sunni scholars did not declare him to be an unbeliever or misguided in the face of his severe objections; they rather searched for a way to save him. But then they considered that Mu'tazila authorities like Abu 'Ali Jubba'i, whose bigotry was far less strong than Zamakhshari's, should be rejected and refuted. I was curious about this for a long time. Then through Divine favour I understood that Zamakhshari's objections concerning the Sunnis arose from the love of truth of his way, which he considered to be right. That is to say, for example, the reason for declaring God to be free of all fault and deficiency is because in his view, animals create their own actions. Therefore, because of his love of declaring God free of all fault, he did not accept the principles of the Sunnis concerning the creation of actions. Whereas, rather than love of the truth, the other Mu'tazila authorities were rejected because their inadequate intelligences could not aspire to the elevated principles of the Sunnis and they could not situate the Sunni's extensive laws within their own narrow ideas, and therefore denied them. In just the same way that the Mu'tazila opposed the Sunnis in theology, the opposition of some of those who follow the Sufi path outside the Practices of the Prophet is also of two kinds:
The First: Like Zamakhshari, out of love for their way or state, they remain somewhat indifferent towards the conduct of the Shari'a, because they cannot attain the same degree of pleasure.
As for the Other Kind: God forbid! They look on the conduct of the Shari'a as unimportant in relation to the principles of the Sufi path. For their narrow understanding cannot comprehend those broad pleasures, and their short stations cannot attain to that elevated conduct.
EIGHTH ALLUSION
This describes Eight Abysses.
The First: Some of those who embark on spiritual journeying do not conform completely to the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH), and fall into the abyss of preferring sainthood to prophethood. It is proved in the Twenty-Fourth and Thirty-First Words how elevated is prophethood, and how dull sainthood is in relation to it.
The Second: Some of those who follow the Sufi path fall into the abyss of preferring extremist saints to the Companions of the Prophet. It is proved decisively in the Twelfth and Twenty-Seventh Words and in the Addendum on the Companions, that the Companions acquired such qualities through conversation with the Prophet (PBUH) that it cannot be attained to through sainthood, and the Companions cannot be surpassed, and that the saints can never reach the degree of the Companions.
The Third: Some of those who are excessively bigoted concerning the Sufi path oppose the Practices of the Prophet and give them up because of their preference for the customs, conduct, and recitations of the Sufi way, which they do not give up. In this way, they become slack in practising the conduct of the Shari'a, and fall into that abyss.
As is proved in many of the Words, and as leading scholars of the Sufi path like Imam Ghazali and Imam-i Rabbani said: "The degree of acceptance gained by following a single of the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH) cannot be won by means of a hundred personal practices and private acts of worship. And just as a single obligatory act is superior to a thousand acts taken from the Practices of the Prophet, a single of those Practices is superior to a thousand practices of Sufism."
The Fourth: Some extremist Sufis suppose inspiration to be like Revelation, and of similar kind to Revelation, and fall into an abyss. It has been proved most definitely in the Twelfth Word and in the Twenty-Fifth Word on the Miraculousness of the Qur'an, how elevated, universal, and sacred is Revelation, and how insignificant and dull inspirations are in relation to it.
The Fifth: Some Sufis who do not understand the essence of the Sufi path, in order to strengthen the weak, encourage the slack, and to lighten the hardships and weariness arising from strenuous service, find the lights, illuminations, and wonders, which are not sought but given, to be pleasurable, and they become captivated by them and fall into the abyss of preferring them to worship, acts of service, and reciting of supplications. It is mentioned briefly in the Third Point of the Sixth Allusion in the present treatise and proved decisively in others of the Words that this world is the realm of service, not the realm of reward. For those who seek their recompense here, together with transforming enduring, perpetual fruits into a transitory and temporary form, permanence in this world is pleasing and they do not yearn for the Intermediate Realm; quite simply, they love the life of this world in one respect, for they find a sort of hereafter within it.
The Sixth: Some of those who embark on spiritual journeying fall into an abyss by confusing the shades and shadows and partial samples of the stations of sainthood with the fundamental, universal stations. As is proved clearly in the Second Branch of the Twenty-Fourth Word and in others of the Words, the sun becomes numerous by means of mirrors and thousands of similitudes of the sun possess light and heat like the sun itself, despite being very weak in relation to the actual sun. In exactly the same way, the stations of the prophets and of the great saints possess shades and shadows. Those who journey with the spirit enter these, and see themselves as greater than those great saints, or even to have advanced further than the prophets, thus falling into an abyss. However, the way to avoid falling into all these abysses is to always take the principles of belief and fundamentals of the Shari'a as the basis and the guide, and to consider to be opposed to them the illuminations or what is witnessed.
The Seventh: Some of the people of illumination and ecstasy fall into the abyss in their spiritual journeyings of preferring pride,complaint, ecstatic utterances, public regard, and being a place of recourse to offering thanks and supplication, beseeching Almighty God, and self-sufficiency. Whereas the highest degree is Muhammadan worship, which is termed 'belovedness.' While the basis and essence of worship is to manifest the perfection of that reality by reason of supplicating and beseeching Almighty God, showing deep humility before Him, offering thanks, through impotence and want, and through self-sufficiency before the people. Some of the great saints have involuntarily and temporarily become proud, complained, and made ecstatic utterances, but they may not be voluntarily followed on such points; they are rightly-guided but not the guide; their way may not be taken!
The Eighth Abyss: Some of those who journey spiritually who are self-centered and precipitate want to consume in this world the fruits of sainthood, which will be received in the hereafter, and fall into an abyss through seeking them on their spiritual journeyings. But, as verses like,
But the life of this world is but goods and chattels(2)
proclaim, and as is proved decisively in many of the Words, a single fruit in the realm of eternity is superior to a thousand gardens in this fleeting world. For this reason, those blessed fruits should not be consumed here. If without being wanted they are given to eat here, they should be thanked for, and considered to be Divine favours bestowed, not as reward, but for encouragement.
NINTH ALLUSION
Here we shall describe briefly Nine out of the truly numerous fruits and benefits of the Sufi path.
The First is the unfolding and clarification, by means of Sufi paths which are on the straight way, of the truths of belief, which are the keys, sources, and springs of the eternal treasuries in everlasting happiness; it is their manifestation at the degree of 'the vision of certainty.'
The Second: Through the Sufi path being a means of working the heart, the mainspring of the human machine, and causing the heart to stir into motion the other subtle faculties, it is to drive them to fulfil the purposes of their creation, and thus to making man into a true human being.
The Third: On the journey to the Intermediate Realm and the hereafter, it is to join one of the chains of the Sufi paths, and to be a companion in such a luminous caravan on the road to eternity, and to be saved from the desolation of loneliness, and to find familiarity with them in this world and in the Intermediate Realm; and relying on their consensus and accord in the face of the attacks of doubts and fears, and seeing each of their masters as a powerful support and proof, it is to repulse through them those doubts and instances of misguidance.
The Fourth is to understand by means of the pure Sufi way the knowledge of God to be found in belief in God, and the pleasure of love of God within the knowledge of God, and by so understanding, to be saved from the absolute desolation of this world and man's absolute exile in the universe. We have proved in many of the Words that the happiness of both worlds, and pain-free pleasure, and familiarity without loneliness, and true pleasure, and untroubled happiness are all to be found in the reality of belief and Islam. As explained in the Second Word, belief bears the seed of a Tuba-tree of Paradise. It is through the training and nurturing of the Sufi path that the seed grows and develops.
The Fifth is to perceive through an awakening of the heart resulting from the Sufi path and remembrance of God, the subtle truths contained in the obligations of the Shari'a, and to appreciate them. Then one obeys and performs his worship, not under compulsion, but with longing.
The Sixth is to rise to the station of reliance on God and rank of submission to Him and to gain His pleasure, which are the means to true pleasure, real solace, painfree pleasure, and familiarity without loneliness.
The Seventh is, through sincerity, the most important condition for travelling the Sufi way and its most important result, to be delivered from base qualities like the hidden associating of partners with God, hypocrisy, and artificiality. And it is to be saved by means
of the purification of the soul, which is like the surgical operation of the Sufi path, from the dangers of the evil-commanding soul and the perils of egotism.
The Eighth : By means of the regard, sense of the Divine presence, and powerful intentions which are gained through the remembrance of God with the heart and reflective thought of the mind on the Sufi path, it is to transform customary actions into worship and make mundane dealings into actions for the hereafter. And through utilizing the capital of life, it is to make all its minutes into seeds which will produce the shoots of eternal happiness.
The Ninth is to work to be a perfect human being through journeying with the heart and striving with the spirit and spiritual progress; that is to say, to be a true believer and total Muslim; that is, to gain not superficial belief, but the reality of belief and the reality of Islam; that is, to be directly the slave of the Glorious Creator of the Universe, in the universe and in one respect as the universe's representative, and to be His addressee, and His friend, and His beloved, and to be a mirror to Him; and through showing man to be on the best of patterns, it is to prove man's superiority over the angels. It is to fly through the lofty stations with the wings of belief and actions of the Shari'a, and to look on eternal happiness in this world, and even to enter that happiness.
Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise!(3)
O God! Grant blessings and peace to the Supreme Help in every age and the Sublime Spiritual Pole at all times, our master Muhammad, the magnificence of whose sainthood was manifested in his Ascension, as was the station of his being the beloved of God, and under the shadow of whose Ascension are included all sainthoods, and to all his Family and Companions. Amen. And all praise be to God, the Sustainer of All the Worlds.
* * *
Addendum
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
]This short Addendum has great importance; it is beneficial for everyone. [
The ways leading to Almighty God are truly numerous. While all true ways are taken from the Qur’an, some are shorter, safer, and more general than others. Of these ways taken from the Qur’an is that of impotence, poverty, compassion, and reflection, from which, with my defective understanding, I have benefited.
Indeed, like ecstatic love, impotence is a path which, by way of worship, leads to winning God’s love; but it is safer. Poverty too leads to the Divine Name of All-Merciful. And, like ecstatic love, compassion leads to the Name of All-Compassionate, but it is a swifter and broader path. Also like ecstatic love, reflection leads to the Name of All-Wise, but it is richer, broader, and more brilliant path. This path consists not of ten steps like the 'ten subtle faculties’ of some of the Sufi paths employing silent recollection, nor of seven stages like the 'seven souls’ of those practising public recitation, but of Four Steps. It is reality (haqiqat), rather than a Sufi way (tariqat), It is Shari'a.
However, let it not be misunderstood. It means to see one’s impotence, poverty and faults before Almighty God, not to fabricate them or display them to people. The method of this short path is to follow the Practices of the Prophet (PBUH), perform the religious obligations and give up serious sins. And it is especially to perform the prescribed prayers correctly and with attention, and following them to say the tesbihat.
The verse, Therefore, do not justify yourselves, (1) points to the First Step.
The verse, And be not like those who forget God, and He therefore makes them forget their own selves, (2) points to the Second Step.
The verse, Whatever good happens to you is from God, but whatever evil befalls you is from yourself, (3) points to the Third Step.
The verse, Everything will perish save His countenance,(4) points to the Fourth Step.
A brief explanation of these Four Steps is as follows:
THE FIRST STEP
As the verse,
Therefore, do not justify yourselves
suggests, it is to not purify the soul. For on account of his nature and innate disposition, man loves himself. Indeed, he loves himself before anything else, and only himself. He sacrifices everything other than himself to his own soul. He praises himself in a manner befitting some object worthy of worship. He absolves and exonerates himself from faults in the same way. As far as he possibly can, he does not see faults as being appropriate for him, and does not accept them. He defends himself passionately as though worshipping himself. Even, using on himself the members and faculties given him as part of his nature in order to praise and glorify the True Object of Worship, he displays the meaning of the verse,
Who takes as his god his own desires.(5)
He considers himself, he relies on himself, he fancies himself. Thus, his purification and cleansing at this stage, in this step, is to not purify himself; it is not to absolve himself.
THE SECOND STEP
As the verse,
And be not like those who forget God, and He therefore makes them forget their own selves
teaches, man is oblivious of himself, and is not aware of himself. If he thinks of death, it is in relation to others. If he sees transience and decline, he does not attribute them to himself. His evil-commanding soul demands that when it comes to inconvenience and service of others, he forgets himself, but when it comes to receiving his recompense, and to benefits and enjoyment, he thinks of himself, and takes his own part fervently. His purification, cleansing, and training at this stage is the reverse of this state. That is to say, when oblivious of himself, it is not to be oblivious. That is, to forget himself when it comes to pleasure, and ambition and greed, and to think of himself when it comes to death and service of others.
THE THIRD STEP
As the verse,
Whatever good happens to you is from God, but whatever evil befalls you is from yourself
teaches, the nature of the evil-commanding soul demands that it always considers goodness to be from itself and it becomes vain and conceited. Thus, in this Step, a person sees only faults, defects, impotence, and poverty in himself, and understands that all his good qualities and perfections are bounties bestowed on him by the All-Glorious Creator. He gives thanks instead of being conceited, and offers praise instead of boasting. According to the meaning of the verse,
Truly he succeeds who purifies it,(6)
his purification at this stage is to know his perfection to lie in imperfection, his power in impotence, and his wealth in poverty.
THE FOURTH STEP
As the verse,
Everything will perish save His countenance
teaches, the evil-commanding soul considers itself to be free and independent and to exist of itself. Because of this, man claims to possess a sort of dominicality. He harbours a hostile rebelliousness towards his True Object of Worship. Thus, through understanding the following fact, he is saved from this. The fact is this:
According to the apparent meaning of things, which looks to each thing itself, everything is transitory, wanting, accidental, non-existent. But according to the meaning that signifies something other than itself and in respect of each thing being a mirror to the All-Glorious Maker’s Names and charged with various duties, each is a witness, it is witnessed, it gives existence, and it is existent. The purification and cleansing of a person at this stage is as follows:
In his existence he is non-existent, and in his non-existence he has existence. That is to say, if he values himself and attributes existence to himself, he is in a darkness of non-existence as great as the universe. That is, if he relies on his individual existence and is unmindful of the True Giver of Existence, he has an individual light of existence like that of a fire-fly and is submerged in an endless darkness of non-existence and separation. But if he gives up egotism and sees that he is a mirror of the manifestations of the True Giver of Existence, he gains all beings and an infinite existence. For he who finds the Necessary Existent One, the manifestation of Whose Names all beings manifest, finds everything.
Conclusion
The Four Steps in this way of impotence, poverty, compassion, and reflection have been explained in the twenty-six Words so far written,(7) which are concerned with knowledge of reality, the reality of the Shari'a, and the wisdom of the Qur’an. So here, we shall allude briefly to only one or two points, as follows:
Indeed, this path is shorter, because it consists of four steps. When impotence removes the hand from the soul, it gives it directly to the All-Powerful One of Glory. Whereas, when the way of ecstatic love, the swiftest way, takes the hand away from the soul, it attaches it to the metaphorical beloved. Only after the beloved is found to be impermanent does it go to the True Beloved.
Also, this path is much safer, because the ravings and high-flown claims of the soul are not present on it. For, apart from impotence, poverty, and defect, the soul possesses nothing so that it oversteps its mark.
Also, this path is much broader and more universal. For, in order to attain to a constant awareness of God’s presence, a person is not compelled to imagine the universe to be condemned to non-existence and to declare:"There is no existent but He," like those who believe in 'the Unity of Existence,’ nor to suppose the universe to be condemned to imprisonment in absolute oblivion and to say, “There is nothing witnessed but He," like those who believe in 'the Unity of Witnessing.' Rather, since the Qur’an has most explicitly pardoned the universe and released it from execution and imprisonment, one on this path disregards the above, and dismissing beings from working on their own account and employing them on account of the All-Glorious Creator, and in the duty of manifesting the Most Beautiful Names and being mirrors to them, he considers them from the point of view of signifying something other than themselves; and being saved from absolute heedlessness, he enters the Divine presence permanently; he finds a way leading to the Almighty God in everything.
I n S h o r t : Dismissing beings from working on account of other beings, this way is to not look at them as signifying themselves.