This letter, written to Shaikh Dervish, discloses that we were commanded to worship so that we might attain positive, mutlaq îmân:
May Allâhu ta’âlâ, for the sake of the Highest of His prophets ‘salawâtullâhi ’alaihim’, make us, who are good for nothing, know real îmân! Men were created to perform the worships commanded. Performing the commands is done to obtain yaqîn (positive îmân), which is the truth of îmân. The meaning of the last âyat of Hijr Sûra may be: “Worship your Allah so that you may obtain yaqîn.” The word ‘hattâ’ may come to mean, ‘to cause’ as well as ‘until, so far.’ In a way, the îmân which is obtained before worshipping is not îmân itself but its shape. It is declared in an âyat, “for obtaining yaqîn”, that is, “so that you may obtain îmân itself.” It is declared in the one hundred and thirty-sixth âyat of Nisâ Sûra: “O, thou who have îmân! Have îmân!” Its meaning is “O those who have obtained the shape of îmân! Attain îmân itself by worshipping!”
Wilâyat, that is, being Awliyâ, means to reach the two grades called fanâ and baqâ. Reaching fanâ and baqâ is intended to obtain this yaqîn. But it is ilhâd and zindiqness (going out of the dîn) to believe such things as uniting with Allâhu ta’âlâ or
entering Him by saying fanâfillah and baqâbillah.
[It is written in the third volume of Ibni Âbidin: Those who claim to be Muslims though they are not Muslims but disbelievers, are called munâfiq, zindiq, dahrî and mulhid. Among them there are also those who sometimes perform namâz, fast and even perform hajj. A munâfiq is in another religion. He does not admit that Hadrat Muhammad is a Prophet. A dahrî does not even admit that Allâhu ta’âlâ exists; he denies Him. A mulhîd says that he believes both of them, but he has slipped down into disbelief and dissented from the Sharî’at. His belief is corrupt. He views himself as a good Muslim. He calls those who are not like him kâfirûn (disbelievers). A zindiq does not believe in Allâhu ta’âlâ, the Sharî’at, the harâms and halâls. He does not have any faith. He says that he believes Hadrat Muhammad ‘alaihi ’s-salâm’. Of such people, those who introduce their profane ideas as Islam are very dangerous. A murtad is a person who has renegaded from Islam. He does not conceal the fact that he is a kâfir. Communists and Masons belong to the Dahrî group.]
Yes, when making progress on the way of tasawwuf some excitement like intoxication occurs because of the excessive love towards Allâhu ta’âlâ. At such moments some information is misunderstood. Such excitement should be passed, jumped over. It is necessary to repent, to beg Allâhu ta’âlâ’s pardon for such understandings. Ibrâhim bin Shaybân-i Qazwînî ‘qaddasallâhu ta’âlâ arwâhahum’, one of the great men of tasawwuf, says, “An understanding of fanâ and baqâ exists in those who have a true belief in the fact that Allâhu ta’âlâ is One and who do their worships correctly. Whatever others say about fanâ and baqâ is a lie and zindiqness.” This word of his is exactly right and shows that he is in the right way.
Fanâ-fillah means to become fânî in the things which Allâhu ta’âlâ likes. That is, it means to love only His lovers, to make His lovers one’s own love. This is the meaning of words such as Sayr-i ilallah and Sayr-i fillah. Mayân Shaikhullah Bakhsh is a person embellished with salâh, taqwâ, and other virtues. The people with him are numerous. If he asks for your help, it will be kind of you to befriend him. Salâms to you and to those who are on the right way!