Translation
of the forty-sixth letter in the second volume of MAKTÛBÂT, by Imâm Rabbânî
Mujaddid-i-alf-i-thânî Ahmad Fârûqî Serhendî
'quddisa sirruh'. The letter, written to Mawlânâ Hamîd-i-Banghâlî, explains the
superiorities in the Kalima-t-tawhîd and emphasizes that being a Walî is
impossible without Islam:
"LÂ ILÂHA ILLÂ-ALLAH MUHAMMADUN RASÛLULLAH." This beautiful statement embodies
dhils (shades, shadows), haqîqa (truth, reality), and Islam. As long as the sâlik
(person at the stage of sulûk as he makes progress in a path of tasawwuf)
remains at the position of 'nefy', [which is the stage of LÂ (NO, NOT),] he is at the position
of a tâlib (traveller). By the time he is through with LÂ, so that he sees none but Allâhu
ta’âlâ, he is also through with his travel, having reached his destination,
i.e. the position termed 'Fanâ’. Next after the stage of 'nefy', he reaches the position of ‘ithbât, [i.e. the rank of 'haqîqa', or 'Baqâ',] which is attained when the person
making the progress is transferred from the stage termed 'sulûk' to the stage termed 'jadhba' by saying "IL-L-ALLAH." With this 'nefy' and ‘ithbât', [i.e. by saying, "LÂ ILÂHA
iLLALLAH."] and by way of this travel and haqîqa,
and by way of this 'fanâ' and 'baqâ' and 'sulûk' and 'jadhba', he attains to the rank named 'Wilâya', [i.e. being a 'Walî’]. The nafs (a malignant creature
in man's nature) becomes liberated from its dormant maleficence, wherein it is
called 'ammâra', and attains a state of docility
termed 'itmi'nân'; it becomes cleansed and purified.
Hence, wilâya is attainable by way of 'nefy' and ‘ithbât', which make up the initial half
of that beautiful statement. The second half of the statement is the
confirmation of the fact that the final Prophet 'alaihi wa 'alaihim-us-salawât'
is the Messenger of Allah. This second half makes up Islam and brings it to
perfection. Islam at the beginning of seyr (travel) and midway through it is
the outward appearance of Islam. It is no more than name and shape. Real Islam,
its essence, that is, is obtained after the attainment of wilâya. At this time,
those who perfectly follow in the footsteps of Prophets 'alaihim-us-salawât'
attain the 'kamâlât-i-nubuwwa' allotted for them. The travel
(seyr) and the haqîqa, which are the two component parts of wilâya, are, as it
were, two conditions to be fulfilled for the attainment of
Islam's inner essence (Haqîqat of Islam) and the Kamâlât-i-nubuwwa. Wilâyat is,
so to speak, the ablution for namâz, Islam being the namâz itself. In the
beginning (ibtidâ), real [visible,
material] dirts (najâsat) are, sort of, cleansed
away;
once haqîqa is obtained, hukmî [immaterial, invisible] dirts are gotten rid of.
Only after the attainment of this perfect cleanliness is a person capable of
performing the ahkâm-i-islâmiyya (commandments and prohibitions of Islam) in
the full sense, and only at this level of spiritual perfection can a person
adequately perform the namâz which is the acme of the avenues leading towards Allâhu
ta’âlâ. The namâz is the pillar of Islam and the Mi'râj of a Believer. And
therein lies the way of cultivating oneself so as to perform that namâz.
I see this second
half of that beautiful statement as an endless ocean. In comparison to this
half, the initial half looks like a drop of water. Yes; the kamâlât
(perfections) of wilâyat are a mere nothing when compared with the kamâlât of
Prophethood. [What can an atom's weight be in terms of the weight of the Sun?]
Subhân-Allah! Some people must be squint-eyed to see things awry, as they do,
in that they think more of wilâyat than they do of Prophethood and look on
Islam, which is the essence of all essentials, as a mere outer cover. How could
they see any better with that extrinsic stance of theirs, since what such
onlookers would view in the name of Islam would normally be the outer cover of
Islam! What is reflected on their shallow vision is the outer cover of
something which itself is the essence of what they see. Prophets' busying
themselves with creatures must have led them into thinking less of them. They
must have mistaken those prophetic occupations for the social interactions
among people. Their thinking better of wilâyat must be an optical illusion
aggrandized by the fact that wilâyat involves progress towards Allâhu ta’âlâ.
So, their saying that wilâyat is superior to nubuwwa (prophethood) is simply an
expression of their short-sighted syllogism. They do not know something: as
there is progress towards Allâhu ta’âlâ in wilâyat, likewise the improvements
accomplished in the kamâlât-i-nubuwwa have their specific progress towards Allâhu
ta’âlâ. In fact, the progress in wilâyat is only a vision, an appearance of the
progress in nubuwwa. During the nuzûl, [i.e. in the course of descent,] there
are phases of occupation with the khalq [creatures] both in wilâyat and in
nubuwwat. Yet the both types of occupation are unlike each other. In wilâyat
the 'Bâtin [the heart, the soul, and the other latîfas]' are with Allâhu ta’âlâ
as the 'Zâhir [the body and the sense organs]' are with creatures, whereas in
prophethood both the zâhir and the bâtin are busy with creatures during the
descent. A Prophet calls the born slaves to Allâhu ta’âlâ with all his
existence. This
kind of nuzûl (descent) is more thoroughgoing and more perfect than the descent
in wilâyat.
Those
great people's turning their attention (tawajjuh) to the creation, i.e. their
communications with people, is dissimilar to transactions among common people.
As common people transact among themselves, they are fond of and attached to
one another, which involves a fondness of and attachment to beings other than Allâhu
ta’âlâ. Those superior people, however, are not attached to common people as
they communicate with them. For, those superiors have freed themselves from all
sorts of attachments other than that to Allâhu ta’âlâ, having attached
themselves to the Khâliq (Creator) of the khalq (creation, creatures). Their
communication with the khalq is intended to attract them to Haqq (Allâhu ta’âlâ),
and to bring them round to the path Allâhu ta’âlâ likes and approves of. To
communicate with people for the purpose of delivering them from the shameful
state of being others' slaves, is certainly preferable to and more valuable
than communication carried on for the purpose of keeping oneself attached to
Haqq (Allâhu ta’âlâ). Imagine a person murmuring the Name of Allâhu ta’âlâ and
a blind man passing by him in the direction of a well quite close by. So urgent
is the situation that one more step and the blind man will end up down in the
well.
Now,
which choice will be more valuable for this person to make; to carry on with
his murmuring the Name of Allâhu ta’âlâ, or to stop doing so and save the blind
man from falling into the well? Doubtless, saving the blind man is better than
the dhikr-i-ilâhî. For, Allâhu ta’âlâ does not need him or his making dhikr.
The blind man, on the other hand, is a needy born slave. He has to be saved
from the danger. In fact, since it is Islam's commandment to save him, saving
him is more important than the dhikr-i-ilâhî. By doing so, he will have obeyed
the commandment. Only the right of Allâhu ta’âlâ is involved in making dhikr,
whereas two different rights will have been paid by obeying His command and
saving the blind man: one of them is the right of a creature, and the other one
is the right of the Creator. As a matter of fact, it would be a sinful act to
continue dhikring at such an urgency. For, dhikring may not always be good.
There are times when it is better not to dhikr. There are certain days and
situations during which it is forbidden to perform namâz or to fast; it is
better on those days or in those situations to omit the so-called acts of
worships than performing them.
[Enemies
of religion suppose that Muslims are egoistic, selfish
people. They
vilify Muslims by saying that they are concerned only about what they should do
to attain to the blessings of Paradise without ever thinking of doing favours
to others. The facts written above clearly show that those assertions on the
part of the enemies of Islam are lies and slanders.]
'Dhikring'
means 'liberating oneself from (the state of) ghafla'. ['Ghafla' means 'to
forget about Allâhu ta’âlâ'.] Dhikring does not mean only saying the
'Kalima-i-tawhîd' or continuously repeating the Name of 'Allah'. It is 'dhikr'
to somehow deliver yourself from the state of ghafla. Then, acts of worship
such as performance of Islam's commandments and avoiding its prohibitions, are
all dhikr. So is a business transaction such as buying and selling carried out
in observance of Islam's dictations. And so is a nikâh (marriage contract
performed compatibly with Islam) and a talâq (divorce, dissolution of marriage)
performed in a way prescribed by Islam. For, these acts are done in a state of
consciousness of the source of the commandments and prohibitions; in other
words, the state of ghafla is gone. It is also a fact, however, that a dhikr
performed in the accompaniment of a repeated (silent) utterance of the Names
and Attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ is fast to take effect, so that love of Him
will be attained in a short time. Not so is the case with the dhikr that is
realized by way of strict obedience to the commandments and prohibitions. There
have been occasions, however, when dhikrs of this nature were seen to produce
rapid results, quite rare as they are. Muhammad Behâ-ad-dîn Bukhârî, (718 [1318
AD.] -791 [1389], Qasr-i-'ârifân, Bukhârâ,) stated: "Mawlânâ Zeyn-ud-dîn
Taybâdî, (d. 791 [1388 AD.],) -So strictly obedient to Islam was this profound
scholar that owing to his close adherence to the Sunnat he attained to high
grades in bâtinî (spiritual) knowledge -'qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ sirrah-ul-'azîz'
attained to Allâhu ta’âlâ as a fruit of his adherence." Furthermore, the
dhikr performed by way of the Names and Attributes (of Allâhu ta’âlâ) causes
the dhikr by way of adapting oneself to Islam. For, unless one perfectly loves
the Owner of Islam it will be very difficult for one to observe Islam in
everything one does. And obtaining perfect love, in turn, requires the dhikr
performed by way of the Names and Attributes. Then, in order to attain the
dhikr by way of adapting oneself to Islam, one should first perform the dhikr
by way of the Names and Attributes. It is also true, however, that a special lûtf
(favour, grace) and ihsân (kindness, blessing) on the part of Jenâb-i-Haqq (Allâhu
ta’âlâ) comes gratis. Without any apparent reason, He may bestow anything He
likes
on anyone He
choses. As a matter of fact, He declares, as is purported in the thirteenth âyat-i-kerîma of Shûrâ sûra: "… Allâhu ta’âlâ chooses to Himself those whom He
pleases," (42:13)
[Mazhar-Jân-i-Jânân,
(1111 [1699 AD.], India -1195 [1781], martyred,) 'qaddas-Allâhu sirrah-ul-'azîz'
states as follows in the eleventh letter of his valuable book 'Maqâmât-i-Mazhariyya': "There are three
kinds of dhikr:
"1-Dhikring
only with the lips, without the heart partaking in the event. It is useless.
"2-Dhikring
only with the heart, without the tongue taking part. How to dhikr is described
in, the hundred and fortieth letter in the second volume of 'Maktûbât-i-Ma'thûmiyya'. [Please see the
fortieth chapter, the final four paragraphs of the forty-sixth chapter in the
first fascicle, of 'Endless Bliss', and
the nineteenth chapter in the third fascicle. This dhikr is called 'dhikr-i-khafî'. It is the dhikr of the Dhât-i-Ilâhî
(The Person of Allâhu ta’âlâ). Or, it might as well be done by thinking of His
Attributes. When one thinks of His blessings as well, one's dhikring becomes 'Tafakkur' (Meditation).
"3-Dhikring
both with the heart and with the tongue. If this dhikr is said loud enough only
for the person who says it to hear, it is called a 'dhikr-i-khafî'. It is this
dhikr-i-khafî that is commanded in the âyat-i-kerîma. If it is louder, so that
it can be heard by others as well, it is termed a 'dhikr-i-jehrî'. Âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs show that the dhikr-i-khafî is more
meritorious than the dhikr-i-jehrî. The dhikr-i-jehrî that Rasulullah 'sall-Allâhu
'alaihi wa sallam' taught Hadrat 'Alî was no louder than enough to be heard by
himself; it was a dhikr-i-khafî in its true sense. His having the door shut
shows that this was the case." The author of the book 'Tafsir-i-'Azizi’
(Abd-ul-'Azîz Dahlawî, 1159 [1745 AD.], Delhi -1239 [1824], Delhi,) 'rahmatullâhi
ta'âlâ 'alaih' states as follows in his explanation of the Dahr (Time) sûra,
(the seventy-. sixth sura, which is also named the Insan [Man] sura):
"Dhikring is intended to expell all sorts of love and fondness except love
of Allah from the heart. It is an experiential reality that dhikring is the
most potent medication for the elimination of the heart's attachment to
creatures. A hadîth-i-sherîf reads as follows: "By dhikring join the way of those who deliver their
hearts from their burden!" To this end they (Islamic superiors)
said, 'In order to attain to Allâhu ta’âlâ and to His love and grace, we should
cut the lines attaching our hearts to creatures and eliminate their keenness on
worldly pleasures. No other medication is more useful
than
dhikring in the liberation of the heart.' " [Two kinds of simâ' and raqs
are widely known among men of Tasawwuf. The first kind happens during the
manifestation of the Attributes of Jemâl and Jelâl, which follows the fanâ of the heart and the nafs. Mind and
nafs do not perform a function in this kind. Examples of this kind are the
dhikr, simâ', and raqs supervised by superiors such as Celaleddin (Jelâl-ad-dîn)
Rûmî, (604 [1207 AD.], Belkh -672 [1273], Konya,) and Sünbül (Sunbul) Sinan
Efendi, (d. 936 [1529 A.D.], istanbul.) Shâh-i-Naqshiband Bahâ-ad-dîn Bukhârî
'rahmatullâhi 'alaih', stated as follows (when he talked about this first kind:
"We do not reject it." And about the second kind, which consisted in
fits of frenzy, as some ignorant and unconscious dervishes yelled and jumped,
and which were no more than acrid illustrations of the shortage of mental range
they have been suffering from and their helplessness in the talons of an
unbridled nafs, he stated as follows: "We would not do as they do."]
(Some hundred and forty
pages, pages from 1059 through 1198, of the Turkish book entitled Se'âdet-i
Ebediyye and written by the Islamic scholar and beloved Waliyyullah Hüseyn
Hilmi bin Sa'îd Iþýk 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaih', has been allotted to
biographies. The following sample is an abridged and summarized information
from the hundred and ninety-fourth article, which is a short biography of Mawlânâ
(Mevlânâ) Jelâl-ad-deen Rûmî:
[It is stated as follows
on the hundred and seventh page of 'Mekâtib-i-sherîfa: "Mawlânâ Jelâl-ad-dîn
Rûmî was among the greater ones of the Awliyâ of the Ahl as-Sunna
Muslims." He was in the Qâdirî Tarîqa. His father, Sultân ul-'Ulamâ
Muhammad Bahâ-ad-dîn Veled, was a great scholar and Walî. Hadrat Rûmî was only
a child when he attained the fayz in his father's heart. He did not play
musical instruments such as reeds or drums, nor was he ever seen to whirl. Such
absurdities were invented later in the name of Tarîqa by ignorant people.])
An âyat-i-kerîma in Ra'd sûra purports: "… It should be known without doubt that in the dhikr of
Allâhu ta’âlâ do hearts find satisfaction." (13:28). Itmi'nân
means satisfaction, calmness, ease? When the word 'dhikr' with a harf-i-jer
(preposition) is said before the verb, it expresses hasr (restriction to one
purpose). So, it was stated (by scholars) that "in only the dhikr (of Allâhu
ta’âlâ) do hearts find satisfaction." Dhikr means remembrance. Remembrance
of Allâhu ta’âlâ is possible by saying His Name or by seeing a Walî, a born
slave of His whom He loves very much. As a matter of fact, a hadîth-i-sherîf reads as follows: "When they
are seen Allâhu ta’âlâ is remembered." Other
thoughts may occupy your mind as you hear or say His Name, and remembrance of
Him becomes dubious. Remembering Him continuously requires saying His Name
thousands of times daily. As the good news (in the hadîth-i-sherîf
quoted above) asseverates, when you see a Walî and love him, you will
definitely remember Allâhu ta’âlâ. As the event of seeing is realized with the
nûr (light) of eyes, when you bring the outward appearance and the face of a
Walî into your imagination and heart, it will be in effect as if you actually
saw that Walî, which in turn will cause your remembering Allâhu ta’âlâ. This
kind of seeing a Walî through heart is called 'râbita';
it is a means to have recourse to, to deliver the heart from loving or thinking
of beings other than Allâhu ta’âlâ; it is a way that leads to the attainment of
a heart blessed with the ikhlâs imparted in the âyat-i-kerîma
and the hadith-i-sherif quoted above. Yes, to
adhere to Islam, i.e. to perform the commandments and to avoid the
prohibitions, will provide one with the grace and love of Allâhu ta’âlâ; but it
is a condition that this obedience should be accompained by ikhlâs. Then, we
should both adapt ourselves to Islam and obtain ikhlâs.]
Let
us return to the point we have been discussing! There is one more thing that is
beyond the three entities we have so far been dealing with, i.e. Tarîqa, Haqîqa,
and Islam, and when compared with the value of which that of those three
entities is a mere nothing. The spiritual state experienced when the sâlik
says, "... il-l-Allah," at the position of haqîqa, is the appearance,
[the vision,] of it, (i.e. haqîqa,) and yet it is the haqîqa, the origin of the
other visions experienced enroute to that rank. By the same token, every Muslim
possesses Islam's vision in the beginning. After the attainment of Tarîqa and Haqîqa,
the Haqîqa of that vision is attained. This subject should be given sobering
thought: a sort of haqîqa (reality, truth, essence, origin) whose vision
[appearance] is haqîqa and whose beginning is wilâya. How could that haqîqa
ever be defined through words? Even if it were possible to define it, who could
ever understand it, and what little of it could they understand? This haqîqa is
so superb a rarity that very few, nay, very very few of the inheritors of those
Prophets called Ulûl’azm, [the six highest ones of Prophets with
dispensations,] have been gifted with it. Since there are few Prophets singled
out with the attribute Ulûl'azm, then a fortiori there are even fewer people to
inherit from them.
QUESTION: The
explanations made above lead to the
conclusion that an
'ârif who has attained to that haqîqa has gone out of Islam. For, he has
attained to a rank above Islam.
ANSWER:
The ahkâm-i-islâmiyya (Islam's commandments and prohibitions) consist of acts
of worship to be performed by the zâhir, [i.e. by the discernible limbs]. On
the other hand, the haqîqa falls to the lot of the bâtin, [i.e. heart and
soul.] The zâhir has been enjoined to always obey the ahkâm-i-islâmiyya (by
doing the commandments and avoiding the prohibitions). In the meantime the bâtin
is busy with the deeds of that haqîqa. 'Amals, acts of worship are necessary in
this world. These acts of worship are very helpful to the bâtin. In other
words, the bâtin's improvement and progress are dependent on the zâhir's
obedience to the ahkâm-i-islâmiyya. Then, in this world both the zâhir and the
bâtin need the ahkâm-i-islâmiyya. The zâhir's business is to adapt itself to
Islam, and the bâtin's business is to collect the fruits, the benefits of
Islam. Islam is the source of all sorts of perfection, the basis of all
ennoblements. Islam's fruitfulness, beneficence, is not confined to this world.
The perfections and blessings awaiting in the Hereafter are all products and
fruits of Islam. As is seen, Islam is such a 'Shajara-i-tayyiba' [blessed tree]
that all creation benefits from its fruits both in this world and in the
Hereafter.
QUESTION: That means to say that in the kamâlât-i-nubuwwa
(perfections of prophethood) also, the bâtin is with Haqq (Allâhu ta’âlâ) and
the zâhir is with the khalk (creation, creatures). In other letters (written by
Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî), however, it is stated that both the zâhir and the bâtin
are with the khalk, whereby to invite people (to Islam). How can these two
statements be reconciled?
ANSWER:
What we call the kamâlât-i-nubuwwa are a series of kamâlât (perfections)
attained to during the stages of urûj (ascent, promotion, improvement). The
rank of prophethood, in contrast, involves a process of nuzûl (descent). During
the ascent the bâtin is with Haqq (Allâhu ta’âlâ). The zâhir, in the meantime,
is with the khalq, paying the rights of the khalq in a way compatible with
Islam. During the nuzûl both the zâhir and the bâtin are with the khalq, and
thereby the Prophet employs both his zâhir and his bâtin in his mission to call
the creatures to Allâhu ta’âlâ.
Then,
inconsistency between the two statements is not the case. To be with the khalk,
(in this sense,) means to be with Haqq. The hundred and fifteenth âyat-i-kerîma
of Baqara sûra purports: "… Withersoever ye
turn, there is the presence of Allâhu ta’âlâ, (and there will ye find Him,)..." However, this should not be
construed as,
"creatures will be Allah," or as, "creatures are mirrors that
reflect Allâhu ta’âlâ." How could it ever be possible for the mumkin, (i.e.
for something whose existence is dependent) to be the Wâjib (Allâhu ta’âlâ,
whose existence is independent and indispensable)? How could a creature ever be
the Creator? How can it be a mirror to reflect Him? (On the contrary,) it might
make sense to say that the Wâjib is a mirror to reflect the (vision of the)
mumkin. Yes. During the nuzûl [descent back], the existence can be a mirror for
the visions of the Divine Attributes. For, attributes such as hearing, sight.
and power that are seen on creatures are the visions of the attributes of
hearing, seeing and power, which are themselves mirrors reflecting the
creatures. They are the attributes of the mirror that manifest themselves on
visible creatures. And the visions seen on the mirror are themselves the
mirrors of the attributes and works of the mirror. For instance, if the mirror
is long the visions also will look long, and they will be mirrors showing the
length of the mirror. If the mirror is small each of the visions will be, so to
speak, a mirror showing the smallness of the mirror.
During
the urûj, or the ascent, it is felt as if things were being seen in the mirror
of Allâhu ta’âlâ. It is like visions seen in the mirror giving the impression
as if they were the things themselves in there. In actual fact, however, the
visions of things do not exist in the mirror. Likewise, the creatures are not
in the mirror of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Nothing exists in the mirror. Visions are not
in the mirror; they are in our imagination. There are no visions in the mirror.
Nor can there be a mirror in the place where visions exist. Visions are in our
fancy and imagination. If they have a place. it is on the level of fancy; if
they have time, it is on the level of imagination. However, because this
incorporeal vision of the creatures exists with the power of Allâhu ta’âlâ, it
is•permanent. It is these visions that will taste the eternal torments or
blessings of the Hereafter.
In
the world's mirrors, visions are first to come into sight. Seeing the mirror
itself requires a specially focused attention. In the mirror of Allâhu ta’âlâ,
however, what is seen first is the mirror itself. Seeing the creatures requires
special concentration. When the Walî starts to make rujû' (withdrawal,
retreat). the creatures' visions in the mirrors of Divine Attributes start to
manifest themselves. When rujû' and nuzûl (descent) comes to an end and the
state of 'seyr der eshyâ', i.e. progress in things, assumes its motion, the
shuhûd-i-ilâhî is gone, so that it gets into a state of ghayb; the îmân-i-shuhûdî
changes into îmân-i-ghaybî. When the
Walî passes away
after the completion of his invitatory mission, the state of shuhûd returns.
Yet this state of shuhûd is more closegrained and more immaculate than the shuhûd
experienced before the state of rujû'; it is a perfect state of shuhûd. The shuhûd
in the Hereafter is more impressive than the shuhûd in the world.
In
conclusion, visions seen in a mirror are not in the mirror. Their existence is
only a fancy, which can be said to have been enveloped, covered by the mirror,
so that we say that the mirror is with them. However, this state of qurb
(affinity, closeness), encompassion and togetherness is unlike the state of
affinity, encompassion, and togetherness between objects or between an object
and its properties, [such as its colour, etc.] Human brain cannot reason on or
comprehend the nature of affinity, encompassion and togetherness between
visions and a mirror (wherein they are seen). It is for certain that the
visions are close to the mirror, that they are with it, that they are enveloped
by it. But its nature cannot be defined or described. So is the case with the
nature of closeness, encompassion and togetherness between Allâhu ta’âlâ and
the creatures. We believe that these states do exist. But we cannot know what
sorts of things these states are. For, these Attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ are
quite dissimilar to the attributes of creatures; there is, in actual fact, no
resemblance between them and the properties of objects. This universe is a mere
visionary sample of reality; so our mention of visions and the mirror in an
attempt to exemplify the relations between attributes has been intended for
people of wisdom to realize this fact from that example. A stanza:
Make namâz for the sake of Allah five
times a day,
Waste no time, winter or summer, be it as it may!
If you wish to be close to Haqq,
Perform the sunnat and fard, for it's the only way!