This letter, written to Mîr Muhammad
Nu’mân ’qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ sirrah ul-’azîz’, informs that the troubles and
pains coming from the Beloved are, to the lover, sweeter than His blessings and
sweets.
Hamd[1] be to
Allâhu ta’âlâ and salâm to those people beloved and chosen by Him! My dear
sayyid brother! Listen with attention! I have heard that our good-willed
brothers have had recourse to all kinds of remedies so that we might rid
ourselves of our grief and that none has availed. The hadîth-i
sherîf, “There
is khayr, goodness in what Allâhu ta’âlâ creates and sends,” is
well-known. Being human, for some time we sorrowed over the events that had
befallen us; we felt annoyed. But after a few days, with the favour of Allâhu
ta’âlâ, the sorrows and grievances disappeared, not a bit of them being left.
They left their places to joy and relief; for, those who have been disturbing
us have been wishing and doing what Allâhu ta’âlâ wills. Hence, it has been
realized that it would be useless to feel sorry or grieved and that a person
who claims to love Allâhu ta’âlâ must not feel so. For, the afflictions which
the Will of the Beloved sends upon the lover must be, like the favours coming
from Him, endearing and sweet to the lover. As the Beloved’s favours come
sweet, so should His hurting. In fact, one must find more pleasure in the
bitterness than in the sweetness coming from Him. For, pains and distresses do
not please the nafs[2] . The
nafs does not like such things. When Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is beautiful in every
respect and beautiful from every aspect, wills to hurt this slave of His, His
Will must, certainly, come sweet to the slave. As a matter of fact, he must take
delight in it. Because the wills and wishes of those who have been disturbing
us concur with Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Will, because their will indicates the Will of
the Beloved, what they will and do also is certainly beautiful and sweet. A
person’s work representing the Beloved’s Work is, like the Beloved’s Work,
endearing and sweet to the lover. Therefore, that person also becomes beloved
for the lover. Amazing to say, the greater the pain and torture that person
inflicts on the lover, the sweeter they come to the lover. For, the tortures
inflicted by him show that the Beloved is like an
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[1] Praise and gratitude.
[2] A malignant being inherent in man’s nature. All its desires are against the commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
enemy.
The doings of those who have gone out of their minds in this way are beyond
mind’s grasp. In summary, to retort upon that person, or to loathe him, is
repugnant with loving the Beloved. For, that person is like a mirror reflecting
the Beloved’s Deeds. Those who disturb and hurt us seem more lovable than
others. Tell our brothers and friends! They must not be sorry or worried about
us. They must not loathe those who hurt us. And they must not hurt them! (On
the contrary), it will be quite right if they are happy about what those people
have been doing. Yes, we have been commanded to pray. Allâhu ta’âlâ likes those
who pray, who hang their heads before Him, who beg and invoke Him. Such
behaviour pleases Him. Pray for the dispelling of the pestilence and trouble!
Beg for forgiveness and good health!
I have said that that person’s hurting us presents the Beloved as an
enemy. It is the case, because the Beloved’s enmity is for enemies; His enmity
towards His friends is only in appearance; and this indicates His mercy and
pitying. Such outward acts of enmity of His are of so many benefits to the
lover that they could not be tallied. Furthermore, His displaying such behaviour,
which seems like enmity to His friends, destroys those who do not believe these
facts and brings ruination to them. Muhyiddîn-i Arabî ‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ
sirrah ul-’azîz’ says, “The Ârif[1] does
not have an intention or purpose,” which means, “A person who knows Allâhu
ta’âlâ does not have recourse to anything for getting relief from a nuisance.”
The meaning of this statement must be learned well. For, he (the Ârif) knows
that distresses and calamities come from the Beloved, that they are His will.
Now, does he want to part with something sent by the Beloved and yearn for its
deserting him? Yes, he prays and entreats for it to go away; but this he does
to obey the command that he must pray. Actually, he does not wish it to go away
at all. Everything coming from Him pleases him and comes sweet to him. May
Allâhu ta’âlâ give salvation to the adherents of the right way! Âmîn.
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[1] Profound scholar and Walî who Allâhu ta’âlâ has blessed with knowing Him.
A’ûdhu
billah-imin-esh-shaytân-ir-rajîm
Bi-s-mi-llâh-ir-Rahmân-ir-Rahîm
Resûlullah
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated: “When fasâd (mischief, instigation,
disunion, tumult) runs rife among my Ummat (Muslims), a person who abides by my
Sunnat will acquire blessings equal to the amount deserved by a hundred
martyrs.” Scholars affiliated with any one of the four Madhhabs, (which are,
namely, Hanafî, Mâlikî, Shâfi’î and Hanbalî,) are called Scholars of Ahl
as-Sunna. The leader of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunna is al-Imâm al-a’zam Abû
Hanîfa. These scholars recorded what they had heard from the Sahâba-i-kirâm,
who, in their turn, had told them what they had heard from the Messenger of
Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’.
The
earth is populated by three groups of people today:
1–
Disbelievers. These people say that they are not Muslims. Jews and Christians
are in this group.
2–
The Sunnî Muslims. These people exist with an ever-increasing population in
every country.
3–
(Hypocrites called) Munâfiqs. They say that they are Muslims. With respect to
îmân and some acts of worship, they are not comparable to the Ahl as-Sunnat.
They are not true Muslims.
1 - Our Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam' stated: "A person whom Allâhu ta'âlâ loves very much is one who learns his religion and teaches it to others. Learn your religion from the mouths of Islamic scholars!"
A person who cannot find a true scholar must learn by reading books written by the scholars of Ahl as-sunna, and try hard to spread these books. A Müslim who has 'ilm (knowledge), 'amal (practising what one knows; obeying Islam's commandments and prohibitions), and ikhlâs (doing everything only to please Allâhu ta'âlâ) is called an Islamic scholar. A person who represents himself as an Islamic scholar though he lacks any one of these qualifications is called an 'evil religious scholar', or an 'impostor'. The Islamic scholar will guide you to causes which in turn will open the gates to happiness; he is the protector of faith. The impostor will mislead you into such causes as will make you end up in perdition; he is the Satan's accomplice.[1] (There is a certain) prayer (called) Istighfâr (which), whenever you say, (recite or read) it, will make you attain causes which will shield you against afflictions and troubles.
2 - The Nejât-ul-musallî was written in Turkish in the year 1217 (A.H.) by Ahmed Şevki Efendi, and was printed in İstanbul in 1305. İt consists of a hundred and ninety-seven (197) pages. İt is stated as follows on its final page: Ibni Jezerî, (751 [1350 A.D.], Damascus - 833 [1429], Shîrâz,) states as follows in his book Hisn ul-hasîn: A hadîth-i-sherîf reads as follows: "If an invalid person says Lâ ilâha illâ anta subhânaka innî kuntu min-az-zâlimîn,' forty times, he will die as a martyr (if his predetermined life-span is over). If he recovers, all his sins will be pardoned." This prayer is the eighty-seventh âyat-i- kerîma of Anbiyâ sûra. Please see the final parts of the thirteenth and the fifteenth chapters of the current book!
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[1] Knowledge that is acquired not for the purpose of practising it with ikhlâs, will not be beneficial. Please see the 366th and 367th pages of the first volume of Hadîqa, and also the 36th and the 40th and the 59th letters in the first volume of Maktûbât. (The English versions of these letters exist in the 16th and the 25th and the 28th chapters, respectively, of the second fascicle of Endless Bliss).