The hundred and tenth letter of the second volume, which Muhammad Ma’thûm ‘rahmatullâhi aleyh’ wrote to one of his disciples, translates (into English) as follows: You should avoid talking with a person holding a heretical belief and keeping an aberrant conduct in his religious practices and should beware the company of holders of bid’at. Yahyâ bin Mu’âdh Râdî passed away in 258 [A.D. 872]. He warns: “Do not go into sohbat with three categories of people: Those scholars who are unaware; those hâfizes who think of worldly advantages; those shaikhs who are unlearned in Islam.” If the words, actions and behaviours of a person passing as a shaikh do not conform with the Sharî’at, keep as far away from him as you can! In fact, flee from the town or village wherein
he lives! He is a covert, sly thief. He will steal your faith and belief. He will lure you into the enemy’s trap. Even if he displays wonders and miracles and seems to be indifferent towards worldly concerns, beware from him with the same fright as you would run away from a lion. Junayd-i-Baghdâdî, one of the masters of the spiritual paths called Tasawwuf, passed away in 298 [A.D. 910]. He states, “There are many people who claim to be men of Tasawwuf. The true ones among them are only those who adapt themselves to (the way guided by) the Messenger of Allah.” He said on another occasion, “If a person does not obey the Qur’ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs, do not look upon him as a man of Allah!” He stated at another time, “The way that will guide a person to love and approval of Allah is the way followed by those who
adhered to the Book (Qur’ân al-kerîm) and the Sunnat (the way taught by Rasûlullah).” If a person’s words, deeds and moral conduct do not conform with those of the Messenger of Allah, [if he has not adapted his family, e.g. his daughters, to a life-style agreeable with these teachings], do not consider him as a man of Allah. Jews, Christians and Indian priests called Brahmins also use a very elegant language and apparently keep away from vices. You should not yield to the charms of their diction and appearance. Every statement, every behaviour which is counter to the Sharî’at is harmful. Tasawwuf means to endeavour to adapt yourself to the Sharî’at. The sole criterion whereby to distinguish the true and the false ones is whether the people concerned are following the Messenger
of Allah. The zuhd, the tawakkul, the sweet language, if they are not in conformity with his teachings, are all for naught. Dhikrs, fikrs (meditations, thoughts), zawks and karâmats that do not fit the Sharî’at are quite useless. [Abdullah-i-Dahlawî ‘quddisa sirruh’ passed away in Delhi in 1240 [A.D. 1824]. He states in his twelfth letter, “If a person who has joined (one of the orders of) Tarîqat does not carry out the duties assigned to him, he will have left the Tarîqat.”] Karâmats (wonders) occur also on people who subject themselves to hunger and other mortifications. This does not show that they are Awliyâ. Abdullah ibni Mubârak passed away in 181 [A.D. 797]. He states, “A person who fails to observe the âdâb of the Sharî’at will be deprived of following
Rasûlullah’s sunnats. A person who is slack in following the sunnats will in turn be deprived of observing the fards. And he who is remiss in observing the fards and harâms cannot be a Walî.” It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Insistence on (committing) harâms will produce disbelief.” Abû Sa’îd-i-Abu-l-khayr passed away in 440 H. When they said to him, “So and so is walking on the surface of water,” he answered, “It is not something significant. Chips and straws float on water, too.” When they said, “So and so is flying,” he replied, “So do crows and flies.” And when they said, “So and so is travelling through various cities in an instant,” this time his answer was: “The devil also does so. These things do no signify virtue. A man of dignity will go shopping like an average person, get married and have children. Yet he will not forget his Allah even for an instant.” Abû Alî Ahmad Rodbârî, a great Walî, passed away in Egypt in 321. They said to him, “So and so listens to musical instruments and asserts that listening to musical instruments and voices of songstresses will not harm
him because he has reached a high grade in Tasawwuf.” He said, “Yes. He has reached Hell.” Abû Suleymân Abd-ur-Rahmân Dârânî passed away in Damascus in 205 H. He stated, “Many things, which I consider to be good, come to my heart. I do not attach any importance to them unless I assess them with the criteria of the Sharî’at.”
[Imâm-i-Rabbânî ‘quddisa sirruh’ states as follows in the eighty-second letter of the second volume: “Do not hold fast to the world’s sequinned pleasures, and do not fall for its easily exhaustible beauties! Do your best so that all your words and
deeds be agreeable with the Sharî’at! First, align your belief with the tenets taught in the books written by the scholars of Ahl as-sunna! Then be sure that all your behaviours and acts of worship be in congruity with the teachings in the books of Fiqh written by those scholars! It is very important to observe the halâls and harâms. Supererogatory worships are of no value when compared with those worships that are fard. The thawâb for giving one lira in the name of zakât, (which is fard), is very much more than the thawâb for giving hundreds of thousands of liras as alms, which is supererogatory. To be secure against worldly harms and to attain the infinite blessings of the Hereafter, there is no other way than [becoming a Muslim. That is,] first having îmân and then obeying the Sharî’at.” Islam is to have îmân with the heart and to obey the Sharî’at with the body. Commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ are called Fard.
His prohibitions are called Harâm. Collectively, they are termed Sharî’at. Male or female, it is fard for every Muslim to learn immediately the six tenets of belief and those teachings of the Sharî’at which are so widespread and commonly known that they have become parts of one’s daily chores, such as performing namâz and reciting the sûra Fâtiha in namâz, and to lead a life in harmony with these teachings. And it is fard for parents to teach them to their children. If a young Muslim who has reached the age of marriage or a new Muslim slights the fact that one should learn and adapt oneself to these things, he becomes a disbeliever. He is called a
Murtad (renegade, apostate). A murtad is worse than a disbeliever who has not become a Muslim yet. The source of the teachings of the Sharî’at is the Qur’ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs. Every utterance of Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ is termed a Hadîth-i-sherîf. The Qur’ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs are in Arabic. Only Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ understood the meanings purported in the Qur’ân al-kerîm, and he explained all these meanings to his Sahâba. Islamic scholars learned these meanings from the Sahâba and wrote them in books. These books are called books of Tafsîr. And these honourable scholars are called the scholars of Ahl as-sunna(t). Those highest of the scholars of Ahl as-sunna compiled the teachings of the Sharî’at existing in the books of tafsîr and wrote them in other books, which have been termed books of Fiqh. Afterwards, some religiously ignorant people and enemies of
Islam appeared, and these people wrote books of tafsîr and fiqh, which were no more than a product of their mentalities and reflected only the scientific teachings of their time and which, subsequently, misguided the younger generation. Those who were misguided are called holders of Bid’at, if they did not lose their îmân. Those who lost their îmân are called Murtad. A person who reads these heretical books will learn not the Islamic religion, but the ideas and opinions of their authors. These books are destroying Islam from within and annihilating the true Muslims called Ahl as-sunnat. Jews and the British are the leaders of this enmity against the religion. Those who were misled by books of Jewish origin are called Shi’î (Shiite). Those who were misled by British spies are called Wahhâbî. How the British established the Wahhâbî sect is related in our book Confessions of A British Spy, and how the British founded the Wahhâbî Saudi government is detailed in the encyclopedic dictionary Munjid, within the entry ‘Lawrence’. Shiites and Wahhâbîs, in order to fix the heretical writings in their books in the name of truth into young minds, intersperse âyats, hadîths, and statements made by the Sahâba and the Salaf as-sâlihîn among them. Misinterpreting these additions as it suits their purpose, they attempt to prove that their books are correct. They confuse young people. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish their books from books of the Ahl as-sunnat. However, a person who has learned their wrong creed will recognize it in any one of their books and realize that the book means mischief, thus saving himself from falling into their trap.
Allâhu ta’âlâ created everything in a certain order and harmony. He declared in the Qur’ân al-kerîm that everything is in an order and well calculated. Today we give this order names such as laws of physics, chemistry, biology and astronomy. He maintains this order by creating everything through a law of causation. As He has made substances causes for one another’s creation, likewise He has made man’s will and power a cause. Sometimes He creates without any causes extraordinarily, that is, in a manner contrary to His law of causation. His creating without a cause as a result of a Prophet’s invocation is called Mu’jiza.
His creating without a cause as an acceptance of the invocations offered by (those people who are called) Awliyâ (and) who have purified their hearts and nafses by obeying the
Sharî’at, is called Karâmat. The devil cannot delude these people. His creating without a cause the wishes of those sinners and disbelievers who have subjected themselves to hunger and various other mortifications and thus subdued their nafs into a state wherein it cannot deceive their heart any more, is called Istidrâj or Sihr (magic). If a person performing extraordinary events without causes, e.g. informing about the places of lost property or about future events or communing with genies, is at the same time a person who leads a life of obedience to the Sharî’at, it will be concluded that he is a Walî. If otherwise, it will be understood that he is a disbeliever and that he has purified and polished his nafs. His heart has not been purged from love of creatures and his nafs has not desisted from its enmity against Allâhu ta’âlâ. The devil never leaves such people alone.
A Muslim who has a wish to attain, applies Allâhu ta’âlâ’s law of causation. He follows the procedure that will cause the creation of his wish. For instance, a person who wants to earn money goes into a business such as arts and trade. He who is hungry eats something. He who becomes ill runs to a doctor and takes medicine. He who wants to learn his religion reads books written by scholars of Ahl as-sunna. Using a medicine prescribed by an uneducated person may bring about death instead of restoring health. By the same token, if a person reads a heretical and fallacious book written by a non-Sunnite, miscreant and lâ-madhhabî person, his îmân will become blurred. Allâhu ta’âlâ has preordained that saying prayers should be a means for attaining one’s worldly
needs as well as one’s wishes pertaining to the Hereafter. Yet the acceptability of a prayer requires one’s being a Sunnite and devoted Muslim, that is, endeavouring to attain Allâhu ta’âlâ’s love. And this, in its turn, depends on not earning one’s living by working on a way that is harâm or by infringing others’ rights, and on invoking Allâhu ta’âlâ alone. A person who cannot fulfil these conditions asks a person who fulfils them, i.e. a Walî, to invoke a blessing on him. The Awliyâ will hear after death, too. They will ask a blessing on those people who visit their graves and beg them.
Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’ stated, “When you get confused in your problems, ask people in graves to help you!” Shaikh-ul-islâm Ahmed ibni Kemâl explains this hadîth-i-sherîf in his book Hadîs-i erba’în tercemesi. It is also explained in
detail in the books Al-tawassul-u-bi-n-Nabî wa bi-s-Sâlihîn (in Arabic), Radd-i-Wahhâbî (in Persian), and Kýyâmet ve Âhiret (in Turkish). Abdullah-i-Dahlawî’s eighth and twenty-eighth and thirty-fifth letters are powerful documents in this respect. He writes the following distich in his thirty-third letter:
Allah has given the Awliyâ so much puissance:
Be it a fired bullet, they’ll send back a nuisance.
Wahhâbîs, who have been misled by British spies, deny this fact. Books published by Hakîkat Kitâbevi refute Wahhâbîs.]
It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “Holders of bid’at will become dogs for the people of Hell.” [In other words, they will be made into dogs and flung into Hell]. It was stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, “The devil will tempt holders of bid’at to do acts of worship. As they worhip they will weep (from fear of Allah).” In another hadîth-i-sherîf: “Allâhu ta’âlâ will not accept the namâz, the fast, the alms, the hajj or ’umra, the jihâd or any other sort of fard or supererogatory worship performed by holders of bid’at. They go out of Islam like a hair picked out of butter fat.”
If you commit a sin, you should immediately make tawba [with your heart] and say istighfâr [with your tongue]. The tawba must be performed secretly for a sin committed secretly, and publicly for a sin committed publicly. You should not delay the tawba. When a person commits a sin, the angels do not record it for three hours. If he makes tawba within this period, the sin will not be recorded at all. If he does not make tawba, one sin will be recorded. It is a graver sin to postpone the tawba. The tawba is acceptable until one dies. You should make a habit of taqwâ [avoiding the harâms] and wara’ [avoiding the doubtful acts]. Avoiding a prohibition is more important than doing a commandment. For it is more progressive and more beneficial in this way, [that is,
in purifying the heart and subduing the nafs], to avoid the prohibitions than to do the commandments. Good deeds can be performed by sinful people as well as by good ones. Yet it takes being a siddîq and having a strong îmân to avoid the prohibitions. Ma’rûf-i-Kerhî was Sirrî-i-Seqatî’s master. He passed away in Baghdâd in 200 H. He used to say, “Do not look at women or girls, or even at a female sheep.” It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “On the Rising Day, people of wara’ and zuhd
will be ahead of all those people blessed with Allâhu ta’âlâ’s grace.” [Zuhd means to abstain from property that is more than necessary even if it is halâl]. It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “A namâz performed behind an imâm who holds wara’ will be accepted. A present given to a person of wara’ will be accepted. It is an act of worship to sit with a person of wara’. It is alms to talk with him.” [It means that it will be accepted and will produce much thawâb]. It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “Two rak’ats of namâz performed with an imâm who holds wara’ is more blessed than a namâz performed with a fâsiq.” [The word ‘efdâl’, (which is used in the hadîth-i-sherîf and which we translated into English as ‘blessed’), means ‘that which brings more thawâb.’] If your heart does not feel easy as you do something, [if your heart feels uneasy and palpitates], stop doing it! Make your heart a muftî (religious guide) in doing actions about which you feel doubt! It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “Actions about which your heart feels calm, [is easy about and likes], and with which the nafs feels annoyed [and dislikes], are beneficial. An action about which only the nafs feels calm is a vice.” It was stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, “Things that are halâl and those which are harâm have been declared openly. Beware from doubtful things! Follow those which have been declared openly!” It was declared in another hadîth-i-sherîf, “Allâhu ta’âlâ declared the halâls and the harâms openly. He will forgive concerning those which He did not declare (openly).” When you meet with something doubtful, put your hand on your chest [heart]! Do it if your heart does not palpitate. It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “Put your hand on your heart! The heart will be calm [feel easy] as you do something halâl.”
Deem all your prayers and acts of worship as deficiently performed! Be anxious to perform them in due manner! Abû Muhammad bin Manâzil stated, “Allâhu ta’âlâ praises in the seventeenth âyat of Âl-i-’Imrân sûra those who are patient, those who are faithful (sâdiq), those who perform namâz, those who pay zakât and those who say istighfâr at the time of seher (early morning). His mentioning the saying of istighfâr last implies that a person should consider all his acts of worship as faulty and should always say the istighfâr.” Ja’fer bin Sinân ‘quddisa sirruh’ stated, “Worshippers’ complacency is worse and more harmful than sinners’ offense.” Imâm-i-Murtaish used to perform i’tikâf in a
mosque after the twentieth of the blessed month of Ramadân. People saw him outside and asked him why he had left the mosque. He said, “I saw the hafizes’ selfsatisfied demeanours and ran away from them.”
It is permissible to work for your and your family’s living. A hadîth-i-sherîf praises people who work so. The Salaf as-sâlihîn found a way of living for themselves. It is good as well to have tawakkul and not to work. Yet this entails the condition that you should not expect anything from anybody. Muhammad bin Sâlim Hamâda was a qâdî in the Shâfi’î Madhhab. He passed away in 697 H. When some people asked him whether they should work and earn or sit and have tawakkul, he stated, “Tawakkul is a state of the Messenger of Allah. Kasb, on the other hand, is his sunnat. It is sunnat for a person who cannot have tawakkul to work and earn. If a person manages to have tawakkul it is mubâh for him to work only for the cause of Islam and serve Muslims. A better way
in any case is to combine kasb [working] and tawakkul (putting one’s trust in Allâhu ta’âlâ).” You should not eat too much or too little. You should be moderate in eating. Eating too much will cause indolence and inertia. And eating too little will hinder you from work and worship. Khwâja Muhammad Bahâuddîn Naqshiband ‘quddisa sirruh’ passed away in 791 [A.D. 1389], in Bukhâra. He used to say, “Eat until you are fully satisfied, and then do your worship well!” [You should not eat before you become hungry or after you become fully satisfied.]. The important thing is to perform the worships well and enthusiastically. Everything conducive to this purpose is blessed. And anything obstructive is forbidden.
You should make a niyya (intention) in everything you do. You should never begin an act of worship unless you intend with a true heart [because it is a command of Allâhu ta’âlâ]. You should not spend time doing useless things, [especially if they are harmful]. [A person who cannot find pious Muslims whose belief is agreeable with the teachings of the scholars of Ahl as-sunna and who have learned the Sharî’at and adapted their life-styles to these teachings], should seclude himself, [that is, he should utilize his time working, earning halâl property, and reading books written by scholars of Ahl as-sunna. You should not make friends with those who lead a religious life of their own instead of learning Islam from these books or those
uneducated people who have fallen prey to the books written by such lâ-madhhabîs. You should not allow into your home those radio and television broadcasts that spread viruses of irreligiousness, disbelief, Christianity, Judaism and immorality]. It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “Hikmat [beneficial things] consists of ten components. Nine of them are in seclusion and (the remaining) one is in taciturnity.” You should see your friends as long as to teach and learn necessary things and spend the rest of your time doing acts of worship and things that will purify your heart. You should treat everybody with a smiling face and a soft language, friend and foe alike, and should avoid situations that will lead to a quarrel. You should accept everybody’s excuse, forgive them their faults, and never revenge yourself for the harms they have done to you. Abdullah Belyânî states, “Being a dervish does not only consist in namâz, fast and spending your nights worshipping. These things are everybody’s duties as a born slave. Being a dervish means not to hurt hearts. A person who can do this will attain Allâhu ta’âlâ’s love. [He becomes a Walî].” They asked Hadrat Muhammad Sâlim, “How should it be known that a certain person is
a Walî?” He said, “It will be known from his sweet tongue, beautiful moral behaviour, smiling face, generosity, not quarrelling with anybody, accepting others’ excuses, and having mercy on everybody.” [A Walî means a person who has attained Allâhu ta’âlâ’s love.]. Abdullah Ahmad Maqqarî Mâlikî passed away in 1041 H. He states, “Futuwwat [bravery] means doing favours to someone who behaves inimically towards you, being generous to someone who does not like you, and talking softly to someone you do not like.” You should talk little, sleep little, and laugh little. Loud laughter is ruinous to the heart. [It makes you forget about Allâhu ta’âlâ]. You should trust to Allâhu ta’âlâ in every matter. [That is, you should hold fast to causes. Yet you should rely on Allâhu ta’âlâ for the effectiveness of causes]. You should
not miss or postpone any fard. Junayd-i-Baghdâdî states, “The medicine for getting rid of your needs is to give up the thing you need. Whatever you need, you should expect [the cause that will bring about] your need from Allâhu ta’âlâ.” It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “If a person trusts to Allâhu ta’âlâ for his needs, He will bless him with [the causes that will bring about] his needs.” For instance, He will make other people have mercy on
him and serve him. Yahyâ bin Mu’âdh Râdî passed away in Nîshâpûr in 258 H. He states, “Others will love you as much as you love your Allah. They will fear you as much as you fear Allah. They will obey you as much as you obey Allah.” He stated at another time, “Others will serve you as much as you serve Allâhu ta’âlâ. In short, whatever you do, do it for His sake! Otherwise, nothing you do will be useful at all. Do not think of yourself all the time! Do not put your trust in anyone except Allâhu ta’âlâ!” Abû Muhammad Râshî[1] states, “The greatest curtain [hindrance] between yourself and Allâhu ta’âlâ is to think of yourself only and to put your trust in someone who is as incapable as you are. To be a sôfî does not mean to go whereever you like, to rest in the shade of clouds, or to be revered by others. It means to keep a continuous confidence in Allâhu ta’âlâ.” You should always be affable and cordial towards your children and family. With them also you should stay as long as necessary, only until you have paid them their dues. Being among them should not last long enough to make you forget about Allâhu ta’âlâ. Do not tell everybody about the states you have attained! Do not see high ranking or wealthy people very often! In everything you do, try to act in conformity with the Sunnat and to avoid bid’ats! At times of trouble, do not give up hope from Allâhu ta’âlâ, and do not even feel worried at all! The fifth âyat of Inshirâh sûra purports, “After every distress there is relief and ease.” Do not let times of distress or comfort change your attitude! Or, rather, increase your joy at times of paucity and feel more anxiety at times of well-being! When Abû Sa’îd-i-Arabî was asked how a person could be a faqîr [dervish], he described, “They are serene at times of poverty and anxious, distressed at times of prosperity, and they expect trouble from comfort. Changing of events does not distract their moral conduct. They overlook others’ faults. They always see their own faults and mistakes. They never deem themselves superior to any other Muslim. They always hold them in a higher esteem than themselves.” Sirrî Seqatî was Junayd-i-Baghdâdî’s spiritual guide. He passed away in Baghdâd in 251 H. He used to say, “I am not superior to anybody.” When they asked, “Not even to a sinner who commits sins overtly,” his answer was: “That’s right.”
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[1] Râshî means ‘from the Syrian town Râsia’. It does not mean ‘briber’.
Whenever you see a Muslim you should think: “My attaining happiness may depend on pleasing his heart and wooing him into invoking a blessing on me.” You should look on yourself as a slave of those people who have rights on you. It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “A person who does (the following) three things is a perfect Believer: A person who serves his wife, keeps company with poor people and eats with his servant is a perfect Believer. These are the distinguishing features of a Believer which Allâhu ta’âlâ declares in the Qur’ân al-kerîm.” You should always read about the behaviours of the Salaf as-sâlihîn and visit the gharîb (lonely, destitute) and poor people. You should never backbite or gossip about anybody, and should prevent anyone who attempts to do so. You should not miss any occasion that offers an opportunity to perform amr-i-ma’rûf and nahy-i-munker, that is, to give religious advice to people. You should help the poor and mujâhids (people who try to serve Islam) with your property. You
should perform pious and charitable deeds. You should avoid committing sins. When Muhammad bin Alyân was asked about the signs indicating that Allâhu ta’âlâ loves a born slave of his, he answered, “His feeling pleasure in worships and abstaining from sins.” It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “He who hates sins and enjoys worships is a true Believer.” You should not be stingy for fear of poverty. The two hundred and sixty-eighth âyat of Baqara sûra purports, “The devil will threaten you with poverty and entice you into committing debauchery.” A poor person should not feel sad about his poverty, so that Allâhu ta’âlâ might as well have blessed him with a fortune. The real fortune is to enjoy the luxury of the Hereafter. Worldly distresses will cause one to be comfortable in the Hereafter. It was stated in a hadîth-i-sherîf, “A person who has a crowded family but a low income and yet who performs his prayers of namâz properly according to its accepted standards and does not backbite other Muslims, will be kept with me at the place of gathering on the Rising Day.” It was stated in another hadîth-i-sherîf, “How lucky for those who die on their way to (perform) hajj and those who perform ghazâ (holy war)! Also, a person who has a crowded family but a low income and yet who does not complain about this situation but enters his home with joy and leaves happily, is among the hadjis and ghâzîs.”
If Haqq ta’âlâ wishes, He makes everything easy;
Creating its causes, He gives it in a jiffy.
You should serve poor people and all your brothers in Islam. Ja’fer Huldî, one of the companions of Junayd-i-Baghdâdî, passed away in 348 H. He states, “Our superiors worked and earned in order to help their brothers in Islam, not for their own nafses.” Muhammad Abû Abdullah bin Hafîf passed away in 371 H. He related, “One day I had a brother in Islam of mine as a guest in my home. (During his stay) he had a stomach disorder. With a container (full of water) and a basin, I served him until morning. Sometime I fell asleep (against my will). (When I woke up), he said, ‘Were you asleep? My Allah curse you!’ ” The people listening to him asked, “How did your heart feel when he cursed?” He said, “I was as happy as if he had said, ‘May Allah have mercy on you!’
” Abû ’Umar Zujjâjî states, “If a person implies (to have attained) a high grade which he has not actually attained, his words will arouse fitna and prevent him from ever attaining that grade.”
Try to observe the rules of adab in the sohbat [presence] of your murshid! It is only people with adab that will benefit from him. “Adab is the essence of tarîqat.” A person without adab cannot attain Allâhu ta’âlâ’s love. My blessed father, i.e. Imâm-i-Rabbânî, wrote detailedly on the âdâb of this path. In short, you should leave aside existence, become like earth, and run for the service and sohbat of those great people. Otherwise, there is no reason for being anxious to attend the sohbat of the Awliyâ. It may, let alone being useful, give harm. Abû Bakr Ahmad bin Sa’dân states, “A person who wishes to attend the sohbat of the Sôfiyya-i-aliyya should not think of himself, his heart or his property. If he thinks about these things, he will not attain his goal. Do not loiter on your way towards Allâhu ta’âlâ’s ma’rifat [love]! Abû Bakr as-Siddîq
‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’ stated, “Ma’rifat of Allâhu ta’âlâ [to know him] means to realize that He cannot be known. Imâm-i-a’zam Abû Hanîfa’s asseveration, “I have known Thee,” means, “I have realized very well that Thou couldst not be known.” Abû Bakr-i-Tamstânî states, “Tasawwuf means to suffer troubles. There cannot be tasawwuf in ease and comfort.” This means to say that the lover should always struggle
and strive to look for the darling, and should not be in a state of repose with anyone except the darling.
A distich:
How can I see or think of anything else?
My heart Thinks of thee, my eyes see thee, none else.
The murîd has to fulfil the qualifications described in the hundred and eighteenth âyat of Tawba sûra, which purports: “The earth, which is actually vast, becomes narrow for them. Their hearts no longer feel calm with anything. They have realized that security against Allâhu ta’âlâ’s wrath is possible only by committing yourself to His protection.” If one’s love for Allâhu ta’âlâ reaches this perfection and the earth becomes narrow and dark, it is hoped that the ocean of (His) Compassion will come into motion, its drops will fall on this gharîb, and thus he will be admitted into the privacy of Wahdat.
A distich:
I have given thee the key to the treasure;
Though we have not, you may attain the pleasure.
Another distich:
The curls of the Darling’s hair is so far away.
To attain Him we are still looking for a way.