Ma’ârif-i-ilâhî, i.e. knowing Allâhu ta’âlâ and His Attributes, is more valuable than performing wonders and
discovering mysteries. Difference between ma’rifats and wonders is similar to
the difference between the Creator and the creature. Authentic ma’rifats
signify perfection of îmân and contribute to its perfection. Man’s perfection has
by no means any dependency on wonders. Only, wonders happen on some people who
have attained perfection. Awliyâ’s superiority to one another is assessed by
their ma’rifats and by their kashfs on the Zât-i-ilâhî (Divine Person) and on
the Sifât-i-ilâhî (Divine
Attributes), not by their kashfs on the mysteries about creatures or by their
displaying kerâmats (wonders). If wonders were preferrable to Ma’ârif-i-ilâhî,
Hindu priests called Jûkiyya and Brahmins, who perform wonders by subjecting
themselves to mortifications, would necessarily be superior to the Awliyâ who
have attained very high grades of Ma’ârif and who avoid making a show of
wonders. Wonders and miracles may happen also through those disbelievers who
subject themselves to mortifications such as hunger. They are not symptoms of
being loved by Allâhu ta’âlâ. A person who wishes to have kerâmats and kashfs
inclines towards creatures. He does not wish to attain love of Allâhu ta’âlâ. A short poem:
The
devil, accursed as he is,
Shows wonders, whereever he is.
He’ll enter under doors or roofs alike,
And lodge in hearts as in bodies!
Never
believe in false stories!
Avoid all extraordinaries!
Real wonders are in true worships,
And the rest are all calamities!
Man’s perfection lies in his realization of his being
fânî (transitory, subject to nonexistence). The ultimate objective of the
Sharî’at and the Tarîqat is to lead man to the realization that he is a mere
nothing. Making a fame by displaying wonders and miracles, on the other hand,
caters to feelings of self-conceit, which in turn deprives one of the benefits
of the Sharî’at and the Tarîqat. A person who is in this state will not attain
any ma’rifats.
Abû Sa’îd Abu-l-khayr,[1] one of the greatest Awliyâ, was asked: “So and so
walks on water (without sinking. What do you think)?” He replied, “It is quite
easy. Seagulls walk on water, too.” They said, “So and so flies in air.” He
said, “Birds and flies can fly, too.” When they said, “So and so goes from one
city to another in a flash,” his answer was: “The devil also can travel from
the far east to the far west in the same breath. Such things are of no value. A
manly person will lead a life like anybody else. He will do shopping. He will
get married. And he will not forget Allâhu ta’âlâ even for a
moment.”
Shihâb-ud-dîn Suhrawardî,[2] a great Walî, after giving detailed
information about wonders and miracles in his book Awârif,
brings his discourse to the
following conclusion: “All these wonders and kerâmats are almost nothing when
compared to the heart’s drilling dhikr of Allâhu ta’âlâ.”
Shaikh-ul-islâm Hirawî Abdullah Ansârî[3] states, “Intuition attained by a person with
ma’rifats is to see whether a person is sâlih, (pious, obedient to Islam) or
fâsiq (sinful, wrongdoing) at first sight. Intuition possessed by people who
subject themselves to hunger and other methods of mortification is to see where
(secret) things are and to inform about, (say), lost property. People in the
latter category inform about (things pertaining to) creatures. For they are
unaware of Allâhu ta’âlâ. People of Ma’ârif, on the other hand, recognizing
the pieces of information, the hâls and ma’rifats coming to their hearts from Allâhu ta’âlâ, always inform about (facts inspired by) Allâhu ta’âlâ. People are mostly oblivious of Allâhu ta’âlâ and
their hearts are occupied by worldly thoughts; consequently, they wish to know
about material beings, to find out about unknown things. They look on people
who inform about these things as Ahl-ullah, as Awliyâ, as people loved by Allâhu ta’âlâ. They do not attach any importance to the kashfs of the people of
haqîqat, of the Awliyâ. They do not believe in the information these people
convey from Allâhu ta’âlâ. They say, ‘If these people were men of Allah
(Ahlullah), they would know and inform about facts about creatures. How can a
person who is unaware of facts about creatures know about things of higher
level, how can he be an ârif of Allâhu ta’âlâ?’ As
---------------------------------
[1] Abû Sa’îd Abu-l-khâyr passed away in 440 [A.D. 1048].
[2] Shihâb-ud-dîn ’Umar Suhrawardî Shâfi’î Siddîqî passed away in Baghdad in 636 [A.D. 1234].
[3] Abdullah Ansârî passed away in Hirât in 481 [A.D. 1088].
a result of this wrong reasoning they deny the
Ahlullah and reject the Awliyâ. Because Allâhu ta’âlâ loves
His Awliyâ very much, He does not want them to waste their time on creatures,
to think of anyone except Him. If they had busied themselves with states of
creatures they would not have reached grades of Wilâyat. As those people who
busy themselves with states of creatures will be deprived of ma’rifats
pertaining to Allâhu ta’âlâ, the Ahlullah do not think of states pertaining to
creatures. If the Ahlullah concentrated their attention on states about
creatures, they would understand these states better than the others. Because Allâhu ta’âlâ does not care about the firâsat (intuition, insight) which some
people attain by polishing the mirror of their nafs by way of mortifications,
this firâsat happens on Jews and Christians, [on Shiites and Wahhâbîs] as well
as on Muslims. That is, this firâsat is not peculiar to the Ahlullah (men of
Allah, people loved by Allah).”
Some Awliyâ are permitted to display wonders in case
of necessity or if it will be useful. Incompetent people’s talking on matters
pertaining to Ma’ârif-i-ilâhî will not detract from the value of ma’rifats.
These talks are like a dustman’s handling a precious jewel, which will not
deplete the jewel of its value at all. Depraved people’s informing about the
ma’rifats they have heard from the Awliyâ is of no value. If they attribute
this information to their own kashfs and hâls instead of acknowledging that
they have heard it from others, the devil will show them false things in the
guise of true ones, representing each of them as Haqq.
Imâm-i-Rabbânî states, “Very frequently, the sâlik (disciple
making progress in the grade of Sulûk) is shown the world of souls. Because
this world is very fine and immaterial, he thinks what he sees is Allâhu ta’âlâ. The soul’s containing and penetrating
this world (of souls) appears to him as though it were a containing and
penetration done by Allâhu ta’âlâ.” A great
Shaikh of Tasawwuf said, “For thirty years I mistook my own soul for Haqq
ta’âlâ and worshipped my soul.” Imâm-i-Rabbânî states in one of his letters,
“One of the Meshâikh wrote me a letter, saying, ‘I have reached a grade in the
rank of Fanâ, and it is such a grade that when I look at the earth I cannot see
it. When I look at the sky I cannot find it, either. I cannot know about the
Arsh, the Kursî, Paradise and Hell, either. Nor can I find myself. When I go
near someone I cannot find him, either. Existence of
Allâhu ta’âlâ is beyond limitations. No one has found the end of His
existence. ... I know this state of mine as the end of the way of
Tasawwuf. Also, the Meshâikh-i-kirâm have said that the way ended
here. It is quite all right if you, too, know this state as the last grade. Yet
if you say that there are other higher grades, please write to me, so that I
shall visit you and attain Haqq ta’âlâ.’ ” In his answering letter
Imâm-i-Rabbânî wrote to this person, “A person who has reached this grade has
reached only a fourth of the grades of heart. This state is to become Fânî (to
attain Fanâ) in the element of air, one of the four elements. Because air
contains (and penetrates) everything, he (the person in this grade) sees air
whereever he looks, and thinks that all this thing he sees is Haqq ta’âlâ.”
Most people thought this kind of tawhîd to be a kashf and a hâl. However, the
thing that reveals itself to the heart is not a kashf. It is an image. It
happens in the imaginations of people who are preoccupied in this thought. As a
matter of fact, Imâm-i-Rabbânî states in a letter of his, in which he
elaborates on Tawhîd-i-shuhûdî and Tawhîd-i-wujûdî: “Tawhîd-i-wujûdî mostly
happens on a person when he meditates on Tawhîd very much and when he
interprets the word ‘Lâ ilâha illâ-Allah’ as ‘There is no being except Allâhu ta’âlâ’. It occurs in the imaginations of those
who make dhikr in this manner. It is not a kashf or hâl coming to the heart. A
person in this state is quite unaware of grades pertaining to the heart. When a
man of Tasawwuf who is in the right way is so much vulnerable to erring, one
should imagine the degree of deviation in the utterances of those depraved
people who have fallen into the devil’s trap.”
The Murshid is a vehicle transporting fayz. [He is like a tap
allowing the fluid coming from the basin, from the main source.] How can one
attain one’s goal if the vehicle is not a true one [if the tap is not connected
to the main source]? Then, for attaining the rank of Fanâ
fillâh it is necessary to become fânî in a
Murshid who is connected to the main source, [to attain his love and to forget
about everything]. To love a Murshid is to adapt oneself to him. The fayz
coming through the Murshid’s heart is received in proportion to the amount of
love felt for the Murshid. If one has the luck of sohbat (being in the
Murshid’s company), the fayz received will be much more. When fayz comes, love
of the mâ-siwâ [creatures] leaves the heart. Names of
Allâhu ta’âlâ begin to make tajallî [manifest]. Beqâ (annihilation of
self) takes place with these Names. Kemâlât and Esmâ-i-ilâhî (Divine Names) are
endless. Their tajallîs in the heart are endless. If the Râbita is powerful and
the Murshid’s outward appearance manifests itself permanetly, the fayz will be
abundant and it will be easy to
receive it. The same amount of fayz cannot by received by making
dhikr. If one gets blessed with serving (the Murshid), being in his presence
and attaining his sohbat, it will be much easier to receive fayz. It was owing
to the blessing of hudûr and sohbat (being in the presence of the Messenger of
Allah) that the As-hâb-i-kirâm became (the Prophet’s)
As-hâb. Weys-al-qarânî received plenty of fayz through spiritual contact
[connection of love]. Yet he could not attain the degree reached by the
As-hâb-i-kirâm. The outward appearance, the image seen during the Râbita is not
the Murshid himself. The Murshid himself has such peculiarities as cannot exist
in his image.
There are conditions to be fulfilled, such as being
given to worship and dhikr, avoiding useless talk, secluding oneself in order
to protect oneself from seeing nâ-mahram. While doing all this, it is a must,
of course, to observe other people’s rights.
Seeing souls is a matter of heart and insight. So is the case with seeing them when the eyes are open. Seeing souls is not a sign of perfection.