‘Tasawwuf means to make the heart pure, to cleanse it. And that is accomplished by way of
dhikr-i-ilâhî. Attainment of the blessing of se’âdet-i-ebediyya by the entire humanity, i.e. goodnesses in this world and in the Hereafter, is realizable only
by dhikring very much the Name of Allâhu ta’âlâ, our real Owner. However, this dhikring has to have been taught and permitted by a Walî or by a true
and faithful follower of that Walî who has been authorized by him and who does not change the adabs of Islamic principles and truth or insert bid’ats into
Islam. Dhikring done without being taught by such an authorized person will give little benefit, if any at all. For, dhikring done with a permission is the
business of (people called) muqarrabs, whereas (people called) ebrârs will do dhikring without a permission. Hence the blessed statement: “The ebrârs’ acts of
worship and good deeds are sinful acts and faults for the muqarrabs.” [Imâm Rabbânî
‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ’ states in his hundred and ninetieth letter, and Abdullah
Dahlawî states in his ninety-ninth letter: “Dhikr’s being useful and effective
is definitely contingent on obedience to the Islamic principles. The person to
do dhikring has to practise the acts that are farz and sunnat and avoid
committing harâms and doubtful acts. And these things must be learned from
sâlih scholars of Ahl-as-sunnat [or from their books.]” A person who does
dhikring as we describe in our books will have done it with a permission.]
I know
that you are eager to know about dhikring. So I
will
write openly.[1]
‘Dhikr’ is a word in
the Arabic language. Its lexical meaning in English is to ‘remember’.
Remembering something is done with the heart. It is not done with speech. As of
today three sorts of dhikr are known:
---------------------------------
[1] It has
been stated by authorities in this science that if a person reads this letter
and does dhikring willingly, he will have done so with a permission. That
dhikring and râbita are contingent on holding the belief of Ahl-as-sunnat,
doing the acts of farz, and avoiding the harâms so that they may be useful, is
written in the final sections of the ninety-fourth and the hundred and
ninetieth letters (of the first volume) and in the forty-seventh and fiftieth
letters of the second volume (of Maktűbât-i-Imâm Rabbânî). The same
blessed authorities have added that “Otherwise the result will be harmful, let
alone useful.”
1-
Dhikr done by way of speech. The heart is
unaware of this dhikr being done by way of speech. Dhikr done only by way of
speech is scarcely useful in the purification of the heart. It will yield
thawâb for worship. Torment for people doing so is meant in the twentieth
âyat-i-kerîma of Zumar Sűra, which purports: “Torment awaits people whose hearts do not
make dhikr of Allâhu ta’âlâ.”
2-
Dhikr done only with the heart. The
tongue does not join in the dhikring. This is the dhikr that is essential in
the path we have been following. The fifty-fourth [54] âyat-i-kerîma of A’râf
Sűra purports: “... Call on thine Rabb (Allâhu ta’âlâ) with humility, in private, and silently.” And the thirtieth
[30] âyat-i-kerîma of Ra’d Sűra purports: “... Know for sure that in the dhikring of
Allâhu ta’âlâ do hearts find satisfaction.” And the two hundred and fourth
âyat-i-kerîma of A’râf Sűra purports: “... Make dhikr of thine Rabb in thy (very) soul... .” This kind of dhikr is
mentioned in many another âyat-i-kerîma, in quite a number of hadîth-i-sherîfs,
and in books written by religious superiors.
3-
Dhikr that is done by the tongue and the
heart in tandem. Men of Allah and the Awliyâ ‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ
asrârahum-ul’azîz’ may do this kind of dhikr after having attained certain
heights.
Dhikr by way of the
heart was first practised by the Fakhr-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’
on the night of Hijrat (Hegira, emigration to Medîna), in the cave named Sawr
(or Sevr), where the Blessed Messenger of Allah bid Abű Bakr as-Siddîq
‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ to kneel down and close his eyes and thereafter coached him
for this silent dhikr.
The ‘Râbita’, which
superior guides of Tasawwuf teach travellers of this path, is a kind of
communication that is commanded in the hundred and twentieth âyat-i-kerîma of
Tawba Sűra and in the fifty-second âyat-i-kerîma of An’âm Sűra, which purport: “... And be with those who
are true,” and “... Try to be with those who seek their Rabb, ...” respectively; and
which is done in obedience to the hadîth-i-sherîf that reads: “Remembering the people
whom
Allâhu ta’âlâ loves will motivate His Rahma.” There are other similar âyat-i-kerîmas and
hadîth-i-sherîfs as well. The latest twelve centuries’ greater Asiatic Hanafî
scholars from places such as Mâwarâ-un-nahr (Transoxiana) and Bukhâra have all
tutored their disciples this kind of dhikr.
Here are the steps
they would instruct: As a daily habit, preferably after morning or evening
prayer, or any time of the day
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at your convenience, when you have an ablution, on your own,
kneel down at a cleanly place and with your face towards the Qibla. Close your
eyes. Say, “Astaghfirullah,” verbally, twenty-five time. Each time you say it, entreat
through your heart as follows: “(O my Rabb!) I
have
repented of my sins. I promise not to commit them again. (Please) do forgive me my
sins!” Next:
Say Fâtiha Sűra once
and Ikhlâs Sűra three times and send the thawâb (that Allâhu ta’âlâ promises to a Muslim
for saying them) as a present to the souls of Fakhr-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’, Mawlânâ Bahâ-ad-dîn Bukhârî, and ’Abd-ul-Qâdir Geilânî
‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ asrârahum-ul’azîz’, entreat them, through your heart, to
help you, and to add your name into the list of the travellers of their path.
Say the Fâtiha once
again, without saying the Ikhlâs-i-sherîf this time, and send the thawâb as a
present to the souls of Fakhr-i-’âlam ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, Imâm
Rabbânî Mujaddid-i-elf-i-thânî Ahmad Fârűqî Serhendî, and Mawlânâ Khâlid
Baghdâdî ‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ asrârahumâ’, entreating their souls also,
through your heart, to admit you as one of their disciples and as one of the
members of their path.
Say the Fâtiha only
once again, send the thawâb as a present to the souls of Fakhr-i-’âlam
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, Sayyid ’Abdullah, and Sayyid Tâhâ
‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ asrârahumâ’, and ask, through your heart, for help and
fayz from their bâtins (hearts and souls).
Say the Fâtiha once
again, send the thawâb as a present to the souls of Fakhr-i-’âlâm ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’, Sayyid Muhammad Sâlih, and Sayyid Fehîm Arwâsî
‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ asrârahumâ’, and beg their souls, by way of heart, to
give you help and fayz.[1]
Thereafter, do tedhekkur-i-mawt for a short while.
That is, imagine yourself dead, washed on the (bench called) ‘teneshir’,
shrouded, placed into a coffin, (carried to the cemetery,) and interred. You
are in your grave now. The blessed person who is to intercede between Allâhu ta’âlâ and you, [e.g. one of
the Walîs named above and to whose souls you have sent the thawâb for the
Fâtiha Sűra you recited,] is there, before you; imagine yourself seeing him,
and looking with adab at his lightsome forehead, i.e. at the part between his
two blessed eye-brows. Oblivious to all and
---------------------------------
[1] Sayyid ’Abd-ul-Hakîm Efendi should be added
to the list of Awliyâ.
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free from all thoughts concerning worldly
matters, keep his blessed face, with love and respect, in your imagination and
heart for a while. This fruitful spiritual practice has been termed Râbita by our superior
guides. (Please scan the twenty-fifth chapter of the fourth fascicle of Endless Bliss.) It is commanded in
âyat-i-kerîmas, such as in the thirty-fifth [35] âyat-i-kerîma of Mâida Sűra, and explained in
hadîth-i-sherîfs and in books written by Islamic scholars. It has been stated
to be the most valuable means for progress in all the orders of Tasawwuf,
especially in the path led by our superiors. This ‘râbita’ should last for at
least fifteen minutes. It will yield little benefit if it is shorter.
‘Dhikr’ without ‘râbita’ will not help a person make progress. Practising ‘râbita’ without dhikring at
all will help make progress. Our superiors have said so. Râbita is helpful in everything you do. And its help in dhikring is tremendous. It purifies your heart,
the home of Allâhu ta’âlâ, from the dirts of the nafs and protects it against the devil’s deceits. It prepares the heart for the
settlement of dhikr. There are three levels of râbita:
1-
You imagine the Walî’s face as if he were
sitting against you. This kind of râbita is done when beginning the dhikr.
2-
You keep his face in your heart. When
this kind of râbita occurs spontaneously as you do dhikr, you will be dhikring
with the thought that the Walî is in your heart.
3-
You do râbita imagining yourself in the
Walî’s guise. You continuously imagine yourself in his guise as you read or listen
to the Qur’ân
al-kerîm,
as you listen to religious sermons or preaches, as you perform namâz or any
other act of worship. It is as if it were the Walî, not you, who were doing
that pious act. Acts of worship performed that wise are a source of pleasure.
Practising râbita will accelerate progress. It will help you attain the grace of
Allâhu ta’âlâ. The third level of râbita is called supreme râbita.
A person who practises
supreme râbita thinks of his heart. The heart is a force made up of nűr and
which exists in the piece of flesh that (also) is called ‘heart’ and which is
beneath the left nipple, two and a half inches below it. The heart is like an
egg or a cone. It is called the qalb-i-sanevberî. It is, so to speak, the nest of the qalb-i-haqîqî (real
heart).
You sit with adab like
sitting in namâz, without causing annoyance to yourself, with your head and
torso slightly inclined towards your heart. You close your eyes. For, the eyes
are guides
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for the heart. When the eyes focus their attention on something,
so will the heart. [So is the case with all the other sense organs.] Then, none
of the sense organs should be busy receiving any stimuli. None of the body
organs should be moved. The lips must be stuck together. The tongue must be in
contact with the palate. Thinking of the word ‘Allah’ with your imagination, make it glide
past across that force, which is made of nűr. With profound respect seasoned
with zeal and flavoured with pleasure, imagine yourself saying, “Allah, ...
Allah, ... Allah,” being fully conscious meantime that you are uttering the
Name of a Person who has no likeness, in the light of the âyat-i-kerîma that
purports: “There
is nothing like Him.” As you repeat His Name, do not think of any of His Attributes. In fact, do not even remember that He is always Nâzir and Nâzir (Omnipresent).
Holding a string of prayer beads in your right hand, count your beads with your thumb, saying, “Allah, ... Allah, ...,” as you count, and implementing such a rhythm as will best keep foreign thoughts away from your heart. Dhikring must be within close
proximity to your heart. The daily number of dhikrings must be five thousand minimum. It must be fifteen thousand during the Ramadân-i-sherîf, and seven in the
other months; it must always be fifteen thousand daily, if possible. So far, words have done their best to say about dhikring. Practice would carry on the
teaching. The more you do it the better will you be at doing it. “Do dhikr before death comes! For, it is by dhikring that the heart will become pure.
Whatsoever is done other than dhikring the Name of Allâhu ta’âlâ, it is merely an act of killing,” goes the famous saying.
Experts of the science
of Tasawwuf used to say: “By dhikring will the heart be cleansed. By dhikring
will love of
Allâhu ta’âlâ be attained. By dhikring will the flavour of worship be
relished. By dhikring will îmân be made firm. By dhikring will zeal for
performing namâz increase. By dhikring will it become easy to perform Islam’s
commandments. By dhikring will one surpass imitation and become a conscientious
worshipper. The commandment, ‘Do much dhikr of Allâhu ta’âlâ!’ in the Qur’ân al-kerîm, points out this.” [How to do dhikr is
written in the hundred and thirteenth (113) letter in the second volume (of
Maktűbât) by Hadrat Muhammad Ma’thűm. Turkish version of the blessed letter
exists in the hundred and sixty-fifith (165) page of the Turkish book Kýyâmet ve Âhýret (Qiyâmat and the
Hereafter).] (The following passage contains its English translation:
‘Duties to be done by
way of heart are of five kinds: The first
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kind consists of dhikring the Name of Allâhu ta’âlâ. The human heart carries a latîfa that (also) is termed ‘heart’. [‘Latîfa’ means something that does not have a material form, i.e. which is not
a substance. The human soul, for instance, is a latîfa, too.] Dhikr means to say, ‘Allah, ..., Allah, ...,’ in your heart by using your imagination. The second duty is to make dhikr of the Kelima-i-tawhîd, again by way of imagination. Each of
these practices must be done without producing a voice. The third duty is the wuqűf-i-qalb, which means to take utmost care to always think of your heart, without remembering anything but
Allâhu ta’âlâ. The latîfa termed ‘heart’ can never stay unoccupied. Once the heart has gotten rid of thoughts about
creatures, it will automatically direct its tawajjuh towards Allâhu ta’âlâ. [It is like air’s filling an emptied bottle.] Experts of the matter have said: ‘Evict the foe from
your heart! The friend will not wait for an invitation.’ The fourth duty is murâqaba, which is also called
jem’iyyat
or âghâhî. It means to always
think of the fact that Allâhu ta’âlâ sees and knows all every moment. The fifth duty is râbita, which means to
imagine yourself before a blessed person who has fully adapted himself to
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, and looking at his blessed face.
This thought will make sure that you have adab towards him. Adab and affection
will unite the two hearts. Thereupon fayz and barakat from that blessed
person’s heart will flow into your heart. The easiest and the most useful of
the five duties is the ‘râbita’. If a person who has not fully adapted himself
to Rasűlullah tells you to practise ‘râbita’ by turning your tawajjuh towards
him, doing as he says will give harm to you and to that person as well.” This
is the end of our translation from Kýyâmet ve Âhýret.)
For making progres in
a path of Tasawwuf, first ‘tawba’ and thereafter ‘istihâra’ are made. A short
way of making tawba is to entreat, “Yâ Rabbî (O my Allah)! I repent
for all the sins I have commited since the first moment of puberty. And from now
on, I promise never to sin again, inshâ-Allâhu ta’âlâ.” It is needless
to mention all your sins one by one. Thereafter you make (an ablution called)
ghusl. (Please see the fourth chapter of the fourth fascicle of Endless Bliss for ‘ghusl’.) After the ghusl, you make niyya for istihâra, perform a namâz of two rak’ats, and go to
bed. You say the Kâfirűn Sűra in the (standing position of the) first rak’at and the Ikhlâs Sűra in the second rak’at. You practise this dhikring daily, and
hope for guidance from Allâhu ta’âlâ.
According to the twenty-first
hadîth-i-sherîf in Imâm Birgivî’s
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book Forty Hadîths, istihâra is an act of sunnat for every Muslim. It is stated in
Ibni ’Âbidîn that the following prayer is said after the istihâra: “Allâhumma
innî estehîruka bi-’ilmika wa estaqdiruka bi-qudratika wa es eluka min
fadlika-l’azîm fa innaka taqdiru wa lâ aqdira wa ta’lemu wa lâ a’lemu wa anta
’allâm-ul-ghuyűb.” The istihâra should be repeated seven days running.
Thereafter you do the thing that comes to your heart. White and green colours
seen in your dream should be construed as khayr. Seeing black or red should be
construed as evil; experts of the science of Tasawwuf have said so. It is not
an act of sunnat to have someone else perform the namâz of istihâra for you.
You should learn how to practise istihâra so that you do the sunnat yourself.
It is not permissible to have someone else perform your physical acts of
worship. 31 May 1339 [1923].
Dhu’l-qa’da 1341
Es-Sayyid ’Abd-ul-Hakîm
Rasűlullah’s inheritor, Mujaddid elf-i-thânî;
Mujtahid in
knowledge, in Tasawwuf a Ways-al-Qarnî.
He spread Islam on earth, showered nűr on all Believers;
Great was
Imâm Rabbânî in awakening the sleepers.
He knew Islam well, and he was always Islam-wise mannered;
He was
like Abű Bakr when earth with heresy covered.
From his sohbat received fayz both commanders and governors;
By
descent, as all fairly say, from ’Umar Fârűq he comes.
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