This letter, written for Muhammad Hâshim Keshmî ‘quddisa sirruh’, again, provides information on how
superior guides of Tasawwuf commune with Allâhu ta’âlâ:
Bismillah-ir-Rahmân-ir-Rahîm. Hamd (praise and gratitude) be to
Allâhu ta’âlâ. Salâm to those slaves of His that He has chosen!
Question: Some ’Ârifîn ‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ esrârahum-ul’azîz’ say: “We hear the Kalâm (Speech, Word) of
Allâhu ta’âlâ,” or “We say to Allâhu ta’âlâ.” For instance, Imâm Humâm Ja’fer Sâdiq ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ stated: “I
have
heard every âyat-i-kerîma from their Owner, (i.e. from Him, who said them.)”
’Abd-ul-Qâdir Geilânî ‘quddisa sirruh-ul’azîz’ also makes similar statements in
his Risâla-i-Ghawsiyya. What do these mean?
Answer: The Kalâm (Speech)
of Jenâb-i-Haqq, as well as His Dhât (Person, He Himself), is bîchûn and
bîchighûna. [That is, they are not like anything, and it cannot be understood
how they are.] And since His Words are bîchûn, hearing them will be bîchûn as
well. For, someone who is chûn, [i.e. someone who is comprehensible,] cannot
know how the bîchûn is. Then, hearing that Kalâm will not take place through
the auditory organs,
[carried by air waves or nervous system.] For, all these means
are chûn (comprehensible, understandable). If man hears that Kalâm, that
hearing will take place only through the reception of his soul. For, the soul
is fairly bîchûn. The reception will take place without any use of letters and
words. Likewise, man’s saying to Him takes place through his soul, without
letters and words. The speech used here also is fairly bîchûn. For, it is being
heard by Someone who is bîchûn.
Allâhu ta’âlâ hears the human voice, [as well as all the sounds and words produced by all creatures,] in a manner
that is bîchûn. He hears them without letters and words in between and without a certain order of priority. For, passage of time over Allâhu ta’âlâ is out of the
question. [He existed when time did not exist. He created time afterwards.] If
man hears that Kalâm, he will hear it through all his motes, all his existence.
If he says to Him, he will do so with all his existence. All his existence is
the auditory organ, and all his existence is the mouth. On the day of Mîsâq,[1] the motes that were
taken out heard the question, “Elestu bi-Rabbikum?” with all their existence, without anything [such as air,
ear-drums, nerves] in between. They answered, “Belâ [Yes],” with all their existence. They were ears all over, and mouths
all over. For, if ears had been different from mouths, then hearing and saying
would not have been bîchûn. The communing would not have been bîchûn. A line of
poetry:
The sovereign’s
belongings will be carried only by his own animals.
Meanings received
through man’s soul turn into letters and words in man’s imagination. Man’s
imagination is like the ‘âlam-i-mithâl in the ’âlam-i-kebîr. When meanings
received turn into letters and words here, it is as if they were heard through
ears. For, every meaning has a sûrat, an appearance in that ’âlam. Although the
meaning is bîchûn, it has a sûrat. In fact, that sûrat can be perceived because
it manifests itself in its bîchûn appearance there.
When the sâlik
(devotee) finds the letters and words arranged in an order in his imagination,
he thinks they are coming from the original source, and says that he has heard
them from the original source. He cannot realize that the letters and words
(that he
---------------------------------
[1]
‘Mîsâq’ means ‘solemn promise’. ‘Elestu bi-Rabbikum?’ means ‘Am I not your Rabb?’ It is the question that
Allâhu ta’âlâ asked all the human souls when He created them.
perceives) are the sûrats in his imagination of the meanings that his soul is receiving and that the event of hearing and the Kalâm-i-lafzî he
hears are the timthâl [sûrat] of the hearing that is bîchûn of the kalâm that is bîchûn. An ’ârif who has attained perfect ma’rifat will distinguish the facts
about each level from the others. He will not confuse them with one another. As is seen, the kalâm at the level that is bîchûn, and the event of its being
heards, means its being imparted to the soul and the soul’s receiving it, whereas the words and letters expressing the meanings being received by the soul are
the sûrats of these meanings in the imagination, which is like the ‘âlam-i-mithâl. When some people perceived those letters and words, they fancied themselves
hearing from Allâhu ta’âlâ. There are two groups of such fanciful people: The first group argue that the letters and words they hear are hâdith [created] beings expressing
the Kalâm-i-nafsî. The second group claim that they directly hear the Kalâm-i-ilâhî; they look on the letters and words arranged in an order as the Kalâm-i-Haqq
(Speech of Allâhu ta’âlâ), thus failing to distinguish what is worthy of Allâhu ta’âlâ from something that is not worthy of Him. Of these two groups,
the former are better people. The second group, however, are ignorant and
heretical people. May Allâhu ta’âlâ bless the Best of Mankind and his pure-blooded ’Âl and his Ashâb
with salâmat (salvation)! Âmin.