This
letter, written for Mirzâ Husâm-ad-dîn’s son, Khwâja Jemâl-ad-dîn Huseyn,
explains that the nihâyat is beyond the âfâq and the enfus:
Bismillâh-ir-Rahmân-ir-Rahîm. Hamd be to
Allâhu ta’âlâ, the Rabb of ’âlams. Benedictions and salutations be over that great Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’, whom He has sent as a
rahmat (compassion, mercy, blessing) for ’âlams. Benedictions and salutations
be over his valuable Family and relatives and to his noble Sahâba ‘ridwânullâhi
ta’âlâ ’alaihim ajma’în’ till the end of the world!
A sâlik, after having
corrected his intentions and ridding himself of worldly desires, begins to make
dhikr of the Name of Allâhu ta’âlâ and undergoes onerous riyâdhât [Riyâdhat (pl. riyâdhât) means
not to do the desires of the nafs] and carries on vehement and heavy mujâhadas
[Mujâhada
means
to do things that the nafs dislikes] and thereby attains tezkiya, [i.e. his
nafs becomes purified,] and his bad habits change to good habits and he makes
tawba for his sins; if, after all these stages, Allâhu ta’âlâ blesses him with an orientation towards
Him, love of the world will evacuate his heart, he will attain patience,
tawakkul and ridâ, and he will begin observing the meanings and signs of these
gains of his, gradually and in an order in the ’âlam-i-mithâl, eventually
seeing in the mirror of ’âlam-i-mithâl that he has been purged from all the
human dirts and purified from all the basenesses of his
human attributes. He has completed the Seyr-i-âfâqî, [i.e. progress
outside of himself,] now. Some (sâliks) made this trek rather cautiously. They
saw each and every one of the seven human latîfas as a coloured nûr in the
’âlam-i-mithâl. As each latîfa was purified, they knew it when its nûr (light)
appeared in the ’âlam-i-mithâl. They started this seyr [walk] with the latîfa
named ‘heart’. Slowly and in an order they progressed to the last one of the
latîfas. For instance, it was an established principle among them that
appearance of a red nûr in the mirror of ’Âlam-i-mithâl was a sign to show
that the sâlik’s heart had been purified. And it was the yellow nûr that was
taken as a sign for the purity of the latîfa named ‘rûh (soul)’. Thus, five
different latîfas were indicated to be pure by five different nûrs. All that
comes to mean that a sâlik who has accomplished the seyr-i-âfâqî observes in
the mirror of ’âlam-i-mithâl the changes that take place in his attributes and
moral habits. Perceiving in the mirror of that ’âlam the filths and vices
inherent in his nature, he realizes that he has been purified. In this walk the
sâlik observes the changes that take place in him moment by moment in the
’âlam-i-mithâl. He sees the changes in that ’âlam, which informs him of the
changes taking place in him. The ’âlam-i-mithâl is of the âfâq. [In other
words, it is among the things being outside of man.] Hence man’s progress in
the âfâq. Yes. In actual fact, the sâlik progresses and makes changes in
himself. That is, a behavioral, qualitative action takes place in his
attributes and moral habits. Yet it is in the âfâq, (i.e. outside of man,) that
he observes that action taking place in him. He is quite unaware of himself.
For this reason it has been called seyr-i-âfâqî. On completion of this seyr
(being observed) in the âfâq the seyr-i-il-Allah also will have been completed.
They, (experts of Tasawwuf,) have called the outcome ‘fanâ’, and the process of
seyr-i-il-Allah, ‘sulûk’. (Hence the adjectival noun ‘sâlik’.)
The seyr that follows
this initial one has been termed ‘seyr-i-enfusî’ or ‘seyr-i-fillâh’ (by the experts of Tasawwuf). They say that baqâ-billâh’ takes place in this
seyr, and that at this grade the sulûk is followed by the jedhba (or jadhba).
Because in the initial seyr the sâlik’s latîfas attain ‘tezkiya’ and become purified from the human
defects, those latîfas have become, sort of, mirrors to show in themselves the reflections and shadows of that Ism-i-ilâhî (Name of
Allâhu ta’âlâ) which is the Rabb, [i.e. the educator, the tamer,] of the sâlik. They have served as mirrors wherein
to manifest various parts of that Name.
The reason for calling
the second seyr ‘enfusî’ is that the sâlik’s
enfus, i.e. he himself, has become a
mirror for the reflections and fancies of the Names, not that the sâlik makes
progress in himself. By the same token, the seyr-i-âfâqî was called the ‘seyr-i-âfâqî’
because the ’âlam-i-mithâl was the mirror. The sâlik himself was not
progressing in the âfâq. This second seyr, in actual fact, is the seyr of the
shades and fancies of the Names in the mirrors of enfus. It is for this reason
that it has been called ‘the beloved one’s seyr in the lover’ (by some guides
of Tasawwuf). A Persian couplet in English:
What moves actually is not the mirror;
It’s the images that move in
the mirror.
The reason for its also being called ‘seyr-i-fillâh’ is that in this seyr the sâlik becomes tinted with
the Attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ. He passes from one Attribute to another. For, the mirror gets what falls to its lot from the
attributes of the images in the mirror. So, it is as if the sâlik made his progress through the Names of
Allâhu ta’âlâ.
Such are the meanings
of the statements made and the terms used by people of Tasawwuf. The states of
the holders of high grades and the meanings of the statements made by people
who have a say in profound matters will normally elude an average person’s
comprehension. Statements made by every person will reflect their level of
understanding. And the meanings that others deduce from those statements will
vary with their levels of understanding. A person says something to express
what is in his mind. Those who listen do him may deduce things that he has not
meant.
I, the faqîr, feel
apologetic in behalf of people of Tasawwuf for the tactless and unreticent
liberty they take of calling the seyr-i-enfusî names like ‘seyr-i-fillâh’ and
‘baqâ-billâh’ and looking on the event as an attainment and reaching. Their
overstatements defy our attempts to moderate them down to correct meanings.
Whereas the
seyr-i-âfâqî is, so to speak, a process of purification from vices, the
seyr-i-enfusî consists of, as it were, a process of beautification with good
moral qualities. For, while separation from vices goes with the grade of Fanâ,
attainment of goodnesses suits the grade of Baqâ. They have said that the
seyr-i-enfusî does not have an end. They have felt as if an endless life would
not suffice for reaching the end of the seyr-i-enfusî. “For,” they have said,
“attributes of a creature do not have an end.” The endless Attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ manifest in the mirror
of the
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sâlik’s latîfas, (each time) a perfection representing His
Perfections appearing therein. Then, this seyr will never come to an end.
They, (i.e. people of
Tasawwuf,) have called it ‘wilâyat [being a Walî, Awliyâ]’ to accomplish both
stages, i.e. the Fanâ, which is the outcome of the seyr-i-âfâqî, and the Baqâ,
which is attained via the seyr-i-enfusî. According to them, that is the end of
the road to kamâl, of progress to perfection. Thereafter, if the seyr [journey]
continues, it will be one in the opposite direction, and they have called it ‘seyr-i-’anillah’. During the descent
back there is yet another voyage, a fourth one, which they have termed ‘seyr-i-fi-l-eshyâ’. They have said that
the third and fourth seyrs are intended for guiding others to perfection,
whereas the first two seyrs are for ataining ‘wilâyat’.
It is stated in a
hadîth-i-sherîf: “Between Allâhu ta’âlâ and the slave there are seventy thousand curtains of nûr and
seventy thousand other curtains of zulmat.”
According to some
people of Tasawwuf, seventy thousand curtains are traversed throughout the
seyr-i-âfâqî. For, they have said, cach of the seven latîfas involves
traversing ten thousand curtains. “When this seyr is completed all the curtains
in between will have been left behind and the sâlik will carry on with the
seyr-i-fillâh, eventually attaining to the grade termed wuslat,” they have thought.
So these are the
things that the Awliyâ call such names as ‘seyr’ and ‘sulûk’. “This is the way
whereby one should attain kemâl (perfection) and guide others to it,” they say.
Written below is my
account of the pieces of information that Allâhu ta’âlâ has so kindly and magnanimously manifested to this faqîr (me)
concerning this subject and the way how people are guided; and the sole purpose
for my doing so has been to give publicity to His blessing and to express my
gratitude. People with wakeful hearts will benefit from it.
Haqq ta’âlâ is bî-chûn
and bî-chighûna. That is, He does not resemble anything. How He is can not be
understood. He is neither in the âfâq nor in the enfus. Then, it is not right
to call the seyr-i-âfâqî the ‘seyr-i-il-Allah’, or to call the seyr-i-enfusî
the ‘seyr-i-fillâh’. Both the seyrs are ‘seyr-i-il-Allah’. The ‘seyr-i-fillâh’
is something that is beyond the beyonds and which has nothing to do with the
âfâq or with the enfus. Incredible to say, they have called the seyr-i-enfusî
the ‘seyr-i-fillâh’. Looking on this seyr as
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something inexhaustible, they have
supposed that it could not be completed even if the seyr had been carried on
endlessly. The fact, however, is that the enfus, as well as the âfâq, is a
creature and that, therefore, it is through creatures that they have carried on
their seyr. Theirs is a fatal mistake, which in turn leads them to an endless
frustration. Besides, when the Fanâ is eternally unattainable, then a
fortiori the Baqâ will never come true. How will wusûl (or wuslat), i.e.
attainment, be realized, then? And how will approach and perfection ever be
obtained? Subhân-Allah! When the great superiors of Tasawwuf amuse themselves,
as they do, by offering themselves mirages for water, by calling the
seyr-i-il-Allah the ‘seyr-i-fillâh’, by thinking of he creature as the Creator,
and by calling something that is limited within time and space ‘bî-chûn’, what
remains of the blame for the share of the inferiors and the so-called
short-sighted people? Woe betide! How on earth do they call enfus ‘Haqq
ta’âlâ’, look on this limited and finite seyr as something endless, and say
that the Names and Attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ appear in the mirror of the sâlik’s latîfas during the seyr-i-enfus! The fact, however, is that what is seen is a dhil (fancy) of the reflections
and dhils of the Names and Attributes. It is not the Names and the Attributes themselves. We shall explain this towards the end of the letter, inshâ-Allâhu ta’âlâ.
Allâhu ta’âlâ is bî-chûn and bî-chighûna. Anything that can be understood and thought is far from Him. Then, the
mirrors of âfâq and enfus cannot accommodate Him. Things that are seen in these mirrors are the images of things with time and place. The âfâq and the enfus
should be traversed, and He should be looked for beyond the âfâq and the enfus. As His Person cannot be accommodated by the mirror of creation, the âfâq and the
enfus alike, likewise His Names and Attributes cannot be accomodated there. All the appearances in that mirror are the reflections, fancies, and samples of the
Names and Attributes. In fact, even the fancies and samples of the Names and Attributes are beyond the âfâq and the enfus. The phenomenon here is merely a
manifestation of (His) Power. For, the Names and Attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ, as well as His Person, are bî-chûn and bî-chighûna. They do not have likenesses or samples. What is
meant by the ‘reflections and fancies’ of the Names and the Attributes cannot be understood unless the âfâq and the enfus are traversed and left behind. How
could Names and Attributes themselves ever be understood, then? Amazing to say, things that are imparted and shown to this faqîr are quite disagreeable with
what those great
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people have tasted and observed. Who would believe me if I stated
one of them? Who would admit it? And yet, if I
withhold
them and conceal them I will have condoned a situation where right is being mixed with wrong and impermissible statements are being made about
Allâhu ta’âlâ. Then, willy-nilly, I will have to restate the facts in a manner worthy to the greatness of
Allâhu ta’âlâ. I will reject the unsuitable ones. They may believe me or not. It
is not something that I think about or worry about. A person who has doubts about his own knowledge and kashfs will fear others’ denial. When the truth is as obvious as
the sun, when the kashfs are as luminous as the full moon, and when one has been rescued from reflections and fancies and made to surmount the samples and
patterns, will there ever be doubts about what is known? My master [Muhammad Bâqî] ‘quddisa sirruh’ stated: “The symptom to show that the hâls (spiritual
states) being experienced are correct is a yaqîn and an absolute belief in them.” Moreover, as a kindness and favour from
Allâhu ta’âlâ, this faqîr, [i.e. Imâm Rabbânî ‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ sirrah-ul’azîz’,] has been informed with each and every one of the hâls stated by those
great superiors. The ma’rifats shown (to this faqîr) include ‘tawhîd’, ‘ittihâd’, ‘ihâta’, and ‘sereyân’. The inner nature of whatsoever had been shown and
imparted to those great people were revealed, and the subtleties of their knowledge and ma’rifats were made to rise to the surface. I stayed at that grade for guite a long time, so that I attained
more or less of all those ma’rifats. Could there be any doubts or uncertainties
left, then? Eventually, it has become clear as a kind favour from Allâhu ta’âlâ that all the images
they had been observing and perceiving are gimmicks and appearances of images,
reflections, and fancies. What they had been experiencing is no more than a
pursuit of samples and fancies. What should be looked for is beyond those
things, and what should be desired is past them. Realizing this fact has made
me, willy-nilly, turn away from all those ma’rifats and focus my tawajjuh on
the Dhât-i-ilâhî, Who is bîchûn. I have been keeping away
from everything that has an amount and which can be qualified. Were I not
in that state, could I say things disagreeable with (the statements made by) those
great people? Nor would I say something to contradict those superior people if the
difference (between us) did not concern the Person and Attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ and if it were not intended for the taqdîs and tenzîh of
Allâhu ta’âlâ. Nay, I could
not even open my mouth. For, I am like a beggar gleaning the remnants of the blessings bestowed
on them. I am a servant doing the cleaning
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after the meals at which they have been
relishing the blessings showered on them. I
repeat
once again that it is them who were so kind as to discipline and educate this
faqîr, [i.e. Imâm Rabbânî ‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ sirrah-ul’azîz’.] It is them
who benefited me so bountifully, so magnanimously. But how else could I behave?
As the point at issue is the Person and Attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ and the words being
used in matters concerning His Holy Person are unsuitable, it would be
incompatible with piety and faithful servitude to keep silent for fear of being
denied.
In matters concerning
the wahdat-i-wûjud; whereas scholars differ with men of Tasawwuf as a result of
mental and logical reasoning, the disagreement on the part of this faqîr, (i.e.
Imâm Rabbânî,) is based on kashf, shuhûd, and seeing. Scholars argue that the
teachings offered by men of Tasawwuf are ugly. What I
the faqîr
say, however, is that, beautiful as they are, one must carry on with one’s
progress, leaving them behind, since they are not one’s ultimate goal and
desire. Shaikh Alâuddawla ‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ sirrah-ul’azîz’[1] also disagrees with
the teachings of wahdat-i-wujûd and, like scholars, he looks on those teachings
as ugly. That is surprising. For, his knowledge has been acquired by way of
kashf. A person of kashf will not deem those teachings ‘ugly’. For, the
wahdat-i-wujûd contains curious states and astonishing ma’rifats. And those
teachings, in turn, are not ugly. Nor is it something beautiful to get stuck in
those teachings.
Question: It is understood
from these statements that the great men of Tasawwuf have been following a
false way and that truth is different from their kashfs and findings.
Answer: ‘False’ means
‘(something) which is not based on any truth’. However, these states and
ma’rifats are the fruits of excessive love. So thoroughly do those superior
people become suffused with love of Allâhu ta’âlâ that they become quite oblivious of everything else. They see nothing else. When those great people become engulfed in this state willy-nilly as
a result of being enraptured with love of Allâhu ta’âlâ, other things cease to exist in their eyes. They see nothing but
Allâhu ta’âlâ. Could this state be called ‘false’? There is no falsity here. They have been
---------------------------------
[1]
Ruknaddîn Ahmad ’Alâuddawla ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, (659 [1260
A.D.], Shemnân (Semnan) - 736 [1335],) was the son of the Pâdishâh
of Shemnân. Later he joined the order of Tasawwuf called Kubreviyya and attained
kamâl.
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enveloped by truth. Diving into love of Allâhu ta’âlâ, those great people have annihilated themselves and all other things. Could falsity ever approach them? They are completely truthful and for
truth. Could scholars, with their knowledge based on appearance, penetrate into their true essence? What could they undertand, except the apparent
incompatibility? What of their greatness could they obtain?
To tell the truth,
such great perfections and superiorities lie beyond those states and ma’rifats
that those states and ma’rifats compare with those perfections as disfavourably
as a drop of water versus an ocean. A Persian couplet in English:
The sky is low, when compared with the ’Arsh;
Yet it is
incomparably higher than the earth.
Let us come back to
the subject under discussion! Concerning the tearing of the curtains; they say
that in the seyr-i-âfâqî all the curtains disappear, those that are with nûr
and the ones with zulmat alike. According to this faqîr, (i.e. Imâm Rabbânî
‘quddisa sirruh’,) this statement of theirs is not suitable, either. In fact,
my understanding is quite different. I see that disappearing
of the curtains with zulmat requires traversing the entire creation and
completing the seyr-i-enfusî as well as the seyr-i-âfâqî. And for the curtains
with nûr to go up, progress (seyr) through the Names and Attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ is required. In other
words, names, attributes, qualities, and references should never be seen. Only
thereafter will the curtains with nûr go up and the (grade called) Wasl-i-’uryânî be attained. Very few
people have atained it. Even half of the curtains with zulmat will not
disappear in the seyr-i-âfâqî. Then, a fortiori, none of the ones with nûr will
disappear (in that phase). There is quite a wide variety of curtains. That must
be the reason for their misconception. For instance, the zulmat (blackness) of
the curtains of the nafs is darker than that of the curtains of the heart.
Curtains with lighter zulmat should have been mistaken for curtains with nûr. A
person with a keen sight will not confuse curtains with zulmat with those with
nûr. He will not call zulmat ‘nûr’. This is a blessing which He will bestow on
anyone He chooses. Allâhu ta’âlâ is a great gift-maker.
The path wherein this
faqîr, [i.e. Imâm Rabbânî ‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ sirrah-ul’azîz,] was honoured
with guidance and education, includes both jadhba and sulûk. Cleansing the
latîfas [of the human iniquities]and filling them with the attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ are simultaneous. In
this path the tasfiya [sulûk] and tezkiya
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[jadhba] are done at the same time. The
seyr-i-âfâqî is accomplished during the seyr-i-enfusî. The Tezkîya also is
realized within the tasfiya. The jadhba produces the sulûk, too. The âfâq takes
place within the enfus. However, purification of the latîfas takes place before
the jadhba, and the tasfiya is prior to the tezkiya. It is the enfus, not the
âfâq, which is under consideration in this path. Therefore, attainment is
realized fast in this path. In fact, I can say that this path
will certainly guide to attainment. There is no likelihood that it will not. We
should beg
Allâhu ta’âlâ for orientation and chance.
I have
said that this path will definitely make you attain. For, this path begins with
the jadhba, which in turn will definitely make you attain. What causes the
sâlik to fail by the wayside is either the stages of sulûk or the dry jadhbas
without sulûk. Neither of these two hindrances exists in this pah. For, the
sulûk is dependent on the jadhba. It takes place simultaneously with the jadhba
and within the jadhba. Here, neither pure sulûk nor dry jadhba exists.
Therefore, the sâlik is not waylaid in this path. This path is an avenue
reserved for Prophets
‘’alaihim-us-salawât-u-wa-t-teslîmât’. Those great people attained kamâl
(perfection) through that avenue in a variety of manners in keeping with the
high grades they occupied. With one giant stride they traversed the âfâq and
the enfus, taking their next stride beyond the âfâq and the enfus. They left
the sulûk and the jadhba behind. For, the end of the sulûk is by the end of the
seyr-i-âfâqî, and the end of the jadhba is by the end of the seyr-i-enfusî.
When the seyr-i-âfâqî and enfusî are completed, the sulûk and the jadhba are
completed, too. Thereafter, there is no longer any sulûk or any jadhba left.
People of sulûk and jadhba can not understand this statement of ours. For, in
their view there is no way leading upwards from the âfâq and the enfus; an
eternal life would be too short to complete a seyr-i-enfusî carried on
continuously. One of those great people state, as is expressed in the following
Persian couplet, translated into English:
Did a person walk throughout his life-span,
Trek in himself would
be too long to span.
So great are the
people who showed me this path; it was owing to them that I opened
my eyes; and it is owing to them that I have been able to say
these words. From them did I learn the alphabet of Tasawwuf. Under their tawajjuh did I attain
the grade of Mawlawiyya. All my knowledge, if I
ever have
any, consists in a few drops from their oceans of knowledge. The ma’rifat I have,
if
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any, is the fruit of their kind favours.
From them did I learn the path whose end has been placed in its beginning. From
them did I hold the end of the rope pulling towards the rank of Qayyûm. So
bounteous are the gains that I attained with one look from them that others could not even see
them after forty days of mortification. So great are my acquisitions from their
words that others could not obtain them by studying for years on end. Two
Persian couplets in English:
Someone
who attained one look from Shems-ad-dîn in Tabrîz [1] would sneer
At hard-core novitiaters, and scoff at what others hold dear.
So skilful are the Naqshibandiyya in guiding
their convoy;
Secretly, to their destination they lead their convoy.
These superior people
start their journey with the seyr-i-enfusî, accomplishing the seyr-i-âfâqî
alongside it. Their motto, “Safar der watan,” (in Persian) denotes this state of theirs.
Short is the path
guided by these superior people. And fast will they lead to the destination.
Others’ paths end where this path begins. Hence their statement: “We have
placed the end in the beginning.” In short, the path guided by these great
people is by far higher than the other paths of Tasawwuf. I can
say that the hudhûr and being âghâh of these people, [i.e. being with Allâhu ta’âlâ every moment,] is
above the hudhûr of most of the others. Hence their statement: “Our attachment
is the most sublime of all attachments.” However, since the Awliyâ cannot make
progress beyond the âfâq and the enfus or above the sulûk and the jadhba, these
great people, willy-nilly, have not spoken about (stages) beyond the âfâq and
the enfus or informed about (grades) above the sulûk and the jadhba. Suitably
with the kamâlât (perfections) of Wilâyat (being Awliyâ), they have stated: “In
themselves do the Awliyâ see and find all things beyond the Fanâ and the Baqâ.”
So they have done to adabt themselves to the âyat-i-kerîma in Zâriyât Sûra, which purports: “It
is within yourselves. Why don’t you see?”
Hamd and gratitude be
to Allâhu
ta’âlâ that
these great people have not remained attached to the enfus, although they have
not given information about what is beyond the enfus. By saying, “Lâ,” they have tried to annihilate the enfus as well as the âfâq. Like anything else that is other than
Allâhu ta’âlâ, the enfus also is
---------------------------------
[1] Mawlânâ
Muhammad bin ’Alî Shems-ad-dîn Tabrîzî ‘rahmatullâhi ’alaih’, (martyred in
Konya, Turkey, in 645 [1247 A.D.].)
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non-existent in their view. Muhammad Behâeddîn Bukhârî ‘quddisa
sirruh’, (718 [1318 A.D.], Bukhârâ - 791 [1389], the same place,) for instance,
stated: “Everything you see or you hear or you know is not Him. All those
things should be annihilated as one says, ‘Lâ.’ ” A Persian couplet in English:
Naqshibandî as they are, not to every naqsh [1] will they attach themselves;
So that people, in confusion, look for another naqsh for themselves.
Annihilating other
things’ is something quite different from ‘other things’ ceasing to exist’.
We have said that in
Wilâyat there cannot be progress above the jadhba and the sulûk or beyond the
âfâq or the enfus. For, atop these four bases of Wilâyat is the Kemâlât-i-nubuwwat, which is too high
for Wilâyat to reach. Most of the Sahâba of Prophets ‘’alaihim-us-salawât-u-wa-t-teslîmât’ and very few fortunate
ones among the non-Sahâba have been honoured with this great fortune as a
reward for perfectly adapting themselves to Prophets ‘’alaihim-us-salawât-u-wa-t-tehiyyât’. Progressing along this path,
which envelops the jadhba and the sulûk, they have reached beyond the jadhba
and the sulûk. They have freed themselves from images and fancies and left the
enfus as well as the âfâq behind. At that grade the Tejellî-i-Dhâtî, (Tajallî-i-Dhâtî,) which others taste for as short a time as a lightning would take, has become a
permanent flavour for these fortunate people to relish. In fact, what these people have experienced, whether like a lightning or permanent, is superior to all
other tajallîs. For, whereas all tajallîs [manifestations] contain fancies and reflections, though quite few, a fancy as tiny as a dot looks like a great
mountain to these great people. The prime mover in these great people’s gains is the attraction and love of the Dhât-i-ilâhî. As a kind favour from
Allâhu ta’âlâ, this love becomes stronger moment by moment, affection felt for other things gradually becoming
weaker and weaker in the meantime. Attachment to other things gradually dissolves. When a fortunate person becomes completely absorbed in love of
Allâhu ta’âlâ, his affection for other things being completely gone and replaced by love of
Allâhu ta’âlâ, all his lowly attributes and bad habits leave him. He attains all the blessings obtainable by way of
seyr-i-âfâqî, without any need for a long process of sulûk, painstaking riyâzats and austere mujâhadas. For, love entails obedience to the beloved
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[1] Lexical meaning of ‘naqsh’ is ‘design’ or
‘embroidery’ or ‘print’.
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one. When love culminates, obedience becomes immaculate. When
the lover attains an obedience as flawless as the human nature can afford for
the beloved one, he becomes blessed with the (ten gifts termed) Maqâmât-i-’ashara. [It is written in
the book entitled Neshr-ul-mehâsin, (written by ’Afîf-ud-dîn ’Abdullah bin Es’ad Yâfi’î
‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih, 698 [1298 A.D.], Yemen -768 [1367], Mekka,) that
the maqâmat-i-’ashara are: Tawba, zuhd, wera’, sabr, faqr, shukr, khawf, rejâ,
tawakkul, and ridâ.] Alongside this (progress termed) Seyr-i-mahbûbî, the seyr-i-enfusî as
well as the seyr-i-âfâqî will have been completed. For, the unfailing
truth-teller, (i.e. the blessed Prophet,) ‘’alaihi wa ’alâ âlihissalâtu wa-s-salâm’, stated: ‘A person will be with
the person he loves.” Since the Beloved One is outside of the âfâq and the enfus and
the lover will be with the Beloved One, he gets beyond the âfâq and the enfus.
Thus he leaves the seyr-i-enfusî behind, too, and attains the greatest blessing
of togetherness. It is owing to this fortune of affection that these great
people do not engage in the âfâq or the enfus. Instead, the âfâq and the enfus
adapt themselves to them. The sulûk and the jadhba attach themselves to these
great peoples’ actions. Affection is these great people’s capital. Affection
requires obeying the Beloved One. And obeying the Beloved One means obeying
Islam’s commandments. For, what the Beloved One loves is the Islamic rules.
Then, the symptom of a strong affection is a strict obedience to the Islamic
rules. Obedience to the Islamic rules (Ahkâm-i-islâmiyya) means performing the (commandments termed) farz and avoiding
the (prohibitions called) harâms. A perfect obedience to the Ahkâm-i-islâmiyya
requires ’ilm (knowledge), ’amal (acting compatibly with one’s knowledge,
performing the Islamic acts of worship in manners dictated by Islam), and
ikhlâs (doing Islam’s commandments only because they are the commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ and only for the
purpose of pleasing Allâhu ta’âlâ). Spontaneous ikhlâs in everything said and
done, in every action and behaviour, falls to the lot of people called
‘mukhlas’. People called ‘mukhlis’ cannot understand this mystery. It has been stated: “People who are
mukhlis[1] are in great danger.”
Let us resume again! The purpose in seyr and sulûk, and
therefore what is expected from jadhba and tasfiya, is to cleanse
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[1]
‘Mukhlis’ means ‘(one) who tries to do everything with ikhlâs’; and ‘mukhlas’
means ‘(one) who habitually and spontaneously behaves, talks, acts, and feels
with ikhlâs’.
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the nafs from bad habits and ugly properties. Ahead of all these
ugly properties is indulgence towards the nafs and submission to its wishes and
desires. Then, the seyr-i-enfusî is a must. It is necessary to shift from ugly
properties to beautiful ones. The seyr-i-âfâqî is not a necessity. Realization
of the purpose is not contingent on that seyr (progress). For, fondness for the
âfâq is an outcome of fondness for the nafs. Man likes everything because he
likes himself. He likes his children and property because he will benefit from
them. Since the seyr-i-enfusî is a process whereby man is overwhelmed by love
of Allâhu
ta’âlâ and
thereby becomes freed from loving himself, love of such things as progeny and
property follows suit and leaves him. Then, the seyr-i-enfusî is definitely
necessary. the seyr-i-âfâqî will automatically be attained, too. The seyr
experienced by the Prophets ‘’alaihim-us-salawât-u-wa-t-teslîmât’ was the seyr-i-enfusî.
The seyr-i-âfâqî was experienced concomitantly with it. Yes. It will be good if
the seyr-i-âfâqî also is carried on in the meantime, provided it will be done
incessantly and continuously until the destination is attained to. However, an
intermittent progress carried on by fits and starts will be next to useless,
especially when the wayfarer falls by the wayside and fails to go the distance.
It has been considered as one of the obstacles preventing to attain the
purpose.
The farther the
seyr-i-enfusî is carried on the more benefit will be reaped. The benefit will
culminate with the great blessing attained by completing the seyr and
transcending the enfus. Why should it be necessary to observe the developments
throughout the enfus in the mirror of the âfâq, or to see in the âfâq the changes
taking place in yourself? So is the case with perceiving the purity of your
heart in the ’âlam-i-mithâl and to see this purity as a crimson nûr in the
’âlam-i-mithâl. Why should one not leave it to one’s own conscience and
perceive one’s development and purity with one’s own intuition? There is a
widely known tale being told about someone who did not need a doctor for twelve
years and knew the changes in his health with his conscience throughout that
time. With his own intuition he knew whether he was healthy or unhealthy. Yes.
Many an unusual state is undergone during the seyr-i-âfâqî; such as pieces of
subtle information, ma’rifats, tajallîs, and zuhrs. Yet all these things are
the appearances of the dhils (fancies). It therefore means to amuse oneself
with samples and images. As we have explained in some of our letters, the
seyr-i-enfusî is based on dhils (fancies) and reflections. Then, the
seyr-i-âfâqî is based on the dhils of the dhils. For, the âfâq, so to speak,
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consists in dhils (fancies) and reflections. Then, the
seyr-i-âfâqî is based on the dhils of the dhils. For, the âfâq, so to speak,
consists in dhils (shades) of the enfus; it is like a mirror showing the enfus.
Seeing the changes in the enfus in the mirror of the âfâq, and observing in the
mirror of the âfâq how the latîfas are being purified and how they are
beautified with the Sifât-i-ilâhiyya (Divine Attributes), is like a person’s
dreaming himself, i.e. seeing himself in the ’âlam-i-mithâl, as a Pâdishâh or
as the time’s qutb . The fact, however, is that he has become neither a
Pâdishâh nor the qutb of his time. His dream shows that in the outside, i.e.
when he is awake as well, he can be a Pâdishâh or the qutb[1] of his time. The
tezkiya, [i.e. the cleansing of the latîfas,] takes place in the seyr-i-enfusî.
What is observed in the seyr-i-âfâqî is a manifestation informing that this
tezkiya is possible and probable. Unless the person going through the
seyr-i-enfusî sees himself cleansed and perceives through his conscience that
he has been purified, Fanâ will not take place and he will not attain the
Maqâmât-i-’ashara. Air only will be obtained instead of the seven blessed
states. As is seen, the seyr-i-enfusî also is within the seyr-i-il-Allah.
Attainment of Fanâ with the completion of the seyr-i-il-Allah depends on the
completion of the seyr-i-enfusî. The seyr-i-fillâh takes place a long time
later than the (completion of the) seyr-i-enfusî.
Oh man, who is so
fortunate! Since a person undergoing the seyr-i-enfusî becomes completely
divested of knowledge of himself and love for himself, he will no longer have
any attachment to himself. As a natural result of that, he will no longer have
any attachment to others, either. From what we have said so far, the meaning of
seyr-i-enfusî, as well as that of seyr-i-âfâqî, must have been quite clear.
For, seyr in the enfus is seyr in the âfâq, too. It is the seyr (progress) in
the enfus to make away with the attachments to yourself. And it is the
seyr-i-âfâqî for the attachments to the âfâq to dissolve as you are carrying on
with the seyr-i-enfusî. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain the
seyr-i-âfâqî and the seyr-i-enfusî as defined by the others. Yes. There will
not be difficulty with things that are corrert.
They say that in the
seyr-i-enfusî the Names and Attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ appear in the sâlik’s mirror. They say that it is a process of
filling after the takhliya [emptying]. What appears, in
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[1] Please
see the eighteenth chapter for terms such as ‘Qutb-i-medâr’ and ‘Qutb-i-irshâd’.
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the actual fact, is a dhil (fancy) from the dhils of the Names
and Attributes. First, a dhil (fancy) that is one of the dhils of the Names and
Attrubes appears in the tâlib’s, [i.e. the devotee’s,] mirror, purging him of
the zulmats and vices inherent in him. Hence, tasfiya and tezkiya. This tasfiya
and tezkiya takes place after the completion of the seyr-i-enfusî. Thus the
latîfas have become evacuated (from their vices) and are now convenient for the
manifestation of the Names and Attributes. The tahliya to be obtained in the
seyr-i-enfusî is dependent upon the completion of the tasfiya and the tezkiya.
The tahliya observed in the seyr-i-âfâqî is not true tahliya. Therefore, the
Names and Attributes are not seen in the seyr-i-enfusî. That means to say that
attainment of the dhil is previous to separation from everything other than the
beloved one. In other words, unless one of the dhils of the beloved one is
observed in the sâlik’s mirror, it is out of the question to be disconnected
from things other than the beloved one. However, attainment to the beloved one
is after being disconnected from others. For that matter, those superiors of
Tasawwuf who said that attainment, [i.e. peyvesten (in the Fârisî language),]
is prior (to being disconnected from others), must have meant ‘attainment to
one of the dhils (fancies)’. The ones who said that attainment takes place
thereafter meant ‘attainment to the origin’. Hence, the difference between the
two sides is only on the semantic level. Shaikh Abû Sa’îd Harrâz ‘quddisa
sirruh’, (d. 277 [890 A.D.], Baghdâd,) approached the matter from quite a
different point of view and stated: “You cannot be saved unless you find it,
and you cannot find it unless you are saved! I do not know which one takes
precedence.” It is understood that finding the dhil takes precedence over being
saved, whereas finding the origin comes after attaining safety. In this there
is no place for doubt. Likewise, before sunrise in the morning the dhils of
sunlight appear and cleans the earth from darkness. When the zulmats are gone
and the entire terrain becomes clarified, the sun itself rises. In this example
as well, the appearing of the sun’s dhils is previous to the disappearing of
the zulmats (darkness), and sunrise takes place after the elimination of the
zulmats and the clarification of the dhils. However, in this example the
elimination of the zulmats and the clarification of the terrain do not precede
the appearing of the dhils.
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