This
letter was written for Mirzâ Shems-ad-dîn. It explains that Islam has a sûrat (outer
appearance) and a haqîqat (inner, true essence), and that Islam has to be
followed and obeyed both at the beginning and at the end of the progress in
Tasawwuf:
Hamd be to Allâhu ta’âlâ! Salâm be to His slaves whom He has chosen and loved! Islam has an outward appearance, and a haqîqat,
i.e. true, inner essence. Islam’s outward appearance (sûrat) is to have belief in Allâhu ta’âlâ and in His Rasûl (Messenger) and in the teachings that this
Rasûl has brought from Him, and to adapt oneself to the rules and principles of
Islam. [Islam
means
(a system of) rules, principles, commandments, and prohibitions. To adapt
oneself to those principles and rules means to perform the commandments and
avoid the prohibitions.] Man’s nafs-i-ammâra refuses to have îmân (belief) and
to adapt itself to the sûrat of Islam. This refusal is inherent in its
creation. Therefore the îmân (belief) of people who have adapted themselves to
the sûrat (outward appearance) of Islam is the sûrat (outward appearance) of
îmân. In other words, it is îmân in appearance. The acts of worship that they
perform, such as namâz, fasting, and all the others, are the sûrats of the
(true) acts of worship. That is, they are worship in appearance. For, when the
word ‘man’ is used ‘man’s nafs’ is meant. When any person says, “I,” they mean ‘their nafs’. As a person performs an act of worship, their nafs is in a state of kufr (denial of Islam). Their nafs denies the fact
that what they have doing is a proper act. Can such a person have true and proper îmân and perform their acts of worship properly?
Allâhu ta’âlâ, being so merciful and compassionate, kindly accepts the sûrats, appearances of îmân and worship as if they were true îmân and proper worship.
He promises and gives the glad tidings that He will put such slaves of His into Paradise. Allâhu ta’âlâ loves Paradise and His
slaves who are in Paradise. He is pleased with them. Because Allâhu ta’âlâ has endless kindness,
He has accepted only the heart’s confirmation and belief as îmân. He has not
enjoined that the nafs also should understand and have îmân. Be that as it may,
Paradise also has an outer appearance as well as a haqîqat (true inner
essence). Those who have attained only the sûrat of Islam in the world will
attain and enjoy only the sûrat of Paradise in the Hereafter. People who have
attained the haqîqat of Islam in the world will also attain the haqîqat of
Paradise in the Hereafter.
People who attain only
the sûrat and (those who attain) only the haqîqat of Paradise will be relishing
different flavours although they will be eating the same fruit in its Garden.
Rasûlullah’s blessed wives are Believers’ mothers and they will be with
Rasûlullah; yet the flavours and tastes they will be enjoying will differ. If
the flavour they will be relishing were the same, they would necessarily be
higher than all other people ‘’alaihinna-s-salâtu wa-s-salâm wa ridwânullâhi
ta’âlâ ’alaihinna’. Likewise, wife of every person who is higher would be
higher as well. For, wives and husbands will be together in Paradise. Those who
have adapted themselves to the sûrat of Islam will be safe against torment and
attain eternal happiness in the Hereafter. Likewise, there are two grades of
(wilâyat, i.e. being a Walî,) Awliyâ: Wilâyat-i-’âmma; and Wilâyat-i-khâssa, i.e. the Wilâyat of chosen people. Those who have adapted
themselves only to the sûrat of Islam will attain the Wilâyat-i-’âmma. A widely-known
âyat-i-kerîma purports: “Allâhu ta’âlâ is the walî (guardian) of people who have îmân.”
People who have attained the sûrat of Islam, i.e. those who have attained the Wilâyat-i-’âmma and
thereby love of Allâhu ta’âlâ, may progress in a path of Tarîqat, i.e. in Tasawwuf, and thereby attain Wilâyat-i-khâssa. A Muslim
who progresses in one of those paths is called a sâlik. The sâlik’s nafs slowly frees itself from being a
nafs-i-ammâra and attains itmi’nân and ease. Its state of excessive rebelliousness
evanesces. It should be known well that a sâlik who endeavours to attain the
Wilâyat-i-khâssa has to be in a constant state of obedience to the sûrat of
Islam. The Dhikr-i-ilâhî, the most important duty throughout the progress in Tasawwuf,
is one of Islam’s commandments. Also necessary during the course is to avoid
Islam’s prohibitions. Performing the (acts of worship that are) farz will
facilitate the sâlik’s progress. Islam commands to look for a guide, a scholar
who knows Tasawwuf well, so that he will lead the sâlik by the hand. For, it is
declared in Mâida Sûra: “Look for a means for attaining Him!” It is stated as
follows in hadîth-i-sherîfs quoted in the book entitled Kunûz-ud-deqâiq: “Scholars are Prophets’ inheritors”: “The Awliyâ are such people
that when They are seen Allah will be remembered”; “Everything has a
birthplace. The birthplace of taqwâ is the hearts of ’ârifs”; “Knowledge of bâtin is one of the secrets of
Allâhu ta’âlâ!”; “Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ would pray through
the poor ones of Muslims”; “It is (an act of) worship to look at a scholar’s face”; “They are such people
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that those who are with
them will never become shaqî!”; “Be respectful towards the scholars of my Ummat! For, they are the stars of the earth”;
“Allah has such slaves that if they swear an oath on something Allah will
create that thing”; “It is (an act of) worship to be among scholars”; “A scholar among his disciples is like a Prophet among his Ummat”; “Death of a scholar is a
loss greater than deaths of all the people living in a city”; “People who hold the highest grade are those who make dhikr of Allâhu ta’âlâ”; “The most valuable people are scholars among the Believers”; “Dhikring is better than
performing a nâfila (supererogatory) fast”; “Symptom of love of Allah is making dhikr of Him very much”; “Rasûlullah would
make very much dhikr of Allâhu
ta’âlâ”; “A
person will make dhikr of his beloved one very much”.]
As is seen, attaining
the haqîqat of Islam definitely requires adapting yourself to the sûrat of
Islam. For, all the kamâlât (perfections) of Wilâyat and Nubuwwat (Prophethood) have been
established on the sûrat of Islam. A person who adapts himself only to the
sûrat of Islam will attain the kamâlât of Wilâyat. And a person who adapts
himself both to the sûrat and to the haqîqat of Islam will attain also the
kamâlât of Nubuwwa. Later ahead we will, inshâ-Allah, provide more
clarification for this subject.
Attaining Wilâyat is
achievable by endeavouring along a path of Tasawwuf. For attaining Wilâyat,
i.e. for becoming a Walî, it is necessary to expel the mâ-siwâ from your heart.
The mâ-siwâ
are things other than Allah. That is, they are creatures, all of them. When all the
mâ-siwâ are wiped out from the heart’s eye as a kindness and favour from Allâhu
ta’âlâ, so that even their names become forgotten, the grade attained has been
termed Fanâ. The seyr-i-il-Allah has been completed
now. Thereafter, effort will be made to attain the grade of ithbât, which is (also)
called seyr-i-fillah. At this grade only the heart remembers
Allâhu ta’âlâ. This grade is called Baqâ or Haqîqat. Grade of Baqâ is the end of Wilâyat. The sâlik who has attained the grade of Fanâ, in the former, and
the grade of Baqâ, in Haqîqat, has attained Wilâyat and become a Walî. His nafs-i-ammâra has become mutmainna and saved from unbelief and denial; it is now
pleased with its Rabb (Allâhu ta’âlâ), and its Rabb in turn is pleased with it. The wickedness and excessiveness in its creation are gone.
Great superiors of Tasawwuf ‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ esrârahum-ul’azîz’ are said to have said that a nafs that has attained itmî’nân, (i.e. one that has become
mutmainna,) has not become safe against excessiveness. A Persian couplet in English:
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“Mutmainna as a nafs may have become,
Its wickedness won’t
altogether be gone,”
they have said, and added, that it is the
jihâd carried on against the nafs that is meant by the expression ‘great jihâd’
used in the hadîth-i-sherîf, “We are back from the lesser jihâd, and we are going to start the
great jihâd,” which the blessed Prophet uttered upon returning from a ghazâ (holy war). According to
the kashf revealed to me the faqîr and to my conscientious understanding, those
great people and I differ on this matter. Once the nafs has attained itmî’nân there
will be, I find, no longer any excessiveness left in it. I see that it will be perfectly obedient to Islam. So much so that the nafs, like
the heart that has become totally oblivious to the mâ-siwâ, will attain a state wherein it will see and know nothing but
Allâhu ta’âlâ. It will no longer
have any ambitions to occupy a position, nor will it ever rejoice over obtaining something. How could it ever be possible for it to disobey Islam or to be
excessive or rampant? If they called its swerving as much as a hair’s breadth from Islam before having attained itmî’nân ‘excessiveness’ or ‘rampancy’, they
would be approved for having said so. Yet it would be out of the question for it to disobey Islam or be excessive or rampant after having attained itmî’nân.
This faqîr [Hadrat Imâm Rabbânî means himself] made an in-depth study of the matter. I strove very hard to solve the enigma. Once the nafs has attained
itmî’nân, excessiveness or rampancy as much as a hair’s breadth becomes
impossible for it. It has thoroughly surrendered itself to Islam, and all its
wickedness is gone. It has annihilated itself for the grace of its Owner. It is
out of the question for such a nafs to disobey Islam. When the nafs is pleased
with Allâhu
ta’âlâ and Allâhu ta’âlâ is pleased with it,
how can it ever be rampant? Someone rampant will not be pleased with. Can a
nafs with whom Allâhu ta’âlâ is pleased ever do something to displease Him?
The expression, ‘great jihâd
(jihâd-i-ekber)’, used in the hadîth-i-sherîf (quoted above), to the understanding of this faqîr, may be the jihâd carried on against the body. For, the human
body has been made of four different and irreconcilable substances. Each and every one of these substances has wishes different from those of the other three,
and what its nature feels aversion towards polarly differs from the dislikes of the other three.
Allâhu ta’âlâ, alone, knows the truth of everything. Man’s sensuous desires originate from its body. His wrath and dislikes, as well, originate from his body.
Animals do not have nafs-i-nâtiqa. They, too, have
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lust, anger, greed, and jealously. With
mankind, this jihâd will never come to an end. The nafs’s attaining itmî’nân
will not put an end to this jihâd. Nor will this jihâd come to an end when the
heart attains the grade of Wilâyat. This jihâd in man supplies various
benefits. It is thereby that the human body becomes cleansed and high grades in
the Hereafter are attained. In worldly life the body is dependent on the heart.
In the Hereafter the roles become exchanged, and the heart becomes dependent on
the body. When man dies there starts his life in the Hereafter, and this jihâd
comes to an end.
When the nafs attains itmî’nân as a kindness and favour of
Allâhu ta’âlâ, it will become honoured with obedience to Islam, attain Islâm-i-haqîqî and the haqîqat (true, inner essence) of îmân. Every act done thereafter will be (done in) the haqîqat of Islam. When namâz is performed, it will
be the haqîqat of namâz performed. When a fasting is observed, it will be the haqîqat of fasting observed. When hajj is performed it will be the haqîqat of hajj
performed. This rule applies to obedience to all the other rules of Islam. As is seen, haqîqat through the first way is a passage between the sûrat of Islam and
the haqîqat of Islam. Unless one is honoured with Wilâyat-i-khâssa, one will not be free from Islâm-i-mejâzî (metaphorical Islam) and attain Islâm-i-haqîqî
(true, real Islam). [Islâm-i-mejâzî is to adapt oneself to the sûrat (appearance) of Islam, and Islâm-i-haqîqî is to become a real Muslim.] If a Muslim, as a
gift from Allâhu ta’âlâ, attains the haqîqat (truth, true inner essence) of Islam and becomes honoured with Islâm-i-haqîqî, he may attain the grade called kamâlât-i-Nubuwwa by adapting himself fully to Prophets and becoming an inheritor of those Great People. He may
plentifully avail himself of the blessings of that high grade. As the sûrat
(outer appearance) of Islam is a blessed tree yielding the fuits of the
kamâlât-i-Wilâyat, likewise the kamâlât of Nubuwwa are the fruits of the
haqîqat of Islam which is like a blessed tree. The kamâlât of Wilâyat are the
fruits yielded by the sûrat of Islam, whereas the kamâlât of Nubuwwa are the
fruits yielded by the haqîqat of that sûrat. Hence, whereas the kamâlât of
Wilâyat are the sûrats of the kamâlât of Prophethood (Nubuwwat), the kamâlât of Prophethood are the haqîqat of those sûrats.
It should be
understood well that it is on account of the nafs that the sûrat of Islam
differs from the haqîqat of Islam. The nafs-i-ammâra of a person who has
attained the sûrat of Islam retains its excessive behaviour and denial. When Islam’s haqîqat is
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attained, the nafs becomes mutmainna and becomes honoured with
being a Muslim. By the same token, the diffence between the kamâlât-i-Wilâyat, which are like
sûrats (appearances), and the kamâlât-i-Nubuwwat, which are like the haqîqats of those sûrats, originates from
the (human) body. At the grade of Wilâyat the four different component
substances making up the body retain their wishes and excessive behaviours. For
instance, the energy, the power in the body of a Walî whose nafs has attained
itmî’nân, carries on with its claim to be good and superior. Earthen substances
maintain their wish to foster vices. The liquid and gaseous substances
persevere with their physical and chemical properties and reactions. When the
grade of the kamâlât-i-Nubuwwat is attained, all the substances in the body
attain a state of equilibrium, so that they no longer have any traits of excessiveness
and harmfulness. Rasûlullah’s ‘’alaihi wa âlihis-salâtu wa-s-salâm’ blessed
utterance, “My Satan has become a Muslim, that is, he has surrendered,” may have
been intended to inform about this state of equilibrium. For, devils exist
inside of man as well as outside of him. The devil inside of man is the excess
of his power and energy. An increase in man’s energy begets pride and arrogance
in him. And it is this trait of arrogance that is the basest of all wicked
traits. Surrender on the part of the energy, and thereby its attaining
salvation, wipes out this wicked trait from him.
Once a Walî has
attained the kamâlât-i-Nubuwwat, both his heart and his nafs have attained itmî’nân. At the
same time three different substances in his body and his energy have attained a
state of equilibrium. In Wilâyat, however, partly only has the nafs attained
itmî’nân, although it has been perfectly accomplished by the heart. We have
said, “partly,” about the itmî’nân of the nafs, which means, “more or less.”
For, perfect attainment of itmî’nân on the part of the nafs is realized in the
aftermath of the state of equilibrium in the substances making up the body. It
is by reason of this actuality that those great people have expressed their
fears that when the substances in the bodies of people who have attained
Wilâyat do not attain a state of equilibrium the nafs that has attained
itmî’nân may resume its former (wicked) traits. Once the components of the body
have attained a state of equilibrium it will never lapse back into its former
state. As is seen, arguments on whether or not the nafs will return to its
former vices are symptomatic of different viewpoints. Each and every Walî has
made a statement reflecting the grade they have occupied.
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Question: After the substances
of the body have reached a state of equilibrium, so that they have no longer
any traits disagreeable with Islam, how is a jihâd against them to be carried
on? Since a jihâd against the nafs is no more carried on after it has become
mutmainna, won’t it likewise be unnecessary to make jihâd against these
substances?
Answer: The nafs’s becoming mutmainna and the state of equilibrium attained by the substances of the body are
unlike each other. When the nafs becomes mutmainna it becomes almost non-existent. As the five latîfas from the ’âlam-i-emr almost cease to exist, so does the
nafs. Because the substances making up the body have to obey the rules of Islam as long as they stay in the world, they have nothing to do with ‘sekr’ and
‘istihlâk’. Something that has undergone ‘istihlâk’, i.e. that does not have a self any longer, can no longer disobey the commandment or behave excessively. On
the other hand, something that is still in the state of ‘sahw’, i.e. that is still in its senses, consciousness, sobriety, may behave in a manner disagreeable
with the commandments. Such behaviour, which is not disagreeable with all the commandments, is of a variety of benefits. Under the kind and magnanimous
protection of Allâhu ta’âlâ, this misbehaviour involves omitting only a few acts of mustahab, going no further. For that matter,
jihâd is applicable against the substances of body that have attained a state of equilibrium. In contrast, jihâd against the nafs that has become mutmainna is
not permissible. I explained these pieces of information with more detail in the
first volume of Maktûbât, [the hundred and sixtieth letter,] which I wrote
for my eldest son [Muhammad Sâdîq ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, (1000, Serhend
- 1025 [1616 A.D.] of plague, the same place). Please see that letter if there
are any unclear points!
When, as a kindness and favour from
Allâhu ta’âlâ, the grades of the kamâlât-i-Nubuwwat, which are the results and the fruits of the haqîqat of Islam, are transcended, progress is not
achievable by endeavouring and adapting yourself to Islam. Anything attained at those grades is dependent only on a kindness and favour on the part of
Allâhu ta’âlâ, the most merciful. Îmân and knowledge perform no function at these grades. All the gains are sheer
kindness and grace of
Allâhu ta’âlâ. These grades are very much higher and very much wider than the former grades. The nûrs that
illuminate them are so resplendent that the likes of them do not exist in the former grades. These grades have been given only to those Prophets who are called Ulul’azm ‘’alaihim-us-salawât-u-wa-t-teslîmât’.
Also blessed with them are the very few
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chosen ones of their
perfectly compliant followers.
Islam is the basis of
all these high grades. It is the capital of all gains. Regardless of the number
of the branches that a tree shoots out, and no matter how high a wall rises and
how tall the buildings it carries, they cannot do without roots and
foundations. They will always need roots and foundations. The stroyes of an
apartment building, regardless of the height of the floor, always need the ones
beneath them. None of the floors can exempt itself from needing the lower
floors. If one of the storeys is unsafe, all the upper storeys will be unsafe,
too. One of them collapses, the uppers ones also will collapse. By the same
token, Islam is necessary, always and at every grade. Regardless of a person’s
level, he, like anyone else, always needs Islam. If Allâhu ta’âlâ favours a slave of His
and he is promoted to a higher grade, what is attained will be the fruits of
(special) love, rather than a special favour. This very high level of this
grade has been reserved for Muhammad ‘’alaihis-salâm’, the final Prophet ‘’alaihi wa ’alaihim
wa ’alâ Âl-i-kullin-is-salawât-u-wa-t-teslîmât-u-wa-t-tehiyyât-u-wa-l-berekât’.
Of those who fully adapt themselves to that exalted Prophet and follow in his
footsteps, they choose a few and honour them with this blessing. [That highest
grade appear in the shape of a villa in the ’âlam-i-mithâl.] The villa looks
very tall. Abû Bakr as-Siddîq, a perfect follower of that highest Prophet, appears in the villa, as the (spiritual) inheritor of the Propet. Hadrat ’Umar-ul-Fârûq also has been
honoured with that blessing. Also, Hadrat Khadîja and Hadrat ’Âisha, two of the Blessed Mothers of all Believers, appear in that villa owing to the conjugal tie
(attaching them to the cause of the entire creation) ‘radiy-Allâh ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în’.
Allâhu ta’âlâ, alone, knows the truth of everything. Yâ Rabbî! Please have mercy on us! Please bless us with the
right way! My valuable brother Shaikh ’Abd-ul-Hayy, owner of ma’rifats, has been attending (our) sohbat for years. He is leaving for his homeland now. He has
been given mastery of places thereabouts, which in turn necessitates a few lines whereby to inform you about it. The Ahlullah, [i.e. men of Allah, i.e. Awliyâ,]
are a great blessing for the people of any place where they happen to be. They are great good news for their guidance to happiness. How lucky for those who know
them and understand them!
[Imâm Rabbânî
‘rahmatullâhi ’alaih’ states as follows in the ninety-seventh (97) letter of
the first volume (of his great work entitled Maktûbât): “Man’s creation has
been intended for worship. And worship has been intended for attaining yaqîn,
i.e.
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true îmân. The word ‘hattâ’ in the last âyat-i-kerîma of Hijr Sûra means, in all
probability, ‘for’. Îmân obtained before performing acts of worship is, in a
way, an image of îmân. Worshipping will produce true îmân. Wilâyat, i.e. being (a Walî
or) Awliyâ, means Fanâ and Baqâ. Fanâ means ‘eviction of things disliked by Allâhu ta’âlâ from the heart; the
heart’s no longer containing them’. Baqâ means ‘the heart’s containing things
that Allâhu
ta’âlâ likes
and approves of’.” Worship means to adapt oneself to the way, sunnat, of the
Messenger of Allah. This way is termed Islam. Adapting oneself to Islam entails having îmân as taught by the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat, doing the commandments of
Allâhu ta’âlâ, and avoiding the harâms and bid’ats. The worst one of the harâms is (violation of) a qul’s (human being’s) right(s). State officials should
take utmost care to avoid this catasrophe. They should administer justice, avoid being duped by the British villains, who are Islam’s arch enemies, avoid
indulging into pleasures at times of peace, provide the weaponry possessed by the enemy, and educate the people in areas such as medicine, trade, agriculture,
arts, and warfare. These things are learned from a true scholar. That scholar is called a murshid. A murshid must be
found and these things must be learned from him. If a murshid cannot be found,
they must be learned from a murshid’s books. A murhid’s sohbat, or books, is
the greatest blessing. It is the cause of eternal happiness. One loves this
cause very much. A widely-known hadîth-i-sherîf reads: “Loving the benefactor is
congenital in the human nature.” The more a person loves their murshid the more fayz will they
receive from the murshid’s heart. They will attain the grade of Fanâ and improve
to a state wherein they will be performing their acts of worship with ikhlâs.
All they do will be dhikr. One will attain the grade of Fanâ by dhikring
through one’s heart as well; yet Fanâ will be attained more rapidly by way of
the fayz coming into one’s heart.]