O young man! Your contempt for
the friends [Awliya'] of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) results from your
having so little direct knowledge [ma'rifa] of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is
He). You say: "These folk invite suspicion. Why don't they share our way of
life? Why don't they sit in our company?" You talk like this because of your
ignorance of your own self. When your self-awareness is slight, you have little
awareness of what other people are worth. Inasmuch as you lack awareness of this
world and its eventual outcome ['aqiba], you are ignorant of the value of the
hereafter, and to the extent that you lack awareness of the hereafter, you are
ignorant of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). O you who are so
preoccupied with this world, you will soon experience loss and remorse in this
world and the hereafter. Your regrets will show up clearly on the Day of
Resurrection, the day of mutual cheating [yawm at-taghabun], the day of
ignominious shame [fadiha], the day of remorse and forfeiture [an-nadamat
wa'l-khusran]. Take stock of yourself before the advent of the hereafter. Do not
delude yourself because of the tolerance [hilm] of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious
is He) and His generosity toward you. You are maintaining the worst possible
state of affairs, through sins, mistakes and doing wrong to other people. Sin is
the mailman [barid] of unbelief [kufr], just as fever is the mailman of death.
Be sure to repent before death, before the arrival of the angel who is entrusted
with the collecting of spirits [arwah].
O young men! Repent! Can you not see how the Lord of Truth (Almighty and
Glorious is He) is trying you with misfortune so that you may repent, while you
do not comprehend, and persist in disobeying Him? Only a few individuals are
made to suffer tribulation in this day and age, but they experience it as an
affliction [niqma], not as a blessing [ni'ma]; as a punishment for sins, not as
a promotion in spiritual rank and grace [ziyada fi'd-darajat wa'l-karamat]. The
people [of the Lord] are put to the test in order to elevate their rank in the
presence of their King. They bear with Him patiently, because they seek His
countenance. When this is fully accomplished by them, they have achieved
dominion [mulk]. But when this is not fully accomplished, they firmly believe
that they are in damnation [hulk].
O ALLAH, no damnation! We beg you to let us be near to You, and behold You in
this world and the hereafter; in this world with our hearts and in the hereafter
with our eyes.
O my people! Do not despair of the refreshment [rawh] and relief [faraj] of
ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He), for this is near at hand. Do not despair,
because the Maker [as-Sani'] is ALLAH.
You do not know; it may be that ALLAH will afterward bring some new thing to
pass. (65:1)
Do not run away from tribulation [bala'], because tribulation borne with
patience is the basis of everything good. The foundation of Prophetship [Nubuwwah],
of Messengership [Risalah], of saintship [wilaya], of direct knowledge [ma'rifa]
and of love [mahabba], is surely tribulation. So if you have not borne
tribulation with patience, you have no foundation. A building cannot last
without a foundation. Have you ever seen a house standing firm on top of a
garbage dump? You only flee from tribulation and misfortunes because you feel no
pressing need for saintship, direct knowledge and the nearness of ALLAH
(Almighty and Glorious is He). Be patient, and work until you can ascend with
your heart [qalb], your innermost being [sirr] and your spirit [ruh] to the gate
of nearness to your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He).
The 'ulama' [learned scholars], the Awliya' [saints] and the Abd’al [spiritual
deputies] are the heirs of the Prophets [anbiya']. The Prophets are the brokers
[samasira], and these others are their advertising agents [munadun].
The believer [mu'min] is afraid of none but ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He),
and looks in hope to none but Him, for he has been given courage in his heart
and his innermost being. How can the hearts of believers fail to be encouraged
by ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He), since He has made them ascend to Him?
Their hearts [qulub] are always with Him, while their outer form [qalab] is here
on the earth. As ALLAH (Exalted is He) has said:
And in Our sight they are surely of the chosen, the excellent. (38:47)
They are chosen over their own relatives and their contemporaries. Their inner
natures [ma'ani] are marked with distinction, and their outer frames [mabani]
are enlightened. This is why they have detached themselves from people and
abstained from ordinary habits. They have forged ahead, and the grass has sprung
up to cover their tracks. They can no longer turn back. They have grown
accustomed to solitude. They prefer the desert, the shores of the oceans, the
open spaces and the wastelands, not civilization. They eat the herbs and drink
from the pools to be found in the deserts. They become like the beasts of the
wild.
In this situation, He draws their hearts near to Him and delights them with His
company. He lodges their frames with the frames of the Messengers [mursalun],
the champions of truth [siddiqun] and the martyrs [shuhada'], and He lodges
their inner natures with Himself. They always stand ready to serve, all night
and all day, in private. Such is the comfort of those who yearn, and the
pleasure of those who seek intimacy with ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He).
O young man! Sweetness is inevitably paired with bitterness, righteousness [salah]
with corruption [fasad], and turbulence [kadar] with serenity [safa']. If you
wish for total serenity, therefore, you must detach your heart from creatures
and connect it to the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). You must part
company with this world. Leave your family and entrust them to the safekeeping
of your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He). Strip your heart bare of everything,
approach the door of the hereafter and then enter it. If you do not find your
Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) in there, come out of it and flee in quest of
nearness to Him. When you find Him, you will find complete serenity in His
presence. What has the lover [muhibb] of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) to
do with anything other than Him? Paradise is the home of those who seek
spiritual status [darajat], the home of merchants who have traded this world for
it. This is why ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:
And therein is all that selves [al-anfus] desire and eyes delight in. (43:71)
He does not mention the heart [qalb]. He does not mention the innermost being [sirr].
He does not mention spiritual content [ma'na]. Paradise belongs to upright
keepers of the fast, to those who renounce and abstain from the desires and
pleasures of the flesh. They have traded one kind of food for another kind of
food, a garden for a garden, an abode for an abode.
From you I want deeds without talk. The gnostic ['arif] who works for the sake
of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) is an anvil that gets hammered on, but
never says a word; a plot of land that gets trodden over, changed and altered,
but stays quite dumb. The [Lord's] people see none other than ALLAH (Almighty
and Glorious is He), and none but Him do they hear. They have an inner core [janan]
but no tongue [lisan]. They become extinct [fanun] to themselves and to others,
and they remain in this condition. When ALLAH wishes, He resurrects them [ansharahum].
He makes the inner core a tongue, as if they were drugged [mubannajun]. The King
takes them to Himself with the hand of His compassion [ra'fa] and mercy [rahma].
He shapes them for Himself and creates them for Himself, not for any other. He
fashions them for Himself as He fashioned Moses (peace be upon him), for as He
told him: "I have fashioned you for Myself"There is nothing like unto Him, and
He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing. (42:11).
He brings into being a rest with no weariness, a friendship with no alienation,
a blessing with no pain, a joy with no unpleasantness, a sweetness with no
bitterness, a dominion with no damnation.
There, protection belongs only to ALLAH, the True. (18:44)
When someone has attained this state, comfort [raha] is made available to him
here and now. In the condition you are in, however, you will not find comfort in
this world, because it is the abode of turbulence, the abode of disasters. You
are bound to leave it, so you should expel it from your heart and from your
hand. If you cannot manage this, then keep it in your hand, but expel it from
your heart. Then, when you get stronger, let it go from your hand and give it to
the poor. The needy are the dependents of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and
Glorious is He). Besides, what is meant for you will not pass you by; it is
bound reach you whether you be rich or poor, an ascetic [zahid] or one with an
appetite for things [raghib].
The central point is the soundness and purity of your heart and your innermost
being, both of which become pure through the acquisition of knowledge, its
application in practice, sincerity in that practice, and honesty in seeking the
Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He).
O young man! Have you not heard the saying: "Study jurisprudence, then retire [tafaqqah
thumma-'tazil] "? Study the external jurisprudence [al-fiqh az-zahir], then
retire to the inner jurisprudence [al-fiqh al-batin]. Follow this outer practice
until it brings you close to a knowledge you have not been applying. This outer
knowledge is the light of the outer being, and the inner is the light of the
inner. It is a light [diya'] between you and your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is
He). Whenever you put your knowledge into practice, your path [tariq] to the
Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) is shortened, the door between you
and Him is widened, and He raises the panel of the door that is specially for
you.
Our Lord, give us in this world good, and good in the hereafter, and guard us
against the torment of the fire! (2:201)
Thirteenth Discourse
It was in the schoolhouse, in the late evening of Tuesday, the 4th of
Dhu'l-Qa'da, A.H. 545, that the Shaikh (may ALLAH be well pleased with him)
said:
O young man! Give priority to the hereafter over this world, because you will
then gain both of them together. If you give this world priority over the
hereafter, you will lose both of them together, as your punishment for having
preoccupied yourself with something you were not put in charge of. If you do not
concern yourself with this world, ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) will
assist you to cope with it. He will provide you with the facility [tawfiq] and
the opportunity to take from it, and when you do take something from it, it will
be with His blessing [baraka].
The believer [mu'min] works for both his worldly and his otherworldly interests.
For his worldly efforts he receives to the extent of his need. He is satisfied
with the equivalent of a traveler's provisions; he does not obtain a great deal.
The ignorant fool [jahil] is wholly concerned with this world. The ascetic ['azif]
is wholly concerned with the hereafter and then the Master.
If you happen to have acquired a whole loaf of this world, and your lower self [nafs]
is fighting for control and your desires are making demands, then is the time to
look after those who cannot get even a slice. There is no salvation [falah] for
you, until you despise your lower self and take up arms against it on the side
of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He)The champions of truth [as-siddiqun]
can recognize one another. Each one of them picks up the scent of acceptance and
truthfulness [sidq] from the another. O you who turn away from the Lord of Truth
(Glorious and Exalted is He) and from the champions of truth among His servants,
devoting yourselves to fellow creatures and associating with them, how long will
your devotion to them last? What good can they do you? They have no power to
harm or benefit, to give or to withhold. There is no difference between them and
inanimate objects as far as harm and benefit are concerned. The King [al-Malik]
is One. The Injurer [ad-Zarr] is One. The Benefactor [an-Nafi'] is One. The
Mover [al-Muharrik] and the Bringer-to-Rest [al-Musakkin] is One. The Controller
[al-Musallit] is One. The Subjugator [al-Musakhkhir] is One. The Giver [al-Mu'ti]
is One. The Withholder [al-Mani'] is One. The Creator [al-Khaliq] and the
Sustainer [ar-Raziq] is ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He). He is the
Everlasting from All Eternity to All Eternity [al-Qadim al-Azali al-Abadi]. He
is Existent [Mawjud] before the creation, before your fathers and your mothers
and your rich folk. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, of all they
contain and of what lies between them.
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.
(42:11)
How unfortunate for you, O creatures of ALLAH, that you do not really know your
Creator! If there would be something to my credit with ALLAH (Almighty and
Glorious is He) at the Resurrection, I would surely bear the burdens of you all,
from the first of you to the last of you. O reciter of the Qur'an [muqri'],
recite to me alone, away from the people of the heavens and the earth!
Whenever someone puts his knowledge into practice, it becomes a doorway between
him and ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He), through which his heart enters into
His presence. As for you, O learned one, you are preoccupied with idle gossip
and accumulating wealth, instead of putting your knowledge into practice, so you
will surely possess only the outer form [sura] of it, without the inner content
[ma'na]. When ALLAH (Exalted is He) wishes one of His servants well, He teaches
him, then He inspires him [alhamahu] to practice [what he has learned] and to do
so with sincere devotion [ikhlas]. He draws him close and brings him near to
Himself, informs him and instructs him in the knowledge of the heart and the
innermost being, singling him out for special favor. He selects him as He
selected Moses (peace be upon him), to whom He said:
I have fashioned you for Myself. (20:41)
"Not for anything other than Me. Not for passions and pleasures and vanities.
Not for the earth and not for the heavens. Not for Paradise and not for the Fire
[of Hell]. Not for dominion [mulk] and not for damnation [hulk]. Nothing shall
keep you from Me. No other interest shall hold your attention apart from Me. No
image [sura] shall distract you from Me, and no created object [khaliqa] shall
block you off from Me. No desire of the flesh [shahwa] shall satisfy you as a
substitute for Me."
O young man! Do not despair of the mercy of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He)
because of any sin you have committed, but wash away the dirt from the garment
of your religion [din] with the water of repentance [tawba], of sustained and
sincere repentance. Then perfume and disinfect that garment with the fragrance
of direct experience [ma'rifa]. Beware of this situation you are in at present,
because whichever way you turn there are beasts of prey all around you, and
harmful influences are at work upon you. Extricate yourself from it, and restore
your heart to the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). Do not live to
suit your natural impulses [tab'], your lust [shahwa] and your passion [hawa],
but to meet the standards of two impartial witnesses [shahidan 'adlan], namely
the Book [of ALLAH] and the Sunna [of the Prophet]. Then look for two other
witnesses, namely your heart and the working [fi'l] of ALLAH (Almighty and
Glorious is He). If the Book, the Sunna and your heart have given you
permission, wait for the fourth, meaning the working of ALLAH (Almighty and
Glorious is He). Do not be like one who gathers wood at night, who gathers
without knowing what he may be picking up. [Wait] for it to be
Creator-and-creature [al-Khaliq wa'l-khalq]. This is not something that comes
with self-flattery, wishful thinking, affectation and artificiality. Rather is
it something that resides within the breast [sadr], and is confirmed by work ['amal].
Which work? The work that is done for the sake of ALLAH (Exalted is He).
O young man! Good health lies in giving up the quest for good health. Affluence
lies in giving up the quest for affluence. The remedy lies in giving up the
quest for the remedy. The whole of the remedy consists in submission [taslim] to
the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), in cutting material ties [asbab]
and repudiating overlords [arbab] as far as your heart is concerned. The remedy
lies in affirmation of the Oneness of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) with
the heart, not with the tongue alone. The affirmation of Oneness [Tawhid] and
abstinence [zuhd] are not incumbent on the body and the tongue. The affirmation
of Oneness must be in the heart. Abstinence must be in the heart. Pious devotion
[taqwa] must be in the heart. Direct experience [ma'rifa] must be in the heart.
Knowledge ['ilm] of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) must be in
the heart. Love [mahabba] of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) must be in the
heart, and nearness [qurb] to Him must be in the heart.
Be sensible. Do not be foolish. Do not behave artificially or in an affected
manner. Your present condition is one of foolishness, artificiality,
affectation, falsehood, pretense and hypocrisy. Your sole concern is getting
people to notice you. Do you not realize that every step you take with your
heart toward creatures is a step away from the Lord of Truth (Almighty and
Glorious is He)? You claim to be a seeker of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and
Glorious is He), when you are really a seeker of creatures. Your likeness is
that of someone who says he wishes to proceed to Mecca, then goes off in the
direction of Khurasan and so gets farther away from Mecca. You claim that your
heart has become detached from creatures, when you actually fear them and pin
your hopes on them. Your outer show [zahir] is abstinence, but your inner
reality [batin] is appetite [raghba]. Your outer show is the Truth [al-Haqq],
but your inner reality is the creation [al-khalq].
This business is not accomplished by wagging the tongue. This state of being
[hala] has no room in it for creatures, for this world or the hereafter, or for
anything at all apart from ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He). He is Single
[wahid] and He accepts only what is single. He is Single and accepts no partner,
for He is in charge of your business. You must accept what you are told.
Creatures are powerless to cause you injury or bring you benefit; in such
matters they are merely instruments of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious
is He). He may deal with you and with them as He sees fit. The pen has run dry
on ALLAH's knowledge (Almighty and Glorious is He) of what is due to you and
what you owe.
The righteous affirmers of Unity [al-muwahhidun as-salihun] are ALLAH's evidence
[hujja] against the rest of His creatures. Some of them divest themselves of
this world both outwardly and inwardly, while some of them divest themselves of
it only insofar as their inner is concerned. The Lord of Truth (Almighty and
Glorious is He) sees no trace of it on their inner beings. These are the pure
hearts [al-qulub as-safiya]. When someone is capable of this, he is granted the
dominion of creatures. He is the valiant hero [ash-shuja' al-batal]. The hero is
he who purifies his heart of all that is apart from ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious
is He) and stands at His gate with the sword [saif] of the affirmation of Unity
and the finely wrought blade [samsama] of the sacred law [shar'], allowing no
created thing to enter into His presence. He connects his heart [qalb] to the
Transformer of hearts [Muqallib al-qulub].The sacred law gives training to the
outer. The affirmation of Unity and gnosis [ma'rifa] give training to the inner.
Hey you there! Nothing comes out of "they said..., and we said..." You say:
"This is unlawful [haram]," yet you are committing it. You say: "This is lawful
[halal]," yet you neither do it nor apply it. You are stupidity within
stupidity. The Prophet (ALLAH bless him and give him peace) is reported as
having said:
Woe to the ignorant person one time, and to the learned person seven times.
One woe to the ignorant person for not knowing, and woe to this scholar seven
times over, because he knows and does not act ['alima wa-ma 'amila]. The
blessedness [baraka] of knowledge is taken away from him, while its value as
evidence [hujja] against him remains. You must study and then practice. Then
withdraw into your private space [khalwa] away from creatures, and devote
yourself to the love [mahabba] of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is
He). When you have genuinely achieved such solitary devotion and love, He will
draw you toward Himself, bring you close to Himself and absorb you into Himself.
Then, if ALLAH so wishes, He will make you famous and put you on public display,
and send you back to fulfill your destiny [aqsam]. He will give orders to the
wind of His predestination [sabiqa] and His foreknowledge ['ilm] concerning you,
so it will blow against the walls of your private place and throw them down. He
will make your business known to His creatures, so you will be among them on His
account, not on your own account. You will receive your allotted shares [aqsam]
in full, but free from the bad influences of the self [nafs], natural impulse
[tab'] and desire [hawa]. He will return you to [the fulfillment of] your
destiny so that the principle [qanun] of His foreknowledge concerning you shall
not be annulled. You will experience all that has been allotted to you, while
your heart remains with the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He).
Hear and become aware, O ignorant ones, of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and
Glorious is He) and His saints [Awliya']. O you who disparage the Lord of Truth
(Almighty and Glorious is He) and His saints! The truth is the Lord of Truth
(Almighty and Glorious is He), and falsehood is you, O creatures. The truth
[al-Haqq] resides in the hearts [qulub], the innermost beings [asrar] and the
spiritual contents [ma'ani], while falsehood [al-batil] resides in the lower
selves [nufus], the passions [ahwiya], the natural impulses [tiba'], the
habitual modes of behavior ['adat], the ways of the world and all that is apart
from the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He).
This heart cannot prosper until it is connected to the close presence of the
Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), the Everlasting from All Eternity
[al-Qadim al-Azali], the Enduring for All Eternity [ad-Da'im al-Abadi]. Do not
try to compete, O hypocrite, for you have nothing better than this. You are the
slave ['abd] of your bread and butter and your candies, of your clothes and your
horse and your worldly authority. The sincere heart [al-qalb as-sadiq] travels
away from creatures toward the Creator. When it sees things along the way, it
salutes them and passes by.
Those men of learning who put their learning into practice [al-'ulama'
al-'amiluna bi-'ilmihim] are the deputies of the venerable forefathers [nuwwab
as-salaf]. They are the heirs [waratha] of the Prophets [al-anbiya'] and the
remnants of the worthy successors [al-khalaf]. They are paraded before these
noble predecessors, who command them to build constructively in the city
[madina] of the sacred law [shar'], and forbid them to let it go to ruin. They
shall be assembled on the Day of Resurrection, they and the Prophets (peace be
upon them) together, to receive their reward in full from their Lord (Almighty
and Glorious is He).As for the scholar who does not put his knowledge into
practice, ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) has compared him to a donkey, for
He has said:
Their likeness is as the likeness of a donkey carrying tomes. (62:5)
The "tomes" [asfar] are the books of knowledge. Can a donkey derive any benefit
from such books? It gets nothing from them but a weary burden and fatigue. When
a person acquires more knowledge, he must also acquire more fear of his Lord
(Almighty and Glorious is He), and greater obedience to Him. O you who lay claim
to knowledge, where is your connection with the fear of ALLAH (Almighty and
Glorious is He)? Where are your caution and your dread? Where is your
acknowledgment of your sins? Where is your link with the light in the darkness,
through obedience to ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He)? Where is your
self-discipline, your struggle with the self and your hostility against it on
the side of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He)? The only things you
aspire to are the robe and the turban, food and sexual intercourse, houses and
shops, spending time with people and enjoying their company. Turn your attention
away from all of these things, because if any share in them is destined for you,
it will come to you in its own good time. Meanwhile, your heart can be relieved
of the strain of anticipation and the burden of greed, residing with the Lord of
Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). So why exhaust yourself over something that
requires no effort?
O young man! Your seclusion [from the world] is corrupt, not genuine. It is
polluted, not purified. What am I to do with you? In your heart there is no
genuine affirmation of Unity [Tawhid], no true sincerity [ikhlas]. O sleepy ones
who are not sleepily neglected! O rejecters who are not rejected! O forgetful
ones who are not forgotten! O abandoners who are not abandoned! O you who are
ignorant of ALLAH (Almighty and Glorious is He) and His Messenger (ALLAH bless
him and give him peace) and those who came in earlier or later times, you are
like sawn-off lengths of wood that are fit for no useful purpose!
Our Lord, give us in this world good, and good in the hereafter, and guard us
against the torment of the fire! (2:201)
Fifteenth Discourse
It was in the guesthouse, on Sunday the 9th of Dhu'l-Qa'da, A.H. 545, that the
Shaikh (may ALLAH be well pleased with him) said:
The believer [mu'min] takes his rations, while the unbeliever [kaafir] takes his
pleasure. The believer takes his rations because he is on a journey. He is
content to use a tiny fraction of what he owns, while investing the greater part
in the hereafter. Apart from giving himself a traveler's allowance, based on
what he can carry, he keeps all his property in the hereafter. His heart and his
aspirations [himma] are all there. His heart is concentrated there, indifferent
to this world. He forwards all the merit of his acts of worship to the
hereafter, not to this world and those who belong to it. If he has some tasty
food, he donates it to the poor, knowing that in the hereafter he will have
something even better to eat. The goal of the aspiration [himma] of the
experienced ['arif] and learned ['alim] believer is the door of his nearness to
the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), and that his heart should get
there in this world, before the hereafter. Nearness to the Lord of Truth
(Almighty and Glorious is He) is the goal of the steps taken by the heart and
the secret journey of the innermost being.