Sharaf ad-din Ahmad ibn Yahya Muniri (d. in 782 A.H./1380), one of the great Islamic scholars educated in India, wrote in the 18 th letter of his Persian book Maktubat (63):

"Most people go wrong by acting upon doubts and illusions. Some of such ill-thinking people say, 'Allahu ta'ala does not need our 'ibadat. Our 'ibadat do Him no good. It is indifferent to His Greatness whether people worship Him or disobey Him. Those who perform 'ibadat suffer trouble and bother themselves in vain.' This reasoning is wrong; those who do not know Islam say so because they think that 'ibadat are commanded because they are useful to Allahu ta'ala. This is a very wrong supposition that makes one mistake impossible for possible. Any 'ibada done by anybody is useful to himself only. Allahu ta'ala declares clearly in the eighteenth ayat of the surat Fatir that this is so. A person who bears this wrong thought is like a sick person whom the doctor recommends to diet but who does not diet and says, 'It won't harm the doctor if I don't diet.' He is right to say that it will not harm the doctor. But it will harm him. The doctor recommends him to diet not because it will be useful to the doctor himself but to cure the patient's disease. If he follows the doctor's advice he will recover. If he does not, he will die, and this will not harm the doctor at all."

"Some other wrong-thinking people never perform any 'ibada nor stop committing prohibitions (harams). That is, they do not obey Islam. They say, 'Allah is Karim and Merciful. He pities His human servants very much. His Forgiveness is endless. He will not torture anybody.' Yes, they are right in their first statement, but wrong in their last statement. The Devil deceives and misleads them to disobedience. A reasonable person will not be deceived by the Devil. Allahu ta'ala is not only Karim and Merciful, but also He will torture very vehemently, very bitterly. We witness that He makes many people live in poverty and trouble in this world. He makes, without hesitation, many of His servants live in torment. Though He is very Merciful and the Razzaq (Sustainer), He will not give even one morsel of bread unless one undertakes the trouble of agriculture and farming. Though He is the One who keeps everybody alive, He will not let a person survive without eating and drinking. He will not cure a sick person who does not take medicine. He created means for all the worldly blessings such as living, not becoming sick and owning property, and showed no mercy in depriving those who would not hold fast to the means of the worldly blessings. So is the case with attaining the blessings of the next world. He made disbelief and ignorance poisons fatal to the soul. And laziness makes the soul sick. If medicine is not used, the soul will become sick and die. The one and only medicine for disbelief and ignorance is knowledge and marifa. And the medicine for laziness is to perform salat and all kinds of 'ibadat. In this world, if a person takes poison and then says, 'Allah is Merciful, and He will protect me against the harm of poison,' he will get sick and die. If a person with diarrhoea drinks castor oil [or if a diabetic eats sugar or starchy food], he will get worse. To follow one's lust (shahwa), that is, to do the desires of the nafs, makes his heart sick. If a person believes that following his lust is a sin and is harmful, his following the lust will not kill his heart. If he disbelieves its harm, it will kill his heart, because he who disbelieves becomes a disbeliever. And disbelief is a poison for the heart and soul."

"Another group of wrong-thinkers undergo riyada by suffering hunger, with the view of eradicating their lust (shahwa), wrath (ghadab) and sensual desires, which are disapproved by Islam. They think that Islam commands them to be eradicated. After suffering hunger for a long time, they see that these evil desires of theirs have not perished, and conclude that Islam commands something which cannot be done. They say, 'This command of Islam cannot be done. Man cannot get rid of the habits existing in his nature. To try to get rid of them is like striving to make a colored person white. To try to do something impossible is to waste one's life.' They think and act in the wrong direction. Especially, their claim that Islam commands so is sheer ignorance and idiocy, for Islam does not command eradication of the human attributes like wrath and lust. Such a claim is a slander against Islam. If Islam had commanded so, Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam), the master of Islam, would not have had these attributes. Whereas, he would say, 'I am a human being, too. Like anybody, I will get angry, too.' From time to time, he would be seen angry. His anger was always for the sake of Allahu ta'ala. Allahu ta'ala praises the people 'who can overcome their wrath' in the Qur'an al-karim. He does not praise those who do not get angry. The wrong-thinker's saying that one should eradicate one's lust is quite groundless. The fact that Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) married nine women (radi- Allahu ta'ala 'anhunna) clearly shows that his statement is wrong. If a person loses his lust, he will have to regain it by taking medicine. So is the case with wrath; a man can protect his wife and children with his attribute of wrath. He fights (jihad) against the enemies of Islam with the aid of this attribute. It is owing to lust that one has children and is talked of with honor and fame after his death. These are things liked and praised by Islam."

"Islam commands not to eradicate lust and wrath but to control both of them and to use them as prescribed by Islam. It is similar in that it is necessary for a horseman or a hunter not to do away with his horse or dog but to tame it in such a manner as to utilize it. In other words, lust and wrath are like the dog of a hunter and the horse of a horseman. Without these two, the blessings of the next world cannot be hunted. But utilizing them requires training them and using them suitably with Islam. If they are not trained but become excessive and overflow Islam's limits, they will lead one to ruination. Riyada is intended not to eradicate these two attributes but to train them and make them obey Islam. And this is possible for everybody."

"As for the fourth group of wrong-thinkers, they deceive themselves saying, 'Everything was predestined in the eternal past. Before a child is born, it is determined if it is going to be Said (one who deserves Paradise) or shaqi (one who deserves Hell). This will not change afterwards. For this reason, it is no good to worship.' So said the as-Sahabat al-kiram when Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) stated that qada' and qadar would not change and that everything had been predestined in eternity: 'Let us rely on the eternal predestination and not perform 'ibadat.' But Rasulullah replied, 'Do worship! It is easy for everybody to do what was predestined for him in eternity!' That is, he who was determined to be Said in eternity will be made to do what the Said do. From this, it is understood that the fact that those who were determined to be Said in eternity perform 'ibadat and those who were determined to be shaqi disobey Him is similar to the fact that those who were predestined to live healthfully in eternity take food and medicine and those who were predestined to become sick and die do not take food or medicine. Those whose destiny is to die of hunger or sickness are unable to benefit from food or medicine. The ways of earning are open for a person whose predestination is to become rich. A person whose destiny is to die in the east finds the ways leading to the west closed. As reported, when [Archangel] 'Azrail ('alaihi 's-salam) visited [the Prophet] Sulaiman ('alaihi 's-salam), he looked intently at one of those who were sitting there. The man was frightened by the angel's stern looks. When 'Azrail ('alaihi 's-salam) was gone, he begged Sulaiman ('alaihi 's-salam) to command the wind to take him to a western country so that he would escape 'Azrail ('alaihi 's-salam). When 'Azrail ('alaihi 's-salam) came back, Sulaiman ('alaihi 's-salam) asked why he had looked intently on the man's face. 'Azrail ('alaihi 's-salam) said, 'I had been commanded to take away his soul in a western town in an hour. But when I saw him in your company, I could not help looking at him with astonishment. Later I went to the west to carry out the command and saw him there and took his life.'(64) As it is seen, the man feared 'Azrail ('alaihi 's-salam) so that the eternal predestination would take place, and Sulaiman ('alaihi 's-salam) complied; the predestination in eternity was effected through a chain of means. Likewise, a person who was determined to be Said in eternity will get the lot of having iman and correcting his bad habits by undergoing riyada. The 125th ayat of the surat al-Anam declares, 'Allahu ta'ala places Islam into the heart of a servant of His whom He wishes to guide to the right path.' A person who was shaqi in eternity, that is, who was predestined to go to Hell, is given the thought, 'There is no need to perform 'ibadat. It was predestined in eternity whether a person would be Said or shaqi.' He does not perform 'ibadat because of this thought. His not performing 'ibadat because of this thought shows that he was determined to be shaqi in eternity. Likewise, the one whose ignorance was predestined in eternity is given the thought, 'Everything was predestined in eternity. Reading or learning will be of no benefit to a person if he was predestined to be ignorant.' Thus he does not study or learn anything. He remains ignorant. If it was predestined for a person to farm and get crops abundantly, he is given the lot of ploughing his field and sowing seeds. So is the case with those who were preordained as Said in eternity to have iman and to worship and those who were preordained as shaqi to disbelieve and disobey. Idiots, unable to understand this, say, 'What do iman and 'ibadat have to do with being Said in eternity, or disbelief and disobedience with being shaqi?' With their short reason, they try to comprehend this relation and to solve everything with their own intellect. But the human reason is limited, and it is stupidity or idiocy to attempt to understand the things beyond reason's comprehension with reason. Those who think so should be judged to be stupid. 'Isa ('alaihi s-salam) said, 'It was not difficult for me to make the congenital blind see, nor even to resuscitate the dead. But I could not explain the truth to any idiot.' Allahu ta'ala, with His Infinite Knowledge and Wisdom (Hikma), promotes some of His servants to the grade equal to that of angels, even to a higher grade than that. And some others He demotes to the grade of dogs or swines."

Hadrat Sharaf ad-din Ahmad ibn Yahya Muniri wrote in his 76 th letter: "'Saada' means 'deserving Paradise.' and 'shaqawa' means 'deserving Hell.' Saada and shaqawa are like Allahu ta'ala's two warehouses. The key to the first warehouse is obedience and 'ibada. The key to the second warehouse is sinfulness. Allahu ta'ala destined in eternity whether a person would be Said or shaqi. [We call it destiny.] A person who was called Said in eternity is given the key to saada in this world, and he obeys Allahu ta'ala. And a person who was shaqi in eternity is given the key to shaqawa in this world, and he always commit sins. In this world, everyone can understand whether he is Said or shaqi by looking at the key in his hand. The religious scholars who think of the next world understand from this whether a person is shaqi or Said. But a man of religious post who is addicted to this world does not know it. Every honor or blessing is in obeying and worshipping Allahu ta'ala. And every evil or trouble originates from sinning. Trouble and misfortune come to everybody through sinning. And comfort and ease come through obedience. (65) There was a man who had spent his life praying and performing 'ibadat for many years in the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem; when he neglected one sajda (prostration), he lost so much that he was utterly destroyed. However, because the Ashab al-kahf's dog, walked for a few steps behind the Siddiqs, it was promoted so high that it was not demoted back though it was dirty. This fact is very astonishing; men of knowledge have not solved this riddle for centuries. The human reason cannot comprehend the Divine Wisdom hidden in it. Allahu ta'ala told Adam ('alaihi 's-salam) not to eat wheat, but He let him eat it; He commanded Satan to prostrate in front of Adam ('alaihi's- salam), but He willed him not to prostrate; He said we should look for Him, but He did not will that attainment: [on these matters] the pilgrims on the Divine Way said nothing but that they were never able to understand. Then, how can we say anything? He does not need the belief or worships of human beings, whose disbelief or sinning never harms Him. He never needs His creatures. He made knowledge a means for clearing away disbelief and created ignorance as a means for sinning. Belief and obedience originate from knowledge, while disbelief and sin from ignorance. Obedience should not be forsaken even if it may seem very menial! And sinning should be avoided even if it may seem quite venial! The 'ulama' of Islam declared that three things would cause three other things: obedience causes Allahu ta'ala's Rida' (Consent); sinning causes His Wrath (Ghadab); iman causes one to earn honor and dignity. For this reason, we should strictly avoid committing even a venial sin; Allahu ta'ala's Wrath might be in that sin. We should regard every believer as better than we are. He may be a servant whom Allahu ta'ala loves very much. Each person's destiny, which was determined in eternity, can never be changed. If Allahu ta'ala wishes, He may forgive a person who always sins and does not observe His orders. When angels asked, 'Oh Allah! Are You going to create those creatures who will corrupt the world and shed blood?' He did not say that they would not corrupt but He said, 'I know what you do not know.' He meant, 'I make the unworthy worthy. I make those who are far off come near. I make the low exalted. You judge them by their conduct, but I look at their hearts. You take your sinlessness into account; they trust themselves to My Mercy. As I like your impeccability, so I like to forgive their sins. You cannot know what I know. I make them attain My eternal blessings and fondle them all with My everlasting favor.' "

Sharafuddin Ahmad bin Yahya Muniri (rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaih) passed away in 732 [1380 A.D.]. He lived in the city of Bihar, India. His grave is there, too. Munir is one of the names of the villages in the region of the city of Bihar. His biography is written in details in the book Akhbar-ul akhyar, by Shah Abdulhaq Dahlawi (rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaih). This book is in Persian, and it was printed in the city of Diobend, India, in 1332 [1914 A.D.], and later in Lahor, Pakistan. Those books, Irshad-us-salikin, Ma'din-ul-ma'ani, and Maktubat are very estimable. Gulam Ali Abdullah-i Dahlawi (rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih) (66), one of the great Ahl as-Sunnat scholars recommends reading Ahmad bin Yahya Muniri's book Maktubat and reports in his 99th letter that it is very effectual in purifying the heart.

FOOTNOTES

(63) There are 100 letters in this letters collection (Maktubat). It was compiled in 741 A.H. (1339) and printed in India in 1329 (1911). There is a manuscript copy in the Sulaimaniyya Library in Istanbul. Irshad as-salikin and Ma'din al-ma'ani are his two other valuable works. Ghulam 'Ali 'Abdullah ad-Dahlawi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), a great scholar of Ahl as-Sunnat who died in 1240 A.H. (1824), recommended, in his 99 th letter, Ahmad ibn Yahya Muniri's Maktubat and wrote that it was very helpful in purifying the nafs. Sharaf ad-din Ahmad ibn Yahya Muniri (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) lived in Bihar, India, where his grave is. Munir is a village in Bihar. His detailed biography is written in Shah 'Abd al-Haqq ad-Dahlawi's (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) Persian work Akhbar al-akhyar, which was published in Deoband, India, in 1332 (1914) and was later reproduced in Lahore, Pakistan.

(64) This story is told in detail in Mathnawi by Jalal ad-din Rumi, who passed away in Konya in 672 A.H. (1273).

(65) This is Allahu ta'ala's Divine Law. No one can change this. We should not consider something that seems easy and sweet to our nafs as saada. Nor should we think of those things that look difficult and bitter to the nafs as shaqawa or perdition.

(66) Abdullah-i Dahlawi passed away in Delhi in 1240 A.H. (1824).