TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH LETTER

This letter, written to Hadrat Naqib Shaikh Farid, preaches, gives advice, and recommends following the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat:

May Allahu ta'ala protect you against anything that would be incommensurate with your personality. May He accept this prayer of mine for the sake of your honorable forefather 'alaihi wa 'ala alihis-salawatu wattaslimat'! The sixtieth ayat of Er-rahman Sura purports: "goodness will be returned only with goodness." I am at a loss as to what kindness I should offer in return for all your kindnesses. Only, I have been trying to take every sacred time as an opportunity to pray for your religious and worldly salvation. Al-hamdu-li-llah, this task, beyond me as it is, falls to my lot. Another kindness (on our part) that would (only) mean a reward (for us) would be (to offer you some) preaches and advice. It would be such a great blessing for us if you would be kind enough to accept it.

O my noble and honorable sir! The essence of all preaches and the most valuable piece of advice is to meet men of Allah and to keep them company. And being a man of Allah, and adhering to Islam, in its turn, depends on holding fast to the right way guided by the Ahl as-sunnat wal jamaat, who, among various groups, are the only group blessed with the good news that they are the group of salvation. Unless you follow the way guided by these great people, there cannot be salvation. Unless you adapt yourself to the principles that these people inferred (from Qur'an al-karim and hadith ash-Sharifs), you cannot attain happiness. These statements of ours are confirmed by owners of wisdom, by scientists, and by the kashfs of awliya. There is no mistaking. One should deem it lethal poison to be friends with a person who has swerved as trivially as a grain of mustard from the right way of these great people. One should deem it as horrifying as a snake's bite to talk to him. Men of knowledge who do not fear Allah are thieves of religion, regardless of the branch they belong to. Such people also should be kept away from. All sorts of mischief that have been undermining the religion, all the ferocious attacks directed against the religion are the evils aroused by these people. In order to obtain worldly advantages, they have assisted in the demolition of the religion. The sixteenth ayat of Baqara Sura purports, "They have bought dalalat (misguidance, aberration) by paying hidayat (guidance). They have earned nothing in this (business of) buying and selling. They have not found the right way." This ayat-i karima describes these people. One day an exalted person saw the devil sitting idly and happily without trying to deceive anyone, and asked him why he was sitting idly instead of misleading people. His answer was: "Today's malicious men of religion are doing my job very well; they have left no work for me to do to deceive people." Mawlana 'Umar, one of the disciples stationed there, is a good person by creation. Only, he should be backed and supported so that he can tell the truth. Also, Hafid Imam has committed all his thoughts to the spreading of religion. In fact, every Muslim has to be so. It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Unless a person is said to be crazy, his iman will not be perfect." You know that I, the faqir, have been striving to explain the importance of talking with good people in all my speeches and writings. Without becoming weary, I keep saying time and again to avoid vicious company. For, these two things form the basis of the matter. It is our business to give advice and yours to take it. Or, rather, all the business belongs to Allahu ta'ala. How lucky for those people whom Allahu ta'ala employs as benefactors!

The greatness of the number of your generous kindnesses caused us to write all these things and made us oblivious to the fact that we might give you a headache and boredom. Was-salam.

TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIXTH LETTER

This letter, written to his brother Shaikh Mawdud, reminds that the world is short-lived and that it might end in eternal torment:

My brother's cherished letter has arrived here. It has made us happy. My brother! May Allahu ta'ala bless us and you with successes! Life in this world is very short. Endless torments are its pays. Shame on a person who spends this sojourn obtaining useless, fruitless things, thus ending up in unending pains!

My brother! People from far and near are leaving aside their worldly advantages and swarming towards us like ants and locusts. And you are willingly diving into the despicable profits of this world, disignoring the value of the honor of being from the same family. You are struggling to attain those profits. The saying, "Shame is a part from iman, " is a hadith ash-Sharif.

My brother! This gathering of men of Allah, this coming together for the sake of Allah, which falls to our lot in the city of Serhend (is such a great blessing that), you would not even find another blessing a hundred times less blessed if you traveled all over the world. Nowhere else could you attain the profits that you would gain here. You have missed the blessing for nothing. Like children, you have bartered precious jewels for pieces of glass or walnuts. A Persian line rendered in English:

Shame, thousands of shame!

My brother! This fortune is hardly come by another time. The fortune may exist, yet such meetings will not take place. How will you find obtain this blessing then? Where will you find something you have missed? With what will you compensate for the losses? You are making a mistake. You are pursuing a misunderstanding. Do not lose your heart to sweet, fatty morsels! Do not fall for sequined, lurid raiments! Such indulgences will bring repentance and lamentation in the end, both in the world and in the Hereafter. Getting oneself into troubles or risking the endless torments of the Hereafter for the sake of pleasing one's friends and acquaintances is not something that a wise person would do. May Allahu ta'ala bless you with a sound reasoning and awaken you from that slumber!

My brother! The world is notorious for its unfaithfulness. Everybody knows about the abject and niggardly ways of those who are indulgent towards the world. Shame on the person who squanders his valuable lifetime on such a worthless mendacity! What devolves on a messenger is only to deliver the message. Was-salam.

The sugarcane avowed to be hollow, and was sugared;

The poplar rose high, to be hewn down like a dastard.

FIRST VOLUME, 21st LETTER

If a Muslim who holds the belief of Ahl as-Sunnat and obeys the Shariat loves the friends of Allahu ta'ala, he becomes one of them. May Allahu ta'ala bless us all with the lot of loving them! May He make us attain the fayd and nurs in their hearts owing to this love! May He fill our hearts with these nurs! A lover will always attain his darling. He will become like his darling. From the position of lover he will shift into being the loved one. The more he loves, the freer will he become of the limitations of his human properties, and the safer will he become from his harmful sensuous desires. He will attain love of Allahu ta'ala. Love caused creation of the universe and uncovered the hidden treasure.

[Islam means to believe in the prophethood of Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' and to adapt yourself to his Shariat. The commandments which Allahu ta'ala declares in Qur'an al-karim are called Fard (or fard). His prohibitions are called Haram. Collectively, they are called the Shariat. To obey the Shariat means to obey Qur'an al-karim. A person who believes that all the utterances of Muhammad 'alihis-salam' are true words dictated by Allahu ta'ala is called a Muslim. His utterances are classified in three groups: 1- Utterances that are directly from Allahu ta'ala both in wording and in meaning. These utterances of his are called Qur'an al-karim. 2- His own utterances whose meanings were inspired into his blessed heart by Allahu ta'ala. His utterances of this sort are called Hadith-i-qudsi. 3- His utterances that are from him in wording and meaning. These utterances of his are termed Hadith-i-Sharif. Allahu ta'ala revealed Qur'an al-karim to His beloved Messenger in a period of time that lasted for twenty-three years. After his passing, (all the ayats of) Qur'an al-karim were compiled in one book, which was named Qur'an al-karim or Mus-haf. Qur'an al-karim is entirely in Arabic. Not everyone can understand its meaning. Only Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' understood the divine meaning from the divine word and explained it to his Sahaba. A Muslim who saw the beautiful face of Muhammad 'alaihis- salam' is called a Sahabi. Altogether, they are called the Ashab al-kiram (Or the Sahab). The Ashab al-kiram conveyed all the teachings they had acquired from the Messenger of Allah to their disciples, who in their turn explained them in their book, which number in the thousands. These people are called Scholars of Ahl as-sunnat. Imams of the four Madhhabs and Imam-i-Ahmad Rabbani and his son Muhammad Mathum are scholars of Ahl as-sunnat. As it is seen, a person who wishes to learn the correct meanings purported in Qur'an al-karim should read the books of Fiqh and Iman written by scholars of Ahl as- sunnat, and particularly the two sets of books that are called Maktubat and which consist of three volumes each, written by two Islamic scholars in India, namely Imam-i-Rabbani [d. 1624] and his son Muhammad Mathum 'rahimahumullah'. Books of iman contain the pieces of knowledge to be believed with the heart. Books of fiqh contain the acts to be performed physically, i.e. the teachings of the Shariat. The Qalb is not the piece of flesh in the left half of the human chest, which is called Yurek, (also called heart in English). The yurek exists in animals, too. The qalb is a force embedded in the yurek. It cannot be seen. It is like the existence of electricity in a light bulb. We call it the Gonul. The gonul exists in human beings. Animals do not have it. All the limbs of the body are under the command of the heart. All the pieces of knowledge perceived by our sense organs assemble in the heart. Believing, loving, fearing are all the heart's business. It is the heart that believes or disbelieves. A person with a pure heart will obey the Shariat. And a person with a wicked heart will fight shy of the Shariat. The heart is the place of beautiful, good moral qualities as well as the wicked ones. Allahu ta'ala sent down His religions and Prophets for the purpose of purifying the heart. A person with a pure heart will be good to everybody. He will be useful to his state and to his nation. He will live in comfort and peace in the world, and he will attain eternal, unending happiness in the world to come. Parents who read and learn books written by scholars of Ahl as-sunnat and who try to teach them to their children are a great blessing for their children. Books, magazines and newspapers that are so are a great blessing for their readers. No matter what a person's title or rank redundant is, if he is ignorant and stupid and has not read the books written by scholars of Ahl as- sunnat, or if he has not understood them though he may have written them, that is those words and writings that they strike out of their addle heads in the name of Islam, are worthless. They are like pelting the unknown with stones. They are harmful to Islam and to the whole of humanity. After the scholars of Ahl as-sunnat, some ignorant and heretical people and some Jews who had mixed with them blended the ideas of Greek philosophers with the scientific teachings of their times and, adding their personal miscreant and malicious thoughts, wrote misguiding religious books. Thus, seventy-two heretical groups of Bidat appeared in the Islamic religion. Most of them disappeared in the course of time. Only the (group called) the Shiites survived. Today, books from three different sources are being spread over the world in the name of serving Islam: the Sunnite books, which are the true Islamic books; the Shiite books; the books published by the Wahhabis, who are the votaries of a sect that the British founded in Saudi Arabia in the Hijri year 1150 [A.D. 1737] in order to undermine Islam from within].

FIRST VOLUME, 22nd LETTER

May Allahu ta'ala bless thee with the honor of making progress in the true way of the Shariat! The end of the world has drawn near. Darkness of disbelief and wrongdoing have covered everywhere. All people are caught in the storms caused by these darkness. We have been looking for a hero to recover one Sunnat and to eliminate bidats. The right way cannot be found without the lights of our Prophet's Sunnats. There cannot be salvation without adapting ourselves to the Messenger of Allah. Making progress in a path of Tasawwuf and thus attaining love of Allahu ta'ala requires following the Habib (Darling, Beloved one) of Allahu ta'ala. The thirty-first ayat al-karima of Al-i-'Imran sura, which purports, "If you love Allahu ta'ala adapt yourselves to me! Allahu ta'ala loves those who follow me," is a witness confirming our statements. A person's attaining happiness depends on his adapting himself to the chief of all religious and worldly leaders in all his habits and worships and, in short, whatsoever he may be doing. As we so often witness in worldly affairs, one always feels a strong affection for those who resemble one's darling. One likes the people liked by one's darling and hates the darling's enemies. All the perfections and high ranks to be attained physically and spiritually are dependent upon loving the Messenger of Allah. This is the only criterion to assess the degree of a person's maturity. By the same token, the most valuable deed and worship is to love the Awliya, the people loved by Allahu ta'ala, and to hate His enemies. For this is the greatest sign of love. The feeling of sympathy for the friend's friends and antipathy for his enemies occurs spontaneously. A lover is like a mad person in this respect. It was said: "Unless a person is said to be insane, his iman will not be perfect." A person who is not so cannot have had a share from love. In this respect, the saying, "There cannot be closeness (to one of two opposites) unless one is far (from the other)." Some ignorant people say in this connection that a person who loves hadrat Ali ought to hate the greater ones of the Ashab al-kiram. This allegation is quite wrong. For, what a lover should hate is the darling's enemies, not the darling's friends. Allahu ta'ala says about the Ashab al-kiram, as is purported in the twenty-ninth ayat of the Fat-h sura: "They are very merciful towards one another." He informs that they are merciful to one another. This ayat al-karima shows clearly that the Ashab al-kiram had very tender and continuous mercy on one another and informs that such things as animosity, grudge, envy and hostility, which are quite incompatible with love, never existed among them. A hadith ash-Sharif states, "The most merciful person among my Ummat is Abu Bakr." Could it ever be supposed that the most merciful member of this Ummat had fostered hatred and enmity towards this Ummat?

Allahu ta'ala said to Musa (Moses) 'alaihis-salam': "Hast thou ever performed a good deed for Mine sake?" He replied, "Ya Rabbi! I have performed namaz, fasted, given the (alms called) zakat, and made dhikr of Thine Name for Thine sake." Upon this Allahu ta'ala declared, "Thine namaz is burhan for thee [it is a token to show that you are a believer]. Fasting is a curtain [protecting you from Hell fire]. Zakat is a zil (shadow). Dhikr is a nur (light, halo). What hast thou done for Me?" When hadrat Musa asked, "Ya Rabbi! What is the good deed to be done for Thee," the divine answer came: "Hast thou loved those whom I love? Hast thou become hostile to Mine enemies?" Upon this, Musa 'alaihis-salam' realized that the deed Allahu ta'ala loved best was Hubb-i-fi'llah and bughd-i-fi'llah (Love for the sake of Allah and enmity for the sake of Allah).

If any Wali appears to you or helps you (when you are in a difficult position), you should ascribe this to your own Murshid. You should focus your tawajjuh on one source (Murshid).

It is sunnat to attend an invitation. However, there are stipulations for this. For instance, the dinner party should not be intended for ostentation or fame; the food offered should be halal; there should not be any lahw [musical instruments] or lu'b [dances, women]; the feast should be open to the public. If these conditions are observed in a dinner party, one should attend it with the intention of performing a deed which is sunnat and not in order, for instance, to satiate one's hunger or for other purposes. Sufyan-i-Sawri ( He passed away in Baghdad in 161 [A.D. 778].) states, "If a person invites (others) to a dinner without making niyyat (intention), one sin will be recorded (in his book of deeds). If a person attends an invitation for dinner without making niyyat, two sins will be recorded for him." It is not sunnat to attend an invitation one of whose conditions has not been fulfilled.

You write that your darling son has passed away. "Inna lillah wa inna ilaihi raji'un." May Haqq ta'ala bless you with great rewards in return (for your bereavement)! May He equip you with patience and bless you with complete acquiescence in the Qada-i-ilahi (destiny preordained by Allahu ta'ala)! The real loss would be to deprive oneself of the thawab (which Allahu ta'ala gives believers for patience). It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, "The qada befalling a believer is (an) amazing (event). When something good befalls him he makes hamd and thanks. When a disaster befalls he makes hamd and shows patience. A believer is given thawab for everything, even for offering a piece of food to his wife's mouth."

FIRST VOLUME, 23rd LETTER

Tawhid, i.e. belief in the unity of Allahu ta'ala, is of two sorts: Tawhid of the awam, and tawhid of the khawass. What is termed Tawhid of the awam is the tawhid held by common Muslims. Tawhid of the awam consists of uttering the expression "La ilaha il-l- allah" and knowing and believing in its meaning. It naturally comprises rejecting and denying the wrong and false idols worshipped by disbelievers, not calling anyone 'God', and believing that Allahu ta'ala alone is to be worshipped. While holding this belief, the awam (common people) feel deep affection for some creatures, too, and their nafs-i- ammara denies and defies Allahu ta'ala. The Khawass, or Arifs, hold the same belief. However, in addition to this naked belief, they occupy two different grades:

Those who are in the first grade do not feel affection for anything except Allahu ta'ala. Their hearts do not see or know any being except Him. In other words, when an intelligent and vigilant disciple carries on his dhikr and religious contemplation steadily and keeps away from such things as musical instruments and merrymaking which the human nafs likes and yet which hinder a person from focusing his attention on Allahu ta'ala, that is, from making tawajjuh to Him, and if Allahu ta'ala bestowed the blessing of inayat on him in the eternal past, the effect of dhikr will gradually cover his heart. His heart will begin to make dhikr of Allahu ta'ala continuously. His zahir's, that is, his mind's and sense organs' busying themselves with worldly matters will not interfere in his heart's dhikr. No matter whether his zahir is absent or present, awake or asleep, his heart will always be making dhikr of Him. He will always be in the hudhur-i-ilahi, when he is alone as well as when in company. A distich:

My body and mind are busy shopping,

Yet my heart is with Allah.

When the heart is always in the divine company, the masiwa, i.e. love of creatures, will gradually leave the heart. It will begin to forget about all other beings. This oblivion will finally reach the extent that the heart will not remember anything, no matter whether the owner of the heart wishes to do so or not. Others' happiness or sorrows will not affect it at all. This stage is termed Fana-i-qalb and is the first of the grades of Wilayat. In this grade the batin, i.e. the heart is always in the hudhur-i-ilahi and has completely forgotten about the masiwa. Yet the nafs is still itself; it is aware of everything and maintains its insubordination to Allahu ta'ala.

In the second grade, the nafs of the Khawass begins to forget about itself and about everything. Its desires decrease, both in number and in their command over the heart. Eventually it reaches a state in which it can no longer express the word 'I' (Ana) about itself. At this time the Arif becomes completely nonexistent. He is now in his own company. These statements of ours do not come to mean that the Arif becomes Haqq or that he unites with Allahu ta'ala. Hallaj-i-Mansur's ( Hallaj-i-Mansur was martyred in Baghdad in 306 [A.D. 919].) utterance, "Ana'l-Haqq=I have united with my Rabb," took place before he reached this grade. For the nafs cannot say 'I' in this grade. So is the case with the utterance, "Subhani=I am not one of creatures." This stage is called Fana-yi-nafs. In the Fana-i-qalb, the figures, the images of the masiwa are no longer seen on the heart's mirror. Reflections of the beings in the anfus (in man) and in the afak cease to exist. The tajalli-yi afal comes into being. In the second grade of Fana the Tajalli-yi- sifat comes into being, the 'ilm-i-huduri of the nafs ceases to exist and the Arif forgets about himself. This is the end of the progress called Sayr and Suluk in Tariqat.

FIRST VOLUME, 49th LETTER

May Haqq subhanahu wa ta'ala bless thee with the bliss of attaining all your religious and worldly wishes! The only effective hygienic treatment against the harms of the world's transitory flavors and blessings is to use them in a manner and amount prescribed by the Shariat; i.e. to obey the commandments of Allahu ta'ala. These flavors will be harmful if they are not enjoyed compatibly with the Shariat. They will incur wrath and torment on the part of Allahu ta'ala. To ensure perfect salvation, these flavors must be done without as much as possible. Those who cannot do without them should use protective medicament against them. Thus they will be safe against their harms. Shame on those people who can neither do without them nor apply the prescribed medication against their harms and thus drift into disasters and afflictions and deprive themselves of happiness! Those who obey the desires of their nafs and run after worldly pleasures and thus run away from the genuine and everlasting flavors of Paradise are so wretched. Do they not know that Allahu ta'ala sees everything? Have they not heard that safety against harms depends on utilizing worldly enjoyments as prescribed by the Shariat? The day of questioning and judgement will certainly come and everybody will be confronted with what he has done in the world. How lucky for those who avoid their Rabb's prohibitions in the world and therefore will find themselves having attained His love that day. How lucky, how lucky for those who do not fall for the sequined life of this world, who fear the torment promised by their Rabb and curb the desires of their nafs, and who advise people under their command to perform namaz. May salam be to those who follow the way to salvation shown by Allahu ta'ala and who adapt themselves to Muhammad 'alaihis-salam'!

FIRST VOLUME, 50th LETTER

Ma'arif-i-ilahi, i.e. knowing Allahu ta'ala and His Attributes, is more valuable than performing wonders and discovering mysteries. Difference between marifats and wonders is similar to the difference between the Creator and the creature. Authentic marifats signify perfection of iman and contribute to its perfection. Man's perfection has by no means any dependency on wonders. Only, wonders happen on some people who have attained perfection. Awliya's superiority to one another is assessed by their marifats and by their kashfs on the Zat-i-ilahi (Divine Person) and on the Sifat-i-ilahi (Divine Attributes), not by their kashfs on the mysteries about creatures or by their displaying karamats (wonders). If wonders were preferable to Ma'arif-i-ilahi, Hindu priests called Jukiyya and Brahmins, who perform wonders by subjecting themselves to mortifications, would necessarily be superior to the Awliya who have attained very high grades of Ma'arif and who avoid making a show of wonders. Wonders and miracles may happen also through those disbelievers who subject themselves to mortifications such as hunger. They are not symptoms of being loved by Allahu ta'ala. A person who wishes to have karamats and kashfs inclines towards creatures. He does not wish to attain love of Allahu ta'ala. A short poem:

The devil, accursed as he is,

Shows wonders, wherever he is.

He'll enter under doors or roofs alike,

And lodge in hearts as in bodies!

Never believe in false stories!

Avoid all extraordinaries!

Real wonders are in true worships,

And the rest are all calamities!

Man's perfection lies in his realization of his being fani (transitory, subject to nonexistence). The ultimate objective of the Shariat and the Tariqat is to lead man to the realization that he is a mere nothing. Making a fame by displaying wonders and miracles, on the other hand, caters to feelings of self-conceit, which in turn deprives one of the benefits of the Shariat and the Tariqat. A person who is in this state will not attain any marifats. Abu Said Abu-l-khayr,(Abu Said Abu-l-khayr passed away in 440 [A.D. 1048] one of the greatest Awliya, was asked: "So and so walks on water (without sinking. What do you think)?" He replied, "It is quite easy. Seagulls walk on water, too." They said, "So and so flies in air." He said, "Birds and flies can fly, too." When they said, "So and so goes from one city to another in a flash," his answer was: "The devil also can travel from the far east to the far west in the same breath. Such things are of no value. A manly person will lead a life like anybody else. He will do shopping. He will get married. And he will not forget Allahu ta'ala even for a moment."

Shihab-ud-din Suhrawardi, (Shihab-ud-din 'Umar Suhrawardi, Shafi'i Siddiqi passed away in Baghdad in 636 [A.D. 1234]), a great Wali, after giving detailed information about wonders and miracles in his book Awarif, brings his discourse to the following conclusion: "All these wonders and karamats are almost nothing when compared to the heart's drilling dhikr of Allahu ta'ala."

Shaikh-ul-islam Hirawi Abdullah Ansari (Abdullah Ansari passed away in Hirat in 481 [A.D. 1088].) states, "Intuition attained by a person with marifats is to see whether a person is salih, (pious, obedient to Islam) or fasiq (sinful, wrongdoing) at first sight. Intuition possessed by people who subject themselves to hunger and other methods of mortification is to see where (secret) things are and to inform about, (say), lost property. People in the latter category inform about (things pertaining to) creatures. For they are unaware of Allahu ta'ala. People of Ma'arif, on the other hand, recognizing the pieces of information, the hals and marifats coming to their hearts from Allahu ta'ala, always inform about (facts inspired by) Allahu ta'ala. People are mostly oblivious of Allahu ta'ala and their hearts are occupied by worldly thoughts; consequently, they wish to know about material beings, to find out about unknown things. They look on people who inform about these things as Ahl-ullah, as Awliya, as people loved by Allahu ta'ala. They do not attach any importance to the kashfs of the people of haqiqat, of the Awliya. They do not believe in the information these people convey from Allahu ta'ala. They say, 'If these people were men of Allah (Ahl-ullah), they would know and inform about facts about creatures. How can a person who is unaware of facts about creatures know about things of higher level, how can he be an arif of Allahu ta'ala?' As a result of this wrong reasoning they deny the Ahl-ullah and reject the Awliya. Because Allahu ta'ala loves His Awliya very much, He does not want them to waste their time on creatures, to think of anyone except Him. If they had busied themselves with states of creatures they would not have reached grades of Wilayat. As those people who busy themselves with states of creatures will be deprived of marifats pertaining to Allahu ta'ala, the Ahl-ullah do not think of states pertaining to creatures. If the Ahl-ullah concentrated their attention on states about creatures, they would understand these states better than the others. Because Allahu ta'ala does not care about the firasat (intuition, insight) which some people attain by polishing the mirror of their nafs by way of mortifications, this firasat happens on Jews and Christians, [on Shiites and Wahhabis] as well as on Muslims. That is, this firasat is not peculiar to the Ahl-ullah (men of Allah, people loved by Allah)."

Some Awliya are permitted to display wonders in case of necessity or if it will be useful. Incompetent people's talking on matters pertaining to Ma'arif-i-ilahi will not detract from the value of marifats. These talks are like a dustman's handling a precious jewel, which will not deplete the jewel of its value at all. Depraved people's informing about the marifats they have heard from the Awliya is of no value. If they attribute this information to their own kashfs and hals instead of acknowledging that they have heard it from others, the devil will show them false things in the guise of true ones, representing each of them as Haqq.

Imam-i-Rabbani states, "Very frequently, the salik (disciple making progress in the grade of Suluk) is shown the world of souls. Because this world is very fine and immaterial, he thinks what he sees is Allahu ta'ala. The soul's containing and penetrating this world (of souls) appears to him as though it were a containing and penetration done by Allahu ta'ala." A great Shaikh of Tasawwuf said, "For thirty years I mistook my own soul for Haqq ta'ala and worshipped my soul." Imam-i-Rabbani states in one of his letters, "One of the Meshaikh wrote me a letter, saying, 'I have reached a grade in the rank of Fana, and it is such a grade that when I look at the earth I cannot see it. When I look at the sky I cannot find it, either. I cannot know about the Arsh, the Kursi, Paradise and Hell, either. Nor can I find myself. When I go near someone I cannot find him, either. Existence of Allahu ta'ala is beyond limitations. No one has found the end of His existence. ... I know this state of mine as the end of the way of Tasawwuf. Also, the Meshaikh-i-kiram have said that the way ended here. It is quite all right if you, too, know this state as the last grade. Yet if you say that there are other higher grades, please write to me, so that I shall visit you and find Haqq ta'ala.' " In his answering letter Imam-i-Rabbani wrote to this person, "A person who has reached this grade has reached only a fourth of the grades of heart. This state is to become Fani (to attain Fana) in the element of air, one of the four elements. Because air contains (and penetrates) everything, he (the person in this grade) sees air wherever he looks, and thinks that all this thing he sees is Haqq ta'ala." Most people thought this kind of tawhid to be a kashf and a hal. However, the thing that reveals itself to the heart is not a kashf. It is an image. It happens in the imaginations of people who are preoccupied in this thought. As a matter of fact, Imam-i-Rabbani states in a letter of his, in which he elaborates on Tawhid-i-shuhudee and Tawhid-i-wujudi: "Tawhid-i-wujudi mostly happens on a person when he meditates on Tawhid very much and when he interprets the word 'La ilaha il-l-allah' as 'There is no being except Allahu ta'ala'. It occurs in the imaginations of those who make dhikr in this manner. It is not a kashf or hal coming to the heart. A person in this state is quite unaware of grades pertaining to the heart. When a man of Tasawwuf who is in the right way is so much vulnerable to erring, one should imagine the degree of deviation in the utterances of those depraved people who have fallen into the devil's trap."

The Murshid is a vehicle transporting fayd. [He is like a tap allowing the fluid coming from the basin, from the main source.] How can one attain one's goal if the vehicle is not a true one [if the tap is not connected to the main source]? Then, for attaining the rank of Fana fillah it is necessary to become fani in a Murshid who is connected to the main source, [to attain his love and to forget about everything]. To love a Murshid is to adapt oneself to him. The fayd coming through the Murshid's heart is received in proportion to the amount of love felt for the Murshid. If one has the luck of sohbat (being in the Murshid's company), the fayd received will be much more. When fayd comes, love of the masiwa [creatures] leaves the heart. Names of Allahu ta'ala begin to make tajalli [manifest]. Beqa (annihilation of self) takes place with these Names. Kamalat and esma-i- ilahi (Divine Names) are endless. Their tajallis in the heart are endless. If the Rabita is powerful and the Murshid's outward appearance manifests itself permanently, the fayd will be abundant and it will be easy to receive it. The same amount of fayd cannot by received by making dhikr. If one gets blessed with serving (the Murshid), being in his presence and attaining his sohbat, it will be much easier to receive fayd. It was owing to the blessing of hudur and sohbat (being in the presence of the Messenger of Allah) that the Ashab al-kiram became (the Prophet's) Ashab. Weys-al-qarani received plenty of fayd through spiritual contact [connection of love]. Yet he could not attain the degree reached by the Ashab al- kiram. The outward appearance, the image seen during the Rabita is not the Murshid himself. The Murshid himself has such peculiarities as cannot exist in his image.

There are conditions to be fulfilled, such as being given to worship and dhikr, avoiding useless talk, secluding oneself in order to protect oneself from seeing na-mahram. While doing all this, it is a must, of course, to observe other people's rights.

Seeing souls is a matter of heart and insight. So is the case with seeing them when the eyes are open. Seeing souls is not a sign of perfection.

FIRST VOLUME, 72nd LETTER

Attaining high religious grades requires [having the iman taught by the scholars and then obeying the Shariat and then] a strong affectionate attachment to the scholars of Ahl as- sunnat. A true devotee, owing to his affection towards the Murshid, receives the fayd coming from the Murshid's batin [heart]. Gradually, he becomes like the Murshid. It has been said that Fana fi-sh-shaikh (being Fani in one's Shaikh, Murshid) is the beginning of Fana-i-haqiqi. Without Rabita and Fana fi-sh-shaikh, one cannot attain Haqiqat only by way of dhikr. Dhikr is one of the ways of attaining, yet it has to be accompanied by Fana fi-sh-shaikh, that is, excessive love for the Murshid. If the Murshid, too, makes tawajjuh, Rabita without dhikr will make one attain the goal. In other paths, there are compulsory practices such as dhikring, reciting portions from Qur'an al-karim at stated times, mortifications and going into forty-day retreats. Strong attachment to the Murshid is not a condition. This order of Tariqat, however, is the way of Ashab al-kiram. In this order, ifada and istifada [the procedure of receiving and giving fayd] takes place by way of reflection [from heart to heart]. Attending the (Murshid's) sohbat will do, provided one shall observe the rules of adab. Dhikring and reciting portions from Qur'an al-karim and doing pious deeds will be helpful. Attending Rasulullah's sohbat, only on the condition that they had iman, submission and obedience, was enough for the Ashab al-kiram to attain perfection. For this reason, the Naqshbendee path leads to perfection fast. In receiving fayd from the Murshid-i-kamil, it does not make any difference whether a person is young or old or an infant or dead. Perfections given at the end are also given in the beginning in this path. The riyazat to be performed in this way is to hold fast to the Sunnat-i-seniyya and to avoid bidats. Khwaja 'Ubaid-ullah-i-Ahrar ( Ubaid-ullah-i-Tashkandi passed away in Semmerkand in 895 [A.D. 1490].) states, "The belief held by the saliks making progress in this path is the belief of Ahl as-Sunnat wal-jamaat. Their riyazat is to obey the Shariat. People who do not perform the worships will not receive any fayd. Nor will they make any progress. The end of this path is to forget about creatures and to attain permanent Hudur-i-ilahi. This happiness cannot be attained without excessive affection and jazba. The most powerful vehicle that will make one attain this blessing is the Murshid's sohbat." Man, a helpless being, is bogged down in worldly pleasures and the desires of nafs. He is unaware of the desires of heart and soul. It is impossible to receive fayd from Allahu ta'ala without a connecter. Allahu ta'ala sends His fayd through Rasulullah. A Murshid-i-kamil, who can receive through his Murshids the fayd continuously streaming out of Rasulullah's blessed heart and scatter it around himself, is requisite. What connects one's heart to the Murshid's heart is a strong affection, love one has for him. This love necessitates observing the rules of adab and adapting oneself to one's Murshid in worships, habits and manners. The most effective of all these things is to do Rabita. When the Rabita is powerful, one sees one's Murshid wherever one looks. A person who wishes to attain love of Allahu ta'ala must be sincere. He must wish only His love, find a Murshid who will make him attain Him, and attach himself to that Murshid. The bigger the number of people he is attached to, the farther will he get from unity in his wish, in knowledge and love and the more badly will he be deprived from the real Wahid (One). The farther he gets from kathrat (creatures), the closer will he be to the real unity. A person who tries to get away is on the way yet. A person who has freed himself from kathrat, that is, who has manumitted his self from the fetters of seeing, knowing and loving the masiwa [creatures], has attained haqiqat. His heart is now so oblivious of the masiwa that he would not be able to remember them even if he exerted himself for years to do so. This is called Fana-i-qalb. It is the first grade of Kamalat-i-Wilayat.

FIRST VOLUME, 80th LETTER

May Allahu ta'ala bless thee with attaining thine wishes! Or, rather, may He rescue thee from thine wishes and make thee conformable with His Irada-i-ilahiyya (Divine Will)! The rank of 'abdiyyat (being a born servant) is adamiyyat (nonexistence). There is no existence in 'abdiyyat. Nonetheless for will. Will originates from existence, from self. Existence as big as a mote in the heart of a lover of Allah becomes as big as a mountain. It is impossible to get rid of this state unless Allahu ta'ala blesses one with His special Kindness. Unless the heart is attracted, worships performed only physically will not free the heart from these mountains. Unless a fire of love flares up in the heart and unless one is blessed with a fire of love to burn away any traces of polytheism in the heart, it is out of the question to attain freedom from and safety against this heavy burden. As long as a salik (person who makes progress in one of the orders of Tasawwuf) has a will [or wish], he is to be called Murid. When he is freed from the enthrallment of his will and wish and set on the Irada-i-ilahiyya, he will become suitable for the rank of Irshad (guidance). This blessing, which is the initial grade in the Kamalat-i-wilayat, along with all the other grades of Kamalat-i-wilayat, is sprinkled bounteously from a source of haloes now, i.e. from the grave of Imam-i-Rabbani Ahmad Faruqi Sarhandi, our Murshid. Those who have gathered around this Rawda-i-munawwara (garden of blessings), even those faithful adherents coming from other places, when they rub their heads on the soil of its entrance, attain plentiful fayd. Today India's city of Serhend is a source of abundant fayd and nur and occult, mysterical manifestations and therefore it has become an object of envy not only for the other cities of India but also for all other countries. This blessed city should not be considered (only) as a part of India. Here is the gate of Wilayat. The land of India has become dough kneaded with the nectar of Wilayat and has become a hub of Hidayat and Irshad. Those who have been burned to ashes by the sparks emitted from this fire have become incapacitated from describing the pulchritude of this land. They have been rendered short of disclosing its plenteous fayd, unfathomable mysteries and immeasurable blessings. Those who visit the place and attach their hearts receive this fayd. Those who are true and just realize this. The precious jewels they are honored with obtaining from this occult source of nur are seldom come by in countries where other Walis are. People who are blessed with a draught of love from this spring of Wilayat are disenthralled from afaqi and enfusee dependencies.

FIRST VOLUME, 128th LETTER

Spiritual states experienced by saliks who have not reached the rank of Fana and Baqa are of no value. A person who wishes to attain Haqq ta'ala should retreat from His masiwa [creatures]. A person who wishes ahwal (hals) and mawajid (raptures, ecstacies) wishes the masiwa. Fana and Baqa are necessary. One has to try to obtain these two. Wilayat is attained through these two. The kind of marifat which is the cause of our discovery is attainable by way of these two. The spiritual states which are caused in the heart by zeal and love are not necessary. When the beauty is incomprehensible, love for that beauty will also be of the incomprehensible sort. Some raptures may be experienced. One may cry and wail, for instance. Everybody loves his nafs very much. All sorts of love, including one's love of property, love of one's wife and children, are the results of one's love for one's nafs. One's love for one's nafs does not produce any raptures such as crying. Mahbub-i- haqiqi (The genuine, real darling) is loved more than the nafs. Fana is the outcome of this love. So is the case with loving the Messenger of Allah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam'. It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Unless a person loves me more than (he loves) his nafs and household and all other people, he will not have had full iman in me." The Murshid is the representative of the Messenger of Allah. Love for the Murshid, therefore, should be of the same sort.

Whatsoever is beautiful, except remembering Him,

Is a poison to the soul, be it sweetmeat with cream!

FIRST VOLUME, 130th LETTER

All sorts of perfections, visible or invisible, are within this brilliant Shariat and inherent in adapting oneself to the Last One of Prophets 'alaihi wa alaihim-us-salawat wal-barakat'. Only those who follow his way are blessed with Jazba and Suluk. Fana and Baqa are his attributes. Wilayat-i-sughra, Wilayat-i-kubra and Wilayat-i-ulya are only drops from his ocean of Wilayat. Nubuwwat and Risalat (prophethood and Messengership) are the harvest of his nurs. The signs and symbols in Qur'an al-karim are mysteries belonging to him 'sall-allahu alaihi wa ala Alihi wa Ansarihi wa sallam'.

FIRST VOLUME, 195th LETTER

Our Prophet's having been commanded to adapt himself to the people of Ibrahim 'alaihis- salam' and to aspire after the reminiscences of the salawat and barakat bestowed on him (Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam') was intended so that he (Muhammad 'alaihis-salam') should go through the rank of Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam' and attain higher ranks. Going through Ibrahim's 'alaihis-salam' rank requires adapting oneself to his people. For attaining his rank there is no other way than adapting oneself to his people. Difference between these two ranks is like the difference between a mosque and its mihrab (niche in a mosque which shows the direction of qibla and where the imam stands to conduct the namaz in jamaat). The imam has to walk through the mosque in order to reach the mihrab, his rank. The mihrab is like the center of a circle. The mosque is like the area surrounded by the circle. When Rasulullah reached Maqam-i-Ibrahim (the rank of Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam') and then entered the rank of Mahbub, which was exclusively peculiar to him, he pulled hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq up to take his place beside him.

FIRST VOLUME, 202nd LETTER

In this short span of life, do the most important things! Know it a great blessing to spend your nights worshipping and to weep through early mornings! Illuminate dark nights with lights of dhikr! Be honest and reliable in your trade affairs! It is stated in a hadith ash- Sharif, "Allahu ta'ala loves a faithful tradesman." Do not make business contracts that are fasid or which are based on interest! This is one of the dangers which scholars are vulnerable to. Imagine how perilous the situation non-scholars are in! I wonder if anyone is free from such corrupt contracts? Learn how to make contracts conformable with the Shariat from true men of religion [or from their books]! Be extra cautious in this respect! Pray and trust yourself to Allahu ta'ala to protect you against this risky deed! We send our salam to those who are in the right way!

SECOND VOLUME, 36th LETTER

One does not need anyone's permission for doing with the intention of earning thawab those practices which our Prophet described and did himself and yet which are not exclusive to him (as the Prophet). Rasulullah's having done them is already a permission and a document, too, to prove that they are permissible practices. On the other hand, effectiveness of some special practices, dhikrs, benedictions and amulets, which are intended to attain certain wishes or to elude certain hardships, is liable to a special permission on the part of one's Master and Murshid.

After Rasulullah's death, some people saw him and talked to him, wide awake as they were. His blessed body never leaves his grave. His blessed grave is never left empty. Greater ones of this Ummat have also been seen in various countries at the same time. For example, Shah-i-naqshbend Muhammad Baha-ud-din (Shah-i-naqshbend passed away in 791 [A.D. 1389].) reportedly has been present at seven different places at the same time of Iftar and joined the meal called Iftar at each of these seven places. These appearings are spiritual. The soul reveals itself in physical form. Prophets are alive in their graves. However, the life they lead is not worldly life. They have left the world and entered the Hereafter. They perform namaz in their graves. Transition from this world to the world to come is termed Mawt (death). The situation martyrs are in is even better. Their life in the Hereafter is more powerful. Whereas (dead) Prophets are called Emwat (dead) in Qur'an al-karim, an ayat purports about martyrs: "Do not say 'emwat' about those who have been killed in the way of Allah! They are alive. Yet you do not know."

The thawab for alms given [or for ayats of Qur'an al-karim recited] should first be sent as a gift to the blessed soul of our Prophet and then sent to the souls of dead Muslims. Pious deeds are more likely to be accepted if this procedure is followed. However, doing so is not a condition stipulated for the acceptability of alms. It will be good also to send the thawab as a gift to the souls of all believers. Each and every believer will receive all the thawab (earned for the pious deed performed, e.g. the alms given). This will by no means detract from the thawab which the dead person for whom the pious deed is intended will receive.

No one except our Prophet was taken to (heaven in an event called) Miraj (as he was) awake. There have been people whose souls only have been lifted up when they were awake and their eyes were open. Such things are of no value when they happen in dreams.

Hadrat Ali 'karram-Allahu wajhah' was (Allah's) compassion completely. He can never have cursed anybody ( may Allahu ta'ala protect us from such an assertion!) [This part of the thirty-sixth letter is fairly long. Its translation exists in the latter part of the second part of our book].

Khatima [the last breath, (that is, whether a person will die as a believer or a disbeliever,)] cannot be known. It is not valid to render judgement on the khatima of people who have passed away. It is permissible to have a good opinion on the khatima of Murshids and other great religious superiors in accordance with the fairly prevailing presumption [inferred from the symptoms of good end seen on them as they died]. A judgement in this respect cannot be based on inspirations. The number of Anbiya (Prophets who did not bring a new Shariat but were assigned the duty of revitalizing the Shariat brought by a former Prophet) is not known. It is widely known that the number of Rasuls (Prophets to each of whom a new Shariat, a new Canon was revealed) is three hundred and thirteen.

SECOND VOLUME, 37th LETTER

A fatwa has been given that it is permissible for a person who does not have one day's food to ask for it. However, it is taqwa and azimat not to ask at all. It is mubah (permitted) in cases of strong necessity such as a danger of illness or death. It is mubah for a person who does not have clothes to ask for clothes under these conditions. If a person is healthy enough to work and earn his living, it is not permissible for him to beg. If a person studies religious knowledge and does not have time to make a living, it is permissible for him to ask from others. It is not permissible for a person who could earn his living by writing to ask from others. It is stated in the explanation of Mishkat, (Mishkat is a commentary of Mesabih. Husain Beghawi, the author of Mesabih, passed away in 516 [A.D. 1122], and Muhammad Waliyy-ud-din, the author of Mishkat, passed away in 749 [A.D. 1348]. There are Arabic and Persian explanations of Mishkat.) "If a person is too ill to work, it is permissible for him to earn his daily food by begging. It is not permissible (for this person) to beg for more (than a day's food). If a person cannot find time to work because of supererogatory namaz and supererogatory fasting, it is not permissible for him to ask for zakat or alms. It is permissible for someone else to ask (for zakat and alms) on behalf of this person.

There are three different harms in asking for help. First, it means to imply that Allahu ta'ala sends His blessings in small amounts, which is haram. Second, it means to humiliate oneself; it is not permissible for a believer to humiliate himself before anyone except Allahu ta'ala. Third, it means to annoy someone by asking from him, which is haram, too, unless there is strong necessity to do so. For this reason, people of taqwa have not asked for anything from anybody. Bishr-i-Hafi ( Bishr-i-Hafi and Sirri passed away in Baghdad, the former in 227 [A.D. 841] and the latter in 251 [865].) would not ask for anything from anyone except Sirri-Saqati. And he explained this exception as follows: "I know he will be happy when he gives something to someone. I am asking in order to make him happy." Bishr stated, "There are three groups of poor people: The first group will not ask (for anything) and will not accept anything offered to them. These people are with angels in the Illiyyin (the highest of the eight Gardens of Paradise mentioned in Qur'an al-karim). The second group will not ask, yet they will accept what is given to them. These people are with the Muqarrabs in the Gardens of Paradise. The second group will ask when they need. These people are called Sadiq and they are with the Ashab-i-yamin." In conclusion, we say that it is haram and very ugly to beg without any strong necessity. It is mubah in case of strong necessity or need. Yet it will cause one's demotion. It becomes wajib in case of danger of death. If one does not ask from others and dies as a result of this, one dies as a sinful person. Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' sent a present to hadrat 'Umar 'radi-allahu anh'. 'Umar 'radi-allahu anh' would not accept the present and sent it back. When they met some time later, the Messenger of Allah asked, "Why didn't you accept it?" Hadrat 'Umar answered, "O the Messenger of Allah! You said, 'The most beneficent among you is the one who would not take anything from anyone.' " Upon this Rasulullah said, "That statement of mine was about asking and taking. If something comes to you without your asking for it, it is rizq (sustenance) sent by Allahu ta'ala." Hadrat 'Umar answered, "I swear by Allahu ta'ala that I shall never ask for anything from anyone and I shall take anything that will come without my asking for it." It is stated in a hadith ash- Sharif, "If a person who is hungry or who needs something does not ask from anybody and expects his need from Allahu ta'ala, Allahu ta'ala will open gates of one year's sustenance for him."

SECOND VOLUME, 38th LETTER

The most adamant blind between man and Allahu ta'ala is man's nafs. It was stated, "Leave your nafs and come to me! You are the very cloud covering the sun you have been looking for! Recognize yourself!" Removal of the nafs from between is a business for the conscience [heart] and a matter of zawk. It cannot be explained by means of oral or written statements. Nor can it be understood by reading books. First of all, one has to have been blessed with it in the eternal past and therefore it requires jazba [being attracted] by Allahu ta'ala. In this world of causations, the Murshid-i-kamil's sohbat will be enough on the condition that one should love (one's Murshid). Depending on the degree of love one has (for the Murshid), one will take as much as one can of the fayd being broadcast by the Murshid-i-kamil's heart and coming to him and thus attain perfection. The hadith ash- Sharif, "One will be with whomever one loves," informs with this fact.

SECOND VOLUME, 39th LETTER

Bodies of the Ahl-ullah [Awliya] are Allah's compassion, alive or dead alike. The fayd and barakat which they broadcast through their lifetime go on after their death, too. Their fayd and barakat continue to pour into people who continue following them. The case is like that of the haloes of sunnats, which are annihilated by the (noxious rays produced by the) bidats invented and inserted into Islam (in the name of worships and pious deeds). Try to perform beneficial deeds! Row a race in doing pious deeds and worships! Deem it a fortune [advantage] to serve the children of the deceased! Please them in a manner compatible with the Shariat!

SECOND VOLUME, 42nd LETTER

May Allahu ta'ala protect thee against the evils of the cruel! Disasters come from Him. And again, He, alone, is the savior from calamities. There is a (preordained) length of time for each (disaster). Lamenting [and complaining] will therefore be futile. Trusting oneself to Him [and supplicating Him] will eliminate all sorts of griefs. Not to pray is the worst grief. [He loves those who pray. So one should look on cares and afflictions as blessings inasmuch as they cause one to pray and consequently to be loved by Him].

SECOND VOLUME, 45th LETTER

My dear son! Apparently, the world is sweet, delicious. Inwardly, however, it is poisonous and worthless. He who falls into its trap can never save himself. He who dies with this poison will become a carrion. It is lunacy to lose your heart to it. It is like lacquered filth, sugar-coated poison. A person with wisdom will not fall for such false, spurious beauty. He will not set his heart on impure, hurtful pleasures. He will spend this short life of his endeavoring to ingratiate himself with his Owner. He will do the things that will be useful for him in the Hereafter. He will do his duties as a born slave. He will hold fast to the commandments of Allahu ta'ala. He will avoid His prohibitions. Shame on those people who do the opposite and chase after harmful things!

Offending the true friend is what I fear;

It burns me day and night, so hard to bear!

[The world (in this context) means harmful things hated and prohibited by Allahu ta'ala. A person who avoids the harams has protected himself from the world's deceits. Allahu ta'ala has not prohibited any pleasure, any flavor in the world. What He forbids is to enjoy these pleasures in excessive and inordinate measures and injurious manners. He commands us to utilize them in salutary and modest doses and prescribes these doses.]

SECOND VOLUME, 59th LETTER

Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' is the origin of all the suri [visible, outward] Kamalat [perfections, advantages] and the ma'nawi [invisible, spiritual] ranks. Physical practices and prohibitions, worships coming from him reached us through a succession of scholars. And we received the occult and mystical knowledge pertaining to the batin [heart] via the chain of Sufiyya-i-kiram. Abu Huraira 'radi-allahu anh' stated, "I acquired two kinds of knowledge from the Messenger of Allah 'sall-allahu ta'ala alaihi wa alihi wa sallam'. I have conveyed one of them to you. You would kill me if I divulged the second one." When 'Umar 'radi-allahu anh' passed away, his son Abdullah said, "One-ninth of knowledge is dead." Upon seeing that his statement aroused feelings of doubt in some of the people around him, he added, "By knowledge I mean 'knowing Allahu ta'ala', not the teachings on matters of menstruation and lochia." All the Tariqat [paths] originate from Rasulullah. Walis received them through their Murshids. None of them opened their paths. Molla Jami says in Nefehat, "The first person to mention the term was Abu Said-il-harraz. (Abu Said- i-Harraz passed away in Baghdad in 277 [A.D. 890].) The essence of Tariqat were derived from Rasulullah's blessed heart. Their names were given afterwards. Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' would make dhikr with his blessed heart before the Bi'that [before he was forty years old]. It would not be right to say that such things as making tawajjuh to Allahu ta'ala, doing dhikr through nafy and ithbat [Kelima-i-tawhid] and doing muraqaba (religious meditation) did not exist during the 'Asr-i-saadat or in the time of Ashab al-kiram. The blessed Messenger was busy with these things during those well- known moments when he remained silent. These names did not exist in those days, yet what they represented did. The Prophet's blessed utterances were dhikr and his silence was fikr (thought, meditation, thinking). Tafakkur means thought's improvement from wrong to right. This hadith ash-Sharif is well known: "A little tafakkur (for a short while) is more useful than one year's worship." Those who assert that these things did not exist at that time ought to put forward their proofs.

The dhikr of nafy and ithbat, which exists in Tariqat, was taught by Hidir 'alaihis-salam' to Abd-ul-khaliq Ghonjduwani. (Abd-ul-khaliq Ghonjduwani passed away in Bukhara in 575 [A.D. 1180].) Something taught by Hidir 'alaihis-salam' could certainly not be something which was bidat or which did not contain nurs or lights or which would not be a remedy for illnesses. Should it be asked, "If all spiritual paths called Tariqat were derived from Rasulullah's nurs and are drops from his asrar (secret, occult, mysterical manners and knowledge), why are there different paths, then, and why are they dissimilar in their sahw (recovering from rapture), sekr (ecstasy), telween (rapture), temkeen (composure), and their ravings that are called [shat-h] and which appear to be incompatible with the Shariat," our answer is that these dissimilarities arise from idiosyncratic dissimilarities and differences in men's creation. It is like that of the same kind of food or medicine which has different effects on different people. This can also be illustrated in that the same person's image will be different in different mirrors. Rasulullah 'sall-allahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam' would communicate occult and mystical meanings in various ways, depending on the tendencies and talents of his Ashab. Water takes the shape of a container it is poured in. The same water will appear in different shapes, depending on the container it is in. A hadith ash-Sharif states, "Teach everybody as much as (and in a manner) their mental capacities will embrace." One day, Rasulullah 'sall-allahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam' was telling Abu Bakr 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh' about secret spiritual knowledge. When 'Umar 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh' came, he changed the discourse a little. Some time later 'Uthman 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh' arrived. This time the Prophet changed the way of his discourse even more. And when Ali 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh' came a while later, he began to say quite different things. He made these changes because each newcomer had a different nature and different dispositions.

In answer to the second question; all the spiritual orders [Tariqat] come from Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh'. (Jafar Sadiq is the sixth of the twelve Imams. He is hadrat Ali's grandson's grandson and is at the same time Musa Qazim's father. He passed away in 148 [A.D. 765].) This Imam is attached to two different ways. The first one, the way of his ancestors, comes from hadrat Ali 'radi-allahu anh'. The second, which is the way of his mother's father, comes from Siddiq-i-Akbar 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh'. On account of these two outward and spiritual Wilayats, this great Imam said, "Abu Bakr has caused me to have double existences." These two ways possessed by the Imam are different from each other. The Awliya belonging to the Naqshbendee order were given the way coming from Siddiq-i-Akbar and through the Imam. Awliya affiliated with the other spiritual orders were blessed with the way coming from Ali 'karram-allahu wajhah' (and, again, through the Imam).

SECOND VOLUME, 61st LETTER

The purpose in our creation is our obtaining the marifat pertaining to Allahu ta'ala. There are two sorts of marifat. The first one is obtained through scientific methods, e.g. observation and inference [reasoning, thinking]. The second one occurs in the heart through kashf and shuhud. This kind of marifat comes from experts of Tasawwuf [Awliya]. The first one is science and is obtained mentally. The second one is a state (of heart) and occurs involuntarily. The first one does not annihilate the Arif (person who has obtained this kind of marifat). The second kind will annihilate him. For this kind of marifat means to lose one's existence in the maruf (the one whose marifat, knowledge is obtained).

Qurb (closeness) is not the movement known,

Qurb-i-Haqq is disenthralment from existence!

The first type is 'ilm-i-husuli (acquired knowledge) and means to know on a certain setting. The second one is idrak-i-basit (simple, mere realization) and does not have setting. For what is present here is Haqq. The salik (the person himself) has become fani [nonexistent]. In the first type of marifat the nafs is in the state of negation. For the nafs still exists with its evil attributes. Its obstinacy and desires have not ceased to exist. It has not freed itself from its eccentricities and inordinate appetites. The iman, if there is any, is only in appearance. Deeds, worships are only superficial. The nafs maintains its unbelief and retains its enmity towards its Mawla [Owner]. It is declared in a hadith-i-qudsi, "Know thine nafs as an enemy! For it is an enemy of Mine." This type of iman (the iman held by the person who has obtained the first kind of marifat) is called Iman-i-majazi (figurative belief). This type of iman may disappear (any time). In the second kind of marifat the nafs has come round to (having) iman because the salik has ceased to exist. This sort of marifat [iman] will never disappear. This iman is termed Iman-i-haqiqi (real iman). Now deeds are real, too. It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Ya Rabbi! I request that Thou shouldst grant me iman that will not end in disbelief!" The hundred and thirty-sixth ayat of Nisa sura, which purports, "O you who have had iman! Have iman in Allah and His Messenger!", points to this kind of iman. Imam-i-Ahmad ibni Hanbel (Ahmad ibni Hanbel passed away in Baghdad in 241 [A.D. 855].) occupied a highest grade in knowledge and ijtihad. However, he had recourse to Bishr-i-Hafi and humbly expressed his wish for this marifat. When people (around him) asked him why he had done so, he said, "He (Bishr-i-Hafi) is more arif (has closer knowledge) of Allahu ta'ala than I am." Abu Hanifa Numan-i-Kufi 'rahmatullahi alaih' (Abu Hanîfa passed away in Baghdad in 150 [A.D. 767].) gave up ijtihad and lived in seclusion in the last two years of his lifetime. After his death, he is reported to have said in (someone's) dream, "Had it not been for the last two years, Numan would have perished." The purpose in his seclusion was to perfect this marifat, and to attain perfect iman, which is result of this marifat. His grade in knowledge and deeds was already very high. No deed could reach the grade of ijtihad. No worship could equal the grade of teaching. Maturity of (one's) deeds depends on the maturity of (one's) iman. Luminousness of worships depends on the degree of ikhlas (one has). And the maturity of iman and the degree of ikhlas, in their turn, depend on marifat. Since this marifat and real iman depend on attaining Fana and the nafs's death before one dies, the better fana is the more perfect iman. For this reason, the iman possessed by Siddiq-i-Akbar exceeded the total iman held by this Ummat (Muslims). It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, "If Abu Bakr's iman were to be weighed against the iman of this Ummat, Abu Bakr's iman would weigh heavier." For he was peerless in Fana. It is stated in another hadith ash-Sharif, "If you would like to see a dead person walking, see Abu Kuhafa's son!" Abu Bakr's having been presented as an exemplification of Fana is an evidence for his perfection in Fana. For all the Ashab al-kiram attained Fana. How lucky for the person who has attained this marifat! One should run towards this blessing wherever it is. Shameful to say, what is to be aspired after is being turned away from. What one has been commanded to smash is being meliorated. Where will we find the face and the excuse to answer with on the Judgement Day?

SECOND VOLUME, 62nd LETTER

Man's honor is in his iman and marifat, not in his property or rank position. Endeavour for the solidification of iman! Redouble your efforts for the attainment of grades of marifat! It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, "If a person works for the Hereafter, Allahu ta'ala will make him attain all his wishes. If a person runs after worldly affairs only, He will destroy him." If a person has to struggle for a living, it is permissible for him to get a job and work. It will be good for him if he earns well. If he cannot earn well he should not insist. His efforts will be in vain. In addition, he will suffer harm.

SECOND VOLUME, 63rd LETTER

If a person misses his daily prayers of namaz because of illness and does not know the number of prayers he has missed, he makes qada of the prayers he has missed in lieu of the supererogatory prayers of namaz such as (those prayers of namaz termed) Tahajjud and Ishraq as well as the sunnats of the five daily prayers of namaz; the prayers of namaz he performs with the intention of qada though he has finished his debts of namaz will become supererogatory. He will be given the thawab (blessings promised) for supererogatory worships. For it is not necessary to make a certain niyyat for supererogatory prayers of namaz performed at certain times. Prayers of namaz made qada at certain times become supererogatory prayers belonging to those times.

[It is a grave sin to omit the five daily prayers of namaz, that is, not to perform them (within the times allotted to them) without any 'udhr (a good excuse for doing or not doing something). Fawt [missing or omitting them] because of illness or another 'udhr is not sinful. For this, it is necessary to make qada of them, (that is, to pay one's debts pertaining to namaz), instead of the sunnats of the five daily prayers of namaz except the sunnat of morning namaz. That these sunnats are supererogatory prayers is explained in the books Jawhara and Futuh-ul-ghayb as well as in Newadir-i-fiqhiyya, by Muhammad Sadiq Effendi, the Qadi of Jerusalem, and in Ashbah and Se'adet-i Ebediyye].

SECOND VOLUME, 67th LETTER

Namaz is the believer's Miraj. ( Hadrat Muhammad's ascent to heaven. There is detailed information about Miraj in Se'adet-i Ebediyye (Endless Bliss).) The following hadith ash- Sharifs are well-known: "Who Allahu ta'ala loves most is His born servant making the sajda." "If a person performs namaz in jamaat and then prays, Allahu ta'ala will give him whatever he wishes." "There is one thawab for a namaz performed at home, twenty-seven thawabs for a namaz performed in the mosque belonging to one's quarter, five hundred thawabs (for one performed) in the Great mosque, five thousand (for the namaz) in the Masjid al-Aqsa, fifty thousand thawabs (for a namaz performed) in this mosque of mine in Medina, and one hundred thousand thawabs (for one performed) in the Masjid al-Haram." "A person who is steady in performing these five daily prayers of namaz in jamaat shall cross the Bridge of Sirat as fast as lightning. Allahu ta'ala shall make him join (those fortunate people called) Sabiqun when people rise and gather (for the Last Judgement). Allahu ta'ala shall protect him against afflictions and disasters. He shall give him the (same amount of) thawab He gives to one thousand martyrs who died in their struggle for the sake of Allah." "Ahl-i-Qur'an is Ahl-ullah (People of Qur'an are people of Allah)." A hafid (person who has committed Qur'an al-karim to his memory) who is fond of the world cannot be among the people of Qur'an. What they read earlier is a deed peculiar to the Abrar. It is very useful to repeat the Kelima-i-tawhid and will cause progress. With the barakat of this blessed word, the heart will be purified [of the love it has for creatures]. One will become (a person who is) Ahl (qualified to read) Qur'an al-karim. The ayat al- karima which purports, "Only those who are pure are to hold it (Qur'an al-karim)," in Al- waqi'a sura, includes purity of heart, too. Also, there are the following hadith ash-Sharifs: "Those who are in love with Allahu ta'ala should listen to the word of Allah!" "He who wants to talk to Allahu ta'ala should read Qur'an al-karim!" "Allahu ta'ala loves hafids. He who bears enmity towards them will have borne enmity towards Allahu ta'ala. He who loves them will have loved Allahu ta'ala."

SECOND VOLUME, 68th LETTER

Latest members of the Sufiyya-i-aliyya stated that Allahu ta'ala can be perceived in the world. Perceiving (in this connection) means seeing through the heart. Author of the book Tarruf, [namely, Abu Ishaq Muhammad Ghulabadi ( Ghulabadi Hanafi passed away in 384 [A.D. 994].), states, "It has been stated unanimously (by scholars) that Allahu ta'ala cannot be seen in this world, neither with the eyes, nor through the heart." As it is seen, the early members of Sufiyya-i-aliyya said that Allahu ta'ala cannot be seen through the heart, either. Imam-i-Rabbani said so, too. That is, one of the zils (shades) is perceived in the world. A zil is by no means the Zat-i-ilahi (Divine Person) Himself. This fact is very well expressed by Shah-i-Naqshibend, who states, "Everything said or heard or seen or known is not He. All these things should be annihilated as one says, 'La'." Molla Jami states in Nefehat, "Or Prophet was asked what Tawhid was in (someone's) dream. He answered, 'Everything that comes to your heart or imagination is not He'." (We would like to ask) those who convey this (event of) perceiving from some great men of Tasawwuf: how do they know that those great people were not promoted from that grade and that state of perception did not come to an end?

SECOND VOLUME, 80th LETTER

Cruelties and harassments coming from government officials and others have their impact only on the zahir [on the body and brain]. They do not penetrate the batin [heart]. They will cause benefits such as thawab in the Hereafter and an increase in the resplendence of the batin in the world. One will not lose one's attributes as a human being. Whereas the batin will accept the incidences because they are created by Allahu ta'ala, the zahir will grieve over them. It is very useful to say istighfar for the elimination of afflictions and disasters. It has been experienced many times. It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, "If a person says the istigfar steadily and very often, Allahu ta'ala will save him from cares and troubles. He will send him sustenance in a way he does not expect at all." [It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, which is quoted in Maraq-il-falah, "If a person says the following prayer after every namaz, all his sins will be forgiven: "Astaghfirullah al 'azim al-lazi la ilaha illa huw-al-hayy-al-qayyuma wa atubu ilayh.' " This faqir [Muhammad Mathum] says the istighfar seventy times after every fard namaz. Following (the recipe given in) the hadith ash-Sharif, I first say, "Astaghfirullah al 'azim al-lazi la ilaha illa huw-al-hayy-al-qayyuma wa atubu ilayh," three times, and say only "Astaghfirullah" the rest of the number. Ali bin Abi Bakr says in Marij-ul-hidaya, "Of all the ways of istighfar, the most common one is the one taught by our Prophet: "If a person says the following prayer twenty-five times, no accident or misfortune will befall on his room, on his family, on his home or town: 'Astaghfirullah al-lazi la ilaha illa huw-ar-rahman-ir-rahim al-hayy-ul-qayyumal-lazi la- yamutu wa atubu ilayh Rabbi-ghfirli'." This prayer must be said every morning and every evening. Most scholars advised their disciples and children to say this prayer. They derived much benefit from this prayer."

SECOND VOLUME, 83rd LETTER

Scholars of the Madhhab of Ahl as-sunnat wal-jamaat explained the knowledge of Qada and Qadar as follows: All the deeds of human beings, regardless of whether good or evil, come about only through the Decree and Will of Allahu ta'ala. Taqdir (Decree), (in this sense), means to invent, to create. There is no khaliq, mujid, creator except Allahu ta'ala. Allahu ta'ala declares, as is purported in the ninety-sixth ayat of Saffat sura, "Allah creates you and all your deeds." The group called Mutazila, being mostly ignorant and stupid people, deny qada and qadar. They say that man does his deeds with his own power and option [choice]. They think that man creates his own deeds. [These people are also called Qadariyya]. Scholars of Ahl as-sunnat say, "Magians [fire worshippers] are not so evil as the group called Qadariyya. For the former group attribute one partner (to Allahu ta'ala). The group called Qadariyya attribute many partners."

Although good and evil are created by Haqq ta'ala, (man's) will and option have a share of responsibility in the deeds performed. First, man uses his will. Then, if Haqq ta'ala, too, activates His Will agreeably with man's, He creates his deed. This option of man's is called Kasb (acquiring, acquisition). Allahu ta'ala is the creator of man's deed, and man himself is acquirer. The statement, "Nothing can move without His permission!", points to (His) creation.

Punishments, such as death penalty inflicted on the murderer and torture meted out to sinners (in Hell), are administered because man has (the option called) kasb. The group called Jabriyya (Necessitarians) say that the born servant (man) does not have an option [choice]. They say that man is compelled to do his deeds. They say that men's actions are like movements of leaves. They go even further; they do not say that these actions are men's actions. They say that they are Allah's actions. These statements of theirs cause kufr. By saying so, they are denying Qur'an al-karim. They say, "Thawab will be given to those who carry out the commandments of Allahu ta'ala. However, those who commit haram will not be tormented. Disbelievers and wrongdoers are excusable. They will not be questioned or tormented. For Allahu ta'ala is the agent of deeds. Men are compelled." These statements of theirs are disbelief. Allahu ta'ala declares in the twenty-fourth ayat of Saffat sura, "Keep them at the place of judgement! They shall be called to account." And it is purported in the ninety-third ayat of Hijr sura, "For the haqq of thine Rabb, We shall question them all on what they have done." The group called Murjiya, who are declared to be accursed, hold the same belief (as the one held by the group named above). Seventy Prophets cursed them. The credo held by these foul people is not compatible with reason, either. There is difference between the trembling of one's hand and one's moving it. Nususs-i-qatiyya [ayats and hadiths] rebut these people. The fourteenth ayat of Ahkaf sura purports, "It is the retribution of their deeds." And the twenty-ninth ayat of Kahf sura purports, "Let him who wishes to have iman do so. And let him who wishes to deny do so, too. We have prepared Hell fire for the cruel." If the born servant did not have will and option, Allahu ta'ala would not call these people cruel. The hundred and seventeenth sura of Al-i-'Imran sura and the thirty-third sura of Nahl sura purport, "Allahu ta'ala does not torment them. They have tormented themselves." Most mulhids [people who hold disbelief and iman equal] disobey the Shariat under the false pretext that "Man does not have option." They want to escape the interrogation and torment promised for those who commit haram. They say that they are excusable and compelled.

Men have been given as much option and power as will enable them to obey the Shariat. The difference between trembling and moving is obvious. Allahu ta'ala has very much mercy. He did not command His born servants things which they would not be able to do; He gave them commandments which they would be able to carry out. He declares in the last ayat of Baqara sura, "Allahu ta'ala has commanded His born servants what they will be able to do." These people bear enmity towards those who annoy them. They educate their sons and servants by beating them (when necessary). They become angry when other men see their wives. They do not say that these people are excusable. On the other hand, they use this false pretext to escape Hell torment, which is clearly stated in ayats and hadiths. They say that they should be free to do whatever they wish and all sorts of evil and should not be interrogated at all. Allahu ta'ala declares, as is purported in the seventh ayat of Tur sura, "Verily, thine Rabb shall inflict torment. There is no escape from it." If these people see an insane stranger in their home, they will not become angry and will say that he is mentally deranged and does not have an option. On the other hand, if they see a sane person they will become angry. They will not say that this person is excusable. While in worldly matters they distinguish between a person who has an option and one who does not, they deny the existence of option when it comes to obeying the Shariat.

The groups of Qadariyya and Jabriyya have deviated from haqq [the right way], because the former deny qada and qadar and the latter say that man does not have an option [choice]. They have become people of bidat and dalalat (aberration). The moderate way without any excess or deviation is (the one taken by people who make up) the Madhhab (called) Ahl as-sunnat(t) wal-jamaat(t). Imam-i-azam Abu Hanifa asked Imam-i-Jafar Sadiq, "O the grandson of the Messenger's grandson! Has Allahu ta'ala left men's deeds to themselves?" "Allahu ta'ala will not make His born servants partners to Himself in being Rabb," was the answer. This time the former asked, "Will He compel His born servants?" The Imam said, "It is incompatible with His Justice to compel His born servants and then to torment them." And when Imam-i-azam finally asked, "How should we believe, then?", the latter replied, "Between these two extremes. He does not have actions done by force. Nor does He completely let them act as they wish." All good and evil deeds are dependent upon the Taqdir and Irada of Allahu ta'ala. The disbelievers called Jabriyya not only assert that they are compelled to do their evil deeds, but also disignore the fact that the state of disbelief and disobedience they are in is evil in itself. They say that "Allahu ta'ala likes whatever He wills (creates). He would not will it if He did not like it. Even the state of being a polytheist is something Allah likes. He will not torment anyone for having done something He likes." However, Allahu ta'ala belies them through ayats, such as the hundred and forty-eighth ayat of Anam sura, which purports, "Earlier ones (people) also disbelieved." Allahu ta'ala informs that He hates disbelief, that disbelief is evil, in Qur'an al-karim and in the (heavenly) Books He revealed to other Prophets. He declares that disbelievers are accursed, that they are far from forgiveness and mercy, and that their punishment shall be eternal torment. He states that the assertions of Jabriyya are sheer ignorance. For will and liking are quite different things. Something willed is not necessarily something liked. Allahu ta'ala wills and creates disbelief and sins. Yet He does not like them, He hates them. [By the some token, man does not necessarily like something he does by using his will. For instance, a person who is led to a place where he knows he is going to be beaten, killed or imprisoned, takes his steps by using his will. Yet he does not like the idea of going there]. The assertions made by the group called Jabriyya are expressions of their beliefs. They are intended for derision. Also, they are wrong to say, "Because men's deeds are dependent upon the Will of Allahu ta'ala and because good and evil were foreordained in eternity, there is no will left for man to use, and he is compelled to do what he is doing." For what was foreordained in eternity is that man would do his deeds by using his will. [Qadar does not mean Jabr-i-mutahakkim (domineering compulsion). It is 'ilm-i- mutaqaddim (knowing beforehand). This taqdir (qadar) shows that man has an option. If this taqdir in eternity had abrogated option, Allahu ta'ala also would be devoid of option in His deeds and creations. He would be compelled to create conformably with his Taqdir and Will in eternity. However, this is not the case.

THIRD VOLUME, 6th LETTER

This letter is (a piece of) advice to the Sultan. ( The sixth Sultan of India, Alamghir Muhammad Evrenghzib, passed away in 1118 [A.D. 1707]. He ruled over India fifty years with justice and served Islam.) Muaz bin Jebel relates: (One day) the Messenger of Allah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' held me by the hand. After walking for a few steps, he said, "Ya Muaz! Act with taqwa steadily. Always tell the truth. Abide by your promises. Never commit a breach of trust. Have mercy on orphans. Observe the rights of your neighbor. Do not become angry with anyone. Always talk softly. Greet every Muslim. Know that an Imam is necessary. Learn the knowledge of fiqh, which is the way taught by Qur'an al-karim, and never turn away from these teachings. Whatever you do, think of the Hereafter. Prepare yourself for the Judgement Day. Do not set your heart to the world. Always do what is beautiful and useful! Do not backbite any Muslim. Never bear false witness. Admit the right word. Do not revolt against an Imam (religious leader) who administers justice. Do not arouse fitna on the earth. Always make dhikr of Allah. Make secret tawba for your secret sins. Make open tawba for your open sins!" Abdullah ibni 'Umar relates: Someone asked the Messenger of Allah, "How many times should I pardon my servant?" There was no answer. So the person asked again. The Messenger stated, "Pardon him seventy times daily!" O Amir-ul-Muminin! I present my regards and love to you. I should like to express my gratitude. I am very thankful to see you in safety and peace and also for the services you have rendered to Islam and for the supports you have given to the Shariat. My disciples and I have been wishing you a long life and praying very earnestly day and night that you be given more strength and that you be victorious over your enemies. Relying on the fact that sincere benedictions pronounced (over a person) in absentia are more likely to be accepted, we carry on our prayers. May thine sun of sultanate and sovereignty always shine on high horizons! Amin.

THIRD VOLUME, 34th LETTER

Do not leave the way guided by our superiors! Serve the disciples and guests very well! Hold fast to the Shariat! Adhere to Rasulullah's Sunnat! Avoid bidats! Do not keep company with bidat holders. Run away from them! It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Bidat holders will be dogs for people tormented in Hell." Never forget this hadith ash- Sharif! Never make bidat [changes] in the way shown by our superiors! Fayd and barakat will keep coming from our superiors as long as bidats are not made. Always look for ways to please Allahu ta'ala! Endeavour to attain His marifat! Run in the direction whence you sense the smell of this blessing! The purpose of one's coming to this world is to attain this blessing. It is a shame to have to say that what should be yearned for is being vacated. Other things are being run after, instead. May Allahu ta'ala save you and us from the slumber of busying ourselves with creatures. May He bless us with the lot of looking for Him! May he protect us against falling for the sequined beauty of creatures! The cruelties and misfortunes befalling us are the consequences of our ill deeds. The statement, "Your commanders are your deeds," is a hadith ash-Sharif. Try to correct yourself! Cling to wara' and taqwa! The second ayat of Talaq sura purports, "We (shall) save people of wara' from troubles."

THIRD VOLUME, 55th LETTER

The twenty-eighth ayat of Al-i-'Imran sura purports, "believers should not love people other than believers, i.e. disbelievers. A person who likes them will not have loved Allahu ta'ala. It is permissible to be friends with them outwardly in case of strong necessity in the Dar-ul-harb." The author of Tafsir-i-kabir (Title of the book Tafsir-i kabir is Mefatih-ul- ghayb. Its author, Muhammad Fakhr-ud-din Razi, Shafi'i, passed away in Hirat in 606 [A.D. 1209].) explains this ayat al-karima very well, and states, "This ayat al-karima prohibits us from liking disbelievers." The hundred and eighteenth ayat al-karima of Al-i- 'Imran sura purports, "O believers! Do not be friends with non-believers, disbelievers!" The twenty-second ayat al-karima of Mujadala sura purports, "If a person believes in Allahu ta'ala and in the Hereafter, he will not like the enemies of Allah and His Messenger." The fifty-fourth ayat al-karima of Maida sura purports, "O believers! Do not like Jews and Christians!" The first ayat of Mumtahina sura purports, "O believers! Do not like My and your enemies." The seventy-second ayat of Tawba sura purports, "Believing men and women like one another." These ayat al-karimas, too, forbid to like disbelievers.

There are three kinds of a believer's liking a disbeliever. The first kind is his liking him on account of his disbelief. This kind of liking is forbidden because it means to like his disbelief, his (wrong) religion. A person who likes disbelief will become a disbeliever. This kind of liking abrogates one's iman. The second kind of liking is to pretend to be friends with the disbeliever only for the sake of getting on well with everybody. This kind of friendship is not forbidden. The third kind is something between the former two kinds. The person concerned is inclined towards them (disbelievers). Though he knows that their religion is invalid, he makes friends with them on account of his kinship or business relationship with them. This kind of closeness is not permissible although it will not cause disbelief. For this relationship will cause one to like their religion in the course of time. The ayat al-karima quoted above means this (third) kind of liking. Should it be asked, "Does not this ayat al-karima prohibit from hating believers and liking disbelievers? Will it not be permissible if one likes believers, too (that is, while liking disbelievers)?"; then, the other ayat al-karimas forbid it, too. Two Sahabis were captivated by men of Musaylamat- ul-kezzab. (A liar who appeared with the claim of prophethood in Yemama. Formerly he was a believer. It was during the second year of Abu Bakr as Siddiq's 'radi-allahu anh' caliphate when this person became a renegade and announced that he was a prophet. The Khalifa sent an army under Khalid bin Walid's command against this squalid apostate. Twenty thousand apostates were killed and two thousand Muslims tasted the flavor of martyrdom in the battle that took place between the two armies. Musaylama suffered a humiliating defeat and was killed by Wahshi, who accomplished the celebrated deed with the same sword he had used in martyring hadrat Hamza 'radi-allahu anh', our Prophet's blessed uncle.) When Musaylama asked one of them, "Do you believe in Muhammad's prophethood?", he said, "Yes." This time the former asked, "Do you believe that I am a Prophet also?" The answer was, "Yes," again. Musaylama believed that he was a prophet for the tribe of Bani Hanifa and that Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' was a prophet for the tribe of Quraish. He set him free. When they brought the other Sahabi, he asked him the same questions. While answering in the affirmative to the first question, this Sahabi said, "I am deaf," when he was asked the second question. Musaylama killed him. When the event was reported to Rasulullah 'sall-allahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam', he stated, "The second one attained martyrdom on account of his iman. The first one utilized the permission given by Allahu ta'ala." The hundred and sixth ayat al-karima of Nahl sura, which purports, "If a person whose heart is full with iman says (something that causes) disbelief as a result of ikrah [under duress], he will be pardoned," gives permission for disbelief under duress.

Taqiyya means to say (or do) the opposite of what one has in one's heart. This is also called Mudara, which means to conceal one's belief and Madhhab. It has various types: The first type is for a person who is among disbelievers and therefore fears for his property or life to sympathize with them though his heart does not like it. This (type of taqiyya) is permissible. The second type is to say frankly what one has in one's heart, which is preferable. An example of this type is the way chosen by the Sahabi martyred by Musaylama. The third type embodies harmful deeds such as homicide, fornication, usurpation, false witness, qazf of a chaste woman [imputing unchaste motives to her], betraying Muslim women to disbelievers, which are forbidden. The fourth type of taqiyya is permissible at places where there are disbelievers. In Shafi'i Madhhab it is permissible also when one is among cruel Muslims. The fifth type of taqiyya is done in order to protect one's property and it is permissible. The hadith ash-Sharif, "The believer's property is as valuable as his life," confirms this fact. Another hadith ash-Sharif in this connection is: "A person who is killed in his struggle for protecting his property attains martyrdom." Property is extremely necessary for a person. For instance, when water (is so scarce that it) is sold at exorbitant prices called Ghaban-i-fahish, it is not fard to make an ablution (for types of worship, e.g. namaz, which require ablution). In such cases it becomes permissible to make tayammum. The sixth type is the one which, as Imam-i-Mujahid ( Mujahid passed away in 104 [A.D. 723] in Mecca.) states, was employed during the initial years of Islam. For at that time Muslims were lonely and weak. When an Islamic state was established this rule was modified. There are scholars who say that taqiyya is permissible till the end of the world. This inference of theirs is preferable. For a believer has to do his best to elude harms.

Ignorant pantheistics and Mulhids, whose credal eclecticism has exceeded the limits of belief laid down by Islam, do not hesitate to be friends with disbelievers. They say, "The essence of Tasawwuf is to get on well with everybody." Rasulullah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' was the leader of Awliya and said, "I am proud of poverty." However, Allahu ta'ala commanded (him) as is purported in the seventy-fourth ayat of Tawba sura: "O My Prophet! Make Jihad against disbelievers! Do hostility against them!" The way taken and guided by the Messenger of Allah 'sall-allahu alaihi wa sallam' was hostility towards disbelievers and Jihad against them. What kind of sufis are these people? They have strayed from the way guided by the Messenger of Allah and wandered away into an altogether different way. The way taken by these people is sheer aberration, which means abandonment of the right way. It is stated plainly in Qur'an al-karim and in hadith ash-Sharifs that Allahu ta'ala is hostile against disbelievers. Is it possible for a person who sympathizes with His enemies to love Him? If disbelievers and fasiqs were not enemies of Allahu ta'ala, Bughd-i-fillah (enmity for Allah's sake) would not be wajib. It would not be the most superior way to make one attain Allahu ta'ala and the most effective cause of perfection of iman. It is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, "If a person does not love Allahu ta'ala and does not know enemies of Allahu ta'ala as his enemies, his iman will not be true. If he loves believers for Allah's sake and knows disbelievers as enemies, he will attain love of Allahu ta'ala." It is stated in another hadith ash-Sharif, "If a person loves Allah's friends and knows His enemies as his enemies, too, and gives for Allah's sake and does not give, again for Allah's sake, his iman will be mature." And another hadith ash-Sharif: "Become close to Allah by doing hostility towards the disobedient!" Another hadith ash-Sharif states, "Allahu ta'ala intimated to a Prophet through Wahy: Say to such and such abid (a person who worships very much): 'By making zuhd in the world you have provided peace for your nafs and made yourself valuable. What have you done for Me?' When the abid asked, 'Ya Rabbi! What should be done for Thee,' Allahu ta'ala said: 'Have you done hostility to My enemy for My sake and have you loved My darlings for My sake?' " A person who loves should love whomever the darling loves and hate whomever the darling hates. This state of love and hostility is not within his will. It is a consequence of love. In this case, will and acquisition, which are necessary in other sorts of behavior, are not needed. It is an involuntary state. Friend's friends will look amiable. And friend's enemies will seem unlovely. If a person claims love for someone, he will not be believed unless he estranges himself from his darling's enemies. If he does not do so, he will be called a hypocrite. Shaikh-ul-islam Abdullah-i-Ansari says: I do not like Abu-l-Hasan Sem'un because he annoyed my master Hidri. If a person annoys your teacher and you are not upset by this, you must be lower than a dog. Allahu ta'ala purports in the fourth ayat of Mumtahina sura, "Take lessons from the statements made by Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam' and those believers who were with him! They said to the disbelievers: 'We are far from you and your idols. We dislike your religion. There is enmity between you and us until you believe in Allahu ta'ala.' " And the ayat al-karima following it purports, "These statements of theirs contain lessons for you and for those who wish love of Allahu ta'ala and the blessings in the Hereafter." Hence, this tabarree [keeping away] is necessary for those who wish to attain love of Allahu ta'ala. Allahu ta'ala purports, "To love disbelievers means not to love Allahu ta'ala. One could not love both of two opposites." Two enemies cannot be loved at the same time. If a person claims to love someone and at the same time does not keep away from his enemies, this claim of his will not be believed. The twenty-eighth ayat of Al-i-'Imran sura purports, "Allahu ta'ala threatens those who love disbelievers with His torment." This grave threat shows how critical the offense is. One day they said to Khalifa 'Umar 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh', "There is a Christian from the people of Hira here. He has a very strong memory and beautiful handwriting. He will be very useful for you if you employ him as a secretary for yourself." He refused and said, "I cannot make friends with a non-believer," quoting the aforenamed ayat al-karima. One day Abu Musal Ashari said to Khalifa 'Umar, "I have a Christian secretary. He is a great hand." The Khalifa chided him, saying, "May Allah not perish you! Why don't you employ a Muslim secretary? Haven't you heard the ayat, 'O believers! Do not like Jews and Christians,' in Maida sura?" (Abu Musal Ashari relates the rest of the conversation as follows): "Upon this I said, 'His religion is his and his service as a secretary is mine.' The Khalifa said, 'Do not honor a person degraded by Allahu ta'ala! Do not cherish a person scorned by Allahu ta'ala! Do not get close to a person repelled by Allahu ta'ala!' When I finally said, 'I am administering (official matters of) Basra with his help,' the Khalifa commanded, 'Now do what you would do if the Christian died! Replace him immediately!' " Imam-i-Rabbani 'radi-allahu ta'ala anh', who is our Murshid and the cause of our happiness, states in the two hundred and sixty-sixth letter, "Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam' attained the rank of Halilullah and became the tree of Prophets owing to his strictly keeping away from the enemies of Allahu ta'ala. The fourth ayat of Mumtahina purports, 'There are lessons for you in Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam'.' According to this faqir, none of the things that will make one close to Allahu ta'ala could equal tabarree (keeping away from disbelievers). The hostility which Allahu ta'ala has against disbelief and disbelievers originates from His Person. He Himself is hostile towards idols such as Lat and Uzza and those who worship these idols. Burning eternally in Hell is the retribution for this abominable deed. This is not the case with the desires of nafs and all other sorts of sins. For the enmity and wrath Allahu ta'ala has for these things do not come from Himself. His Wrath is one of His Attributes and His Torment is one of His Deeds. Therefore, the punishment for these sins is not burning eternally in Hell. On the contrary, He will forgive these sins if He wishes."

THIRD VOLUME, 153rd LETTER

Whatever was preordained in eternity shall certainly exist. The fortieth ayat of Rad sura purports, "There is a hukm (decision, divine ordinance) for every moment." Maintain your searching for Allahu ta'ala! Run towards the place from where you smell its scent. These days when you have the chance are the only convenient days for gains. There is no coming to the world a second time. Our way is based on sohbat. Is it possible for one who is near you and another one who is far away to be equal? Weys-al-qarani could not attain the grade of any of the Ashab al-kiram because he failed to see the Messenger of Allah. A person who is close and one who is far away are held unequal in all the other paths (of Tariqat); yet sohbat, being together, that is, is the basis of our path. This is not the case with the other paths. A disciple who is discreet enough will receive the fayd and barakat emanating from his Murshid's heart and coming to his heart with proportion to the degree of love he has for his Murshid regardless of the distance between him and his Murshid. Due to the spiritual connection [love], he will receive the fayd coming to him from the distance; yet sohbat is an indispensable condition for attainment of Marifat and the grades of Wilayat. Thus Allahu ta'ala will bless us with the lot of receiving the fayd gushing out from the hearts of our superiors. [Religious knowledge coming from Rasulullah parts into two groups: Knowledge pertaining to body and knowledge pertaining to heart. Knowledge pertaining to body is called Shariat. This knowledge is learned from books of Kalam, Fiqh, and Akhlaq (morals). Knowledge pertaining to heart is called Marifat or Fayd. Marifat and fayd (are the kind of occult knowledge which) emanate from the hearts of Awliya and flow into one's heart].

THIRD VOLUME, 154th LETTER

May Allahu ta'ala bless you with high ranks! This requires obeying the luminous Shariat and sticking to the way of Muhammad 'alaihis-salam'. We should love the Murshid who guides us in this way and adapt ourselves to him. At times of disasters and afflictions we should submit ourselves to the Will and eternal predestination of Allahu ta'ala and comply with His Doings! Remember and help the dead by praying, giving alms and doing acts of charity! Wait for the deceased Murshid's fayd and barakat! Visit his grave and beg him for fayd! We expect that our friends will enrich that blessed city and hold firmly to the way guided by the deceased and continue with their dhikrs and duties. Serve the guests well! Try to please the deceased's children by serving them! Do not fail in teaching children their religion and in training them compatibly with Islamic manners and education! Perform the five daily prayers of namaz within the allotted times and in jamaat! Keep on saying the Adhan (Azan) and reading Qur'an al-karim without taghanni (melody)!

My heart bleeds with separation of friends,

Remembering them, marrow of my bones burns!

THIRD VOLUME, 156th LETTER

What a shame that a whole lifetime is gone by, and without me having done anything useful! It has only now become clear that the world is a faithless liar. Life in it has become a mere vision. And yet its fitnas and cares still hold on. Friends and acquaintances are all dead, gone. With all these palpable facts in front of our eyes, we do not seem to wake up from our slumber or take any warning. Nor do we make any tawba. The oblivion abides, adding sins to our sins. Allahu ta'ala declares, as is declared in the hundred and twenty- seventh ayat of Tawba sura, "Do they not see how calamities and afflictions befall them once or twice yearly? They still will not make tawba, nor do they feel remorse." What kind of iman is this? Is this how a Muslim should be? We do not take advice, neither from the Book nor from the Sunnat. Nor do they learn any lessons from disasters and other events. Let them think about their friends and acquaintances with whom they lived together, went out together, ate and drank together and even slept together for many years. Do they not see what happened to those people with whom they sympathized, enjoyed themselves together and helped one another? Is there any trace left of any one of them? Are there any people to inform you about them? Their lives, like husk, have been winnowed away by the wind.

O thou, the base world, so perfidious are all thine boons,

The grandeur thou offer with a gale of wind swoons!

Ya Rabbi! Do not deprive us of their rewards and fayd! Do not let us fall into fitna after them! We gharib (poor, lonely) people; let us endeavour not to waste our sojourn of a few days in this world in slumber. Let us not lead a life like rabbits' sleep! Let us not set our hearts to transient, sequined, deceitful flavors. Let us not fall for these poisonous sweetness! Let us do the worships and good deeds Allahu ta'ala commands and likes! Let us not believe the lies of the nafs and the devil and evil people! Let us think of the torment in grave and in the Hereafter and protect ourselves by now! Turning away from this short life and unreal vision, let us attain the honor of dying before death! Let us consider that our origin is a mere nothing! Everybody will laugh at an idiot who adorns himself with ornaments trusted to him and boasts about having them. No one will like a person who sells defective, deceitful goods. Everything that befits existence and anything that exists, belongs to the One who exists in reality. Maturity of someone before and behind whom there is nonexistence is in his realizing his nonexistence.

No knowledge could equal one's being aware of one's imperfection!

THIRD VOLUME, 168th LETTER

There is no interval or pause in Allahu ta'ala's sending fayd. He sends fayd, barakats, nurs continuously. [He sends the power and energy necessary for substantial life through the sun. And He sends the fayd necessary for spiritual life through Muhammad's 'alaihis-salam' blessed heart. This fayd comes to Murshids' hearts and then it is radiated from their hearts. Murshids' hearts are like substances with phosphorescent properties]. The fayd radiated from a Murshid's heart comes to every Muslim's heart in an amount in proportion to his capacity. It never comes to some people. Likewise, clearness of a person's image on a mirror depends on the brightness of the mirror. No image will be seen on an opaque mirror. It is the mirror that reflects the image perfectly. The owner of the image has no role in the clearness of the image. [The more ikhlas and love one has for one's Murshid, the more will he receive of the fayd coming from his heart. In some cases, though very seldom, the whole fayd is received].

THIRD VOLUME, 252nd LETTER

The fayd and nur radiated by a Murshid every moment spreads in all directions and everybody receives as much of it as he is ready for. Readiness (in this sense) means holding the belief of Ahl as-sunnat, avoiding bidats and obeying the Shariat. The more ready a person is the more fayd will come to him. And the amount he will receive of the fayd coming to him will be in proportion to his ikhlas and love for his Murshid.

[The Imams of four Madhhabs and those exalted scholars who were educated by these (four) Imams and who reached the grade of ijtihad in religious knowledge are called 'Ulama (scholars) of Ahl as-sunnat(t), and the knowledge of iman taught by these scholars is called Itiqad (belief) of Ahl as-sunnat(t). There were other Madhhabs who also held the belief of Ahl as-sunnat(t). Yet their books of fiqh do not exist today. There are three kinds of Imams: The Imam (who conducts collective namaz) in a mosque; the Imam (leader) of a Madhhab; the Imam of all Muslims, who is also called Amir-ul-Muminin. This last kind of Imam does not exist today. Today's Muslims have various states and governments. Wherever a Muslim lives, be it a country with a government of disbelievers, such as Germany and France, he should not revolt against the state or government or violate the laws; he should avoid acts of separatism and pay taxes. Even in a country of disbelievers, he should not act in defiance of anyone's property or life; on the contrary, he should be kind to everybody. It is haram to disturb peace or to arouse fitna. He should not join liars, slanderers, fraudulent or treacherous people. Allahu ta'ala declares, "I love people of ihsan (kindness, generosity, favor)." A person who does not hurt anybody and who always does favors will be liked both by Allah and by people].

The following is a poem written upon Sayyid Abdulhakim-i-Arwasi's acquittal in the military court in Menemen in 1931:

Today Huda has given us two festivals;

One is physical cure, the other soul's victuals.

One is mahgfirat-i-hadrat-i-Huda, no doubt;

The other will cure the ailing heart, an antidote.

Tempest of separation exposed us to destruction;

Kerem-u-Rahmat-i-Haqq gives us fresh animation.

Do not go, do not die, do not kill us; always be with us!

This life would be a mere balderdash without you for us!

All those days that I spent in great grief, deep distress,

No language could say, nor even the best pen could express.

How disastrous those days were, what a great sadness!

Lights of compassion were gone, the whole world in darkness!

My mind was utterly out of thoughts, my soul restless,

Moan was all my breath, lament only my tongue'd express.

I only hope, Lutf-i-Mawla will have mercy on me,

Not to record in my deed book those days of frenzy!

Two feasts at the same time today has given us Huda;

To Haqq, the Absolute Ruler, let's pay hamd-u-thena!