Verily there is nothing except God and your self and you are
addressed, and the self of man is opposed to God and inimical to Him
and all things are subordinate to God and the self of man really belongs
to God as a creation and as a possession and the self of man entertains
presumptions from whence arise false hopes and passions and sensual
pleasures. So ally your self with truth by opposing your self and
become inimical to your self. Thus God said to Prophet David (peace be
on him), "0 David, I am your unavoidable resort, so hold firmly to this
resort; true servitude consists in your becoming inimical to your own
self for My sake."
It is then that your friendliness towards God and servitude to Him
will become a proven fact. And it is then that you will get your share of
things holy, wholesome and pleasant. You will then become dear and
honourable and everything will become your servant and render you
homage and will be afraid of you, because all of them are subordinate to
their God and in harmony with Him, since He is their Creator and
Originator and they acknowledge their servitude to Him. God says:
And there is not a single thing but glorify Him with His praise, but
you do not understand their glorification. (17:44)
This means that everything in this universe is conscious of His
presence and obeys His commands. And God of might and glory said:
' Then He said to it and to the world: come both willingly or
unwillingly. They both said: We come willingly. (Qur'an 41:11)
Thus all servitude consists in opposing your self and your carnal
desires. God says:
And follow not (low) desire, lest it lead thee astray from the path
of Allah (Qur'an 38:26)
He has also said:
Shun your low desire because there is nothing that contends with
Me in My kingdom except the carnal desire of man.
And there is a famous incident related of Abu Yazid Bustami that
when he saw God the Almighty in his dream, he asked Him, "How is one
to get to You?"
God said, "Discard yourself and come to Me."
"Then," continues the Saint, "I got out of my self as a snake gets
out of its slough."
Thus all good lies in fighting one's self in everything and in all
conditions of life. If, therefore, you are in a state of piety, oppose your self
so much so that you may keep away from the forbidden things of the people
and their doubtful tilings and from their acts of help and from depending on
them and putting any reliance on them, or from any fear of them or from
coveting what they possess of the vanities of the world. Thus, you should
not expect any gift from them by way of present, or alms, or charity, or by
way of redemption for certain lapses or as a fulfilment of some vow. You
should, therefore, free yourself of all concern about the means of the world
in all their various aspects so much so that if you have got a relation who is
wealthy, do not desire his death with a view to inheriting his wealth. Thus,
you should get out of the creation with a strenuous effort and consider them
like a gate that closes and opens and like a tree which sometimes yields
fruit and at others remains barren, and (know that) every such event is the
doing of a doer and planned by a planner and He is God, so that you may
be a believer in the oneness of the Lord your God.
And do not forget at the same time the position of human efforts
lest you fall victim to the creed of the fatalists (Jabariyya), and believe that
no action attains its fulfilment but in God, the Exalted. You should not
therefore worship them and thus forget God, nor should you say that the
actions of men proceed from anything but from God, because if you say so,
you will become an unbeliever and belong to the category of people known
as Qadiriyya (believers in the doctrine that men have absolute control over
the origin and cause of actions). You should rather say that actions belong
to God in point of creation and to men in point of effort, and this is the
view that has been handed down to us by traditions which related to the
discussion on rewards and punishments.
And execute the commandment of God pertaining to them (people)
and set apart your own share from them by His commandment and do not
exceed this limit because the order of God will stand and it will judge you
as well as them; do not be the judge yourself. And your being with them
(people) is a decree of God and this decree of God is in darkness, so enter
this darkness with a lamp which is also the judge and this is the Book of
God and the practice of His Prophet. Do not go beyond these two. But if
there arises in your mind any thought or you receive any revelation, submit
them before the Book of God and the practice of His Prophet.
And if you find in these (authorities) a prohibition against what has
occurred to you or been received by you through revelation, such as if it is
revealed to you that you should commit fornication, or take to usury, or
keep company with immoral people, or something else in the line of
sinfulness, keep away from such a course of action and abstain from it and
do not accept it and do not act upon it and remain firm in your conviction
that this must be from the devil, the accursed; and if you find in these two
authorities just an allowance for the things revealed to you such as
fulfilment of lawful desires like eating, drinking, dressing or marrying, etc.,
abstain from it likewise, and do not accept it and know that it is a
suggestion of your animal self and its desires, and that you are commanded
to oppose it and be hostile to it.
And if you find in the Book of God and in the practice of the Holy
Prophet neither any prohibition nor a mere permission for the thing
received through revelation but it is a thing which you cannot understand,
— for example, if you are asked to go to a certain place or meet such and
such a righteous person whereas through the blessings of God bestowed on
you in the form of knowledge and illumination, you do not stand in need of
going to that place or meeting the person mentioned, hold your patience in
the matter and do not be in any hurry about it. Instead ask yourself: "Is it a
revelation from God and should I act upon it?" Rather, wait to decide on any
step in the matter. It is a practice of God of power and glory to repeat such
a revelation and to command you to be quick in your efforts in the matter,
or to reveal such a sign which is revealed to the people of knowledge of
God — a sign which is understandable only by the intelligent among the
awliya and the confirmed among the abdal, and you should by no means be
in any hurry about the matter because you do not know the sequel of the
matter and the ultimate purpose of the affair; nor are you aware of where
lies a trial and a path of ruin, and a subtle planning contrived by God and an
examination for you.
So you should be patient till God Himself becomes the doer of the
thing in you. So when the act becomes distinctly of God and you are
carried to such a position, if now any trial confronts you, you will be safely
carried through it because God the Exalted, will not chastise you for an
action which is His own. And it is certain that chastisement comes to you
for your active participation in the happening of a thing.
If you are in the state of reality and it is the state of wilayat
(saintliness), then stand opposed to your passions and obey the
commandments fully. Obedience to commandments is of two kinds. One is
that you should take from the world means of subsistence to the extent of
the just demands of your self, and that you should avoid indulging in
sensual pleasures and perform your duties and engage yourself in warding
off sins, open and secret. And the second kind relates to the hidden
commandment; and it is the commandment of God with which He either
enjoins His servant to do or forbids him doing anything. And this hidden
commandment applies to things permissible, for which there is no positive
injunction in the Law, in the sense that they neither belong to the class of
prohibited things, nor to the class of things specified as obligatory, but are
rather of an obscure nature wherein the servant is given complete freedom
to act, and these are called mubah. In these the servant should not take any
initiative, but wait for an order concerning them. When he receives an order
he obeys it. Thus all his movements and restful conditions become
dedicated to God. If there is an injunction in Law with regard to a certain
thing, he acts in accordance with it, but if there is no injunction in the Law,
he acts on the hidden commandment. It is through these that he comes
confirmed as a man attaining reality.
And where there is not (even) this hidden commitment, and it is
just an act of God, it entails a state of resignation. And if you have attained
to the truth of truth which is otherwise called the state of immersion
(mahw) or annihilation (fana), it is the state of the abdal — who are
broken-hearted on account of Him, a state belonging to pure monotheists,
to men of spiritual enlightenment; to men of knowledge and (higher)
intelligence, (men who are) chiefs of the chiefs, the wardens and protectors
of people, the vicegerents of the Beneficent, and His friends and confidants,
peace be on them. To pay obedience to the commandment in such matters
is to go against your own self and to be free from reliance on any ability
and power, and to be absolutely devoid of all will and purpose with regard
to anything of this world and the hereafter. Thus you will become the
servant of the King, and not of the Kingdom, of the Divine commandment
and not of the desires of the flesh; and will become like a baby in the care
of a nurse and a dead body in the hands of the washer at the time of the
funeral bath, and an unconscious patient lying before the physician, in all
matters that are outside the range of injunctions and prohibition.
