The Absolute Powerlessness of Fire and Causes
The world is, at every moment, a burning trial and a fire of difficulties for the believers. However, in Sufism (taṣawwuf), it is believed that nothing in the universe—no material or cause—possesses, in itself, the power to create any effect (such as burning, freezing, giving life, or causing death). al-Ghaylānī (may Allah sanctify his secret) expresses this reality of tawhid (the oneness of God) with a striking example: "Fire cannot burn anything on its own; water cannot quench thirst by itself, but only by the power Allah has granted them can they fulfill their functions." A perfected believer knows that the immense fire of Nimrod became a rose garden for Abraham (peace be upon him) only by Allah’s command, "Be coolness and safety."
Familiarity with Fire Like the Salamander
A servant whose qalb (the heart) is completely attached to Allah (who has placed his trust—tawakkul—in Him), even if he lives in the very midst of the world, in the fire of calamities and tribulations, that fire cannot harm him spiritually. al-Ghaylānī likens this state of protection to the legendary creature, the salamander: "The salamander that lives in fire does not burn in fire." The gnostics (ʿārifūn) who are kneaded with ikhlas (sincerity) and who have dissolved their existence in the will of the Real (fanāʾ), when thrown into the fires of poverty, slander, torment, or injustice, are not consumed and reduced to ashes; on the contrary, they are refined, matured, and purified in that fire. Nothing that is set alight by creation can burn the one whose sole occupation is Allah.