The Causes as Veils
Human beings, by their very nature, tend to attribute events they encounter in the world, blessings that reach them, or harms they suffer, to the apparent “causes” (other people, natural phenomena, work, money, etc.). However, the pinnacle of Sufi contemplation, true tawhid, is seeing the ultimate Power behind all these means – namely Allah. Abdülkadir Geylani (q.s.) stated, “Causes are veils against the Essence of the Truth,” indicating that this attachment to worldly things blinds the heart. For when a servant believes he receives his sustenance from his employer, his healing from a doctor, or his success from his own intelligence, he erects a thick wall between himself and Allah. Like someone seeking help from the gatekeeper instead of turning towards the Shah’s door, he is deprived of true honor and grace.
Finding the Creator by Abandoning the Means
A true muwahhid (one who affirms the oneness of Allah) certainly resorts to worldly means, but does not attribute any independent power to them in his heart. As Geylani (q.s.) said, “If you transcend the trap of causes, you reach the creator of that cause. If you abandon customs, you see wisdom beyond customs.” Although every judgment and event may be based on causes, when a servant sets about carrying out his affairs according to Allah’s absolute decree and destiny, transient causes fall like autumn leaves, leaving only “Müsebbibü’l-Esbab” (the Creator of the Causes). If we attribute power to people and causes independent of Allah, hoping for something from them or fearing them, that is shirk itself 14, 13.
Complete Tawakkul and Spiritual Freedom
Freeing the heart from causes bestows immense freedom and tranquility upon a person’s soul. The praise or criticism of people, their giving or withholding, does not shake even a speck in the heart of a perfect believer; for he knows that every particle in the universe moves only with Allah’s permission. The servant who comprehends the secret, “There is no god but Him. I say to something, ‘Be,’ and it becomes,” is freed from begging at the doors of creation and rises to the rank of a cherished guest of the Creator Himself. The person who entrusts his affairs not to causes but to Allah both secures his livelihood in this world without toil and attains eternal salvation (felah) with the light of tawhid in his heart 13, 12.