ÜÇÜNCÜ FEN · BİRİNCİ BAB · ÜÇÜNCÜ FASIL · Dördüncü Madde
The Fourth Article
Describes the nature of the human heart, which is the place of knowledge.
Beloved! It is known that the friends of Allah have said: Because the hearts [203] of the servants are the gaze of Allah, purifying the heart from all else (than Allah) is more important than any worship. Whoever seeks a fatwa from his heart will remain free from regret. The work of whoever contradicts the fatwa and desire of his heart is error. The human heart [195/a] is the door of the Most Merciful, which is the place where the servant stands before His Lord.
The heart is the ruler of the body and a captive of the Sublime Allah, the possessor of goodness. The heart is the tablet of Allah’s power. The heart is inscriptions of reason and knowledge. The heart is black in form (süveydâ) [204]; in essence, it is the source of the soul and the gaze of Allah. The heart is a Rabbāni subtlety, its origin being this corporeal point. The heart is the outward manifestation of the intellect that contemplates the afterlife (akl-i me’ad). The soul is one of its names. The heart is a wondrous thing; reason is incapable of understanding it.
If the heart is rectified, then the body is also rectified. For when the ruler is comfortable and at peace, the people find comfort and well-being. The heart is the origin of creation, and love befits it.
Because actions proceed from the heart, the limbs and organs are also eased. It is not through their words and worship that the friends of Allah ascend. Their ascent is through their hearts and their conduct. A perfect one said: “I spent two years preoccupied with guarding my heart. Then I became of those who are guarded and found ease.” The heart is the source of faith. The heart (Fu’ad) [205] is the crucible of tawhid [206] and gnosis (irfān). The heart is a place of tranquility [207]. The heart (Fu’ad) is a city of light.
*Quatrain*
1-Love's passion in the heart, like light in the eye,
The soul's love in the body, like the soul itself.
2-Those ignorant ones hate from your presence’s light;
Indeed, he flees the sun that causes eye pain.
The hide is in need of tanning (working) to become leather. The self is a riding animal in need of food not to die. The heart is a dome in need of repair. The heart is capital for accepting divine commands. Yet it is occupied with suspicions. Whoever vigilantly guards his heart like a watchman observing the dangers within, is innocent in the actions of his limbs. The hearts of the people of unity are lanterns of knowledge and love. Seeing eyes are perceptive hearts and are concerned with revelations (mukāshafāt) [210] and secrets (esrār) [211].
*Bayt*
Gaflet’s sleep has bound the perceptive eye of mankind;
Otherwise, that sun always rises in the heart, cloudless.
In this Turkish: The love in the heart is like light in the eye. The love in the soul is like the soul in the body.
Those ignorant ones hate from your presence’s light; indeed, he flees the sun that causes eye pain.
The hide is in need of tanning (working) to become leather. The self is a riding animal in need of food not to die. The heart is a dome in need of repair. The heart is capital for accepting divine commands. Yet it is occupied with suspicions. Whoever vigilantly guards his heart like a watchman observing the dangers within, is innocent in the actions of his limbs. The hearts of the people of unity are lanterns of knowledge and love. Seeing eyes are perceptive hearts and are concerned with revelations (mukāshafāt) [210] and secrets (esrār) [211].
The distances of the phenomenal world are traversed by means of riding vehicles. The distances of the realm of meaning are traversed by hearts. The qibla of a sound (salim) heart is Allah, the Exalted; its habit is contentment with Allah’s decree [212].
There are three kinds of hearts: one that awaits blessings (kalb-i muntazır-ı atā), another that awaits acceptance (kalb-i muntazır-ı rıza), and a third that awaits union with Allah (kalb-i muntazır-i liqā). It is more delicious and attractive than anything else to inhale the roses of gnosis in the garden of the heart, to drink the wine of love in the garden of unity, and to listen to melodies of love.
*Quatrain*
1-The gaze of Allah is the heart;
Remove it from selfhood.
When your heart becomes pure,
Then it is necessary to become intoxicated.
2-If the heart shines with love,
It becomes a pleasing abode for the beloved.
With its beauty, it becomes a garden;
It knows how to perform vows.
In this Turkish: The love in the heart is like light in the eye. The soul’s love in the body is like the soul itself.
Those ignorant ones hate from your presence’s light; indeed, he flees the sun that causes eye pain.
The heart attached to the world is deceived. The heart attached to the afterlife melts. The heart attached to Allah is purified. The heart of the heedless is attached to the world. The heart of the ascetic is attached to the afterlife. The heart of the knower is attached to Allah. [213] The heart is a compassionate and honorable friend. Fear and anxiety (havf u hatar) are difficult for it. For little sorrow is much in its estimation.
Let the heart be with Allah, let the body remain among people. Whoever Allah encompasses with his heart, all existence falls from his gaze. The life of the human heart is the attributes of the Exalted Ramaṇ. These are examples such as mercy, justice, and beneficence. The wondrous states of the heart transcend the comprehension of feelings. Melodies that prolong life are the life of things. Terrains pleasing to the ear are sweeter and more sublime than the sounds of play and amusement. The dough of love is more delicious than any blessing and easily digested. It is superior and prior to the sum of all pleasures and delights.
For the heart is the place where all meanings gather, it gathers the names of Allah within itself, it is the gaze of Allah.
*Nazm*
1-The heart is this lofty existence with its beautiful melodies
Either you are a sudden breath to it or the promised resurrection
2-I have heard that many people’s souls were taken by it
That taste of pleasure from the melody of David [195/b]
3-The trace of your presence is reflected, his breath is opposite;
With it, every existent dies with life.
4-It travels to the world moment after moment, with your presence, its fragrance is the scent of life;
With that presence, you are fragrant, O iodine.
5-Do not be attached to these qualities, O heart, from this people and this body;
With those qualities, it turns the sun and moon of the blue sphere.
6-With its melody, the world becomes full of pleasure;
It breathes breaths of Allah, the Living and the All-Compassionate.
7-The world was captured like fragrant breaths, O heart;
Having plunged into this sea of pleasure, it became pleased with non-existence.
2-I have heard how it has taken the lives of many a soul, the melody of David, the delight of pleasure in the voice.
3-Your breath is the reflection of His breath; with it, one becomes "dead," and with “alive,” every being.
4-To the world, the fragrance of life constantly descends through your breath. With this breath, you are either the most beautiful scent of the world, or amber, or a sweet acacia tree.
5-O heart, your lamentations are not from this people nor from this body. Your lamentations turn this moon, sun, and celestial dome.
6-Therefore, with his chanting, the world is filled with delight as He blows His breaths, always alive and greatly loving His servants, God.
7-That pristine breath has seized the world, O heart! Plunging into this sea of bliss, he vanished pleasingly to The Real.