ÜÇÜNCÜ FEN · BİRİNCİ BAB · DÖRDÜNCÜ FASIL · Üçüncü Madde
Third Article
It declares the human heart's magnitude and expansiveness (azamet and vüs‘at), informing of the spiritual proximity it gains from that which transforms it from state to state.
O beloved! It must be known that the friends of Allah have said: The secret of istiva [divine settling/establishing] of the black point in the heart is the truth of humanity (hakīkat-i insaniyyah), which is its life-giving spirit. Indeed, the Exalted One, in His Eternal Word, commanded His Beloved; “Say: The soul proceeds from the Command of my Lord” (Isra’, 17/85) and announced that this human soul is a Divine command. This command is a living faculty of comprehension (hayy-i müdrike) which possesses the ability to give life and understanding to others. The station and center of this command is that black point, which is round and polished like a double-faced mirror. That is, it has been created directed towards both the realm of the unseen and the realm of witnessing. If this mirror is polished and bright, then the lights of the unseen are visible upon it; spiritual secrets find form within it. Although this mirror is shaped in every human being, it has become soiled and stained by the dirt and grime of ignorance and heedlessness, by the struggle of anger and desire, and by the color of worldliness. Its brightness and polish, its beauty and allure, are known to be through knowledge of truth (ilm-i hakīqat), by conforming to the Shari‘ah, by looking with a perspective of reflection, by gentleness of character (hilm), by being honorable and honest (iffat), by turning away from the world (zühd), by worship, by remembrance and contemplation.
This is a round mirror which is the receptacle of the Divine effulgence of the body; it is the center of the command mentioned earlier. The possessor of the command is with the command. This companionship is purely an act of kindness and assistance. “You can only will [something] by the permission of your Lord” (Insan, 76/30) – this verse points to this kindness. "Wherever you are, He is with you" (Hadid, 57/4) – this guidance is from that companionship. The measure of this companionship is a hidden secret known only among the friends of Allah (ehlullâh).
The nafs [ego] of the friends of Allah has become like dust through humility; their hearts have been cleansed of everything other than Allah and have become the House of Allah (Beytullah). "And We are closer to him than his jugular vein" (Kaf, 50/16) – this indication is understood from this sentence concerning closeness (kurbiyet). “Neither My heavens nor My earth encompass Me, but only a believer’s heart can contain Me,” as the sacred hadith declares, so the heart has attained such expansiveness that it is like a single sesame seed in the entirety of the great universe (âlem-i kübrâ). Indeed, it is narrated in a revered hadith: “The heart of a believer is more expansive than the earth and the heavens, the Throne and the Divine Seat.”
Respected Prophet (s.a.w.) said: "The heart of a believer is the House of Allah." Thus, he announced to his community that the heart is the house of Allah. Therefore, since the heart of the believer is the house of the Lord, no one should be in that house except for Allah; the believer must remain alone with the owner of the house. There is no doubt that only the owner of the house speaks, hears, sees, and is present within it. For there is a narration: “When I love a servant, I become his hearing ear, his seeing eye, and his grasping hand.” Again, this indication announces this blessing and happiness. That heart sees itself to be between the two fingers of its owner’s wrath and grace, attains the secret of turning them as it pleases, and knows Him with every moment (ârif). “The Compassionate settled upon the Throne” (Taha, 20/5) – human attributes are annihilated and it is filled with angelic qualities; it finds eternal life in bliss.
Poem
The throne of the heart becomes flourishing, purified from desires,
When one sees that "the Compassionate has settled upon the Throne."
(Translation of the verse)
The heart’s throne becomes flourishing when it is cleansed of desires.
Rhymes
1-The beloved is always in the heart; do not think he is distant for even a moment. Though the heart, through heedlessness, is veiled from him at times.
2-If the heart awakens from the water of heedlessness, it finds its beloved. The soul becomes present then; the heart finds bliss and joy with tranquility.
3-The paradisiacal realm of those who possess hearts sees the beauty of the beloved. There are no hurs or ghilmans in that paradise; only lights upon lights exist.
4-If you desire to see the face of the beloved, look into your own heart. Then the soul becomes a loving devotee and the heart becomes Mount Thaur.
5-You are Allah’s Book, O heart; all knowledge is within you. Whatever exists in both worlds is written within you.
6-Nasir [241] and Mansur [242] were there, and Mansur said: “I am the manifest Truth.” The one who uttered that sentence is Nasir; Mansur is his interpreter.
7-The knower is he who sees his nafs and immediately knows God. He who does not know his nafs is blind both here and in the hereafter.