DÖRDÜNCÜ BÂB · İKİNCİ FASIL · On dördüncü Madde
Fourteenth Article
Regarding fondness for creations.
O beloved! It is known that the friends of Allah have said: Fondness for creations is of two kinds. The first is to love them because they are the works of the Beloved. The second is to love these creations merely for their own existence.
The first of these is either a drop from the sea of fondness for the Essence or a shadow of fondness for the Attributes. The second has been termed the darkness (zulmat) of fondness, which is considered a deprivation and distance from the true source [of love], and is seen as the origin of all discord and corruption.
Indeed, Allah Most High states in His Eternal Word: “Some people invent loves alongside Allah; they love them as they love Allah.” (Al-Baqarah 2/165) And He announces that every fondness other than for Him leads to estrangement from the Beloved and deprivation.
This kind of fondness is seen in those who are veiled by curtains woven with intense interest directed towards everything but the Divine, remaining far removed from the Beloved and attached to created things. It is observed in those who are despised and driven away like simple objects, due to their attachment to them. These people of fondness are harsh-hearted and possess a corrupt nature. Their lives have been ruined by their inclination toward trivial and base things, and their hearts are bound to their sinful bodies. They have not been able to be people of service and worship, nor have they been able to lift up their heads.
Their hearts are deprived of pleasure and delight, and feelings of ignorance and baseness are appropriate for the jewel of fondness within them. Due to the spiritual distress in their eyes and their lack of insight regarding truth, they are veiled like bats, preferring the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge and remaining in bewilderment.
Allah Most High has drawn them away with the heedlessness of pride and led them to be occupied with loves other than His, subjecting them to various trials. How great a sin is it to follow base desires, how wretched is it to submit to lowly inclinations! Thus, the jewels of fondness have become muddied by passions. Their innate natures have been corrupted, and they have been condemned to various torments. They have lost all comfort and peace in this world. Indeed, Allah Most High states: “Desires for women and children, and accumulations of gold and silver, and beauty of horses and camels and cattle and dwellings are made alluring to men.” (Al-Imran 3/14) And He announces that those who are deceived by base desires will be punished with a humiliating torment.
The more abundant one’s light [of Divine guidance], the greater his fondness for the Essence. Whenever fleeting conditions draw him toward impurity, immediately the light of fondness for the Essence draws him towards the beloved domain of Allah Most High, for the feeling of divine love prevails within him and the sacred soul constantly strives to attract him to itself.
Indeed, Allah Most High states: “Those who believe have the most ardent love for Allah.” (Al-Baqarah 2/165) And thus He announces that the love of Allah is of boundless depth and overcomes all things. Indeed, Hazrat Ali (may Allah bless his face) said in the following poem:
Poem
1. When I see a beautiful form, I am inclined towards it; then I turn away with one side of myself, and return again.
2. My way is not to be directed toward what is ugly; indeed, in everything I look at, I see His art, and I recognize Him.
A hadith narrates: “Love blinds the eye and deafens the ear.” A perfect man has interpreted this hadith as follows: "He becomes blind from others through the aspect of envy, and from the Beloved through the aspect of awe. And he becomes deaf from others through the aspect of prohibition, and from the Beloved through the aspect of obedience."
Verse
1. I came to this realm for the sake of my beloved. Otherwise, what benefit would I gain in the world’s courtyard?
2. What is this tale of vacation? I do not know what a vacation is. My Sovereign has come hunting on this desert plain.
3. My aspiration has been lofty from eternity until now. I came to behold the curls of His countenance in the spiritual realm.
4. My steed was not worthy for the arena of love; with my corporeal mount, I arrived at seclusion with Him.
5. If this desire were realized within the world of souls, why would I have come from the city of non-existence to this realm?
6. The ignorant one considers others as rivals, unaware; praise be that I came to my Beloved through knowledge of self.
7. Do not wander about, O soul, come to the cave of Truth! For it is in this cave that I have come to enjoy seclusion with my Beloved.