ÜÇÜNCÜ FEN · ÜÇÜNCÜ BÂB · DÖRDÜNCÜ FASIL · İkinci Madde
Acceptance of divine decree is defined and its truth explained.
O beloved one! Know that the friends of God have said: Acceptance (riza) is the tranquility of the heart during the unfolding of God’s decrees. Acceptance is the heart feeling blessedness through destiny. Acceptance is removing unpleasantness from the heart and finding perpetual bliss within it. Acceptance is a person abandoning measures taken by their own intellect and submitting to God's decree. It is the heart finding tranquility in choosing God’s will and choice, and the heart settling into that.
Acceptance is the heart perceiving what God has already intended for the servant, for it is from this that aversion to destiny is abandoned. Acceptance is welcoming divine decrees with pleasure. Acceptance is acknowledging the unfolding of the Mighty One's decree. Therefore, measures and choices are removed. Acceptance is the heart being delighted by whatever arises – bitter or sweet. Acceptance is the tranquility of the soul at the moment destiny manifests. Acceptance is the greatest gate of God’s mercy, the highest station, and the world’s paradise. Whoever accepts what God has chosen for him finds peace in this life and the Hereafter.
For knowledge of God is easily attained through acceptance. Love and acceptance are superior to fear and hope, for love and acceptance are attributes of the Divine. These attributes remain with the servant and suffice him. In fear and hope, the situation is the opposite. When the Divine One loves a servant and is pleased with him, he loves his Divine Lord and is pleased with Him, because he finds a reflection of His Lord’s love and acceptance in the mirror of his heart.
*Quatrain:*
1. This pure love cannot be understood by intellect, for its concern lies between fear and hope – either sin or reward.
2. Sacrifice your fear to love, O Hakkı, and find annihilation! Abandon the pursuit of tomorrow and avoid torment.
Wealth is acceptance; discontentment is hardship and difficulty. Sustenance has been apportioned, and the greedy are deprived. Acceptance removes sorrow, while discontentment afflicts the body and heart. He who accepts destiny finds ease, and he who perseveres through trials gains benefit. Acceptance transforms great calamities into sweet honey. The accepting one journeys toward bliss, and he who is content with his lot dwells in riches. To him who continues in acceptance, miracles become a companion. The essence of acceptance is trust in God. The unfolding of events occurs not by the approval of the people but through God’s decree. Deliverance and wealth are found in accepting destiny; the fruit of acceptance is peace of heart and richness; its outcome is knowledge and love.
Four qualities form the foundation for worldly and other-worldly bliss: trust, submission, patience, and acceptance. Acceptance of destiny is the beginning of contentment. Acceptance of destiny is the beginning of devotion. Acceptance of destiny is the finest adornment for submission. Acceptance and contentment are capital for happiness. Acceptance of destiny should be in times of hardship and distress. The servant’s acceptance of destiny is a sign that God is pleased with him.
The aim of Islam is to ensure surrender to God. The purpose of religion is acceptance. The ultimate goal of all desires is to attain the pleasure of God. All forms of wealth are contentment and acceptance, and he who accepts is in delight and bliss.
There is no wealth like acceptance; he who accepts does not suffer injustice. Accept, so that you may be accepted. Whatever happens, surrender and accept. The highest state of knowledge is gentleness (hilm), and the perfection of gentleness is acceptance. He who accepts destiny attains boundless dominion and eternal blessings. He who accepts destiny has found health of soul and pleasure of heart. He who accepts destiny harbors no animosity towards anyone; he becomes a knower and never separates even for a moment from God’s presence.
*Verses:*
1. The Sufi's soul and heart are intoxicated with the love of encounter. Whatever calamity befalls him, he considers it a divine gift.
2. If they were to tear us apart in the name of God’s acceptance, still our hearts would be filled with submission and acceptance.
3. Every heart finds its friend through a different path. Our path is one of certainty through poverty and annihilation.
4. When all that is other than God vanishes from the heart, it becomes the Ka'bah. It has become a realm filled with knowledge and wisdom, an abode of eternity.
5. Our heart is our homeland; please keep it pleasing with Your generosity. You are the Lord of dominion; that dominion belongs to You.
6. Our soul has become detached from itself like a reed flute. Fill it with the breath of love so that it becomes air.
7. Open the eye of your soul and look at the world, O God! For the world is a mirror of God’s love.