“Learn, do work, be sincere. Detach yourself from your being. Erase people from your heart. Then say ‘Allah.’ Leave the afterlife for them to be perplexed in their confusion, as Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) said: ‘They are all against me; my friend is only the Lord of the worlds.’ (Surah Ash-Shu’ara, 26/77).”
This conversation took place on Tuesday in the medrese. It was the day the crescent moon of Shaban appeared. Hijri 545, Gregorian 1150.
Emigrate from the realm of people. Feel anger from your heart towards those who are not servants of Allah. As long as you consider people to be a source of power, do not sit with them. The moment you give their power back to its owner, you can be with them; for you have become one of the people of tawhid (oneness). Remove shirk (polytheism) from your heart; turn towards the people, mix with them, and distribute what is good within you to them. Teach them knowledge and guide them to the door of their Creator.
The Havas – chosen servants – do not know death; they erase all of humanity from their hearts, abandoning the state of choosing and desiring. This is their death. For those who embody this death within themselves, there is an eternal and endless life; they are always with the Creator. This is a spiritual death. Not everyone can easily achieve it. They call it “dying before dying.”
Outward (apparent) death is a momentary pause, a swoon, and sleep; its aftermath is eternal purity. If you desire to attain this death we speak of, plant the seeds of ma’rifah (gnosis/knowledge of Allah) and closeness within yourself. Lie prostrate at the threshold of the Most Noble and Exalted One; then grace, mercy, and a hand of favor will come to you; they will make you alive with eternal and endless life.
The nafs (ego/self) has its own food. The realm of secrets consumes its own sustenance, and the heart eats according to its capacity. Everyone takes nourishment according to their being, as much as their capability allows. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said in a hadith sharif:
“I spend my nights in the presence of my Lord; He feeds me and gives me drink.”
That is, meanings fill my secret, spiritual nourishment sustains my soul; in essence, it feeds me what is specific to myself.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) first ascended the heavens with his heart and form: then outward existence was annihilated. His heart was present with the Creator while he still stood among people. Indeed, those who inherit from that great Prophet also bear this same state; they surrender their hearts to the Creator. They find balance between knowledge and action, become sincere, and do not hesitate to teach what they know to the people; the prophets did likewise.
O community! Take the excess of those who work in the path of Allah, and drink from the wines left at their doors.
O one who claims knowledge, your knowledge is worthless because you lack action. Your actions are also deemed valueless because they lack sincerity. The works you do are like idols; they are corpses without souls. Sincerity is a sign of it. Do not turn to the praise of people. Do not be saddened by their criticism. Do not look at what they have. These are signs of sincerity. What is incumbent upon you is to fulfill the right of the Creator. Work, not for reward, but for the Owner. Take, not for possession, but for the Possessor. Abandon falsehood and hold fast to truth. What is in the hands of people is a shell; what is with the Creator is the essence. It is when this path has been perfected, you have found sincerity, and you understand what is with Allah that all your essences are given to you. You will understand the essence of your essence, the secret of your secret, the meaning of meanings. At that time, you will be released from all created things in Allah’s way. This release belongs to the heart, not to the body. Humans take their sense of sufficiency from the heart; the body cannot give this feeling. Humans can flee from people, but they cannot escape their own essence. The eye of the heart looks at the realms of meaning, not at outward forms. True sight is towards Allah, not towards people. The essential matter is to be with Him, not with people.
In your view, one day the world will end. Once you find Allah, you will no longer desire the afterlife. It seems as if the world does not exist, the afterlife does not exist, and that everything except Him is empty, and all existence belongs to Him.
Lovers of Allah taste the sweetness of love. Those who taste this sweetness are chosen servants. Do they have moments free from trials? Those who are martyred with the sword of disbelief receive great blessings. What about those who are martyred by the sword of love, and what reward do they attain? It is unimaginable.
Look, don’t you see that there are many ruined places, those places have been destroyed by the error of their inhabitants. Errors ruin countries and bury their people in nothingness. So, whenever you commit an error, your being is destroyed. For it too is a settlement. Whenever you commit an error, it first brings disorder to your body, then to your religious existence. Errors blind you, cripple you, block your ears, take away your strength, and afflict you with various diseases that you never expected. Error brings poverty; your home crumbles, and you beg your friends and enemies.
Woe to you, O hypocrite! Do not deceive Allah. He is the Exalted, the Majestic. You perform an action, showing outwardly that it is for Allah, yet it is not. You are showing off to people and hiding your flawed state while bending at their doors and forgetting your Lord. Soon you will leave this world with empty hands. O one afflicted with an inner illness, seek a cure; this cure is only found among the righteous servants of Allah. Allah’s good servants find a remedy for your affliction. Seek them out, take the medicine of healing, and use it. As soon as you use it, continuous well-being will come to you, and you will attain eternal health. Your soul will be corrected, your heart will be healthy, your secret will carry meanings, every retreat will be with your Lord. In these states, the eyes of your heart will open; you will look at the sea of Allah’s mercy with those eyes; you will become of the esteemed ones. Those who enter the door of understanding from their being cannot look at anything other than it. How can the eye of a heart that lives with evil inventions look at Allah?
O community! Know how to obey, do not invent. Innovation is not good; what is good is to be obedient. Obey, do not raise a flag of rebellion. Being among the people of shirk (polytheism) is not good. Embrace sincerity. Single out Allah and do not separate yourself from His door even for a moment. Open your troubles to Him. Ask Him for your needs, seek every help from Him. Do not run to others, seeking help from your heart. Place all your trust in Him. Do not rely on anyone else.
And O chosen servants! As for you; surrender your existence to Him. Be content with His every measure. Do not desire anything, be preoccupied with remembering Him. Allah says in some books He has revealed to past prophets: “Whoever is occupied with remembering Me and does not have time to ask for something, I give him more than those who constantly declare their needs.”
Did you not hear this exalted word? How beautiful it is. O one who remembers Him and expands his heart in His sake, are you not content that He is with you?
This sacred hadith tells us this. “I am with those who remember Me.” He also says: “I am with the hearts saddened for My sake.”
O child! Remembering Him brings your heart closer to Him. And you enter the house of closeness, becoming a guest of His. Every guest is treated with hospitality, especially the guest of a king.
How long will you abandon this King and be with ordinary people and owners of worldly possessions? Soon your relationship with them will open up, and they and their possessions will leave. Soon you will see the afterlife, and at that time it will seem as if the world never existed, and the afterlife is endless.
Lovers of Allah taste the sweetness of love. Those who taste this sweetness are chosen servants. Do they have moments free from trials? Those who are martyred with the sword of disbelief receive great blessings. What about those who are martyred by the sword of love, and what reward do they attain? It is unimaginable.
Look, don’t you see that there are many ruined places, o [text continues in same style]