BEŞİNCİ BAB · YEDİNCİ FASIL · Üçüncü Madde
The Third Point
Concerning the endurance of hardships (metânet) and signs of a qualified seeker.
O beloved one! Know that the Friends of God have said: The signs of endurance and patience of a disciple (murīd) who is capable of treading the path of those select servants (mukarrabūn) brought near to God in spirituality are as follows: He shows enmity towards his own self, afflicting it with hunger, thirst, sleeplessness, silence, and seclusion. He gains resilience by opposing it with various hardships. Thus, he controls it, becoming victorious over his enemy. If someone harms him, he does not retaliate with blows or words; he recognizes the fault within himself. He says: “If my self were not bad, God Almighty would not send others to inflict suffering upon me.” If they complain to him, he replies to them: "By God! I have surely wronged those who complain. The wrongdoer is I; all blame is upon me."
The seeker overcomes his self and possesses the qualities mentioned above, and recognizes every fault within himself, then indeed he is capable of the spiritual journey (seyru sulūk) to approach those select servants (mukarrabūn) brought near to God. Even if some bad traits are found in him and some errors emanate from him, this does not hinder his spiritual progress; it is excused. For when an ugly deed occurs from him, he dislikes it and reproaches himself. Because of this, he does not speak ill of anyone. He recognizes every fault within himself and does not assist it in any way.
When the seeker becomes pleased with his self and feels incapable of struggling against it, and is defeated by enduring three days of hunger, thirst, and sleeplessness to resist his self, and finds faults and blameworthiness in those who revile him, and harbors resentment and animosity towards them, and takes revenge, considers his self a friend and cares for its comfort, and assists it in fulfilling its desires – then he is incapable of the spiritual journey (seyru sulūk). He cannot even smell the fragrance of the path of the saints. As for one who is attached to his self, let him pursue his craft, for spiritual commerce does not come easily to him. For the way of the mukarrabūn is only through enmity towards the self and struggling against it, and proceeding to the grave of observation (mushahada). Therefore, if the seeker does not build his journey upon these foundations, his building will be without foundation and quickly collapse.
Quatrain
1-Like unto dust is that humble dervish,
Whom every passerby and poor soul tramples.
2-Though a thousand torments strike him to the core,
He speaks it not, like one of earth’s own kind.
Contemporary Turkish Translation:
1-That dervish is like dust, humble indeed;
Every passerby treads on him, poor he is.
2-Even if a thousand torments strike his soul,
He does not speak it to anyone; he is of earthy nature.
A qualified seeker only becomes angry at his own self and feels sorrow only from his own self. If he were to utter bad words, he speaks them to his own self. If he were to become angry, he becomes angry only at his own self. For the Exalted One said to His servant David (peace be upon him): “O David! Approach Me by showing enmity towards your self.” And He announced that showing enmity towards the self is a means of nearness to God. Therefore, one who assists his self is incapable of the spiritual journey (seyru sulūk). He cannot taste the states of the mukarrabūn. For he who has no enemy finds no friend.
Verse
1-I desire with my striving to detach myself from myself and remain
In a state of bewilderment, without head or possessions.
2-Let me close the eyes of self and desire so that it may be the path of deception;
Let me cut off the head of reason so that this whirling can occur.
3-Let me abandon all hope of conversation and burn with the pain of love;
Let me spill the wine of pleasure, until death arrives and the soul remains thirsty.
4-Though the guest house of honor is a humiliated and broken heart,
What sweetness is this sorrow and grief! What deprivation is this!
5-The honors and pleasures of the world are valueless and insignificant;
Who has found within it a sultan on the throne of the heart?
6-The heart is God’s abode, but it has become a den for beasts
As an unclean dog enters a ruined mosque with no effort.
7-If an ungrateful person strikes you, do not strike him, O righteous one!
The sword of the valiant scrapes only against women.