BEŞİNCİ BAB · BİRİNCİ FASIL · Sekizinci Madde
Eighth Article
This explains the means and paths for the self-desiring (nafs-i emmârenin) to escape from the first station and ascend.
O esteemed one! Know that the friends of Allah have said: The seeker who enters the path of perfection and desires union with the Most High (Cenab-ı Zülcelâl), while in this intensely difficult and sorrowful state, and having approached sin and punishment to a great extent, only corrects his belief and brings it into alignment with the line of orthodoxy (ehl-i sünnet ve’l-cemaat). He pays utmost attention to his purity and ablutions, sets his affairs according to [the way prescribed by] religion, and is meticulous in his prayers. Regarding the application of religious rulings, he suffices with the *Wasiyetnâme* (Testament) of Imam Birgivî, acts upon it, and proceeds. He does not preoccupy himself with other sciences until he purifies his self and cleanses his heart, nor does he incline towards them without establishing these two foundations firmly. He is not excessively occupied with worldly affairs.
For the seeker in this difficult and sorrowful station has no task more important or more necessary than freeing his self from its dark nature and polishing the mirror of the heart. At that time, he brightens his heart with the remembrance (zikr) of the testimony of oneness (kelime-i tevhid), continuing until he removes the obscurities that deprive him of understanding the realities of things and comprehending the subtleties of meaning, so that acquiring knowledge from various branches of learning and studying sciences becomes easy for him. For the mirror of the heart of the seeker in this lower station has been tarnished by bad qualities carrying bestial characteristics.
The most important thing for him in this station is to continue remembrance frequently, cleansing his heart of the dirt and rust that deprive it of the lights of the unseen realm. He should considerably reduce eating, drinking, and sleep so that his heart may be cleansed and freed from attachment (mâsivâ) to anything other than Allah. So that the paths through which Satan wanders become blocked, and the soul returns to its original homeland. That he may attain the reality of faith and witness that manifest sun. For this station is a prison of the natural temperament filled with various spiritual ailments; it is a state in which (the) soul is tightly bound to the body with its most ignominious aspects. Therefore, striving to escape these things is more virtuous than any action for the seeker and superior to all beautiful deeds he can perform.
The faithful seeker who adheres to the fundamentals of the path of truth is found upon the fundamental principles of religion in all seven stations mentioned. Especially in this station where heedlessness is intense, he should constantly frighten himself by reminding him of the difficulties of death, the severity of grave punishment, the distressing conditions seen at the Resurrection, and the suffering of those tormented in Hell. So that the speaking self (nafs-i natıka) may awaken from its sleep of heedlessness, turn away from the desires of the carnal self, and act according to the rulings of religion and follow the right path. For in this first station and second station, two states generally befall the seeker, which conflict with each other: these are fear and hope (havf ve recâ). Then, upon reaching the third station, fear transforms into contraction (kabz) and hope into expansion (bast) within the seeker.
As the seeker’s degree rises to the fourth station, he reaches the beginning of degrees of perfection, and in this station, his kabz becomes awe (heybet), and his bast becomes intimacy (üns). In the fifth and sixth stations also, this pattern continues, with the levels rising along with the states, and finally, when the seeker ascends to the seventh station, awe transforms into majesty (celâl), and intimacy into beauty (cemâl). By Allah’s grace, all these conditions will be explained in the relevant articles.
For one who finds himself in this difficult state filled with the ugliness of the self, it is incumbent upon him to strive to escape from the prison dominated by the desires of the carnal self and ascend into the spaciousness of the compassionate soul (rahmânî rûh). He should pay attention to completing his degree through remembrance, reflection, reducing eating-drinking, sleep, and speech, and constantly striving to beautify his character. After perfecting the beautification of his character, he should strive to attain the stations of trust (tevekkül), surrender (tefvîz), patience (sabr), and tolerance, so that his pride may transform into humility, hatred into love, lust into chastity, and other bad traits may be exchanged for praised qualities. The soul’s realm should be cleansed of all spiritual illnesses and find health [323/b].
If he is a person of renown among the people, he should not wear ostentatious clothing but strive to make his reputation forgotten by wearing very modest garments. Thus, he may seek safety from the affliction of fame. If possible, he should avoid both praise and blame from the people and seek ways to remain alone with his Lord. He should strive to cleanse his heart of anything that prevents him from being in His spiritual presence. He should be content with whatever he has – whether little or much – turn away from the transient pleasures of the world, incline only towards Him, hear from Him and speak to Him again.
Whoever is tested by successive trials and turns to Him through righteous deeds chosen by his own will before being led in His direction, and who may be successful in cleansing his heart from the afflictions of the soul with the spiritual signs mentioned [above], and acting cautiously against the traps of the self by beautifying his character, then he observes the wondrous secrets hidden within the human essence. He attains the capacity to understand the saying of Ali al-Murtada (kerremallahü vecheh).
Poetry
1-Your remedy is in You, yet you do not see it;
And your ailment is in You, and you do not know it.
2-And you deem yourself a small body,
While within you lies the greater universe.
3-And you look into the Book, reading it,
And its verses inform of your glory.
Madem ki kitaplar, Mevlevî yolunun tefrikaları. Bu cem âyinini bırak, bununla perdeler kalkmaz.
Gönülde âşığa her yaprak perde olunca, gözündedir kat kat perdeler; sen kitap oku.
Cemâlle aşkı gizledi çokluk perdesi. O’ndan başka her şey, güzel yüzün peçesidir.
Ârif aşkın güzelliğini iç dünyasında seyreder. Cihanın özünün güzelliği bu aşkın özün özüdür.
Aşk ve muhabbet ülkesinde, cihanın azîzi sensin. Rûh Yûsuf’unun yeri, kuyunun dibi değil bilesin.
Dönüp varacağın yer ey rûh, iki cihanda apaçık. Madem ki aşktan başkası değildir; hemen dön, tövbe et.
Bu aşkın vasfını kimden sorarsın Hakkı! Dalgalarda boğulan bilir, sevgi deryâsını.
“We are turning from the lesser striving to the greater striving,” he declared, and announced that striving against the unbelievers is the lesser striving, while warfare with the self is the greater striving. For the soul remains captive within the darkness of nature, unable to distinguish between truth and falsehood, good and evil, and thus becomes an assistant to Satan. Therefore, the capable seeker in this station never feels secure from the wickedness of his own soul; he constantly fears it and does not permit it in any matter.
O my spirit, if you are among the company of the saints, eternal felicity is yours. Desire whatever you will; if you serve them with love, be assured that [316/a] you are amongst them. Know that the prophetic report states, “One is with those he loves.” But those whose hearts remain bound to the desires of bodily pleasures, falling into the darkness of the prison of nature and clinging to the lowest depths, have become captives to their anger and lusts, and are exposed to much fear and peril. They have fallen into despair within the trap of opposition (the network of opposition) and remain imprisoned in the cage of habit and custom. For they are like animals, attached to bodily pleasures; occupied with eating, drinking, sleeping, and sexual union. They are deprived of recognizing their own soul, knowing the original homeland from which they came, and the station to which they will return.
They who do not know the sign that proclaims, “Everything begins from Him and returns to Him,” have become creatures coming and going like animals in this world, eating and being eaten.