BEŞİNCİ BAB · İKİNCİ FASIL · Üçüncü Madde
**Article Three**
Concerning the Path and Means by Which the Self-Reproaching Soul Ascends from the Second Station to the Third.
O esteemed one! Know that the Friends of God have said: Whoever desires to be free from all afflictions and sorrows, and to attain perpetual ease, should enter the path of the Beloveds (of God), following in their footsteps and ascending from station to station until his self is perfected, reaching the seventh station. Therein, he should observe the wondrous and varied states that occur. Let him achieve this ascent through striving with his soul and continuing to utter the Name of God. In each station, let him be engaged with its corresponding Name, for the more he engages with the Name which serves as a means of advancement in his station, the easier it becomes for him to progress. As engagement with the Name diminishes, the path becomes more difficult. Therefore, what is required of one is that he should not reproach anyone but rather censure himself. He should first find fault within his own self. This manner of striving with the soul is absolutely necessary for the seeker (sâlik). One who succeeds in striving with his soul must abandon all his habits. The number of habits is unknowable. However, abandoning all habits is established as being among the six foundations of the path of the Beloveds, and none of these are to be omitted. These six well-known foundations are: eating little, sleeping little, speaking little, seclusion (uzlet), continuing remembrance (dhikr), and complete contemplation (tafakkur). Only by observing these six principles in the specified order will one achieve their full manifestation, as has been explained above, whereby each aids the other.
If the seeker faithfully attains these six principles, he will have abandoned all habits and completed his striving with his soul. The expected outcome of implementing these six principles is that the individual finds the middle way and the intermediate state between excess and deficiency. Therefore, it is not said, "abandon eating." Rather, what is beneficial for a seeker who enters the path of the Beloveds is to not eat until he is truly hungry, and when he sits down to eat, to not rise from the table until he is fully satisfied. He should abandon the custom of eating at midday and in the evening, and suffice with whatever food he desires at whichever time he feels hunger. He should restrain his soul from eating too much, thereby removing the heaviness that it brings.
Likewise, the Most Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not eat during the day if he had eaten in the evening, nor would he eat in the evening if he had eaten during the day. Therefore, this seeker should follow the example of that Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Furthermore, he should suffice with one variety of food at a single meal, and also give his soul its due—that is, he should eat something between fifty and one hundred dirhams. [122] However, he must prevent his soul from taking pleasure in eating. If this intermediate state proves difficult for the seeker who is still at the beginning of the path, and if his soul transgresses its right by indulging in pleasures, then he should not even allow it its due, as a means of disciplining it. He should not allow it to sleep for more than four hours out of every twenty-four, nor feed it more than fifty dirhams. He must accustom it to such hunger and sleeplessness that his soul is disciplined, content with what is rightfully due to it, obedient to the commands of religion, and submissive.
In this second station, the seeker engages with the second Name pertaining to this station. He continues remembrance by saying "Allah, Allah, Allah," pronouncing the “he” at the end of the word in a quiescent (unvoweled) state. The expected effect of this Name will not easily manifest unless it is done in this manner: the seeker should continue this remembrance frequently—secretly—while standing, sitting, lying on his side, and during all hours of night and day. Only then will the wonders of the spiritual realm (malakût) be revealed to him.
While reciting this Name, if possible, he should face the qibla, close his eyes, and utter this Most Supreme Name with a voice only audible to his breath. With each utterance, he should lift his head and lower it to his chest. He should emphasize the initial “hamza” of the word "Allah" and prolong the vowel before the final “he,” pronouncing that letter in a quiescent state. The seeker must continue in this manner, being careful not to neglect emphasizing the initial “alif” of the Name, nor should he be hasty in repeating this Most Supreme Name. Otherwise, he will say "hellâ, hellâ, hellâ," which has no meaning in the word and will have no effect on the heart.
In this station, the seeker experiences many baseless doubts and thoughts (veswesa and efkâr). If he continues to remember with this blessed Name, these dangerous thoughts that cloud his mind and heart (hawâtir) will diminish. For the blessed Name of God, the Lord of Majesty, is like a fire which burns away all thoughts and reduces them to ashes.
If the remembrancer remains constantly engaged in remembrance of God’s Essential Name and does not become attached to these thoughts and fancies, he will swiftly pass through this station; they will not distract him. For his heart-mirror has turned towards reality. Indeed, a mirror reflects whatever direction it is turned and whatever object is placed before it. This is why the seeker in the second station sees the forms and shapes of people—their customs and actions, their qualities, their words and behavior, their postures, their beauty, their kindness, and their sorrows—as if they were embroideries upon his heart. He strives to remove these embroideries from his soul, but their removal is difficult; they do not easily disappear. For the seeker’s heart-mirror (which has shone through continuous remembrance of God) is like a perfectly polished surface that does not remain without reflecting some object or embroidery.
He must turn away completely from people; he must distance himself from them so much that he sees neither their faces nor hears their words. He must abandon all the pleasures of this world.
Praise be to God that I have become a companion of the people of perfection.
All are wise, gentle, sound, and beautifully disposed.
I recite as an envoy of remembrance with the early and late [hours].
I am a companion in thought with the morning and evening [times].
Through this remembrance and contemplation, I reached a state where the world’s veil was lifted from the face of reality.
The heart beheld the single existence and the radiant light; its aspects were shadows with forms and appearances.
In multiplicity of outward form, the unity of essence appeared;
Like a black smoke, a flickering flame flowed within it.
That One is ancient, if He be in the ranks of the esteemed;
Each moment manifesting His aspects in succession.
While the heart possesses the treasure chest of jewels of Truth,
It has come into being with this base nature, fallen for the love of form.