BEŞİNCİ BAB · ALTINCI FASIL · Üçüncü Madde
Third Article
It declares that Nature, Shadow (zill), and the Rahmani Breath are of one essence.
O esteemed one! It is known that the Friends of God have said: That which philosophers call Nature is a power that permeates the entire body and with it, the body attains natural perfection. We call this shadow existence (zill). For it is a relative existence spread upon possible entities (mumkinat) lacking in themselves and their attributes. As the Exalted One has stated in His Eternal Word: “Did you not see how your Lord extended the shadow?” (The Criterion 25/45), meaning He announced to His servants that He has spread His being upon possible entities.
Poem
1-This world is filled with space by love,
This desert is all roses, fragrant and fair.
2-The soul cries out in lamentation,
For Layla is hidden within this abode.
3-Observe this bosom with heartfelt devotion,
For it is a height of ecstasy, a ceiling of madness.
4-If the intellect regrets God’s love,
Do not keep your promise, for you are a caravan thief.
5-You have become veiled to yourself; indeed,
The beauty of love reflects from every facet.
6-These celestial spheres and four elements,
Are merely manifestations of love; its name is in the world.
7-The soul that understands the form of love in the world,
Knows its own self to be a hidden treasure.
8-That face is visible through all mirrors.
Though the heart of the ignorant is full of doubt.
9-Know the world through love and observe God;
For everything within it is name and renown.
It is said that Nature, being pure and free from impurities upon an air inherent in its own essence, resembles the human breath found in different forms with the shapes of letters, and since the essence of beings existing in the world also resembles the words of humans, the Friends of God have called it a shadow, and sometimes the Rahmani Breath.
Just as the words spoken by a person indicate various meanings, likewise the essences of beings indicate their Creator, His names, and His attributes. For the Exalted One has stated in His Eternal Word: “Say, ‘If the sea were ink, my Lord’s words would not be exhausted, nor dry up the sea.’” (The Cave 18/109), and He announced that the meaning of the Lord's words is the essences of beings.
Just as each word spoken by a person contains a meaning different from that in another, likewise each essence of beings contains a secret different from the secret in another. The Exalted One has revealed these secrets to knowing servants who know themselves, but concealed them from those who do not know. As with the words written within this book; if scholars were to look at them, they would read and understand their meaning. Ignorants looking upon it would neither read nor understand, nor derive pleasure from what they read, but find it a jumble of letters and shapes.
“It is Allah the Exalted Whose majesty is such that He gives whoever He wills of what He wills, and prevents from giving to whoever He does not will.”
Poem
As much as I gaze upon the book of the world;
I do not find anything other than a repetition of one letter.
Poem (in translation)
How much I look at this book of the world;
I do not find anything but the repetition of one letter.
Poem
O engineer, what is the difference between point and line?
The point of the cosmos is only love.
Point became a line, then a letter, and it was letters.
For forms changed and points transformed.
Whatever exists upon the tablet of witnessing besides the point,
Destroy it, for that is error and misguidance.
Know the point, look at the point so that whoever you are other than from it,
Is a cause of separation and wrath.
Rivers are Fırat and Şat when distant from the sea;
When water reaches the sea, it is neither Fırat nor Şat.
The knower is not lazy, nor does he falter or tire.
The state and action of those devoted to gnosis is the middle way.
If God manifests Himself from His nature, He becomes apparent to him.
It is hoped that the secret of releasing the rope is declared by Allah.
[141]. *Hafī*: Means hidden, veiled, concealed. In Sufism, it is the fourth of the five spiritual latifas (subtle faculties).
[142]. Refers to verse 50/16 of Surah Kaf.
[143]. Refers to the Prophet’s supplication: “O God, show me things as they are.”
[144]. Bukhari, Riqaq, 38; Haysemi, Majmauz-Zawaid, II, 248.
[145]. *Qurb-i nawafil*: The removal of human attributes and the manifestation of divine qualities in place of them. In this state, the doer is the soul, and God is His instrument. God becomes the seeing eye, hearing ear, feeling heart, and grasping hand of the close servant. He fulfills his desire.
Believing and protecting him, he declares war on whoever torments his intimate friend.
[146] The Reality of Muhammadanism: In Sufism, this is the first manifestation that contains and embodies all the Beautiful Names; it is from which everything has been created and for which everything exists.
See Ahmed b. Hanbal, *Kitāb al-Zuhd*, translated by Mehmet Emin Ihsanoğlu, Istanbul: İz Yayıncılık, 1993, vol. 1, p. 130.
This refers to verse 50/16 of Surah Kaf.
O Noble One! Know that the friends of God have said: Signs of a great deputation ( *hilāfet-i kübrā*) begin to appear in one who reaches the beginning of the sixth station. At the end of this station, the garments (*hil’at*) of that very deputation are bestowed. These garments are: “(I am) the ear which My servant hears with, the eye with which he sees, the tongue with which he speaks, the hand with which he grasps, and the foot with which he walks.” This is the meaning of the sacred hadith, which is the result of a slave’s nearness to God through supererogatory devotions (*kurb-i nawāfil*).
This refers to the Prophet's supplication: “O God, show me things as they are.”
Bukhari, *Rikak*, 38; Haysemi, *Majmau’z-Zawaid*, II, 248.
*Kurb-i nawāfil*: The departure of human attributes and the arrival of Divine qualities in place of them. In this state, the slave is the agent, and God is his instrument. God becomes the seeing eye, hearing ear, feeling heart, and grasping hand of the slave who draws near to Him. He accepts his desires and protects him; he declares war on whoever torments his intimate friend.
The Reality of Muhammadanism: In Sufism, this is the first manifestation that contains and embodies all the Beautiful Names; it is from which everything has been created and for which everything exists.
See Ahmed b. Hanbal, *Kitāb al-Zuhd*, translated by Mehmet Emin Ihsanoğlu, Istanbul: İz Yayıncılık, 1993, vol. 1, p. 130.
O Noble One! Know that the friends of God have said: Signs of a great deputation (*hilāfet-i kübrā*) begin to appear in one who reaches the beginning of the sixth station. At the end of this station, the garments (*hil’at*) of that very deputation are bestowed. These garments are: “(I am) the ear which My servant hears with, the eye with which he sees, the tongue with which he speaks, the hand with which he grasps, and the foot with which he walks.” This is the meaning of the sacred hadith, which is the result of a slave’s nearness to God through supererogatory devotions (*kurb-i nawāfil*).
6. The knowing one beholds things as they are; the point of “gaf” does not overcome his vision.
*Hafi*: Means hidden, veiled, concealed. In Sufism, it is the fourth of the five subtle faculties.
For the traveler on the path of truth, the ultimate and highest station is to reach the form of Adam, which is the *qibla* of the angels. This form has a reality that is the Muhammadan and Divine faculty. The greatest secret is the word “hu,” which is the ultimate degree of spiritual nearness to God. When the seeker ascends to this station, he attains perfection through humble servitude, abjection, and helplessness. If he knows himself with these qualities, he knows his Lord with the attributes of dominion. For the one who possesses this station finds himself in a state of abjection and annihilation (*fanā*), and thus finds God in majesty and subsistence (*beka*). The mirror of servitude reflects the mirror of dominion; whatever is in one mirror appears in the other. As God Most High has said: “For My majesty and glory, the heavens and the earth cannot encompass Me, but I dwell within the heart of My believing servant.” (Therefore, the pure slave who is in the sixth station knows the delicate secrets contained in the reality of all things through Divine knowledge. As God Most High says: "He taught Adam the names of all things" [Qur'an 2/31], and announced these secrets to His servants by way of signs.)
2. He is the closest to us, closer than our jugular vein! In both worlds, you are the goal of creation!
O Noble One! Know that the friends of God have said: The *nafs-i natika* (the speaking self) becomes pleasing to God in the sixth station and thus becomes the name of acceptance (*ism al-marziyya*). As God Most High says to this self, “Return to your Lord, pleased with Him, and He pleased with you!” [89/28] (Surah Al-Fajr). The journey of the accepted self is from God (*seyr-i anillah*). The world is the world of witnessing, the hidden place, the state of wonder. Living according to the commands of religion is listening to the revelations that appear in the heart (*shari’a*). To be refined with God's character and to abandon human attributes and be refined with good character. To forgive mistakes and cover shortcomings. To have a good opinion and treat everyone with gentleness and compassion.
For the traveler on the path of truth, the ultimate and highest station is to reach the form of Adam, which is the *qibla* of the angels. This form has a reality that is the Muhammadan and Divine faculty. The greatest secret is the word “hu,” which is the ultimate degree of spiritual nearness to God. When the seeker ascends to this station, he attains perfection through humble servitude, abjection, and helplessness. If he knows himself with these qualities, he knows his Lord with the attributes of dominion. For the one who possesses this station finds himself in a state of abjection and annihilation (*fanā*), and thus finds God in majesty and subsistence (*beka*). The mirror of servitude reflects the mirror of dominion; whatever is in one mirror appears in the other. As God Most High has said: “For My majesty and glory, the heavens and the earth cannot encompass Me, but I dwell within the heart of My believing servant.” (Therefore, the pure slave who is in the sixth station knows the delicate secrets contained in the reality of all things through Divine knowledge. As God Most High says: "He taught Adam the names of all things" [Qur'an 2/31], and announced these secrets to His servants by way of signs.)