DÖRDÜNCÜ BÂB · DÖRDÜNCÜ FASIL · Birinci Madde
**Article One**
It reveals the virtues and blessings of the saints through verses from the Noble Qur'an and venerable hadith.
O esteemed one! Know that Allah, Most High, has, by His grace, informed His servants of His own friends and declared His love for them. Indeed, He has stated in His majestic Word:
“Allah is the protector of those who believe, leading them from darkness into light.” (Al-Baqarah 2/257) “Know that Allah’s friends have no fear; they will not grieve.” (Yunus 10/62) "Its [the Ka'bah’s] friends are only the pious." (Anfal 8/34) “Allah is the protector of those who possess piety.” (Casiyah 45/19) “A friend is none but Allah.” (Shura 42/9) “You are my master in this world and in the Hereafter. Let me die as a Muslim and join me among Your righteous servants." (Yusuf 12/101) "Those are the devoted servants of the Most Gracious [Allah], who walk upon the earth with humility, and when those ignorant people address them, they say, ‘Peace!’ They spend their nights in devotion and supplication to their Lord.” (Furqan 25/63-64) “They are those whose hearts are not distracted from remembering Allah by commerce or buying and selling.” (Nur 24/37)
Allah, Most High, has stated in a sacred hadith: "Whoever makes Me a friend, I will give him whatever he desires. Let him only adhere to Me in his affairs; let him judge according to My command. By My majesty and glory, if he were to ask Me for the destruction of the world, I would destroy it for his sake. Whoever offers generosity to an Allah-loving friend for My pleasure, I make it incumbent upon myself to offer generosity in return.” “My friends are beneath my domes. No one can know them except Me."
Allah, Most High, revealed to Prophet David (peace be upon him): "O David! Convey this message to those who have a heart devoted to My love among My friends; I have lifted the veils between us by My grace so that they may see My sublime essence with eyes of insight. When they taste the sweetness of My favor and detach themselves from people entirely, it will not burden them. And this will never harm them. If refreshment and generosity reach them from Me, the hatred and animosity of people towards them will not affect them; it will not cause them sorrow. O David! If you claim to desire My love, you must uproot the love of the world from your heart. For the love of the world cannot dwell in a heart that holds My love.”
"O David! If you were successful from the very beginning in inscribing only My love upon your heart and if you came to see the wise workings of My boundless power in everything you look at; then, having reached this degree, even if you mix with the world and its people, My love will not diminish from your heart. This mingling will not bring you sorrow.”
"O David! If you truly desire to be a friend of Mine, consider yourself an enemy of your own self, restrain your desires and passions, and prevent it from pursuing them. Thus, I shall look upon you with the gaze of My love and lift the veils between us."
“Among My servants on earth are many of My friends who are truly My friends. And I am their friend. Just as they yearn to attain Me, so too do I long for them. As they mention Me with enthusiasm, so too do I remember them with affection among those near Me. Just as the strangers feel longing for their homeland, so too do they desire the night. As birds are happy in their nests with their young, so too do they rejoice in remembrance during the night.”
“When night comes and darkness descends, and every friend remains alone with his friend; it is then that they remain awake purely for My pleasure, standing tall and bending their necks in humility, prostrating their faces in hope of mercy. They implore Me, trusting in My forgiveness."
"They stand sometimes, sit sometimes, perform rukū’ (bowing) sometimes, and prostrate themselves at other times. In these solitary moments, they desire nothing but My love and proceed only on the path of My pleasure. And I, in turn, bestow upon them gifts from the fullness of My love during their seclusion: The first gift is a light that I send down to their hearts only because of their being awake at that hour; if they were to speak, they would inform others about Me with that light. My second gift is that I turn towards them with My essence and attributes. What blessings do those who attain My favor receive? Reflect upon it! The third gift is a generosity that only I know, and he who receives it knows.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), due to His immense love for his community, has also revealed signs of the saints. Indeed, he stated in well-known hadiths: “When the friends of my community appear, Allah is remembered." For when one is honored by seeing the face of a saint, the thought of remembering Allah arises in their heart. And he said: "Indeed, among my community are those who prefer solitude over being with people. People are amazed by this state of theirs and think they are mad. They also think that people are crazy. Take heed, for they are abdals [those who have transcended the limitations of the ordinary world]." He also stated: “The friends of Allah among His creation are often found hungry and thirsty. Whoever harms them, Allah takes vengeance upon him for it.” And he said: "This world is forbidden to those striving for the Hereafter, and the Hereafter is forbidden to those striving for the world. Both are forbidden to those who strive for Allah. Those who strive for Allah are only the great saints."
**Verse**
Come, open your eye of the soul!
Come, O son, open your eye of the soul! Behold the saints with reverence.
The self is without feet or head; the heart, overturned.
All have passed beyond gain and loss; all have become yellowed and withered.
Verily, they have become intoxicated by the love of the Beloved.
In them good and evil are one.
More delighted than from roses, more free than from cypresses.
More obedient than a camel, purer than a mirror.
The air is filled like atoms; the sun has become their mantle.
Their existences have found annihilation.
For they are as the moon facing the sun.
Within thorns they are like roses; within vessels they are like draughts.
Like hearts in water and clay, they are as dawn in night.
These bodies are spirits; those souls are goblets.
Love is a sweet path for them; they know not profit nor loss.
If you seek the Real, then pursue Him from the heart.
Speak with the people of love;
Receive news of Our Supreme Guide.