BEŞİNCİ BAB · DÖRDÜNCÜ FASIL · İkinci Madde
**Article Two**
This section describes the allure and perils of a perfect (kamil) individual's inclination towards extraordinary miracles (karamat) in the fourth station.
Beloved! Know that the friends of Allah have said: The perfect individual in the fourth station is preoccupied with the fourth attribute; while continuously reciting “Truth, Truth, Truth,” he finds the effect of the remembrance within his heart, either by repeating it with a call (“O Truth!”) or without the call. Thus, he turns away from strange insights and wondrous states arising within him, directing himself towards Allah who possesses knowledge of the unseen.
He does not pay attention to extraordinary works appearing through his own hand, nor to various miracles, but directs all of this toward the Most Merciful Lord who bestows them. For he knows that “the manifestation of karamat by the saints is like male seminal fluid,” and considers inclination towards and fondness for such manifestations as a source of fitna (deception). Therefore, you see many perfect individuals; if a miracle manifests from them, they do not perceive it. If they do perceive it, they do not speak of it to anyone.
Once, a perfect individual passed by someone who was going to the mosque and that person struck his foot with a small stone. The perfect individual neither concerned himself with the one who threw the stone nor noticed the stone upon his foot. However, the person who threw the stone fell down at that moment and died. Those present said to this perfect individual, “Is it fitting for you, when forgiveness and acceptance of what has occurred are qualities of the saints, to kill this man?”
The perfect individual responded to them, "By Allah, I have no knowledge of this matter. Neither did I feel the pain of the stone thrown at me nor did I see him who threw it. But it is the custom of Allah that He assists His friends without their awareness and takes vengeance on those who betray them.” Thus, every perfect individual under Allah's protection does not know the miracles manifesting from him. Even if he knows, he does not pay attention to them; even if he pays attention, he does not have inclination or fondness for them.
The condition of a seeker (salik) who is inclined towards and concerned with the manifestations of karamat is like that of a pilgrim on the Hajj journey. He sets out with the company of pilgrims intending to visit the Ka'bah. After traveling much of the way, he sees a beautiful woman, which captivates his mind and confuses him.
The pilgrim says that he needs this woman and that the cure for his ailment is to attain her. With this intention, he falls behind the caravan and wishes to remain with the woman and find contentment in her company. The leader of the caravan tells him, "Do not stay here; continue with the pilgrims to the Ka'bah. Do not abandon your original intention and remain on the roadside. Come, let us visit the Noble House together, perform our Hajj. After completing our duty, we will return and marry you to her; she shall be yours lawfully. If you remain here for her now, it will not be right for you to be with her eventually, and even if it occurs, it will be forbidden. Ultimately, you will regret what you have done, obstruct yourself from the path of Hajj, and ultimately be deprived."
The pilgrim’s desires overcome him, so he separates from the Hajj caravan and remains with the woman. Driven by the desire to see her face, he lifts her veil and sees that, alas! She is an old woman with a foul-smelling mouth, saliva dripping from her mouth, missing teeth, wrinkles on her face, crossed eyes, swollen eyelids, burnt skin, faded color, finished business, and hair loss; she is a withered, dry, aged woman. Immediately he regrets his action and tries to catch up with the Hajj caravan, but he lacks the strength to do so. He cries out in lamentation day and night, but it is of no avail.
The pilgrim in the parable represents the dervish (salik). The path of Hajj is a metaphor for the Path of Allah. The Noble House is a metaphor for the station of Allah’s Oneness (the essence of ahadiyyet). The woman is a metaphor for karamat, towards which the seeker inclines and desires during his spiritual journey (seyr ü süluk). The leader of the caravan represents the perfect guide (kamil murshid). The other pilgrims are those who have entered the Path of Allah through knowledge (ehl-i suluk).
Undoubtedly, when the seeker reaches the stations of nearness (hazerat-i kurb) on this path of gnosis, all karamat will obey and submit to him. Yet he desires to remain far from them. For he has been freed from inclination towards miracles. If desire overcomes the seeker and he demands that which should be done at a certain time occur before its time, and if he inclines toward karamat and wanders about, he tires his self needlessly and is deprived of his ultimate goal. Even though karamat may manifest in him at this time, upon attaining truth, he sees that desiring miracles was actually something empty—something with no benefit for either the world or the hereafter.
Thus, the seeker who seeks miracles burns in the fire of regret because he has been demoted to a lower station from the elevated position he attained through much hardship due to this inclination and desire. It should be known that karamat themselves are not something bad, for they are a bounty from Allah to His saints. However, inclining towards them and having fondness for them is a trial and a trap for the seeker—the emergence of raw love.
**Verses:**
1-The essence of existence is love; eternal things are mere appearances.
If love is lost, nothing else can compensate.
2-I vowed to remain faithful to love perpetually;
Our vow has passed pleasantly with its fulfillment.
3-Do not seek a gaze other than from love, for the end will be
A reward of abandoning the gaze (of outward things).
4-Even if ignorance and malice obscure your nature,
Love’s fire annihilates that disease.
Here's the translation of the provided text:
The essence of existence is love; all else are accidents. It cannot be found elsewhere, nor equaled by another.
I swore eternal fidelity to love; yet our life has passed in contradiction to it.
Close your eyes to everything but love, for that is the ultimate outcome. To refrain from grasping is to bite one’s own fingers.
Though nature may be cloaked in ignorance and sloth, this ailment can only be cured by the fire of love.
O heart! Endure this burden of affection. Accept whatever comes from the Beloved and hold fast.
When the command is fulfilled, it brings expansion to the heart; when one turns away from the friend, the heart becomes constricted.
O God! Let me continually drink from the wine of love, for that is the very purpose of humankind’s creation.