DÖRDÜNCÜ BÂB · ÜÇÜNCÜ FASIL · İkinci Madde
The Second Article
Concerning the limits and signs of the wisdom of the friends of God, their worth, value, and how they are protected and preserved.
O esteemed one! Know that the friends of God have said:
Wisdom is the word of the soul of the afterlife. Were it to be depicted, its brilliance would outshine the sun’s luminosity. Wisdom is a divine inspiration (ledünnî) from God. Wisdom is a point in the heart of the knower. Indeed, knowledge is derived from that very point which ignorant people have multiplied and divided into various branches of learning. In the heart of the knower, wisdom is like a bird perched on the minaret’s peak, holding a single feather. Wisdom is perfect understanding and subtle comprehension. Wisdom is the manifestation of certainty (yaqīn).
Wisdom is a light that bursts forth from the relative soul, appearing in the heart of the knower. The more abundant and complete the share of the spiritual one, the greater his wisdom will be. A wise person speaks with utter accuracy; when he speaks, he utters truth; even his silence is accurate and appropriate.
A wise person said: “Since the light of wisdom was born in my heart, not a word of regret has come out of my mouth for thirty years.” Wisdom is the congruence of words, actions, and will with the intention of the Exalted God.
For the wise person does not speak except what God wills; he performs no action except what God intends; and he desires nothing except what the Lord intends. Acquiring wisdom is possible through speaking little and behaving gently towards people. Wisdom is a treasure from God’s hidden treasures, which descends into the heart of only His beloved servants, illuminating them upon its descent. For the hearts of the saints are fountains of wisdom, the abode of divine mercy among humankind.
Desires are thick veils that prevent wisdom from dwelling in the heart. For desire darkens the heart. Whereas wisdom brings light and tranquility. As it is impossible to find darkness and light together in worldly affairs, so too cannot wisdom and desire be found together in one heart. Therefore, he who abandons desires attains wisdom. The beginning of wisdom is steadfast devotion to God. Abandoning desires is the adornment of wisdom. As a heart gains strength through wisdom, desires weaken within it, even vanishing altogether. As a heart frees itself from every desire and ambition for prominence, a light of wisdom appears therein.
A sign of wisdom is abandoning love for worldly desires and seeking the presence and nearness of God. A sign of wisdom is reducing eating and drinking, and consequently sleeping less. It is being in a state of constant silence, speaking only when necessary. It is directing the heart with complete devotion towards God. A sign of wisdom is turning to God with perfect surrender, entrusting all affairs to Him, accepting and being content with whatever comes from Him, and treating people’s affairs with kindness. It is approaching the people with humility and managing every matter with gentleness, becoming a source of livelihood.
Wisdom is submission to one greater than oneself, and compassion and mercy towards those lesser. The knower who embodies these qualities in himself is, by God's permission, among the masters of divine wisdom. His words and actions reveal countless wisdoms. His heart becomes a source of boundless wisdom.
*Nazm (Poem)*
1. O Divine One! Grant such a disposition that dispositions conform to it. Let the soul walk with love, for these schools of thought originate from that love.
2. I desired to be without desire, and that itself became a desire. Having passed beyond that desire, all desires were fulfilled.
3. Since I took the path of love’s sorrow through the measure of wisdom, no night found a ruby-like spark in the nights.
4. As the light of love is to the light of the soul, it rides upon the body. Were one to be aware of that rider, these steeds would feel dignity.
5. O God! The pearl of wisdom’s sea is a single, unpierced pearl. Let presumption, understanding, intellect, and reason be broken; let those drills be shattered.
Wisdom revives dead hearts. It brightens the hearts constricted by worldly concerns.
Wisdom is the most valuable capital of those who possess it. Who wastes it by speaking much? The taste of wise words comes from uttering them before the judge asks for them. To withhold wisdom from its people is the greatest injustice to them. To speak wisdom to one who is not worthy is an injustice to wisdom itself. And to commit injustice against wisdom is a great error, for God is the adversary of the unjust.
A wise person said: “In the early stages of my life, I felt that I had wisdom in my breast and did not refrain from speaking it to those worthy or unworthy. Then I was addressed with these words: ‘Why do you speak this special wisdom meant for the select to the masses? Why do you belittle this precious boon? Surely, to belittle wisdom is to belittle God. Strive to hold this valuable work in high esteem, what use is lessening it?’”
Do not speak of wisdom to those who do not appreciate its value. Scatter pearls before swine. For the wise words of the saints are more valuable than wet pearls. Those who deny them are lower than animals. It befits people of wisdom to speak wisdom only to those worthy and to withhold it from those unworthy, so that the light and joy of wisdom may abide.
The soul-bird's melodies reveal secrets,
But only the perceptive one repeats them.
Why does wisdom speak its words to him,
That he may never again utter them?
That knower laments, from beginning to end,
To reveal the treasure of our beloved.
Like a drunkard stumbling into the marketplace,
He speaks the discourse of the household with distress.
What wonder is this, that from a single drop of me,
The tale of the surging ocean is told?
All this preciousness originates from one sea;
Sometimes Mulla speaks, sometimes Attar.
Be silent if you have found annihilation,
For love speaks eloquent words from the heart.