DÖRDÜNCÜ BÂB · DÖRDÜNCÜ FASIL · Sekizinci Madde
**Eighth Point**
This concerns the ultimate stage of *mushahada* (visionary witnessing) specific to the revered saints, and its signs.
Beloved! Know that the Friends of God have said: *Mushahada* is the consequence of striving (*mujahada*). *Mushahada* is the heart’s awareness of states from the unseen realm. As it has been related in the narratives: "What you cannot perceive, the people of *mushahada* see."
*Mushahada* is seeing all existence with its annihilation (*fana*). *Mushahada* is seeing the Essence of the One who possesses those attributes within their attributes. *Mushahada* is detaching from the created world and abiding in God at every moment. *Mushahada* is seeing God, the Exalted, as the intended purpose manifested in every existent being on the scene of existence.
**Poem (Qita)**
My beloved’s face is a mirror of atoms.
The one who knows his self is aware of it.
Even though you are close to me from the soul, O life of the world!
The promise of witnessing is distant from me in all respects.
*Mushahada* is the discerning eye penetrating into the subtleties of truth.
*Mushahada* is a subtle state that delights and enriches the spirit and heart with the beauty of the Beloved’s countenance.
*Mushahada* is contemplating the luminous secrets of God, the Mighty, and exploring hidden realms of the unseen through them. Hazrat Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "My heart has witnessed my Lord."
Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “*Mushahada* is not seeing with the eye of the head. Rather, it is the heart’s witnessing of the gardens of paradise through the light of *irfan*, for this is what the saying ‘I do not worship a Lord I have not seen’ refers to.”
*Mushahada* is witnessing the heart's friend. The lover who witnesses God in his secret essence has everything pertaining to the world erased from his heart, and only the love of His Lord remains within him.
**Verses (Nazm)**
1. Love and wonder are our guide; fame and reputation have become shame for us.
2. We are free from gossip, at ease. Love is our work, our movements.
3. We have stripped off the veil of self-regard. The world is not a concealing curtain to us.
4. The face of love is manifest to all; our impurity does not hold that mirror.
5. Our hearts are filled with the light of love. Those who were strangers to us, they became our friends.
6. We saw ourselves clearly from everything. Every thing has become a mirror of our witnessing.
7. We watch ourselves constantly. Love is indeed the focus of our sight.
*Mushahada* is of three kinds: the first is witnessing the Lord; the second is witnessing from the Lord; and the third is witnessing for the sake of the Lord.
The essence of *mushahada* is that the servant passes beyond his own attributes, so that only the Lord’s lordship remains eternal. This does not mean passing beyond one's essential being to remain with God’s pure Essence—God forbid! Such a concept is impossible. Those who assert such a thing are misguided. The revered saints, chosen servants of God, would perish if they were deprived of the blessing of *mushahada* even for a moment.
Zunnun al-Misri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “I saw some children stoning a man. I asked them, ‘What do you want from him?’ They replied, 'He thinks he sees his Lord.’"
I conveyed their words to the man and asked him, "What is this state?" The man answered me, weeping, "By God, if I did not see Him, I would not worship."
A sage said: “One day I went to a lunatic asylum. There I saw a young man bound with shackles on his feet, loudly imploring God: ‘O Lord! Even if you hang the heavens upon my neck and bind the earth to my feet, I will not sever my connection from You until the blink of an eye.’”
**Verses (Nazm)**
1. I desire your beauty, O moon-faced one; there is no benefit in the orb.
If you are not my guide, there is no benefit on the journey.
2. To this realm I have come to see that face; otherwise, what would I expect in this journey, there is no benefit in staying.
3. My desire from annihilation and existence is union. If You are not my refuge, O king, there is no benefit in shelter.
4. Without you, what does my soul find in these moments? There is no benefit without a pleasant heart, feet, or head.
5. If I look at the world with you, it becomes like paradise. If I do not look with you, that empty gaze has no benefit.
6. With Your grace, grant me sight, for I have no skill. Without Your grace, there is no benefit in skill.
7. Pass me beyond humanity, make me like an angel. If one is not an angel, there is no benefit in God within humanity.
*Mushahada* is remembering the Lord every moment and guarding His secrets. Indeed, the most excellent of acts of worship is to constantly observe God. The sign of *mushahada* is preferring what God prefers and exalting what He elevates, and humbling what He humbles.
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