DÖRDÜNCÜ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL · Birinci Madde
The First Article
It conveys the virtues of knowledge through verses and honorable hadiths.
O esteemed one! Know that by His grace, the Exalted One has aided His servants and encouraged them towards the knowledge of Him, teaching the ways to attain it and saying in the Magnificent Qur’an:
“(Joseph) recognized them immediately, but they did not recognize him.” (Yusuf, 12/58) “You will recognize them by their marks.” (Bakara, 2/273) “You will see delight on their faces.” (Mutaffifin, 83/24) “Because of the certainty within them.” (Ma’ida, 5/83) “Is the one to whom Allah gives light better than he who is in profound darkness and cannot find a way out?” (An'am, 6/122) “Allah does not grant light to anyone if He has not given him illumination.” (Nur, 24/40) “We offered the trust [of responsibility] to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it, fearing its burden. Man undertook it. Indeed, he is unjust and ignorant.” (Ahzab, 33/72)
“Indeed, Allah is All-Seeing and All-Knowing.” (Ghafir, 40/20)
And the Exalted One said in a sacred hadith:
"O Adam! Whoever knows his own soul knows Me; whoever knows Me desires Me; whoever desires Me finds Me, and attains all that he hopes for, and surpasses it. I do not prefer anyone over him. O Adam! Be humble and you will know Me; be hungry and you will see Me; withdraw to solitude for My service and you will reach Me. O Adam! Your Lord is I, so know Me. O Adam! You only know Me through knowing your own soul. And you only find Me by abandoning your own soul. So, O human being! Know yourself in order to know Me. O Adam! Whoever loses the knowledge of Me from his heart, his heart becomes blind (spiritually). O Adam! Whoever enters My palace of knowledge, fear and sorrow vanish from his heart, and he is safe.”
“O David! I was a hidden treasure, I loved My knowledge, and I created creation so that they might know Me.
O David! Approach Me by being hostile to your soul and know Me with the knowledge and understanding that there is no ignorance in My presence. O David! Learn beneficial knowledge. Beneficial knowledge is learning about My majesty, grandeur, greatness, and power; it is realizing that My power prevails over everything. Only through such knowledge will you draw near to Me. O David! Whoever knows Me, I shall make trials a burden for him, and patience a pursuit.”
The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in his honorable hadiths:
“One single pull [of divine attraction] is heavier than the deeds of all mankind and jinn.” [1] And he said: “You are most knowing of Me.” [2] Indeed, knowledge is among the actions of the heart. And he said: "If you knew Allah as He should be known, your supplications would cleave mountains." [3] And he said: “The one who knows his Lord best is the one who knows himself.” And in his supplication, he implored: “(O Allah!) We exonerate You from all imperfection. We have not known You as you deserve to be known!” [4] And he said: "O Allah! The Ever-Living, the Sustaining One! Who created the heavens and the earth in wondrous fashion! Lord of everything, Possessor of majesty and generosity! We ask You to revive our hearts with Your honor, and to illuminate our eyes with the light of knowledge. O one who is openly known!” And he said: "O Allah! Illuminate my heart, illuminate my eye, illuminate my ear. Bestow light from my right, my left, before me, behind me, above me, below me. Illuminate my hair and skin. Illuminate my flesh and blood, and make me (entirely) luminous.” [5]
In some ambiguous hadiths, it is said: “Allah created Adam in His own image.” [6] And it is said: "I saw my Lord in the form of a handsome young man. I saw my Lord in the most beautiful form. He placed His hand on my shoulder. I felt coolness in my breast. (And after that) I knew everything that was in the heavens and on earth." [7]
Verse
1- From You, assistance comes to hearts, time after time.
I ask for aid from Your grace, O Most High One.
2- The praise of Your being is a scroll; its beginning is eternity,
Its end is eternity.
3- Upon the countenance of unity, with another beauty,
This state and count appeared to the eye of vision.
4- Not dissolved by the froth of the sea,
Your encompassing unity is the essence of both worlds.
5- For nearness to You, annihilation and poverty are the means;
Blessed be he who prepares for closeness and readiness.
6- The brilliance of Your seal is in the chest like light in sight,
The passion of Your love is in the soul like spirit in body.
7- Those ignorant flee from the light of Your presence,
Truly, one afflicted with eye disease flees from the sun.
8- All Your deeds are always beautiful and pure goodness;
Therefore, in our workshop, good and bad increase.
9- Sprouting and growth found sweetness through the dew of Your grace,
The garden of the heart, a musk-scented essence, O Eternal One.