The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever relies on a being created like himself is accursed (malʿūn)." Malʿūn means one who is cursed, who attracts the hatred of everyone. How astonishing! Most people have fallen into this circle of curse—how astonishing! The majority of people are on the same path. Those who rely on Allah are as few as to be counted on one hand. Whoever relies on Allah has grasped the unbreakable handle. Whoever relies on a being created like himself is like one who plunges his open hand into water and withdraws it closed, and nothing comes into his hand.
This discourse was delivered in the madrasa in the morning.
Date of discourse: 16 Rajab 545 AH, 1150 CE.
Woe to you! How much can the servants help you? If they do help, it is for one, two, three days, a month, a year, or two years. And that is only in this world. When you go to the Hereafter, all of them will turn away from you.
What you need is companionship with the Real (al-Ḥaqq). Entrust all your affairs to Him. He will not turn away from you, nor will He withhold from you what you need for this world and the Hereafter.
For a possessor of iman (faith) who has affirmed tawhid (the oneness of God), there is no trusting in mother, father, family, friend, enemy, wealth, fame, or anything else; for him, all things are buried in nonexistence. The one who has absorbed this state into his being relies on the Real (al-Ḥaqq) and trusts in His goodness.
O you who trust in your gold and silver! Soon they will leave your hands, and only their penalty will remain for you. You will be questioned about where you spent them. Once, they were in someone else’s hands, then they came to you. The reason is so that you might spend them in the way of the Real (al-Ḥaqq), that they might aid you on the path of your Lord (Mawlā). Yet you have made them into idols for yourself.
O ignorant one! Learn knowledge for Allah’s sake, and also act upon it. Learning and acting make a person possess good manners. Knowledge is life; ignorance is considered death. The closest friend of death is ignorance. Ignorance erases a person from the register of society.
Knowledge is divided into several parts. One is the common knowledge, which everyone learns. There is also special knowledge, which varies in each individual. This is called "knowledge of the qalb (the heart), knowledge of the secret (sirr)."
If you dive into the ocean of this second knowledge, you become a sultan on the path of Allah. By the command of the One who made you a sultan on His path, you prohibit what is forbidden and command what must be done. You give to those who should receive, and do not give to those who should not. You are loved among the people.
On earth, there are those whom Allah has made sultans. They carry out Allah’s commands and do not allow what He has prohibited. When something is to be received from the Real (al-Ḥaqq), if there is a command from Allah, they walk among the people with the divine decree; they take from their inner world; if not, they do not take. They give in the same way. They act with knowledge that comes suddenly. Judgment is like a doorkeeper; it waits at the door; knowledge resides inside the house. Judgment is given generally. Knowledge takes a different form for each individual.
The possessor of knowledge stands at the door of the Real (al-Ḥaqq). The knowledge of maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God) has been given to him. He becomes a person of understanding in all affairs, a state that no one else can attain. The possessor of gnosis does nothing without a command. If told "Give," he gives; if told "Do not give," no one can get anything from him. If told "Eat," he eats; if told "Do not eat," he does not eat and remains hungry. The possessor of gnosis acts according to the command of his conscience. When he is to go to someone, the command of conscience is the basis. When he is not to go, again the command of conscience is considered.
The possessor of gnosis does not take anything from anyone or give anything to another without consulting his conscience. Whoever wishes to receive help, helps the possessor of gnosis. Whoever wishes to be disgraced causes him trouble.
Those who work on the path of Allah do not think of their own benefit, but your well-being. This is why they come to you; they do not think of their own needs. They do not express need to the servants. They tie the loosened cords of the servants, rebuild their ruined houses, and show compassion like a father. Allah Most High has granted them the feeling of gnosis from pre-eternity, and by means of that feeling they become people of understanding in all matters. Whatever they expect from you is for your sake, not theirs. They always give advice to the servants; they do not tire of this duty.
Any work that is from Allah is endless, firm, and enduring. The works of others are ephemeral and temporary. Strive for knowledge. Serve the possessors of knowledge and those who use what they know in a good way. In this cause, endure with patience the small difficulties you encounter. At first, study knowledge with patience; then you will find its benefit, and thus you will be respected. Those who serve you will also be patient, for you too were patient on that path. If you are patient on the path of knowledge, you will attain knowledge of the qalb (the heart). Your inner being will be filled with light.
O community! Entrust your affairs to the Real (al-Ḥaqq). He knows your affairs better than you do. He gives you what is best for you. Seek the help of the Real (al-Ḥaqq). His help comes moment by moment. In all your affairs, be His servant. Seek the opening of the door of mercy. Close the doors that open to people to your qalb (the heart). If you do what I say, He will show you things that you did not expect, things that will astonish you.
Woe to you! You do not understand what I say; Allah sends you everything by the hands of His servants, and if harm is to come, it will come by their hands as well.
It is He who makes everything act according to His command. It is He who softens hearts. It is He who darkens hearts. He gives life. He gives. He takes. He makes mighty. He abases. He makes ill. He gives healing. He feeds. He leaves hungry. He clothes. He strips. He bestows. He causes fear. He is the First and the Last. All these things belong to Him. No one else has any part in these matters. Believe in these with your qalb (the heart). Observe the etiquette of social relations with people.
Such is the etiquette of the righteous and those who possess taqwa (God-consciousness). Those who possess taqwa fear being at fault before Allah. They take the path of good relations with people. If they speak among people, they speak according to their understanding; they speak according to the capacity of their qalb (the heart). They are always of good character. They take examples of character from the Book and the Sunnah. Whatever is in the Book—the Qur’an—and the Sunnah, that is what they speak. When their words are accepted, they turn to the path of shukr (gratitude) to Allah. If their words are not listened to, they leave. Those who do not listen to their words cannot be their friends. Among the servants, they go about to fulfill Allah’s command; they enter among the people to prevent forbidden acts.
Make your qalb (the heart) a mosque; worship the Real (al-Ḥaqq) there and call only upon Allah, do not mention anyone else. Reflect on the meaning of the noble verse: "And the mosques are for Allah, so do not invoke anyone along with Allah." (al-Jinn, 72:18)
The servant rises degree by degree. He becomes Muslim, then attains iman (faith). Then certainty (īqān), then the state of maʿrifa (gnosis), then the manifestation of knowledge, then love, then being loved, then he begins to seek. Then he abandons even this, and no longer seeks, but is sought. At this point, the servant is a possessor of perfection; he does not abandon what he has set his mind to. He does not forget anything he remembers. If he falls into the sleep of heedlessness, he is awakened. If he falls into a bad swamp, he is warned. If any command is given to him, he fulfills it and attains success; he is always made to speak, he is not told to be silent. This person is alert in every action. The mirror of his qalb (the heart) is pure and clean. For he always keeps his qalb free from impurities. If one looks at his outward, the purity of his ruh (the spirit) is immediately sensed. This purity has come to him by way of inheritance from his Prophet; his outward sleeps, but his qalb does not sleep. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) would sleep with his eyes, but his qalb was always awake. Every part of him had become light. He would see what was coming from the front as well as what was coming from behind. This state is granted to each according to his own capacity. No one’s state matches another’s. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) expressed this meaning as follows: "No one can be as alert as another; in terms of character, one does not match another."
However, the great awliyāʾ (friends of God) and those who have annihilated their being in the Being of the Real (fanāʾ), all together become guests at the table of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). They are satisfied with the remainder of the divine wine he drank. A single drop from that ocean is enough to stir their inner worlds. A single particle of dust from that mountain of karāma (a saintly wonder) is enough to elevate their beings. For they are his heirs. For they have entered his path with all their being. They help by giving their being to him. To everyone who has lost his way, they show that great Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
It is they who teach the people the knowledge of religion, and it is again they who do every good. May Allah’s peace be upon them, and His love be upon them. And also upon those great ones, and upon those who benefit from them by way of tradition until the Day of Resurrection.
The possessor of iman (faith) is experienced. He is intelligent. No one can deceive him; he calls the world with a gesture. He shows false love, and possesses everything of the world. The moment his qalb (the heart) is about to become attached, he immediately divorces it; he never approaches it again. Then he turns to the Hereafter, tastes its flavor. He inclines his qalb only a little; but the moment he finds a firm attachment, he abandons it. The moment he feels he will become distant from the Creator, he divorces it completely. He holds the Hereafter by one side, seats the world in its lap, and says: "Settle your accounts together," and returns to the obligatory acts of worship. He runs to the door of Allah Most High. He pitches his tent at that station; at every moment he lays his head on that threshold and lies down.
Follow the community of the Prophet Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him). He was a friend. Peace be upon him. First, he was content with the star, then the moon, then the sun. He looked at the states of their setting: "I do not love those that set; I cannot give my heart to such things," he said.
He turned to their Creator and said: "Indeed, I have turned my face toward Him who created the heavens and the earth, inclining toward truth, and I am not of those who associate others with Allah."
The Prophet Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) continued to lie at the threshold of Allah Most High’s mercy. He showed sincerity in seeking the Real (al-Ḥaqq). The Creator understood this state of his; thus He opened His doors to him. He permitted him to enter the ocean of mercy by way of the qalb (the heart). With all his being, that beloved Prophet was taken into the realm of divine existence. The Real (al-Ḥaqq) asked him about his state. Although He knew all his states very well, He wanted to hear it from him as well. He asked, he spoke; He asked, he spoke. The more He made him speak, the more He loved him and made him beloved. He showered him with every kind of adornment. He informed him that He was pleased with him. He filled his qalb with wisdoms. He gave him knowledge that no one else could perceive. He asked him about his state with the world and gave him the power to abandon it all. He commanded him to make a new covenant with both the world and the Hereafter. Meanwhile, He stipulated for the world that it should not harm His Prophet. He informed the Hereafter of the same condition. For both, He commanded service to that beloved Prophet and added it as a condition.
The world and the Hereafter loved that Prophet, did not harm him; sent his provision without interruption. That Prophet took everything, used it in its place; he took the path of service to Allah Most High, and his qalb always remained in the presence of the Real (al-Ḥaqq). That Real is both the Mighty and the Majestic. He removed everything other than the Divine Essence from his qalb. This state made him a free slave; he became a servant of Allah Most High alone, and was saved from being a slave to others. He divorced everything in the heavens and the earth. Nothing could possess him. But he became the possessor of everything: for he loved the Owner of all things. The Owner of all things loved him as well. It came to such a point that only the Sovereign took possession of him. Every door was opened to him. The doorkeeper could not prevent him. The curtain-bearer could not draw a curtain before him.
O child! Be a servant to the travelers on the path of Allah. The world and the Hereafter serve them; both stand ready at their command; whenever they wish, they make them do as they wish. By the permission of Allah Most High, they take what they desire.
Be with them. They give you form from this world, and meaning from the other world.
O Allah, reconcile us with those great people. Make us aware of the difference of separation between us. Unite our perspectives regarding this world and the Hereafter. Āmīn!