A man with gray hair and beard goes to a good barber and says, "My brave fellow, separate the white hairs from my hair and beard, for I have taken a new bride." The barber shaves the man's beard from the root, puts the hairs in front of him, and says, "I have something to do, you do the separating!" Just like this, this question and its answer—now you do the separating!
Concern for religion leaves no time to deal with such things. Someone slaps Zayd. When Zayd resorts to trickery and attacks him to beat him up, the man says, "Wait, I want to ask you something; answer me, then beat me. When I hit your head, there was a cracking sound. Now, here is a friendly question for you:
Did that cracking sound come from my hand or from your head, O great one whom the elders boast about?" The poor man replied, "I have not escaped the pain to fall into such thoughts. You have no troubles, so you go on thinking." One who is afflicted cannot get caught up in such thoughts—come to your senses!
In the souls of the Companions (ṣaḥāba), there was an extraordinary longing for the Qur'an, but among them, there were very few who had memorized it. For when a fruit ripens, its skin becomes quite thin, cracks, and falls off. Even walnuts, pistachios, and almonds, when they mature, their shells become thin. When the reality of knowledge reaches perfection, its husk diminishes. For the beloved burns and consumes the lover.
The attribute of the desired and beloved is the opposite of the attributes of the one who desires and loves. The lightning of revelation and light burns the prophet. When the attributes of the Eternal Allah manifest, they burn and annihilate the attributes of the contingent. If it was heard among the Companions (ṣaḥāba) that someone had memorized a quarter of the Qur'an, the Companions would say, "He is one of our great ones."
To unite such a great meaning with form is possible only for a king who is lost in astonishment and intoxication. In such a state of drunkenness, it is impossible to observe the rules of decorum; even if it were possible, it would indeed be astonishing! To observe supplication in the realm of self-sufficiency is like trying to unite a round thing and a long thing, though they are opposites.
The staff is essentially the beloved of the blind. The blind man is only like a Qur'an chest. The words of the blind are chests filled with the letters of the Muṣḥaf, old stories, and threats. Yet a chest full of Qur'an is certainly better than an empty chest. A chest without a load is better than a chest full of mice and snakes.
In short, when a person attains union, the intermediary woman begins to appear cold to the man. My beautiful, once you have reached what you desired, to seek knowledge further is bad. After climbing to the roofs of the heavens, it is meaningless to look for a ladder. One who has attained good seeks the path of good again, but only for the sake of friendship and teaching others, not for any other purpose.
If he speaks of that path, it is a cold thing. To try to polish a bright, pure, and polished mirror is ignorance. After being accepted by the king and sitting in his presence, to seek letters and messengers is an ugly thing.
The beloved called one of his lovers into his presence. The lover took out his love letter and began to read it in the presence of his beloved. The letter contained verses, praises, needs, helplessness, poverty, and many words. The beloved said, "If this reading is for me, then at the time of union, this is a waste of life!
I am here with you, and you are reading a letter. This is not a sign of true love!" The lover said, "True, you are here, but I cannot find the pleasure I desire as I wish. Even though I have attained union with you, I cannot find the pleasure I received from you last year. I drank pure, clear water from this source, and with that water, I refreshed both my eyes and my heart.
Now I see the source, but there is no water. Or has someone cut off my water?" The beloved said, "In that case, I am not your beloved. I am a Bulgarian song, but you want a Katu song. You are not in love with me, but with a state. Yet, my brave one, a state cannot be held onto; I am not exactly what you desire. Only a small part of what you seek exists in me.
I am not your beloved, but the house of your beloved. However, love is immediate, present, not in the chest! The beloved is called the one and only beloved. Your coming is from Him, and your final return is to Him! Once you find Him, you no longer wait for another. He is both the one who appears openly and the one who is hidden! He is a master who possesses those states, not a subject.
Months and years are servants and slaves to that moon-faced one. If He wills, He speaks and commands the state. If He wills, He rules and turns bodies into soul. One who waits, sits, and seeks a state has not reached the end of the matter. The hand of one who has reached the end is the alchemy of state; when he moves his hand, copper becomes intoxicated and turns to gold.
If He wills, He speaks and commands the state. If He wills, the thorn and scalpel, narcissus and August rose, are cut. One who is subject to the state is a man whose rank increases when the state comes and decreases when he is without state. In short, the Sufi is "Ibn al-waqt" (child of the moment), but he has been freed from both time and state. States are subject to his determination and opinion; states are alive through his breaths, which resemble the breath of the Messiah.
But you are in love with the state, not with me. You circle around me in the hope of attaining a state. A state that sometimes decreases, sometimes increases and reaches perfection, cannot be the deity of Khalil; it perishes and disappears. That which perishes, sometimes like this, sometimes like that, is not beautiful; I do not love those who perish.
Sometimes pleasant, sometimes unpleasant, sometimes water, sometimes fire, it is the mansion of the moon, but not the moon itself. It is beautiful like an idol, but is not even aware of its beauty! The pure Sufi is "Ibn al-waqt," but he has so thoroughly grasped the moment as if he were the father of time. Such a Sufi is completely immersed in the light of Allah, the Possessor of Majesty.
He is not the son of anyone; he has been freed from both times and states! He is immersed in the light that does not give birth. The one who is not born and does not give birth is only Allah. If you are alive, go, seek such a love. Otherwise, you are a slave to times that contradict each other. Do not look at ugly and beautiful patterns, but look at your own love, your own desire!
Are you despised, weak? Do not look at this, O person of high rank, but look at your aspiration and effort! Whatever state you are in, do not remain idle, O thirsty one with parched lips, always seek water! That thirst, those parched lips of yours—do not speak of water, but know that you will eventually reach the source.
Parched lips indicate water. This suffering, this thirst, surely indicates that you will reach water. This seeking is a blessed thing. This desire on the path of Truth removes obstacles. This desire is the key to your wishes. This desire is your army, the helper of your banners. This desire, like a rooster, heralds and gives glad tidings, crowing, "Morning is coming!"
Even if you have no tools, seek with desire. On the path of Allah, there is no need for tools. O son, whoever you see as a seeker, befriend him, bow your head before him. Be desirous among the desirous. Thanks to the victorious, you too will be victorious! If an ant desires to be a Solomon, do not despise its desire, look at its aspiration! Whatever you have in your hand of wealth, craft, or skill, did you not first desire it, and did you not attain it by means of that desire?