If a shaykh observes an excessive ḥāl (spiritual state) in a disciple, he instructs him to engage in toilet duties and to prepare water for ṭahāra (ritual purity). If a young murīd (aspirant, disciple) is prone to gluttony or strong sexual desire, the shaykh indicates that he should fast, but not so continuously as to reach a forbidden limit. In this way, the shaykh shows his murīds the paths of such akhlaq (moral) purification. (Mizān, 61)
In disciplining the murīd, the shaykh must accept him not for his own nafs (the lower self), but for Allah. Therefore, he should treat the murīd according to the rule of religious naṣīḥa (advice), look upon him with compassion, and be gentle when the murīd is unable to endure spiritual discipline. The shaykh should train the murīd as a mother raises her child, and approach him as a wise and intelligent father would his child or servant. He should begin with what is easiest for the murīd, not burden him with what he cannot bear, and gradually increase the difficulty. The shaykh should first command the murīd to abandon following his own nature in all matters and to cease acting upon the dispensations of the religion, so that he may be freed from the bonds and dominance of his own nature and become bound to the bonds of religion. After this, the shaykh should gradually direct the murīd from ruḫṣa (dispensation) to ʿazīma (strictness), replacing each trait of dispensation with that of strictness.
If, at the beginning of the tariqa (a Sufi path/order), the shaykh perceives that the murīd is sincere in striving (mujāhada) and strictness, and discovers this through Allah's light or by a knowledge that Allah customarily grants to His believing walī (friend[s] of God) servants and trustworthy, learned beloveds, then he does not show any leniency. Rather, with strong will, he commands the most severe disciplines, knowing the murīd will not fail. For the shaykh knows that the murīd was created for this and is worthy of it. If there is something the murīd must do, the shaykh should not betray him by commanding what is easy. In any case, it is not appropriate for the shaykh to benefit from the murīd's wealth or service.
The shaykh should not expect any reward from Allah Most High for disciplining the murīd. Rather, he should train the murīd in obedience to Allah's command and as a gift from Him. For the shaykh's choice is not his own, but the result of Allah's irshād (spiritual guidance), hudā (guidance), and direction. The murīd who comes to him is a gift from Allah. Therefore, the shaykh's duty is to accept that murīd, train him well, and show him ihsan (spiritual excellence). (Gunye, II, 167)
Traveling with a pir (spiritual master) on this journey,
There are many calamities, fears, and dangers.
Even if you travel a road many times without a guide,
You will still face hardship without a guide.
There are many paths you have not yet taken—
So do not set out without a guide, O seeker.
If you do not accept a guide on this path,
Know that the trickery of the ghoul will bewilder you.
It will smile and lead you astray from the path,
And those more intelligent than you have been led astray on this path.
The Qur'an has explained what happened to them—
See what Iblis did to them.
He drove them thousands of steps from the highway,
And made them captives of regret. (Mathnawi, I, 116)
O traveler on the ḥaqīqa (inner reality) path, choose a pir for yourself; for without a pir, there are great calamities, fears, and dangers on this journey.
Even on a road you have traveled many times, if you go without a guide, you will become lost.
What will happen to you on a road you have never seen? Be wise and do not set out without a guide. O fool, if you do not have the shadow of a murshid (spiritual guide) over you, the voices of ghouls will confuse and mislead you. (Note: By "ghoul" is meant the devil appearing in human form, called "human devils".) The voices of ghouls will lead you astray and into danger. There are those more intelligent than you who have gone astray on this path without a pir.
Listen to the Qur'an about how those who went astray lost their way; understand what the evil-spirited devil did to them.
Satan cast them thousands of years away from the path of righteousness and humanity, leaving them naked and in ruin. (Mathnawi, I, 187)
The shaykh is one without the burden of sin, O youth!
In the aid of the Truth, he is like a bow in the hand.
Who is the shaykh? The shaykh is a pir, an elder, one whose hair and beard have turned white. But, O you who are misled, know the meaning of this white hair! (Note: There are three types of shaykh: 1. Those who are shaykh by knowledge—Islamic scholars. 2. Those who are shaykh by worship and servitude—the shaykhs of Sufi lodges, elderly Sufis. 3. Those who are shaykh by position—the head of an Arab tribe. The shaykh likened to a bow in the hand of the Truth refers, according to a sacred hadith, to those shaykhs who, through much supererogatory prayer, become close to Allah and are made His instrument. They do not act themselves; Allah acts through them. Those who are close to Allah through obligatory acts become Allah's hand. The Mathnawi translator refers to the hadith: "I become the hand with which My servant grasps, the foot with which he walks" (Bukhari, Tawhid, 15; Muslim, Tawba, 1).
Black hair symbolizes his selfhood. The whitening of hair and beard signifies the shaykh's liberation from self and existence. When his hair and beard are completely white, it means not a single hair of his self remains.
Thus, when a person's self and existence are gone, he has become a pir, a shaykh, regardless of whether his hair is black or white.
The black hair is a human attribute, a sign of attachment to nafs (the lower self). The hair mentioned is not the beard or mustache, nor the hair on the head.
Jesus, while still in the cradle and before reaching youth, cried out: "We are shaykhs, we are pirs." (Here, reference is made to the verses: "[Jesus] said, 'Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakat (almsgiving) as long as I remain alive and [has made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant. And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive.'" [Maryam 19:30-33])
My son! If a person is freed from some human attributes and carnal desires but some remain, he is not a perfect shaykh; he is merely an old man counting his years.
If not a single black hair (i.e., carnal desire) remains from our bodily attributes and human feelings, then that person is a shaykh accepted by Allah.
But if someone merely ages, his hair and beard turning white, he is neither a shaykh nor a chosen and accepted servant of Allah. (Mathnawi, II, 159)
If a single hair of human attributes remains in someone, he does not belong to the heavens or the Throne; he is not among Allah's chosen servants, but just an ordinary person. (Mathnawi, III, 160)
If your nafs constantly sees you with the shaykh, it will inevitably submit to you.
When the shaykh is your friend, then the intellect will overcome the dog-like nafs. (Mathnawi, III, 201)
The nafs, with its hundreds of powers, skills, and knowledge, is a dragon. The face of the shaykh is an emerald that blinds it. (Note: It is said that the emerald stone dazzles the eyes of snakes. Shafik Can)
If the nafs is in the presence of a walī (friend of God), its tongue, which is a hundred cubits long, becomes short—it loses its boldness for evil.
The nafs has a hundred tongues, each with a hundred languages. Its tricks and tales are countless. (Note: The nafs knowing many languages refers to its ability to understand the languages of all the peoples of the dunyā (world). Shafik Can)
The nafs holds a prayer bead and Qur'an in its right hand, but hides a dagger and sword in its sleeve. (Note: The nafs, while appearing as a Sufi and believer, commits all kinds of sins and crimes when given the chance. Shafik Can)
Do not be deceived by its Qur'an or its display; do not make it your confidant or friend.
The nafs will lead you to the pool for ablution, then push you in and drown you.
Intellect is a luminous gift from Allah, desiring good—how can the dark nafs overcome it?
Because your intellect is a stranger in the body, while the nafs is at home; dogs become lions at their own gates. (Note: In his Divan-i Kebir, Mawlana says, "This love is like the soul, a stranger in this body made of clay." Love, intellect, and soul are all spiritual and sublime, so they are strangers in the base, earthen body. Mawlana's first shaykh and teacher, Burhaneddin Tirmizi, also said, "The soul is in exile, the body is at home. O Allah, have mercy on the soul, which is a stranger, sad, and separated from its homeland." Shafik Can) (Mathnawi, III, 202)
The shaykh is the perfect human who possesses deep knowledge of sharia (the sacred law), tariqa (Sufi path), and ḥaqīqa (inner reality), knows the diseases, calamities, and troubles of the nafs, is aware of their remedies and cures, and has the power to heal those afflicted. (Kashani, 154; Jami', 87)
Shaykh al-murshid: When the murshid sees the murīd inclining toward anger or lust, it is good for the murshid to strongly denounce these two bad traits in order to bring him back to the middle way. The proof that the purpose of spiritual discipline is moderation is...