(semere-i talqīn-i ʿāmma; semere-i talqīn-i khāṣṣa)
talwīn-temkīn 1047
(The fruit of general talqīn [instruction, acquisition]) is to enter the chain (silsila) of a community through talqīn. Thus, one becomes like a link in an iron chain. Whenever one acts in any matter with it, the rest of the chain also moves with him. Undoubtedly, every walī (friend of God) stands between him and the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). It is as if, unlike someone who has not received talqīn, he is one of the links in the chain. The wisdom (ḥikma) of the ruling of a separate link is as follows: when it moves in any matter, it confuses him. Since one is not connected to the other, it does not move together with it.
I heard my master, ʿAlī Mürṣafī, say: The ruling of the shaykh's talqīn to the murīd (disciple) is like the case of a seed planted in dry ground, waiting to be satiated by rain. (That is,) its desire, seeking help, nourishment, and the sprouting of its leaves depend on its thorough absorption of water. Therefore, the blessing depends not on the shaykh planting the seed, but on the degree to which it is satiated with water. The shaykh strives (gayret), and Allah brings forth the plants. Sometimes a shaykh plants a tree for his murīd and dies; afterwards, the fruit appears in the hand of another shaykh. This is either due to the weakness of the murīd's spiritual aspiration (himma), or because the meanings of dhikr (remembrance of God) do not come to the qalb (heart) and lisān (tongue) in succession. They have said: The succession of dhikr after talqīn is like the rain coming repeatedly upon the seed after it is planted. For this hastens the opening and the result.
It is known that after talqīn, the murīd does not suffice merely by attending the dhikr gatherings with the poor (fuqarāʾ) morning and evening. Indeed, most murīds in our time are like this (content with what they have). The fruit of this dhikr, in terms of its ruling, is like someone who drops a drop of water on the seed in the morning and another in the evening. Yet, between morning and evening, sun and wind intervene. In this way, the soil of the seed is not satiated with water. Sometimes, not even a single drop reaches the seed. Then, the time for opening is prolonged. Sometimes it dies and nothing ever opens. Sometimes this murīd blames his shaykh for the talqīn, even if only inwardly, saying: What need have I for this talqīn? For it has brought me no benefit. He forgets that the shaykh's duty is only to plant the seed. For this reason, the murīd must engage much in dhikr and perform deeds that are pleasing (to Allah). (Anwār, I, 40)
The fruit of specific talqīn is that, after entering the chain of a community, the talqīn of sulūk (spiritual journeying) is given. Its form is as follows: The shaykh turns to Allah, and makes the murīd recite the kalima of tawḥīd (the formula of God's oneness), which gathers the sciences of the sharia (sacred law): Lā ilāha illā Allah (the word). After this, he no longer needs to study any book of sharia until his death. Abū'l-Qāsim Junayd said: When my shaykh, Sarī al-Saqaṭī, gave me talqīn, he also gave me all the sharia sciences he knew. He used to say: No knowledge has descended from heaven in which I have no share. Nor has God given the people a path to such a knowledge. He also said: A shaykh is needed to take pledges, give talqīn of dhikr, and guide murīds to deepen in the knowledge of sharia. For in his every action there is a sharia mīzān (balance). (Anwār, I, 41)