One who is in doubt becomes confused and indecisive regarding it. The possessor of conjecture (zann), thinks things about its essence that are not real and does not understand. But one who looks at it understands it and awaits its path. The imitator (muqallid), who is present with every group, acts according to the one he follows. If the one he follows walks, he walks; if he stops, he stops. Whether in salvation or destruction, wherever the one he follows is, so is he. (Letāʾif, 50)
The spiritual subtlety (laṭīfa rūḥāniyya) perceives, while the divine reality (ḥaqīqa rabbāniyya) is seen in the mirror of prophethood. The lights of the divine reality are reflected in the heart (qalb) of the walī (friend of God). Thus, the walī appears in the form of a prophet, but does not abrogate the sharia (the sacred law) or bring forth a new sharia, nor does he seek payment for his teaching. Our being heirs to the Book—walī-nabī-rasūl—is sound, for the Book was given to us without our own acquisition. Every heir is chosen; those other than the heir are on the edge of a precipice. (Letāʾif, 52)
The anbiyāʾ (prophets) are those to whom Allah has given a sharia and who continue upon it. There are also prophets who receive revelation but are not given a separate sharia; their situation is like that of the rasūls (messengers). Thus, the anbiyāʾ are of three types: those possessing perfection (kamāl), those possessing majesty (jalāl), and those possessing beauty (jamāl). Their counterparts in Hell are the dajjāls who bear corrupt imaginations (hayāl), who, in the worldly life, have deviated from the true path in their state (ḥāl), yet think they are doing well. (Letāʾif, 130)
The khatm (seal) is unique. It is not found in every era. There is only one in the world. Allah ends the Muhammadan walāya (friendship with God) with him. Among the Muhammadan awliyāʾ (friends of God), there is none greater than him. Then there is another khatm by which Allah ends the general walāya from Adam to the last walī, who is Jesus—the last of the awliyāʾ. This is the end of the cycle of dominion. On the Day of Resurrection, there will be two gatherings for the community of Muhammad. That rasūl will also be gathered with the other rasūls. (Futūḥāt, I, 11)
What is the station of the rasūls compared to the station of the anbiyāʾ (prophets)? The answer is: it is at the same level, but the station of the rasūls is the fourth of the ranks. There are four ranks that bring happiness to a person: iman (faith), walāya, nubuwwa (prophethood), and risāla (messengership). If they are in the station of the prophets, then they are either among the prophets possessing nubuwwa of the second rank (those with a sharia) or of the third rank. Knowledge is among the conditions of walāya, but iman is not. The basis of iman is report (khabar); the report itself does not need it. As in the question, 'Where is Allah?', it is either impossible (muḥāl) or possible. It is to report some unseen knowledge attributed to the one who gives the report. The first rank of those who know tawḥid (the oneness of God) are the awliyāʾ.
Allah does not raise the ignorant to the station of walāya. This is a matter in which the external scholars have erred. Whoever affirms tawḥid of Allah by whatever means enters the content of the station of walāya. This station is the first. Then come the stations of nubuwwa, risāla, and iman. According to us, that is, in our arrangement, the order of the ranks is: walāya, then iman, then nubuwwa, then risāla. According to the external scholars and the generality of people outside the special path, it is first iman, then walāya, then nubuwwa, then risāla. (Futūḥāt, I, 53)
The special khatm, the Muhammadan khatm, is the ending of the walāya of the Muhammadan awliyāʾ, those who inherit from the Prophet Muhammad, by Allah. Each Muhammadan walī finds in himself a sign according to the portion of inheritance he receives from him. Thus, he gathers the knowledge of every Muhammadan walī for Allah. If he does not know this, he cannot be the khatm. For when prophethood was ended with the Prophet Muhammad, he was given the comprehensive words (jawāmiʿ al-kalim), and all sharias were subsumed under his sharia as starlight is subsumed under sunlight. It is clear from this that the stars—walī-nabī-rasūl—
have sent their light to the earth, but the sun has prevented their distinction. Thus, the light is made exclusive to the sun. (Futūḥāt, IV, 440)
To the awliyāʾ is given a power (qudra) by Allah
Who turns back the loosed arrow from its path
The door of causes is closed by the walī with the hand of Allah's power when he is disturbed by an event
When Allah opens the door by His grace, the walī makes the spoken word as if it was never spoken, so that neither the skewer nor the kebab is burned
He hears and perceives everything that passes through hearts, and erases all spoken words from hearts
walī-nabī-rasūl 1201 (The verse 'Whatever āya We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring forth one better or similar' [al-Baqara 2:106]) is sufficient proof for you. (Mathnawī, I, 67)
Recite the verse 'You caused them to forget My remembrance' and understand how the awliyāʾ have the power to place forgetfulness in hearts!
Since the awliyāʾ have the power both to remind and to cause to forget, their commands also operate in the hearts of people
If a walī closes someone's vision by causing forgetfulness, no matter how skilled that person is, he can do nothing
The village chief is the king of bodies, but the possessor of the heart is the sultan of hearts
Without doubt, all our actions are the various manifestations and branches of our sight. Thus, a person is nothing but his pupil
I will not fully explain the truth that the perfect human is the center and pupil of the universe, for the prophets who are the possessors of the center have forbidden this. (Mathnawī, I, 121)
If this causes confusion for the prophets and awliyāʾ
If someone says: Were not the prophets and awliyāʾ those whose nafs (lower self) had been subdued, who had reached the degree of rāḍiyya and marḍiyya (those pleased with Allah and with whom Allah is pleased)? Then why did they have enemies and the envious?
O seeker of truth! Listen to my answer to your doubt
Those who denied the prophets and awliyāʾ were their own enemies, thus they were harming themselves
An enemy is one who seeks to harm the soul; do not think that the wound is from another
The bat is not truly an enemy of the sun; it is veiled and thus harms itself
The sun's brilliance kills it, but does the sun suffer from its discomfort?
An enemy is one from whom harm or anger comes; the sun's light prevents the stone from becoming a ruby
All disbelievers have veiled themselves from the light of the prophets' spiritual essence
walī-nabī-rasūl 1203 How can the people be a veil to the eye of that one, the prophet or walī? Because of their enmity, the people have blinded themselves and deafened their own ears
The people's enmity to the prophets and awliyāʾ is like an Indian slave who, out of spite, kills himself to deprive his master of a slave
If a patient becomes an enemy to his doctor, or a child to his educator, they are truly harming themselves
If a cloth-washer is angry at the sun, or a fish at the water, who is harmed by this anger? In the end, whose fortune is darkened by this rage? (Mathnawī, I, 318)
Is a walī infallible (maʿṣūm) or not? The answer is: It cannot be said that the awliyāʾ are necessarily infallible as the prophets are. It can be said that the awliyāʾ are protected (maḥfūẓ), that they do not persist in sins, and that if they err or slip at certain times, this does not diminish their qualities of walāya. When Junayd was asked, 'Does the gnostic (ʿārif) commit adultery?' he bowed his head for a long time, then raised it and replied: 'It is a decree ordained by Allah.' (Būstān, 58)
The walī is one upon whom Allah has taken charge of His affairs. Allah protects him from disobedience. Until the men of God (rijāl Allāh) reach perfection (kamāl) fully, Allah does not leave him alone and unsupported. Allah the Exalted has said: 'He watches over all the righteous servants.' (al-Aʿrāf 7:196; Kāshānī, 54; Jāmiʿ, 104)
The most excellent of the awliyāʾ of Allah (awliyāʾ Allāh) are the prophets, the most excellent of the prophets are the rasūls, and the most excellent of the rasūls are the possessors of determination (ulū al-ʿazm): Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. (al-Furqān 25:7)
To have iman in the Prophet means to have iman in the following: his commands and prohibitions, his rewards and punishments, his declaration of what is lawful and unlawful, his conveying of these matters, his being an intermediary between Allah and His servants, and to believe that what Allah and His Messenger have declared lawful is lawful, and what they have declared unlawful is unlawful; and to accept as religion whatever Allah and His Messenger have legislated.
Whoever believes that a walī can bring a person to Allah without following the Prophet is one of the friends of Satan and a disbeliever. The creation of Allah's creatures, their provision, answering their supplications (dua), granting them guidance (hudā) in their hearts, helping them against their enemies, giving them benefit, and removing harm—these things belong exclusively to Allah. He fulfills them by whatever means He wills. The mediation of the rasūls does not include these matters. (al-Furqān 25:17)
The awliyāʾ of Allah are the God-conscious believers (muttaqī muʾminūn); thus, a servant is a friend of Allah according to his iman and taqwa. Just as people differ in their friendship with Allah according to their iman and taqwa, so too do they differ in their enmity to Allah according to their kufr (disbelief) and hypocrisy. Allah the Exalted says: 'Whenever a surah is revealed, some of them say, "Which of you has this increased in iman?" As for those who have iman, it increases them in iman and they rejoice. But as for those in whose hearts is disease, it increases them in disbelief, and they die as disbelievers... Postponing (the sacred months) is only an increase in kufr... As for those who are guided, He increases them in guidance and gives them their taqwa... In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease.' (al-Baqara 2:10)
With these verses, Allah the Exalted makes clear that a person has a share in friendship with Allah according to his iman, and a share in enmity to Allah according to his kufr and hypocrisy. (al-Furqān 25:21)
The awliyāʾ of Allah are of two ranks: the foremost (sābiqūn) and the ones brought near (muqarrabūn); the companions of the right (aṣḥāb al-yamīn) are the moderate (muqtaṣid). Allah has mentioned them in many places in His noble Book: both the beginning and end of Sūrat al-Wāqiʿa, as well as Sūrat al-Insān, al-Muṭaffifīn, and Fāṭir. Allah the Exalted mentions the great resurrection at the beginning of Sūrat al-Wāqiʿa, and the lesser resurrection at its end. (al-Furqān 25:22)
The servant-prophet (ʿabd-rasūl) gives only by the command of his Lord; he cannot make something lawful or unlawful for whomever he wishes. Rather, he gives to whom his Lord commands him to give, and turns away from whom his Lord commands him to turn away. All his actions are worship to Allah. (al-Furqān 25:28)
The awliyāʾ of Allah are the God-conscious believers; just as people differ in iman and taqwa, so too do they differ in friendship with Allah, and likewise in enmity to Allah according to their kufr and hypocrisy. The root of iman and taqwa is iman in the rasūls of Allah. All of this is included in iman in the last of the rasūls, Muhammad. To have iman in him is to have iman in all the Books and rasūls of Allah. The root of kufr and hypocrisy is to deny the rasūls and what they have brought from Allah. This is the kufr that will cause its possessor to deserve punishment in the Hereafter. (al-Furqān 25:33)
There is nothing outwardly distinguishing the awliyāʾ of Allah from other people in permissible matters. They are not distinguished by different clothing or haircuts, or by cutting their nails, as long as these are permissible. As the saying goes: 'Among those in the Kaʿba are the truthful, and among those in the cloak are the heretics.' The friends of Allah are found in every class of the community of Muhammad, as long as they are not openly people of innovation or wickedness: among the people of the Qur'an and knowledge, the people of jihad and the sword, merchants, artisans, and farmers. (al-Furqān 25:41)
Being free from major sins and errors is not a condition for being a walī of Allah. It is possible that some aspects of the sharia may remain hidden from him. Some matters of the religion may be ambiguous or doubtful to him, such that he must reflect deeply on what Allah has commanded or forbidden. Some extraordinary events may be thought to be karāma (saintly wonders) of the awliyāʾ of Allah, but may in fact be adorned by Satan to lower his rank, and he may not realize this. Nevertheless, such a person does not leave the walāya of Allah, for Allah the Exalted has forgiven this community for what they do by mistake, forgetfulness, or under compulsion. (al-Furqān 25:48)
The awliyāʾ of Allah are agreed that even if a man flies in the air or walks on water, unless he follows the Prophet and adheres to his commands and avoids his prohibitions, one should not be deceived by such things. The karāmas of the friends of Allah are greater than such acts. Those who perform such extraordinary acts may be friends of Allah, or they may be enemies of Allah. Many such acts are performed by disbelievers, polytheists, people of the Book, and hypocrites, as well as by innovators through the agency of devils. It is wrong to think that everyone who performs such acts is a friend of Allah. Rather, one should judge by their characteristics and whether their actions conform to the Book and Sunnah. They are recognized by the light of iman and the outward and inward realities of the sharia of Islam. (al-Furqān 25:62)
Ibn ʿArabī has transmitted a poem to this effect:
The station of prophethood is in the isthmus (barzakh),
Beyond the rasūl, before the walī.
According to him, the source is intellect, while the world is imagination (hayāl). Imagination is subject to intellect. He claims that intellect is derived from the essence of imagination. The rasūl takes from imagination. Thus, the rasūl is superior to the nabī. If the characteristics of the nabī were as they say, and if he were not of the same kind as the rasūl, how could what they say be attainable for every believer? Nubuwwa is beyond this. (al-Furqān 25:80)
The God-conscious friends of Allah are those who fulfill the commands, avoid the prohibitions, and are content with what is decreed. Allah loves them and they love Him. Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. (al-Furqān 25:120)
walī-nabī-rasūl
The walī differs from the nabī in terms of divine address, but they are united in terms of method. These are stations. However, the nabī ascends with the original light, while the walī ascends by receiving effusion from this original light. Though the stations unite them, they differ in the unity found in each station of fanāʾ (annihilation in God) and baqāʾ (subsistence in God), union and separation. The walī receives divine gifts through the spirituality of nubuwwa, witnessing from the station of nubuwwa. However, the nabī among the Muhammadan awliyāʾ, having gathered the stations of the anbiyāʾ, transmits the lights of the inherited nabī to the awliyāʾ of his community through himself. He is the one to whom, in the world of spirits, all the stations of the anbiyāʾ and rasūls have been given. (Rawḍa, 519)
Abū ʿAlī Jūzjānī said: The walī is one who is annihilated in his state and subsistent in witnessing the Real (God). Allah has taken charge of his affairs. For this reason, his turning is always toward Him. He is not aware of himself (his true value with Allah), nor is he settled when with Allah (he is in a state of bewilderment with Allah).
Yahyā Muʿādh Rāzī said: The walī is the fragrance of Allah on earth. The truthful (ṣiddīqūn) perceive it and its scent reaches their hearts. With that scent, they yearn for their Lord. According to the degree of their states, their acts of worship increase.
Just as being infallible (maʿṣūm) is a condition for the nabī, being protected (maḥfūẓ) is a condition for the walī.
There is disagreement as to whether the walī knows his own walāya. It is said: The walī looks upon himself with humility (does not see himself as worthy). If a karāma appears from him, he fears it is a test and trembles with fear of losing what he has attained. It is also said: The walī becomes known (is recognized), but is not infatuated (meftūn). (Rawḍa, 520)
The walī shares with the nabī in perceiving while awake what the common people perceive in sleep. Our people of the tariqa (Sufi path) have established that this is true for the awliyāʾ. Action is by spiritual aspiration (himma), and knowledge occurs without a teacher other than Allah; this is the knowledge from the divine presence (ʿilm ladunnī). If Allah gives him knowledge by removing all intermediaries, so that he can worship Him through this sharia by the tongue of the Messenger of God, this is the knowledge of the divine presence (ʿilm-i le...)