To not fulfill the command by following one's hawa (whims, base desire) is obstinacy, it is shiqāq (division, discord). To abandon hawa and comply with the command is vifāq (accord, harmony) and infāq (to comply and to do good). To abandon this, on the other hand, is riyāʾ (ostentation) and nifāq (hypocrisy). (Futūḥ, 92)
Vird / awrād, are the arbaʿu jāmiʿāt-i mukhtasarāt; the awrād of the murīd.
There are four brief but comprehensive sentences, which, although they are found in the Qur'an in certain states, are not considered part of the Qur'an: Subḥānallāh (Glory be to Allah), wa'l-ḥamdu lillāh (and praise be to Allah), Lā ilāha illallāh wa-Allāhu akbar (There is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest), Astaghfirullāh (I seek forgiveness from Allah), Tabārakallāh (Blessed is Allah). (Kut, 1, 24)
Vird is the name given to a time that comes repeatedly to the servant, by night or day, and leads him to proximity to Allah. At that time, something desired, which will appear before him in the Hereafter, is bestowed upon the servant. Qurbah (proximity) is a name used in two senses. It is either an obligation (farḍ) upon him or a meritorious act (mandūb). If he performs this by night or day and persists in it, this becomes a vird to be performed the next day as well. The easiest of the awrād is to perform four rakʿahs of prayer, to recite one of the longer passages, or to cooperate in some good deed or in taqwa (God-consciousness). (Kut, 1, 81)
The most important vird for the murīds is dhikr (remembrance of God). For although prayer, even though it is a great dhikr, is not permissible at certain times when dhikr is permissible. Dhikr, however, is not like this. There is no situation that can prevent dhikr. (The shaykh) has said: The dhikr I prefer for the murīds, as long as their hawa persists continuously, is the phrase 'Lā ilāha illallāh' (There is no god but Allah). If their hawa disappears, then I turn to it completely. The nobility of dhikr is that it is the most beneficial thing for him. He also said: Whoever does not have a vird at the beginning will not have spiritual influxes (wāridāt) at the end. O murīd! Even if you have attained your goal, do not abandon your awrād. (Anwār, I, 138)
The minimum quantity for the vird of the ism al-jalāl (the Supreme Name, i.e., Allah) is five thousand; there is no limit for more. For the sāliks (travelers on the path), the minimum is twenty-five thousand, day and night. If he wishes, he may complete it in a single session—which is the best—or he may complete it in three sessions or arrange it according to his means.
After this, the murīd is given the talqīn (spiritual instruction) of nafy (negation) and isbāt (affirmation). Some say that this talqīn should be given to the murīd after the state of istighrāq (absorption) and istihlāk (annihilation), from his state; others say it should be after the cessation of persistent thoughts; others, after the manifestation of the state of complete presence (ḥuḍūr-i tāmm); and others, after itmi'nān (serenity) and the cessation of verbal dispute (lafẓī nizāʿ).
Tawḥīd (the oneness of God) is recited as follows: For complete presence (wuqūf-i tāmm), the murīd first casts all his consciousness and perception into the depths of his qalb (the heart), then, in order to expel stray thoughts and distractions, he exhales through his nose forcefully until his breath is exhausted. For, at all times, this is the best way to expel stray thoughts.
After this, he holds his breath, and during this time, he contemplates the 'lā' of the kalimat al-tawḥīd (the phrase of tawḥīd). He imagines it, along with the meaning of nafy and isbāt, as a line extending from his navel to his brain.
Then, in the same way, he contemplates the word 'ilāha'. He draws that imaginary line from his brain to the top of his right shoulder. As for the negation and affirmation, if he is a beginner (mubtadiʾ), he contemplates it as 'lā mābūda illā Hū' (there is no object of worship but He); if he is at the intermediate stage (mutawassiṭ) in the path of sulūk, as 'lā maqsūda illā Hū' (there is no goal but He); and if he is at the final stage (muntahī)...