بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَ الصَّلاَةُ وَ السَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلَى آلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ اَجْمَعِينَ

KUFR-UNBELIEF - 4

The Eighth Word1

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

اَللّٰهُ لاَ اِلهَ اِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَىُّ الْقَيُّومُ ٭ اِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ اْلاِسْلاَمُ2

If you want to understand this world, the rûh of man within the world, the essence and value of religion in man and the world being a dungeon if there is no Haqq Religion, and without religion man being the most miserable of creatures, and that it is يَا اَللّٰهُ3 and 4 لاَ اِلهَ اِلاَّ اللّٰهُ that open the enigma of this ‘âlam5 and save the rûh of human from darkness, look to this short story which is in the form of a comparison6 and listen:

In the old-time, two brothers 7 went on a long journey together. They went until the way became two. At the beginning of the two ways, they saw a serious man.

They asked him: "Which way is good?"

He told them: "On the right way, there is a necessity in following the law and order. But within that difficulty, there is security and happiness. As for the left way, there is freedom and independence. But within that freedom, there is danger and complaint. Now, the will to choose is yours!"

After listening to this, saying, تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللّٰهِ8 the brother with a good character went through the right way, and accepted to follow the order and regularity. The other brother, who was immoral and a layabout, chose the left road just for freedom.9 With our imaginations, we follow this man who goes in an apparent easy situation but burdensome in ma’nawî aspect.

Thus, this man went up hill and down dale, he eventually entered a desolate desert. He suddenly heard a terrifying sound and saw that a fearsome lion had come out of the forest and attacked him. He fled to the end where he came across a waterless well sixty meters deep. Due to his fear, he threw himself into it. He fell until half of the well where his hands met a tree. He clung to it. The tree, which sprouted on the wall of the well, had two roots. Two rats, one white and one black, were attacking and cutting those two roots. He looked up and saw that the lion was waiting at the top of the well like a guard. He looked down and saw that there was a fearsome dragon in it. It raised its head and approached his foot thirty meters above. Its mouth was as big as the mouth of the well. He looked at the wall of the well and saw that stinging, detrimental vermin surrounded it. He looked up at the crown of the tree and saw that: It was a fig-tree. But wondrously, on its crown were fruits of many different trees, from walnuts to pomegranates.

Thus, due to his evil comprehension and mindlessness, this man could not understand that this was not an ordinary state. These things cannot be coincidental. There were strange mysteries within these strange states. And he did not apprehend that there was a great doer. Now, although his heart, rûh and mind were hiddenly crying and weeping at this excruciating situation, as though it were nothing, by assuming to be ignorant, his nafs al-ammarah closed its ears to the weeping of the heart and rûh, and through deceiving itself, started to eat the tree's fruit as though he was in a garden. But some of those fruits were poisonous and harmful. In a Hadith al-Qudsî, Janâb-i Haqq decreed: اَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِى بِى That is: “I treat My ‘abd in the way he knows Me”.10

Thus, through his mindlessness and with evil supposition, this unfortunate man accepted what he saw to be ordinary and the haqiqah itself,11 and he was treated in that way, and is treated, and will be treated. He neither dies so that he may be saved, nor does he live. He is suffering such torment. Leaving this inauspicious man in this torment, we shall return. So that we shall understand the situation of the other brother.

Here, this blessed mindful person went on. But he did not suffer trouble like his brother. For since he has a good moral, he thought of good things and imagined good things. He consoled himself. He also did not suffer difficulty and hardship like his brother. For he knew the order, followed it and had facilitation. He went freely with ease and security.

Thus, he came across a garden. There were both beautiful flowers and fruits in it. Since it was not looked after, filthy things were also to be found. His brother had also entered such a garden. But he had paid his attention to the filthy things and had occupied himself with them, he had caused himself to feel queasy. He had gone out without any rest. As for this man, he did not look to the filthy things acting according to the rule, “Look to the good amongst everything”. He benefited well from the good things. He rested well and went out.

Then, eventually, this one too, like the first brother, entered a vast desert. He suddenly heard the roar of an attacking lion. He was afraid but not as much as his brother. For through his good supposition and good thoughts, he found consolation through thinking: "This desert has a ruler. And this lion's being a servant under the command of that ruler is possible." But he still fled until he came across an empty well sixty meters deep andthrew himself into it. Like his brother, his hand clung to a tree in the middle of the well; he remained suspended in the air. He looked and saw two animals cutting the two roots of that tree. He looked up and saw the lion, and looked down and saw a dragon. Just like his brother, he saw a strange situation. He too was terrified like him, but it was a thousand times lesser than his brother’s fear. For his good morals had given him good thoughts, and as for the good thoughts, they show him the good side of everything.

Thus, because of this reason, he thought as follows:

"These strange states are connected to each other. Also, it seems that they are acting with a command. In that case, there is an enigma within these states. Yes, these states happen with the command of a hidden ruler. So, I am not alone; the hidden ruler is looking at me, he is testing me, he is inviting me by urging me somewhere for a purpose.

From this pleasant fear and good thought a curiosity arises: “I wonder who is the one who wants to make himself known to me through testing me, and urges me to a purpose with this strange road."

Then, from the curiosity of knowing, the love for the owner of the enigma arose, and from that love, the desire to solve the enigma arose, and from that desire, the will of acquiring a good state which would please and delight the enigma's owner arose.

Then he looked at the crown of the tree and saw that it was a fig-tree. But there were the fruits of thousands of trees on its crown. Then his fear completely had gone. For he certainly understood that this fig-tree was a list, an index, an exhibition. The hidden ruler must have attached samples of the fruits in his garden and orchard to the tree with an enigma and a miracle and must have adorned the tree as an indication to the foods that he had prepared for his own guests. Otherwise, a single tree may not bear the fruits of thousands of trees.

Then he began to supplicate. So that the key to the enigma was inspired to him. He called out:

"O ruler of these places! I came to your presence. I take refuge with you and I am your servant and I want to please you and I am searching for you."12

And after this supplication, the wall of the well suddenly split, and a door opened to a wonderful, quiet and beautiful garden. Rather, the dragon's mouth transformed into that door. And the lion and the dragon wore the form of two servants. And they invited him to enter. The lion even entered into the shape of a submissive horse for him.

Thus, O my lazy nafs! And O my imaginary friend! Come! Let us compare the state of these two brothers so that we can see and understand how good brings good and evil brings evil.

Look, the unfortunate traveller of the left way is waiting to enter the dragon's mouth all the time; he trembles. And as for the fortunate one, he is invited to a fruitful and splendid garden. Also, that unfortunate one, in a painful terror and great fear, his heart is smashing. And as for the fortunate one, he is beholding and enjoying the strange things within a pleasant state of taking warning, a sweet fear and beloved ma’rifat. Also, that unfortunate one is suffering torments in fear, despair and loneliness. And as for the fortunate one, he is taking pleasure within familiarity, hope and yearning. Also, that unfortunate one sees himself as a prisoner subject to the attacks of wild beasts. And as for the fortunate one, he is an honoured guest who pleasures himself with the friendship of the strange servants of his Generous Host. Also, that unfortunate one is hastening his torments by eating the fruits which are apparently delicious but poisonous in meaning. For those fruits are samples. There is permission to taste them so that he may strive for the originals and may seek after them. Otherwise, there is no permission to devour them like an animal. And as for the fortunate one, he tastes them, understands the matter, postpones his eating and takes pleasure in waiting. Also, that unfortunate one perpetrated dhulm to himself. Through his lack of basîrah, he has transformed a beautiful haqiqah and a brilliant state like daylight into an oppressive and dark wahm and a Jahannam for himself. He does not deserve compassion, nor does he have the right to complain about anyone.

For example, if a person is not content with the pleasure of a pleasant banquet in a beautiful garden among his friends in summer, and makes himself drunk through filthy intoxicants, and imagines himself hungry and naked in the middle of winter among beasts and starts shouting out and crying, he is not worthy of being treated with compassion and perpetrates dhulm to himself. He insults his friends by seeing them as wild beasts. Thus, this unfortunate too is like this. And as for the fortunate one, he sees the haqiqah. As for the haqiqah, it is beautiful. Through understanding the beauty of the haqiqah, he shows respect toward the perfection of the haqiqah's owner. He deserves His rahmah. Thus, the mystery of the Qur'anic decree: "Know evil from yourself, and good from Allah" becomes apparent. If you compare the other differences like these, you will understand that the nafs al-ammarah of the first one has prepared a ma’nawî Jahannam for him. And the good intention, good supposition, good character and good thought of the other have made him a place of manifestation for great bounty, happiness, a shining fadhîlah and faydh.13

O my nafs! And O man who is listening to this story together with my nafs!

If you do not want to be the unfortunate brother and want to be the fortunate one, listen to the Qur'an and obey its decrees and adhere to it and act according to its decrees!..

If you have understood the haqiqahs in this story in the form of a comparison, you can compare them with the haqiqahs of religion, the world, man and îmân. I shall say the important ones. You deduce the subtle ones.

Now, look! As for the two brothers, one is the rûh of a mu’min and the sâlih heart. The other is the rûh of a kâfir and the fâsiq heart. And as for the right one of the two roads, it is the way of the Qur'an and îmân. As for the left one, it is the way of rebellion and denial. And as for the garden on the way, it is temporary social life within human society and civilization, where khayr and sharr, good and bad, clean and dirty things are found together. The mindful person is he who acts according to the rule: خُذْ مَا صَفَا دَعْ مَا كَدَرْ14 and goes with the salâmât of heart.15 And as for the desert, it is the earth and the world. And as for the lion, it is death and the appointed time for the end of one's life. And as for the well, it is man's body and the time of life. And as for the sixty-meter depth, it indicates sixty years which is the average lifespan of the majority. And as for the tree, it is the period of life-span and the substance of life. And as for the two animals, one white and one black, they are night and day. And as for the dragon, it is the way of barzakh and porch of the âkhirah, whose mouth is the grave. But that mouth is a door opening from a dungeon into a garden for the mu’min. And as for the detrimental vermin, they are the calamities of the world. But for the mu’min, they are the pleasant warnings of Allah and favours of Ar-Rahmân to prevent the fall into the sleep of ghaflah.16 And as for the fruits on the tree, they are the worldly ni’mahs that Janâb Who is the Absolute Karîm has made them both in the form of a list, reminders and similars of the ni’mahs of the âkhirah, and the samples inviting customers to the fruits of Jannah. And as for the tree producing numerous different fruits despite being a single tree, it is an indication to the stamp of the qoudrah of As-Samad, to the seal of Ilahî rubûbiyyah and the mark of the sovereignty of Ulûhiyyah.

For arts like “To make everything from one thing” that is, to make all plants and fruits from a single earth, and to create all animals from a single water, and to create all the limbs and organs of animals from a simple food, together with “To make everything one thing” that is, from the great variety of foods which the living beings eat, to weave a simple skin and to make flesh particular to that living being, is a peculiar stamp, private seal and inimitable mark of As-Sultân of Past-Eternity and Future-Eternity, Who is Al-Ahad, As-Samad. Yes, to make one thing everything, and everything one thing is an âyah, a mark peculiar to Al-Khâliq of everything and Al-Qadîr over everything.

And as for the enigma, it is the mystery of the hikmah of creation that is opened through the mystery of îmân. And as for that key, it is يَا اَللّٰهُ *لاَ اِلهَ اِلاَّ اللّٰهُ * اَللّٰهُ لاَ اِلهَ اِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَىُّ الْقَيُّومُ 17 . And as for the mouth of the dragon being transformed into the garden door, it is an indication that, although for the people of dhalâlah and rebellion the grave is troublesome like a dungeon amid the fear and oblivion and is a door opening to a grave which is as narrow as a dragon's stomach, for the people of the Qur'an and îmân, it is a door opening from the dungeon of the world into the gardens of eternity, and from the arena of examination into the meadows of Jannah, and from the difficulties of life into the rahmah of Ar-Rahmân. And, as for the wild lion being turned into a friendly servant and becoming a submissive horse is an indication that, although for the people of dhalâlah, death is a painful eternal separation from all their beloveds, also an exile from their own false worldly Jannah, and being imprisoned and entering into the dungeon of the grave in fear, loneliness, for the people of hidâyah and the Qur'an, it is the means of coming together with their old friends and beloveds, who have gone to the other ‘âlam. Also, it is the means to enter their true homeland and their eternal place of happiness. Also, it is an invitation to the meadows of Jannah from the dungeon of the world. Also, it is a turn to receive the wage from the fadl of Ar-Rahmân Who is Rahîm in return for his service.  Also, it is a discharge from the burden of the duty of life. Also, it is making an end to the learning and instruction of ‘ubûdiyyah and examination.

In Short: Whoever makes the transient life his fundamental purpose is in a ma’nawî Jahannam, even if he is apparently in Jannah. And whoever is eagerly turned towards eternal life, becomes the place of manifestation for the happiness of both worlds. However bad and troublesome his world is, since he sees his world as the waiting room for Jannah, he sees it as pleasant, endures it and offers shukr in patience...

اَللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْنَا مِنْ اَهْلِ السَّعَادَةِ وَ السَّلاَمَةِ وَ الْقُرْآنِ وَ اْلاِيمَانِ آمِينْ

اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ وَ سَلِّمْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلَى آلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ بِعَدَدِ جَمِيعِ الْحُرُوفَاتِ الْمُتَشَكِّلَةِ فِى جَمِيعِ الْكَلِمَاتِ الْمُتَمَثِّلَةِ بِاِذْنِ الرَّحْمنِ فِى مَرَايَا تَمَوُّجَاتِ الْهَوَاءِ عِنْدَ قِرَائَةِ كُلِّ كَلِمَةٍ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مِنْ كُلِّ قَارِءٍ مِنْ اَوَّلِ النُّزُولِ اِلَى آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ وَ ارْحَمْنَا وَ وَالِدَيْنَا وَارْحَمِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ بِعَدَدِهَا بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا اَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ آمِينَ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ