ASFIYÂ – اصفياء

 

Literally: Sincere. Pure. The people of taqwâ, perfection and attainment, who investigate the haqiqah minutely. The people, who possess the legacy of nubuwwah and are the heir of the Prophet (asm) through striving for reinvigorating, restoring and following the way and aims of the Prophet (asm).

 

“The person of Ahmad ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm, the living, articulate proof of Tawhîd, demonstrated and proclaimed wahdâniyyah throughout his life with the two wings of messengership and walâyah with all his strength. That is, with a strength that comprised all the prophets’ consensus with tawâtur who had preceded him and the awliyâ and asfiyâ’s tawâtur like consensus who came after him. He opened up a window onto Ma’rifatullah as broad and brilliant and luminous as al-‘âlam of Islam. Millions of muhaqqiqîn asfiyâ like Imam Ghazzali, Imam-i Rabbani, Muhyiddin al-'Arabi, 'Abd al-Qadir Geylani and siddîqîn look through that Window, and show it also to others. Is there any veil that can obscure a Window such as this? Can the person who accusingly does not look through this Window be said to possess reason? Come on, you say!” The Words ( 721 )

 

Just as a person, who is dreaming, cannot interpret his own dream, the people of kashf and shuhûd of that group cannot interpret what they saw while they are in such a state. It is the muhaqqiqîn possessing the legacy of nubuwwah called asfiyâ who can interpret them. For sure, when the people of shuhûd of that group rise to the rank of the asfiyâ, they understand their errors through the guidance of the Book and the Sunnah and they correct them; they had corrected them…

It is understood from this matter that the degree of shuhûd is much lower than the degree of îmân in the ghayb. That is to say, the uncomprehending kashf of some of the people of walâyah, who rely only on their shuhûd, does not reach the pure, comprehending and right judgements of the asfiyâ and muhaqqiqîn, who possess the legacy of nubuwwah, about the haqiqahs of îmân pertaining to the ghayb, that were made by relying on the Qur'an and wahy, not on shuhûd. It means that the balance of all ma’nawî states, kashf, azwaq and shuhûd are the Book and Sunnah. And their touchstone is the sacred principles of the Book and Sunnah and the laws of muhaqqiqîn asfiyâ, which arise from the hads...

Question: The matter of wahdah al-wujûd is considered to be the highest rank by many people. But the path of wahdah al-wujûd in this way was not seen explicitly in the Sahâbah, foremost the four Khalîfah, who were at the rank of the greatest walâyah, or in the Imams of ahl al-bayt, foremost the five people of al-‘abâ1, or mujtahids and tâbi’în, foremost the four madhab Imams. So did those who came after them advance further than them, or did they find a better way?

The Answer: Hâsha! Nobody at all has the ability to advance further than those asfiyâ who were the closest stars to the sun of risalah and its closest heirs. The greatest highway indeed belongs to them.

The Eighteenth Letter-The First Important Matter