بِاسْمِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَاِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ اِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

1 لاَ اِلهَ اِلاَّ اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ يُحْيِى وَ يُمِيتُ وَ هُوَ حَىٌّ لاَ يَمُوتُ بِيَدِهِ الْخَيْرُ وَ هُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَ اِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ

[This sentence of tawhîd, which has many fadhîlah in its repetition after the morning and evening salâh, and according to a sahîh riwâyât, which bears the rank of al-ism al-â’dham contains eleven phrases. Both good news and joyful tidings and a degree of tawhîd in rubûbiyyah and the consummate greatness of wahdah and the perfection of wahdâniyyah in the point of an ism al-â’dham are present in each of its phrases. Referring the explanation of these great and elevated haqiqahs to other Words, in consequence of a promise, for now, in the form of a concise summary, we shall make an index for them with two Stations and an Introduction.]

Introduction

Know certainly that the highest aim of creation and the most elevated result of fitrah are îmân in Allah. The most exalted degree of humanity and the greatest rank of mankind are ma’rifatullah within îmân in Allah. The most brilliant happiness and the sweetest ni’mah of jinn and man are the love of Allah within the ma’rifatullah. And the most sincere joy for the rûh of man and the purest delight for the heart of man are the pleasure of the rûh within the love of Allah. Yes, all true happiness, sincere joy, sweet ni’mah and pure pleasure are most certainly in ma’rifatullah and the love of Allah. They cannot exist without them. The one who knows and loves Janâb-i Haqq is the place of manifestation of endless happiness, ni’mahs, nûr and mysteries potentially or actually. The one who does not truly know and love Him is ma’nawî and materially subjected to infinite misery, pain and wahm. If an impotent and poor man, in this forlorn world, among the desolate mankind, in a fruitless life without an owner or protector, even becomes the sultân of the whole world, it would be worthless. Thus, everyone understands how wretched and bewildered the man is if he does not know his protector and find his owner among the desolate mankind, in this forlorn transient world. If he finds his protector and knows his owner, then, he may seek refuge in His rahmah and rely on His qoudrah. The dreadful world turns into a place of recreation and pleasure, it becomes a place of trade.

First Station

Each of the eleven phrases of this sentence of tawhîd contains a good tiding. And that good tiding contains a cure within it, and that cure has a ma’nawî pleasure.

THE FIRST PHRASE: Within لاَ اِلهَ اِلاَّ اللّٰهُ 2 , there is the following good tiding: in this phrase, the rûh of man subjected to boundless needs and the target of the attacks of infinite enemies, finds such a point of assistance; it opens a door of a treasury of rahmah, which will ensure all its needs, and it finds such a point of support that it causes to know and acquaint his own Ma’bûd and Khâliq, Who possesses an absolute qoudrah, which will save it from the sharr of all its enemies; this phrase shows its protector and points out who is its Mâlik. And with this indication, it ensures eternal happiness and endless joy, by saving the heart from the absolute wilderness and the rûh from excruciating sorrow.

THE SECOND PHRASE: وَحْدَهُ3 There is a good tiding that contains cure and happiness in this phrase. It is as follows:

In the phrase وَحْدَهُ , man’s rûh and heart which are connected to the majority of the species in the universe, and are wretched due to this connection and reach to the degree of suffocating amidst the chaos find a saver and refuge that delivers him from all those chaos and wretchedness. That is to say, وَحْدَهُ says in a ma’nawî manner: "Allah is one. Do not tire yourself through having recourse to other things; do not suffer indebtedness through subduing them; do not bow down through fawning and flattering them; do not suffer difficulty through following them; do not tremble through fearing them... Because As-Sultân of the universe is one, the key of everything is with Him, and the rein of everything is in His hand; everything is solved by His command. If you find Him, you will find everything you want; you will be saved from infinite indebtedness and fears."

THE THIRD PHRASE: 4 لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ That is to say: Just as in His ulûhiyyah and His sovereignty He has no sharik; Allah is one, cannot be many. So too, in His rubûbiyyah and His actions and His creating, He has no sharik. It sometimes happens that the sultân is one and has no partners (sharik) in his sovereignty, but in his actions, his officials are considered his partners (sharik), and they become an impediment to entering everyone in his presence. They say: "Have recourse to us as well." However, Janâb-i Haqq, Who is As-Sultân of the past and future eternity, has no sharik in His sovereignty, so too, He is not in need of helpers or shariks in the actions of His rubûbiyyah. If it is not for His command and irâdah, His strength and power, nothing can interfere with anything. Everyone can recourse to Him directly. Since He has no sharik nor helper, it is not said to the man seeking recourse, "It is forbidden, you may not enter into His presence."

Thus, this phrase delivers the following good tiding to the man’s rûh: the rûh of man which has attained îmân, without impediment or intervention, obstruction or prevention, in any state of his, for any wish of his, at any time and in any place, can enter the hudhur of Qadîr Zulkamâl and Jamîl Zuljalâl, Who is the possessor of the past and future eternity and the treasuries of rahmah and the treasuries of bliss, and can present its needs. And, finding His rahmah and relying on His qoudrah, it can attain perfect joy and happiness.

THE FOURTH PHRASE: لَهُ الْمُلْكُ5  That is to say, possession is entirely His. You are both His possession, you are possessed absolutely by Him, and you work in His possession. This phrase delivers the following curing good tiding and says: O man! Do not suppose yourself to be the possessor of yourself. For, you cannot manage yourself, that load is heavy. On your own, you cannot protect yourself nor avoid yourself from calamities nor provide necessary things for yourself. In that case, do not suffer pain and torment without purpose, the possession is another's. That Mâlik is both Qadîr and Rahîm; rely on His qoudrah and do not accuse His rahmah! Stop suffering grief, enjoy its pleasure! Throw the troubles away and find peace and ease!...

It also says: The universe, which, in a ma’nawî manner, you love and connected with, and which you grieve due to its devastation and you cannot put it to rights, is the possession of a Qadîr Who is Rahîm. Hand over the possession to its Possessor, leave it to Him... Enjoy its peace and ease, not suffer its harshness. He is both Hakîm and Rahîm. He disposes over His possession and manages them as He wishes. Whenever you take fear, say like Ibrahim Hakki: Let's see what Mawlâ does. Whatever He does, it is beautiful. Behold from the windows, do not enter into them!...

THE FIFTH PHRASE: لَهُ الْحَمْدُ  That is to say, hamd, praise, laudation, glory and thanks only belong to Him, are worthy of Him. That means, ni’mahs are His and they come from His treasury. As for the treasury, it is perpetual. Thus, this phrase delivers the following good tiding and says: O man! Do not suffer sorrow due to the fade of ni’mah. For the treasury of rahmah is inexhaustible. And, thinking the fade of pleasure, do not cry out from its pain. For the fruit of the ni’mah is the fruit of an unending rahmah. If the tree is eternal, even the fruit fades, others come unto its place. Within the pleasure of ni’mah, through thinking the favour of rahmah with hamd, which is a hundred times more pleasurable than the pleasure, you can increase the pleasure a hundredfold. Just as within the pleasure of an apple, which a glorious sultân presented to you, he bestows and causes you to perceive the pleasure of a magnificent favour, which is superior to a hundred, rather a thousand apples. In the same way, through the phrase, لَهُ الْحَمْدُ , that is, through hamd and shukr, that is, through perceiving the act of the bestowal of ni’mah from the ni’mah, that is, through recognizing Al-Mun’im and thinking the act of the bestowal of ni’mah, that is, through thinking the favourable inclination of His compassion and favour of His rahmah and His act of the bestowal of ni’mah, He opens the door of a ma’nawî pleasure that is a thousandfold pleasurable than the ni’mah itself.

SIXTH PHRASE: يُحْيِى  That is to say, the One Who gives life is He. And the One who maintains the life with rizq is also He. The One Who produces the necessities of life is again He. And the exalted aims of life belong to Him and its significant results look to Him, ninety-nine per cent of its fruits are His. Thus, this phrase calls out to such transient and impotent man, delivers good tidings and says: O, man! Taking the heavy responsibilities of life to your shoulders, do not suffer difficulty. Thinking about the decay and ruin of life, do not fall into sorrow. Seeing only its worldly and unimportant fruits, do not regret your having come to the world. Rather, the life-machine in the ship of your body belongs to Al-Hayy Who is Qayyûm. He provides all its expenses and necessities. And, that life has abundant aims and results and they belong to Him. You are just a helmsman soldier on that ship. Fulfil your duty well, take your wage and enjoy yourself. Think how precious that ship of life is and how the beautiful benefits it gives and how Karîm and Rahîm the One Who is the owner of that ship is; rejoice and offer shukr and understand that when you perform your duty with istiqâmah, all the results that ship produces, in one respect, are written to your book of deeds (‘amal), and they ensure an eternal life for you, give life to you eternally.

THE SEVENTH PHRASE: وَ يُمِيتُ  That is to say, the One Who gives death is He. That is, He discharges you from the duty of life, changes your place from this transient world and emancipates you from the hardship of service. That is, He takes you from transient life to eternal life. Thus, this phrase shouts out the following to transient jinn and man and says that “A good tiding for you! Death is not execution, not nothingness, not extinction, not cessation, not destruction, not eternal separation, not non-existence, not a random coincidence; it is not annihilation without an agent, but rather is a demobilization by a Fâ’il Who is Hakîm and Rahîm, a change of place. It is a shipment to eternal happiness, to their true homeland. It is a door of reunion to al-‘âlam al-barzakh, which is the place of assembling for ninety-nine per cent of friends.

THE EIGHTH PHRASE: وَ هُوَ حَىٌّ لاَ يَمُوتُ  That is to say, the Possessor of a beauty, perfection, and favour infinitely superior to the beauty, perfection and favour, which are seen in all the beings of the universe and are the means of love, and an Undying Ma’bûd, a Mahbûb Who does not pass away, one single manifestation of Whose beauty is sufficient instead of all other beloveds, has a perpetual life eternal in the past and future that is free from any trace of fade and extinction and absolved from any defect or fault. Thus, this phrase declares to jinn and man, to all conscious beings and the people of love and ‘ashq: A good tiding to you! You have a Mahbûb, Who is Bâqî, Who applies a salve and cures the wounds of infinite separations from your beloveds. Since He exists and is Bâqî, no matter what may be the others, do not suffer worry. Indeed, the beauty and favour, fadl and perfection in those beloveds, which are the cause of your love, are the shadows of a pale shadow of the manifestation of the eternal beauty of Al-Mahbûb, Who is Bâqî, which passed through many veils. Let their disappearance not hurt you.  For they are mirrors of a sort. The change of the mirrors refreshes and beautifies the manifestation of the splendour of beauty. Since He exists, everything exists."

THE NINTH PHRASE: بِيَدِهِ الْخَيْرُ  That is to say, every khayr in His hand. Every good action you do is registered to His book. Every pious deed (‘amal as-sâlih) you perform is recorded with Him. Thus, this phrase calls out to jinn and man and delivers the good tidings and says: O unfortunates! When you migrate to the realm of grave do not say “Alas! Our property is destroyed, all our efforts have gone for nothing; we have left the beautiful and vast world and entered the narrow soil.” do not cry out and fall into despair. For everything of yours is preserved. All your deeds are written. Every service of yours is recorded. A Zuljalâl One, Who will give the reward of your service and in Whose hand all khayr is and Who will be able to do all khayr, draws you and keeps you temporarily under the ground. Then, He will bring you to His hudhur. How happy for you; you have completed your service and duty. Your hardship is over; you are going to ease and rahmah! Service and trouble are over; you are going to receive your wage!

Yes, Al-Qadîr Zuljalâl, Who preserves seeds and cores, which are the pages of the book of last spring's deeds and the tiny coffers of its services, and Who preserves and publishes them at the second spring in an extremely splendour fashion, rather, in a manner a hundred times more plentiful than the originals, most certainly, preserves the results of your life in the same way and will reward your service abundantly.

THE TENTH PHRASE:  وَ هُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ That is to say, He is Al-Wâhid, Al-Ahad; He has qoudrah over everything. Nothing is heavy for Him. To create the spring is as easy for Him as to create a flower. To create the Jannah as easy for Him as to create a spring. The numberless beings with art, which He newly creates every day, every year, every century, witness to His infinite qoudrah with numberless tongues. Thus, this phrase, too, delivers good tidings and says: O man! The service and ‘ubûdiyyah you have performed are not going in vain. A realm of reward, an abode of happiness has been prepared for you. Instead of this transient world of yours, an eternal Jannah is waiting for you. Trust and carry îmân in the promise of Al-Khâliq Zuljalâl, Whom you know and to Whom you perform ‘ibâdah. It is impossible for Him to break His promise. There is no deficiency in His qoudrah, in any aspect. Impotence cannot interfere in His works. Just as He creates your tiny garden, so too, He can create Jannah for you, and He has created it and promised it to you. And since He has promised, most certainly, He will take you into it.

Since we see with our eyes: every year, on the face of the earth, with perfect order and balance, with perfect speed and ease, He resurrects and spreads out more than three hundred thousand species and nations of animals and plants. Most certainly such a Qadîr Zuljalâl is capable of fulfilling His promise. And, since every year such an Absolute Qadîr creates samples of the resurrection and Jannah in thousands of forms. And, since He promises eternal happiness through all His samâwî decrees, He gives good tidings of Jannah. And, since all His actions and shuûn are haqq, haqiqah and with veraciousness (sidq) and seriousness. And, since through the testimony of all His works, all perfections indicate and testify to His infinite perfection. And there is no deficiency nor fault in Him in any aspect. And, since the breaking of a promise, falsehood, lying and deception are defects and faults and the ugliest of morals. Undoubtedly and most certainly, that Qadîr Zuljalâl, that Hakîm Zulkamâl, that Rahîm Zuljamâl will fulfil His promise; He will open the door to eternal happiness; He will take you, O people of îmân, to Jannah, which is the true homeland of your father Âdam.

THE ELEVENTH PHRASE: وَ اِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ That is to say, human beings, who are sent to this world, the realm of trial, for trade and official duties and with the important missions, after they ply their trade, complete their missions and conclude their service, again, they will return to their Khâliq Zuljalâl, Who sent them forth, and meet with their Mawlâ, Who is Karîm. That is to say, leaving this transient realm, they will be honoured with the hudhur of the consummate greatness in the eternal realm. That is to say, being saved from the tempest of causes and the dark veils of intermediaries, they will meet with their Rabb, Who is Rahîm, without a veil at the abode of His eternal sovereignty. Everyone directly will know and find Who his Khâliq, Ma’bûd, Rabb, Sayyîd and Mâlik is. Thus, this phrase gives the following good tiding, which is superior to all good tidings and says that “O man! Do you know where you are going and where you are sent forth? As it is said at the end of the Thirty-Second Word, you are going to the sphere of rahmah and the rank of hudhur of a Jamîl Zuljalâl, the ru’yat of Whose beauty for one-hour is not equivalent to the thousand years of the life of Jannah, which the thousand years of the happy life of the world is not equivalent to its one hour of life. You are going to the sphere of hudhur of a Mahbûb, Who does not pass away, and an Undying Ma’bûd, a sort of shadow of the manifestation of Whose Beauty and of the grace of Whose Name is the beauty and pleasantness in all the beings of the world and in the metaphorical beloveds those you enamoured of and seduced with and filled with the desire of them, and a manifestation of Whose Rahmah is all Jannah with all its subtleties, and a flash of Whose Love is all the desires and loves and attractions; you are invited to the Jannah, which is His eternal feasting place. In which case, enter the door of the grave not by crying, but smiling.

This phrase also delivers the following good tiding and says: O man! Do not think and imagine that you are going to extinction, non-existence, nothingness, darkness, oblivion, decay and dissolution and being drowned in multiplicity. You are going not to extinction, but eternity. You are sent forth not to non-existence, but perpetual existence. You are entering not into darkness, but the ‘âlam of nûr. You are going through the true protector and Mâlik and returning to the throne of As-Sultân, Who is eternal in the past. You will not drown in multiplicity, you will rest and take a breath in the sphere of wahdah. You turn toward not separation, but union.