بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

“KNOW, O ONE WHO INVITES Muslims to the worldly life, which is a diversion and amusement in sleeping, urging them to leave the sphere of halal, which is sufficient for them to satisfy their needs, as well as some shaâ’er of religion or even the religion itself and enter into the wicked sphere of haram. You resemble a drunk who cannot distinguish a wild, ravenous lion from a docile horse, a hangman’s noose from a child’s skipping rope, a gaping wound from an opening rose. You suppose the lion to be the horse; a rope to execute by hanging to be the skipping rope for amusement, and the open annoying wound to be a red rose. Despite this, you think that you are the one who puts things right and a murshid. You resemble one who sees a person in a dreadful condition—a wondrous lion behind him waiting to attack momentarily, a gallows in front of him, and two bleeding grievous deep wounds on either side of his body.

He has two kinds of medicine that will change the wounds into two red roses Bi-idhnillah1 . And also he has two talismans one in his tongue, the other in his heart. If he will use them Bi-Amrillah2 , the lion changes into a horse that will carry him to the presence of his Sayyîd Who is Karîm, Who invites him to the abode of salâm to feast. The noose of separation dangling from the tree of decay and death will, Bi-Lutfillah3 , carry him through continuously changing scenes to increase the pleasure taken in the renewal of their beauty, forms, and favours through the days and seasons, years and centuries.

Then that drunken man who is in the same situation with that unfortunate person said: “Leave those talismans and medicines, come let’s amuse ourselves and dance.”

The person replies: “What I am allowed to do by preserving the talismans and medicine is enough for my pleasure, for only they bring true pleasure and happiness. Can you kill the lion of death that will die only in Jannah; remove decay and death and so change Earth into something other than itself; heal my wound of impotence, which has penetrated all of my being and so change my fleeting, transient life into a permanent, everlasting one; and cure my other wound of poverty and the destitution in my essence into perpetual richness? If you can do those four things, I will do as you say. Otherwise, leave me alone, O drunk shaytan! You can deceive only other drunks who cannot distinguish between laughing and crying, permanence and transience, remedy and ailment, and deviation and guidance. حَسْبُنَا اللّٰهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ ٭ نِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ4

KNOW, O FRIEND, that students of corrupt, misguided civilisations and philosophies are driven by greed and various passions. They invite Muslims to follow foreign traditions and customs, to abandon the shaâ’er radiant with the nûr of Islam. Students of the Qur’an respond: “O people of dhalâlah and ghâfils! If you can remove decay and death from the world, and impotence and poverty from humanity, then you may abandon the religion and abrogate the shaâ’er. Otherwise keep silent, for your words are no more than a fly’s buzzing compared to the thunder-like cry of the four things mentioned above. The takwinî âyahs and life, also proclaim the necessity of the religion and its shaâ’er.”وَاِذَا قُرِىَٔ الْقُرْاٰنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَاَنْصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ5

The lion of the appointed hour of death is behind us, waiting. If you listen to Qur’an’s voice with the ear of îmân, that lion will change into a Burâq, and separation will become a Burâq to carry you to the rahmah of Ar-Rahmân Who is Rahîm, to the Presence of our Sayyîd, Al-Hannân Who is Karîm. Otherwise, that lion will rip us apart and eternally separate us from what we love. Decay and transience are also before us in the form of alternating day and night, and perishing and separation as seasons and years. Death and separation, decay and transience are gallows set up to hang us together with all our beloved ones. If we follow the guidance (irshad) of Qur’an, all of these become a mount for a pleasant journey on the stream of time and ocean of the world to observe the shuûn of qoudrah through successive seasons following one another by the sun’s wheel and earth’s rotation wrapping around its head the turban of days and nights and wearing the garments of summer and winter one over the other. During that journey, we can observe the continuous renewal of the Ilahî Names’ manifestations on moving objects, in changing mirrors and on altering tablets through the alternation of days and nights.

Moreover, on our right side is the wound of infinite poverty. We are poorer than all other animate beings, while our power to satisfy all our material and ma’nawî needs is lesser than that of a sparrow. If we cure our wounds with the remedy of Qur’an, our painful absolute poverty changes into a pleasure-giving zeal to sit at the feast of Ar-Rahmân, and into a pleasant appetite for the rahmah fruits of Ar-Rahmân Who is Rahîm. The pleasure of feeling one’s poverty and impotence is much greater than that of being apparently rich and powerful. Otherwise, we will suffer the pain of need and the humiliation of begging from and bowing before whoever we expect to satisfy our needs.

On our left side is the deep wound of infinite impotence and weakness despite unending hostility and danger. The pain of fear destroys the worldly life’s pleasure. But if we submit to the Qur’an’s call, our impotence and weakness will turn a letter which invites us to rely upon Absolutely Qadîr for gaining a contact with tawakkul which is a point of support consists securing us against all the hostiles. Otherwise, we will continue to suffer hostility and danger in our boundless impotence.

Furthermore, our journey extends through the grave and the resurrection to eternity. Other than the ‘ilm and mind (‘aql), which are illuminated by the nûr deriving from Qur’an and taken from the treasury of Ar-Rahmân Who is Rahîm cannot illumine the veils of darkness enveloping that way, nor do they provide the rizq in that journey. If you have something that will prevent our journey, declare it. But that thing you found should be something other than interrupting the ways by dhalâlah, which is accepting to fall from the edge of the grave to the deep, fearful and terrible darkness of non-existence and annihilation. Otherwise, keep silent and let the Qur’an say what it says. While we are reading these five âyahs in the book of ‘âlam, how can we follow you, O conceited, deceived one, especially after we hear the âyah: فَلاَ تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْحَيٰوةُ الدُّنْيَا وَلاَيَغُرَّنَّكُمْ بِاللّٰهِ الْغَرُورُ6. Only those who are drunk with the wine of politics or passion for fame, ambition to be heard, compassion towards human-beings, zandaqa of philosophy, or dissipation of civilisation, would follow you. The blows we receive must bring us to our senses. Unlike animals, who suffer only the present time’s pain, we suffer the present time’s pain, the future’s anxiety and grief, and those of the past as well. If you do not want to remain the most wretched, foolish, and misguided of all animals, keep silent and listen to the Qur’an’s good news by the ear of îmân:

اَلآَ اِنَّ اَوْلِيَٓاءَ اللّٰهِ لاَخَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَهُمْ يَحْزَنُونَۚ{٦٢}

اَلَّذ۪ينَ اٰمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَۜ{٦٣}

7 لَهُمُ الْبُشْرٰى فِى الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِى اْلاٰخِرَةِۜ لاَتَبْد۪يلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللّٰهِۜ ذٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظ۪يمُۜ{٦٤}

Al-Mathnawi Al-Nuri

 

The Seventh Word

If you want to understand how valuable two talismans آمَنْتُ بِاللّٰهِ وَ بِالْيَوْمِ اْلآخِرِ8 are, which solve doubts and difficulties and open the obscure enigma of the universe and the door of happiness for the rûh of man, and how beneficial two panacea-like medicines — having tawakkul and taking refuge in one’s Khâliq with patience and to offer du’â and beseech to one’s Razzâq with shukr — are, and how important, precious and splendid a ticket on the journey to all eternity, provision for the âkhirah and nûr in the grave — listening to the Qur'an, obeying its commands, performing the salâh and giving up kabâir — are, look at this short story in the form of a comparison and listen:

One time, a soldier falls into a very dismaying situation on the battlefield, in the field of examination and the cycle of profit and loss. It is as follows:

He is injured with two terrible deep wounds on his two sides, right and left, and behind him, a huge lion stands as though waiting to attack him. And, in front of his eyes, a gallows has been set up; it annihilates all his beloveds by hanging them and awaits him too. Furthermore, he has a long journey and is exiled aside from being in this situation. While the unfortunate is despairingly thinking amidst this terror, a luminous person like Khidhr, who wishes khayr, appears on his right side. He says to him, "Do not despair. I shall give you two talismans, and I will teach you them. If you use them well, the lion becomes a horse that is submissive to you. The gallows, too, turn into a nice swing for your pleasure and journey. Furthermore, I shall give you two medicines. If you use them well, those two rotten and fetid wounds of yours transform into two sweet-scented, elegant flowers called the Rose of Muhammad (asm). Furthermore, I shall give you a ticket. With it, you can pass the way that takes a year in a day as though flying. Here, if you do not believe, experiment a bit so that you can understand that it is true." Indeed, he experimented a bit and affirmed that it was true. Yes, I, that is, the unfortunate Said, affirm it too, because I experimented a bit and saw that it is really true.

Then he suddenly saw that a deceptive, wily man who was fond of merriment, like shaytan, came from his left side, bringing with him many adornments, ornamented pictures, fantasies,9 and intoxicants. He stopped before him and said:

"Hey, friend! Come on, let's get drunk and make merry together.10 Let's look at these pictures of beautiful girls,11 listen to these nice songs and eat these sweet foods."12

The Question: "Haha! What is it in your mouth that you are secretly reciting?"

Answer: "A talisman."

- "Stop that incomprehensible thing! Let's not spoil our present merry!"

Q- "Ha, what is that in your hands?"

A- "A medicine."

-"Throw it away! You are healthy. You have nothing to worry about.13 It is the time of cheer."

Q- "Ha, what is that paper with five marks on it?"

A- "A ticket. A voucher for rations."

- "Tear them up! What need do we have for a journey in this beautiful spring?" he said. He tried to convince him with every sort of wile. The unfortunate even inclined a bit towards him. Yes, man can be deceived. I was deceived by such a cunning one.

Suddenly, from his right side, a voice comes like thunder and says, "Do not be deceived! And say to that cunning one: If you have the remedy to kill the lion behind me, to take away the gallows before me, to remove the wounds on my right and my left and to prevent the journey behind me, if you find it, let’s do so, and show us and let us see it! Then say, Come on, let’s make merry together. Otherwise, shut up, you fool! Let this samâwî man like Khidhr speak what he will say."

O my nafs, which laughed in its youth and now cries over its own laughter! Know! As for the unfortunate soldier, it is you and mankind. As for the lion, it is the appointed time for the end of one's life. As for the gallows, it is death, fade and separation that all friends bid farewell to and disappear in the turn of night and day. As for the two wounds, one is the infinite and troublesome impotence of man, while the other is the grievous and boundless poverty of man.14 As for the exile and journey, it is the long journey of examination that passes through al-‘âlam al-arwâh, the womb of the mother, childhood, old age, the world, the grave, the barzakh, the rising from the dead and the assembly of judgment and the Sirât. As for those two talismans, they are îmân in Janâb-i Haqq and îmân in the âkhirah.

Yes, with this sacred talisman, death takes the form of a submissive horse and Burâq that carry the mu’min man from the dungeon of this world to the gardens of Jannah and the hudhur of Rahmân. It is because of this that the perfected people, who have seen the haqiqah of death, have loved death. They wished to die before death came. Furthermore, with that talisman of îmân, the passage of time, which is the gallows, fade and separation, death and departure from life, takes the form of a means to behold and watch with perfect pleasure the fresh, multicoloured and various miracles of the embroideries of As-Sâni’ Zuljalâl, the wonders of His Qoudrah and the manifestations of His rahmah. Yes, mirrors that display the colours of the sun's nûr being changed and renewed and the images of the cinema being changed form more beautiful and better scenes. As for the two medicines, one is tawakkul with patience. It is to rely upon the qoudrah of one's Khâliq and trust in His hikmah. Is that so?

Yes, what fear can a man have who, with the certificate of impotence, relies on the Sultân of the universe, Who possesses the command, كن فَيَكُونُ15? For, in the face of the most terrible calamity, with a tranquil heart, he relies upon his Rabb, Who is Rahîm, by saying,اِنَّا لِلّٰهِ وَاِنَّا اِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ16. Yes, one who possesses ma’rifatullah takes pleasure from impotence and fear of Allah. Yes, there is pleasure in fear.

If a twelve-month-old baby had intelligence and was asked, "What is the most pleasurable and sweetest state of yours?" he might say, "It is the state in which I still take refuge in my mother’s tender breast, through understanding my impotence and weakness, although I fear my mother's gentle slap." But the compassion of all mothers is only a flash of the manifestation of rahmah. It is because of this that the perfected people have found such pleasure in impotence and fear of Allah that they have eagerly freed themselves of their own strength and power and taken refuge in Allah with their impotence. They have made impotence and fear an intercessor (shafî’) for themselves.

As for the other medicine, it consists of seeking and offering du’â with shukr and contentment and trusting the rahmah of Razzâq, Who is Rahîm. Is that so?

Yes, how can poverty and need be painful and burdensome for a guest of a Jawwâd, Who is Karîm, Who makes the whole face of the earth a table of ni’mah and makes the spring a bunch of flowers and places it on that table and scatters it over it? Rather, his poverty and need take the form of a pleasant appetite. He works to increase his poverty as well as his appetite. It is because of this that the perfected people have felt proud of poverty. Beware, do not misunderstand! It means to beseech Allah by recognising his own poverty before Him. Otherwise, it is not to display one's poverty to people and assume the state of a beggar.

As for the ticket and voucher, it is to perform the fardhs foremost, the salâh, and to give up kabâir. Is that so?

Yes, through the agreement of the people who are devotedly attached to the Islamic sciences, the people who witness the truths of religion and the people of kashf and zawq, on the long and dark road to all eternity, the provisions, rations, light and Burâq can only be obtained by conforming to the commands of the Qur'an and avoiding its prohibitions. Otherwise, science and philosophy, art and hikmah are not worth a penny along that road. Their light continues until the door of the grave.

Thus, O my lazy nafs! How little, light and easy it is to perform the five daily salâh and give up the seven kabâir! If you have the mind and it is not corrupted, you can understand how important and great their results, fruits and benefits are, and you can say to shaytan and that man who encourages you to commit fisq and dissipation:

"Tell us and allow us to hear you if there is a remedy to kill death, eradicate transience from the world, remove impotence and poverty from mankind and close the door of the grave! If there is not, shut up! The Qur'an reads the universe in the great masjîd of the universe. Let us listen to it. Let us be illuminated with that nûr! Let us act through its hidâyah and make it our constant wird. Yes, the word is the Qur'an, and it is referred to as the Qur'an. It is the Haqq; it comes from the Haqq, says the Haqq, shows the haqiqah and spreads hikmah full of nûr..."

اَللّٰهُمَّ نَوِّرْ قُلُوبَنَا بِنُورِ اْلاِيمَانِ وَ الْقُرْآنِ اَللّٰهُمَّ اَغْنِنَا بِاْلاِفْتِقَارِ اِلَيْكَ وَ لاَ تَفْقُرْنَا بِاْلاِسْتِغْنَاءِ عَنْكَ تَبَرَّاْنَا اِلَيْكَ مِنْ حَوْلِنَا وَ قُوَّتِنَا وَ الْتَجَئْنَا اِلَى حَوْلِكَ وَ قُوَّتِكَ فَاجْعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ عَلَيْكَ وَ لاَتَكِلْنَا اِلَى اَنْفُسِنَا وَاحْفَظْنَا بِحِفْظِكَ وَارْحَمْنَا وَ ارْحَمِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَ صَلِّ وَ سَلِّمْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ عَبْدِكَ وَ نَبِيِّكَ وَ صَفِيِّكَ وَ خَلِيلِكَ وَ جَمَالِ مُلْكِكَ وَ مَلِيكِ صُنْعِكَ وَ عَيْنِ عِنَايَتِكَ وَ شَمْسِ هِدَايَتِكَ وَ لِسَانِ حُجَّتِكَ وَ مِثَالِ رَحْمَتِكَ وَ نُورِ خَلْقِكَ وَ شَرَفِ مَوْجُودَاتِكَ وَ سِرَاجِ وَحْدَتِكَ فِى كَثْرَةِ مَخْلُوقَاتِكَ وَ كَاشِفِ طِلْسِمِ كَائِنَاتِكَ وَ دَلاَّلِ سَلْطَنَةِ رُبُوبِيَّتِكَ وَ مُبَلِّغِ مَرْضِيَّاتِكَ وَ مُعَرِّفِ كُنُوزِ اَسْمَائِكَ وَ مُعَلِّمِ عِبَادِكَ وَ تَرْجُمَانِ آيَاتِكَ وَمِرْآتِ جَمَالِ رُبُوبِيَّتِكَ وَ مَدَارِ شُهُودِكَ وَ اِشْهَادِكَ وَ حَبِيبِكَ وَ رَسُولِكَ الَّذِى اَرْسَلْتَهُ رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ وَ عَلَى آلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ اَجْمَعِينَ وَ عَلَى اِخْوَانِهِ مِنَ النَّبِيِّنَ وَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ وَ عَلَى مَلٰئِكَتِكَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ وَ عَلَى عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ آمِين