بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

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

SHUKR – THANKS - 11

1. Shukr is to express the feelings such as gratitude and love towards the One Who grants the ni’mahs by words and by action.

Question: We give a price to people who are tray-bearers. I  wonder what price Allah, Who is the true Owner of the goods, wants?

The Answer: Yes, the price the True Mun’im wants in return for those valuable ni’mahs and goods is three things.

One is dhikr, another is shukr and the other is tafakkur. "Bismillah" at the beginning is dhikr. "Alhamdulillah" at the end is shukr. In the middle, thinking and understanding that those precious ni’mahs, which are wonders of art, are the miracles of qoudrah and the gifts of rahmah of Al-Ahad, Who is Samad, is tafakkur. How foolish it is to kiss the foot of a poor man, who conveys a precious gift of a sultân to you, and not recognise the owner of the gift; so praising and loving the things that outwardly give the ni’mah and forgetting the True Mun’im is a thousand times more foolish than that.

O nafs! If you do not want to be such a fool, give in the name of Allah, take in the name of Allah, begin in the name of Allah and act in the name of Allah. Wassalâm!

 The First Word

2. Man is responsible for offering universal shukr:

Also, do not say, "I am nothing. What importance do I have that the universe should purposefully be subjected to me by the Absolute Hakîm, and a universal shukr would be required of me?"

Because, regarding duty and rank, you are an attentive spectator of this majestic universe, a speaking tongue possessing balâghat of these beings full of hikmah, an intelligent reader of this book of ‘âlam, an astonished supervisor of these creatures offering tasbîh and a respectful foreman of these artful creatures performing ‘ibâdah, although you are nothing regarding your nafs and form.

Yes, O man! Regarding your vegetable physical being and your animal nafs, you are a minor particle, a despicable particular, a poor creature and a weak animal that you are shaken amidst the waves of terrifying beings flowing like a flood, but when you are perfected through the tarbiyyah of Islam illuminated with the nûr of îmân that comprises the nûr of the love for Allah, you are a sultân regarding humanity and being an ‘abd; within your particularity, you are a universal; within your smallness, you are an ‘âlam, and within your despicableness, you are a supervisor whose rank is so great and whose sphere of supervision is so extensive that you can say, "My Rabb, Who is Rahîm, has made the world a house for me. He made the sun and moon lamps for my house, the spring a bunch of flowers, the summer a table of ni’mah and the animals my servants; He has made plants the ornamented provisions of my house.

In Short: If you heed nafs and shaytan, you fall into the asfal sâfilîn, but if you heed Al-Haqq and the Qur'an, you rise to the a’lâ ‘illiyyin and become a beautiful form (ahsan taqwîm) of the universe.

The Twenty-Third Word/2nd Discussion/4th Subtle Point

 

If you say: "How can I respond to these infinite and universal ni’mahs with my limited and particular shukr?"

The Answer: With a universal intention and infinite belief... For example, a man enters the sultân's presence with a gift worth five cents, and he sees that gifts worth millions have arrived from acceptable people and have been lined up there. It comes to his heart: "My gift is nothing. What shall I do?" Then he suddenly says, "O my Sayyid! I offer you all these valuable gifts in my name because you are worthy of them. If I had the power, I would have given you gifts equal to all of them." Thus, the sultân, who has no need for those gifts and receives his subjects' gifts as a sign of their loyalty and respect, receives favourably that unfortunate man's such great and universal intention and wish and the worthiness of his beautiful and elevated belief as the greatest gift.

In exactly the same way, an impotent ‘abd, in his salâh, says, "Attahîyyatu Lillâh.” That is, "I offer You in my name all the gifts of ‘ubûdiyyah that all creatures offer You through their lives. If I could, I would offer You as many tahiyyas as them because You are worthy of all of them and more." Such an intention and belief is an extremely extensive universal shukr. The seeds and grains of plants are their intentions.

And, for example, in the form of seeds in its heart, the melon utters a thousand intentions: "O my Khâliq! I want to proclaim the embroideries of Your Asmâ Al-Husnâ in many places on the earth." Since Janâb-i Haqq knows how future things will be, He accepts their intention as an ibâdah performed by action. "A Mu’min's intention is better than his actions" indicates this mystery.

Twenty-Fourth Word-Fifth Branch-2nd Fruit

 

Man is a weak animal regarding action, deed and material labour; he is an impotent creature. The sphere of his control and ownership in this aspect is so narrow that it is as far as his hand can reach. So much so that domestic animals that gave their reins to man have adopted a share of man’s weakness, impotence, and laziness; a great difference is seen when compared with their wild counterparts (Like domestic goats and cattle and wild goats and cattle). But such a man is an honoured traveler in this caravanserai (guesthouse) of the world, regarding du'â and beseeching, acceptance and being receptive and acted upon by an agent. And he is a guest of such a Karîm that He opened His infinite treasuries of rahmah to him and subjugated His infinite, unique creatures full of art and His servants to man. And He opened such a large sphere for this guest that he can benefit from it and amuse and enjoy himself while promenading in and beholding it. The half of that sphere’s axis — that is, from the centre to the outer sphere — is as far as the eyes can see, rather long and broad as the imagination can reach.

Thus, if, by relying on his ananiyyah and making worldly life his primary aim, man works for some temporary pleasures amidst struggling for livelihood, he drowns within an extremely narrow sphere. All equipment, senses and subtle faculties given to him will complain about him, testify against him and sue him at the rising from the dead and assembling for judgment. If man knows himself to be a guest and spends the capital of his life within the sphere of permission of Al-Karîm, Whose guest he is, then he works well for a long, eternal life within such a broad sphere, takes a breath and rests. Then he can rise to a’lâ ‘illiyyin. Furthermore, all equipment and senses given to man will be pleased with him and testify in favour of him in the âkhirah.

Yes, all the wondrous equipment given to man is not for this insignificant worldly life but rather they were given for an eternal life of great significance because, if we compare man with animals, we see that man is very rich regarding equipment and senses; he is richer hundred times more than the animals, but regarding the pleasures of life in the world and his animal life, he falls a hundred times lower than the animals. Because in each pleasure he receives is the trace of pain. The pains of the past, the fears of the future and the pain of each pleasure's fading spoil his pleasure and leave a trace of pain in his joy. But animals are not like that; they receive pleasure without pain and enjoy without sorrow. Neither the pains of the past hurt them nor the fears of the future frighten them. They live with ease; they rest and offer shukr to their Khâliq.

That is to say, if man, who was created in the form of ahsan taqwîm, restricts his thought to the life of the world, he falls a hundred times lower than an animal like a sparrow, although he is a hundred times higher than the animals regarding his capital. I explained this haqiqah in another place through a comparison. It is appropriate to mention it here, so I shall repeat it. It is as follows:

Giving ten pieces of gold to one of his servants, a man commanded him, “Order a complete set of clothing made from a special fabric!” He gave a thousand pieces of gold to the second servant, put in his pocket a note on which certain things were written and sent him to a bazaar. The first servant bought excellent clothing of the finest fabric with ten pieces of gold. Looking at the first servant and not reading the account-note that was put in his pocket, the second servant madly gave a thousand pieces of gold to a shopkeeper and asked for a complete set of clothing. The unjust shopkeeper gave him a complete set of clothing of the most flimsy fabric. The wretched servant came to the presence of his lord and received severe punishment and suffered terrible torment. Thus, anyone who possesses an iota of conscience would understand that a thousand pieces of gold given to the second servant were not to buy a set of clothing but rather for some important trade.

In just the same way, each of the ma’nawî equipment and subtle faculties of man has developed and expanded to a degree a hundred times greater than that of the animals. For example, is there any comparison between man’s equipment and senses, like his eye that perceives all degrees of beauty, his sense of taste in the tongue that distinguishes all the varieties of particular tastes of foods, his mind that penetrates all subtleties of haqiqahs, and his heart that yearns for every sort of perfection and the very simple senses of the animals that have developed only one or two degrees? There is only this difference that animals develop more in a particular function exclusive to that animal (especially a particular sense of an animal species). But this development is particular.

Man's wealth regarding equipment is from this mystery: man's senses and feelings have greatly developed and expanded because of the mind and thought, and numerous various feelings were born in him because of the multiplicity of the need, and his sensitivity has divided into many various sorts, and the comprehensiveness of his fitrah has become the source of desires turned towards numerous aims, and his faculties and equipment have greatly expanded because he has numerous duties belonging to his fitrah, and since he has been created with a fitrah that is able to perform every sort of ‘ibâdah, he has been given a disposition that comprehends the seeds of all kinds of perfections.

Thus, this wealth and the abundance of capital regarding equipment to such an extent were certainly not given to obtain this unimportant temporary worldly life. Rather, such a man's fundamental duty is to see his duties turned towards infinite aims, proclaim his impotence, poverty and fault in the form of ‘ubûdiyyah, observe and witness the tasbîhât of beings with his universal eye, see the help of Ar-Rahmân within the ni’mahs and offer shukr and gaze at the miracles of the qoudrah of Ar-Rabb on the creatures full of art and do tafakkur with an eye that receives lessons.

The Twenty-Third Word/Third Subtle Point

3. Fitrî shukr:

Appetite and desire for rizq are a kind of fıtrî shukr, and pleasure and enjoyment are also a kind of shukr that is offered unconsciously; all animals offer such shukr, but only man transforms the essence of that fıtrî shukr through dhalâlah and kufr; he deviates from shukr to shirk.

The Risale on Shukr

4. Ma’nawî shukr:

The exquisitely beautiful adorned forms, exquisitely beautiful smells and exquisitely beautiful tastes in the ni’mahs given as rizq are the inviters of shukr; they invite living beings to desire; through such desire, they urge living beings to a sort of praise and respect and make them offer a ma’nawî shukr; they draw the attention of conscious beings and excite desire in them to praise; they encourage them to respect the ni’mahs; through this, they guide them to offer shukr verbally and by action and make them offer shukr; they make them experience the highest and sweetest pleasure and enjoyment within shukr. That is, they show that while having a brief and temporary material pleasure, through shukr, this delicious rizq and ni’mah causes one to gain the favours of Ar-Rahmân, carrying permanent, true, infinite pleasure and enjoyment. That is to say, by making one think of the infinite pleasurable favours of their Mâlik, Who is Karîm, Who is the Owner of the rahmah treasuries, they make him taste, in a ma’nawî manner, the eternal enjoyments of Jannah even in this world. Thus, although rizq is such a valuable, rich and comprehensive treasury by means of shukr, it declines infinitely due to not offering shukr.

The Risale on Shukr

 

Thus, the sawm in the noble Ramadhan is the key to a true and sincere, immense and universal shukr, because, at other times, most people, who are not under the condition of constrained necessity, cannot understand the value of many ni’mahs when they do not experience real hunger. The degree of ni’mah within a piece of dry bread is not understood by people who are full, especially if they are rich. But at the time of iftâr, the sense of taste of a mu’min testifies that dry bread is an extremely precious ni’mah of Allah for him. Everyone from the sultân to the poorest man, through understanding the value of those ni’mahs, offers a ma’nawî shukr during the noble Ramadhan. Furthermore, since he is prohibited from eating during the day, he says, "Those ni’mahs are not my possession. I am not free to eat them; it means that they are someone else’s property and bestowal. I await His command." He recognises the ni’mah to be ni’mah and offers a ma’nawî shukr. Thus, in many aspects, sawm in this way is a key to shukr, which is the true duty of man.

The Risale on Ramadhan-2nd Subtle Point

 

The sawm in the Noble Ramadhan causes even the most ghâfil and rebellious people to perceive their weakness, impotence and poverty. By means of hunger, one thinks of his stomach, understands the need therein, and remembers how flimsy his weak body is. He understands how needy for mercy and compassion he is. By abandoning the pharaoh state of the nafs, he feels a desire to take refuge at the court of Allah with complete impotence and poverty, and he becomes ready to knock at the door of rahmah with the hand of a ma’nawî shukr. If ghaflah has not destroyed his heart...

The Risale on Ramadhan-5th Subtle Point

 

Janâb-i Haqq, with His glorious ulûhiyyah, His beautiful rahmah, His mighty rubûbiyyah, His generous compassion, His immense qoudrah and His subtle hikmah, has equipped and adorned the body of this tiny man with many senses and feelings, faculties and devices, various limbs and tools, different kinds of subtle faculties and things belonging to al-âlam al-ma’nâ so that through many different various devices, He may cause man to perceive, know, taste and recognise the limitless varieties of His ni’mahs, the different kinds of His bounties and the levels of His rahmah, and through these tools, He may cause man to know, taste and love the infinite kinds of manifestations of His thousand and one Names. Just as each of man's abundant tools and devices has a completely different service and ‘ubûdiyyah, so does each have completely different pleasure, pain, duty and reward.

For example, the eye beholds the beauty in forms and the varieties of the beautiful miracles of Qoudrah in al-‘âlam al-mubsirât2. Its duty is to offer shukr to its Sâni’ with a look that receives lessons. The pleasures and pains peculiar to sight are known; there is no need to describe them.

For example, the ear perceives the different kinds of sounds and their subtle songs, and the subtleties of Janâb-i Haqq's rahmah in al-‘âlam al-masmûât3. It has a different ‘ubûdiyyah, a different pleasure, as well as a different reward.

For example, the sense of smell perceives the subtleties of rahmah within the family of scents. It has a duty of shukr and a pleasure peculiar to itself. It certainly has a reward, too.

For example, the sense of taste in the tongue performs its duty of offering extremely various kinds of ma’nawî shukr through perceiving and understanding the pleasure of all foods, and so on. All faculties of man and his great and important subtle faculties, such as the heart, mind and rûh, have such various duties, pleasures and pains.

Thus, Janâb-i Haqq, Absolute Hakîm, will certainly give a reward worthy of each of the faculties He employs in man.

…

According to the nass of the Qur'an, the result in the âkhirah of the love with shukr in the sphere of the permission of Sharî’ah for delicious foods and delightful fruits is delicious foods and beautiful fruits in a form worthy of Jannah and a desireful love for those foods and fruits. So much so that the phrase Alhamdulillah you said over the fruit you eat in this world will be embodied as a fruit of Jannah and presented to you there. Here you eat fruit; there you will eat Alhamdulillah. And since you see Allah’s act of giving ni’mahs and the favour of Ar-Rahmân within ni’mah and food, that pleasurable ma’nawî shukr will be given to you in Jannah in the form of an exquisitely delicious food according to the nass of hadith and the indications of the Qur'an and as the requirement of hikmah and rahmah.

Thirty-Second Word/An Important Question

5. Shukr al-urfî — Shukr offered through action that is the haqiqah of shukr:

Furthermore, among the many meanings of hamd, the most well-known one is displaying the attributes belonging to His Kamâl4.

The haqiqah of this matter is as follows: Allah Subhânahu created man and made him a comprehensive exemplar that gathers the universe in himself and an index of the book of the ‘âlam that comprises eighteen thousand ‘âlams, and into his essence, He entrusted a sample from all those ‘âlams, in which one of the Names of Taâ’lâ manifests. 5

If man spends all of what is bestowed on him for the purpose and hikmah of their creation and spends them for performing shukr al-‘urfî that is included under the title of “hamd,” and if he obeys Sharî’ah that removes the rust of nature, then each of those samples opens a mishkât6 and a window to the ‘âlam to which they belong and becomes a mirror to the attribute of Allah that manifests in that ‘âlam and to the name that manifests from that attribute. Thus, in this way, with both his rûh and material being, man becomes a summary of al-‘âlam ash-shahâdah and al-‘âlam al-ghayb, and what is manifested in those ‘âlams manifests in him.

Man becomes a place of manifestation for the attributes of Allah belonging to His Kamâl through offering hamd. This is indicated by what Muhyiddîn al-'Arabi said in explanation of the hadith:كُنْتُ كَنْزًا مَخْفِيًّا فَخَلَقْتُ الْخَلْقَ لِيَعْرِفُونِى 7 That is, I created creation to be a mirror in which I might observe My Jamâl.”

   Signs of Miraculousness - 42

All material and ma’nawî senses, subtle faculties and feelings have a duty and a purpose of creation. Man can offer their shukr through using them for the purpose of their creation. It is called shukr al-urfî, which is the haqiqah of the mystery of amanah and selling one’s nafs and property to Allah and becoming His ‘abd that is indicated by the âyah 8 ‌اِنَّ اللّٰهَ اشْتَرٰى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اَنْفُسَهُمْ وَ اَمْوَالَهُمْ بِاَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ‌ .

By means of shukr al-urfî, all those senses, subtle faculties and feelings acquire value due to the names of Allah that manifests in them; man becomes a real human being; he reaches to the rank ahsan taqwîm and a’lâ ‘illiyyin. It is as follows:

If you want to understand how profitable trade and honourable rank to sell one’s nafs and property to Allah and to be His ‘abd and soldier are, listen to this short story in the form of a comparison:

One time, as an amanah, one sultân gives each of two men from amongst his subjects a farm on which everything is present, like factory, machines, horses and weapons. But because it is a tempestuous time of war, nothing can remain permanent. It will either be destroyed, changed, or lost. The sultân sent his most honourable assistant out of his perfect mercy to those two soldiers. With a most compassionate decree, he was saying to them:

"Sell me my amanah that you hold in your hands so that I shall protect it for you. Let it not be destroyed without purpose. Furthermore, after the war is over, I shall return it to you in a better condition. Also, it is as if that amanah were your property, I shall give you a very high price. Furthermore, the tools in the factory and the machines will be operated in my name and on my workbench. Both their prices and payments will rise from one to a thousand. I shall give you all the profit. Furthermore, you are impotent and poor; you cannot provide for the cost of those great works. I shall undertake all the expenses and equipment and give you all the income and benefits. Furthermore, I shall leave my amanah in your possession until the time of demobilisation. Here, profit within profit, by five degrees!

If you do not sell it to me, you already see that no one can preserve what they have in their hands. You will lose, like everyone else. Furthermore, it will be lost for no purpose; you will also be deprived of that high price. Furthermore, those fragile and precious tools and scales will lose all their value since wonderful minerals to be used and valuable services to be performed are not found. Furthermore, the hardship and burden of management and preservation will be yours. Also, you will receive punishment for betraying the amanah. Here, loss within loss, by five degrees!

As for selling it to me, it means becoming my soldier and acting in my name. Instead of an ordinary prisoner and irregular soldier, you will be a private and free assistant soldier of a mighty sultân."

After they had listened to this kindness and decree, the mindful one of those two men said:

"With pleasure, I will proudly sell. I offer a thousandfold thanks as well."

The other one was proud, self-centred and fond of merriment, his nafs had become a Pharaoh, and he did not know anything about the earthquakes and tempests of the world, as if he were to stay eternally on that farm. He said:

“No, no! Who is the sultân? I do not sell my property nor spoil my pleasure.”

After some time, the first man has reached such a rank that everyone envies his state. He has been honoured with the sultân’s kindness and favour and lives happily in his private palace. The other was subjected to such a state where everyone pities him but also says, “He deserves it” because, as a result of his error, he has both lost his happiness and property and suffers punishment and torment.

Thus, O nafs full of desires! Look at the face of haqiqah through the telescope of this comparison. As for the sultân, He is your Rabb and Khâliq, Who is the Sultân of azal and eternity. As for the farms, machines, tools and scales, they are your possessions in the sphere of your life, and your body, rûh and heart within those possessions, and your outer and inner senses like the eye, tongue, mind and imagination within them. As for the most honourable assistant, he is Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm. As for the firmest decree, it is Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm; through the following ayah, it declares the immense trade we discuss:

اِنَّ اللّٰهَ اشْتَرٰى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اَنْفُسَهُمْ وَ اَمْوَالَهُمْ بِاَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ‌

As for the tempestuous field of battle, it is the stormy face of the world that never stops; it turns and decays and gives the following thought to the mind of each man:

"Since everything will go out of our hands, be destroyed and be lost, is there no remedy to make them permanent by transforming them to be eternal?"

While thinking, the samâwî voice of the Qur'an is heard. It says, "Indeed, there is! There is a beautiful and easy remedy in a five-degree profitable way."

Question: What is it?

The Answer: To sell the amanah to its true owner... Thus, in that sale, there is profit within profit, by five degrees.

The First Profit: Transient property becomes eternal. For this fading life, which is given to the Zuljalâl One, Who is Al-Qayyûm Al-Bâqî, and is spent for His sake, transforms into an eternal one and gives eternal fruits. Then, the moments of life appear to die and rot, like seeds and kernels, but they bloom and sprout the flowers of happiness in al-‘âlam-al-baqâ, and each becomes a luminous and companionable view in al-‘âlam al-barzakh.

The Second Profit: A price like Jannah is given.

The Third Profit: The value of each of limbs and senses increases from one to a thousand.

For example, the mind is a tool. It will become such an inauspicious, troublesome and annoying tool that it descends to the level of an unfortunate and detrimental tool that will load all the sad sorrows of the past and the frightening states of the future onto your unfortunate head if you do not sell it to Janâb-i Haqq but rather employ it on behalf of nafs. Thus, it is for this reason that a fâsiq man generally runs to drunkenness or amusements in order to be saved from being disturbed and troubled by the mind. If the mind is sold to its True Mâlik and if you employ it on His behalf, it becomes such a key with talisman that it opens the infinite treasures of rahmah and the troves of hikmah that the universe contains, and with them, it rises to the degree of a Rabbânî guide (Murshid) that prepares its owner for eternal happiness.

For example, the eye is a sense that, through that window, the rûh beholds this ‘âlam. If you do not sell it to Janâb-i Haqq but rather employ it on behalf of nafs, by watching some temporary, impermanent beauties and views, it will be a servant of the lust and desires of the nafs at the level of being a pander. If you sell the eye to its Sâni’, Who is Basîr, and employ it on His behalf and within the sphere of His permission, then the eye will rise to the rank of a reader of the great book of the universe, a spectator of the miracles of art of Ar-Rabb in this ‘âlam and a blessed bee of the flowers of rahmah in the garden of the globe of the earth.

For example, if you do not sell the sense of taste in the tongue to its Fâtir, Who is Hakîm, but rather employ it on behalf of nafs and for the sake of the stomach, then it will decrease and decline to the level of a doorkeeper to the barn and factory of the stomach. If you sell it to Ar-Razzâq, Who is Karîm, then the sense of taste in the tongue will rise to the rank of a skilled treasurer of the treasuries of Allah’s rahmah and an inspector, who offers shukr, of the kitchens of the qoudrah of As-Samad.

If you compare all the other tools and limbs like these, you can understand that, in truth, the mu’min attains an essence worthy of Jannah, and the kâfir attains an essence conforming to Jahannam. The reason for each of them attaining such a value is: with his îmân, the mu’min uses the amanah of his Khâliq on His behalf and within the sphere of His permission. And betraying the amanah, the kâfir employs it on account of nafs al-ammarah.

…

We should strive to sell it now. I wonder, is it such a burdensome thing that many people shun selling it? No! By no means! It is not burdensome at all because the sphere of halal is broad and sufficient for pleasure. There is no need to enter into haram. The fardh of Allah are light and few. To be the ‘abd and soldier of Allah is such a pleasurable honour that cannot be described. As for the duty, one should work and start only on behalf of Allah, like a soldier, give and take on account of Allah, and act and be still in the sphere of His permission and law. If he commits a fault, he should offer istighfâr. He should say, "O Rabb! Forgive our faults, accept us as Your servants and make us trustworthy with the amanah until the time of its being taken. Âmîn!", and He should be beseeched.

The Sixth Word

 

I see that the most fortunate person in the life of this world is one who accepts the world as a military guesthouse and has idh‘ân in that way and acts accordingly. And through that acceptance, he can swiftly gain the rank of acceptance and pleasure of Allah, the greatest rank; he would not give the price of a perpetual diamond to a thing with the price of a piece of glass that will break; he passes his life within istiqâmah and with pleasure. Yes, the matters belonging to the world are glasses doomed to be broken, while the eternal matters belonging to the âkhirah possess the value of extremely solid diamonds. The intense feelings in man's fitrah, such as intense curiosity, fervent love, terrible ambition, obstinately desiring, and so on, have been given to him to gain the matters belonging to the âkhirah. To turn those feelings intensely towards transitory matters of the world is giving the price of eternal diamonds to transient glasses that will break. A point occurred to the mind in connection with this; I shall tell it. It is as follows:

‘Ashq is an intense love. When it turns towards transitory beloveds, it either causes its owner to suffer perpetual torment and pain or, since the metaphorical beloved is not worth the price of such intense love, it causes its owner to search for an eternal beloved; the metaphorical ‘ashq transforms into true (Haqîqî) ‘ashq.

Thus, there are thousands of feelings in man. Like ‘ashq, each of them has two degrees. One is metaphorical, the other is true (Haqîqî).

For example, the feeling of anxiety about the future is present in everyone. When one suffers intense anxiety, he looks and sees that he does not have a certain proof in his hand to reach the future he is anxious about. Furthermore, a future that is brief and guaranteed with respect to rizq is not worth such intense anxiety. So, he turns his face away from it and turns towards a true and long future beyond the grave that has not been guaranteed for the ghâfils.

He also displays intense ambition for possessions and rank, and then he looks and sees that the transient possession that has been put temporarily under his supervision and the calamitous fame and perilous rank that are the sources of riyâ are not worth such intense ambition. From it, he turns towards ma’nawî ranks and degrees of closeness to Allah that are true ranks and towards the stock of provisions for the âkhirah and ‘amal as-sâlih that are true possessions. The metaphorical ambition that is a bad trait transforms into true ambition, which is an elevated trait.

Furthermore, for example, with intense obstinacy, he spends his feelings on insignificant, fading, transient matters; he sees that he has been obstinate for a year over something not worth even a minute of obstinacy. He also persists in a poisonous and harmful thing out of obstinacy. Then he sees that this powerful feeling was not given to him for such things. Spending it on them is contrary to hikmah and haqiqah. Then he spends that intense obstinacy not on those useless transitory matters, but on the elevated and eternal haqiqahs of îmân, principles of Islam and services for the âkhirah; such metaphorical obstinacy that is a contemptible trait transforms into true obstinacy that is ardent steadfastness on haqq, a beautiful and elevated trait.

Thus, like these three examples, if man uses the ma’nawî faculties given to him on account of the nafs and the world and acts with ghaflah as though he will eternally remain in the world, they become sources of contemptible morality, wastefulness and futility. But if he spends ma’nawî faculties that are not severe on the matters of the world and the intense ones on ma’nawî duties and the duties belonging to the âkhirah, they become the sources of praiseworthy morality and the means to happiness in both worlds in a way conforming to hikmah and haqiqah.

The Ninth Letter

 

Irâdah, mind, feelings and Rabbânî subtle faculties, which are the four elements of the conscience (Vijdân9) and the four faculties of the rûh, each have an ultimate aim. The ultimate aim of the irâdah is ‘ibâdah to Allah; the ultimate aim of mind is ma’rifatullah; the ultimate aim of feelings is the love of Allah; the ultimate aim of subtle faculties is mushâhadatullah10. The perfect ‘ibâdah that is called taqwâ comprises the four of them. Sharî'ah both cultivates and corrects them and directs them towards their ultimate aims.

Damascus Sermon-136