Fayd literally means the effusion of blessings, profusion, abundance, and increase. Giving existence to something and equipping it with all the particularities and necessities of being existent, and favoring a person with inspirations and spiritual gifts to deepen him or her spiritually are also included in the meaning of fayd, but these aspects belong only to God as the Lord of all creation.

The term fayd is also used in some noun phrases with a wide range of meanings as a modified noun. For example, God’s all-holy manifestations of origination without anything preceding them to be imitated, His creation, generation and causing things to grow, the granting of life and death, and providing, are all called “effusions of creation”; the inspirations coming from God, the Ultimate Truth are known as “Divine effusions” or “spiritual effusions of the Lord”; a person’s being favored with Divine gifts according to his capacity is termed “effusions of capacity”; the spiritual pleasures coming from knowledge and love of God are “effusions of worship”; heart-felt care and concern in the degree of love and yearning are “effusions of love.” Everything with which all existence is favored—from the blessings in the initial determination of natures and forms during the phases of creation to the blessings manifested as the laws of the operation of the universe and the lives of beings, and thereafter to the Revelations, inspirations, and sensations that have been sent to human beings—all are effusions of different wavelengths.

Every existent thing or being is created through the profuse manifestations of His Light as a pure blessing, as based on His eternal Will and in accordance with the determinations of His Knowledge. Every existent thing or being is given a particular, perfect form, a particular nature, a particular capacity, and the necessary equipment. During the existential course, existence is endowed with the miracle of life and with a tendency to journey toward metaphysical dimensions that will secure it new gifts. Those endowed with consciousness and free will have been shown the beginning, the end, and the goal of existence through death and the life to follow it, and reminded of what they need the most by being provided materially and spiritually. Through all these vital gifts that have been accorded to existent things and beings and which come in different wavelengths of Divine manifestation, a new door has been left ajar toward the Hidden Treasure [1].

The first signal of the existence of things and events came from the Most Sacred Effusion, or the most sacred initial manifestation of the Divine Being. Through the Sacred Effusion, or God’s sacred manifestation of His Attributes, the archetypes of existence, whose coming into existence was willed, were given the signal of being clothed in external existence, and the course of coming into external existence began for the archetypes that were endowed with the possibility of existence. Then, every would-be-existent thing and being started the journeying of existence with the potential with which it had been endowed, in the expectation of new effusions to develop.

The Most Sacred Effusion, which serves as a veil before the Honor and Grandeur of the Real Agent or Originator of existence, is the manifestation of the essences of all the creatures in Divine Knowledge as archetypes or that these essences are given each a particular nature and/or identity. This appearance of these realities in Divine Knowledge, or the initial growth of existential essences, occurred in accordance with the potential appointed for each being in eternity. Thus, with the exception of the unusual, miraculous disposals of Divine Power, each being is restricted in the potential that has been accorded on it. The poet, Beligh [2], says:

The effects of Divine effusions differ according to the capacities of every being;
A pearl-oyster receives pearls from the rain of April, but a snake, poison.

The Sacred Effusion has been considered to be the manifestation of the Divine Will and Power that appoints everything and being of archetypal existence as a particular form and external existence. We can explain the matter more clearly as follows:

The contingent essences, or the essences of contingencies, are reflected upon the “ideal” lines, pages, and booklets of existence through the Most Sacred Effusion. They are clothed in external existence through the Sacred Effusion and take on the forms of the letters, words, sentences, and books of the Tablet of Confirmation and Effacement [3], being elevated to the rank of serving as mirrors to the Eternal All-Observer.

The difference between these two effusions can also be clarified as follows: The initial manifestation, which causes the realities in the Divine Knowledge to be determined or appointed as archetypes with the potentials particular to each, is the Most Sacred Effusion; the second manifestation, which serves as a veil before the acts of the All-Originator in giving external existence to each archetypal essence according to its original potentials or capacities, is called the Sacred Effusion. According to the Sufis, just as the essential realities or the essential existence of future things and beings in Divine Knowledge is different from their external existences, so also do the sources of these two sorts of existence and the realms of the manifestations responsible for each differ from each other. Thus, while the Most Sacred Effusion manifests itself in the essential realities or pure essences in the Divine Knowledge, the Sacred Effusion acts on the archetypes, with their natures and forms to come forth into external existence.

Notes

1. The term “the Hidden Treasure” is used for God as based on a hadith qudsi, the Prophetic saying inspired in him directly from God Himself: “I was a Hidden Treasure; I willed to be known and created the universe.”
2. Muhammed Emin Beligh (d. 1760) was an Ottoman poet who was born in Greece and lived in Istanbul and Greece. He lived a poor life and wrote a Diwan, collection of poems.
3. The origins, sources, and seeds from which God Almighty shapes things and/or beings with perfect order and art show that they are arranged according to a “book of principles” contained in Divine Knowledge. The seeds contain the plans and programs of beings or things that will come into existence. To give a more concrete example, a seed contains or even constitutes the plan and program according to which a tree may be formed and, furthermore, is a miniature embodiment of the Divine principles that cause the tree to come into existence and determine this plan and program. The archetypal plan and program of the Tree of Creation as a whole, which spreads its branches through the past and future and into the World of the Unseen, is called the “Manifest Record,” and the Divine principles that determine this plan and program constitute what the Qur’an calls the “Supreme Preserved Tablet” that is contained in Divine Knowledge.

The life history of, for example, a plant or tree from its germination under soil until it yields fruit is the developed form of its seed, and this complete life history with all its cycles is summed up in its fruit, rather in each seed in its fruits. We call this active life history of a living thing or being its “Destiny Practical” or “Manifest Book.” With everything and event in it, the universe has its own “universal” Destiny Practical, which is the “universal” Manifest Book. The “Manifest Record,” which is written by Divine Knowledge, relates to the origins of things or beings, while the “Manifest Book” relates to their entire life histories and is a notebook written by the Divine Power.

Through the dictates of the Manifest Record, that is, through the decree and instruction of the Divine Knowledge and Destiny, the Divine Power uses atoms to create or manifest the chain of beings, each link of which is His sign, on the metaphorical page of time, which is called the “Tablet of Effacement and Confirmation.” Thus, atoms are set to move so that beings may be transferred from the World of the Unseen to the material, visible world, from (the Realm of) Knowledge to the (Realm of) Power.

The “Tablet of Effacement and Confirmation” is the tablet on which events and things or/and beings are inscribed and then removed or effaced according to the dictates of the Supreme Preserved Tablet contained in Divine Eternal Knowledge. Therefore, it displays continuous change. The Tablet of Effacement and Confirmation constitutes the essence of time. Time, a mighty river which flows through existence, has its essence in the Divine Power’s inscription of beings and in the “ink” It uses. Similarly, God also has archetypal principles for human earthly life, all of which are called the “Mother of the Book.” He lays down these principles as commandments or laws during human history as suited to the particular needs of the time and the people concerned. For this reason, every age or appointed term has its own Revelation and laws. God sent them down with succeeding Messengers in a way that culminated in the Qur’an as the final form of the Divine Message.

“Nobles” is a title used for the “fortys,” or some among the “fortys” included in the “men of the Unseen.” According to verifying Sufi scholars, these are the heroes of altruism who have completed their ascension toward God by going down among the people to guide and spiritually educate them. They think of nothing other than guiding people to God; they encourage hearts always to do good, and they erect spiritual barriers before evils. They try to confront possible misfortunes through prayers and supplications and they are ready to sacrifice themselves for the good of people or to prevent disasters. Their hearts always beat with feelings of self-sacrifice, compassion, and tender care for others. Since they have dedicated their lives to the happiness of others, they live a life overburdened with the troubles of others and sigh for them. Even if there are times when they feel happy at the news of others’ happiness, they are always sorrowful because of what they have witnessed or heard concerning the sufferings of people. In respect of their mission, they are heirs to the Prophets.

Nukaba (The Custodians)

Nukaba are the saints who are always together with people, correcting their faults, and guiding all toward good with mildness and kindness. Although the term is used for those in the Sufi Orders of Rifai [1] and Badawi [2] who have completed their spiritual journeying and have begun the mission of guiding people to God, according to the verifying Sufi scholars they are the purified souls whose spiritual profundity and discovery transcend their scope of learning and sight and who always observe the spiritual domain or realm of existence; by God’s leave, they are able to penetrate the hearts of people and what occurs to them. They carry out the duty of some sort of translation between the physical and metaphysical realms, interpreting existence in accordance with their capacity and in consideration of the understanding levels of their audience, and persistently try to find ways to God through everything. In their view, the universe is a meaningful book which contains messages within messages, with all its parts making up the words, sentences, and paragraphs. In these ever-wakeful souls and truth-voicing tongues, the truth expressed herein shows itself:

The universe is a supreme book of God throughout,
whatever letter you study, you see its meaning is God.

Awtad (The Pillars)

Awtad are the four “men of God” who are so close to one another that one cannot do without the other. They make their spiritual journeying and carry out their duties under the shadow of the missions of Enoch, Elijah, Jesus, and Khadr, upon them and our Prophet be peace. According to the particular mission of each, they have the titles ‘Abdu’l-Hayy (The Servant of the All-Living), ‘Abdu’l-‘Alim (The Servant of the All-Knowing), ‘Abdu’l-Murid (The Servant of the All-Willing), and ‘Abdu’l-Qadir (The Servant of the All-Powerful), and they reflect the spiritual content of Prophets Adam, Abraham, Jesus, and Muhammad, upon them be peace and blessings, or represent the reflections of their truths. Their connection with God is through the lenses of the Archangels Gabriel, Michael [3], Israfil [4], and ‘Azrail [5], upon them be peace. They each correspond to a pillar of the Ka‘ba, which signifies the door or stairway to that station.

Muhyi’d-Din ibnu’l-‘Arabi is of the opinion that the pillars are the seven saints who carry out their duties according to a hierarchy that exists among them.

Some call all the saints of God—including the nobles, custodians, and pillars—the “men of God” in the sense that they are heroes of the truth with certain spiritual power. Their most distinguishing attributes are their deep reverence for God and their feeling of awe before Him; being overwhelmed by the manifestations of the All-Merciful; arousing God’s existence and omnipresence in the minds of those who see them; sobriety and dignity coming from their constant awareness of God’s company; being deeply ashamed of certain ordinary human acts and states—even though they are not religiously forbidden; being aware of God in everything in a different wave of sensation; self-forgetfulness when they are aware of God; continuous self-supervision and attributing to Him whatever gifts and blessings they are favored with; and remaining unknown by others. With respect to their being unknown, they are called “the men of the Unseen” or “the army of God.” In one of his poems, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror [6] refers to those men who are endowed with a sacred spiritual power and asks for their prayers in carrying out the duty of serving God’s Word.

With respect to these men’s being able to make the Divine mysteries felt in the hearts of others, they are called “the men of conquest”; because of their being unknown or being known only by a few, they are known as “the men of the Unseen.” In regard to their generally living in ecstasy, they are called “the men of power,” and because they approach everyone with gentleness and tolerance and return evil done to them with good, they are “the men of kindness.”

Ghawth (The Helper or the Means of Divine Help)

Signifying help, coming to the aid of others, and giving spiritual help, the term ghawth is used by the Sufis to denote saints of the highest rank.

A person who has attained this rank has been honored with a particular Divine favor and, by God’s leave, hurries to the aid of those in difficulties. Those who do not have this capacity cannot be regarded as ghawth; any poles (qutb) who cannot be mirrors to reflect Divine help to others are not called ghawth.

One who combines the spiritual status of being a ghawth with the rank of being a qutb is called al-ghawthu’l-a‘zam (the greatest helper), and if the one who has been primarily favored with the rank of being a qutb is also honored with being a ghawth, he is called al-qutbu’l-a‘zam (the greatest pole). Each of these titles has aspects particular to itself.

Since those honored with these exalted ranks represent the shadow of Haqiqa Muhammadiya (the Truth of Muhammad) [7], they are in the company of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, with respect to being mirrors to certain Divine truths. Because of this, they have a reflective part in the holy Prophet’s universal mission of being a mirror to God, which is expressed by Süleyman Çelebi as follows:

(God said to the Prophet): I have made your essence a mirror to Me,
and inscribed your name together with Mine.

The status described by Haqani in, “The Ultimate Truth has made him a mirror to Him / He has made him a mirror to His peerless Being,” primarily and with all its comprehensiveness, belongs to the master of creation, upon him be peace and blessings, who is the greatest of the perfect or universal men [8]. Each of the other perfect or universal men has a relative, particular part in this great honor.

The Sufis maintain that in every century there is a helper or means of Divine help (ghawth) who is the leader of all the contemporary men of God, the door among people to the attainment of Divine assistance, the moderator of the spiritual realm or domain of existence, and the pivot of Divine gifts and blessings. If a helper is also a pole, his title is the greatest pole, and his rank is the status of the greatest pole.

Such a hero of spirituality who is honored with this rank has such capacities that not only ordinary people like us, but also those who have reached the final point of spiritual journeying are unable to perceive them. This rank is the most comprehensive mirror to the Divine Names, the essence of existence, and the greatest focus of the Truth of Muhammad. By virtue of this distinction, and by God’s leave, such a one is an authority entitled to represent the implementation of the Divine decrees under the leadership and protection of Haqiqa Ahmadiya (the Truth of Ahmad) [9] and in the light of the Lamp of Muhammad [10], upon him be peace and blessings.

The scholarly people of sainthood mention the names of such great saints as ‘Abdu’l-Qadir al-Jilani [11], Abu’l-Hasan al-Harakani [12], Shaykh al-Harrani [13], and Imam Rabbani [14], as those who have attained this rank in the history of Islam. These personages, who have combined the rank of being a pole with that of being a helper, are mentioned with the titles of “the greatest pole,” or “the greatest helper.” As they represent the status of being the greatest pole, they are also called “the pole of the poles.”

With respect to being the representatives of spiritual perfection, they are also regarded as the true heirs to the duties of Prophethood and the special, most distinguished representatives of succession to Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. It is undeniable that the purification of the carnal soul, refinement of the heart, and spiritual struggle all have an important part in the attainment of this rank. However, it should also be borne in mind that this rank is a special gift of God which He accords to whomever He wills. God Himself declares: That is God’s grace. He grants it to whom He wills. Surely God is of tremendous grace (62:4).

This elevated rank has sometimes been represented by a single individual, sometimes by a collective personality formed around God’s good pleasure through a sincere brother/sisterhood, and selfless unity and solidarity, or, quite possibly, by a community of Muslims which serves the true faith and the Qur’an purely for God’s sake.

Qutb (The Pole)

Qutb is the title of one who is the focus of the views of the earth and heaven’s inhabitants, the perfect vicegerent of God, the Ultimate Truth, the heir of the master of creation, upon him be peace and blessings, and the perfect, universal man who always exists among humankind.

After the pride of humanity, Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, this rank was represented by the first four Rightly-Guided Caliphs in order of succession, who were true successors to the duties of Prophethood. They were followed by the greatest scholars or the founders of Islamic Schools of Law, who had the capacity to deduce new laws from the Qur’an and the Sunna, the greatest saints, and the saintly scholars.

Together with the rank of helper, the rank of pole is also the greatest of spiritual ranks. While a helper is primarily distinguished by coming to the aid of others who are immured in difficulties, a pole may also be favored with the rank of helper and become a source of spiritual radiance and a reflector of God’s gifts. Being heir to the Truth of Muhammad, a pole represents a reflection of the master of creation, upon him be peace and blessings, under his guardianship in the age where he lives, and is a successor to him in his duties as a spiritual master.

By virtue of the special gifts with which he is honored, and by virtue of having been equipped with a special capacity in accordance with his duty, a pole is, like the North Star, a singular, chosen one upon whom the views of all the inhabitants of the earth and heavens are focused. This mysterious power station, which is always open to the metaphysical realms, has effects on the human outer and inner faculties that resemble the spirit’s control of the body. This power of penetration comes from this person’s knowledge of God; this knowledge of God originates in God’s Knowledge, Which in turn is an Attribute of the Divine Essence. With respect to his own essence, or when left to his own devices, a pole is like a drop of water—but a drop that contains the entire reflection of the sun by virtue of God’s favors upon him. Such a one is nothing but an atom, but that atom reflects all of the heavens. For in their essential nature, poles are nothing—they are zero—but they are equipped with such essential values and qualities that they reflect eternity.

With one of their eyes always scanning the physical dimension of existence, poles constantly observe the realms beyond with the other eye, in unceasing pursuit of the radiance of recognition or knowledge of God. They weave the spiritual lacework of existence with the silky threads of wisdom that pour into their hearts and

give them to those around them. Like the sun, they always give off light and illuminate all that is around them. And like a surging ocean, they bubble over from within and diffuse life into hearts.

Since poles have fully developed their innate capacities, they are heroes of extraordinary performance. They are perfect persons whose hearts are mirrors to the Archangel Israfil, and whose power of speech mirrors Gabriel, and whose power of attraction mirrors Michael, and whose power of repelling mirrors ‘Azrail. By virtue of this, they are each, in one respect, a focus of creation as a mirror to all realms, vicegerents of God in their age, special students and representatives of the Truth of Muhammad, rays of the first manifestation of existence beyond time, and luminous, transparent means for the conduction of Divine mysteries to all hearts. Being heirs to the Prophet, they establish new rules to acquire and deepen in knowledge of God and the Religion. The Shi‘a attribute this rank only to ‘Ali and the eleven Imams who descended from him through the Prophet’s beloved daughter, Fatima, and the last of whom is the Mahdi [15]; this is a restriction. God may accord this honor to whomever He wills among His servants who have been endowed with the necessary capacity and He may make Himself known through them.

The Sufi scholarly saints mention two types of pole, one being “the pole of guidance” and the other being “the pole of existence.” The “pole of guidance” represents the spirit of Prophethood as the owner of the greater rank of pole, while the “pole of existence” stands for the inner dimension of the Seal of Prophethood with the title of the Seal of Sainthood. The scholars who have expert knowledge of the matter hold the opinion that although in the same period there may be more than one pole of guidance, there can only be one pole of existence. The axis of whichever great angel honored with special nearness to God or whichever illustrated Prophet he journeys around, or the rug-seat of whichever saint he occupies, the Pole of existence always turns toward the light of the existence of the Pole of Prophethood, upon him be peace and blessings, and toward his spiritual assistance.

Although there are Sufi scholars who mention some people as the Poles of existence who have existed since the Prophet Adam, upon him be peace, this view has not received much acceptance. The majority of the experts in this matter agree that in every age the Pole of existence is mentioned with the title of ‘Abdullah (the

Servant of God) and ‘Abdu’l-Jami‘ (the Servant of the One Who Has All Excellences in the Infinite Degree).

All the information given so far is based on the spiritual discovery and observation of some talented saints. For this reason, more or less space can always be assigned to the subject. There may even be those who say different things on this matter. God knows best. Therefore, what I should finally do is to entreat God Almighty,

saying: “Our Lord, take us not to task if we forget or make mistakes! Our Lord, forgive us, then, our sins, and blot out from us our evil deeds, and take us to You in death, in the company of the truly godly and virtuous.”

O God! Show us truth as being true and enable us to follow it, and show us falsehood as falsehood and enable us to refrain from it. And bestow blessings and peace on the sole owner of the subtle essence and meaning of being Muhammad, the sun of the heavens of mysteries, the object of all lights, the pivot of the Divine Majesty, and the axis of the sphere of the Divine Grace and Beauty, and on his Family and Companions, the stars of guidance and the springs of assistance.

Notes

• Sayyid Ahmad ar-Rifai (1119–1183), the founder of the Rifai Order, and one of the greatest Sufi masters in the history of Islam, was born and lived in southern Iraq. He also had profound knowledge of Islamic religious sciences, including especially jurisprudence and Hadith. (Tr.)
• Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawi (1200–1276) was one of the most outstanding Sufi masters, to whom the Badawi Order is attributed. He was born in Morocco. When he was six years old, his family emigrated to Makka. He spent the greatest part of his life in Tanta, Egypt. He was also well-versed in Islamic sciences. (Tr.)
• Michael is the Archangel who supervises the earth with its grass, plants, and animals, and represents or presents to God their glorifications and praises of Him. (Tr.)
• Israfil is one of the four Archangels. He will blow the Trumpet just before the end of the universe and for the resurrection of the dead. (Tr.)
• ‘Azrail is the Archangel charged with taking the souls of human beings. He is the angel of death. (Tr.)
• Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (1432–1481) was the seventh Ottoman Sultan, and conquered Istanbul. (Tr.)
• Haqiqa Muhammadiya (the Truth of Muhammad): This term is essential to Sufism. It may be translated as the “reality of Muhammad” as God’s Messenger, the most beloved of God, the best example for all creation to follow, the embodiment of Divine Mercy, and the living Qur’an or embodiment of the Qur’anic way of life. (Tr.)
• For a detailed analysis of the perfect or universal Man, see M. Fethullah Gülen, Emerald Hills of the Heart – Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, Tughra Books, NJ, 2004, Vol., 2, pp. 289–302. (Tr.)
• Haqiqa Ahmadiya ( the Truth of Ahmad) is the term used to designate the reality or the essence or the truth represented by the personality of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, before his coming to the world and after his departure from the world. In one respect, it signifies the unparalleled sainthood of Prophet Muhammad. (Tr.)
• The Lamp of Muhammad signifies the light of Muhammad’s Messengership or the light of Islam or the way of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. (Tr.)
• ‘Abdu’l-Qadir al-Jilani (d. 1166): One of the most celebrated Sufi masters. A student of jurisprudence and Hadith, he became known as “the pole” of his age and the “the greatest means of Divine help.” Among his well-known books are Kitabu’l-Ghunyah, Futuhu’l-Ghayb, and Al-Fathu’r-Rabbani. (Tr.)
• ‘Ali ibn Ahmad Abu’l-Hasan al-Harakani (963–1033) is one of the most celebrated saints. He was born and lived in Harakan near Bastam in Iran. He lived as a poor farmer. He was martyred in fighting in Kars, a city in the farthest northeastern Turkey, and was buried there. (Tr.)
• Shakyh Hayat ibn Qays al-Harrani (d. 1185), is one of the most outstanding saints in the history of Islam. He was born in Baghdad and lived in Harran near Urfa, in southeastern Turkey. (Tr.)
• Imam Rabbani, Ahmad Faruq al-Sarhandi (d. 1624): The “reviver of the second millennium.” Born in Sarhand (India) and well-versed in Islamic sciences, he removed many corrupt elements from Sufism. He taught Shah Alamgir or Awrangzeb (d. 1707), who had a committee of scholars prepare the most comprehensive compendium of Hanafi Law. His work Maktubat (The Letters) is very famous and widely known throughout the Muslim world. (Tr.)
• The Mahdi, literally meaning one who guides to truth, is the title of the blessed person whose coming toward the end of time to re-establish the truth of Islam and justice on the earth was promised by God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings. (Tr.)

Muqarrabun are higher in rank than the godly, virtuous ones due to their special nearness to God. This exalted title is also used for the most distinguished ones among the Prophets and angels. These blessed ones that are favored with God’s special nearness are guides on the way to God, distinguished “lions” in the quarter of the truth, mythical birds who continue their journeying at the peaks, guests who have completed the most important part of the journeying and who have resolved to remain steadfast where they are, God’s confidants in His “private lodge” who, by virtue of the truths they observe as the gifts of the horizon they have reached, have closed their eyes to fleeting things in respect of their worldly aspects. They are cavalrymen who have defeated the soldiers of carnal desires and caprices with their armies of love and yearning; they are heroes of knowledge of God who have subjected their carnal life to their heart and spirit; they are those who, by having left behind the deserts of mortality to reach the gardens of subsistence by and with God, have found utmost peace and satisfaction; they are heroes of observation and spiritual discovery who have reached the horizon of having a vision of God through God Himself; they are lovers who have appropriated the love of God as the most manifest dimension of their nature; and they are loved ones who are intoxicated with the pleasure of feeling that God loves them. Finally, they are heroes who have been perfectly favored with the compliment that God loves them and they love Him (5:54). We see and experience the true color of existence through the lens of their knowledge of God and observe the metaphysical dimension of things with the lights they shed over the face of existence.

Although some reports have been circulated among the saints concerning the number of the muqarrabun, it is not possible to say that an exact number has been agreed upon. According to some reports, the muqarrabun consist of three hundred good ones, forty substitutes, four pillars, and two leaders. According to some other reports, they consist of a spiritual pole and four thousand saints. Whatever their number is, all of these heroes of nearness to God are the noblest servants of the Ultimate Truth and they share the same spiritual profundity of the angels.

Accepting the view that the muqarrabun are composed of four thousand saints, some Sufis classify these distinguished servants of God according to their ranks as follows:

Three hundred of them are akhyar (the good ones who pursue good in whatever they do and say); forty of them are abdal or budala (the substitutes, charged with the administration of spiritual life and acting as veils in the reflection of the Divine Majesty and Grandeur); seven of them are abrar (godly, virtuous ones who have been able to make righteous deeds and sincerity a deep dimension of their nature); and there are others called by different titles.

Still others make another classification of those favored with special nearness to God, the number of which is unknown. They mention four awtad (pillars), and nujaba (the nobles, in the sense of being distinguished in the sight of God), and nukaba (the custodians, who care for people and the management of their affairs), and, superior to all those mentioned, ghawth (the helper or the means of Divine help), and qutb (the pole). Some Sufi scholars call all of those rijalu’l-ghayb (the men of the Unseen).

Abdal (The Substitutes)

Substitutes are those pure, honest saints who help people with their affairs without being seen and who function as veils in the reflection of Divine Acts. Before the Ottomans, the Iranians called them “the straightforward,” “easygoing ones,” “people of light,” or “Sufis.” Then, this term (abdal) became a name for a spiritual order. Under the Ottomans, some men who were famous for their heroic courage and fearlessness came to be called “substitutes.” In dervish lodges, the term has always been used to describe the “men of the Unseen.”

According to Sufis, substitutes are saints who avoid fame and who are unknown among people. They always hasten to do good and to help others. They are of two groups. The first group is composed of the saints who have been freed from all evil qualities and equipped with excellence and virtuousness, who resist all kinds of vices and wrongs, and who try to prevent these. The second group consists of those saints who have a particular mission and number three hundred, forty, and seven; they are also referred to by these numbers. Their numbers are not important; what is important is their place and rank in God’s sight and the duties they perform.

When one of the substitutes dies, another one from the sub-group takes his place. When one of them leaves his place for a duty, either that one sends his double or astral body to perform the duty, or that one departs to perform the duty and leaves his double or astral body behind in his place. (We should remind ourselves here that the idea of a human double or astral body is a matter frequently discussed in parapsychology.)

Some consider the pillars, the two leaders, and the pole as a superior group, separate from the substitutes: they see the latter as people of a certain spiritual state, while the former are viewed as people of a certain spiritual station. They regard the latter as travelers to God and the former as travelers in and from God.

Those who maintain that there are always seven substitutes say that they each reside in a different clime or realm, observe and acclaim the Divine Acts, and respond to God Almighty with praise and thanks as conscious representatives of the activities of unconscious beings. These seven saints have particular stations, and they are mentioned with the titles they have been given according to their station.

• The first substitute represents the reflection or projection of Prophet Abraham’s heart, and is called by the title, ‘Abdu’l-Hayy (the Servant of the All-Living).
• The second has the particular attributes of Prophet Moses’ heart, and is called by the title, ‘Abdu’l-‘Alim (the Servant of the All-Knowing).
• The third is a mirror of Prophet Aaron’s heart, and the special name of this one is ‘Abdu’l-Murid (the Servant of the All-Willing).
• The fourth reflects the attributes of Prophet Idris (Enoch)’s heart, and is mentioned with the title ‘Abdu’l-Qadir (the Servant of the All-Powerful).
• The fifth has a connection with the heart of Prophet Joseph, and is known by the title ‘Abdu’l-Qahir (the Servant of the All-Overwhelming).
• The sixth is bound to the content of Prophet Jesus’ heart and called by the title ‘Abdu’s-Sami‘ (the Servant of the All-Hearing).
• The seventh follows the heart of Prophet Adam, and is known with the title, ‘Abdu’l-Basir (the Servant of the All-Seeing).

None of these opinions or considerations is based on the Qur’an or the Sunna, but each has its source in the spiritual discoveries of some saints of discovery and is open to interpretation. For this reason, we are not obliged to accept these opinions or considerations as being absolutely true. Nevertheless, whatever their duties, titles, or positions are, and whatever blessings God favors them with, all of the saints are those who have certain degrees of knowledge of God, who are supported by God, and who, with their refined hearts and purified souls, are open to certain Divine mysteries.

Still another consideration concerning the place and duties of the saints known as substitutes is as follows:

Three hundred of them represent the reflection of Prophet Adam’s heart and are mirrors to it, forty of them have a connection with Prophet Moses’ heart, seven are affiliated with Prophet Abraham, five with the bosom of Archangel Gabriel, three with Archangel Michael, and one from among them, who is the greatest among them and represents the greatest sainthood, is affiliated with the greatest of all beings, Prophet Muhammad, upon him be perfect blessings and peace. When the last one dies, the one who is superior to all others takes his place, and when somebody from among them dies, that position is filled by another one from another group. Like the number of substitutes, the opinions about their residences and titles vary considerably.

There are nearly twenty reports from the Prophet concerning the existence of such a group of saints among the men of the Unseen [1].

According to these reports, because of their value in His sight, God Almighty sends rain, helps the believers against their enemies, and removes calamities from them. The substitutes are like a center of gravity for the earth; God employs them as a spiritual means of keeping the earth on its axis and provides for others out of their high place with Him. They forgive the wrong which people do to them; they return evil with good; and they continuously follow the path to Paradise through mildness, forbearance, and generosity. They attach special importance to the soundness and purity of their hearts and they always wish good for Muslims. They have no worldly ambitions, and they avoid quarrelling even with their enemies. They always shun exaggeration in their speech, and they represent the middle way in speech. They avoid religious innovations, and they do not go to extremes in their worship. Of whatever rank they are, they never like or approve of themselves. Resignation to whatever misfortune comes to them from God, utmost care about not committing any action that is religiously forbidden, a deep reverence for and obedience to God Almighty, and never cursing anyone—all these are mentioned among the foremost attributes of the Substitutes.

Some commentators on Hadith such as Ibn Taymiyya [2] and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya regard all those reports as fabricated and reject them. Imam Suyuti [3], another commentator, considers that since the hadiths support one another, as a whole, they may be considered as sound as the Prophetic Traditions that have been reported through many reliable chains of transmission. Hafiz Sahawi [4], following a moderate or middle way, notes that all those reports are weak in reliability and therefore open to criticism. In view of these different considerations, I leave the truth of the matter to God, saying: “God knows best.”

The original Arabic term translated as substitutes is abdal, which is the plural of badal. The term badal has another plural form: budala. This term is used by the Sufis for seven important figures among the “men of the Unseen.” They can change places with unusual speed and can be present in many different places at the same moment. It is not clear whether this occurs by the separation of their double or astral bodies from their original bodies so that they can be manifested in many places at the same time, or by their unusually speedy movement and because they are able to be present in many places, one after the other, within a short time. It sometimes happens that the substitutes are not aware of this mysterious transportation. The author of Futuhatu’l-Makkiyya (“The Makkan Conquests”), Muhyi’d-Din ibnu’l-‘Arabi, considers that the substitutes (budala) observe the Acts of God Almighty in each of the seven climes. They both observe the Acts of the All-Glorified and appear to be curtains for their reflections, acclaiming them. They receive their spiritual training as Uwaysu’l-Qarani [5] did, that is, without being trained by a spiritual master.

Notes

1. As for further reference, see Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Musnad, 1:112, 5:322; at-Tabarani, al-Mu‘jamu’l-Kabir, 10:181, 18:65; al-Munawi, Faydu’l-Kadir, 3:167–170. (Tr.)
2. Taqiyyu’d-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328): A very famous Muslim scholar who was born in Harran in southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border. As a member of the Hanbali School of Law, he defended “return to the Qur’an and the Sunna,” being very critical of new developments in thought within Islam over centuries. (Tr.)
3. ‘Abdu’r-Rahman ibn Kamal Jalalu’d-Din as-Suyuti (1445–1505): The mujtahid imam, one of the foremost hadith masters, jurist, Sufi, philologist, and historian. He authored works in virtually every Islamic science. He lived in Egypt. (Tr.)
4. Hafiz Muhammad Shamsu’d-Din as-Sahawi (d. 1498): A great muhaddith, who lived in Egypt. He was a student of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. His famous work is Maqasidu’l-Hasana. (Tr.)
5. Uways ibn Amir al-Qarni or al-Qarani (d. 657): He was born in Yemen. Toward the end of his life, he left for Kufa, in modern-day Iraq. He was one of most outstanding figures of the generation succeeding the Companions. Some regard him as the greatest Muslim saint of the first Islamic century. (Tr.)

Literally meaning a master, an owner, a helper, a loyal one, or a guardian, a waliyy is one who is devoted to God with all their emotions and one who is taken by Him as a close friend. Such an attainment is called wilaya (God’s friendship or sainthood), and the greatest rank in wilaya is called qutbiya (being a spiritual pole).

Perfect sainthood consists of servants being annihilated with respect to the carnal dimension of their existence and gaining a new, ever-young, and active existence on the horizon of God’s nearness through their knowledge of God, love of God, vision of God, and discovery of the Divine mysteries. In the sight of such heroes of spirituality, who have reached the peak where the sun never sets, autumns turn into springs, and annihilation turns into permanent existence, everything is annihilated in God; everything begins and ends with Him, rises and sets with Him, and attains existence through the lights of His Existence. Those favored with such a vision experience existence in a different mood and fashion according to their capacity of perceiving of everything as dependent on Him and observe that every event takes place dependent on the Truth of truths, Whom they find in their hearts as a “Hidden Treasure.” Unceasingly thrilling at the lights they observe glittering in the countenances of the mornings and evenings, the depths of the ever-bright heavens, the multi-colored beauties of the seasons that come and go with ever-renewed scenes, the awful appearances of the vast seas and oceans, the flowing of rivers toward the seas with a deep yearning for union, the joyful cries of birds and insects, and the bleating of sheep and lambs, they are overawed by the meanings that pour into their hearts from Him. All the shapes and forms on the horizon of their vision disappear and they find themselves boiling with reflection and pleasure as if they see, feel, and experience Him alone.

Such heroes of spirituality no longer feel zeal, but rather a deep yearning to reach Him, and no longer feel attraction but rather are attracted by Him toward Him. They are completely freed from any kind of heedlessness, with the result that the light of the Ultimate Truth shows itself everywhere. Reason and the spirit are now hand-in-hand and the whole of existence becomes a book to read. All false candles are extinguished, one after another, and it is as if the stars have come down from the heavens to illuminate the entire world. The world with all its worldliness vanishes and is rebuilt with a new design that belongs to the realms beyond. All veils of darkness are rent apart and lights burst forth through the fissures. Everything becomes a friend and a companion to such a hero of spirituality, and the heart finds in everything whatever it looks for, thus being saved from all kinds of loneliness.

God Almighty never abandons initiates who have attained such a degree of God’s friendship to their carnal soul, not even for the twinkling of an eye. Since they are always turned to the horizon of obtaining God’s approval and good pleasure with all their being, God protects and preserves them with His infinite grace and care. There is no longer any grief or worry; they constantly receive welcome from all corners of existence and they feel spiritual joy in their hearts. As if living in the gardens of Paradise, within the protective walls of, Know well that the friends (saintly servants) of God—they will have no fear, nor will they grieve (10:62), far away from the carnal veils of darkness and surrounded by the lights of the All-Merciful—but without ever falling into heedlessness toward the fear and awe of God which they always feel in the depths of their being—they continuously receive promissory messages from the realms beyond and return them with good, righteous deeds.

Although what is primarily meant by God’s friends is all the believers, as opposed to the enemies of God—for this is what the Qur’an also means by this term—the Sufis give other significant meanings to it. According to them, a friend of God is a person of truth who, through various forms of self-struggle, such as austerity, has transcended the carnal dimension of his or her existence and reached the level of the life of the heart and spirit, thus obtaining God’s special nearness. Friends of God have annihilated themselves with respect to their carnal existence, and attained permanence with a new meaning and thus they are favored with God’s particular blessings and compliments. They have found whatever they would find and they have been saved from all kinds of pursuits. Without ever aspiring after anything perishable, they say, “Let others have whatever is worldly—God, only, is sufficient for me,” and they demand whatever they demand only for God’s sake. I think Nabi [1] meant this by the following:

Do God’s friends ever stoop to possessing anything worldly?
Do they ever endure the burden of people?

Since friends of God always have God as their sole object, and they expect from Him whatever they expect, and thus continuously receive God’s favors, it is inconceivable that they should turn to others for their needs or aspirations.

Although all of God’s friends are people of deep spirituality, they differ in disposition and temperament, in their relative degree of attainment, and in their duties and missions. This is why they are mentioned with different titles such as the godly, virtuous ones, those near-stationed to God, substitutes, pillars, nobles, custodians, leaders, helpers or means of help, and poles.

With whatever title they are called, all of them have—according to the capacity of each—common praiseworthy qualities such as truthfulness, honesty, trustworthiness, sincerity and purity of intention, piety, righteousness, abstinence, asceticism, love, mild- ness and forbearance, modesty, humility, repentance, penitence, contrition, fear, and reverence. And with the exception of a few extreme “ecstatics” among them, all of them act within the bounds of the principles mentioned.

Abrar (The Godly, Virtuous Ones)

The Abrar are the good, virtuous ones who strive to reach God through austerity and moral straightforwardness; they are people of honesty and righteousness, loyal servants of the Ultimate Truth who live a life very carefully in keeping with the ordinances of the Shari‘a. Some of the godly, virtuous ones who are extremely sincere and faithful in their relationship with the Ultimate Truth are bent on the attainment of personal perfection. Although they pursue God’s approval and good pleasure in all of their attempts and actions, they nevertheless aim at their own perfection and seclude themselves from people in pursuit of spiritual gifts and favors to such an extent that they travel from immersion to amazement, and from amazement to utmost astonishment in the waves of the gifts of the “oceans” where they feel that everything has been lost in the Divine Existence. Those who see them think that they are lunatics and mock them. Because of this, and in consideration of how deep they are in their relationship with God, they cannot act as guides for others; the reservations they cause to arise in the minds of others impede this.

There are others among the godly, virtuous ones who always follow the light of the lamp of Prophethood, and therefore act in a balanced way. They plan and put into practice all of their intentions and attempts under the guidance of the Divine Revelation, the heart, and reason. They comprehend and interpret religious matters correctly and without causing any misunderstandings. They always preserve the balance in their observations of the physical and metaphysical realms, or the physical and metaphysical dimensions of things; they correct their intuitions and perceptions in the state of ecstasy and rapture according to the fundamentals of the Religion, and they present their inferences and deductions within this perspective. They see the world from the point of view of Prophethood and, although they always avoid setting their hearts on it, they pay necessary attention to it as it is the place of observation of Divine beauties, the manifestation of the Divine Names, and the arable field of the afterlife. In whatever they do, they aim at God’s approval and good pleasure, and eternal happiness, striving with a Prophetical determination to make each second, minute, and hour of their lives into ears of corn that bear seven, seventy, and even seven hundred grains. They actually represent godliness and righteousness and set good examples for people to follow. Wherever they are, they remind people of God, and acting as if an indicator, they cause people to turn to Him in devotion. In short, they are those who are always occupied with good, virtuous deeds; who always dream of godliness and righteousness; who always follow the Creator, the Ultimate Truth, in whatever they do; and who care about the created.

Note

YusufNabi(1642–1712):Oneofthemostwell-knownOttomanpoetsoftheseventeenth century. He was born in Urfa, southeastern Turkey, and emigrated to Istanbulwhen he was twenty-four. He lived in Istanbul and Aleppo. He usually wrote didactic poems where he criticized certain vices in society and which contained moral lessons. (Tr.)

What is meant by ‘ilm ladun, or the special knowledge from God’s Presence, is knowledge of the Unseen or knowledge of mysteries, or knowledge which God imparts into one’s heart and the truths occurring to it. Primarily included is the knowledge of all the Prophets and Messengers, as well as the knowledge of saints, purified saintly scholars, virtuous and godly ones, and those especially favored with God’s nearness. It is the knowledge which God has imparted into their hearts by way of Revelation or inspiration, and therefore it is considered to be some sort of special knowledge from God’s Presence. Particularly the knowledge of God’s Messenger, the Sultan of ‘ilm ladun, upon him be peace and blessings, whether it relates to the Unseen “absolute” or the Unseen “restricted,” is included in this consideration of special knowledge from God’s Presence. Süleyman Çelebi expresses this in the following couplet:

That one who has come is the Sultan of ‘ilm ladun,
That one who has come is the source of the knowledge of Divine Oneness.

That “unique one” of time and space is the perfect treasurer of this knowledge of secrets, and the greatest of those who have drunk out of this pool of special knowledge. Neither the other Prophets, nor the Messengers, nor the saints were favored with special knowledge to the same degree as that of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings.

The knowledge which a saint claims to have received from God’s Presence specially may sometimes be incompatible with the decrees of Shari’a. For this reason, those who do not correct any such knowledge or spiritual discovery according to the basic rules or the fundamentals of the Religion may err and cause their followers to err. However, those others who have established their spiritual discoveries and inspirations on the ground of the basic rules of the Religion always see the physical and metaphysical dimension of existence together at the same time, observe this world and the others like the two faces of a single entity, and offer their students sweet “waters” of Divine gifts from the physical and metaphysical worlds.

In Surat al-Kahf, the holy Qur’an mentions a distinguished servant of God favored with special knowledge from God’s Presence, one who God’s Messenger said was called Khadr [1]. It says: And they found (there) one of Our servants to whom We had granted a mercy as a grace from Us and taught special knowledge from Our Presence (18:65). According to the Sufi scholars, the knowledge which God taught Khadr was special knowledge from His Presence. Despite being one of the five greatest Prophets and a perfect guide in Divine truths, the Prophet Moses, upon him be peace, desired to fully comprehend the special knowledge from God’s Presence by following Khadr to learn a particular aspect of it. Sahih al-Bukhari records a saying of our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, which points to the difference between the Prophetic knowledge of Divine truths and some aspects of special knowledge from God’s Presence: “Khadr said to Moses: ‘O Moses! I have some sort of knowledge from God, which you do not know, and you have some other sort of knowledge which I do not know'” [2].

The special knowledge discussed is a special favor from God to certain people; others—even though they may be more knowledgeable in different subjects—lag behind these people in respect to special knowledge from God’s Presence. It is true that in order to be favored with this knowledge, one should have the ability and merit to receive it and enjoy particular nearness to God; but it is primarily a special favor of God to His servants whom He has chosen. For this reason, it cannot be acquired through study, research, or other similar ways. That is God’s grace; He grants it to whom He wills. Surely God is of tremendous grace (62:4). So, this is a special manifestation of God’s grace.

It should be pointed out that although such knowledge is extremely attractive, enchanting, and desirable, and although it is related to certain Divine mysteries, the knowledge of the Religion and Divine truths with which the Prophets were favored is much more elevated than this knowledge; the knowledge of the Prophets is objective, applicable to everybody, and secures the worldly and otherworldly happiness of people. We can explain the difference between these two kinds of knowledge as follows:

Moses’s knowledge was the knowledge of the Shari’a, which was absolutely necessary for everybody regarding their happiness in both worlds and was therefore taught to order people’s worldly life and secure their happiness in the Hereafter, while Khadr’s knowledge was a special favor to know some aspects of the Unseen and certain Divine mysteries. Moses’ knowledge related to the rules and judgment by which public order and security could be realized, while Khadr’s consisted of some special gifts relating to the metaphysical dimension of life and existence. This second kind of knowledge has also been called “special knowledge that is purely from God’s Presence,” “the knowledge of truth,” and “the knowledge of the inner dimensions of existence.” It is a significant source by which one can realize the Divine mysteries. In this respect it is said:

O teacher of religious sciences,
pay no attention to the knowledge of what people say.
Instead, search for the secrets of the Ultimate Truth
In the special knowledge from His Presence.

Although there is some sort of connection between this knowledge and personal efforts to obtain it, such knowledge cannot be obtained through mere study or efforts, for this knowledge occurs in pure hearts as a Divine gift in the form of a sacred power. It comes directly from God’s Presence through the ways of spiritual discovery and inspiration. However, as inspirations coming to the heart manifest themselves in the hearts to varying degrees, so those who cannot continue their spiritual journeying under the guardianship of the Master of creation, upon him be the perfect blessings and peace, may be the target of some suggestions of Satan.

Revelation (wahy) came to the Prophets and it is absolutely beyond all doubt. However, inspiration (ilham) occurs to saints and it is a broad channel for the manifestations of God’s Knowledge. If an inspiration manifests itself in the heart of a human being as a Divine gift beyond his or her willpower, this is called an “occurrence.” Satan may mix some things with an occurrence. An occurrence that is certain to have come from God without any interference from Satan can be regarded as special knowledge from God’s Presence. The firmest sign of an occurrence having originated in God’s Knowledge is its conformity with the Qur’an and the Sunna. It is highly possible that any occurrences which are not in conformity with these two primary foundations or basic sources of the Religion are whisperings or suggestions of Satan or of the human carnal soul. Since occurrences in which Satan and the human carnal soul have interfered bear Satanic and carnal elements, an initiate who has been driven to such an area of deception should immediately turn to God Almighty and regulate his or her state according to the basic rules of Shari’a.

The Sufi leaders call the meanings coming from God’s Presence and which echo in the heart “occurrences from the Ultimate Truth,” while those known to come from the angels are called “occurrences from the angels,” and the “sparks” which come from Satan and the carnal soul and invade the spirit are known as ” carnal or Satanic suggestions.” To differentiate between these occurrences one must depend on the criteria established by the fundamentals of the Religion and the elevated Sunna of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. We should also point out that although these occurrences can be differentiated through the basic rules of the Shari’a, some others may come as a result of, or lead to, certain secret Satanic goals or ambitions even though they appear to be in conformity with the fundamentals of the Religion. For this reason, only those people who are well-versed in this field can establish the true differentiation.

Since the suggestions of the carnal soul and Satan are outside the sphere of “special knowledge from God’s Presence,” we will not go into details about them here.

O God! Show us the truth as the truth and enable us to observe it; show us falsehood as falsehood and enable us to avoid it. And bestow Your blessings and peace upon our master, Muhammad, and on his Family and Companions.

References

• al-Bukhari, “‘Ilm” 44; Muslim, “Fadail” 170.
• al-Bukhari, “‘Ilm” 44.

Literally meaning retreating to a place that is quiet and preferring solitude, halwa(t) is used by the Sufis to mean initiates removing themselves from people to dedicate all of their time to worshipping God, and feeling God’s constant company in whatever they experience and in whatever state they find themselves in. It also denotes restricting one’s powers of sight and hearing to “seeing” and “hearing” only God, confiding in only Him, and devoting oneself exclusively to Him.

What is fundamental for halwa(t) (privacy) is that one should purify one’s spirit, cleanse one’s soul, and turn one’s heart and conscience to God exclusively to attain His constant company. As a result of this degree of turning to God and the attainment of His company, a traveler to the Ultimate Truth is supported with certain Divine gifts and favored with breezes of inspiration. It may even occur that they converse with God beyond all terms of quality and quantity—which is called “mutual whispering” by the Sufis. These are all Divine rewards that come in return for one’s sincerity and exertion; therefore, expecting and demanding these is a show of bad manners. Thus, worshipping God and exerting oneself on His way in order to be able to receive such rewards represents deviation from the basic aim of servanthood to God and amounts to losing while on the way to winning. The perfected souls feel alarmed even over the coming of such rewards without expectations or demands, trembling with the fear that they have come to lead themselves to perdition, and they themselves are consuming the everlasting fruits of the afterlife in this fleeting world. Therefore, they supplicate to God, saying:

O God, grant those gifts to those who ask for them;Please show me only the way to Your vision (in the Hereafter).

In this way they emphasize their utmost devotion to God without expecting anything in return except for His approval of them as His servants and His good pleasure.

All that we have tried to express so far to describe privacy is what the true travelers on the Sufi way have meant by it. However, some Sufi leaders have narrowed its frame and deal with it as being related to retreating to lodges where initiates undergo willful suffering; during this time, an initiate tries to become accustomed to speaking little, eating little, sleeping little, and remaining alone. This point has already been explained under the headings of Halwat and ‘Uzlat (Privacy and Seclusion) and Chila (Suffering) in the first and second volumes of this book respectively. The Sufi scholars who approach the matter from this narrow perspective have stressed its universality, mentioning that every religion and every spiritual system gives place to privacy, even if they differ in some secondary matters. They have considered as privacy the Prophet Moses’ ten years of residence in Midian and his forty days of stay on Mount Sinai, as well as the Children of Israel’s wandering in the Sinai desert for forty years, and the Virgin Mary’s retreat which is mentioned in the Qur’anic verse, We made the Son of Mary and his mother a miraculous sign (of Our Lordship and Power), and We provided for them refuge on a lofty ground of comfort and security with a (water) spring (23:50), and, finally, God’s Messenger’s seclusion in the cave of Hira for the purpose of worship. They attach great importance to privacy in the name of spiritual purification. Even if it could be said that all of the events mentioned above do not provide some substantial religious ground for privacy, the importance of privacy serving the heart cannot be denied. The heart is regarded as the “House of God” and in this way can be purified of various attachments to things other than God, being refined and brightened so that it can receive Divine manifestations.

Privacy is important—not in remaining away from people, but as being a means for a “conversation with the All-Beloved” in the house of the heart. From this perspective, we can consider privacy to be a dimension of the spiritual journeying on the way to God and a step toward attaining His company.

Privacy, which initiates try to accomplish through cycles of forty days of suffering, in fact, serves to enable them to achieve refinement toward the purification of the heart, spirit, consciousness, and feelings so that they can turn back among people (jalwat) in order to guide them.

Privacy is a way essential to Sufism through which initiates can be refined of the carnal dimension of their nature and discover themselves in the depths of their humanity. Through privacy initiates can also clearly perceive the final purpose of their existence and experience God’s particular manifestations of His favors on them through the lens of the helplessness, poverty, and the neediness essential to their very nature. Thus, they turn to God with all of their faculties, in the full conviction of His being the sole source of real power, wealth, knowledge, and all accomplishments.

Privacy does not only consist of constant seclusion from people, as one who went to extremes in solitude said:

Brothers, my comfort lies in privacy— For to whomever I have become a friend, They publicized my faults and spread my humiliations around. During my entire life, I have not been able to find one— One who has been truly faithful. For this reason, I have found comfort in privacy.

Although privacy is in appearance a retreat from people, in truth it is a process of being equipped with the necessities of guidance in order to live in people’s company.

At the beginning of journeying, those who intend such privacy withdraw to a secluded place, for example, remaining in a mosque for the purpose of worship. They eat little, drink little, sleep little, speak little, and are occupied with the remembrance of God. They never abandon reflection or self-supervision. When they have reached the final point of perfection they return among people and set out to serve them as one from among them. They attain non- existence in regards to their carnal existence and egotism and acquire an ever-active existence through the lights of the Divine existence. In the concepts, thoughts, and speeches of one who has reached this point, the self no longer exists; rather the truth and the Ultimate Truth exist. For this reason, such a person may say, “I no longer exist within me; I am no longer conscious of my existence.” In his Diwan Kabir, Jalalu’d-Din ar-Rumi describes this feeling of non-existence as follows:

We have been favored with a mystery,
a journeying on the way to the Ultimate Truth.
We rejoice in our non-existence.
So, come and let us remain in our non-existence.
The doors were closed to us before,
but when we were saved from ourselves,
all the doors were opened.
Our hearts have been filled with peace and satisfaction
because we have remained freed from ourselves on this way.
The All-Beautiful Beloved,
Who kept Himself concealed from us,
Has stroked our face in our non-existence.
We have died for His sake and, in turn,
He has saved us from ourselves.

Jalwa(t) (company) denotes that initiates are freed from self-centeredness or anything that feeds their egos and—having been equipped with God’s qualities or way of acting and being polished mirrors to His Names—dedicate themselves to service in God’s cause with whatever they have, caring about the eternal happiness of others during their whole life. Another approach to company is that after initiates are freed from relative values that are peculiar to themselves, they then devote their intellect, logic, reasoning, and tongue to the service of humanity in the light of the lamp of Prophethood.

A person who attained company illuminates some of the features of those who have attained it as follows:

Those who have attained company polish spirits;
they are those followed by people.
They have three distinguishing marks:
Purity of the soul, refinement of the heart, and a polished spirit.
They are mirrors to the manifestations of the Divine Names.

Whether one prefers privacy or company, the true attainment is servanthood to God, perfectly fulfilling whatever this servanthood requires, and sincere self-exertion to make others know and love Him.

O God! Show us the truth as the truth and enable us to observe it, and show us falsehood as falsehood and enable us to avoid it. And bestow Your blessings and peace upon our master, Muhammad, and on his Family and Companions.

Literally meaning avoiding speech and keeping silent, samt is used by the Sufis to describe keeping silent or preferring silence in self-possession to avoid the useless or harmful utterances that one can make while speaking. Aware of the Divine warning, Not a word does he utter but there is a watcher by him, ever-present (50:18), one should speak when necessary and only for the good pleasure of God, uttering words that are pleasing to God.

The saying of the glorious nightingale of creation, Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, “Either speak of good or keep silent,” [1] is a most concise, decisive definition of samt, and provides the frame of reference that one should remain within when speaking and keeping silent. We should also remind ourselves of another saying attributed to him: “Let your speech be wisdom, and your silence reflection” [2].

Speaking too much, in particular speaking empty words, is something that has always been condemned and regarded as one of the sinful acts which lead people to perdition. Those who have been initiated into spiritual journeying to God Almighty have continuously been warned against speaking too much and against useless words as this is a sinful act of the tongue. It has been emphasized that eating too much, sleeping too much, and speaking too much are each a collar around the necks of the travelers to God Almighty, chains on their feet, and handcuffs around their wrists—for they lead one to make frequent mistakes and commit frequent sins. The saying attributed to Caliph ‘Umar, may God be pleased with him, “Whoever speaks much errs much,” [3] corroborates this point.

Both the books of good morals and the epistles of Sufism have studied and explained the idea of keeping silent, each from their own perspective, attaching great importance to this virtue by regarding it as important wealth for an initiate, a secret treasure for those who have reached the final point of journeying, and a sign of good manners for every believer.

This does not mean that a believer should keep silent in every case. A believer should speak to advise and promote good and prevent evil, to teach and guide, to remove what is harmful, and to encourage and introduce what is useful. Our religion orders us to utter what should be said to support and establish truth and justice so that everyone can receive their rightful due, and forbids us from keeping silent in such cases. It can be said that however harmful and condemnable it is for one to speak without seeking God’s approval or good pleasure and thereby pursuing a lawful purpose, it is equally harmful and condemnable for one to keep silent when and where one should speak. For this reason, although keeping silent is generally approved and advisable, speaking is sometimes more approved than silence. Silence, in other words, while it is not always golden, is sometimes silver. It is of great importance to know where and when one should keep silent, and where and when one should speak. In a Prophetic Tradition, the person who keeps silent where right and justice are violated and truth is desecrated is regarded as a “mute devil”; those who speak false and useless words are considered to be the friends and translators of Satan.

It is both an ethical behavior and indicative of their knowing their place in the “market of thought and speech” that those who should speak are given the opportunity to speak, while others whose speech is not useful should remain silent. In this respect, it has been said:

If your merchandise is copper, O brother,
do not offer it for sale in the market.
Leave the market to those who sell jewelry.

Keeping silent in the presence of people with profound spiritual states and wisdom shows that one has good manners and that one respects such profound spiritual states and wisdom. Concerning this, the Shaykhu’l-Islam Yahya Efendi [4] says:

Give ear to the speech of the people of profound spiritual states.
Do not compare their speech to other speeches.
You know, O preacher, that every speech is different from others.

Silence accompanied by self-supervision in the presence of those who have reached the final point of journeying and who have been favored with God’s company is also emphasized. This silence of the people of heart, who can recognize people of true merit and worth, means respect for both the hearts into which Divine inspirations descend and for the One Who has favored these hearts with satisfaction. They remain silent where they should and prepare the ground for the breezes of inspirations to blow, setting their tables not for the worldly bounties, but for the ever-fresh fruits of Paradise.

It sometimes occurs that the matter to be discussed is so profound that it transcends our horizon of perception to the extent that we should keep silent and invite others around us to silence. Sayings such as, “No need to present our need, for the state we are in is expressive of everything,” and the silent prayer, “Consider what a wretched state we are in, and do not leave us alone!” are the voices of such silence. Jalalu’d-Din Rumi makes the following invitation to it:

Look at my pale face, but do not say anything to me!
See my countless pains, but for God’s love,
do not say anything to me!

Look at my heart in profuse blood,
and my tears flowing like a stream!
But ignore whatever you see,
and do not ask how and why!

Common people hold their tongues and only keep silent physically, while those who have certain knowledge of God keep control of both their tongue and heart, and so experience self-supervision in silence. As for the lovers of God, they keep their love and yearning within themselves and so represent the silence of faithfulness. The first of these three groups are saved from blunders of speech and protect themselves from censure and reproach. Those of the second group receive, in addition to what silence itself may bring, the spiritual gifts which come through reflection and self-supervision. As for those of the third group, it is stated in the following couplet:

You say that you are a lover, then do not sigh with the ordeal of love!
Do not make others aware of your ordeal by sighing!

Thus, they are able to keep their secrets in silence and display an example of deep faithfulness.

O God, include us among Your servants, sincere (in faith and
practicing the Religion), and endowed with sincerity; and bestow
blessings and peace on our master Muhammad, the leader of
those endowed with sincerity, and on his Family and Companions,
who both love You and are loved by You.

Notes

1. al-Bukhari, “Adab” 31; Muslim, “Iman” 74.
2. al-Ghazzali, Ihya’ ‘Ulum ad-Din, 1:3; 2:228.
3. at-Tabarani, al-Mu‘jamu’l-Awsat, 2:370; al-Bayhaqi, Shu‘abu’l-Iman, 4:257.
4. Shaykhu’l-Islam Yahya Efendi (1553–1644) was one of the most famous Shaykhu’l-Islams of the Ottoman State. The office of Shaykhu’l-Islam was the highest office of religious affairs. Yahya Efendi was also a well-known poet. (Tr.)

With the term wasil, we indicate a hero of truth whose particular efforts have been crowned with particular aid, and whose particular instances of turning to God and devotions with particular sainthood, and who has therefore been honored with an indescribable nearness to God. A wasil is a sincere one who is continuously drawn toward God in spiritual raptures, and who has programmed his will to reach and meet with the Ultimate Truth. Such a one is also a guide who leads others to God without any deviation. Tokadizade Şekip [1] draws attention to this attribute of a wasil:

My star was dim and my fortune did not smile on me;
all the days of my life were passing in darkness.
But it was a day when one with perfect attainment came to my aid,
then I lived glorious days, and I experienced happy ages.

Whether during journeying or upon reaching the horizon of meeting with God, a wasil is extraordinarily meticulous in observing God’s orders and prohibitions, and tries his utmost to perform the duties of worship fully, constantly considering His inconceivable Grandeur. Even though they are completely sincere and earnest in their devotions, still they tremble with fear that they are unable to observe their duties toward God. With sensitivity proportionate to their efforts, and with a transcending profundity, they do their best to carry out their responsibilities. Such sincere and profound devotions and continuous, earnest efforts receive extra favors from God Almighty. As stated in the Prophetic Tradition, whose meaning is directly from God, “When I love him, I become his power of hearing with which he hears, and his power of sight with which he sees,” [2] the Almighty, with ever-flowing gifts, makes the wasil hear what will be heard and see what will be seen, and has such a one travel around the station of being loved by Him to reach the horizons where the wasil will fully grasp the things which are pleasing to Him.

Though all those who have reached the final point discussed have common perfections, it is a reality that there are some significant differences among them with respect to the specific nature and relative comprehensiveness of their attainments.

Some of them are in unceasing rapture, drowned in the experience of being in the constant company of God, and lead their life fixed on their goal with their intellect, logic and reasoning under the direction and protection of Divine manifestations. Any deviation from their goal is out of the question, for since their being or self-consciousness has been burned away with the rays of the Divine “Facial” Light, they cannot see, hear, or feel anything other than Him and they live in constant spiritual intoxication. Their intoxication is to the extent that they never think of calling at the shores of sobriety or the quays of carnal reason. It can actually be said that even if they want to think of doing so, they are unable to. It is true that some certain temperaments who have reached this rank have suffered some confusion, but this has rarely taken place. Some among this rank may lose their power of reason, which makes humans responsible for their acts, simply because of the intensity of their feelings of attraction toward God; thus, some of their resulting attitudes, words, and acts may be contrary to the rules of Shari‘a. The utterances of Jibali Baba [3], for instance, and words such as, “There is nothing but God in my cloak!”, “Glory be to me, how supreme is my being!”, and “I am the Truth!”—which were uttered by Bayazid al-Bastami [4], Junayd al-Baghdadi [5], and Mansur al-Hallaj, respectively, men who were considered to be among the greatest figures of the Sufi way—and other similar statements are effectively attributable to the intensity of the feeling of being attracted toward God and to their spiritual intoxication. Contrary to the exhaustion and calmness caused by unions in physical terms, a wasil is always active, as if programmed to act, observe, love, and learn incessantly. This is why there is a continuity in the relationship of the wasil’s spiritual life with eternity, while carnal love usually dies away after union. The spiritual union or meeting with God at the end of the spiritual journeying is so different that its pleasure continues to deepen more and more; one who has reached this point experiences ever new instances of union, as if favored with union at every moment. Nasimi [6] voices this kind of union, which is the highest point to be reached for a traveler toward God, as follows:

The space where I am has developed into no-space;
This body of mine has wholly become a soul;
God’s look has manifested itself to me,
and I have found myself intoxicated with His meeting.
A call has come to me from the Ultimate Truth:
“Come, O lover, you have intimacy with Us!
This is the place of intimacy;
I have found you a faithful one!”

In order to be able to reach this point, a very important factor for the traveler, in addition to a particular aspect of human free will, is a feeling of attraction toward God. It is said that a feeling of attraction toward God, the Ultimate Truth, is actually better than the act of worship formally carried out by humanity and the jinn, and this has been circulated among saints to emphasize that the feeling of attraction toward God is a means of God’s nearness, which both human beings and jinn can attain through repeated, regular worship.

The feeling of attraction sometimes comes as a Divine favor in return for an initiate’s sound intention and steadfastness to reach God, and it serves them for reaching the heaven of perfections in an instant. At other times, it happens in order to save initiates from the troubles of journeying, as God Almighty favors them with the partial or particular manifestation of the truth stated in, “All-Glorified is He Who took His servant for a journey by night” (17:1), carrying them to the point where they can experience God’s nearness according to their capacity. In whatever way it occurs, there can be no doubt that this feeling of attraction is a gift from the All-Merciful.

In one of his poems in his Diwan-i Kabir, Jalalu’d-Din Rumi describes an instance of meeting with God, which he attained through such a feeling of attraction, as follows:

The mount of love of meanings has taken away both my reason and heart. Ask me where it has taken them. It has taken them somewhere beyond which you cannot know. I have reached under an arch where there is no moon, nor skies. I have arrived in such a world that it is no longer a world. When the All-Beloved Soul appears like the Canopus [7] from the side of the Pillar of the Yemen [8] beyond all terms of quality and quantity, no longer does the moon, nor the sun, nor the pole of the seven heavens remain. The lights of the All-Beloved Soul overwhelm all of them.

The ascension toward God and meeting with Him which was achieved by the great saints, according to the capacity of each, is a manifestation of the Ascension of the Messenger of God and his meeting with God, which is expressed by Süleyman Çelebi [9] as follows:

At that moment, the Divine Being manifested
Himself in such overflow that
there was no longer any space,
neither the heavens nor the earth.

The difference between the ascension and meeting with God that is achieved by great saints who follow in the footsteps of the Messenger, which are a manifestation of his Ascension and meeting with Him, compared to the Messenger’s own Ascension and meeting with God, is as great as the difference between a saint and the Messenger.

Among those who have reached the final point of nearness to God are others who, having drowned in the spiritual experience where the existence of all things and beings including themselves is annihilated in the Eternally and Truly Existent One’s Existence, crown self-annihilation in the ocean of annihilation with a return to life in the horizon of sobriety. They do so in order to be able to have others feel the spiritual pleasures they have achieved, through the windows of the states and stations they have attained, and thus they share the favors that have been accorded to them with those souls that are capable of receiving. Thus, as a requirement of being heirs to the mission of Prophethood, they graciously return among us.

These noble servants of the Ultimate Truth are extremely meticulous in observing the Divine orders and prohibitions, both at the beginning and end of their journeying. They never display attitudes or make utterances which do not conform to the rules of the Shari‘a, either in their experiences of attraction toward God, or in the peaks of their disclosures and observations of the Divine truths where the flood of the Divine “Facial” Light burn away everything. Without exhibiting any attitude that is irreconcilable with servanthood to God, they always try their utmost to carry out whatever servanthood to God requires their willpower to do, as decreed in, “Worship your Lord until certainty ( death), which is bound to come, comes to you” (15:99). They carry out their duties of service according to the depth of their knowledge of God and love of Him, and commensurate with their experiences of attraction. They prefer being servants at the door of the Ultimate Truth to all other achievements and stations, and they always give precedence to servanthood to Him over the rewards that come from Him. They Regard their knowledge of Him as insufficient on any given occasion, and emphasize their inability to give due thanks for God’s favors to them. Saying, “We have not been able to worship You as worshipping You requires, O the One Worshipped,” they confess that they have not been able to do anything worthy of mention in the name of worshipping God. With the words, “We have not been able to know You as knowing You requires, O the One Known,” they excuse themselves for their lack of sufficient capacity of knowing God. And by uttering, “We have not been able to thank You as thanking You requires, O the One Thanked,” they sigh with a deep sense of shame as they are unable to give due thanks for the limitless favors of the All-Favoring.

These people of great stature are extraordinarily self-possessed, exceptionally aware, and full of feelings of fear and awe, even when carrying out their duties with the deepest commitment and responsibility. It can be said that their inner worlds are best pictured and manifested by the Divine declaration, “They do whatever they do and give whatever they give in charity and for God’s cause, with their hearts trembling at the thought that they are bound to turn to their Lord (remaining anxious, for they are unsure whether God will accept from them and be pleased with them). It is those (illustrious ones) who hasten to do all kinds of virtuous deeds, and they are in a virtuous competition with one another in doing them” (3:114). In any case, God knows the ultimate truth in all matters.

O God! Show us truth as being true and enable us to follow it,
and show us falsehood as being false and enable us to refrain from
it. And bestow Your blessings and peace on our master Muhammad,
whom You have chosen among all creation, made perfectly
pure, and favored with Messengership, and on his Family and
Companions, whom You have chosen and favored with blessings.

Notes

1. Tokadizade Şekip was one of the Turkish poets and writers who lived in Izmir in the first half of the twentieth century. He wrote in favor of freedom during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II, and was one of the founders of the Association for Defending the Basic Rights in Izmir. (Tr.)
2. al-Bukhari, “Riqaq” 38; Ibn Hibban, Sahih, 2:58.
3. Jibali Baba is one of the saints who lived in Istanbul just before its conquest by the Turks in 1453, and died during the conquest. According to some, he is Jebe Ali Pasha, who was one of the saintly commanders of the Turkish army during the conquest. The district Jibali in Istanbul was named after him. (Tr.)
4. Abu Yazid (Bayazid) al-Bistami (d. 804–874): One of the greatest Sufi masters. He was from Bastam, Iran. Junayd al-Baghdadi said: “Abu Yazid holds the same rank among us as Gabriel among the angels.” His life was based on self-annihilation and the practice of devotion. (Tr.)
5. Junayd al-Baghdadi (830–910): One of the most famous early Sufi masters. He lived and died in Baghdad. He enjoyed great respect and was known as “the prince of those having knowledge of God.” (Tr.)
6. Imadu’d-Din Nasimi (1369–1417): Azerbaijan’s outstanding poet of the fifteenth century, wrote in Azerbaijani Turkish along with Arabic and Persian. He was very accomplished in lyric poems. (Tr.)
7. Canopus is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Carina, and the second brightest star in the night-time sky, after Sirius. (Tr.)
8. The Pillar of the Yemen (Rukn Yamani) is the southern corner of the Ka‘ba which faces Yemen. (Tr.)
9. Suleyman Çelebi (1351–1422) is the writer of the famous Mawlid (whose original name is Wasilat an-Najat, meaning “The Means of Salvation”). He lived in Bursa, Turkey. Mawlid, which was composed and is widely read in Turkey on certain occasions is a long poetical history of the Prophet Muhammad’s life and his matchless virtues and achievements. (Tr.)

Literally meaning being transported from one place to another, journeying in the language of the Sufis is described as being freed from living a restricted life with carnal or bodily concerns and bounds and turning to God on the horizon of the heart. It can be viewed and dealt with within the concepts of “journeying toward God,” “journeying in God,” and “journeying from God.”

Turning to God or journeying on His way begins with a person’s conscious decision and continues along the bridges of belief, the practice of Islam in daily life, and attaining excellence in one’s deeds in awareness that God always sees us and whatever we do. It requires sincerity and purity of intention in faith and the practice of Islam, as well as austerity, asceticism, righteousness, and piety. It continues until the point where the Divine Being, Who introduces Himself to us with the words, We are nearer to him than his jugular vein (50:16), favors the wayfarer or traveler, who feels invaded by His love and being attracted by Him and experiences an overflowing zeal toward Him, with special nearness to Him. Those who have reached this point and feel this nearness in their spirit cannot help but utter, “There is no longer any space, neither the heavens nor the earth!” Without stopping, they continue their journeying, which has now passed beyond time and space.

Journeying occurs at various levels and forms according to how the initiate has been prepared for it, the extent of his own spiritual capacity and, more than anything else, according to the particular gifts with which the One Who is nearer to everything than itself will favor him.”

Journeying begins with reflection on the outer world and the human inner world, and seeing the essential unity in the multiplicity of things, and by perceiving God’s particular manifestation of His mercy and His assistance amidst His overall manifestations of His Names in the light of belief in Divine Unity, and by feeling this particular manifestation in one’s inner world with pleasure. This journey, which can be viewed as journeying toward God, continues with the continuous sipping of Divine knowledge by observing His unique stamp on whatever there is in the universe, from the earth to the farthest galaxies. Initiates making this journey never set their hearts on anything other than God, but spend unending efforts to turn to God in their hearts, continuing their relationships with other things and beings only with respect to the fact that they are, in truth, also indicators of God. As long as they feel the breezes that emanate from this proceeding on the way to God in the depths of their hearts or observe their horizon of being favored by God on their peaks, they feel more and more provoked to rise higher and boil from the depths of their hearts in the virtuous circle of observation and pleasure. This state of theirs can be viewed in the light of the verse, Those who keep from disobedience to God in reverence for Him and piety: when a suggestion from Satan touches them—they are alert and remember God, and then they have clear discernment (7:201). An initiate who has reached this elevated horizon sees, feels, and evaluates everything differently and dis- plays continuous changes from a lower state to a higher one.

In the second stage of journeying, or in the second journeying, initiates free themselves from different pieces of information that have been collected from different sources and proceed toward unity in thought on the horizon of knowledge of God, exhibiting this unity through all their faculties. This stage can be viewed as “journeying in God,” and it consists of an initiate’s feeling through the Divine Names the Divine Being Himself called by these Names; and his experiencing the protection and direction of the Divine Attributes; and regarding his innate poverty as a means of pride, continuously progressing toward Him on his particular horizon through the perception of his own innate poverty and helplessness. Initiates in this second stage are always aware of Him, are satisfied with their knowledge of Him, voice Him, and experience them- selves in His company at all times. Some call this stage “journeying in the company of the Ultimate Truth.” Heroes of spirituality who have reached this peak on the horizon of being aware of the Divine Names watch what is beyond this horizon through the prism of the Divine Attributes, and cast their nets of spiritual faculties to catch mysteries. Like sunflowers always turning their faces to the sun, with the eyes of their hearts fixed on a certain horizon, and their consciences conducting business with the Divine Being, they always feel the great awe of the Divine Presence, and shudder with this feeling of awe. Every one of their states displays the truth voiced in, They do whatever they do and give whatever they give in charity and for God’s cause, with their hearts trembling at the thought that they are bound to turn to their Lord. It is those (illustrious ones) who hasten to do all kinds of virtuous deeds, and they are in a virtuous competition with one another in doing them (23:60–61). When they turn their eyes to the sensed existence, they notice the Divine Names; and when they contemplate what exists beyond the sensed existence, they are struck with wonder and amazement.

One drowned in such knowledge of God
cannot distinguish between the Names
and He Who is called by these Names;
The disciples of the guides of the Order of Jilan are
cognizant of such mysteries.
M. Lutfi

The third type of journeying or the third stage of journeying consists of going beyond the difference between the outward and the inward in existence and the Religion, and being favored with the unshakable conviction of and experiencing God’s particular manifestations on oneself and relations with oneself as an individual, as well as the overall manifestations of His Names throughout the universe. This highest point in journeying corresponds to the horizon of feeling absorbed in Divine Existence. This absorption must never be thought of as Incarnation or Union [1], both of which are false beliefs. Rather, it means going beyond all opposites in the sensed dimension of existence and experiencing the transcendent unity that encompasses and operates in everything. As explained by Jalalu’d-Din Rumi, absorption means that initiates feel annihilated in their horizon of knowledge and love of God.

This rank, which marks the meeting point of the realms of the absolute necessity and contingency, and described in the Qur’an (53:9) as nearness to God at the point where there is so little distance between as that between the strings of two bows (put adjacent to each other), or even nearer (than that), essentially belongs to Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. And those who have reached the final point of nearness to God and sainthood can experience its shadow, each according to their particular capacities, and are freed from all opposites and dichotomies in their hearts.

We can mention another type of journeying. This type of journeying is particular to the heirs of the mission of Prophethood. It consists of turning back among the created after completing ascension to the Creator and feeling absorbed in His Existence. It is such a particular Divine favor that, having set their feet firmly on the Divine Oneness, initiates who are distinguished by it deepen their ascension with “descent,” with the zeal of conveying to others all their experiences and the gifts with which they have been, are, and will be, favored. These initiates become the translators of the Creator among the created. This type or stage of journeying, which is also called “journeying from God and with God,” is the most valuable and meritorious of journeys and is another title to designate the rank of having reached the highest point.

Those who have achieved this last journeying sometimes seem strange and are estranged among people. However, conscious of their being favored with Divine company, they spend lives in an atmosphere where they always feel the breeze of Prophetic congratulations:

“How happy are those estranged!” [2] They constantly feel the breezes that flow from the worlds beyond and the next world and they experience both of the worlds together. Some of the Sufi elders regard the beginning of journeying as “journeying,” and its end as “residence.” Some others approach both the beginning and end as “residence,” while still others see the journey, with all of its stages, to be “journeying.”

There are some different considerations concerning journeying that arise from differences of temperaments and schools of Sufism. Believing that they are not directly related with journeying itself in its essential nature, we will be content with briefly mentioning the concept of “journeying in the native land (safar dar watan),” which the followers of the Naqshbandiya Order regard as one of the eleven essentials of journeying. We will also give a short definition of the other essentials.

Safar dar watan (journeying in the native land) is used when a traveler toward God is freed from bad morals and the influence of carnal desires, being equipped with angelic attributes. This is in conformity with the saying of the greatest of emigrants in God’s cause, upon him be peace and blessings: “An emigrant in God’s cause is the one who emigrates from what God has forbidden” [3]. The other ten essentials, each of which is expressed with a particular term, are as follows:

• Hush dar dam (Awareness in every moment): This means that initiates are conscious of what they do and are aware that God sees them at every breath. An initiate who accomplishes this is regarded as one who constantly remembers and mentions God.
• Nazar bar qadam (Noticing one’s steps): This signifies that travelers toward God are always careful of where they put their feet and how they take each step. It also describes how travelers fix their eyes upon God without ever setting their hearts upon anything or anyone else.
• Halwat dar anjuman (Secret meeting amidst crowds): This term, which signifies that an initiate is alone with God while among people, implies the reaction of the Naqshbandiya against seclusion. They maintain that seclusion suggests a secret desire for renown, whereas social life prevents such a desire and is preferable in respect of being beneficial to people.
• Yad kard (Remembrance): This term means that travelers toward God should keep their inner world under constant supervision, holding their breath and mentioning God in their hearts. This can also be described as remembrance or mention of God through the heart.
• Baz kasht (Distinguishment): This is what is meant in the verse, When you are free (from one task), resume (another task) (94:7), and it denotes how initiates resume a new good deed after they finish their invocations. It is the summation of “O my God! You are the One Whom I seek out, and Your good pleasure is what I yearn for.”
• Nigah dasht (Noticing): This means more than self-supervision and denotes being meticulously careful about one’s inner world, trying not to think of, or remember, anything other than God. It varies in degree according to capacities.
• Yad dasht (Keeping in mind): This denotes what the Qur’anic term ihsan (excellence, perfect goodness) means. It is used to express that initiates should continually act in the awareness that God always sees them and their actions.
• Wuquf-i zamani (Awareness of time): This signifies that initiates who have almost reached the final point in journeying should always be awake and act with insight and self-possession at every moment of their lives. It is often regarded as one of the significant spiritual stations toward the final point in journeying.
• Wuquf-i adadi (Awareness of number): This is a term used to describe how initiates should be careful to mention certain words or phrases in the exact number that their guide wants them to.
• Wuquf-i qalbi (Awareness of one’s heart): This term signifies that initiates who have reached the final point in journeying should turn to God with all their faculties and concentrate on Him. It is a state belonging to those who have reached the peak.

May God guide us and you to the safe and sound way, and may His blessings be on our master, Muhammad, full of pity and compassion, and on his Family and Companions, noble, honorable, and godly.

Notes

1. Incarnation is the false belief that God takes the form of a human being and is seen in this form, while Union means a person’s joining Divinity or being one with God. (Tr.)
2. Muslim “Iman” 232; at-Tirmidhi, “Iman” 13.
3. al-Bukhari, “Iman” 4; Abu Dawud, “Jihad” 2.

Do not offer your hand to whoever claims guidance,
for he may lead you to a slope which is impossible to climb;
whereas the path of a perfect guide
is easy enough to follow.
Niyazi-i Mısri

Guidance is defined in different ways, among which are directing to the right path, awakening hearts to the Ultimate Truth, helping feelings and thoughts reach God by removing the obstacles between Him and people’s minds and hearts, and serving as a means for the souls to have some acquaintance with God, and for the souls who have acquired acquaintance with Him to deepen in their relationships with Him. It consists of educating people individually or in communities and, thus, elevating those from among them endowed with the required capability and merit from being potentially human to being truly human, or directing them to the horizon of being perfect human beings.

We can also see guidance as a call which a perfect teacher, who has full knowledge of the outer and inner aspects of the Religion and who is able to combine them in theory and practice, makes to those endowed with the required capabilities to be human at a certain level of humanity. From this perspective, we can regard guidance as the special efforts of heroes of spirituality to convey to others whatever of spirituality they have particularly been favored with. In the hands of such heroes, coal has always been trans- formed into diamonds, and rocks and soil have been raised to the level of gold. The teachers of Sufism have dealt with the matter of guidance and guides in this respect and have considered it as the superhuman effort of those with transcendent qualities. They do not regard endeavors at a low level as guidance, nor do they consider as guides those who are unable to open the doors to the horizon of perfect humanity for souls with the required capabilities. For these, themselves, are in need of guidance and must certainly be trained. A famous Turkish proverb states:

A guide who himself is in need of special favor cannot know how he can impart favor to others!

It is truly as if this proverb has been coined in regard to such people. Salim Suleyman Uskudari [1] voices the same consideration in a poetic way:

Our teacher himself suffers from a lack of knowledge, so how can he know what guidance really is?

Bagdatli Ruhi [2] approached the matter a bit more humorously:

Look at the ascetic: he aspires to be a guide;
he started school yesterday, today he wishes to teach.

It is a fact that if there is one thing that is the most enduring in this world and the most meritorious in the Hereafter, it is guidance; and therefore a guide is the most valuable person. However, guides can only educate according to their own capacity. It is possible to talk of a wide range of guides, from the “spiritual poles” or “axes” to ordinary preachers.

As we have briefly mentioned, guides are, in a general sense, heralds of truth who possess whatever is necessary for guidance, heroes of spirituality, and heirs to the mission of Prophethood, who convey Divine gifts to the hearts. In regard to some aspects of this mission, a guide is also called a “sitter-on-rug” (postnishin), or the “elder one” (shaykh). The word shaykh is also used in the sense of teacher or professor. A guide favored with special nearness to God and special knowledge from God’s Presence, and charged and authorized with the duty of guidance, is different from an ordinary preacher. Ordinary guides find in themselves the truths to be imparted to others according to their own horizon of perception, and convey them to others in accordance with their capacity. However, perfect guides, like the North Star, direct all to the true way, based on the fundamental sources of the Religion, and present to others whatever should be presented out of the depths of their hearts and spirit. As for those who are both a spiritual Pole (Qutb) and a Helper or Means of Divine Help (Ghawth), they shape whoever enters their atmosphere in the mold of their own horizon, and rebuild them with the material purely from the Qur’an and the Sunna.

At whatever level it occurs, guidance is the most valued among the duties of servanthood, provided it is done purely for God’s sake; and any hero of truth who fulfills such a responsibility is a guide who is an heir to the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. However, it should be noted that the companionship of a perfect guide has a particular pleasure of its own and bears signs of a possible “meeting” with God, while it is highly difficult to be able to advance in the company of an imperfect one.

A couplet, whose writer is unknown, reads:

Go to a guide, to a guide, a guide,
a guide has a cure for any suffering, O “father!”

Anwari [3] contributes to this meaning with the following:

The meaning of “You will never be able to see Me!” [4]
I could not understand it without being
“Mount Sinai” in tearful love.
The mystery of the truth of the Cloak
that covers the light-diffusing Prophet’s Family:¹⁴
I could not understand this
without being happy when meeting a guide.

Now, without going into the differences that arise from the capacity and amount of knowledge each guide has, or the spiritual gifts that each is favored with, I will try to explain the subject in relation to certain essential elements that are found in every guide.

A guide is one who has sufficient knowledge of the relationship between God, human beings, and the universe, and the matters concerning this sphere of the Religion. Anyone who does not recognize God is a denier and an ignorant one; and those who are unable to perceive the relationship between Him and existence are blind and unaware of the real nature of their existence, while one who does not know himself is, in fact, lonely and a stranger amidst existence. All of these types of human beings themselves are in need of guidance.

A guide is a hero of spirituality, one who is a careful student of the Qur’an and the book of the universe, and one who has an inquiring mind which has an acquaintance with existential mysteries. A guide is also a sagacious, insightful one with eyes that are observant of things, a tongue busy with reciting the Qur’an, and ears that listen to it. With sound and accurate sense perceptions, profound and comprehensive observations, and powerful reasoning, a guide is distinguished with the manners that are found in a Prophet at a perfect level. Such a person has a universal viewpoint in dealing with matters, is careful of the intersecting points of the revealed rules and commandments and the Divine laws of creation and life. These individuals seek only God’s good pleasure and approval in conveying to people what God wants them to convey and in communicating whatever is inspired into them to needy souls, thereby considering His nearness in whatever they do and say.

Guides are those individuals who try their utmost to proclaim, on any platform, the cause on which they have set their heart in a mood of dedication, and who mediate between what should be conveyed to others and those to whom it should be conveyed. As they never think of any wage, compensation, or reward, they also attribute any material or spiritual return coming, without expectation, to the sincere efforts of those around them. Without ever appropriating whatever spiritual gifts come to them personally, they regard their followers as a means for the arrival of these gifts. This is, without doubt, self-denial; but in a true guide’s sight, it is what an ordinary believer should do, not something worthy of acclamation. Such true guides never expect others to appreciate their activities, nor do they aim by them at any worldly or otherworldly outcome, except God’s good pleasure and approval. They are always sincere and upright before God, for they are aware that they follow the way of the Prophets and that this way has certain rules to observe, the most important of which is that any guide should pursue only God’s good pleasure in the act of guiding others.

A guide is also a hero of love and tolerance, one who has full knowledge of his audience or followers with all of their characteristics; a guide keeps them under wings of compassion, shares their joys and grief, congratulates them on their accomplishments, and ignores their faults and deficiencies. Like sources of fragrance, such guides diffuse “incense” to satisfy needy hearts; like candles, they consume themselves to illuminate the dark souls around them, for the well-being of the latter. They find true happiness in the happiness of others and avoid no sacrifice in conveying their ideals. They die in order to revive; weep in order to make others laugh; become tired to enable the rest of others; strive constantly in order to be able to awaken others to eternity—without paying any attention to either sincere or insincere appreciation, or to unfair criticisms. They beg God’s forgiveness in the face of compliments, welcome any rightful reactions and criticism, and go on without faltering.

A guide is a wise one equipped with the necessary knowledge of both religious and certain secular sciences to discuss different subjects with an audience and present satisfactory solutions to their problems. In the Naqshbandiya Order, the duty of guidance was not entrusted to those who did not successfully complete all the courses taught in the madrasas or who could not combine spiritual and intellectual enlightenment. Rather, the lodges where the elders or guides of this school taught were each like a fountain of Khadr [5] at which those studying were able to quench their thirst. Any houses of guidance where guides of such caliber did not, or do not, teach are no different from ruins; those who claim guidance in them are deceived and the people who hope for illumination in such centers, which are themselves devoid of light, are indeed unfortunate ones.

Do not offer your hand to whoever claims guidance,
for he may lead you to a slope which is impossible to climb;
whereas the path of a perfect guide
is easy enough to follow.
Niyazi-i Mısri [6]

However transcendent in general knowledge and knowledge of God they may be, in particular, guides are perfect preachers who can combine, in a balanced way, their ascension toward God with being in the company of people at the same time and considering the level of their audience when conveying to them what they should convey. They always consider the dispositions, feelings, and thoughts of those whose education they have shouldered, and they avoid causing any misunderstandings or ambiguity in conveying the messages that arise from the particular gifts they have received in the horizon of their relationship with God. A true guide is a strict follower and meticulous student of the Qur’an and is, therefore, obliged to follow the Qur’an in the duty of guidance. Despite being the Word of the All-Great, All-Transcendent One, the Qur’an came to the horizon of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, not in a wholly transcendental manifestation of the Divine Attribute of Speech, but rather, in consideration of the levels of all its audience. Thus, just as the Qur’an addresses humankind according to their many levels of understanding, its first and greatest communicator—and the greatest of all guides—Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, also considered the different levels of his audience and said: “We, the community of the Prophets, have been ordered to address people according to their capacity of understanding” [7].

Guides speak with the sublimity of their character, the depth of their spirituality, and the language of their actions. They are exceptionally faithful and devoted to God Almighty. It is an undeniable truth that those whose words do not conform to their actions and who are not trustworthy by their own actions cannot have any positive, lasting influence on people; thus, their message cannot be acceptable. The only way for those things that are said to be acceptable to the human conscience is the speaker’s unshakable conviction of the truth of those things and his practicing them in his life. It is reported that God Almighty said to Prophet Jesus, upon him be peace: “O Jesus! First give advice to your own soul, and only after you have accepted and followed it, then give it to others—or else be ashamed of Me” [8]. This is in perfect conformity with what the Qur’an quotes from Prophet Shu‘ayb, upon him be peace: “I do not want to act in opposition to you (myself doing) what I ask you to avoid” (11:88).

O God, include us among Your servants sincere (in faith and in practicing the Religion) and endowed with sincerity, and honor us with following the Lord of those endowed with sincerity, upon him be the greatest of blessings and perfect peace, and on his Family and Companions, noble and honorable.

Notes

• Salim Suleyman Uskudari (d. 1893) was a Mevlevi (Mawlawi) Sufi poet and writer. He lived in Uskudar, Istanbul, and was well-versed in both prose and verse. (Tr.)
• Bağdatlı Ruhi (Ruhi of Baghdad: d. 1605) was one of the important figures in Ottoman-Turkish classical literature, who usually wrote about moral issues. (Tr.)
• Awhadu’-Din ‘Ali Anwari is a famous poet who lived in the twelfth century in Iran and Afghanistan. Besides poetry, he was adept in logic, music, theology, mathematics, and astrology. His Diwan, a collection of his poems, consists of a series of long poems, and a number of simpler lyrics. (Tr.)
• It refers to the Prophet Moses’ desire to see God on Mount Sinai and God’s reply to him, saying: “You will never be able to see Me (while in the world).” See the Qur’an, 7:143. (Tr.)
• (al-) Khadr is he with whom the Qur’an recounts (18:60–82) Prophet Moses made a journey to learn something of the spiritual realm of existence and the true nature of God’s Acts in the world. It is controversial whether he was a Prophet or a saint with a special mission. It is believed that he enjoys the degree of life where one feels no need for the necessities of normal human life. (Tr.)
• Mehmed Niyazi-i Mısri (d. 1694), a Sufi poet who was born in Malatya (Turkey), educated in Egypt, and lived in Istanbul and Edirne. (Tr.)
• ad-Daylami, al-Musnad, 1:398. (Tr.)
• Ibid., 1:144; Abu Nu‘aym, Hilyatu’l-Awliya’, 2:382.