LETTER 29: PURITY

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate!

Brother Shamsuddin, remain firm in trying to please Almighty God! Peace and salutations to you from the author of these words! In your own mind be convinced about the answer to this question: How is a man's worth measured? It is measured by his purity: In both worlds, purity forms the threshold of riches and happiness, while corruption and pollution are discarded along the Way by all prophets and righteous people.

There is a saying in the Law that runs: The foundation of peace rests on purity. God does not countenance any corruption, nor does He display His beauty to anyone who is unclean. For a long time, punishment has been meted out to the unclean. No one touches it [the Quran] except the pure! (Q56:79). The impure are beyond the pale of Islam, and the dust of misfortune has been poured upon them in their separation.

The first step is to see that one's body, clothes, and food are pure and lawful. All one's senses should be purified of sin and rebellion. As for one's heart, it should be cleansed of all blameworthy qualities, such as avarice, jealousy, rancor and other similar things. When this first degree of purity has been achieved, then the disciple has taken a step forward on the path of religion; when the second degree of puri- ty has been achieved, he has progress, and with the third degree, three steps. This is the evolving reality of repentance. In this way repentance is gradually realized; hence it is called a revolution. In other words, the penitent progresses from a state of foulness and un- cleanness to one of purity: He is a church that becomes a mosque, an idol-temple that becomes a hermitage, a devil who becomes a man; dust that becomes gold; a dark night that turns into a brightly illuminated day! At that moment when the sun of faith rises on the heart of the disciple, Islam reveals its beauty to him, and he reaches the head of the lane leading to mystical knowledge of God. Without this puri- ty, however, every action that he takes may be called mere habit and custom, performed in imitation of one's parents. That is not Islam! Look attentively at what has been written about this fundamental requirement and study it repeatedly. What is written here should not be overlooked Many people simply pretend to be Muslims, but they are not. Take care: They are Muslims only according to the external prescriptions of the Law. This, for them, is faith. The mandate of the path called the Way, on the other hand, is that a disciple should both confirm and manifest his purity in two ways. One consists of externalizing what is within his breast. That would, simply speaking, be grace. By itself it is sufficient. It is something rather special. It applies particularly to prophets and righteous men. The second type of puri- ty is that which is connected with what is external and its path is one of struggle. This is the common or ordinary way. The beginning of this purity is concerned with clothes. When anyone wants to attain this purity, he should attend first to his clothes. Merely reading and learning about these visible things does not cause them to be realized: It is necessary to bestir oneself as much as possible and show oneself assiduous in renewing ablutions. [Some recommendations follow.] At the end of the night, toward dawn, let him take a bath. Let him con- sider this a good work. Almighty God will adorn him with a special kind of purity and will remove all external and internal pollution. At every moment he should be aware that God Almighty is there beside him. When someone realizes that God is really his provider, then he should don the robe of humility and be ashamed of the reams of information that his Lord has concerning him. One beloved of God said: What is that sign by which you recognize him? He replied: No op- position to God should ever arise in my breast! The One speaking from within my heart says: Does not your Lord fill you with shame? [Two references to God's mercy are then cited.]

One glance from the Friend equals a thousand felicitations, I am waiting for the moment when that glance will come!

Peace!

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate!

Brother Shamsuddin, remain firm in trying to please Almighty God! Peace and salutations to you from the author of these words! In your own mind be convinced about the answer to this question: How is a man's worth measured? It is measured by his purity: In both worlds, purity forms the threshold of riches and happiness, while corruption and pollution are discarded along the Way by all prophets and righteous people.

There is a saying in the Law that runs: The foundation of peace rests on purity. God does not countenance any corruption, nor does He display His beauty to anyone who is unclean. For a long time, punishment has been meted out to the unclean. No one touches it [the Quran] except the pure! (Q56:79). The impure are beyond the pale of Islam, and the dust of misfortune has been poured upon them in their separation.

The first step is to see that one's body, clothes, and food are pure and lawful. All one's senses should be purified of sin and rebellion. As for one's heart, it should be cleansed of all blameworthy qualities, such as avarice, jealousy, rancor and other similar things. When this first degree of purity has been achieved, then the disciple has taken a step forward on the path of religion; when the second degree of puri- ty has been achieved, he has progress, and with the third degree, three steps. This is the evolving reality of repentance. In this way repentance is gradually realized; hence it is called a revolution. In other words, the penitent progresses from a state of foulness and un- cleanness to one of purity: He is a church that becomes a mosque, an idol-temple that becomes a hermitage, a devil who becomes a man; dust that becomes gold; a dark night that turns into a brightly illuminated day! At that moment when the sun of faith rises on the heart of the disciple, Islam reveals its beauty to him, and he reaches the head of the lane leading to mystical knowledge of God. Without this puri- ty, however, every action that he takes may be called mere habit and custom, performed in imitation of one's parents. That is not Islam! Look attentively at what has been written about this fundamental requirement and study it repeatedly. What is written here should not be overlooked Many people simply pretend to be Muslims, but they are not. Take care: They are Muslims only according to the external prescriptions of the Law. This, for them, is faith. The mandate of the path called the Way, on the other hand, is that a disciple should both confirm and manifest his purity in two ways. One consists of externalizing what is within his breast. That would, simply speaking, be grace. By itself it is sufficient. It is something rather special. It applies particularly to prophets and righteous men. The second type of puri- ty is that which is connected with what is external and its path is one of struggle. This is the common or ordinary way. The beginning of this purity is concerned with clothes. When anyone wants to attain this purity, he should attend first to his clothes. Merely reading and learning about these visible things does not cause them to be realized: It is necessary to bestir oneself as much as possible and show oneself assiduous in renewing ablutions. [Some recommendations follow.] At the end of the night, toward dawn, let him take a bath. Let him con- sider this a good work. Almighty God will adorn him with a special kind of purity and will remove all external and internal pollution. At every moment he should be aware that God Almighty is there beside him. When someone realizes that God is really his provider, then he should don the robe of humility and be ashamed of the reams of information that his Lord has concerning him. One beloved of God said: What is that sign by which you recognize him? He replied: No op- position to God should ever arise in my breast! The One speaking from within my heart says: Does not your Lord fill you with shame? [Two references to God's mercy are then cited.]

One glance from the Friend equals a thousand felicitations, I am waiting for the moment when that glance will come!

Peace!