LETTER 5: SEARCHING FOR A SPIRITUAL GUIDE

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

My brother Shamsuddin, may God honor you in both worlds! You

should know that according to the unanimous opinion of famous

saints of the Way, a novice, after undergoing genuine repentance,

should seek a spiritual guide. He should be perfect, well versed in the

vicissitudes of the Way, and firmly established in his high state. In

short, he should be a man who has experienced both the horror of

God’s majesty and the delight of His beauty. “The learned are the descendants of the prophets.” With regard to the spiritual guide, all

these qualities should have been realized in his person. He should be a

physician skilled in the knowledge of medicines and the types of

treatment to be applied to the defects and ailments for which the novice is seeking a cure. God Himself has said: “Associate with the righteous”’ (Q9:119), that is, associate with the prophets. After them come

the great sheikhs, who are the successors to the prophets, since “the

learned are the descendants of the prophets.” It is a Tradition of explaining the process of succession. “My learned ones are like the

prophets of the People of Israel” is a related Tradition as is the declaration that “a sheikh in his community is like a prophet in his.” This

is especially true if the people have no means of acquiring instruction

in the path of religion from a prophet. [Three illustrative quotes follow. ] .

In the beginning, there was no need either for a prophet or a

sheikh, because the seed is such that it requires nothing except the di-

vine grace in order to fall into the soil of one’s heart: ‘God guides

whomsoever He wishes!” (Q42:52). Wherever that seed is found, some

form of guidance, either through the role of a prophet or that of a

sheikh, the prophet’s deputy, is necessary. As the Quran has attested:

“Surely you guide to the straight path” (Q42:52). And also one finds

many theological arguments in Sufi works on this topic. Among them

we have created a group who guide with the truth (Q7:181). One runs

as follows: It is beyond dispute that the road to the Kaaba is clear and

well known but, without a guide, someone who himself knows the

way, a person cannot travel along it. It is not enough to be able to see

the road with one’s eyes and have enough strength in one’s legs.

Imagine what it must be like on that Road along which 124,000

prophets have traveled, and yet no trace of their journey remains!

Without a guide who knows the way, it is impossible to travel along

this Road.

Remember, too, that an ordinary road is infested with thieves

and robbers, so that one cannot travel along it without an escort. As

for the mystic Way, the world, one’s ego, devils, men, and jinn all in-

fest this Way, thus making it impossible to travel along it without an

experienced, holy man as one’s escort. Remember, further, that there

are many slippery places where it is easy to fall. And one can be

plagued with misfortune and dangers from behind! Many philosophers and worldly minded people, as well as others lacking faith, piety, or any semblance of morality—have become followers of their

own base desires. They have gone without a perfect sheikh or leader

who has reached his goal on this Way, and have instead trusted in

their own intellectual powers. They entered the wilderness where

they fell and perished, losing even their faith.

You are an ant; the Way is like the long tresses of beauty.

Beware, O man, of merely guessing or blindly following others.

But the blessed ones, protected by the riches of the saints, have

passed beyond those hidden dangers and arrived safely at their destination. They managed to progress without mishap and, along the

way, have themselves seen where each has fallen, and also the extent

of his corruption. Other travelers who managed to avoid misfortunes

and pass successfully through various trials at last succumbed to lassitude! If the sheikh is possessed of supernatural powers, ke will be able

to protect the novice from either falling or languishing during his

struggles. The explanations and subtle hints of the sheikh can also

guide the novice to the proper way of acting. Otherwise, the novice

will fall into dissipation or formalism and will lose whatever he has

labored to gain!

Seek the shade of a guide, O blind one!

He will serve you better than any staff.

Humble yourself like straw! Shatter the mountain of pride

That the guide may become a magnet for you!

If you do not do this, then heed the words of Attar:

“Every sorrow you endure will be lost to the wind.”

The pilgrim treading this Path will have to pass through several

spiritual stages.'!© When his soul is stripped bare of its outer garment,

a ray of the divine light will illumine it, and the soul might even, in

this state, perform a miracle as an agent of God. In the experience of

divine union, such as was expressed in the “i am the Truth” of al-

Hallaj, and the “Praise be to me” of Bistami, it is possible to become

proud of being blissfully united to one’s Goal. It becomes apparent

that, although endowed with intellect, knowledge, and understanding, such a person is nevertheless unable to exercise true perception.

If, in this condition, a sheikh who is well versed in spiritual matters

does not guide him, there would be great fear that he might lose his

faith and fall into the wilderness of imagining himself as God incarnate or as one identical with God! In the course of his pilgrimage, he

should expect to be assailed by spiritual crises. Also, various types of

mystical experiences might occur; some might be satanic, others

might be produced by his own ego, still others could come from the

Merciful One Himself. This is all entirely new to the novice and he

cannot discern the source of these spiritual experiences. He needs the

assistance of one well versed in discerning these various spirits, in the

same way as cocks alone understand the crowing of their peers. In the

words of a poet:

How can you comprehend the language of cocks,

Since you have never met a Solomon?

At this stage the novice can by no means make progress unless he

has a God-assisted sheikh to help him, a teacher who is widely experienced in the understanding of spiritual matters.

If someone is keen on gaining admission to the presence of the

king in order to acquire rank and position or a province or palace or a

post near the king, and if he has nothing to merit such gifts from the

hands of the king. then he will have to make friends with one of the

close associates of the king and bind himself to that person because

the latter is a confidant of the king. When the confidant advocates the

case of another, the king does not pay attention to the absence of genie eee! ‘

uine claims and services rendered by the petitioner, for his attention

is on the acceptable qualities of his confidant. The king cannot ignore

what he says but, on the contrary, accedes to his request. If the petitioner by himself had tried for many long years he would not have

obtained what he wanted. In a similar way, the sheikhs are kings close

to the King, and their requests are acceptable to Him. All those who

come to the sheikhs and bind themselves to the sheikhs attain what

they desire. The sheikhs, by their clear glances and purity, learn

many secrets and grasp the suggestions contained in the Quran and

the traditions of the Prophet, such as references to the Path, the

Heart, and the Way. In. order to help novices, the sheikhs draw conclusions from first principles and, according to these conclusions, is-

sue instructions to guide them.

The first instruction applies to the moment when God Almighty

opens the eyes of someone to his deeds so that he can judge the good

as good and the evil as evil. There then wells up within him the intention of expunging the latter, but he does not know how to set about

doing so. What must he do? He should visit some holy person who

lives in a religious sanctuary and bind himself to him with the determination of changing his way of life. He hopes that one of God’s

cherished ones will accept him, fallen and lost as he is, and release!

him from the vice of ungodly selfishness that grips him. Second, if:

any blemish or defect comes to light, the guide should, in a gentle and

compassionate manner, induce the novice to abstain from such

things. Third, the guide should keep him away from bad acquaintances and unsuitable companions, and shouid also forbid him to listen

to their conversation. All that it would take the novice a year to accomplish by himself can be finished off in an hour with the proper

guide! The same holds true in other matters.

It is only possible for the novice to reach an advanced stage with

a spiritual guide through whose assistance he obtains his desire. The

novice might have to associate with two, three, four, or even more

guides in order to reach his Goal. Each guide and each association

would become for him the revelation of a stage, but it would be better

if he made no slur about the guide’s own stage of spiritual growth.

Nor should he point out that the guide has only attained to some particular stage. He should say: “It was allotted to me to get this far from

my association with him. He must have gone higher than this!” This

is a more polite way of talking. The really mature ones of the Way of

the Lord Most High do not preoccupy themselves with stages and

states. If you are associated with a guide, you should not depart from

that place without his permission nor, on your own initiative, dissociate yourself from him. This condition should be kept in mind. If the

novice goes to another guide, or sets out on a fruitless search without

the permission of his own guide, he will not achieve what he desires!

Everyone who acts in such a manner becomes a renegade of the Way.

According to the understanding of the sheikhs, such a person has

really abandoned the Way.

When a novice begins to associate with a spiritual guide, he will

have to spend three years in three types of training. If he stands firm

in obeying these orders, he can then don the real garb of the seeker,

and not merely the conventional one. Unless this procedure is followed, experienced guides insist that the novice cannot be accepted

into the Way. The three requirements are: one year’s service on be-

half of other people, one year devoted to God, and another year spent

in watching over one’s own heart. A novice’s hands should be wide

open in prayer and his tongue moving in supplication, for the prayers

of those who weep and moan find favor in God’s eyes. At such times,

the veil of modesty is lifted, and what one desires should be asked for

importunately. Ask for whatever you wish, and do not get caught up

with trifles! Do not leave the divine threshold or cut yourself off from

Him! You should know that He has lavished everything freely upon

men. Faith, as well as the forgiveness of sins, has been freely bestowed. He is the One who can bestow the whole world if He wants

to. “Is there anyone who begs to be heard? Is there anyone who seeks?

Is there anyone who implores forgiveness?” Something within stirred

me up: “Ask Me; for my generosity knows no bounds! I command

you to ask! If you do not, I shall press you for being lax. I give even

what has not been asked for.”

Even what is not asked for He grants;

If you ask, imagine what He will give.

He is a King: If He so wishes,

He can bestow both worlds upon a beggar!

O brother, all this flows from the divine bounty. There should be

no talk of claims here, since His generosity means that He gives with-

out making any claims. Where there is a question of “what is due”

one cannot talk of generosity, since claims make us feel obligated to

someone. Once obligation enters, debt comes as well and requiting a

debt cannot be considered generosity! [An anecdote of Ali’s generosity foilows.] ¥

Peace!

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

My brother Shamsuddin, may God honor you in both worlds! You

should know that according to the unanimous opinion of famous

saints of the Way, a novice, after undergoing genuine repentance,

should seek a spiritual guide. He should be perfect, well versed in the

vicissitudes of the Way, and firmly established in his high state. In

short, he should be a man who has experienced both the horror of

God’s majesty and the delight of His beauty. “The learned are the descendants of the prophets.” With regard to the spiritual guide, all

these qualities should have been realized in his person. He should be a

physician skilled in the knowledge of medicines and the types of

treatment to be applied to the defects and ailments for which the novice is seeking a cure. God Himself has said: “Associate with the righteous”’ (Q9:119), that is, associate with the prophets. After them come

the great sheikhs, who are the successors to the prophets, since “the

learned are the descendants of the prophets.” It is a Tradition of explaining the process of succession. “My learned ones are like the

prophets of the People of Israel” is a related Tradition as is the declaration that “a sheikh in his community is like a prophet in his.” This

is especially true if the people have no means of acquiring instruction

in the path of religion from a prophet. [Three illustrative quotes follow. ] .

In the beginning, there was no need either for a prophet or a

sheikh, because the seed is such that it requires nothing except the di-

vine grace in order to fall into the soil of one’s heart: ‘God guides

whomsoever He wishes!” (Q42:52). Wherever that seed is found, some

form of guidance, either through the role of a prophet or that of a

sheikh, the prophet’s deputy, is necessary. As the Quran has attested:

“Surely you guide to the straight path” (Q42:52). And also one finds

many theological arguments in Sufi works on this topic. Among them

we have created a group who guide with the truth (Q7:181). One runs

as follows: It is beyond dispute that the road to the Kaaba is clear and

well known but, without a guide, someone who himself knows the

way, a person cannot travel along it. It is not enough to be able to see

the road with one’s eyes and have enough strength in one’s legs.

Imagine what it must be like on that Road along which 124,000

prophets have traveled, and yet no trace of their journey remains!

Without a guide who knows the way, it is impossible to travel along

this Road.

Remember, too, that an ordinary road is infested with thieves

and robbers, so that one cannot travel along it without an escort. As

for the mystic Way, the world, one’s ego, devils, men, and jinn all in-

fest this Way, thus making it impossible to travel along it without an

experienced, holy man as one’s escort. Remember, further, that there

are many slippery places where it is easy to fall. And one can be

plagued with misfortune and dangers from behind! Many philosophers and worldly minded people, as well as others lacking faith, piety, or any semblance of morality—have become followers of their

own base desires. They have gone without a perfect sheikh or leader

who has reached his goal on this Way, and have instead trusted in

their own intellectual powers. They entered the wilderness where

they fell and perished, losing even their faith.

You are an ant; the Way is like the long tresses of beauty.

Beware, O man, of merely guessing or blindly following others.

But the blessed ones, protected by the riches of the saints, have

passed beyond those hidden dangers and arrived safely at their destination. They managed to progress without mishap and, along the

way, have themselves seen where each has fallen, and also the extent

of his corruption. Other travelers who managed to avoid misfortunes

and pass successfully through various trials at last succumbed to lassitude! If the sheikh is possessed of supernatural powers, ke will be able

to protect the novice from either falling or languishing during his

struggles. The explanations and subtle hints of the sheikh can also

guide the novice to the proper way of acting. Otherwise, the novice

will fall into dissipation or formalism and will lose whatever he has

labored to gain!

Seek the shade of a guide, O blind one!

He will serve you better than any staff.

Humble yourself like straw! Shatter the mountain of pride

That the guide may become a magnet for you!

If you do not do this, then heed the words of Attar:

“Every sorrow you endure will be lost to the wind.”

The pilgrim treading this Path will have to pass through several

spiritual stages.'!© When his soul is stripped bare of its outer garment,

a ray of the divine light will illumine it, and the soul might even, in

this state, perform a miracle as an agent of God. In the experience of

divine union, such as was expressed in the “i am the Truth” of al-

Hallaj, and the “Praise be to me” of Bistami, it is possible to become

proud of being blissfully united to one’s Goal. It becomes apparent

that, although endowed with intellect, knowledge, and understanding, such a person is nevertheless unable to exercise true perception.

If, in this condition, a sheikh who is well versed in spiritual matters

does not guide him, there would be great fear that he might lose his

faith and fall into the wilderness of imagining himself as God incarnate or as one identical with God! In the course of his pilgrimage, he

should expect to be assailed by spiritual crises. Also, various types of

mystical experiences might occur; some might be satanic, others

might be produced by his own ego, still others could come from the

Merciful One Himself. This is all entirely new to the novice and he

cannot discern the source of these spiritual experiences. He needs the

assistance of one well versed in discerning these various spirits, in the

same way as cocks alone understand the crowing of their peers. In the

words of a poet:

How can you comprehend the language of cocks,

Since you have never met a Solomon?

At this stage the novice can by no means make progress unless he

has a God-assisted sheikh to help him, a teacher who is widely experienced in the understanding of spiritual matters.

If someone is keen on gaining admission to the presence of the

king in order to acquire rank and position or a province or palace or a

post near the king, and if he has nothing to merit such gifts from the

hands of the king. then he will have to make friends with one of the

close associates of the king and bind himself to that person because

the latter is a confidant of the king. When the confidant advocates the

case of another, the king does not pay attention to the absence of genie eee! ‘

uine claims and services rendered by the petitioner, for his attention

is on the acceptable qualities of his confidant. The king cannot ignore

what he says but, on the contrary, accedes to his request. If the petitioner by himself had tried for many long years he would not have

obtained what he wanted. In a similar way, the sheikhs are kings close

to the King, and their requests are acceptable to Him. All those who

come to the sheikhs and bind themselves to the sheikhs attain what

they desire. The sheikhs, by their clear glances and purity, learn

many secrets and grasp the suggestions contained in the Quran and

the traditions of the Prophet, such as references to the Path, the

Heart, and the Way. In. order to help novices, the sheikhs draw conclusions from first principles and, according to these conclusions, is-

sue instructions to guide them.

The first instruction applies to the moment when God Almighty

opens the eyes of someone to his deeds so that he can judge the good

as good and the evil as evil. There then wells up within him the intention of expunging the latter, but he does not know how to set about

doing so. What must he do? He should visit some holy person who

lives in a religious sanctuary and bind himself to him with the determination of changing his way of life. He hopes that one of God’s

cherished ones will accept him, fallen and lost as he is, and release!

him from the vice of ungodly selfishness that grips him. Second, if:

any blemish or defect comes to light, the guide should, in a gentle and

compassionate manner, induce the novice to abstain from such

things. Third, the guide should keep him away from bad acquaintances and unsuitable companions, and shouid also forbid him to listen

to their conversation. All that it would take the novice a year to accomplish by himself can be finished off in an hour with the proper

guide! The same holds true in other matters.

It is only possible for the novice to reach an advanced stage with

a spiritual guide through whose assistance he obtains his desire. The

novice might have to associate with two, three, four, or even more

guides in order to reach his Goal. Each guide and each association

would become for him the revelation of a stage, but it would be better

if he made no slur about the guide’s own stage of spiritual growth.

Nor should he point out that the guide has only attained to some particular stage. He should say: “It was allotted to me to get this far from

my association with him. He must have gone higher than this!” This

is a more polite way of talking. The really mature ones of the Way of

the Lord Most High do not preoccupy themselves with stages and

states. If you are associated with a guide, you should not depart from

that place without his permission nor, on your own initiative, dissociate yourself from him. This condition should be kept in mind. If the

novice goes to another guide, or sets out on a fruitless search without

the permission of his own guide, he will not achieve what he desires!

Everyone who acts in such a manner becomes a renegade of the Way.

According to the understanding of the sheikhs, such a person has

really abandoned the Way.

When a novice begins to associate with a spiritual guide, he will

have to spend three years in three types of training. If he stands firm

in obeying these orders, he can then don the real garb of the seeker,

and not merely the conventional one. Unless this procedure is followed, experienced guides insist that the novice cannot be accepted

into the Way. The three requirements are: one year’s service on be-

half of other people, one year devoted to God, and another year spent

in watching over one’s own heart. A novice’s hands should be wide

open in prayer and his tongue moving in supplication, for the prayers

of those who weep and moan find favor in God’s eyes. At such times,

the veil of modesty is lifted, and what one desires should be asked for

importunately. Ask for whatever you wish, and do not get caught up

with trifles! Do not leave the divine threshold or cut yourself off from

Him! You should know that He has lavished everything freely upon

men. Faith, as well as the forgiveness of sins, has been freely bestowed. He is the One who can bestow the whole world if He wants

to. “Is there anyone who begs to be heard? Is there anyone who seeks?

Is there anyone who implores forgiveness?” Something within stirred

me up: “Ask Me; for my generosity knows no bounds! I command

you to ask! If you do not, I shall press you for being lax. I give even

what has not been asked for.”

Even what is not asked for He grants;

If you ask, imagine what He will give.

He is a King: If He so wishes,

He can bestow both worlds upon a beggar!

O brother, all this flows from the divine bounty. There should be

no talk of claims here, since His generosity means that He gives with-

out making any claims. Where there is a question of “what is due”

one cannot talk of generosity, since claims make us feel obligated to

someone. Once obligation enters, debt comes as well and requiting a

debt cannot be considered generosity! [An anecdote of Ali’s generosity foilows.] ¥

Peace!