LETTER 50: IN QUEST OF GOD

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

Brother Shamsuddin, God's blessing be upon you! There is no other duty more binding on you than the quest of the Real One. If you go to the bazaar, seek Him! If you enter your house, seek Him! If you go to a tavern, seek Him!

I was in a tavern and so too was my Friend: He came to me in private prayer, bearing a goblet of wine!

If the angel of death, Azrael, comes to you, be careful not to de- sist from seeking Him! Say to Azrael: You do your work, and I'll do mine.

One day I will have to go and leave this burden behind; Except for Your name, nothing will be found in my record. If my head is not in Your hands, O Ravisher of my heart, At least the dust from under Your foot will form a crown upon my head.

It is related that the Prophet was standing with a toothbrush in his mouth when Azrael arrived. He said: What do you say? Shall I return, or should I bring forward the one commanded? The Prophet, not bothering to remove the brush from his mouth, said: You do your work, and I'll do mine. If he bears you off to hell, you ought not to desist from seeking Him. Say to Malik (the keeper of hell): Rain the blows of torture upon my head, while I pursue the path of seeking Him. The work must go on! And if he takes you to paradise, then pay no attention to the damsels or the palaces. Run along the lane of seeking, saying as you go If both worlds were to be bestowed upon me, I would remain poor unless united to You!

The first resting place along the Way of seeking is supplication. The sages have said: The Prophet intercedes with the Lord on behalf of the servant. When this is firmly fixed in his breast, then his reins are pulled in the direction of the Presence. For beginners, supplication is really their first lesson. When a novice has been engaged for some time in supplication, then this turns into magnanimity. Those well versed in the Way agree that love does not begin to dwell any- where except in the cell of magnanimity.

When a novice has traveled for some time along the road of magnanimity, the road develops into seeking. This seeking is conveyed along the royal road paved by the realities of There is no god but God. The royal kettledrum is played at the King's threshold: He who seeks Me, finds Me! A cry is heard: O heights and depths, heaven and hell, footstool and throne, get out of the way of those who seek Me! They are in quest of Me, and I am the aim and object of their desires! Creatures are told, Nothing will remain of any of you!

The steps here described form the ascent of the servant along this Way. No one can take even a single step along this Way without considering that merely intending to reach Him would be, for the person involved, ascent. For the prophets, there is both a visible and a hid- den ascent. For the saints, there is only a hidden ascent. There is an ascent for all who set out in imitation of the pride of the world. It de- pends on their testing and on their strength. This is what genuine strength is!

O brother, a little cunning is needed. The head of useless things should be cut off with the sword of austerity, and the worship of one's own lower soul should be resisted by continuous struggle against its promptings. Passing beyond both worlds, one must place a foot squarely on top of one's lower soul. If even a particle from the entire universe were to intrude into someone's resolution, he would not be fit for this Way. It has been said: No one can attain to the All until he has been separated from all. The wise have said: If, on the night of his ascent, the pride of the worlds [Muhammad] had looked back at anything at all, he would have been transfixed there and would not have been taken up to the distance of two bow lengths from God himself.

How can a base person, by mere talk, reach this Way?

One has to suffer, even be consumed, and stride forth

manfully! If there are two directions along the path to Unity, one loses the Way:

You must decide either to please the Friend or to indulge yourself!

It has been mentioned that, when Adam arrived in paradise, the Law said: Do not approach this tree! (Q2:35). The Wav said: Set fire to the whole lot! Once in heaven, Adam observed: This is a well-adorned world! Here there is lordship, too, but it occurs to my heart that one day I should like to go to my own grief-filled corner, for the tradition about me is not joined to lordship. Suddenly a voice spoke, Adam, do you really want to go into exile? He replied, Why not for my work lies along the Way! He was told: Do your work! He said, There is another work that should be done in preference to this! Heaven is under the divine command, and Rizwan and the an- gels form a group of servants. They said: It will be necessary to change your abode from one of peace to one of trials. It will also be necessary to remove the turban from your head and place a crown of dust and penury upon it. In addition, your good name will be spoiled, and you will have to bear the reproach of 'Adam disobeyed his Lord! (Q20:121). Adam replied: Consider it done! I have already raised this cry in the world, 'I don't care! I have lifted my hand in plunder and in opposition to the house of wealth!

What better work could I do than this? I dare to call myself Your servant! I care not about the reproach of men: Whenever I see You, I shall greet You!

I do not want you to say that paradise was snatched away from Adam. You should say this: Adam was snatched away from paradise! A roasted heart is not content with a grilled chicken! An inflamed soul and a wounded liver will not be looking at the damsels or castles of paradise. Do not consider water and dust to be of little significance! Whatever has water also has dust. Whatever has come into existence has come through water and dust. Everything else is like the decoration on a wall-it has been added for the sake of the wall! When the royal falcon of love took flight from the nest of honor, it reached the divine throne. It saw its sublimity. It went inside. It reached the divine resting place. It saw its amplitude. It went inside It reached heaven. It saw its expanse. It went inside. It reached dust It saw love. It alighted there. It said: How strange! What is this? The reply came: I am love, and that is toil. Between us there is only a fine distinction. In the world of appearance and the world of meaning, those who understand know the difference.

O brother, be full of hope! Persevere, for this Wealth is a grace. not the end product of an investigation! By God most High, if it were by investigation, not even a particle would be decreed for you or me. But the cause is removed, so that just as the pure ones are full of hope, so too the impure, thousands of them, now have some hope. A rubbish dump frequented by dogs might one day become the seat of kings. But there is a hindrance. If you desire to reach your destination or become somebody, undoubtedly you will have to advance beyond the confines of your confused, tainted nature. One has to step forth with the provisions of the Law to sustain him, and the escort of Truth to protect him. Other traditions and stories at hand can give us heart for today as well as tomorrow. Today it is a matter of passionate love and longing, tomorrow it is peace and enjoyment! It has been said: If those who are well acquainted with grief were to be raised uptomor row and were to look at their own breasts, and if they were to find that their grief had diminished, even by the smallest fraction, then they would cry out that the one adornment that the eight heavens did not encompass was grief!

Peace!

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

Brother Shamsuddin, God's blessing be upon you! There is no other duty more binding on you than the quest of the Real One. If you go to the bazaar, seek Him! If you enter your house, seek Him! If you go to a tavern, seek Him!

I was in a tavern and so too was my Friend: He came to me in private prayer, bearing a goblet of wine!

If the angel of death, Azrael, comes to you, be careful not to de- sist from seeking Him! Say to Azrael: You do your work, and I'll do mine.

One day I will have to go and leave this burden behind; Except for Your name, nothing will be found in my record. If my head is not in Your hands, O Ravisher of my heart, At least the dust from under Your foot will form a crown upon my head.

It is related that the Prophet was standing with a toothbrush in his mouth when Azrael arrived. He said: What do you say? Shall I return, or should I bring forward the one commanded? The Prophet, not bothering to remove the brush from his mouth, said: You do your work, and I'll do mine. If he bears you off to hell, you ought not to desist from seeking Him. Say to Malik (the keeper of hell): Rain the blows of torture upon my head, while I pursue the path of seeking Him. The work must go on! And if he takes you to paradise, then pay no attention to the damsels or the palaces. Run along the lane of seeking, saying as you go If both worlds were to be bestowed upon me, I would remain poor unless united to You!

The first resting place along the Way of seeking is supplication. The sages have said: The Prophet intercedes with the Lord on behalf of the servant. When this is firmly fixed in his breast, then his reins are pulled in the direction of the Presence. For beginners, supplication is really their first lesson. When a novice has been engaged for some time in supplication, then this turns into magnanimity. Those well versed in the Way agree that love does not begin to dwell any- where except in the cell of magnanimity.

When a novice has traveled for some time along the road of magnanimity, the road develops into seeking. This seeking is conveyed along the royal road paved by the realities of There is no god but God. The royal kettledrum is played at the King's threshold: He who seeks Me, finds Me! A cry is heard: O heights and depths, heaven and hell, footstool and throne, get out of the way of those who seek Me! They are in quest of Me, and I am the aim and object of their desires! Creatures are told, Nothing will remain of any of you!

The steps here described form the ascent of the servant along this Way. No one can take even a single step along this Way without considering that merely intending to reach Him would be, for the person involved, ascent. For the prophets, there is both a visible and a hid- den ascent. For the saints, there is only a hidden ascent. There is an ascent for all who set out in imitation of the pride of the world. It de- pends on their testing and on their strength. This is what genuine strength is!

O brother, a little cunning is needed. The head of useless things should be cut off with the sword of austerity, and the worship of one's own lower soul should be resisted by continuous struggle against its promptings. Passing beyond both worlds, one must place a foot squarely on top of one's lower soul. If even a particle from the entire universe were to intrude into someone's resolution, he would not be fit for this Way. It has been said: No one can attain to the All until he has been separated from all. The wise have said: If, on the night of his ascent, the pride of the worlds [Muhammad] had looked back at anything at all, he would have been transfixed there and would not have been taken up to the distance of two bow lengths from God himself.

How can a base person, by mere talk, reach this Way?

One has to suffer, even be consumed, and stride forth

manfully! If there are two directions along the path to Unity, one loses the Way:

You must decide either to please the Friend or to indulge yourself!

It has been mentioned that, when Adam arrived in paradise, the Law said: Do not approach this tree! (Q2:35). The Wav said: Set fire to the whole lot! Once in heaven, Adam observed: This is a well-adorned world! Here there is lordship, too, but it occurs to my heart that one day I should like to go to my own grief-filled corner, for the tradition about me is not joined to lordship. Suddenly a voice spoke, Adam, do you really want to go into exile? He replied, Why not for my work lies along the Way! He was told: Do your work! He said, There is another work that should be done in preference to this! Heaven is under the divine command, and Rizwan and the an- gels form a group of servants. They said: It will be necessary to change your abode from one of peace to one of trials. It will also be necessary to remove the turban from your head and place a crown of dust and penury upon it. In addition, your good name will be spoiled, and you will have to bear the reproach of 'Adam disobeyed his Lord! (Q20:121). Adam replied: Consider it done! I have already raised this cry in the world, 'I don't care! I have lifted my hand in plunder and in opposition to the house of wealth!

What better work could I do than this? I dare to call myself Your servant! I care not about the reproach of men: Whenever I see You, I shall greet You!

I do not want you to say that paradise was snatched away from Adam. You should say this: Adam was snatched away from paradise! A roasted heart is not content with a grilled chicken! An inflamed soul and a wounded liver will not be looking at the damsels or castles of paradise. Do not consider water and dust to be of little significance! Whatever has water also has dust. Whatever has come into existence has come through water and dust. Everything else is like the decoration on a wall-it has been added for the sake of the wall! When the royal falcon of love took flight from the nest of honor, it reached the divine throne. It saw its sublimity. It went inside. It reached the divine resting place. It saw its amplitude. It went inside It reached heaven. It saw its expanse. It went inside. It reached dust It saw love. It alighted there. It said: How strange! What is this? The reply came: I am love, and that is toil. Between us there is only a fine distinction. In the world of appearance and the world of meaning, those who understand know the difference.

O brother, be full of hope! Persevere, for this Wealth is a grace. not the end product of an investigation! By God most High, if it were by investigation, not even a particle would be decreed for you or me. But the cause is removed, so that just as the pure ones are full of hope, so too the impure, thousands of them, now have some hope. A rubbish dump frequented by dogs might one day become the seat of kings. But there is a hindrance. If you desire to reach your destination or become somebody, undoubtedly you will have to advance beyond the confines of your confused, tainted nature. One has to step forth with the provisions of the Law to sustain him, and the escort of Truth to protect him. Other traditions and stories at hand can give us heart for today as well as tomorrow. Today it is a matter of passionate love and longing, tomorrow it is peace and enjoyment! It has been said: If those who are well acquainted with grief were to be raised uptomor row and were to look at their own breasts, and if they were to find that their grief had diminished, even by the smallest fraction, then they would cry out that the one adornment that the eight heavens did not encompass was grief!

Peace!