LETTER 54: ENCOURAGING THE DISCIPLE

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

Brother Shamsuddin, may you be adorned with the ornament of devoted service! Persist in salutation and intercessory prayer! It is fitting that when a disciple declares himself publicly to be a disciple and has clothed himself in the garb of a disciple, it should be incumbent on him to go to the utmost limits in his quest for Truth, and set his feet on the way of the straight bridge. He should constantly apply the collyrium of repentance and sorrow to his eyes. He should don the robe of separation and solitude and drink the wine of seeking from the hands of a righteous cupbearer. He should draw the sword of resolution from the scabbard of the Law and remove from his path the multitude of base desires in his infidel soul. He should make progress in experiencing drunkenness and sobriety, stability and self-effacement. This world and the next become reduced to the same level. When he finds the desired Truth and the sought-after pleasure, and acquires the fruit of struggle with self and austerities, he proceeds to the stage of change and movement, placing his feet in the stages and ranks of the travelers, until he arrives at the head of the lane of manly people

If asked whether he is a disciple, he ought to say: God willing, 1 might become one In other words, he gives the meaning of disciple ship: He backtracks from the lane of claiming anything. The masters of perfection and the giants of Sufism act in such a way that at no stage do they pay attention to themselves, nor do they give heed to anything they might possess. Many a guide has been esteemed for his self-control, having passed seventy years in devotion and worship as he scaled the stages of the Law and reached exalted mystical states only to come to grief in the end at the hands of divine wrath for no apparent cause What they never thought of, God shall make clear to them (Q39:47)

O brother, anyone who fell into the hands of a tyrant and avenger would discover that if the eight heavens were to become hell itself, and hell were to become paradise, and if a church were to be brought forth from the Kaaba and the Kaaba were to be reverted to an idol temple, and if the angels of the celestial climes were to doff their angelic garb, and if devils were to don angelic garb and place the crown of holiness upon their head, and if Muhammad, the seal of the prophets, and Jesus, the crowning perfection of purity, and John, a sinless being who never even thought of sinning if they all were to be found together and held in hell forever, still He would not take into consideration anyone's opinion or fear anyone! Not a single particle of the dust of cruelty rests on the skirt of His justice. Can there then be place for rest and contentment? What scope is there for boasting and self-esteem? The one who had amassed the capital of seven hundred thousand years of worship and praise, and who was the teacher of the angels and their master, spoke only once, but what he saw, he saw, and what he found, he got.

One day Gabriel came to the Prophet. He asked him: What is your state in the chamber of holiness? Muhammad replied Since that one was removed from our midst, no angel rests contentedly in his own abode. Many thousands of disciples with hearts aflame have sunk in the sea of irresponsibility. Many thousands of livers have been roasted by tyranny. From the divine Presence a voice came: Your existence is as nothing, and your nonexistence is as good as existence. One beloved of God has explained the paradox thus:

I have slain thousands of lovers like you with grief, Yet my fingers have not been stained by the blood of any!

O brother, if the purity and holiness of all the angels were to become the virtue of a single disciple, and if the devotion and worship of all mankind were his alone, and he then considered himself better than a dog or as even somewhat virtuous, it would be a sign of impending calamity, for he would still be proud! It is not proper that they should drink the same sherbet that has already been offered to another! Nor that he should make on another the same scar that has been made on him. He should be restrained in this matter, considering his own faith as a denial of faith and himself as an infidel. He should view his own devotion as sin, his purity as impurity, his own essence as a church and idol temple, his turban and robe as a sacred thread and an idol, his prayer carpet and dervish's robe as idolatrous trinkets and signs of heresy. All this belongs to a disciple as the wages of discipleship. It is for one who has fulfilled all the required conditions and has attained to the realities of discipleship. It is a sign of his safety and an indication that he has arrived, thanks to his spiritual resolve. But if some hapless one, who has remained bound up in pride and bad habits and who has not read a word of these writings, arrives at this stage, then all you will see is boasting and nonsensical talk nothing more. Hence it becomes apparent how to distinguish behavior of the wise from that of the ignorant, meaning from appearance, truth from conjecture, mystical insight from error, perception from deception, beginning from end. All concur that: In the beginning it is all talk, but at the end, all is quietness! The beginner has a tongue and he speaks, the proficient one has no tongue and simply remains quiet. It is just like a nightingale that has a thousand songs and sings all night long. It is purchased for a silver piece. But a falcon, though it never sings throughout its life, costs a thousand gold coins!

No one knows how much a falcon will fetch. While a nightingale will bring in but a few copper coins.

Do you know the reason for this difference in price? The former works, while the latter only talks!

Though a beginner might affirm existence, a proficient one has become extinct. Though an ignorant one might have some ideas, for a wise one, all thoughts have become an idol and a sacred thread. God Almighty accepts that brother as a disciple, giving him perception and knowledge so that he might distinguish the investigator of Truth from the suitor of vanity, gnosis from error, the behavior of scholars from that of the ignorant, traditional religion from heretical innovations. In short, it is his ability to recognize everything related to knowledge of God that will set a traveler on the right path. Though he be of little consequence, he may still acquire much. By the favor and grace of the Prophet and his descendants, he will place his trust in God in all circumstances. He should keep his heart free with respect to either separation or attachment. Someone approached Hatim and said: What is the secret of your good fortune, for you have no income or expenditure? From the divine treasury! he replied. Does bread come to you from heaven? asked the man. If it is not available from the earth, replied the saint, it is sent from heaven. Do you bind men up with speech? he asked. Only what comes from above can reach every mirror, declared the saint. I cannot defeat you with proofs, conceded the man, No mirror can remain empty in front of God concluded Hatim.

A man approached Shibli and said: I am distressed because of the paucity of my means and the affluence of my relatives Return home! declared Shibli. Everyone who does not trust in God- throw him out of your house!

Peace!

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

Brother Shamsuddin, may you be adorned with the ornament of devoted service! Persist in salutation and intercessory prayer! It is fitting that when a disciple declares himself publicly to be a disciple and has clothed himself in the garb of a disciple, it should be incumbent on him to go to the utmost limits in his quest for Truth, and set his feet on the way of the straight bridge. He should constantly apply the collyrium of repentance and sorrow to his eyes. He should don the robe of separation and solitude and drink the wine of seeking from the hands of a righteous cupbearer. He should draw the sword of resolution from the scabbard of the Law and remove from his path the multitude of base desires in his infidel soul. He should make progress in experiencing drunkenness and sobriety, stability and self-effacement. This world and the next become reduced to the same level. When he finds the desired Truth and the sought-after pleasure, and acquires the fruit of struggle with self and austerities, he proceeds to the stage of change and movement, placing his feet in the stages and ranks of the travelers, until he arrives at the head of the lane of manly people

If asked whether he is a disciple, he ought to say: God willing, 1 might become one In other words, he gives the meaning of disciple ship: He backtracks from the lane of claiming anything. The masters of perfection and the giants of Sufism act in such a way that at no stage do they pay attention to themselves, nor do they give heed to anything they might possess. Many a guide has been esteemed for his self-control, having passed seventy years in devotion and worship as he scaled the stages of the Law and reached exalted mystical states only to come to grief in the end at the hands of divine wrath for no apparent cause What they never thought of, God shall make clear to them (Q39:47)

O brother, anyone who fell into the hands of a tyrant and avenger would discover that if the eight heavens were to become hell itself, and hell were to become paradise, and if a church were to be brought forth from the Kaaba and the Kaaba were to be reverted to an idol temple, and if the angels of the celestial climes were to doff their angelic garb, and if devils were to don angelic garb and place the crown of holiness upon their head, and if Muhammad, the seal of the prophets, and Jesus, the crowning perfection of purity, and John, a sinless being who never even thought of sinning if they all were to be found together and held in hell forever, still He would not take into consideration anyone's opinion or fear anyone! Not a single particle of the dust of cruelty rests on the skirt of His justice. Can there then be place for rest and contentment? What scope is there for boasting and self-esteem? The one who had amassed the capital of seven hundred thousand years of worship and praise, and who was the teacher of the angels and their master, spoke only once, but what he saw, he saw, and what he found, he got.

One day Gabriel came to the Prophet. He asked him: What is your state in the chamber of holiness? Muhammad replied Since that one was removed from our midst, no angel rests contentedly in his own abode. Many thousands of disciples with hearts aflame have sunk in the sea of irresponsibility. Many thousands of livers have been roasted by tyranny. From the divine Presence a voice came: Your existence is as nothing, and your nonexistence is as good as existence. One beloved of God has explained the paradox thus:

I have slain thousands of lovers like you with grief, Yet my fingers have not been stained by the blood of any!

O brother, if the purity and holiness of all the angels were to become the virtue of a single disciple, and if the devotion and worship of all mankind were his alone, and he then considered himself better than a dog or as even somewhat virtuous, it would be a sign of impending calamity, for he would still be proud! It is not proper that they should drink the same sherbet that has already been offered to another! Nor that he should make on another the same scar that has been made on him. He should be restrained in this matter, considering his own faith as a denial of faith and himself as an infidel. He should view his own devotion as sin, his purity as impurity, his own essence as a church and idol temple, his turban and robe as a sacred thread and an idol, his prayer carpet and dervish's robe as idolatrous trinkets and signs of heresy. All this belongs to a disciple as the wages of discipleship. It is for one who has fulfilled all the required conditions and has attained to the realities of discipleship. It is a sign of his safety and an indication that he has arrived, thanks to his spiritual resolve. But if some hapless one, who has remained bound up in pride and bad habits and who has not read a word of these writings, arrives at this stage, then all you will see is boasting and nonsensical talk nothing more. Hence it becomes apparent how to distinguish behavior of the wise from that of the ignorant, meaning from appearance, truth from conjecture, mystical insight from error, perception from deception, beginning from end. All concur that: In the beginning it is all talk, but at the end, all is quietness! The beginner has a tongue and he speaks, the proficient one has no tongue and simply remains quiet. It is just like a nightingale that has a thousand songs and sings all night long. It is purchased for a silver piece. But a falcon, though it never sings throughout its life, costs a thousand gold coins!

No one knows how much a falcon will fetch. While a nightingale will bring in but a few copper coins.

Do you know the reason for this difference in price? The former works, while the latter only talks!

Though a beginner might affirm existence, a proficient one has become extinct. Though an ignorant one might have some ideas, for a wise one, all thoughts have become an idol and a sacred thread. God Almighty accepts that brother as a disciple, giving him perception and knowledge so that he might distinguish the investigator of Truth from the suitor of vanity, gnosis from error, the behavior of scholars from that of the ignorant, traditional religion from heretical innovations. In short, it is his ability to recognize everything related to knowledge of God that will set a traveler on the right path. Though he be of little consequence, he may still acquire much. By the favor and grace of the Prophet and his descendants, he will place his trust in God in all circumstances. He should keep his heart free with respect to either separation or attachment. Someone approached Hatim and said: What is the secret of your good fortune, for you have no income or expenditure? From the divine treasury! he replied. Does bread come to you from heaven? asked the man. If it is not available from the earth, replied the saint, it is sent from heaven. Do you bind men up with speech? he asked. Only what comes from above can reach every mirror, declared the saint. I cannot defeat you with proofs, conceded the man, No mirror can remain empty in front of God concluded Hatim.

A man approached Shibli and said: I am distressed because of the paucity of my means and the affluence of my relatives Return home! declared Shibli. Everyone who does not trust in God- throw him out of your house!

Peace!