LETTER 57: CONCERNING THE FIRST STEP OF A DISCIPLE-A FURTHER EXPLANATION

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

Brother Shamsuddin, may the peace of God be with you! The first step of a disciple is to observe the Law, with all his strength and energy. Then he can be very confident that the Way will show its face to him. This is the way to the heart. When he has observed all the demands of the Way, as far as it is possible for him to do so, then he can again be confident that the veil covering his heart will be removed and the meaning of Truth, which is the way to life, will be shown to him. The sheikhs of the Path commonly talk about four stages on the Way to God for the disciples and the travelers. They say that until a disciple and a traveler has passed through them, he cannot attain the Object of his desire.

The first stage is the world of humanity, the second, the world of sovereignty, the third, that of power, and the fourth, the world of divinity. Until he has passed through the world of humanity, he cannot reach the one of sovereignty, nor can he arrive at the world of power until he has passed through that of sovereignty. Finally, only after having traversed the world of power, can he reach that of divinity. There are no signs associated with this last world: The disciple reaches it of his own accord.

The world of humanity pertains to animals. In this world are preoccupied the five senses, such as eating, drinking, smelling, seeing. hearing, and other similar things. When, as a result of austerities and struggle with self, a disciple passes beyond this world, he passes beyond these qualities as well and, of necessity, reaches the world of sovereignty. It pertains to angels. The tasks allotted to this world are reciting the rosary, praising God, bowing and prostrating, standing up and sitting down. When he traverses this stage, by not seeing his own virtues and qualities, he arrives at the world of power. It pertains to souls. Nobody can recognize the soul unless God grants him a special grace. The reality of what is experienced here can neither be described nor suggested in a hint. Since the work of this stage is love, longing, enjoyment, further seeking, ecstasy, and divine intoxication, when a traveler is stripped of even these qualities, then by virtue of the passing away of everything that can be called his, he enters the world of the divine. Undoubtedly your limit extends up to your Lord (Q53:42). This is a world utterly devoid of limitation. Here there is no talking or describing. A poet alluded to its secret:

Perception has been placed in the pupil of the eye and food has been prepared for it along the way of seeing suddenly they fall headlong at the head of Beauty's lane, Freed, now, both from seeing and from things seen!

The secret is that, along the path there are three steps: the Law, the Way, and the Truth. Man is said to be composed of three elements: ego, heart, and soul. There is a path corresponding to each of them: The Law is for the ego, the Way is for the heart, and Truth is for the soul. Through the Law, the ego passes from the world of humanity to that of sovereignty. There it acquires the qualities of the heart. The heart, by means of the Way, passes from the world of sovereignty to that of power. Here it obtains the qualities of the soul. The soul, through a great longing for the divinity, proceeds along the way of Truth to the very summit of the Divine Being. Thus it happens that the ego becomes a heart, while the heart, in turn, becomes a soul. All three heed the one order, as has been said:

Lover, beloved and love, all three have but one meaning

This meaning is called Unconditioned Unity. It is also said that the traveler has three states. The first, that of a traveler, then, awareness, and, finally, return. These three states cannot occur without the intention and will of the Lord. The slave, however, should busy himself with his tasks and wait expectantly. The one who gave the orders will see to his increase. He has no regard for the destruction of anyone or the salvation of anyone. Someone was in a wilderness, perishing from thirst and saying: There are so many oceans of water, and here am I perishing with thirst! A voice from the Unknown was heard to say: I have thrown so many prophets and saints into a destructive wilderness and, at My own good pleasure, have destroyed them, showing My power by having some crows pick their eyes out of their sockets! If anyone wishes to raise his voice to object, then I shall place this seal of punishment on his tongue: 'He cannot be questioned about what He does' (Q21:23). 'All crows belong to Me! All righteous men are Mine too! Who can interfere with Us?

Someone who wishes to arrive at the threshold of this Reality does so by engaging in the humble service of men. It is in this way that He gains access into someone's heart. Nobody can pass beyond the clutches of base inclinations and oppression of the ego unless He wills it. Nor will this happen until a disciple is under the protection of a mature and experienced spiritual master. The master will give some particular order to the disciple, which will be based on his own experiential knowledge. After considering the cause and the sickness, he makes use of a variety of remedies and medicines in order that, God willing, he may channel all he has acquired into the very nature of the disciple, and the comings and goings of Satan be uprooted from his heart.

The quest of all the worlds is to have the way to God revealed to them. Each one, however, receives knowledge in proportion to the purity of his heart, and in proportion to this knowledge, he will then begin searching and intending and, if the strength of his quest and intention is sufficient, he becomes a traveler. Disciples who have high spiritual resolve become mature spiritual masters, well versed in the Way and in the heart of man. Hapless ones, however, on account of their bad luck, do not find the Way. They are dogged by misfortune, happenstance, and imprisonment in their ego. Thus they remain constricted to themselves. It has been said: When a master sees the warmth of the intention lodged in the hearts of his disciples, he says:

If some night I find myself granted union with You, I could not count the kisses I would rain upon your lips! And when noble-minded disciples discover for themselves some master of the human heart, they all say this:

Due to this good fortune, I have stumbled across You! God knows, I am bursting with joy on account of You! But now, on account of our misfortune and bad luck, none of this is for us. Because of our sins and defections, we are excluded, but we hold fast to this: The intention of the believer is much better than his action. Someone's intention and purpose might be correct, but he does not attain the object of his desire because of some hindrance, just as someone may have to turn back from the pilgrimage or the holy war on account of sickness, or, on account of poverty since he himself has so little, have to abandon all thought of almsgiving. This would be perfectly in order. Necessarily, his recompense will be the same as one who goes on the pilgrimage, or takes part in the holy war, or who gives alms. This is mentioned frequently in the Quran and Traditions Day and night one should have a heart that is consumed with fire, eyes that shed copious tears, and at the same time burn with deep regret on account of this saying. Thus, God willing, such a person's purpose and intention will become correct. Trust is not only joined to activity: It essentially flows from the heart. There are many people asleep in their homes whose names have been inscribed on the merit-list of those fighting a Holy War. Many others have been killed in the ranks of the infidels but have no good fortune in store for them on that account. There is a saying of the Law: Usually My martyrs are on horseback, and it is possible that they may be cut down between the two ranks, but God alone knows their intentions. There is nothing more profitable along this way than grief, as has been said: God loves grief-filled hearts. We have heard in a story that when a pulpit was erected, the tree against which Muhammad used to lean while preaching began to cry out due to the pain of its separation from the Prophet. A command came. Take this tree to one side, for the weeping of the grief-stricken and exiles has great power in this Way. A grace that had no previous cause comforts one, while justice without any previous reason melts another. Umar was acceptable in an idol-temple, while Abdullah Abi was rejected in a mosque. May God have mercy on the soul of him who said:

You know the construction of everything You consume. You also know how to destroy everything You have made!

O brother, your work and mine is directed to a cruel and wrathful One, for even the eight heavens can be changed into a hell, and hell can become a paradise. A church can be educed from a Kaaba and a Kaaba made out of an idol-temple. In His power, both are the same. There remains no power that is not turned to water. The fear is that you might pass your life, breath by breath, and moment by moment, and still be afraid lest a hand of rejection emerge, without reason, from the Hidden World. His rage needs no cause. His favor is also without cause. His favor seeks someone polluted in order to wash him with the water of forgiveness, and thus the purity of His favor might come to birth in his heart. On the other hand, His wrath seeks someone pure in order to blacken his face with the smoke of separation, so that the purity of the King of wrath might be made manifest apart from causes. On one occasion, He will bring forth a prophet from beneath the skirt of a wicked man. On another occasion, He draws forth a wicked man from beneath the skirt of a prophet. Or He might indicate a dog in the ranks of the saints or a saint among a pack of dogs. Wherever He rejects anything, He never accepts it. And when He accepts anything. He never rejects it.

Before you hear the voice of the angel of death, you should make a beginning and, before you are forced by necessity, you should, by your own choice, resolve to act, for if you go out of necessity, of what account would that be? When the prophet Joseph was thrown into the well, he did not say Kill me! and when he was imprisoned he did not say Kill me! When he became pure, however, and the whole of the revenues of Egypt came under his control, he said, Make me die a Muslim! (Q12:101).

Peace!

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

Brother Shamsuddin, may the peace of God be with you! The first step of a disciple is to observe the Law, with all his strength and energy. Then he can be very confident that the Way will show its face to him. This is the way to the heart. When he has observed all the demands of the Way, as far as it is possible for him to do so, then he can again be confident that the veil covering his heart will be removed and the meaning of Truth, which is the way to life, will be shown to him. The sheikhs of the Path commonly talk about four stages on the Way to God for the disciples and the travelers. They say that until a disciple and a traveler has passed through them, he cannot attain the Object of his desire.

The first stage is the world of humanity, the second, the world of sovereignty, the third, that of power, and the fourth, the world of divinity. Until he has passed through the world of humanity, he cannot reach the one of sovereignty, nor can he arrive at the world of power until he has passed through that of sovereignty. Finally, only after having traversed the world of power, can he reach that of divinity. There are no signs associated with this last world: The disciple reaches it of his own accord.

The world of humanity pertains to animals. In this world are preoccupied the five senses, such as eating, drinking, smelling, seeing. hearing, and other similar things. When, as a result of austerities and struggle with self, a disciple passes beyond this world, he passes beyond these qualities as well and, of necessity, reaches the world of sovereignty. It pertains to angels. The tasks allotted to this world are reciting the rosary, praising God, bowing and prostrating, standing up and sitting down. When he traverses this stage, by not seeing his own virtues and qualities, he arrives at the world of power. It pertains to souls. Nobody can recognize the soul unless God grants him a special grace. The reality of what is experienced here can neither be described nor suggested in a hint. Since the work of this stage is love, longing, enjoyment, further seeking, ecstasy, and divine intoxication, when a traveler is stripped of even these qualities, then by virtue of the passing away of everything that can be called his, he enters the world of the divine. Undoubtedly your limit extends up to your Lord (Q53:42). This is a world utterly devoid of limitation. Here there is no talking or describing. A poet alluded to its secret:

Perception has been placed in the pupil of the eye and food has been prepared for it along the way of seeing suddenly they fall headlong at the head of Beauty's lane, Freed, now, both from seeing and from things seen!

The secret is that, along the path there are three steps: the Law, the Way, and the Truth. Man is said to be composed of three elements: ego, heart, and soul. There is a path corresponding to each of them: The Law is for the ego, the Way is for the heart, and Truth is for the soul. Through the Law, the ego passes from the world of humanity to that of sovereignty. There it acquires the qualities of the heart. The heart, by means of the Way, passes from the world of sovereignty to that of power. Here it obtains the qualities of the soul. The soul, through a great longing for the divinity, proceeds along the way of Truth to the very summit of the Divine Being. Thus it happens that the ego becomes a heart, while the heart, in turn, becomes a soul. All three heed the one order, as has been said:

Lover, beloved and love, all three have but one meaning

This meaning is called Unconditioned Unity. It is also said that the traveler has three states. The first, that of a traveler, then, awareness, and, finally, return. These three states cannot occur without the intention and will of the Lord. The slave, however, should busy himself with his tasks and wait expectantly. The one who gave the orders will see to his increase. He has no regard for the destruction of anyone or the salvation of anyone. Someone was in a wilderness, perishing from thirst and saying: There are so many oceans of water, and here am I perishing with thirst! A voice from the Unknown was heard to say: I have thrown so many prophets and saints into a destructive wilderness and, at My own good pleasure, have destroyed them, showing My power by having some crows pick their eyes out of their sockets! If anyone wishes to raise his voice to object, then I shall place this seal of punishment on his tongue: 'He cannot be questioned about what He does' (Q21:23). 'All crows belong to Me! All righteous men are Mine too! Who can interfere with Us?

Someone who wishes to arrive at the threshold of this Reality does so by engaging in the humble service of men. It is in this way that He gains access into someone's heart. Nobody can pass beyond the clutches of base inclinations and oppression of the ego unless He wills it. Nor will this happen until a disciple is under the protection of a mature and experienced spiritual master. The master will give some particular order to the disciple, which will be based on his own experiential knowledge. After considering the cause and the sickness, he makes use of a variety of remedies and medicines in order that, God willing, he may channel all he has acquired into the very nature of the disciple, and the comings and goings of Satan be uprooted from his heart.

The quest of all the worlds is to have the way to God revealed to them. Each one, however, receives knowledge in proportion to the purity of his heart, and in proportion to this knowledge, he will then begin searching and intending and, if the strength of his quest and intention is sufficient, he becomes a traveler. Disciples who have high spiritual resolve become mature spiritual masters, well versed in the Way and in the heart of man. Hapless ones, however, on account of their bad luck, do not find the Way. They are dogged by misfortune, happenstance, and imprisonment in their ego. Thus they remain constricted to themselves. It has been said: When a master sees the warmth of the intention lodged in the hearts of his disciples, he says:

If some night I find myself granted union with You, I could not count the kisses I would rain upon your lips! And when noble-minded disciples discover for themselves some master of the human heart, they all say this:

Due to this good fortune, I have stumbled across You! God knows, I am bursting with joy on account of You! But now, on account of our misfortune and bad luck, none of this is for us. Because of our sins and defections, we are excluded, but we hold fast to this: The intention of the believer is much better than his action. Someone's intention and purpose might be correct, but he does not attain the object of his desire because of some hindrance, just as someone may have to turn back from the pilgrimage or the holy war on account of sickness, or, on account of poverty since he himself has so little, have to abandon all thought of almsgiving. This would be perfectly in order. Necessarily, his recompense will be the same as one who goes on the pilgrimage, or takes part in the holy war, or who gives alms. This is mentioned frequently in the Quran and Traditions Day and night one should have a heart that is consumed with fire, eyes that shed copious tears, and at the same time burn with deep regret on account of this saying. Thus, God willing, such a person's purpose and intention will become correct. Trust is not only joined to activity: It essentially flows from the heart. There are many people asleep in their homes whose names have been inscribed on the merit-list of those fighting a Holy War. Many others have been killed in the ranks of the infidels but have no good fortune in store for them on that account. There is a saying of the Law: Usually My martyrs are on horseback, and it is possible that they may be cut down between the two ranks, but God alone knows their intentions. There is nothing more profitable along this way than grief, as has been said: God loves grief-filled hearts. We have heard in a story that when a pulpit was erected, the tree against which Muhammad used to lean while preaching began to cry out due to the pain of its separation from the Prophet. A command came. Take this tree to one side, for the weeping of the grief-stricken and exiles has great power in this Way. A grace that had no previous cause comforts one, while justice without any previous reason melts another. Umar was acceptable in an idol-temple, while Abdullah Abi was rejected in a mosque. May God have mercy on the soul of him who said:

You know the construction of everything You consume. You also know how to destroy everything You have made!

O brother, your work and mine is directed to a cruel and wrathful One, for even the eight heavens can be changed into a hell, and hell can become a paradise. A church can be educed from a Kaaba and a Kaaba made out of an idol-temple. In His power, both are the same. There remains no power that is not turned to water. The fear is that you might pass your life, breath by breath, and moment by moment, and still be afraid lest a hand of rejection emerge, without reason, from the Hidden World. His rage needs no cause. His favor is also without cause. His favor seeks someone polluted in order to wash him with the water of forgiveness, and thus the purity of His favor might come to birth in his heart. On the other hand, His wrath seeks someone pure in order to blacken his face with the smoke of separation, so that the purity of the King of wrath might be made manifest apart from causes. On one occasion, He will bring forth a prophet from beneath the skirt of a wicked man. On another occasion, He draws forth a wicked man from beneath the skirt of a prophet. Or He might indicate a dog in the ranks of the saints or a saint among a pack of dogs. Wherever He rejects anything, He never accepts it. And when He accepts anything. He never rejects it.

Before you hear the voice of the angel of death, you should make a beginning and, before you are forced by necessity, you should, by your own choice, resolve to act, for if you go out of necessity, of what account would that be? When the prophet Joseph was thrown into the well, he did not say Kill me! and when he was imprisoned he did not say Kill me! When he became pure, however, and the whole of the revenues of Egypt came under his control, he said, Make me die a Muslim! (Q12:101).

Peace!