LETTER 70: COMPANIONSHIP OF THE GROUP

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

Brother Shamsuddin, may God grant you the grace of good company! A very important need of the disciple is to associate with these people. Such association makes a deep impression. It is a total attack on a person's temperament and habits, to such an extent that a falcon, by associating with men, becomes wise, and a parrot learns to speak. while a horse, because it associates with men in its training, loses its animal traits and takes on those of men! There are many examples of this sort of thing. Everybody has seen and witnessed the effect of association. The phenomenon can be described under the rubric of the influence derived from associating with others!

Association overcomes not only innate habits but also one's created temperament. To begin with, the sheikhs seek the benefits of associating together and command their disciples to do the same. For them, association becomes an obligatory duty. The intent of all this is to provide rest for a person's soul in whatever group he happens to be. Association relates to the ways of behavior that characterize the group, since all the group's affairs and influence develop in the context of mutual interaction. The Prophet is reported to have said: A man chooses the religion and path of his friend. Take note of who his associates are! If his companions are good, then he himself, even though he is bad, will become good, because their magnanimity will effect a change in him. On the other hand, if he associates with bad companions, he, too, will become bad, because his situation encourages him to be satisfied with what is bad, and even though he was good, he will end up by becoming bad.

There is the story of a man who was making his way around the Kaaba and praying, O God, make my brothers good! People said: You have finally reached this holy place, why do you not pray for yourself? Why are all your prayers for your brothers? He replied: I have several brothers to whom I shall be returning. If I find them acting virtuously, then I too will become good on account of their virtue, but if I find them steeped in wickedness, then I too will become perverted by their wickedness. Since my goodness will result from associating with good people, I therefore pray for my brothers, that I might achieve my aim through their help.

Malik ibn Dinar once said: Do not associate with any brother or friend if you derive no benefit therefrom for your faith or for the world to come. Such company should be considered as forbidden for you. The proper way of associating with others has been thus expressed: Your associates will either be senior to you or junior to you. If you associate with your elders, you should be the one to derive some profit from their company. If, on the other hand, you associate with people younger than yourself, then they should profit from the contact and learn something from you that will deepen their faith. If you also learn something from them, then your faith, too, will be deepened. The Prophet has said: Make many men your brothers for the sake of their good behavior and upright dealings, for your God is full of life and bounty. It is for this reason that the Lord does not like to see His slave tormented in front of his brothers. As for the Day of Judgment, however, a person should prepare himself by associating with others for the sake of God, not for the sake of his own personal desires, no matter what they be.

It has been said that being alone would be destructive for a disciple, as the Prophet noted: Satan dwells with the man who is by him self, but he remains at a distance if there are two together. The Lord has said: Where three of you are gathered together in an attempt to fathom the divine mystery, God himself makes the fourth. In fact, there is no greater misfortune for a disciple, and nothing more dangerous, than living by himself. There was a disciple of Junaid who said: I have attained perfection. There will be no harm if I abandon the company of men. He retired to a place by himself and lived in privacy. When night came, he saw a whole troop of people approaching him: Be seated on this horse and come to paradise! they beckoned. He mounted the horse and went off. He saw a place where all was joy and pleasure, filled with handsome youths, delicious food, and running streams. He passed his time there until dawn when he fell asleep. On waking up, he found himself at the door of his hermitage. The pride of youth manifested its influence in his heart. He began to boast, saying that he had attained such and such a state, and was doing such and such. News of this reached the ears of Khwaja Junaid. He set out and came to the door of the hermitage. He enquired about his disciple's spiritual condition. He related everything that had occurred. Junaid said to him: When you go to that place tonight, then repeat three times: There is no power or strength except in God Most High! That night he went off as usual with the group. After quite some time, he thought of what Khwaja Junaid had told him to do. As an experiment he repeated three times, There is no power or strength except in God! They all cried out and disappeared. He found himself on a rubbish dump with bones scattered all around him. He realized his fault and, having repented of it, returned to the company of his fellow disciples. Now you can understand what a misfortune it is for a disciple to be alone!

The etiquette of associating with others is to treat everyone in a manner that befits his position. A person should be respectful toward his elders, affable with his peers, and kindly disposed toward those who are younger than he is. He should consider his elders as his father, his peers as his brothers, and those junior to him as his children. It is not proper for a young person to speak in the presence of his elders, unless it is absolutely necessary. Even then, he should pause for a while before speaking to enable his elder to finish what he has been saying. Then he should ask permission to speak, and, sitting down respectfully, say what has to be said. A young person should by no means contradict his elders, or argue with them, or interrogate them, for the one upon whom the benevolence of the elder radiates experiences the fulfillment of his wishes both in religion and in the world. It is considered proper to make some request of him, but a disciple should not come and sit at the head of the carpet in the presence of his elders. He should be engaged in serving them. The precondition for association and brotherhood is communal living. Each should hold it as lawful for another to have authority over his goods. This group gives nothing on loan, nor does it ask others for loans. Whatever they give to another is never asked again, as the sheikhs have said: A Sufi neither borrows nor lends! No one should give orders but, if someone does give them an order, they should execute it wholeheartedly. Although they do not give others work to do, nevertheless they unhesitatingly carry out whatever work is enjoined upon them. They live congenially with everybody else in a lighthearted fashion. An individual member does nothing against the group, unless it is a question of some infringement of the Law, and he should not associate with anyone who is against religion, or who holds different views about religion, even though the person be close to him in any way:

On the other hand, let him associate with those who con firm him, both outwardly and inwardly, in his faith, piety, religion, and spiritual outlook.

It is entirely improper to associate with beardless youths, for many calamities result from this practice. Some venerable Sufis have observed that, for young people, the desire of associating with revered elders can be a grace and lead to an increase in knowledge and a stimulation of their mental development, but it would be shameful and foolish for elders to seek to associate with youths.

In its practice, this group calls the initial association knowledge, after which comes good behavior, and then inclination; followed by well-being. association and finally brotherhood. When association becomes perfect it provides the best preconditions for mystical states. Do you not see that the most important group of all was constituted by the companions of the Prophet? Their knowledge, grasp of judicial matters, worship, devotion, and trust in God knew no equal. Their contentment had no connection with any single thing except their association with the Prophet, which was the best of all possible states. One of the practices of this group was to avoid saying: This is mine and that is yours! If things had been like that, this would not have happened! O that this might have happened! O that this might not have happened! If only you had done so! Why did you not do so? All this is the way ordinary people talk

Ibrahim ibn Shaibani says: We do not keep company with any body who says: These are my sandals! The learned have said: God does not consider anyone acceptable who says: We, I, undoubtedly I, for me, I have. Do you not see that when Satan said, We praise You, he heard a voice saying that his praise was not necessary, but that Adam should be worshiped! (See Q38:75.) Satan retorted that he had been created out of fire (Q38:76). How could such a retort be tolerated? The command descended, My curse is upon you till Judgment Day (Q38:78). Similarly, Pharaoh declared: Does not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me? (Q43:51). And again, I am your exalted lord! These words were unlawful! Calamity descended upon him and he sank into the sea. Qarun said: I am a very learned man (Q28:78). This was not acceptable either! A command was given to the earth and it swallowed him up (Q28:81).

When the turn of the Prophet came, He said: O Muhammad, you are not like them. And say: I am the fearsome warner (Q15:89) just as I say, I am God! There is no god but Me!

O brother, if you want to sit in the tree of the hidden garden and enjoy the life-giving water of its running streams, as well as trample underfoot the seven heavens, you can pass in a moment from what is transient to what is eternal by closing the five doors of your desires and changing the clothes of this world of calamity and this house of rebellion, just as an oyster in the sea, through the compulsion of longing for you, becomes deaf and blind to all that is not God! Shibli was asked: Who are the Sufis? By what signs can they be recognized? He replied: They are deaf, dumb, and blind (Q2:18). They said. These are the qualities of infidels. He replied: Infidels are deaf to the word of God, incapable of uttering it, and blind with regard to His face. Here is needed a falcon, which, after escaping the snares laid by Satan in this world, can set out toward the world of purity, just as a bird would fly when released from the snare, its heart in tune with its flight, its flight with its thinking, its thinking with the divine secret, and the divine secret will attune it to God Himself. This happened to the Chosen One, who in a single stride was in the mosque of Aqsa, and in another traversed all the heavenly stations, arriving at the highest degree of nearness to God. The wine of union was bestowed upon him. He obtained marvelous revelations. Passing beyond the pale of both worlds, he found repose with his Friend.

Peace!

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

Brother Shamsuddin, may God grant you the grace of good company! A very important need of the disciple is to associate with these people. Such association makes a deep impression. It is a total attack on a person's temperament and habits, to such an extent that a falcon, by associating with men, becomes wise, and a parrot learns to speak. while a horse, because it associates with men in its training, loses its animal traits and takes on those of men! There are many examples of this sort of thing. Everybody has seen and witnessed the effect of association. The phenomenon can be described under the rubric of the influence derived from associating with others!

Association overcomes not only innate habits but also one's created temperament. To begin with, the sheikhs seek the benefits of associating together and command their disciples to do the same. For them, association becomes an obligatory duty. The intent of all this is to provide rest for a person's soul in whatever group he happens to be. Association relates to the ways of behavior that characterize the group, since all the group's affairs and influence develop in the context of mutual interaction. The Prophet is reported to have said: A man chooses the religion and path of his friend. Take note of who his associates are! If his companions are good, then he himself, even though he is bad, will become good, because their magnanimity will effect a change in him. On the other hand, if he associates with bad companions, he, too, will become bad, because his situation encourages him to be satisfied with what is bad, and even though he was good, he will end up by becoming bad.

There is the story of a man who was making his way around the Kaaba and praying, O God, make my brothers good! People said: You have finally reached this holy place, why do you not pray for yourself? Why are all your prayers for your brothers? He replied: I have several brothers to whom I shall be returning. If I find them acting virtuously, then I too will become good on account of their virtue, but if I find them steeped in wickedness, then I too will become perverted by their wickedness. Since my goodness will result from associating with good people, I therefore pray for my brothers, that I might achieve my aim through their help.

Malik ibn Dinar once said: Do not associate with any brother or friend if you derive no benefit therefrom for your faith or for the world to come. Such company should be considered as forbidden for you. The proper way of associating with others has been thus expressed: Your associates will either be senior to you or junior to you. If you associate with your elders, you should be the one to derive some profit from their company. If, on the other hand, you associate with people younger than yourself, then they should profit from the contact and learn something from you that will deepen their faith. If you also learn something from them, then your faith, too, will be deepened. The Prophet has said: Make many men your brothers for the sake of their good behavior and upright dealings, for your God is full of life and bounty. It is for this reason that the Lord does not like to see His slave tormented in front of his brothers. As for the Day of Judgment, however, a person should prepare himself by associating with others for the sake of God, not for the sake of his own personal desires, no matter what they be.

It has been said that being alone would be destructive for a disciple, as the Prophet noted: Satan dwells with the man who is by him self, but he remains at a distance if there are two together. The Lord has said: Where three of you are gathered together in an attempt to fathom the divine mystery, God himself makes the fourth. In fact, there is no greater misfortune for a disciple, and nothing more dangerous, than living by himself. There was a disciple of Junaid who said: I have attained perfection. There will be no harm if I abandon the company of men. He retired to a place by himself and lived in privacy. When night came, he saw a whole troop of people approaching him: Be seated on this horse and come to paradise! they beckoned. He mounted the horse and went off. He saw a place where all was joy and pleasure, filled with handsome youths, delicious food, and running streams. He passed his time there until dawn when he fell asleep. On waking up, he found himself at the door of his hermitage. The pride of youth manifested its influence in his heart. He began to boast, saying that he had attained such and such a state, and was doing such and such. News of this reached the ears of Khwaja Junaid. He set out and came to the door of the hermitage. He enquired about his disciple's spiritual condition. He related everything that had occurred. Junaid said to him: When you go to that place tonight, then repeat three times: There is no power or strength except in God Most High! That night he went off as usual with the group. After quite some time, he thought of what Khwaja Junaid had told him to do. As an experiment he repeated three times, There is no power or strength except in God! They all cried out and disappeared. He found himself on a rubbish dump with bones scattered all around him. He realized his fault and, having repented of it, returned to the company of his fellow disciples. Now you can understand what a misfortune it is for a disciple to be alone!

The etiquette of associating with others is to treat everyone in a manner that befits his position. A person should be respectful toward his elders, affable with his peers, and kindly disposed toward those who are younger than he is. He should consider his elders as his father, his peers as his brothers, and those junior to him as his children. It is not proper for a young person to speak in the presence of his elders, unless it is absolutely necessary. Even then, he should pause for a while before speaking to enable his elder to finish what he has been saying. Then he should ask permission to speak, and, sitting down respectfully, say what has to be said. A young person should by no means contradict his elders, or argue with them, or interrogate them, for the one upon whom the benevolence of the elder radiates experiences the fulfillment of his wishes both in religion and in the world. It is considered proper to make some request of him, but a disciple should not come and sit at the head of the carpet in the presence of his elders. He should be engaged in serving them. The precondition for association and brotherhood is communal living. Each should hold it as lawful for another to have authority over his goods. This group gives nothing on loan, nor does it ask others for loans. Whatever they give to another is never asked again, as the sheikhs have said: A Sufi neither borrows nor lends! No one should give orders but, if someone does give them an order, they should execute it wholeheartedly. Although they do not give others work to do, nevertheless they unhesitatingly carry out whatever work is enjoined upon them. They live congenially with everybody else in a lighthearted fashion. An individual member does nothing against the group, unless it is a question of some infringement of the Law, and he should not associate with anyone who is against religion, or who holds different views about religion, even though the person be close to him in any way:

On the other hand, let him associate with those who con firm him, both outwardly and inwardly, in his faith, piety, religion, and spiritual outlook.

It is entirely improper to associate with beardless youths, for many calamities result from this practice. Some venerable Sufis have observed that, for young people, the desire of associating with revered elders can be a grace and lead to an increase in knowledge and a stimulation of their mental development, but it would be shameful and foolish for elders to seek to associate with youths.

In its practice, this group calls the initial association knowledge, after which comes good behavior, and then inclination; followed by well-being. association and finally brotherhood. When association becomes perfect it provides the best preconditions for mystical states. Do you not see that the most important group of all was constituted by the companions of the Prophet? Their knowledge, grasp of judicial matters, worship, devotion, and trust in God knew no equal. Their contentment had no connection with any single thing except their association with the Prophet, which was the best of all possible states. One of the practices of this group was to avoid saying: This is mine and that is yours! If things had been like that, this would not have happened! O that this might have happened! O that this might not have happened! If only you had done so! Why did you not do so? All this is the way ordinary people talk

Ibrahim ibn Shaibani says: We do not keep company with any body who says: These are my sandals! The learned have said: God does not consider anyone acceptable who says: We, I, undoubtedly I, for me, I have. Do you not see that when Satan said, We praise You, he heard a voice saying that his praise was not necessary, but that Adam should be worshiped! (See Q38:75.) Satan retorted that he had been created out of fire (Q38:76). How could such a retort be tolerated? The command descended, My curse is upon you till Judgment Day (Q38:78). Similarly, Pharaoh declared: Does not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me? (Q43:51). And again, I am your exalted lord! These words were unlawful! Calamity descended upon him and he sank into the sea. Qarun said: I am a very learned man (Q28:78). This was not acceptable either! A command was given to the earth and it swallowed him up (Q28:81).

When the turn of the Prophet came, He said: O Muhammad, you are not like them. And say: I am the fearsome warner (Q15:89) just as I say, I am God! There is no god but Me!

O brother, if you want to sit in the tree of the hidden garden and enjoy the life-giving water of its running streams, as well as trample underfoot the seven heavens, you can pass in a moment from what is transient to what is eternal by closing the five doors of your desires and changing the clothes of this world of calamity and this house of rebellion, just as an oyster in the sea, through the compulsion of longing for you, becomes deaf and blind to all that is not God! Shibli was asked: Who are the Sufis? By what signs can they be recognized? He replied: They are deaf, dumb, and blind (Q2:18). They said. These are the qualities of infidels. He replied: Infidels are deaf to the word of God, incapable of uttering it, and blind with regard to His face. Here is needed a falcon, which, after escaping the snares laid by Satan in this world, can set out toward the world of purity, just as a bird would fly when released from the snare, its heart in tune with its flight, its flight with its thinking, its thinking with the divine secret, and the divine secret will attune it to God Himself. This happened to the Chosen One, who in a single stride was in the mosque of Aqsa, and in another traversed all the heavenly stations, arriving at the highest degree of nearness to God. The wine of union was bestowed upon him. He obtained marvelous revelations. Passing beyond the pale of both worlds, he found repose with his Friend.

Peace!