LETTER 72: PURIFICATION OF BAD HABITS

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

Dear Brother Shamsuddin, may you be always devoted to the service of God! Peace and prayers from the author of these words! A brother should study carefully how to purify his behavior and change his base qualities into praiseworthy ones by striving, day by day, as much as possible, toward this goal. It is important that he realize that terrible calamities-may God preserve us from them!-can result from carelessness and negligence in this task.

There are, in man, animal-like qualities that correspond to the various beasts of prey, wild animals, and brute beasts. Whatever quality becomes predominant in this life will be the one in accordance with which the order will be given tomorrow that he be raised in that form, rather than in his present human form. For example, the person who is overcome by rage in this life will be raised on the Day of Resurrection in the form of a dog. The man who succumbs to lustful desires will be raised as a pig. Whoever is overcome by pride will be raised as a leopard. If anyone indulges in sly behavior now, he will be raised as a fox, and so on for other similar qualities.

It is related in a Prophetic tradition that the Friend of God Abraham) will see Azar [his father on the Day of Resurrection, as he is being carried off to hell. He will say: O Lord, could there be any greater disgrace than this, that I am standing here in this open space and Azar is being borne off to help In the world I had declared, Do not disgrace me on the Day of Resurrection! (Q26:87) Meanwhile, Avar had changed in form from a man to a hyena, for this was in keeping with his disposition while on earth. Abraham was told: What relationship do you have with this hyena? How can you have any affinity with him? By contrast, the dog of the Companions of the Cave, on account of its good qualities, had its form changed and was brought forward as a man for, although it had the form of a dog, it had the qualities of a man; while Azar had the appearance of a man, but the qualities of a hyena. In the same way, O brother, there are many today with the appearance of men whom you will see tomorrow raised up in the form of beasts of prey and wild animals, while at the same time, many beasts of prey and wild animals of today will be brought forward as men of the Day of Resurrection. The wise have said that the stony garb of Mount Uhud, concerning which the Prophet had said, Uhud is the mountain which loves me, and of which I am fond will, on the Day of Resurrection, be brought into the row of the righteous, for the virtue of the righteous has predominated in it! Of a certainty, everything will be changed into its correct form. At this point, someone might object: Mount Uhud is an inert mass. How can you talk about love or hatred with regard to something inorganic? Both love and hatred necessarily presuppose life. The answer to this is, Uhud is the mountain which loves me, and of which I am fond! Moreover, it has been related by that master of the human heart, the Prophet, that those united in heart receive some knowledge even from solid things, and also hear something concerning which another person might not have any knowledge whatsoever.

Eyes that are veiled derive no benefit at all from a lamp!

It has also been related that those favored with revelations are aware of the praise of all things, even if it be an inert mass of rock. and they realize the truth of the Quranic declaration that all things in heaven and on earth are engaged in praising God (Q59:24). They have voices, as the poet said:

It appears to you that these stones are motionless. But for us, they are superbly eloquent in their speech!

In Ismat-i-Anbiya [The sinlessness of the prophets), it is related that the notable prophet Solomon said: The entire world, along with all its parts, is enamored of its Creator, and is in quest of Him. In this vein someone said:

A hundred thousand secrets are inbedded in an ant, And in its heart an agitation arises out of love for Him! Every particle is a lover filled with desire,

It is filled with a ray of the love of God!

All particles, whether visible or hidden, Of both worlds, are really centers of love!

We are confronted with this difficult and frightening task in which none except those endowed with insight succeed. One should not be imprudent. One should develop, ever so slowly, the habit by which, little by little, these qualities might decrease and, if the Lord provides assistance and they are entirely pushed aside, then this itself would appear as a great work. Whoever wishes to know which quality will be his on the Day of Resurrection should look into himself here and now in order to discover which quality predominates in him. Tomorrow he will rise with that very same quality. This much should be easily understandable; is it not that difficult to grasp!

If anyone wishes to know whether the Lord is pleased with him or not, let him look at his own actions! If they are all full of devotion, he will know that God is pleased with them, for devotion is a sign of God's good pleasure. If, on the other hand, his actions are all sinful, he will know that God is displeased with them, for sin is a sign of His displeasure. If both are found, then the dominant one will determine his fate. Your fortune is not set before you today! When a work is not done here, then it will not be possible there either. And if these wicked qualities were to remain in him and not be transformed, then even if he goes to paradise and all its blessings are showered upon him, still his bad qualities will not change. There will be no turning back then. Such a man would remain separated from himself, and he would not attain his true Wealth

It is necessary to make the change here. If no change is effected here, then none will be possible there either. A person will simply go to heaven! Moreover, for all eternity, he will not change, he will remain within himself. All the blessings of heaven will be lawful for him, but he will not be able to be satisfied with the delights that are in store for man tomorrow-such as the damsels, comfortable dwelling places, roasted chicken, and flowing waters for what are all these when compared to the Object of souls, the Desire of hearts, the Direction of all righteous ones, and the Kaaba of all travelers If anyone loves this Wealth, then of what value is anything else that he gains For someone who has attained that Blessing, what could be counted as loss?

There is a need for the fast of the full moon and Ramazan, so that there is no loss in journeys or at home due to lethargy or drowsiness.

By taking many baths and by performing many ablutions, the seeker finds a remedy for all these drawbacks.

O brother, the angels received this command: Turn your face toward the dust! and men this one: Turn your face toward a stone! Do you know what this means? This is to show clearly the value and refinement of works. Moses was told: Look toward the mountain! because, Sinai is stone, and you are a clod of earth. Now, there undoubtedly is an affinity between stone and earth. On the other hand, He who will grant the vision tomorrow does not do so because of any affinity Man is not worthy of such vision. There is no eye that has been fashioned to contemplate Him, nor ear shaped to hear Him, nor intellect capable of comprehending Him, nor foot capable of finding its way to Him!

My eye desires only the sight of You: My ear longs to hear nothing but Your speech! Look upon the high aspirations of both, Even though they be not worthy of Your splendor!

No one can claim to be seeking Him wholeheartedly until he has weighed himself in the scales of complete powerlessness, and looked at himself with the eyes of unworthiness. Shibli said: My baseness has not retreated from that of the Jews. Bu Sulaiman Darani said: Whoever looks at his soul, or gives the slightest value to all his actions, states, and words, will certainly never arrive at a taste of the sweetness of this saying! A wise man said: I was performing the circumambulation of the Kaaba. Someone came up behind me and pulled me backwards. When I looked to see who it was I saw it was Khwaja Fuzail Iyaz. He said to me: 'If you think that at this time and in this place there is any holiness originating from you or me, then beware of destruction.

Peace!

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

Dear Brother Shamsuddin, may you be always devoted to the service of God! Peace and prayers from the author of these words! A brother should study carefully how to purify his behavior and change his base qualities into praiseworthy ones by striving, day by day, as much as possible, toward this goal. It is important that he realize that terrible calamities-may God preserve us from them!-can result from carelessness and negligence in this task.

There are, in man, animal-like qualities that correspond to the various beasts of prey, wild animals, and brute beasts. Whatever quality becomes predominant in this life will be the one in accordance with which the order will be given tomorrow that he be raised in that form, rather than in his present human form. For example, the person who is overcome by rage in this life will be raised on the Day of Resurrection in the form of a dog. The man who succumbs to lustful desires will be raised as a pig. Whoever is overcome by pride will be raised as a leopard. If anyone indulges in sly behavior now, he will be raised as a fox, and so on for other similar qualities.

It is related in a Prophetic tradition that the Friend of God Abraham) will see Azar [his father on the Day of Resurrection, as he is being carried off to hell. He will say: O Lord, could there be any greater disgrace than this, that I am standing here in this open space and Azar is being borne off to help In the world I had declared, Do not disgrace me on the Day of Resurrection! (Q26:87) Meanwhile, Avar had changed in form from a man to a hyena, for this was in keeping with his disposition while on earth. Abraham was told: What relationship do you have with this hyena? How can you have any affinity with him? By contrast, the dog of the Companions of the Cave, on account of its good qualities, had its form changed and was brought forward as a man for, although it had the form of a dog, it had the qualities of a man; while Azar had the appearance of a man, but the qualities of a hyena. In the same way, O brother, there are many today with the appearance of men whom you will see tomorrow raised up in the form of beasts of prey and wild animals, while at the same time, many beasts of prey and wild animals of today will be brought forward as men of the Day of Resurrection. The wise have said that the stony garb of Mount Uhud, concerning which the Prophet had said, Uhud is the mountain which loves me, and of which I am fond will, on the Day of Resurrection, be brought into the row of the righteous, for the virtue of the righteous has predominated in it! Of a certainty, everything will be changed into its correct form. At this point, someone might object: Mount Uhud is an inert mass. How can you talk about love or hatred with regard to something inorganic? Both love and hatred necessarily presuppose life. The answer to this is, Uhud is the mountain which loves me, and of which I am fond! Moreover, it has been related by that master of the human heart, the Prophet, that those united in heart receive some knowledge even from solid things, and also hear something concerning which another person might not have any knowledge whatsoever.

Eyes that are veiled derive no benefit at all from a lamp!

It has also been related that those favored with revelations are aware of the praise of all things, even if it be an inert mass of rock. and they realize the truth of the Quranic declaration that all things in heaven and on earth are engaged in praising God (Q59:24). They have voices, as the poet said:

It appears to you that these stones are motionless. But for us, they are superbly eloquent in their speech!

In Ismat-i-Anbiya [The sinlessness of the prophets), it is related that the notable prophet Solomon said: The entire world, along with all its parts, is enamored of its Creator, and is in quest of Him. In this vein someone said:

A hundred thousand secrets are inbedded in an ant, And in its heart an agitation arises out of love for Him! Every particle is a lover filled with desire,

It is filled with a ray of the love of God!

All particles, whether visible or hidden, Of both worlds, are really centers of love!

We are confronted with this difficult and frightening task in which none except those endowed with insight succeed. One should not be imprudent. One should develop, ever so slowly, the habit by which, little by little, these qualities might decrease and, if the Lord provides assistance and they are entirely pushed aside, then this itself would appear as a great work. Whoever wishes to know which quality will be his on the Day of Resurrection should look into himself here and now in order to discover which quality predominates in him. Tomorrow he will rise with that very same quality. This much should be easily understandable; is it not that difficult to grasp!

If anyone wishes to know whether the Lord is pleased with him or not, let him look at his own actions! If they are all full of devotion, he will know that God is pleased with them, for devotion is a sign of God's good pleasure. If, on the other hand, his actions are all sinful, he will know that God is displeased with them, for sin is a sign of His displeasure. If both are found, then the dominant one will determine his fate. Your fortune is not set before you today! When a work is not done here, then it will not be possible there either. And if these wicked qualities were to remain in him and not be transformed, then even if he goes to paradise and all its blessings are showered upon him, still his bad qualities will not change. There will be no turning back then. Such a man would remain separated from himself, and he would not attain his true Wealth

It is necessary to make the change here. If no change is effected here, then none will be possible there either. A person will simply go to heaven! Moreover, for all eternity, he will not change, he will remain within himself. All the blessings of heaven will be lawful for him, but he will not be able to be satisfied with the delights that are in store for man tomorrow-such as the damsels, comfortable dwelling places, roasted chicken, and flowing waters for what are all these when compared to the Object of souls, the Desire of hearts, the Direction of all righteous ones, and the Kaaba of all travelers If anyone loves this Wealth, then of what value is anything else that he gains For someone who has attained that Blessing, what could be counted as loss?

There is a need for the fast of the full moon and Ramazan, so that there is no loss in journeys or at home due to lethargy or drowsiness.

By taking many baths and by performing many ablutions, the seeker finds a remedy for all these drawbacks.

O brother, the angels received this command: Turn your face toward the dust! and men this one: Turn your face toward a stone! Do you know what this means? This is to show clearly the value and refinement of works. Moses was told: Look toward the mountain! because, Sinai is stone, and you are a clod of earth. Now, there undoubtedly is an affinity between stone and earth. On the other hand, He who will grant the vision tomorrow does not do so because of any affinity Man is not worthy of such vision. There is no eye that has been fashioned to contemplate Him, nor ear shaped to hear Him, nor intellect capable of comprehending Him, nor foot capable of finding its way to Him!

My eye desires only the sight of You: My ear longs to hear nothing but Your speech! Look upon the high aspirations of both, Even though they be not worthy of Your splendor!

No one can claim to be seeking Him wholeheartedly until he has weighed himself in the scales of complete powerlessness, and looked at himself with the eyes of unworthiness. Shibli said: My baseness has not retreated from that of the Jews. Bu Sulaiman Darani said: Whoever looks at his soul, or gives the slightest value to all his actions, states, and words, will certainly never arrive at a taste of the sweetness of this saying! A wise man said: I was performing the circumambulation of the Kaaba. Someone came up behind me and pulled me backwards. When I looked to see who it was I saw it was Khwaja Fuzail Iyaz. He said to me: 'If you think that at this time and in this place there is any holiness originating from you or me, then beware of destruction.

Peace!