LETTER 9: SAINTLINESS

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

Dear brother Qazi Sadruddin, may you be honored by God! You

should know that commonplace saintliness is rooted in faith. Every

person who embraces the Muslim faith becomes a member of the congregation of God’s saints! Often, however, there is more than a suspicion that, along with this type of saintliness, there is sin and the commission of forbidden things. There are others who fulfill what is

commanded and shun what is prohibited. People doing this should be

counted among the saints. The various groups are like the squadrons

of an army—a special one in front, ordinary troops to the side, and a

very special one in the center! These hand-picked troopers not only

obey commands and shun prohibited things, they also bring to heel

their own desires. Their regard is not on what is due them; instead,

whatever their Friend wants is the very thing they themselves desire!

Giving priority to what He wants, they disregard their own desires.

They understand what is idolatrous, since they know that the basis of

all idolatry is connected with yielding to our own selfish desires. The

Quran hints at this when it says: “Have you seen him who makes a

god of his own desires?” (Q25:43). Here it is necessary to understand ‘WJ

exactly what idolatry is in order to avoid falling into some fault in ~ |

this matter. ,

One kind of idolatry is called “manifest”; it occurs when a person

substitutes something else for God. This form of idolatry is forbidden

by the very principles of the faith. May God preserve us from it! The

second type is called “covert”; it occurs when a person considers

something other than God as necessary, and seizes upon that thing as

desirable. Some say that, for Sufis, idolatry is to take note of the existence of anything but God! Others say that covert idolatry is tantamount to relying upon oneself in all circumstances; desiring with

one’s own power; and accepting advice and stratagems in any undertaking that comes up. Such covert idolatry is prohibited by the perfection of divine Unity, if not by the explicit principles of the Law!

When I fell into the abyss of Your Unity,

The thought of no other came to me,

Neither of men nor angels, in Your Unity:

I, a slave, gazed on You and became free!

Everyone knows that you need friends if you want. to become

great! It is fitting that there are groups of the elect, of common people

and of those who observe “command and prohibition.” Beyond these,

however, there is a special group worthy of becoming boon companions. And beyond these is the class that is fit for divine secrets. And

beyond these comes the group of those on terms of intimate friendship with God. Here, if either party wants anything that belongs to

the other, his inclination will be simply to give it, for the mutual usage of goods is such that everything is considered common. In this

way, any trace of mistrust departs from them. There is an example of

this in the Law. The venerable Sufis have said: “There are commands

for common people and matters of license for the elect, since the

Prophet?? himself has condoned the latter.” For example, he said to

an Arab who had broken his fast in the month of Ramzan: “Eat and

also feed your wife and children! It is lawful for you, but not for any one else.” This was clearly an abrogation. For ordinary people, he

paid attention to the actual extent to which things are commanded or

prohibited. But for foreigners he amended the Law, giving them permission to keep some of their customs, even in face of the claims of

the Law and thus showing, in a special way, his friendship toward

them. “I am one of that elect who can do as he sees fit with respect to

their possessions.” [A poem of Khwaja Sanai is then quoted. |

There is no doubt that all prophets are equal in respect to prophecy, yet they differ from one another in the matter of grace, just as all

believers, though on the same level with respect to faith, vary in virtue. One group has attained only the common level, while others rise

to a privileged rank. Anyone who denies this is denying what can be plainly seen. Consider an earthly king who has soldiers in abundance,

men who are bound completely to his orders and dependent on him

for their sustenance. Among them some are grooms, while others are

carpet layers, doorkeepers, chamberlains, treasurers, cupbearers,

army commanders, ministers, and boon companions. Still others

reach such privileged positions that the king entrusts the seal of the

kingdom to them, so that whatever such a person commands becomes

the command of the king himself. The same is true of any prohibition

or appointment he makes. All this is clear to an intelligent man.

Similarly, believers, with respect to their faith, occupy graduated, orderly ranks. When they are in these grades we have described,

then each, in his position, is “special,” since there are people below

him, but, at the same time, he is “ordinary,” for there are others

above him. The particular rank of the saints becomes apparent when

they have become the elect of God. This stage is attained when the

apparent merges with the hidden and they become one. The elect neither oppose, think, nor discuss things with their inner selves. In seeing the Master, they forget about their own needs. They would not

exchange their Friend even for both worlds. They are so immersed in

gazing upon Him that the question of hope no longer arises, so

immersed in fear of Him that they are afraid of nothing else, so immersed in love of Him that his absence makes them desolate, so

immersed in remembering Him that nothing except Him enters their

memory. Everything about them, visible and hidden, within the

sphere-of their spiritual powers, becomes so absorbed in the Friend

that nothing remains in them except Him!

If, in love, you are despoiled of your qualities,

You will go beyond your self and become a lover!

Some quality may appear and then disappear,

So do not put any stock in it, lest you be ashamed!

When a person reaches this stage with respect to his desires for

himself, the hold of his self, and even his spiritual and personal qualities, he becomes utterly lost to hirnself; he is rooted and fixed in the

qualities and desire of his Friend! Everything he wishes is fulfilled,

not because the desire of something other than his Friend has arisen

in him, but because his own desire has become the desire of his

Friend. Indeed, it is in him that the friend manifests His own desire

and whatever makes its appearance is really the Friend’s desire, not

his own. People might judge that he wants something or other but, as

far as he himself is concerned, it would mean that his Friend desired

something in a special way. This privileged rank cannot be denied;

and yet some say, “It’s your groundless boasting! It is not genuine!”

[A poem follows. ]

When they reach the stage under discussion, saints become aware

that they are God’s elect in accord with the famous saying “The absence of any desire is the precondition of saintliness,”’ and they see

themselves as desire less. If saintliness requires a lack of self-control,

then they consider themselves to have no say in their actions. All desires come from their Friend while they, of themselves, desire nothing, as the King of the Prophets has testified: “If they swear by God,

then what they want will surely be granted.” But the presupposition

of this is that they do not swear, yet if they do they will get what they

ask for in God's name. The Prophet was also indicating that although

the saints get whatever they want, they actually do not want anything! [A poem follows. ] ;

The regard of the saint is always on his Lord. “The saint is protected from self-interest; therefore pride does not enter him.” In other words, all those who attain this stage do not become self-seekers since, at this stage, their attention is not on themselves. If the foundation of this stage is lost, however, then the whole work disintegrates.

As long as anything remains with you, you are in your own essence;

The Kaaba, due to your worship, becomes a tavern!

If anything emanates from your essence, you are still far off:

You are like a temple facing the Kaaba!?4

“Saints have been despoiled of human qualities.” A saint should

withdraw from human company, for weeping is an antidote to fame!

“May they not be put to the test!” In other words, let the people find

nothing to reprove in them that might make them stumble! Dependency on other people comes from two things, their reproach or their

praise, both of which are inimical to true religion. There is a mystery

in the fact that anybody who venerates, as the sign of the soundness of his worship, becomes blind to any other than the One

venerated. If pride is interwoven in this veneration, then a person has

really seen his own soul, not God. He is venerating that, not God.

Whenever hypocrisy is found along with veneration, mankind has

been seen, not God. The person is venerating them, not God. Since

he worships his own soul and mankind and desires things other than

God, it is all deceit—‘‘A saint is protected from the evils of human nature and yet the form of his human nature remains rooted within

him.” Keeping himself untainted by earthly things does not occur

simply by the fact that the desire of something is no longer in him.

Nor is it sufficient reason for praising and blessing him for, if such

were the case—that is, that he had no desire for anything unseemly—

this could simply mean that, from the beginning, he had been impotent and bereft of the means required for acquiring such things.

Strictly speaking, it would not be an instance of something prohibited but of something precluded. How could he be praised, blessed, or

given a reward for refraining from doing something he was unable to

do in the first place?

For men, there is a reward for obedience to God and a punishment for rebellion against Him. Angels, on the other hand, do not

have the means of disobeying: For them there is no question of abandoning rebellion or of practicing obedience. They can neither reward

nor punish. Man, however, has a human nature and takes pleasure in

the things he wants. For the common man this would mean that he

prefers what he wants to what God commands. Saints, however, prefer the command of God to what they themselves desire. The difference, O brother, consists in this: You should not remain unaffected by the pain of this human condition and the impulse to escape it, but

should not, at the same time, be without hope, for justice and grace

are His qualities. He is just. He keeps watch over what He commands. He knows our weakness. And since His justice makes Him interested in His own commands, it is He who does the work of the

people, from the first to the last! Since He also insists on showering

his grace-filled glances upon our helplessness, our work gets done,

our sins are transformed into good deeds, and our faults become virtues. What place is there for lack of hope? A destitute creature has

said;

Do not be without hope today, O heart, for

Tomorrow His glance will be on His own command!

O brother, whoever among us has been stained by the impurities

of sin or has consented to forbidden things will be cleansed by water

from the cloud of grace and benevolence Himself! Who can disgrace

us tomorrow in the presence of the prophets and the saints, and the

whole host of God’s creation? A mature saint has said:

Even if a lover be captured by sin,

Or become enamored of the cup of intoxication, still

Why should he fear a multitude of blunders,

For the Beloved is One who keeps secrets and veils sins!

Peace!

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

Dear brother Qazi Sadruddin, may you be honored by God! You

should know that commonplace saintliness is rooted in faith. Every

person who embraces the Muslim faith becomes a member of the congregation of God’s saints! Often, however, there is more than a suspicion that, along with this type of saintliness, there is sin and the commission of forbidden things. There are others who fulfill what is

commanded and shun what is prohibited. People doing this should be

counted among the saints. The various groups are like the squadrons

of an army—a special one in front, ordinary troops to the side, and a

very special one in the center! These hand-picked troopers not only

obey commands and shun prohibited things, they also bring to heel

their own desires. Their regard is not on what is due them; instead,

whatever their Friend wants is the very thing they themselves desire!

Giving priority to what He wants, they disregard their own desires.

They understand what is idolatrous, since they know that the basis of

all idolatry is connected with yielding to our own selfish desires. The

Quran hints at this when it says: “Have you seen him who makes a

god of his own desires?” (Q25:43). Here it is necessary to understand ‘WJ

exactly what idolatry is in order to avoid falling into some fault in ~ |

this matter. ,

One kind of idolatry is called “manifest”; it occurs when a person

substitutes something else for God. This form of idolatry is forbidden

by the very principles of the faith. May God preserve us from it! The

second type is called “covert”; it occurs when a person considers

something other than God as necessary, and seizes upon that thing as

desirable. Some say that, for Sufis, idolatry is to take note of the existence of anything but God! Others say that covert idolatry is tantamount to relying upon oneself in all circumstances; desiring with

one’s own power; and accepting advice and stratagems in any undertaking that comes up. Such covert idolatry is prohibited by the perfection of divine Unity, if not by the explicit principles of the Law!

When I fell into the abyss of Your Unity,

The thought of no other came to me,

Neither of men nor angels, in Your Unity:

I, a slave, gazed on You and became free!

Everyone knows that you need friends if you want. to become

great! It is fitting that there are groups of the elect, of common people

and of those who observe “command and prohibition.” Beyond these,

however, there is a special group worthy of becoming boon companions. And beyond these is the class that is fit for divine secrets. And

beyond these comes the group of those on terms of intimate friendship with God. Here, if either party wants anything that belongs to

the other, his inclination will be simply to give it, for the mutual usage of goods is such that everything is considered common. In this

way, any trace of mistrust departs from them. There is an example of

this in the Law. The venerable Sufis have said: “There are commands

for common people and matters of license for the elect, since the

Prophet?? himself has condoned the latter.” For example, he said to

an Arab who had broken his fast in the month of Ramzan: “Eat and

also feed your wife and children! It is lawful for you, but not for any one else.” This was clearly an abrogation. For ordinary people, he

paid attention to the actual extent to which things are commanded or

prohibited. But for foreigners he amended the Law, giving them permission to keep some of their customs, even in face of the claims of

the Law and thus showing, in a special way, his friendship toward

them. “I am one of that elect who can do as he sees fit with respect to

their possessions.” [A poem of Khwaja Sanai is then quoted. |

There is no doubt that all prophets are equal in respect to prophecy, yet they differ from one another in the matter of grace, just as all

believers, though on the same level with respect to faith, vary in virtue. One group has attained only the common level, while others rise

to a privileged rank. Anyone who denies this is denying what can be plainly seen. Consider an earthly king who has soldiers in abundance,

men who are bound completely to his orders and dependent on him

for their sustenance. Among them some are grooms, while others are

carpet layers, doorkeepers, chamberlains, treasurers, cupbearers,

army commanders, ministers, and boon companions. Still others

reach such privileged positions that the king entrusts the seal of the

kingdom to them, so that whatever such a person commands becomes

the command of the king himself. The same is true of any prohibition

or appointment he makes. All this is clear to an intelligent man.

Similarly, believers, with respect to their faith, occupy graduated, orderly ranks. When they are in these grades we have described,

then each, in his position, is “special,” since there are people below

him, but, at the same time, he is “ordinary,” for there are others

above him. The particular rank of the saints becomes apparent when

they have become the elect of God. This stage is attained when the

apparent merges with the hidden and they become one. The elect neither oppose, think, nor discuss things with their inner selves. In seeing the Master, they forget about their own needs. They would not

exchange their Friend even for both worlds. They are so immersed in

gazing upon Him that the question of hope no longer arises, so

immersed in fear of Him that they are afraid of nothing else, so immersed in love of Him that his absence makes them desolate, so

immersed in remembering Him that nothing except Him enters their

memory. Everything about them, visible and hidden, within the

sphere-of their spiritual powers, becomes so absorbed in the Friend

that nothing remains in them except Him!

If, in love, you are despoiled of your qualities,

You will go beyond your self and become a lover!

Some quality may appear and then disappear,

So do not put any stock in it, lest you be ashamed!

When a person reaches this stage with respect to his desires for

himself, the hold of his self, and even his spiritual and personal qualities, he becomes utterly lost to hirnself; he is rooted and fixed in the

qualities and desire of his Friend! Everything he wishes is fulfilled,

not because the desire of something other than his Friend has arisen

in him, but because his own desire has become the desire of his

Friend. Indeed, it is in him that the friend manifests His own desire

and whatever makes its appearance is really the Friend’s desire, not

his own. People might judge that he wants something or other but, as

far as he himself is concerned, it would mean that his Friend desired

something in a special way. This privileged rank cannot be denied;

and yet some say, “It’s your groundless boasting! It is not genuine!”

[A poem follows. ]

When they reach the stage under discussion, saints become aware

that they are God’s elect in accord with the famous saying “The absence of any desire is the precondition of saintliness,”’ and they see

themselves as desire less. If saintliness requires a lack of self-control,

then they consider themselves to have no say in their actions. All desires come from their Friend while they, of themselves, desire nothing, as the King of the Prophets has testified: “If they swear by God,

then what they want will surely be granted.” But the presupposition

of this is that they do not swear, yet if they do they will get what they

ask for in God's name. The Prophet was also indicating that although

the saints get whatever they want, they actually do not want anything! [A poem follows. ] ;

The regard of the saint is always on his Lord. “The saint is protected from self-interest; therefore pride does not enter him.” In other words, all those who attain this stage do not become self-seekers since, at this stage, their attention is not on themselves. If the foundation of this stage is lost, however, then the whole work disintegrates.

As long as anything remains with you, you are in your own essence;

The Kaaba, due to your worship, becomes a tavern!

If anything emanates from your essence, you are still far off:

You are like a temple facing the Kaaba!?4

“Saints have been despoiled of human qualities.” A saint should

withdraw from human company, for weeping is an antidote to fame!

“May they not be put to the test!” In other words, let the people find

nothing to reprove in them that might make them stumble! Dependency on other people comes from two things, their reproach or their

praise, both of which are inimical to true religion. There is a mystery

in the fact that anybody who venerates, as the sign of the soundness of his worship, becomes blind to any other than the One

venerated. If pride is interwoven in this veneration, then a person has

really seen his own soul, not God. He is venerating that, not God.

Whenever hypocrisy is found along with veneration, mankind has

been seen, not God. The person is venerating them, not God. Since

he worships his own soul and mankind and desires things other than

God, it is all deceit—‘‘A saint is protected from the evils of human nature and yet the form of his human nature remains rooted within

him.” Keeping himself untainted by earthly things does not occur

simply by the fact that the desire of something is no longer in him.

Nor is it sufficient reason for praising and blessing him for, if such

were the case—that is, that he had no desire for anything unseemly—

this could simply mean that, from the beginning, he had been impotent and bereft of the means required for acquiring such things.

Strictly speaking, it would not be an instance of something prohibited but of something precluded. How could he be praised, blessed, or

given a reward for refraining from doing something he was unable to

do in the first place?

For men, there is a reward for obedience to God and a punishment for rebellion against Him. Angels, on the other hand, do not

have the means of disobeying: For them there is no question of abandoning rebellion or of practicing obedience. They can neither reward

nor punish. Man, however, has a human nature and takes pleasure in

the things he wants. For the common man this would mean that he

prefers what he wants to what God commands. Saints, however, prefer the command of God to what they themselves desire. The difference, O brother, consists in this: You should not remain unaffected by the pain of this human condition and the impulse to escape it, but

should not, at the same time, be without hope, for justice and grace

are His qualities. He is just. He keeps watch over what He commands. He knows our weakness. And since His justice makes Him interested in His own commands, it is He who does the work of the

people, from the first to the last! Since He also insists on showering

his grace-filled glances upon our helplessness, our work gets done,

our sins are transformed into good deeds, and our faults become virtues. What place is there for lack of hope? A destitute creature has

said;

Do not be without hope today, O heart, for

Tomorrow His glance will be on His own command!

O brother, whoever among us has been stained by the impurities

of sin or has consented to forbidden things will be cleansed by water

from the cloud of grace and benevolence Himself! Who can disgrace

us tomorrow in the presence of the prophets and the saints, and the

whole host of God’s creation? A mature saint has said:

Even if a lover be captured by sin,

Or become enamored of the cup of intoxication, still

Why should he fear a multitude of blunders,

For the Beloved is One who keeps secrets and veils sins!

Peace!