LETTER 90: HEALING

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

Brother Shamsuddin, every action not permissible according to the Quran is unacceptable. Every desire, on which prophecy is silent, is completely vain! Every proof along the path of faith except what comes from faith itself is purely and simply a deviation! Every plea for assistance you make along the path of faith that does not itself originate from faith itself is totally rejected. Whoever includes anything in the faith that does not bear the stamp of My testimony is rejected. As long as your actions are not sincere, they are not permitted by the Quran, and sincerity resides in a grief-stricken heart. Wherever the gentle breeze of serenity blows, the glorious Quran is accepted as the bearer of joyful tidings, whether by jinn or men. The former said: Surely we have heard a marvelous Quran, which gives guidance to the straight path, and so we have put our faith in it! (Q72-1, 2). The Quran is also a balm for the pains of seekers, for in the Quran, I send down those lights which are a healing and a mercy for believers! (Q17:82). It is the orientation for those traveling along the Way, since it gives guidance to the straight path! (Q72:2)

When the Quran provides a guidance for anybody, then his countenance remains humble even though his breast be raised to great heights of intimacy. Had We sent the Quran down on a mountain, you would certainly have seen it fall to pieces out of fear of God (Q59:21). Every action that is not permitted by the Quran is a stumbling block along the way of the faith. It is all blindness. When the sun of the Quran shines forth from its ancient tower, the sky of the heart is warmed, for undoubtedly there is in this (the Quran) a reminder for those endowed with heart and ears and it bears witness to Him! (Q50:37).

When the guide of the Law arrives at the door, The desired Beloved comes out to meet it there. Everyone who travels according to the Law receives, From the Beloved, the crown of acceptance!

The men of this Way are masters of spirits. Their speech is life. The life of creatures stems from the purity of their grief, while the stability of the world depends on the magnanimity of their grief. What security is enjoyed by the dwellers of this world derives from their legacy of kindness. Their actions have no blameworthy elements. Their various states are not a turning back. Nor are their sayings ineffective. There is nothing harmful in their knowledge. Until you ply the sword of the rejection of all names and customs, you will not reach the stage when you can remove any head! Until you clean the plain of your heart of whatever knowledge you have acquired, springs of wisdom will not well up from the very depths of your heart, nor will you find any taste for the knowledge of Truth. Khwaja Attar says:

Make the illumined heart a river of faith. Let it utter the revelations of the Lord of the worlds! Step into the world of holiness for but a moment: Catch hold of that circle and throw it at the sanctuary door! Be sweet-tongued like Jesus when you speak. Smash the oyster and extract the pearl!

Any heart that does not see in this life will not be able to see tomorrow either! Listen to what the Quran has to say: Anyone who today has no knowledge of God will tomorrow remain blind to the face of God.

O brother, on that day, when the testers will strike hearts on the testing stone, whatever dross is within them will emerge on the plain. Those who are investigating Truth will be sent to oversee hearts so that whatever is in the most hidden recess will be brought forth as on the Day of Judgment. They will say: O God, nowhere have we found even a particle of fidelity to the covenant! A voice came: Every breast not bound to the covenant of fidelity to My faith remains

far from Me. That judgment will persist, so that such a person will never come near God again! It has been thus explained:

When you will be aroused for your testing. All your deeds will be hung about your neck. The crucible itself will tell you, when the smoke arises, Whether you are pure gold throughout, or merely on the surface!

The food of the believer should be that, at every moment, this rank is imprinted in his heart and on his eyes: O faithless one, is this the way to act with Me, and is this the way to observe My covenant? Even if you do not belong to Me as you should, for My part I cannot but be devoted to you, for I am God! Even if you repudiate My covenant, still I am bound to the blessings promised of old, because of My own fidelity! Although you are not saddened by your defective devotion, I am bound to make you happy and console you with My favored blessings, by virtue of My very lordship.

Those men who are fully content in their unconcern, And who, in their hearts, consider oppression as justice. Act disobediently before the very eyes of the King! They are shameless, for they are mere men!

O brother, get up, for this is no place to tarry! Nor is it an opportunity to develop bad habits. There is no scope for boasting, that you should become caught up in the worship of your own baseness. Along the royal road of the divine decree, there is no other stratagem than the greeting of a profound prostration. Nobody benefits at all by giving rein to his own inordinate desires, but there is no harm at all in following the practice of the Chosen One.

O God, give me an illuminated heart as my companion, Make Muhammad the one who intercedes for me! Accept my heart and soul as a sacrifice offered on his way.

In holy fear turn your face toward his threshold! On the brink of the next world, let your breath praise him: In this world, place your hand in his saddle strap!

In short, every affair not conducted with knowledge is simply vain. Every austerity and mortification not in accordance with the Law is an error and belongs to the faith of Satan. All the doors of eternal bliss opening onto the truth of gnosis can be recognized only by knowledge. The secrets of those renowned in the faith and the kingdom, the pride of Islam, the dignity of the call of the prophets, the mystical perception of the divine blessings, the various ranks of holiness of those devoid of sin, the distinction of the grades of those near God, the secrets of Adam's descendants, the secrets of those guilty of grave faults, the recompense of those of deep faith, the respect for ordinances, including the observance of what is commanded and the avoidance of what is prohibited-all of these can be recognized only by means of knowledge, and can be found only on its plain! Until a man emerges from the wilderness of his own ignorance and places his footsteps on the open plain of knowledge, these blessings of faith will not become manifest within him.

Concerning this heavenly enterprise, there is nothing more inimical or contemptible than ignorance. Now is there any shorter or more impelling way than that of knowledge Knowledge of God is the nearest door to God, while ignorance is the greatest of the veils that separate one from God.

Just as knowledge is the field of all blessings, ignorance is the valley of all errors. The mark of wretchedness appears out of this valley of ignorance. This ignorance is soil in which springs up the vegetation of the domination of infidelity, the undermining of the foundations of faith, the neglect of the commands of the Law, accommodation with Satan, estrangement from the imitation of the prophets and the righteous ones-all of these misfortunes, and a hundred thousand similar things. Khwaja Attar says:

If you become pure and separated from both worlds, You will find but one way: the light of Muhammad! And if you become like dust along the path to Muhammad, Both worlds will turn to dust on account of your purity! Otherwise, like a philosopher, you will remain far from Him: It is your very thinking that will cut you off from Him! In decorating this wall by means of your understanding, You will be tying your girdle as a fire worshiper!

It is related that when the mark of the curse appeared on Satan's forehead, Adam said: It will not be auspicious to contend with those graced by fortune. Nor will it avail an ignorant person to be envious of the work of a learned man. Grasp the standard of misery in your hands. Wherever you find one of my sons who is not walking in the field of knowledge or traveling along the path of seeking it, bind him to your saddle straps so that the hindrance of his existence might be far removed from my chosen offspring. He also said: There are, in the world, two groups of people devoted to God. Some have already reached their destination, while others are still treading the path in hope of attaining their goal some day. Whoever is not included in either of these two groups belongs to that people of which it is said, They are Satan's party, and surely Satan's party are the losers (Q58:19). All of them are Satan's cavalry and foot soldiers.

O brother, the Quran enjoins: Struggle on the path to God! (Q22:78). Do not turn your steps toward your own lane. There you would be reckoned a self-conceited person. Enter, instead, into the lane of My covenant, that you might become a beloved of Mine. You may have been thrown down, but now have been raised up by Me You were pusillanimous, but now you have been comforted by Me. If you step into your own lane, you cannot remain unscathed. If you find it agreeable to remain in your own lane, you will diminish your own worth. You cannot possibly earn any interest. An inflamed one has said:

If you were utterly in love with My beauty, and If you had any standing in this affair, one word would suffice So long as you cling to yourself, it is but you! Me, you cannot reach.

In order to attain Me, you must abandon self!

O brother, you should place all selfish desires on the carpet of an enlightened struggle with self. Cut off the head of your animal soul, and curb it by means of austerity in accordance with the precepts of the Law. Don the dress of submission. I swear by God that nobody has ever benefited by worshiping himself, nor has anyone suffered any loss by worshiping God. You possess nothing dearer to you than your own life, but if you have appropriated to yourself the gist of this saying, then place your very first step upon this life of yours. Do not be afraid of dying After death, there is only life filled with Life! It has been thus explained

If you remain dependent upon your own life, you will remain, For, even though you are in the world of Life, you still live! If you grasp this point well, you will realize, Everything you are seeking, you are that!

The perfection of the seeker consists in holding firmly to the being of the Desired One, and in removing the obstacle of one's own being from the Way. Someone engaged in this work has said:

Do me a kindness-remove my being from the Way, That this hindrance, which is myself, might disappear!

Tomorrow, lovers of God's beauty will enter paradise uncertainly, fingers in mouth, or will be carried off to hell, clicking their fingers for joy! In paradise, they will remember that God is the Wrathful and the Most Cruel, while in hell, that he is the Most Compassionate and the Benign. In the one place they will see that His wrath is really a veil concealing many blessings; in the other, that His mercy makes a rose garden out of a consuming fire! All this happens when lovers realize that with respect to God, the blessings of this world constitute a veil for the blessed ones, to such an extent that the very abundance of blessings can cause them to be excluded from the Bestower of Blessings himself! Lovers also realize that, in the very heart of the fire, Abraham was granted a vision by the Divine Majesty Himself, so that the fire became, for him, a rose garden. Hence it is known that blessings, without the Friend, are simply destruction and punishment, whereas the fires of hell, together with the Friend, constitute a veritable paradise!

I have not drunk that wine to become sober, Nor do I drink to revive myself again! Only one cup, manifesting Your glory, suffices for me, Oh, that I might be immersed in the pleasure of seeing You! Instructions concerning specific prayers and practices follow.]

Peace!

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

Brother Shamsuddin, every action not permissible according to the Quran is unacceptable. Every desire, on which prophecy is silent, is completely vain! Every proof along the path of faith except what comes from faith itself is purely and simply a deviation! Every plea for assistance you make along the path of faith that does not itself originate from faith itself is totally rejected. Whoever includes anything in the faith that does not bear the stamp of My testimony is rejected. As long as your actions are not sincere, they are not permitted by the Quran, and sincerity resides in a grief-stricken heart. Wherever the gentle breeze of serenity blows, the glorious Quran is accepted as the bearer of joyful tidings, whether by jinn or men. The former said: Surely we have heard a marvelous Quran, which gives guidance to the straight path, and so we have put our faith in it! (Q72-1, 2). The Quran is also a balm for the pains of seekers, for in the Quran, I send down those lights which are a healing and a mercy for believers! (Q17:82). It is the orientation for those traveling along the Way, since it gives guidance to the straight path! (Q72:2)

When the Quran provides a guidance for anybody, then his countenance remains humble even though his breast be raised to great heights of intimacy. Had We sent the Quran down on a mountain, you would certainly have seen it fall to pieces out of fear of God (Q59:21). Every action that is not permitted by the Quran is a stumbling block along the way of the faith. It is all blindness. When the sun of the Quran shines forth from its ancient tower, the sky of the heart is warmed, for undoubtedly there is in this (the Quran) a reminder for those endowed with heart and ears and it bears witness to Him! (Q50:37).

When the guide of the Law arrives at the door, The desired Beloved comes out to meet it there. Everyone who travels according to the Law receives, From the Beloved, the crown of acceptance!

The men of this Way are masters of spirits. Their speech is life. The life of creatures stems from the purity of their grief, while the stability of the world depends on the magnanimity of their grief. What security is enjoyed by the dwellers of this world derives from their legacy of kindness. Their actions have no blameworthy elements. Their various states are not a turning back. Nor are their sayings ineffective. There is nothing harmful in their knowledge. Until you ply the sword of the rejection of all names and customs, you will not reach the stage when you can remove any head! Until you clean the plain of your heart of whatever knowledge you have acquired, springs of wisdom will not well up from the very depths of your heart, nor will you find any taste for the knowledge of Truth. Khwaja Attar says:

Make the illumined heart a river of faith. Let it utter the revelations of the Lord of the worlds! Step into the world of holiness for but a moment: Catch hold of that circle and throw it at the sanctuary door! Be sweet-tongued like Jesus when you speak. Smash the oyster and extract the pearl!

Any heart that does not see in this life will not be able to see tomorrow either! Listen to what the Quran has to say: Anyone who today has no knowledge of God will tomorrow remain blind to the face of God.

O brother, on that day, when the testers will strike hearts on the testing stone, whatever dross is within them will emerge on the plain. Those who are investigating Truth will be sent to oversee hearts so that whatever is in the most hidden recess will be brought forth as on the Day of Judgment. They will say: O God, nowhere have we found even a particle of fidelity to the covenant! A voice came: Every breast not bound to the covenant of fidelity to My faith remains

far from Me. That judgment will persist, so that such a person will never come near God again! It has been thus explained:

When you will be aroused for your testing. All your deeds will be hung about your neck. The crucible itself will tell you, when the smoke arises, Whether you are pure gold throughout, or merely on the surface!

The food of the believer should be that, at every moment, this rank is imprinted in his heart and on his eyes: O faithless one, is this the way to act with Me, and is this the way to observe My covenant? Even if you do not belong to Me as you should, for My part I cannot but be devoted to you, for I am God! Even if you repudiate My covenant, still I am bound to the blessings promised of old, because of My own fidelity! Although you are not saddened by your defective devotion, I am bound to make you happy and console you with My favored blessings, by virtue of My very lordship.

Those men who are fully content in their unconcern, And who, in their hearts, consider oppression as justice. Act disobediently before the very eyes of the King! They are shameless, for they are mere men!

O brother, get up, for this is no place to tarry! Nor is it an opportunity to develop bad habits. There is no scope for boasting, that you should become caught up in the worship of your own baseness. Along the royal road of the divine decree, there is no other stratagem than the greeting of a profound prostration. Nobody benefits at all by giving rein to his own inordinate desires, but there is no harm at all in following the practice of the Chosen One.

O God, give me an illuminated heart as my companion, Make Muhammad the one who intercedes for me! Accept my heart and soul as a sacrifice offered on his way.

In holy fear turn your face toward his threshold! On the brink of the next world, let your breath praise him: In this world, place your hand in his saddle strap!

In short, every affair not conducted with knowledge is simply vain. Every austerity and mortification not in accordance with the Law is an error and belongs to the faith of Satan. All the doors of eternal bliss opening onto the truth of gnosis can be recognized only by knowledge. The secrets of those renowned in the faith and the kingdom, the pride of Islam, the dignity of the call of the prophets, the mystical perception of the divine blessings, the various ranks of holiness of those devoid of sin, the distinction of the grades of those near God, the secrets of Adam's descendants, the secrets of those guilty of grave faults, the recompense of those of deep faith, the respect for ordinances, including the observance of what is commanded and the avoidance of what is prohibited-all of these can be recognized only by means of knowledge, and can be found only on its plain! Until a man emerges from the wilderness of his own ignorance and places his footsteps on the open plain of knowledge, these blessings of faith will not become manifest within him.

Concerning this heavenly enterprise, there is nothing more inimical or contemptible than ignorance. Now is there any shorter or more impelling way than that of knowledge Knowledge of God is the nearest door to God, while ignorance is the greatest of the veils that separate one from God.

Just as knowledge is the field of all blessings, ignorance is the valley of all errors. The mark of wretchedness appears out of this valley of ignorance. This ignorance is soil in which springs up the vegetation of the domination of infidelity, the undermining of the foundations of faith, the neglect of the commands of the Law, accommodation with Satan, estrangement from the imitation of the prophets and the righteous ones-all of these misfortunes, and a hundred thousand similar things. Khwaja Attar says:

If you become pure and separated from both worlds, You will find but one way: the light of Muhammad! And if you become like dust along the path to Muhammad, Both worlds will turn to dust on account of your purity! Otherwise, like a philosopher, you will remain far from Him: It is your very thinking that will cut you off from Him! In decorating this wall by means of your understanding, You will be tying your girdle as a fire worshiper!

It is related that when the mark of the curse appeared on Satan's forehead, Adam said: It will not be auspicious to contend with those graced by fortune. Nor will it avail an ignorant person to be envious of the work of a learned man. Grasp the standard of misery in your hands. Wherever you find one of my sons who is not walking in the field of knowledge or traveling along the path of seeking it, bind him to your saddle straps so that the hindrance of his existence might be far removed from my chosen offspring. He also said: There are, in the world, two groups of people devoted to God. Some have already reached their destination, while others are still treading the path in hope of attaining their goal some day. Whoever is not included in either of these two groups belongs to that people of which it is said, They are Satan's party, and surely Satan's party are the losers (Q58:19). All of them are Satan's cavalry and foot soldiers.

O brother, the Quran enjoins: Struggle on the path to God! (Q22:78). Do not turn your steps toward your own lane. There you would be reckoned a self-conceited person. Enter, instead, into the lane of My covenant, that you might become a beloved of Mine. You may have been thrown down, but now have been raised up by Me You were pusillanimous, but now you have been comforted by Me. If you step into your own lane, you cannot remain unscathed. If you find it agreeable to remain in your own lane, you will diminish your own worth. You cannot possibly earn any interest. An inflamed one has said:

If you were utterly in love with My beauty, and If you had any standing in this affair, one word would suffice So long as you cling to yourself, it is but you! Me, you cannot reach.

In order to attain Me, you must abandon self!

O brother, you should place all selfish desires on the carpet of an enlightened struggle with self. Cut off the head of your animal soul, and curb it by means of austerity in accordance with the precepts of the Law. Don the dress of submission. I swear by God that nobody has ever benefited by worshiping himself, nor has anyone suffered any loss by worshiping God. You possess nothing dearer to you than your own life, but if you have appropriated to yourself the gist of this saying, then place your very first step upon this life of yours. Do not be afraid of dying After death, there is only life filled with Life! It has been thus explained

If you remain dependent upon your own life, you will remain, For, even though you are in the world of Life, you still live! If you grasp this point well, you will realize, Everything you are seeking, you are that!

The perfection of the seeker consists in holding firmly to the being of the Desired One, and in removing the obstacle of one's own being from the Way. Someone engaged in this work has said:

Do me a kindness-remove my being from the Way, That this hindrance, which is myself, might disappear!

Tomorrow, lovers of God's beauty will enter paradise uncertainly, fingers in mouth, or will be carried off to hell, clicking their fingers for joy! In paradise, they will remember that God is the Wrathful and the Most Cruel, while in hell, that he is the Most Compassionate and the Benign. In the one place they will see that His wrath is really a veil concealing many blessings; in the other, that His mercy makes a rose garden out of a consuming fire! All this happens when lovers realize that with respect to God, the blessings of this world constitute a veil for the blessed ones, to such an extent that the very abundance of blessings can cause them to be excluded from the Bestower of Blessings himself! Lovers also realize that, in the very heart of the fire, Abraham was granted a vision by the Divine Majesty Himself, so that the fire became, for him, a rose garden. Hence it is known that blessings, without the Friend, are simply destruction and punishment, whereas the fires of hell, together with the Friend, constitute a veritable paradise!

I have not drunk that wine to become sober, Nor do I drink to revive myself again! Only one cup, manifesting Your glory, suffices for me, Oh, that I might be immersed in the pleasure of seeing You! Instructions concerning specific prayers and practices follow.]

Peace!