LETTER 17: THE SOURCE OF ERROR FOR THE TRAVELER

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

Brother Shamsuddin, there are some Sufis who have performed many austerities and, having witnessed much, retired for a period of time that they might devote their hearts to the profession of faith: There is no god but God! They have exerted themselves so much in medita tion that, apart from remembering God at all times, nothing else finds access to their hearts. They have experienced wonderful states, had angelic secrets revealed to them, and attained the stage of being companions who are endowed with miraculous powers. Having been given information about the hidden world, they are correct in all that they say. If they exert their power in time of sickness, the sick person gets better. They have the power needed to destroy their enemies-and this happens, if they so wish. At this stage, Satan grows envious and shows them all the secrets of the Law, except for one, which is also hidden from him. (That is why he did not prostrate himself before Adam.) The secret is this: The whole purpose of abandoning sin is to ensure that evil desires are broken, and that the tendencies of human nature are brought to heel, with the result that a person does not turn aside from God! There is one further purpose that a person's heart may be governed by the thought of remembering God and having been freed from the shack- ling tendencies of human nature, the heart might become purified for the task of remembering God and attaining a true vision of Him.

The careful observance of the Law is also a way leading to the Kaaba of union. Anyone who has reached this point can dispense with provisions, beast, and whatever else is needed for the journey. It is to this group that Satan explains: If you pray, your prayer will be- come a veil for you, for you have already arrived at the goal! We are always experiencing the sight of God! they reply. The purpose of the bowing and prostrations of prayer is to bring the inattentive heart into the presence of God. We ourselves are not inattentive even for one hour. We see the angelic world revealed to us and the precious jewels of the prophets are displayed for us quite openly. What need is there for us to perform the canonical prayer? This line of thinking betrays the activity of Satan, who, even in the stage of perfect near- ness to God, is still on the prowl. What need was there for me to worship Adam? he asks. Adam is of lesser dignity than I! What profit is there for me in bowing down before him? The story about Satan in the Quran is not a mere fable but, on the contrary, is an ex- ample for such people, enabling them to understand that no degree of closeness can in any way abrogate obedience to the Law! This is what religious men meant when they said, Care in observing the Law is also a means of traveling along the Way of Almighty God. They spoke the truth when they said that Satan hid from them another sub- tle point by claiming that the goal of the Law is nothing other than coming close to God. This view is utterly wrong!

Actually, there is also another purpose in the Law. Canonical prayer, for example, is like the five pins that hold up a door. If they are no longer attached to the door, it falls down, just as Satan fell. If anyone asks what is the reason that makes these five prayers like five supporting pins, and what is so special about them, then the answer would be: Understanding the reason for them is not within the purview of the human intellect. It is something special. It cannot be simply thought through and understood. For example, a lodestone at tracts a piece of iron toward itself, yet there is no one who can explain how it is done!

They have said that this group is like a man who built a mansion on top of a hill and filled it with many luxurious articles. When the time came for him to die, he made his son his heir and said: Do what- ever you like with all this, but do not throw out the few handfuls of fragrant grass, even if it becomes dried up. When spring came, the mountains and valleys were decked with greenery and luscious fra- grant grass appeared. Some handfuls of that grass were brought into the mansion. Its fragrance, on account of its freshness, was simply overpowering! The son said: My father ordered this grass to be brought into the house because of its pleasant odor. What is the use of it now that it has become dried up? He ordered the grass to be thrown out. When the mansion was emptied of grass, a black-headed serpent emerged from its hole and, biting the son, killed him. Why? Because the grass possessed two qualities one, its pleasant odor-and this was known, and another, that the serpent would not approach any spot where it was found. It had a preventive effect on the serpent, but nobody except the lord of the mansion knew that particular quail ty, since it was beyond the grasp of an ordinary man's mind. The young heir was destroyed, therefore, because he thought that anything that he could not grasp did not exist, even in the treasury of God's limitless power!

He had not grasped the meaning of this verse, You have been given but a little knowledge (Q17:85). The same error befalls the man of miracles and divine visions: When one of the secrets of the Law has been manifest to him, he assumes that there are no others left. Satan thought the same thing! This misconception is one of the most serious sins of travelers and pilgrims. It is a grave error, which leads to the destruction of many. As a poet aptly noted:

At a certain place my heart stood still, even a hundred signs could not show me the Way. Each month there are two thousand lovers, like me, who are slain-and not even a sigh escapes their lips!

Realize that this was the source of the error of whatever you heard about people who had attained an eminent rank among the followers of this Way! These people understood only the Law's goals and were unaware of a further secret that might be contained in it. Even if they did not suspect that a further secret was lodged in it, they should have at least wondered why the Prophet had undertaken so much prayer that his blessed feet grew swollen! You certainly can- not argue that what was necessary for his community was not necessary for the Prophet! Recall that he had nine wives, whereas it was lawful for others to have only four! He also said, I am not like you! Moreover, while he himself performed a complete fast taking nothing but water, he forbade others to follow this practice. Everyone well versed in the Law, every sheikh and every Sufi who has attained the degree of perfection, knows that each restriction of the yoke of the Law contains a secret that is also a hint of eternal bliss! Hence it is that religious men, even at the hour of death, do not fail in the observance of any of the details of the Law. This is acutely exemplified by Khwaja Junaid. At the time of his death, after he had been washed, he grabbed the attendant's hand-for he had forgotten to comb the sheikh's beard-and compelled him to honor the prescribed tradition. O leader, protested the bystanders, at a time such as this, are not relaxations of the Law permissible? Of course, replied the sheikh. But this is how I hope to reach God!

Such was the mettle of the perfect, while the proud fell prey to deceit. They thought that anything they did not see or understand simply did not exist! Those in touch with the Truth, however, knew the secret of the established pattern for prayer: namely, why the or- der of morning prayer has two prostrations; the noonday prayer, four, the evening prayer, three. They also knew the import of the two prostrations after each inclination, for each has a special grace attached to its perfect observance. One must be on one's guard about prayer, that its effect might become clear at the moment of death: otherwise, no perfection is of use. When a dying person sees himself about to perish, he will say, What happened to all that perfection? They will answer, It had no linchpin. It was chopped off at the base at the time of death. Such a person becomes like Satan, whose virtues proves to be of no benefit due to one act of disobedience! This error is often committed by travelers; they become proud of their perfection, and hidden from them is this trifling thing of which the poet spoke:

An ignorant traveler will get lost on this Way,

For the Way is long, dark, and full of pitfalls!

Hold the lamp of knowledge and wisdom before you, otherwise you will stumble headlong into some hole! Idols still press upon the Sufi in his dreams, Even though he is otherwise oblivious to himself!

O brother, these men were given two eyes-one to observe the calamities that can befall the soul, the other to behold the wonders wrought by God! When they see the latter, they become puffed up with pride, but when they see the infirmity and calamities of this earthly substance, they melt away. Time and again it happened that the mad lover from Iraq, because he was consumed by the fire of separation, would exclaim, O that I were dust and had nothing to do with these affairs (Q78:40) At other times he would plead, Where are the angels of the firmament and those who inhabit the heavenly court, that they might line up before the throne of my wealth?

Sometimes I am plunged to the depths, at other times raised on high.

Sometimes I experience the scar of separation, at others, the

garden of union! [Further explanation, with concluding couplet) Your awesome majesty may threaten many of us, yet no lips will part in even a sigh of complaint!

Peace!

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

Brother Shamsuddin, there are some Sufis who have performed many austerities and, having witnessed much, retired for a period of time that they might devote their hearts to the profession of faith: There is no god but God! They have exerted themselves so much in medita tion that, apart from remembering God at all times, nothing else finds access to their hearts. They have experienced wonderful states, had angelic secrets revealed to them, and attained the stage of being companions who are endowed with miraculous powers. Having been given information about the hidden world, they are correct in all that they say. If they exert their power in time of sickness, the sick person gets better. They have the power needed to destroy their enemies-and this happens, if they so wish. At this stage, Satan grows envious and shows them all the secrets of the Law, except for one, which is also hidden from him. (That is why he did not prostrate himself before Adam.) The secret is this: The whole purpose of abandoning sin is to ensure that evil desires are broken, and that the tendencies of human nature are brought to heel, with the result that a person does not turn aside from God! There is one further purpose that a person's heart may be governed by the thought of remembering God and having been freed from the shack- ling tendencies of human nature, the heart might become purified for the task of remembering God and attaining a true vision of Him.

The careful observance of the Law is also a way leading to the Kaaba of union. Anyone who has reached this point can dispense with provisions, beast, and whatever else is needed for the journey. It is to this group that Satan explains: If you pray, your prayer will be- come a veil for you, for you have already arrived at the goal! We are always experiencing the sight of God! they reply. The purpose of the bowing and prostrations of prayer is to bring the inattentive heart into the presence of God. We ourselves are not inattentive even for one hour. We see the angelic world revealed to us and the precious jewels of the prophets are displayed for us quite openly. What need is there for us to perform the canonical prayer? This line of thinking betrays the activity of Satan, who, even in the stage of perfect near- ness to God, is still on the prowl. What need was there for me to worship Adam? he asks. Adam is of lesser dignity than I! What profit is there for me in bowing down before him? The story about Satan in the Quran is not a mere fable but, on the contrary, is an ex- ample for such people, enabling them to understand that no degree of closeness can in any way abrogate obedience to the Law! This is what religious men meant when they said, Care in observing the Law is also a means of traveling along the Way of Almighty God. They spoke the truth when they said that Satan hid from them another sub- tle point by claiming that the goal of the Law is nothing other than coming close to God. This view is utterly wrong!

Actually, there is also another purpose in the Law. Canonical prayer, for example, is like the five pins that hold up a door. If they are no longer attached to the door, it falls down, just as Satan fell. If anyone asks what is the reason that makes these five prayers like five supporting pins, and what is so special about them, then the answer would be: Understanding the reason for them is not within the purview of the human intellect. It is something special. It cannot be simply thought through and understood. For example, a lodestone at tracts a piece of iron toward itself, yet there is no one who can explain how it is done!

They have said that this group is like a man who built a mansion on top of a hill and filled it with many luxurious articles. When the time came for him to die, he made his son his heir and said: Do what- ever you like with all this, but do not throw out the few handfuls of fragrant grass, even if it becomes dried up. When spring came, the mountains and valleys were decked with greenery and luscious fra- grant grass appeared. Some handfuls of that grass were brought into the mansion. Its fragrance, on account of its freshness, was simply overpowering! The son said: My father ordered this grass to be brought into the house because of its pleasant odor. What is the use of it now that it has become dried up? He ordered the grass to be thrown out. When the mansion was emptied of grass, a black-headed serpent emerged from its hole and, biting the son, killed him. Why? Because the grass possessed two qualities one, its pleasant odor-and this was known, and another, that the serpent would not approach any spot where it was found. It had a preventive effect on the serpent, but nobody except the lord of the mansion knew that particular quail ty, since it was beyond the grasp of an ordinary man's mind. The young heir was destroyed, therefore, because he thought that anything that he could not grasp did not exist, even in the treasury of God's limitless power!

He had not grasped the meaning of this verse, You have been given but a little knowledge (Q17:85). The same error befalls the man of miracles and divine visions: When one of the secrets of the Law has been manifest to him, he assumes that there are no others left. Satan thought the same thing! This misconception is one of the most serious sins of travelers and pilgrims. It is a grave error, which leads to the destruction of many. As a poet aptly noted:

At a certain place my heart stood still, even a hundred signs could not show me the Way. Each month there are two thousand lovers, like me, who are slain-and not even a sigh escapes their lips!

Realize that this was the source of the error of whatever you heard about people who had attained an eminent rank among the followers of this Way! These people understood only the Law's goals and were unaware of a further secret that might be contained in it. Even if they did not suspect that a further secret was lodged in it, they should have at least wondered why the Prophet had undertaken so much prayer that his blessed feet grew swollen! You certainly can- not argue that what was necessary for his community was not necessary for the Prophet! Recall that he had nine wives, whereas it was lawful for others to have only four! He also said, I am not like you! Moreover, while he himself performed a complete fast taking nothing but water, he forbade others to follow this practice. Everyone well versed in the Law, every sheikh and every Sufi who has attained the degree of perfection, knows that each restriction of the yoke of the Law contains a secret that is also a hint of eternal bliss! Hence it is that religious men, even at the hour of death, do not fail in the observance of any of the details of the Law. This is acutely exemplified by Khwaja Junaid. At the time of his death, after he had been washed, he grabbed the attendant's hand-for he had forgotten to comb the sheikh's beard-and compelled him to honor the prescribed tradition. O leader, protested the bystanders, at a time such as this, are not relaxations of the Law permissible? Of course, replied the sheikh. But this is how I hope to reach God!

Such was the mettle of the perfect, while the proud fell prey to deceit. They thought that anything they did not see or understand simply did not exist! Those in touch with the Truth, however, knew the secret of the established pattern for prayer: namely, why the or- der of morning prayer has two prostrations; the noonday prayer, four, the evening prayer, three. They also knew the import of the two prostrations after each inclination, for each has a special grace attached to its perfect observance. One must be on one's guard about prayer, that its effect might become clear at the moment of death: otherwise, no perfection is of use. When a dying person sees himself about to perish, he will say, What happened to all that perfection? They will answer, It had no linchpin. It was chopped off at the base at the time of death. Such a person becomes like Satan, whose virtues proves to be of no benefit due to one act of disobedience! This error is often committed by travelers; they become proud of their perfection, and hidden from them is this trifling thing of which the poet spoke:

An ignorant traveler will get lost on this Way,

For the Way is long, dark, and full of pitfalls!

Hold the lamp of knowledge and wisdom before you, otherwise you will stumble headlong into some hole! Idols still press upon the Sufi in his dreams, Even though he is otherwise oblivious to himself!

O brother, these men were given two eyes-one to observe the calamities that can befall the soul, the other to behold the wonders wrought by God! When they see the latter, they become puffed up with pride, but when they see the infirmity and calamities of this earthly substance, they melt away. Time and again it happened that the mad lover from Iraq, because he was consumed by the fire of separation, would exclaim, O that I were dust and had nothing to do with these affairs (Q78:40) At other times he would plead, Where are the angels of the firmament and those who inhabit the heavenly court, that they might line up before the throne of my wealth?

Sometimes I am plunged to the depths, at other times raised on high.

Sometimes I experience the scar of separation, at others, the

garden of union! [Further explanation, with concluding couplet) Your awesome majesty may threaten many of us, yet no lips will part in even a sigh of complaint!

Peace!