LETTER 22: THE ORIGIN OF SUFISM

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

Brother Shamsuddin may God bless you! The foundation of Sufism is quite ancient, having been practiced by the prophets and the righteous. The fact of the matter is that the predominance of evil habits in our times makes the Sufis themselves appear evil in the eyes of people. Those associated with this Tradition are divided into three groups. The Sufis, the seekers, and the dissemblers. A Sufi is a person who is completely lost to himself, exists only in God, is freed from the hold of his lower self, and is conjoined to the Truth of all truths. The seeker is one who engages in the struggle with self, undergoes austerities, and disciplines himself by means of various practices. The dissembler is one who for the sake of position and success, makes himself out to be one of the above, but is devoid of any of their qualities. He is also ignorant of them! Despite all this, there is some hope that he might become one of them and, in the shadow of their riches, pass beyond both worlds, becoming a combatant in the army of God and not merely a camp follower Each city has one vicegerent and one sultan, while others pass their time in the shadows of these two

Among various peoples there are only a few who affirm the whole truth. When, however, someone begins to resemble others in one particular thing, he finds himself imitating them in other things as well There is an injunction of the Law that says: Everyone who makes himself similar to a people in both behavior and belief will end up by becoming one of them.

It has been said that the first Sufi in the world was Adam. God Almighty drew him forth from clay and placed him in the stage of choice and purity. He prepared the royal edict of vicegerency for him. For the first time, between Mecca and Taif, he made a forty-day retreat, thus becoming the inspiration for novices to undertake this practice. I kneaded the mud of Adam for forty days with My very own hands. When he had completed the forty days of solitude, God Almighty gave him the fullness of spirit, lit the lamp of intelligence in his heart, and brought the light of wisdom from his heart to his tongue. He trembled and said, Thanks be to God! The Prophet also hinted at the efficacy of this practice when he said: Anyone who dedicates forty days to God, God, in turn, will order streams of wisdom to issue forth continuously from his heart and upon his tongue! Adam resolved to acquire sanctity. At the beginning of his vicegerency, he received the gift of the homage and prostrations of angels. He stood up and, like an intrepid traveler, resolved to reach heaven. He journeyed through all the climes of heaven. He passed far beyond the secrets of these kingdoms. He was told, Keep control over all your senses! Do not yield to your own inclinations!

Still a novice, he did not yet have the requisite control. Impelled by boldness and mirth he displayed a grasping attitude. From a hid- den ambush he was smitten with this rebuke: Adam has disobeyed his Lord! (Q20:121). He was brokenhearted. He became immersed in begging forgiveness for his sins. Tradition dates the repentance of the Sufis from this occasion. He said: O Lord, we have wronged our- selves (Q7:23). All his dominion and vicegerency were withdrawn from him. He stood there naked, full of repentance. It was said: Adam, journey in the world in order to discharge this debt! The condition of discipleship is that a disciple who commits a fault should go on a journey. Adam resolved on journeying over the earth, alone and naked. Since his body was naked, it was said to him: Adam. beg! He begged a leaf from each tree, and receiving three leaves, he sewed them together and made a patched garment with which he covered himself. He then set out on his earthly journey. For three hundred years he sighed with grief until he was thoroughly exonerated. Undoubtedly God chose Adam! (Q3:32), that is, He thoroughly purified him and made him a Sufi. He greatly es teemed the patched garment that he had made from the leaves begged from the trees. At the end of his life, he clothed the prophet Shish with it and conferred viceregency upon him. This became the Way of Muhammad and the means for conveying the wealth of Sufism to descendants of the prophets.

Sufis should be travelers who belong to some group in this world, that they might be able to assemble for companionship and re-late what has occurred to them. Thus, the Kaaba made its appearance. It was the very first religious sanctuary. Before that time, there had been no such thing. It appeared in the time of Adam. All that the prophet Noah required of the world was a blanket. The prophet Moses himself always wore the blanket that the prophet Shuaib had conferred on him the first day that he entered his [Shuaib's service. And this is a very important condition in the Way, that there should be a spiritual guide who clothes the novice with the Sufi garb. Jesus al-ways used to wear a woolen garment. Similarly, both Moses and Jesus themselves built Jerusalem as a place of spiritual trust. Then, in every country and region Sufis built meeting places for themselves, and made fixed abodes for periods of solitude where they could practice inner converse with God. Fellow travelers could also come there and recount the traditions of the exalted, divine secrets. When the time for the foremost of the prophets and the King of the saints, the blessed Muhammad-may the peace of God be upon him and his familyarrived, he himself donned such a blanket. It was the practice of your father, Abraham (Q22:78). He also yearned for the religious sanctuary of the Kaaba. The Pride of the world set aside a special corner in his own mosque and from his companions he selected a group of about seventy people who were travelers on the Path. They used to converse there together, while the Arab chiefs and ordinary people were not allowed to enter that space. When the Pride of the world bestowed great honor and dignity upon any of the companions, he would give him his own cloak or shirt. That person would then become a Sufi

The beginning of this Way came from Adam, and its completion. was found in Muhammad, the Apostle of God. It remains in the midst of believers and their community. It requires strength of heart, above all else. One should not pay too much attention to one's unworthiness, for this particular work is dependent on the divine favor and grace, not on the actions of any person!

O brother, many thousands are prostrate in adoration, and many more thousands recite God's praises and laud Him; thousands of others are amazed at His secrets, while others are swept along by His works. He created a fearless people out of mere dust. He chose all these servants and submissive ones even though they had not rendered any previous service to Him. He spoke without introduction of any kind, saying, O handful of dust, am I not your Lord? (Q7:172). In a single hour, an intoxicated one is lifted up on the couch of bliss as he witnesses the glory of the Lord. At every moment there are signs that he has become attuned to God and accepted by Him. The exquisite gift of divine union is conferred upon him, together with a certain repulsion, veiling, and a hundred rebukes. Every moment is devoted to silent converse with God, yet grief and anger still have their place. Every moment someone is brought forth from the temple of idols and honored by having the garment of acceptance conferred on him, while another is taken outside a mosque and the rope of the pain of banishment is fixed around his neck-for there is need to experience both His kindness and His rage!

Peace!

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

Brother Shamsuddin may God bless you! The foundation of Sufism is quite ancient, having been practiced by the prophets and the righteous. The fact of the matter is that the predominance of evil habits in our times makes the Sufis themselves appear evil in the eyes of people. Those associated with this Tradition are divided into three groups. The Sufis, the seekers, and the dissemblers. A Sufi is a person who is completely lost to himself, exists only in God, is freed from the hold of his lower self, and is conjoined to the Truth of all truths. The seeker is one who engages in the struggle with self, undergoes austerities, and disciplines himself by means of various practices. The dissembler is one who for the sake of position and success, makes himself out to be one of the above, but is devoid of any of their qualities. He is also ignorant of them! Despite all this, there is some hope that he might become one of them and, in the shadow of their riches, pass beyond both worlds, becoming a combatant in the army of God and not merely a camp follower Each city has one vicegerent and one sultan, while others pass their time in the shadows of these two

Among various peoples there are only a few who affirm the whole truth. When, however, someone begins to resemble others in one particular thing, he finds himself imitating them in other things as well There is an injunction of the Law that says: Everyone who makes himself similar to a people in both behavior and belief will end up by becoming one of them.

It has been said that the first Sufi in the world was Adam. God Almighty drew him forth from clay and placed him in the stage of choice and purity. He prepared the royal edict of vicegerency for him. For the first time, between Mecca and Taif, he made a forty-day retreat, thus becoming the inspiration for novices to undertake this practice. I kneaded the mud of Adam for forty days with My very own hands. When he had completed the forty days of solitude, God Almighty gave him the fullness of spirit, lit the lamp of intelligence in his heart, and brought the light of wisdom from his heart to his tongue. He trembled and said, Thanks be to God! The Prophet also hinted at the efficacy of this practice when he said: Anyone who dedicates forty days to God, God, in turn, will order streams of wisdom to issue forth continuously from his heart and upon his tongue! Adam resolved to acquire sanctity. At the beginning of his vicegerency, he received the gift of the homage and prostrations of angels. He stood up and, like an intrepid traveler, resolved to reach heaven. He journeyed through all the climes of heaven. He passed far beyond the secrets of these kingdoms. He was told, Keep control over all your senses! Do not yield to your own inclinations!

Still a novice, he did not yet have the requisite control. Impelled by boldness and mirth he displayed a grasping attitude. From a hid- den ambush he was smitten with this rebuke: Adam has disobeyed his Lord! (Q20:121). He was brokenhearted. He became immersed in begging forgiveness for his sins. Tradition dates the repentance of the Sufis from this occasion. He said: O Lord, we have wronged our- selves (Q7:23). All his dominion and vicegerency were withdrawn from him. He stood there naked, full of repentance. It was said: Adam, journey in the world in order to discharge this debt! The condition of discipleship is that a disciple who commits a fault should go on a journey. Adam resolved on journeying over the earth, alone and naked. Since his body was naked, it was said to him: Adam. beg! He begged a leaf from each tree, and receiving three leaves, he sewed them together and made a patched garment with which he covered himself. He then set out on his earthly journey. For three hundred years he sighed with grief until he was thoroughly exonerated. Undoubtedly God chose Adam! (Q3:32), that is, He thoroughly purified him and made him a Sufi. He greatly es teemed the patched garment that he had made from the leaves begged from the trees. At the end of his life, he clothed the prophet Shish with it and conferred viceregency upon him. This became the Way of Muhammad and the means for conveying the wealth of Sufism to descendants of the prophets.

Sufis should be travelers who belong to some group in this world, that they might be able to assemble for companionship and re-late what has occurred to them. Thus, the Kaaba made its appearance. It was the very first religious sanctuary. Before that time, there had been no such thing. It appeared in the time of Adam. All that the prophet Noah required of the world was a blanket. The prophet Moses himself always wore the blanket that the prophet Shuaib had conferred on him the first day that he entered his [Shuaib's service. And this is a very important condition in the Way, that there should be a spiritual guide who clothes the novice with the Sufi garb. Jesus al-ways used to wear a woolen garment. Similarly, both Moses and Jesus themselves built Jerusalem as a place of spiritual trust. Then, in every country and region Sufis built meeting places for themselves, and made fixed abodes for periods of solitude where they could practice inner converse with God. Fellow travelers could also come there and recount the traditions of the exalted, divine secrets. When the time for the foremost of the prophets and the King of the saints, the blessed Muhammad-may the peace of God be upon him and his familyarrived, he himself donned such a blanket. It was the practice of your father, Abraham (Q22:78). He also yearned for the religious sanctuary of the Kaaba. The Pride of the world set aside a special corner in his own mosque and from his companions he selected a group of about seventy people who were travelers on the Path. They used to converse there together, while the Arab chiefs and ordinary people were not allowed to enter that space. When the Pride of the world bestowed great honor and dignity upon any of the companions, he would give him his own cloak or shirt. That person would then become a Sufi

The beginning of this Way came from Adam, and its completion. was found in Muhammad, the Apostle of God. It remains in the midst of believers and their community. It requires strength of heart, above all else. One should not pay too much attention to one's unworthiness, for this particular work is dependent on the divine favor and grace, not on the actions of any person!

O brother, many thousands are prostrate in adoration, and many more thousands recite God's praises and laud Him; thousands of others are amazed at His secrets, while others are swept along by His works. He created a fearless people out of mere dust. He chose all these servants and submissive ones even though they had not rendered any previous service to Him. He spoke without introduction of any kind, saying, O handful of dust, am I not your Lord? (Q7:172). In a single hour, an intoxicated one is lifted up on the couch of bliss as he witnesses the glory of the Lord. At every moment there are signs that he has become attuned to God and accepted by Him. The exquisite gift of divine union is conferred upon him, together with a certain repulsion, veiling, and a hundred rebukes. Every moment is devoted to silent converse with God, yet grief and anger still have their place. Every moment someone is brought forth from the temple of idols and honored by having the garment of acceptance conferred on him, while another is taken outside a mosque and the rope of the pain of banishment is fixed around his neck-for there is need to experience both His kindness and His rage!

Peace!