Forty-Seventh Assembly (Khwan-Pur-Nemat)
Forty-Seventh Assembly (Khwan-Pur-Nemat)
Sheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
MORE BYSheikh Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri
There was the felicity of an assembly after the evening prayer. After the meal the Helpless One said: It is written in a certain place that, if somebody says, 'I do not want Paradise: I want to see You,' he becomes an infidel. Why would this be infidelity? The Venerable Master replied: Paradise has been ordained for believers by the Lord, just as hell has been ordained for the infidels. If somebody says, 'I do not want Paradise, implied in this is the rejection of the Law, and infidelity consists in rejecting and denying the Law.
Afterwards he said: When a command which has been established on the basis of the Book or the practice of the Prophet is denied or rejected by anybody, in word or deed, the person becomes an infidel. Now infidelity necessarily comes in. The reason is because it necessarily implied the rejection or denial of the Book and the practice of the Prophet. That involves infidelity. It is also involved when something is held as unlawful on the basis of the Book or the practice of the Prophet, because the legality or unlawfulness of something needs to be proved absolutely. In the meantime, if somebody thinks it is lawful, infidelity necessarily arises. The reason for this-i.e. considering the thing as lawful is itself unlawful-is that the text of the Qur'an or the practice of the Prophet is denied. Similarly, all taking as lawful what is not, and vice versa, implies infidelity for the reason I gave.
The Helpless One said: In the writings of the sheikhs the following words are found in various places: 'I have not desired Paradise: I have desired You.' What meaning do they contain? He replied: To begin with, the import of this interpretation has not come down from anybody. If it had, it would have come from his own boldness. It does not mean he is no longer obedient. It is a condition of humble submission. It has been mentioned that they were obedient. What they have written
displays their intrepidity, not the rejection of the command. Where it is written that Paradise was sought it is also mentioned that the precondition of humble submission has to be met. Paradise does not depend on their intrepidity! The intention is different: it pertains to the world of love. There one speaks of the lover and the Beloved. No intellect can enter therein. The externalist scholars are at loggerheads with this Sufi group, affirming that there is no wine in either world- but God knows best!
NOTES AND REFERENCES
1. Hurmat.
2. Sharfuddin is obviously presenting his own opinion-quite clear from his Hundred Letters about his supreme desire, nothing less than the vision of God Himself. He has little time for the pleasures of paradise. His position-based on personal conviction, 'Himmat i.e. boldness, intrepidity-is not acceptable to all. He is at pains to show that it does not contradict the Qur'anic promises, which he never denies.
3. There are difficulties in the various manuscripts here.
4. We have already noticed that Sharfuddin's opinion is different from that of many others and that it depends very much on his own deep experience of God. This statement merely affirms what the text itself proclaims.
There was the felicity of an assembly after the evening prayer. After the meal the Helpless One said: It is written in a certain place that, if somebody says, 'I do not want Paradise: I want to see You,' he becomes an infidel. Why would this be infidelity? The Venerable Master replied: Paradise has been ordained for believers by the Lord, just as hell has been ordained for the infidels. If somebody says, 'I do not want Paradise, implied in this is the rejection of the Law, and infidelity consists in rejecting and denying the Law.
Afterwards he said: When a command which has been established on the basis of the Book or the practice of the Prophet is denied or rejected by anybody, in word or deed, the person becomes an infidel. Now infidelity necessarily comes in. The reason is because it necessarily implied the rejection or denial of the Book and the practice of the Prophet. That involves infidelity. It is also involved when something is held as unlawful on the basis of the Book or the practice of the Prophet, because the legality or unlawfulness of something needs to be proved absolutely. In the meantime, if somebody thinks it is lawful, infidelity necessarily arises. The reason for this-i.e. considering the thing as lawful is itself unlawful-is that the text of the Qur'an or the practice of the Prophet is denied. Similarly, all taking as lawful what is not, and vice versa, implies infidelity for the reason I gave.
The Helpless One said: In the writings of the sheikhs the following words are found in various places: 'I have not desired Paradise: I have desired You.' What meaning do they contain? He replied: To begin with, the import of this interpretation has not come down from anybody. If it had, it would have come from his own boldness. It does not mean he is no longer obedient. It is a condition of humble submission. It has been mentioned that they were obedient. What they have written
displays their intrepidity, not the rejection of the command. Where it is written that Paradise was sought it is also mentioned that the precondition of humble submission has to be met. Paradise does not depend on their intrepidity! The intention is different: it pertains to the world of love. There one speaks of the lover and the Beloved. No intellect can enter therein. The externalist scholars are at loggerheads with this Sufi group, affirming that there is no wine in either world- but God knows best!
NOTES AND REFERENCES
1. Hurmat.
2. Sharfuddin is obviously presenting his own opinion-quite clear from his Hundred Letters about his supreme desire, nothing less than the vision of God Himself. He has little time for the pleasures of paradise. His position-based on personal conviction, 'Himmat i.e. boldness, intrepidity-is not acceptable to all. He is at pains to show that it does not contradict the Qur'anic promises, which he never denies.
3. There are difficulties in the various manuscripts here.
4. We have already noticed that Sharfuddin's opinion is different from that of many others and that it depends very much on his own deep experience of God. This statement merely affirms what the text itself proclaims.
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