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Ali ar-Ramitani

No such thing as a broken heart turning from me to You;
In truth, from me to You, all the cells in my body are hearts.

Abu Bakr ash-Shibli

He was a Noble Flag of Islam and a great scholar who opened the locks to the treasures of the heart and explained secrets from the Unseen. He received, from the Kingdom of Knowers, Bounties and Prizes and Honors. He guided the needy to the station of Spiritual Knowledge. His name flew high in the skies of Guidance, and there are no words to express his knowledge nor his state. To us he may be described, like the Mother of Books (the Holy Qur’an), as “one written in an elevated state.”

He was born in the village of Ramitan, two miles from Bukhara. He lived there, and was avid in learning the knowledge of the Divine Law (shari^ca), until he achieved fame in the Sciences of Traditions (Hadith), Qur’an, Jurisprudenct (Fiqh), and the Exemplary Path of the Prophet (Sunnah). He was a reference (marja^c) for anyone asking for legal decisions (fatawa).

Then he contacted Shaikh Mahmad al-Anjir al-Faghnawi for spiritual guidance. In the Shaikh’s presence he was lifted up to the high stations of the Manifestation of Divine Love and the Divine Presence. He became known and famous under the name Azizan, a word in Persian used for one of elevated station. Following are some of his many sayings:

Do and do not count. Confess your shortcomings and continue work.

Attain to the presence of the Divine, especially when you are eating and when you are talking.

Allah Almighty and Exalted said in His Holy Qur’an, “O Believers, repent to Allah with a pure repentance.” This verse brings us good tidings. Since Allah asks for repentance (tawba), it means He will accept it, because if He were not going to accept your repentance, He would not tell you to make tawba

The Prophet said, ‘Allah looks at the heart of the Believer every night and day 360 times.’ This means that the heart has 360 entrances. And every organ has 360 roots, all of them connected to the heart. So if the heart, under the influence of Dhikrullah, is led to the station of Allah’s Gaze, this will lead all organs of the body to the Gaze of Allah. As a result, every organ will be obedient to Allah and from the light of that obedience every organ will be connected to the Divine Outpouring. This is what draws the Gaze of Mercy from Allah to the heart of the Rememberer.

More Controversy on Loud Dhikr

Mawlana Sayfuddin Fidda, a great scholar in his time, asked him, “Why do you raise your voice in Dhikr?” Sheikh Ali (q) said:

O my brother, Muslim scholars throughout the centuries, from the time of the Tabi^cin (the generation following the Companions) up until today, have permitted the loud dhikr in the last moments of life. At this time those near the dying encourage him to repeat the testimony of faith. The Prophet said, laqqina mawtakum shahadatan LA ILAHA ILLALLAH (“make your dying ones say: There is no god but Allah”). In the Science of Sufism, the scholars have emphasized that each moment may be your last. This leads to the conclusion that you may say LA ILAHA ILLALLAH in a loud voice at every moment of your life.

He was asked by Shaikh Mawlana Badruddin al-Midani, who was a great scholar in his time, “Allah has ordered us in the Qur’an to do excessive dhikr by His saying, “Remember Allah excessively”

[33:41]. Is that dhikr to be by the tongue or by the heart?” Shaikh ^cAli Ramitani (q) answered:

For the beginner it is best that it be by the tongue, and for the adept it is best that it be by the heart.” He continued, “This is because for the beginner to remember Allah he must apply a great deal of effort. Since his heart is distracted and unstable and his efforts are scattered, it is better for him to do it with the tongue. But the adept has already polished his heart and is easily affected by dhikr. All of his organs become Rememberers so that the whole body of the adept, both externally and internally, remembers Allah in every moment. The equivalence of this is that one day’s dhikr of the adept is equal to one year’s dhikr of a beginner.

He continued,

The duty of a guide is first to know the capability of the seeker. Then he will put on his tongue the most perfect method of dhikr to raise him to the highest station.

If there had been on earth one of the followers of Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani at the time of Hallaj, Hallaj would never have been crucified.” This means that there would have been someone capable of defending him from the accusations of the ignorant.

Shaikh Fakhruddin an-Nuri, another famous scholar in his time, asked him, “Allah mentioned in the Holy Qur’an that on the Day of Promises he asked, Alastu bi Rabbikum, qala bala [7:172] (“Am I not your Lord? — They said: Yes!”), whereas on the Judgement Day He will ask, liman al-mulk ul-yawm [40:16] (‘to whom belongs the Kingdom on this day?’) and no one will answer. Why is it that they answered the question, ‘Am I not your Lord’ whereas on the Judgement Day they will not answer?” In His answer, Sheikh Ali Ramitani (q) demonstrated the incredible depth of understanding of Qur’an and Holy Hadith possessed by the Naqshbandi Masters. He said:

When the first question, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ was put to humankind, it was the day Allah had placed the obligations of the Sacred Law on all human beings. To reply when asked a question is an obligation under the Law. That is why they answered the question. However on the Judgement Day, all obligations have come to an end, and at that time, awareness of the Truth and the spiritual world begins. In spirituality there is no utterance better than silence, because spirituality is a flow from and to the heart unrelated to the tongue. That is why to the second question there is no need to give an answer. Allah Himself answers His own question, ‘To whom belongs the Kingdom this Day?’ by saying, lillah il-Wahid il-Qahhar, ‘It belongs to Allah, the Unique, the Irresistible’.

Upon receiving a heavenly order he moved from Bukhara to Khwarazm. When he reached Khwarazm, he didn’t enter the city, but stayed at its gate and sent his messenger to the king to tell him,

A poor weaver has come to enter your kingdom and to stay in it. Do you give permission or not? If you give permission he will enter. If not he will go back.

He asked the messenger to obtain a written letter, signed by the king, granting his permission. When he received that letter the Shaykh moved inside the city and began to spread the Naqshbandi Sufi Way. Every day he went to the town center, speaking with the people, asking them to come to his association and paying their wages for that day. He made the entire city his followers, pious worshippers and dedicated keepers of remembrance. He became very famous in the city. People used to visit him from all around. His good reputation made the king and his ministers afraid of his influence on the people. They tried to remove him from the city. Having foreseen this event, he sent the letter back to the king. At that the king came to the shaikh and apologized, asking for his forgiveness. He became one of his foremost murids.

Shaykh Ali died on Monday, 18th of Dhul Qa’idah in the year 715 H / 1315 CE or 721 H/1321 CE, at the age of 130 years.

He had two sons who were very famous in following the footsteps of their father. However, he did not pass the secret on to them. Instead he passed it to Shaikh Muhammad Baba as-Samasi (q).

Khwaja Mahmoud al-Anjir al-Faghnawi

If I repeat Your Name, it is not because I fear forgetfulness,
But the mention of it on my tongue is the happiness of dhikr.

Abul-Hasan Simnan

He was a Master from whose heart the Water of Knowledge and Wisdom gushed forth. His heart was polished by the Divine Effulgence, making him one of the best of the Chosen Ones, purified from all darkness and misery, and translucent as crystal.

He was born in the village of Anjir Faghna, three miles from Bukhara. In his youth he used to work in construction. He devoted his life to the guidance of people to Allah’s Presence. He was the first in the line of the Masters of Wisdom (Khwajagan) to introduce the method of loud dhikr in accordance with the needs of the time and as required by the conditions of the seekers. When he was asked why he used the loud dhikr, he replied, “To awaken the sleeper.”

The Controversy on Loud Dhikr

One day Khwaja Mahmoud attended a scholarly gathering and Shaikh Shams al-Halwani said to the Shaikh Hafiz ad-Din, an authority in external knowledge, to ask Shaikh Mahmad Faghnawi why he was doing loud dhikr. Shaikh Mahmoud Faghnawi said, “it is the best dhikr to awaken an outsider from his state of slumber and to attract the attention of the heedless so that he direct himself towards Allah following the shaikh who is making dhikr, straighten himself on the Way, and make his repentance to Allah a pure one, which is the key to all good and happiness. If your intention is correct you will find the authority to use the loud dhikr.”

Shaikh Hafiz ad-Din asked him to clarify to him just who is permitted and allowed to practice the loud dhikr, in order to justify the practice to those who opposed it. He said “the loud dhikr is for anyone who wishes to reach the state of purifying his tongue from lying and backbiting, and free his private actions from committing what is forbidden, and clean his heart from pride and the love of fame.”

One day the Shaikh Ali Ramitani (q), said that a man saw Khidr and asked him, “Tell me where I can find someone that is keeping the shari^ca of the Prophet and the Straight Path, in order that I may follow him.” He said, “that one whom you are seeking is Shaikh Mahmad al-Anjir al-Faghnawi.”

It is said that Shaikh Mahmoud walked on the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad in the station of Knowledge of God (ma^crifa) and he was also on the footsteps of Sayiddina Musa in the station of Kalimullah, the station of One who Speaks with Allah.

Shaikh Mahmoud radiated his knowledge from his masjid, which he built in the village of Wabiqni, close to Bukhara. He passed away in the village of Qilit, near Bukhara, on the 17th of Rabi’ul Awwal, in the year 717 H. He passed the secret of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order to his khalif,

Arif ar-Riwakri

Is there any place our King is not?
But His sorcery has blindfolded the viewer.
He blindfolds your eyes such that you see a dustmote at midday,
but not the greatest Sun,
A ship at sea, but not the ocean’s waves.
The ship’s bobbing tells you about the sea,
just as the movement of people tells the blind man that it is daytime.
Have you not read the verse, God has set a seal…[2:7] ?
It is God who sets the seal, and it is He who removes it and lifts up the coverings [50:22]

Rumi, Divan

He was a Knower whose Inner Truth appeared to him in all its brightness and light. He was a Sun of Knowledge who illuminated the dark sky of his Age. He was called the Light in the Garden of Reality and the Light in the Garden of the Prophet .

Arif (q) was born in the village of Riwakar six miles from Bukhara and one mile from Ghujdawan. He stood at the door of his Shaikh, Abdul Khaliq, and served him until the Shaikh gave him permission for irshad (giving guidance). He took the Secret of the Order from his Shaikh who witnessed his attainment to the state of perfection. He filled the countries around Bukhara with the scent of his blessings. He opened the minds and the hearts of the people of his time to the secrets of his knowledge.

His students recorded many of his sayings. The following are some of them:

Trust in God until He becomes your Teacher. Make the Remembrance of Death your partner.

Too much hope in the future veils you from the good found in Allah’s Way.

Whoever says ten times in a day, ‘Oh Allah Guide the Nation of Muhammad. Oh Allah Bless the Nation of Muhammad. Oh Allah remove all afflictions from the Nation of Muhammad,’ will be written among the group of saints known as the Abdal.

Whoever asks for Paradise without any good deeds it will be written for him as the Sin of Sins. Whoever awaits intercession without a cause, has a form of pride.

It is surprising to see so many Righteous (saliheen), and yet so few Truthful believers (sadiqeen).

To achieve healing from any affliction keep your affliction secret from people because they can be of no benefit to you. They can neither help you nor can they keep it from reaching you.

There are three kinds of hearts: the heart like a mountain, which nothing can move; the heart like a palm-tree, its roots firm but its branches in motion; and the heart like a feather, which the wind blows from right to left.

Who hopes to protect his religion, must avoid the company of people.

O Allah, whenever you want to punish me, do it, but don’t keep me away from Your Presence

Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani

The lights of some people precede their dhikr, while the dhikr of some people precede their lights. There is the one who does (loud) dhikr so that his heart be illumined; and there is the one whose heart has been illumined and he does (silent) dhikr

Ibn Ata’Allah

He was known as the Shaikh of Miracles, One Who Shone Like the Sun, and he was the Master of the high stations of spirituality of his time. He was a Perfect Knower (carif kamil) in sufism and accomplished in asceticism. He is considered the Fountainhead of this Honorable Sufi Order and the Wellspring of the Khwajagan (Masters of Central Asia).

His father was Shaikh ‘Abdul Jamil, one of the most famous scholars in Byzantine times in both external and internal knowledge. His mother was a princess, the daughter of the king of Seljuk Anatolia.

Abdul Khaliq was born in Ghujdawan, a town near Bukhara in present-day Uzbekistan. There he lived and passed his life and was buried. He was a descendant of Imam Malik (r). In his childhood he studied the Qur’an and its tafsir(exegesis), ‘ilm al-Hadith (the study of Prophetic Traditions), the sciences of the Arabic language, and Jurisprudence with Shaikh Sadruddin. After mastering Sharica (the legal sciences) he moved on to jihad an-nafs (spiritual struggle), until he reached a high station of purity. He then moved to Damascus, where he established a school from which many students graduated. Each became a master of fiqh and hadith as well as spirituality, both in the regions of Central Asia as well as in the Middle East.

The author of the book al-Hada’iq al-Wardiyya tells us how he reached his high station within the Golden Chain: “He met Khidr (as) and accompanied him. He took from him heavenly knowledge and added it to the spiritual knowledge he had obtained from his shaikh, Yusuf al-Hamadani.

“One day when he was reading the Qur’an in the presence of Shaikh Sadruddin, he came upon the following ayat: “Call unto your Sustainer humbly, and in the secrecy of your hearts. Verily, He loves not those who transgress the bounds of what is right”

[7:55]. This ayat prompted him to inquire of Shaikh Sadruddin about the reality of silent Dhikr and its method. Abdul Khaliq put his question thus: “In loud dhikr you have to use your tongue and people might listen to you and see you, whereas in the silent dhikr of the heart Shaytan might listen to you and hear you, since the Prophet said in his holy hadith: ‘Satan moves freely in the veins and arteries of the Sons of Adam.’ What, then, O my Shaikh Sadruddin, is the reality of ‘Call in the secrecy of your hearts?’ His shaikh replied, ‘O my son, this is a hidden, heavenly knowledge, and I wish that Allah Exalted and Almighty send you one of his saints to inspire on your tongue and in your heart the reality of secret dhikr.’

“From that time Shaikh Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani waited for that prayer to be fulfilled. One day he met Khidr who told him, ‘Now, my son, I have permission from the Prophet to inspire on your tongue and in your heart the hidden dhikr with its numbers.’ He ordered him to submerge himself under water and to begin making dhikr in his heart (LA ILAHA ILLALLAH MUHAMMADUN RASUL ALLAH). He did this form of dhikr every day, until the Light of the Divine, the Wisdom of the Divine, the Love of the Divine and the Attraction of the Divine were opened to his heart. Because of those gifts people began to be drawn to Abdul Khaliq and sought to follow in his footsteps, and he took them to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet .

“He was the first one in this honorable Sufi Order to use the Silent Dhikr and he was considered the master of that form of Dhikr. When his spiritual shaikh, al-Ghawth ar-Rabbani, Yusuf al-Hamadani, came to Bukhara, he spent his time in serving him. He said about him, ‘When I became 22 years of age, Shaikh Yusuf al-Hamadani ordered Khidr to keep raising me and to keep an eye on me until my death.’”

Shaikh Mu ammad Parsa, a friend and biographer of Shah Naqshband, said in his book Faslul-Kitab, that the method of Khwaja Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani in dhikr and the teachings of his Eight Principles were embraced and hailed by all 40 tariqats as the way of truth and loyalty, the way of consciousness in following the Sunnah the Prophet, by leaving innovation and by scrupulously opposing low desires. Because of that he became the Master of his time and the First in this line of spirituality.

His reputation as an accomplished spiritual Master became widespread. Visitors used to flock to see him from every land. He gathered around him the loyal and sincere murids that he was training and teaching. In this regard, he wrote a letter to his son, al-Qalb al-Mubarak Shaykh Awliya al-Kabir, to specify the conduct of followers of this Order. It says:

O my son, I urge you to acquire knowledge and righteous conduct and the fear of Allah. Follow the steps of the pious Salaf (early generation). Hold fast to the Sunnah of the Prophet , and keep company with sincere believers. Read jurisprudence and life-history of the Prophet and Quranic exegesis. Avoid ignorant charlatans, and keep the prayer in congregation. Beware of fame and its danger. Be among the ordinary people and do not seek positions. Don’t enter into friendship with kings and their children nor with the innovators. Keep silent, don’t eat excessively and don’t sleep excessively. Run away from people as you would run from lions. Keep seclusion. Eat lawful food and leave doubtful actions except in dire necessity. Keep away from love of the lower world because it might fascinate you. Don’t laugh too much, because too much laughter will be the death of the heart. Don’t humiliate anyone. Don’t praise yourself. Don’t argue with people. Don’t ask anyone except Allah. Don’t ask anyone to serve you. Serve your shaikhs with your money and power and don’t criticize their actions. Anyone who criticizes them will not be safe, because he doesn’t understand them. Make your deeds sincere by intending them only for Allah. Pray to Him with humbleness. Make your business jurisprudence, your mosque your house, and your Friend your Lord.

The Principles of the Naqshbandi Way

‘Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani coined the following phrases which are now considered the principles of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order:

Conscious Breathing (“Hosh dar dam“)

Hosh means “mind.” Dar means “in.” Dam means “breath.” It means, according to Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani (q), that

the wise seeker must safeguard his breath from heedlessness, coming in and going out, thereby keeping his heart always in the Divine Presence; and he must revive his breath with worship and servitude and dispatch this worship to His Lord full of life, for every breath which is inhaled and exhaled with Presence is alive and connected with the Divine Presence. Every breath inhaled and exhaled with heedlessness is dead, disconnected from the Divine Presence.

Ubaidullah al-Ahrar (q) said, “The most important mission for the seeker in this Order is to safeguard his breath, and he who cannot safeguard his breath, it would be said of him, ‘he lost himself.’”

Shah Naqshband (q) said, “This Order is built on breath. So it is a must for everyone to safeguard his breath in the time of his inhalation and exhalation and further, to safeguard his breath in the interval between the inhalation and exhalation.”

Shaikh Abul Janab Najmuddin al-Kubra said in his book, Fawatih al-Jamal, “Dhikr is flowing in the body of every single living creatures by the necessity of their breath — even without will — as a sign of obedience, which is part of their creation. Through their breathing, the sound of the letter “Ha” of the Divine Name Allah is made with every exhalation and inhalation and it is a sign of the Unseen Essence serving to emphasize the Uniqueness of God. Therefore it is necessary to be present with that breathing, in order to realize the Essence of the Creator.”

The name ‘Allah’ which encompasses the ninety-nine Names and Attributes consists of four letters, Alif, Lam, Lam and the same Hah (ALLAH). The people of Sufism say that the absolute unseen Essence of Allah Exalted and Almighty is expressed by the last letter vowelized by the Alif, “Ha.” It represents the Absolutely Unseen “He-ness” of the Exalted God (Ghayb al-Huwiyya al-Mutlaqa lillah ‘azza wa jall). The first Lam is for the sake of identification (ta^crif) and the secondLam is for the sake of emphasis (mubalagha).

Safeguarding your breath from heedlessness will lead you to complete Presence, and complete Presence will lead you to complete Vision, and complete Vision will lead you to complete Manifestation of Allah’s Ninety-Nine Names and Attributes. Allah leads you to the Manifestation of His Ninety-Nine Names and Attributes and all His other Attributes, because it is said, “Allah’s Attributes are as numerous as the breaths of human beings.”

It must be known by everyone that securing the breath from heedlessness is difficult for seekers. Therefore they must safeguard it by seeking forgiveness (istighfar) because seeking forgiveness will purify it and sanctify it and prepare the seeker for the Real Manifestation of Allah everywhere.

Watch Your Step (“Nazar bar qadam“)

It means that the seeker while walking must keep his eyes on his feet. Wherever he is about to place his feet, his eyes must be there. He is not allowed to send cast his glance here or there, to look right or left or in front of him, because unnecessary sights will veil the heart. Most veils on the heart are created by the pictures which are transmitted from your eyes to your mind during your daily living. These may disturb your heart with turbulence because of the different kinds of desire which have been imprinted on your mind. These images are like veils on the heart. They block the Light of the Divine Presence. This is why Sufi saints don’t allow their followers, who have purified their hearts through constant Dhikr, to look at other than their feet. Their hearts are like mirrors, reflecting and receiving every image easily. This might distract them and bring impurities to their hearts. So the seeker is ordered to lower his gaze in order not to be assailed by the arrows of devils.

Lowering the gaze is also a sign of humility; proud and arrogant people never look at their feet. It is also an indication that one is following the footsteps of the Prophet , who when he walked never used to look right or left, but used to look only at his feet, moving steadfastly towards his destination. It is also the sign of a high state when the seeker looks nowhere except towards his Lord. Like one who intends to reach a destination quickly, so too the seeker of Allah’s Divine Presence is moving quickly, not looking to his right or his left, not looking at the desires of this world, but looking only for the Divine Presence.

Imam ar-Rabbani Ahmad al-Faruqi (q) said in the 295th letter of his Maktubat:

The gaze precedes the step and the step follows the gaze. The Ascension to the high state is first by the Vision, followed by the Step. When the Step reaches the level of the Ascension of the Gaze, then the Gaze will be lifted up to another state, to which the Step follows in its turn. Then the Gaze will be lifted even higher and the Step will follow in its turn. And so on until the Gaze reaches a state of Perfection to which it will pull the Step. We say, ‘When the Step follows the Gaze, the murid has reached the state of Readiness in approaching the Footsteps of the Prophet, peace be upon him. So the Footsteps of the Prophet are considered the Origin of all steps.

Shah Naqshband (q) said, “If we look at the mistakes of our friends, we will be left friendless, because no one is perfect.”

Journey Homeward (“safar dar watan“)

It means to travel to one’s homeland. It means that the seeker travels from the world of creation to the world of the Creator. It is related that the Prophet said, “I am going to my Lord from one state to a better state and from one station to a higher station.” It is said that the seeker must travel from the Desire for the forbidden to the Desire for the Divine Presence.

The Naqshbandi Sufi Order divides that travel into two categories. The first is external journeying and the second is internal journeying. External travel is to travel from one land to another searching for a perfect guide to take and direct you to your destination. This enables you to move to the second category, the internal journey. Seekers, once they have found a perfect guide, are forbidden to go on another external journey. In the external journey there are many difficulties which beginners cannot endure without falling into forbidden actions, because they are weak in their worship.

The second category is internal journeying. Internal journeying requires the seeker to leave his low manners and move to high manners, to throw out of his heart all worldly desires. He will be lifted from a state of uncleanness to a state of purity. At that time he will no longer be in need of more internal journeying. He will have purified his heart, making it pure like water, transparent like crystal, polished like a mirror, showing the realities of all matters essential for his daily life, without any need for external action on his part. In his heart will appear everything that is needed for his life and for the life of those around him.

Solitude in the Crowd (“khalwat dar anjuman“)

“Khalwat” means seclusion. It means to be outwardly with people while remaining inwardly with God. There are also two categories of seclusion. The first is external seclusion and the second is internal seclusion.

External seclusion requires the seeker to seclude himself in a private place that is empty of people. Staying there by himself, he concentrates and meditates on Dhikrullah, the remembrance of God, in order to reach a state in which the Heavenly Realm becomes manifest. When you chain the external senses, your internal senses will be free to reach the Heavenly Realm. This will bring you to the second category: the internal seclusion.

The internal seclusion means seclusion among people. Therein the heart of the seeker must be present with his Lord and absent from the Creations while remaining physically present among them. It is said, “The seeker will be so deeply involved in the silent Dhikr in his heart that, even if he enters a crowd of people, he will not hear their voices. The state of Dhikr overcomes him. The manifestation of the Divine Presence is pulling him and making him unaware of all but his Lord. This is the highest state of seclusion, and is considered the true seclusion, as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an: ”Men whom neither business nor profit distract from the recollection of God” [24:37]. This is the way of the Naqshbandi Order.

The primary seclusion of the shaykhs of the Naqshbandi Order is the internal seclusion. They are with their Lord and simultaneously they are with the people. As the Prophet said, “I have two sides: one faces my Creator and one faces creation.” Shah Naqshband emphasized the goodness of gatherings when he said: Tariqatuna as-suhbat wa-l-khairu fil-jamciyyat (“Our Way is Companionship, and Goodness is in the Gathering”).

It is said that the believer who can mingle with people and carry their difficulties is better than the believer who keeps away from people. On that delicate point Imam Rabbani said,

It must be known that the seeker at the beginning might use the external seclusion to isolate himself from people, worshipping and concentrating on Allah, Almighty and Exalted, until he reaches a higher state. At that time he will be advised by his shaikh, in the words of Sayyid al-Kharraz, ‘Perfection is not in exhibitions of miraculous powers, but perfection is to sit among people, sell and buy, marry and have children; and yet never leave the presence of Allah even for one moment.

Essential Remembrance (“yad kard“)

The meaning of ‘Yad’ is Dhikr. The meaning of ‘kard‘ is the essence of Dhikr. The seeker must make Dhikr by negation and affirmation on his tongue until he reaches the state of the contemplation of his heart (muraqaba). That state will be achieved by reciting every day the negation (LA ILAHA) and affirmation (ILLALLAH) on the tongue, between 5,000 and 10,000 times, removing from his heart the elements that tarnish and rust it. This dhikr polishes the heart and takes the seeker into the state of Manifestation. He must keep that daily dhikr, either by heart or by tongue, repeating ALLAH, the name of God’s Essence which encompasses all other names and Attributes, or by negation and affirmation through the saying of LA ILAHA ILLALLAH.

This daily dhikr will bring the seeker into the perfect presence of the One Who is glorified.

The Dhikr by negation and affirmation, in the manner of the Naqshbandi Sufi Masters, demands that the seeker close his eyes, close his mouth, clench his teeth, glue his tongue to the roof of his mouth, and hold his breath. He must recite the dhikr through the heart, by negation and affirmation, beginning with the word LA (“No”). He lifts this “No” from under his navel up to his brain. Upon reaching his brain the word “No” brings out the word ILAHA (“god”), moves from the brain to the left shoulder, and hits the heart with ILLALLAH (“except The God”). When that word hits the heart its energy and heat spreads to all the parts of the body. The seeker who has denied all that exists in this world with the words LA ILAHA, affirms with the words ILLALLAH that all that exists has been annihilated in the Divine Presence.

The seeker repeats this with every breath, inhaling and exhaling, always making it come to the heart, according to the number of times prescribed to him by his shaikh. The seeker will eventually reach the state where in one breath he can repeat LA ILAHA ILLALLAH twenty-three times. A perfect shaikh can repeat LA ILAHA ILLALLAH an infinite number of times in every breath. The meaning of this practice is that the only goal is ALLAH and that there is no other goal for us. To look at the Divine Presence as the Only Existence after all this throws back into the heart of the murid the love of the Prophet and at that time he says, MUHAMMADUN RASULULLAH (“Muhammad is the Prophet of God”) which is the heart of the Divine Presence.

Returning (“baz gasht“)

This is a state in which the seeker, who makes Dhikr by negation and affirmation, comes to understand the Holy Prophet’s phrase, ilahi anta maqsusdi wa ridaka matlubi (“O my God, You are my Goal and Your Good Pleasure is my Aim.”) The recitation of this phrase will increase in the seeker the awareness of the Oneness of God, until he reaches the state in which the existence of all creation vanishes from his eyes. All that he sees, wherever he looks, is the Absolute One. The Naqshbandi murids recite this sort of dhikr in order to extract from their hearts the secret of Oneness, and to open themselves to the Reality of the Unique Divine Presence. The beginner has no right to leave this dhikr if he doesn’t find its power appearing in his heart. He must keep on reciting it in imitation of his Shaykh, because the Prophet has said, “Whoever imitates a group of people will belong to them.” And whoever imitates his teacher will some day find this secret opened to his heart.

The meaning of the phrase “baz gasht” is the return to Allah Exalted and Almighty by showing complete surrender and submission to His Will, and complete humbleness in giving Him all due praise. That is the reason the Holy Prophet mentioned in his invocation, ma dhakarnaka haqqa dhikrika ya Madhkur (“We did not Remember You as You Deserve to be Remembered, O Allah”). The seeker cannot come to the presence of Allah in his dhikr, and cannot manifest the Secrets and Attributes of Allah in his dhikr, if he does not make dhikr with Allah’s Support and with Allah’s Remembrance of him. As Bayazid said: “When I reached Him I saw that His remembering of me preceded my remembrance of Him.” The seeker cannot make dhikr by himself. He must recognise that Allah is the one making Dhikr through him.

Attentiveness (“nigah dasht“)

“Nigah” means sight. It means that the seeker must watch his heart and safeguard it by preventing bad thoughts from entering. Bad inclinations keep the heart from joining with the Divine. It is acknowledged in the Naqshbandiyya that for a seeker to safeguard his heart from bad inclinations for fifteen minutes is a great achievement. For this he would be considered a real Sufi. Sufism is the power to safeguard the heart from bad thoughts and protect it from low inclinations. Whoever accomplishes these two goals will know his heart, and whoever knows his heart will know his Lord. The Holy Prophet has said, “Whoever knows himself knows His Lord.”

One Sufi shaikh said, “Because I safeguarded my heart for ten nights, my heart has safeguarded me for twenty years.”

Abu Bakr al-Qaittani said, “I was the guard at the door of my heart for 40 years, and I never opened it for anyone except Allah, Almighty and Exalted, until my heart did not know anyone except Allah Almighty and Exalted.”

Abul Hassan al-Kharqani said, “It has been 40 years that Allah has been looking at my heart and has seen no one except Himself. And there is no room in my heart for other than Allah.”

Recollection (“yada dasht“)

It means that the reciter of Dhikr safeguards his heart with negation and affirmation in every breath without leaving the Presence of Allah Almighty and Exalted. It requires the seeker to keep his heart in Allah’s Divine Presence continuously. This allows him to realize and manifest the Light of the Unique Essence (anwar adh-dhat al-Ahadiyya) of God. He then casts away three of the four different forms of thoughts: the egoistic thoughts, the evil thoughts, and the angelic thoughts, keeping and affirming solely the fourth form of thought, the haqqani or truthful thoughts. This will lead the seeker to the highest state of perfection by discarding all his imaginings and embracing only the Reality which is the Oneness of Allah, Almighty and Exalted.

‘Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani had four khalifs. The first was Shaikh Ahmad as-Siddiq, originally from Bukhara. The second was Kabir al-Awliya (“the Greatest of Saints”), Shaikh Arif Awliya al-Kabir (q). Originally from Bukhara, he was a great scholar in both external and internal Sciences. The third khalif was Shaikh Sulaiman al-Kirmani (q). The fourth khalif was ^cArif ar-Riwakri (q). It is to this fourth khalif that Abdul Khaliq (q) passed the Secret of the Golden Chain before he died on the 12th of Rabi’ul-Awwal 575 H.

Abul Abbas, al-Khidr

Whoever enters the Way without a guide will take a hundred years to travel a two-day journey.
The Prophet said, ‘In this Way, you have no more faithful companions than your works.’
How can these works and this earning in the way of righteousness be accomplished without a master, O father?
Can you practice the meanest profession in the world without a master’s guidance?
Whoever undertakes a profession without a master becomes the laughingstock of city and town.

Rumi, Mathnavi

Abul `Abbas is Khidr , whom Allah mentioned in the Holy Qur’an [18:65f.] as the servant of Allah who met with the Prophet Musa . He preserved and maintained the Reality of the Golden Chain until the next link in the Chain, `Abdul Khaliq, could assume his destined station.

Imam Bukhari relates in the Book of Prophets that the Prophet said, “Al-Khidr (‘the Green Man’) was so named because he sat on a barren white land once, after which it turned luxuriantly green with vegetation.”

The important role of Khidr as the murshid (initiator) of saints may be illustrated by the importance of his role as the murshid of prophets, particularly of the Prophet Musa . Moses was a highly powerful prophet, one of the five greatest ones whom Allah sent to this world: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, Peace and blessings be upon them. Yet despite Moses’ elevated knowledge, Allah caused him to be in need of Khidr, even though Khidr was not a prophet. This is to teach us, as Allah said in the Holy Qur’an, that “Above every knower there is a greater knower” (Yusuf, 76).

The story of Moses’ encounter with Khidr is related in Surat al-Kahf (65-82) and goes thus: Moses and his servant found one of Allah’s servants whom Allah had honored uniquely and had taught knowledge from His Own Presence. Moses said to him, “I would like to accompany you.” He answered him: “You cannot bear to accompany me.” Moses was surprised and insisted he was able to do so. Khidr said: “You cannot, but if you do, do not ask about what I am doing no matter what you see me do. On that condition alone you may follow; but if you wish to ask questions, don’t follow me.” This meant that Khidr was going to do something that Moses would not understand, although he was the Messenger of a great religion. He was in need of Khidr to teach him something.

They took a boat and crossed the Tiberias River in Palestine. When they had reached the middle of the river, Khidr made a hole in the boat in order for it to sink. Moses was unable to keep silent, saying: “Why are you doing this childish act? Those people gave you the boat, are you now scuttling it?” Khidr replied: “Did I not tell you you would be unable to keep company with me?” Moses had not yet understood, even though he was a prophet and could read hearts, that there was something taking place that he did not know. They continued and found a young boy. As soon as they saw him, Khidr killed him. Moses said: “What are you doing? You sank a boat, and now you kill a child? This is against all laws!” Again Khidr said: “Did I not tell you you could not keep company with me? The third time you ask me, we will part ways.” Then they reached a city where they asked for food. No one gave them any food, and they threw them out. On their way, they found a wall on the verge of collapse. Khidr rebuilt that wall and made it straight. Moses asked: “Why are you doing this? No one accepted us as their guests in this city, and yet you are building their wall for them?” Khidr said: “This is the point where we separate, for you did not understand the wisdom of what I am doing.”

“O Moses, what we do is what Allah tells us to do. First I caused this boat to sink because there is a tyrant who is seizing every boat from the poor people on this side of the city. In order for these people not to lose their boat, I made it sink. That tyrant is going to die tomorrow, and tomorrow they can retrieve their boat and use it safely. I killed the child because Allah did not want that child to cause his parents, who believe in you, to leave and run away from your religion. Allah will give them better children than him. I built the wall which belonged to a man who was in life very generous to the poor. When he passed away, he left a treasure buried under the wall for his two orphans. Were that wall to come down, people would see the treasure and take it. I restored it in order for the two children to receive their treasure later. You did not understand God’s wisdom.”

That was Moses who, with all the honor bestowed on him by God, found himself ignorant before Khidr. How can we, who know so little in comparison to Moses, consider ourselves knowledgeable if Moses himself, with all his knowledge in the Divine Presence, was unable to understand certain things? This is a lesson in humility for human beings, and particularly for scholars and religious leaders: “Your knowledge is not worth mentioning. There are others more and highly more knowledgeable than you. As high or deep as you travel into knowledge, there is deeper depth and higher height than where you stand.”

That is why, when someone sits to give advice, he must sit with complete humbleness and complete respect for the listener. He cannot consider himself higher than them, otherwise that light will never reach their hearts. That is also why each is in need of a guide, as was shown by the Guide of guides himself, the Prophet , when he took Jibril as a guide for Revelation, and when he took a guide in traveling to Madina.

This is how Ibn `Arabi (q) in Fusus al-hikam explains the three acts of Khidr witnessed by Musa :

Moses was tested ’by many ordeals’ [20:41] the first of which was the murder of the Egyptian [28:14-15], an act which he committed by Divine impulsion and with the approbation of God deep inside him, without however, his perceiving it; nevertheless he felt no affliction in his soul for having killed the Egyptian, although he himself was not acquitted until he had received a Divine revelation on the subject. For all prophets are interiorly preserved from sin without their being conscious of it, even before they are warned by inspiration

It is for that reason that al-Khidr showed him the putting to death of the boy, an action for which Moses reproached him, without remembering his murder of the Egyptian, upon which al-Khidr said to him: ‘I have not done it of my own initiative,’ recalling thus to Moses the state in which he, the latter, found himself when he did not yet know that he was essentially preserved from all action contrary to the Divine Order.

He showed him also the perforation of the boat, apparently made to destroy the people, but which has, however, the hidden sense of saving them from the hand of a ‘violent man.’ He showed this to him as an analogy to the ark which hid Moses when he was thrown into the Nile; according to appearances, this act was equally to destroy him, but according to the hidden sense, it was to save him. Again his mother had done that for fear of the ‘violent man,’ in this case Pharaoh, so that he would not cruelly kill the child…

Moses arrived then at Madyan, there met the two girls and for them drew water from the well, without asking from them a salary. Then he ‘withdrew to the shade,’ that is to say to the Divine shadow, and said: ‘O my Lord, I am poor with regard to the blessings Thou bestowest on Me’; he attributed, then, to God alone the essence of the good that he did and qualified himself as poor (faqir) towards God. It was for that reason that al-Khidr reconstructed before him the crumbling wall without asking a salary for his work, for which Moses reprimanded him, until Khidr reminded him of his action of drawing water without asking for reward, and other things too, of which there is no mention in the Koran; so that the Messenger of God — may God bless him and give him Peace! — regretted that Moses did not keep quiet and did not remain with al-Khidr, so that God could tell him more of their actions.

Of Khidr’s sayings to Sahl at-Tustari (q) according to Ibn `Arabi:

Allah created the Light of Muhammad from His Light… This Light stayed before Allah for 100,000 years. Allah directed His Gaze upon it 70,000 times every day and night, adding to it a new light from His Light every time. Then, from that Light, He created all creations.

When the Prophet left this world and condolence came, they heard a voice from the corner of the house saying, “Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you, members of the Family of the Prophet !” `Ali (r) then asked if they knew who this was, and he said it was Khidr . Bayhaqi transmitted it in Dala’il an-Nubuwwa.

Abu Yaqub Yusuf al-Hamadani

Think not that there are no travelers on the road,
or that those of perfect attribute leave no trace.
Just because you are not privy to the secrets,
Do you think that no one else is either?

Rumi, Fihi ma fihi

He was one of the rarest Knowers of God, a Pillar in the Sunnah of the Prophet and a unique saint. He was an imam (religious leader), an `alim (religious scholar), and a `arif (spiritual knower of God). He was the master of his time in raising the stations of his followers. Scholars and pious people used to flood in huge numbers into his khaniqah (retreat) in the city of Merv, in present-day Turkmenistan, to listen to him.

Born in Buzanjird near Hamadan in 440 H., he moved from Hamadan to Baghdad when he was eighteen years of age. He studied the Shafi’i school of fiqh under the supervision of the master of his time, Shaykh Ibrahim ibn `Ali ibn Yusuf al-Fairuzabadi. He kept association in Baghdad with the great scholar, Abu Ishaq ash-Shirazi, who gave him greater deference than to any of his other students although he was the youngest.

He was so brilliant a jurisprudent that he became the marja` (reference) of his time for all scholars in that field. He was known in Baghdad, the center of Islamic knowledge, in Isfahan, Bukhara, Samarqand, Khwarazm, and throughout Central Asia.

Later in his life he secluded himself and left the world behind. He became an ascetic and engaged in constant worship and mujahada (spiritual struggle). He associated with Shaykh Abdullah Ghuwayni and Shaykh Hasan Simnani, but his secret was given him by Shaykh Abu `Ali al-Farmadhi. He made progress in self-denial and contemplation until he became the Ghawth (Arch-Intercessor) of his time. He was known as the Rain of Realities and Truth and Spiritual Knowledge. He finally settled in Merv. Through him countless miraculous events occurred.

From His Miracles

He reflected the Divine attribute of Severity (al-Qahhar) with those who opposed the dissemination of spirituality. Following are two of his miraculous deeds in that respect:

One day he was holding an association in which he was enlightening the listeners with heavenly knowledge. Two literalist scholars who were present said, “Keep quiet, because you are devising innovation.” He said to them, “Do not talk about matters that you do not understand. It is better for you to die than to remain.” As he spoke these words they immediately fell dead.

Ibn Hajar al-Haythami records in his book Al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyya, “Abu Sa`id Abdullah ibn Abi `Asran, the Imam of the School of Shafi’i, said, ‘When I began a search for religious knowledge I accompanied my friend, Ibn as-Saqa, who was a student in the Nizamiya School, and it was our custom to visit the pious. We heard that there was in Baghdad a man named Yusuf al-Hamadani who was known as al-Ghawth, and that he was able to appear whenever he liked and was able to disappear whenever he liked. So I decided to visit him along with Ibn as-Saqa and Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani, who was a young man at that time. Ibn as-Saqa said, ‘When we visit Shaykh Yusuf al-Hamadani I am going to ask him a question the answer to which he will not know.’ I said, ‘I am also going to ask him a question and I want to see what he is going to say.’ Shaykh ‘Abdul Qadir al-Jilani said, ‘O Allah, protect me from asking a saint like Yusuf Hamadani a question, but I will go into his presence asking for his baraka blessings and Divine Knowledge.’

‘We entered his association. He veiled himself from us and we didn’t see him until after one hour had passed. He looked at Ibn as-Saqa angrily and said, without having been informed of his name, ‘O Ibn as-Saqa, how dare you ask me a question when your intention is to confound me?’ Your question is this and your answer is this!’ Then he said to Ibn Saqa, ‘I am seeing the fire of kufr (unbelief) burning in your heart.’ He looked at me and said, ‘O `Abdallah, are you asking me a question and awaiting my answer? Your question is this and your answer is this. Let the people be sad for you because they are losing as a result of your disrespect for me.’ Then he looked at Shaykh ‘Abdul Qadir al-Jilani and said to him, ‘Approach, my son. I am going to bless you. O `Abdul Qadir, you have satisfied Allah and His Prophet with your proper respect for me. I see you in the future sitting on the highest place in Baghdad and speaking and guiding people and saying to them that your feet are on the neck of every wali (saint). And I am seeing every wali of your time bowing to you because of your great station and honor.’”

Ibn Hajar al-Haythami continues, “`Abdul Qadir has been lifted up and all that shaykh al-Hamadani said about him came to pass. There came a time when he did say, ‘My feet are on the necks of all the awliya (saints),’ and he was a reference and a beacon guiding all people in his time to their destinations.”

“The fate of Ibn as-Saqa was something else. He was brilliant in his knowledge of the Law of Islam. He preceded all the scholars in his time. He used to debate with the scholars of his time and overcome them, until the khalif called him to be a member of his court. One day the khalif sent him as a messenger to the King of Byzantium, who in his turn called all the priests and scholars of Christianity to debate him. Ibn as-Saqa was able to defeat all of them in debate. They were helpless to give answers in his presence. He gave them answers that made them look like mere students in his presence.

“His brilliance fascinated the King of Byzantium so that he invited him to his private family gathering. There Ibn as-Saqa’s eyes fell on the daughter of the King. He immediately fell in love with her, and asked her father, the King, for her hand in marriage. She refused except on condition that he accept her religion. He did, leaving Islam and accepting the Christian religion of the princess. After his marriage he became seriously ill. They threw him out of the palace. He became a town beggar, asking everyone for food, yet no one would provide for him. Darkness had come over his face.

“One day he saw someone that had known him before. That person relates: ‘I asked him, ‘What happened to you?’ He replied, ‘There was a temptation that I fell into.’ The man asked him, ‘Do you remember anything from the Holy Qur’an?’ He replied, ‘I only remember rubbama yawaddu-l-ladheena kafaru law kanu muslimeen (‘Again and again will those who disbelieve wish that they were Muslims’

[15:2]).

“‘He was trembling as if he was giving up his last breath. I turned him towards the Ka’aba (the West), but he kept turning towards the East. Then I turned him back towards Ka’aba, but he turned himself to the East. I turned him a third time, but he turned himself to the East. Then as his soul was passing from him, he said, ‘O Allah that is the result of my disrespect to Your Arch-intercessor Yusuf al-Hamadani.’”

Imam Haythami continues: “Ibn `Asran said, ‘I went to Damascus and the king there, Nuridin ash-Shaheed, put me in charge of the department of religious affairs, and I accepted. As a result, the worldly life came at me from every side: provision, sustenance, fame, money, position for the rest of my life. That is what the Arch-intercessor Yusuf al-Hamadani had predicted for me.’”

From His Sayings

The opening of the faculty of Spiritual Hearing in the Friends of Allah is like a Message from Reality, a Chapter in the Book of Allah, a blessing from the Knowledge of the Unseen. It is the beginning of the opening of the Heart and its unveiling — good tidings from the Heavenly Stations! It is the dawn of understanding of Divine Meanings. This hearing is sustenance for the spirit and life for the heart. It is the Subsistence (baqa) of the Secret (sirr). Allah makes Himself Witness for the visions of His Chosen Servants, and dresses them with His blessed acts and decorates them with His Attributes.

Yusuf al-Hamadani’s (q)

Of his saints, He makes one group hear through His Exalted Witnessing (shuhada at-tanzih); He makes others hear through His Unique Oneness (wahdaniyya); He makes another group of them hear through His Mercy (rahma). And He makes some hear through His Power (qudra).

Yusuf al-Hamadani’s (q)

Let it be known to you, O Man, that Allah has created from the Light of His Manifestations 70,000 angels and assigned them to various stations between the Throne (`arsh) and the Chair (kursi). In the Presence of Intimacy (uns), their dress is green wool, their faces are like the full moon, they stand in His Presence in awe, fainting, drunk with His Love, running endlessly from the Throne to the Chair and back because of the emotion and the mercy which is burning in their hearts. Those are the Sufis of the Heavens and Israfil (the angel who will blow the Trumpet on the Judgement Day) is their leader and their guide, and Jibril is their president and their speaker, and al-Haqq (Allah) is their King. Allah’s blessings are upon them.

Yusuf al-Hamadani’s (q)

This is how Yusuf al-Hamadani (q), the Shadow of God on Earth, used to describe the heavenly reality and exalted stations of the Sufis. May Allah bless his soul and sanctify him.

He died in Khorasan, between Herat and Bakshur, on the 12th of Rabi`ul-Awwal, 535 H., and was buried in Merv. Near his tomb was built a large mosque and a large school.

He passed his secret to Abul `Abbas who in turn passed it on to `Abdul Khaliq al-Ghujdawani. The latter received it directly from Yusuf al-Hamadani as well.

Abu Ali al-Farmadi

O child! said Luqman the Wise,
Do not let the rooster be more watchful than you,
calling Allah at dawn while you are sleeping.

He is right, he who said:

The turtle-dove wept on her branch in the night
And I slept on–what lying, false love is mine?
If I were a true lover, never would turtle-doves overtake me.
I am the dry-eyed lover of his Lord, while animals weep!

Ghazali, Ayyuha-l-walad

He is called the Knower of the Merciful and the Custodian of Divine Love. He was a scholar of the Shafi’i school of jurisprudence and a unique `arif (endowed with spiritual knowledge). He was deeply involved in both the School of theSalaf (scholars of the First and Second Centuries) and that of the Khalaf (later scholars), but he made his mark in the Science of Tasawwuf. From it he extracted some of the heavenly knowledge which is mentioned in Qur’an in reference to al-Khidr : “and We have taught him from our Heavenly Knowledge”

[18:65].

Sparks of the light of jihad an-nafs (self-struggle) were opened to his heart. He was known everywhere in his time, until he became a very famous shaykh in Islamic Divine Law and theology. The most famous shaykh of his time, as-Simnani, said about him, “He was the Tongue of Khurasan and its shaykh and the master in lifting up and raising the station of his followers. His associations were like gardens full of flowers, in which knowledge flowed from his heart and took the hearts of his listeners into a state of joy and happiness.” Among his teachers was al-Qushayri, the celebrated Sufi Master, and al-Ghazali al-Kabir who said about him, “He was the shaykh of his time and he had a unique way of reminding people. No one surpassed him in his eloquence, delicacy, ethics, good manners, morality, nor his ways of approaching people.” The son of the latter, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, nicknamed Hujjat ul-Islam – the Proof of Islam, took much from Farmadi in his Ihya `Ulum ad-Din.

One time he said, “I entered behind my teacher, al-Qushayri, to the public bath, and from the well I took for him a bucket of water which I had filled from the well myself. When my teacher came he said, ‘Who brought the water in the bucket?’ I kept quiet, as I felt I had committed some disrespect. He asked a second time, ‘Who brought the water?’ I continued to keep quiet. He asked a third time, ‘Who filled that bucket with water?’ I finally said, ‘I did, my teacher.’ He said, ‘O My son, what I received in seventy years, I passed to you with one bucket of water.’ That meant that the heavenly and divine knowledge which he had struggled for seventy years to acquire he passed to my heart through one glance.”

On behavior towards one’s master he said:

If you are true in your love of your shaykh, you have to keep respect with him.

On spiritual vision he said:

For the `arif (Knower) a time will come wherein the light of knowledge will reach him and his eyes will see the incredible Unseen.

Whoever pretends he can hear, yet cannot hear the glorification of birds, trees and the wind, is a liar.

The hearts of the people of Truth are open, and their hearing is open.

Allah gives happiness to His servants when they see His Saints.

This is because the Prophet said,

Whoever sees the face of a knower of God, sees me,

and also,

Whoever sees me, has seen Reality.

Sufi Masters have named the practice of concentrating on the face of the sheikh (tasawwur), and it is done to the end of fulfilling that state.

Whoever looks after the actions of people will lose his way.

Who prefers the company of the rich over the company of the poor, Allah will send him the death of the heart.

I heard that Abul Hasan al-Farmadhi said, ‘the Ninety-nine Attributes of Allah will become attributes and descriptions of the seeker in the way of Allah.

Abul Hassan Ali al-Kharqani

Mayest Thou deign to be sweetness and let life be bitter!
If Thou art content, what matter that men be angry.
Let everything between me and Thee be cultivated,
Between me and the worlds let all be desert!
If Thy love be assured, all is then easy,
For everything on earth is but earth .

Anonymous

He was the Ghawth (Arch-Intercessor) of his time and unique in his station. He was the Qiblah (focus of attention) of his people and an Ocean of Knowledge from which saints still receive waves of light and spiritual knowledge.

He devoided himself of everything except Allah’s Oneness, refusing for himself all titles and aspirations. He would not be known as a follower of any science, even a spiritual science, and he said: “I am not a rahib (hermit). I am not a zahid(ascetic). I am not a speaker. I am not a Sufi. O Allah, You are One, and I am one in Your Oneness.”

Of knowledge and practice he said:

Scholars and servants in the lower world are numerous but they don’t benefit you unless you are engaged in the satisfaction of Allah’s desire, and from morning to night are occupied with the deeds that Allah accepts .

About being a Sufi he said:

he Sufi is not the one who is always carrying the prayer rug, nor the one who is wearing patched clothes, nor the one who keeps certain customs and appearances; but the Sufi is the one to whom everyone’s focus is drawn, although he is hiding himself .

The Sufi is the one who in the daylight doesn’t need the sun and in the night doesn’t need the moon. The essence of Sufism is absolute nonexistence that has no need of existence because there is no existence besides Allah’s existence.

He was asked about Truthfulness (Sidq). He said, “ Truthfulness is to speak your conscience.”

Of Bayazid he said:

When Abu Yazid said, ‘I want not to want’ that is exactly the wanting which is real desire (irada).

He was asked, “Who is the appropriate person to speak about fana’ (annihilation) and baqa’ (permanence)?” He answered, “That is knowledge for the one who is as if suspended by a silk thread from the heavens to the earth and a great cyclone comes and takes all trees, houses, and mountains and throws them in the ocean until it fills the ocean. If that cyclone is unable to move the one who is hanging by the silk thread, then he is the one who can speak on fana’ and baqa’.”

One time Sultan Mahmoud al-Ghazi visited Abul Hassan and asked his opinion of Bayazid al-Bistami. He said,

Whoever follows Bayazid is going to be guided. And whoever saw him and felt love towards him in his heart will reach a happy ending.

At that Sultan Mahmoud said, “How is that possible, when Abu Jahl saw the Prophet and he was unable to reach a happy ending but rather ended up in misery?” He answered, “It is because Abu Jahl didn’t see the Prophet but he saw Muhammad bin `Abdullah. And if he saw the Messenger of Allah he would have been taken out of misery into happiness. As Allah said, “You see them looking at you but without clear vision”

[7:198]. He continued with the saying already quoted, “The vision with the eyes of the head…”

Other sayings of his:

Ask for difficulties in order for tears to appear because Allah loves those who cry,” referring to the advice of the Prophet to cry much.

In whatever way you ask Allah for anything, still the Qur’an is the best way. Don’t ask Allah except through the Qur’an.

The Inheritor of the Prophet is the one who follows his footsteps and never puts black marks in his Book of Deeds.

Tayfur Abu Yazid al-Bistami

I have planted love in my heart
and shall not be distracted until Judgment Day.
You have wounded my heart when You came near me.
My desire grows, my love is bursting.
He has poured me a sip to drink.
He has quickened my heart with the cup of love
Which he has filled at the ocean of friendship.

Bayazid

His Life

Bayazid’s grandfather was a Zoroastrian from Persia. Bayazid made a detailed study of the statutes of Islamic law (shari^`a) and practiced a strict regimen of self-denial (zuhd). All his life he was assiduous in the practice of his religious obligations and in observing voluntary worship.

He urged his students (murids) to put their affairs in the hands of Allah and he encouraged them to accept sincerely the pure doctrine of tawhid (the Oneness of God). This doctrine consisted of five essentials: to keep the obligations according to the Qur’an and Sunnah, to always speak the truth, to keep the heart free from hatred, to avoid forbidden food and to shun innovations (bid^`a).

His Sayings

One of his sayings was, “I have come to know Allah through Allah, and I have come to know what is other than Allah with the light of Allah.” He said, “Allah has granted his servants favors for the purpose of bringing them closer to Him. Instead they are fascinated with the favors and are drifting farther from Him.” And he said, praying to Allah, “O Allah, You have created this creation without their knowledge and You have placed on them a trust without their will. If You don’t help them who will help them?”

Bayazid said the ultimate goal of the Sufi is to experience the vision of Allah in the Hereafter. To that effect he said, “There are special servants of Allah who, if Allah veiled Himself from their sight in Paradise, would implore Him to take them out of Paradise just as the inhabitants of the Fire implore Him to release them from Hell.”

He said about Allah’s love for His servant, “If Allah loves His servant He will grant three attributes that are the proofs of His Love: generosity like the generosity of the ocean, and favor like the favor of the Sun in its giving of light, and modesty like the modesty of the Earth. The true lover never considers any affliction too great and never decreases his worship because of his pure faith.”

A man asked Bayazid, “Show me a deed by which I will approach my Lord.” He said, “Love the friends of Allah in order that they will love you. Love his saints until they love you. Because Allah looks at the hearts of His saints and He will see your name engraved in the heart of His saints and He will forgive you.” For this reason, the Naqshbandi followers have been elevated by their love for their shaikhs. This love lifts them to a station of continuous pleasure and continuous presence in the heart of their beloved.

Many Muslim scholars in his time, and many after his time, said that Bayazid al-Bistami was the first one to spread the Reality of Annihilation (fana’). Even that strictest of scholars, Ibn Taymiyya, who came in the 7th Century A.H., admired Bayazid for this and considered him to be one of his masters. Ibn Taymiyya said about him, “There are two categories of fana‘: one is for the perfect Prophets and saints, and one is for seekers from among the saints and pious people(saliheen). Bayazid al-Bistami is from the first category of those who experience fana’, which means the complete renunciation of anything other than God. He accepts none except God. He worships none except Him, and he asks from none except Him.” He continues, quoting Bayazid saying, “I want not to want except what He wants.”

It was reported about Bayazid that he said, “I divorced the lower world thrice in order that I could not return to it and I moved to my Lord alone, without anyone, and I called on Him alone for help by saying, ‘O Allah, O Allah, no one remains for me except You.’ At that time I came to know the sincerity of my supplication in my heart and the reality of the helplessness of my ego. Immediately the acceptance of that supplication was perceived by my heart. This opened to me a vision that I was no longer in existence and I vanished completely from myself into His self. And He brought up all that I had divorced before in front of me, and dressed me with light and with His attributes.”

Bayazid said, “Praise to Me, for My greatest Glory!” And he continued saying, “I set forth on an ocean when the

[earlier] prophets were still by the shore.” And he said, “O My Lord, Your obedience to me is greater than my obedience to You.” This means, “O God, You are granting my request and I have yet to obey You.”

He said, “I made four mistakes in my preliminary steps in this way: I thought that I remember Him and I know Him and I love Him and I seek Him, but when I reached Him I saw that His remembering of me preceded my remembrance of Him, and His knowledge about me preceded my knowledge of Him and His love towards me was more ancient than my love towards Him, and He sought me in order that I would begin to seek Him.”

Adh-Dhahabi quoted him in many great matters, among which were “Praise to Me, for My greatest Glory!” and “There is nothing in this robe I am wearing except Allah.” Adh-Dhahabi’s teacher Ibn Taymiyya explained, “He didn’t see himself as existing any longer, but only saw the existence of Allah, due to his self-denial.”

Adh-Dhahabi further relates, “He said, O Allah, what is your Fire? It is nothing. Let me be the one person to go into your Fire and everyone else will be saved. And what is your Paradise? It is a toy for children. And who are those unbelievers who you want to torture? They are your servants. Forgive them.”

Ibn Hajar said, in reference to Bayazid’s famous utterances, “Allah knows the secret and Allah knows the heart. Whatever Aba Yazid spoke from the Knowledge of Realities the people of his time did not understand. They condemned him and exiled him seven times from his city. Every time he was exiled, terrible afflictions would strike the city until the people would call him back, pledge allegiance to him, and accept him as a real saint.”

Attar and Arusi relate that Bayazid said, when he was exiled from his city, “O Blessed city, whose refuse is Bayazid!”

One time Bayazid said, “Allah the Most Just called me into His Presence and said to me, ‘O Bayazid how did you arrive in My Presence?’ I replied, ‘Through zuhd, by renouncing the world.’ He said, ‘The value of the lower world is like the wing of a mosquito. What kind of renunciation have you come with?’ I said, ‘O Allah, forgive me.’ Then I said, ‘O Allah, I came to you through tawakkul, by dependence on You.’ Then He said, ‘Did I ever betray the trust which I promised you?’ I said, ‘O Allah forgive me.’ Then I said, ‘O Allah, I came to you through You.’ At that time Allah said, ‘Now We accept you.’”

He said, “I stood with the pious and I didn’t find any progress with them. I stood with the warriors in the cause and I didn’t find a single step of progress with them. I stood with those who pray excessively and those who fast excessively and I didn’t make a footstep of progress. Then I said, ‘O Allah, what is the way to You?’ and Allah said, ‘Leave yourself and come.’”

Ibrahim Khawwas said, “The way that Allah showed to him, with the most delicate word and the simplest explanation, was to ‘leave your self-interest in the two worlds, the dunya and the Hereafter, leave everything other than Me behind.’ That is the best and easiest way to come to Allah Almighty and Exalted, the most perfect and highest state of affirming Oneness, not to accept anything or anyone except Allah the Most High.”

One of the followers of Dhul Nun al-Misri was following Bayazid. Bayazid asked him, “Who do you want?” He replied, “I want Bayazid.” He said, “O my son, Bayazid is wanting Bayazid for forty years and is still not finding him.” That disciple of Dhul Nun then went to him and narrated this incident to him. On hearing it Dhul Nun fainted. He explained later saying, “My master Bayazid has lost himself in Allah’s love. That causes him to try to find himself again.”

They asked him, “Teach us about how you reached true Reality.” He said, “By training myself, by seclusion.” They said, “How?” He said, “I called my self to accept Allah Almighty and Exalted, and it resisted. I took an oath that I would not drink water and I would not taste sleep until I brought my self under my control.”

He also said, “O Allah! it is not strange that I love You because I am a weak servant, but it is strange that You love me when You are the King of Kings.”

He said, “For thirty years, when I wanted to remember Allah and do dhikr I used to wash my tongue and my mouth for His glorification.”

He said, “As long as the servant thinks that there is among the Muslims someone lower than himself, that servant still has pride.”

They asked him, “Describe your day and describe your night.” He said, “I don’t have a day and I don’t have a night, because day and night are for those who have characteristics of creation. I have shed my self the way the snake sheds its skin.”

Of Sufism Bayazid said: “It it to give up rest and to accept suffering.”

Of the obligation to follow a guide, he said: “Who does not have a sheikh, his sheikh is Satan.”

Of seeking God he said, “Hunger is a rain cloud. If a servant becomes hungry, Allah will shower his heart with wisdom.”

Of his intercession he said, “If Allah will give me permission to intercede for all the people of my time I will not be proud, because I am only interceding for a piece of clay,” and “If Allah gave me permission for intercession, first I would intercede for those who harmed me and those who denied me.”

To a young man who wanted a piece of his old cloak for baraka (blessing), Bayazid said: “Should you take all Bayazid’s skin and wear it as yours, it would avail you nothing unless you followed his example.”

They said to him, “The key for Paradise is ‘La ilaha ill-Allah‘ (witnessing that there is no god except Allah).” He said, “It is true, but a key is for opening a lock; and the key of such witnessing can only operate under the following conditions:

1) a tongue which doesn’t lie nor backbite;
2) a heart without betrayal;
3) a stomach without h aram or doubtful provision;
4) deeds without desire or innovation.”

He said, “The ego or self always looks at the world and the ruh (spirit) always looks at the next life and ma`rifat (spiritual knowledge) always looks at Allah Almighty and Exalted. He whose self defeats him is from those who are destroyed, and he whose spirit is victorious over his self, he is of the pious, and he whose spiritual knowledge overcomes his self, he is of the God-conscious.”

Ad-Dailami said, “One time I asked `Abdur Rahman bin Yahya about the state of trust in Allah (tawakkul). He said, “If you put your hand in the mouth of a lion, don’t be afraid of other than Allah.” I went in my heart to visit and ask Bayazid about this matter. I knocked and I heard from inside, “Wasn’t what `Abdur Rahman said to you enough? You came only to ask, and not with the intention of visiting me.” I understood and I came again another time one year later, knocking at his door. This time he answered, “Welcome my son, this time you came to me as a visitor and not as a questioner.”

They asked him “When does a man become a man?” He said, “When he knows the mistakes of his self and he busies himself in correcting them.”

He said, “I was twelve years the blacksmith of my self, and five years the polisher of the mirror of my heart, and for one year I was looking in that mirror and I saw on my belly the girdle of unbelief. I tried hard to cut it and I spent twelve years in that effort. Then I looked in that mirror and I saw inside my body that girdle. I spent five years cutting it. Then I spent one year looking at what I had done. And Allah opened for me the vision of all creations. And I saw all of them dead. And I prayed four takbiras of janaza (funeral prayer) over them.”

He said one time: “If the Throne and what is around it and what is in it were placed in the corner of the heart of a Knower, they would be lost completely inside it.”

Of Bayazid’s state, al-`Abbas ibn Hamza related the following: “I prayed behind Bayazid the Dhuhr prayer, and when he raised his hands to say ‘Allahu Akbar’ he was unable to pronounce the words, in fear of Allah’s Holy Name, and his entire body was trembling and the sound of bones breaking came from him; I was seized by fear.”

Munawi relates that one day, Bayazid attended the class of a faqih (jurisprudent) who was explaining the laws of inheritance: “When a man dies and leaves such-and-such, his son will have such-and-such, etc.” Bayazid exclaimed: “O faqih, O faqih! What would you say of a man who died leaving nothing but God?” People began to cry, and Bayazid continued: “The slave possesses nothing; when he dies, he leaves nothing but his own master. He is such as Allah created him in the beginning.” And he recited: “You shall return to us alone, as we created you the first time” [6:94].

Sahl at-Tustari sent a letter to Bayazid which read: “Here is a man who drank a drink which leaves him forever refreshed.” Bayazid replied: “Here is a man who has drunk all existences, but whose mouth is dry and burn with thirst.”

His Death

When Bayazid died, he was over seventy years old. Before he died, someone asked him his age. He said: “I am four years old. For seventy years I was veiled. I got rid of my veils only four years ago.” The 39th Sheikh of the Golden Chain, Sultan al-Awliya Sheikh `Abdullah Daghestani, referred to this saying in his encounter with Khidr , who told him, as he was pointing to the graves of some great scholars in a Muslim cemetery: “This one is three years old; that one, seven; that one, twelve.”

Jafar as-Sadiq

I have discovered — and exaggeration is not in my nature –
that he who is my sustenance will come to me.
I run to him, and my quest for him is agony for me.
Were I to sit still, he would come to me without distress

Urwa ibn Adhana

The son of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, son of al-Imam Zain al-`Abidin, son of al-Husayn, son of `Ali bin Abi Talib , Ja`far was born on the eighth of Ramadan in the year 83 H. His mother was the daughter of al-Qassim whose great grandfather was Abu Bakr as-Siddiq .

He spent his life in worship and acts of piety for the sake of Allah. He rejected all positions of fame in favor of ^`uzla or isolation from the lower world. One of his contemporaries, ^`Umar ibn Abi-l-Muqdam, said, “When I look at Ja`far bin Muhammad I see the lineage and the secret of the Prophet Muhammad united in him.”

He received from the Prophet two lines of inheritance: the secret of the Prophet through ‘Ali and the secret of the Prophet through Abu Bakr . In him the two lineages met and for that reason he was called “The Inheritor of the Prophetic Station (Maqam an-Nubuwwa) and the Inheritor of the Truthful Station (Maqam as-siddiqiyya).” In him was reflected the light of the knowledge of Truth and Reality. That light shone forth and that knowledge was spread widely through him during his lifetime.

Ja`far narrated from his father, Muhammad al-Baqir, that a man came to his grandfather, Zain al-`Abidin, and said, “Tell me about Abu Bakr!” He said, “You mean as-Siddiq?” The man said, “How do you call him as-Siddiq when he is against you, the Family of the Prophet ?” He replied, “Woe to you. The Prophet called him as-Siddiq, and Allah accepted his title of as-Siddiq. If you want to come to me, keep the love of Abu Bakr and `Umar in your heart.”

Ja`far said, “The best intercession that I hope for is the intercession of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq .” From him is reported also the following invocation: “O Allah, You are my Witness that I love Abu Bakr and I love `Umar and if what I am saying is not true may Allah cut me off from the intercession of Muhammad .”

He took the knowledge of hadith from two sources: from his father through `Ali and from his maternal grandfather al-Qassim. Then he increased his knowledge of hadith by sitting with `Urwa, `Aata, Nafi` and Zuhri. The two Sufyans, Sufyan ath-Thawri and Sufyan ibn `Uyayna, Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, and al-Qattan all narrated hadith through him, as did many others from later hadith scholars. He was a mufassir al-Qur’an or master in exegesis, a scholar of jurisprudence, and one of the greatest mujtahids (qualified to give legal decisions) in Madinah.

Ja`far acquired both the external religious knowledge as well as the internal confirmation of its reality in the heart. The latter was reflected in his many visions and miraculous powers, too numerous to tell.

One time someone complained to al-Mansur, the governor of Madinah, about Ja`far . They brought him before Mansur and asked the man who had complained, “Do you swear that Ja`far did as you say?” He said, “I swear that he did that.” Ja`far said, “Let him swear that I did what he accused me of and let him swear that Allah punish him if he is lying.” The man insisted on his complaint and Ja`far insisted that he take the oath. Finally the man accepted to take the oath. No sooner were the words of the oath out of his mouth than he fell down dead.

Once he heard that al-Hakm bin al-’Abbas al-Kalbi crucified his own uncle Zaid on a date palm. He was so unhappy about this that he raised his hands and said, “O Allah send him one of your dogs to teach him a lesson.” Only a brief time passed before al-Hakm was eaten by a lion in the desert.

Imam at-Tabari narrates that Wahb said, “I heard Layth ibn Sa`d say, I went on pilgrimage in the year 113 H., and after I prayed the afternoon obligatory prayer (salat al-`Asr) I was reading some verses of the Holy Qur’an and I saw someone sitting beside me invoking Allah saying ‘Ya Allah, Ya Allah…’ repeatedly until he lost his breath. He then continued by saying ‘Ya Hayy, Ya Hayy…’ until his breath was again lost. He then raised his hands and said, ‘O Allah, I have the desire to eat grapes, O Allah give me some. And my robe (jubba) is becoming so old and tattered, please O Allah grant me a new one.’ Laith bin Sa`d said that ‘He had hardly finished his words before a basket of grapes appeared in front of him, and at that time there were no grapes in season. Beside the basket of grapes there appeared two cloaks more beautiful than I had ever seen before.’ I said, ‘O my partner let me share with you.’ He said, ‘How are you a partner?’ I replied, ‘You were praying and I was saying Amin.’ Then Imam Ja`far said, ‘Then come and eat with me,’ and he gave me one of the two cloaks. Then he walked off until he met a man who said, ‘O son of the Prophet , cover me because I have nothing but these tattered garments to cover me.’ He immediately gave him the cloak that he had just received. I asked that man, ‘Who is that?’ He replied, ‘That is the great Imam, Ja`far as-Sadiq.’ I ran after him to find him but he had disappeared.”

This is only a sample of the many anecdotes and stories of the miraculous powers (karamat) of Ja`far as-Sadiq .

From his knowledge he used to say to Sufyan ath-Thawri, “If Allah bestows on you a favor, and you wish to keep that favor, then you must praise and thank Him excessively, because He said, “If you are thankful Allah will increase for you”

[14:7]. He also said, “If the door of provision is closed for you, then make a great deal of istighfar (begging forgiveness), because Allah said, “Seek forgiveness of your Lord, certainly Your Lord is oft-Forgiving” [11:52]. And he said to Sufyan, “If you are upset by the tyranny of a Sultan or other oppression that you witness, say “There is no change and no power except with Allah,” (la hawla wa la quwwata illa-billah) because it is the key to Relief and one of the Treasures of Paradise.”

From His Sayings

“The Nun [letter “n”] at the beginning of Surat 68 represents the light of Pre-eternity, out of which Allah created all creations, and which is Muhammad . That is why He said in the same surat [verse 4]: ‘Truly Thou art of a sublime nature’ – that is: you were privileged with that light from pre-eternity.”

“Allah Almighty and Exalted told the lower world, “Serve the one who serves Me and tire the one who serves you.”

“Prayer is the pillar of every pious person; Pilgrimage is the Jihad of every weak one; the Zakat of the body is fasting; and the one who asks for Allah’s grants without performing good deeds is like one trying to shoot an arrow without a bow.”

“Open the door of provision by giving donation; fence in your money with the payment of zakat; the best is he who wastes not; planning is the foundation of your life, and to act prudently is the basis of intellect.”

“Whoever makes his parents sad has denied their rights on him.”

“The jurists are the trustees of the Prophet … If you find the jurists sticking to the company of the Sultans, say to them, ‘This is forbidden,’ as the jurist cannot express his honest opinion under the pressure of the Sultan’s proximity.”

“No food is better than God-fear and there is nothing better than silence; no enemy is more powerful than ignorance; no illness is greater than lying.”

“If you see something you don’t like in your brother try to find from one to seventy excuses for him. If you can’t find an excuse, say, ‘There might be an excuse but I don’t know it.’”

“If you hear a word from a Muslim which is offensive, try to find a good meaning for it. If you don’t find a good meaning for it, say to yourself, ‘I do not understand what he said,’ in order to keep harmony between Muslims.”

His Passing

Jafar as-Sadiq ق passed away in 148 AH/765 CE. He was buried in Jannat al-Baqi, in the same graveyard as that of his father, Muhammad al-Baqir ق, his grandfather, Zain al-Abidin ق, and the uncle of his grandfather, Hasan ibn Ali . He passed the secret of the Golden Chain to his successor, Grandshaykh Tayfur Abu Yazid al-Bistami, more commonly known as Bayazid al-Bistami.

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From His Sayings

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