Muhi-e-Din Ibn Arabi
In the name of Allah, The Benificient,
Most Merciful
Note:
What the seeker needs is also known as Kitab
Kunh ma la budda minhu lil- murid. This short work was written in Mosul in
1204 in answer to the question of what the seeker "should believe in and
what he should do in the beginning, before anything else."
Translations of this work have been
printed on several occasions: in Turkish (by Mahmud Mukhtar Bey, 1898); Spanish
(excerpts by M. Asin Palacios, 1931); and in English (by A. Jeffrey, 1962).
* * * * * *
WHAT THE SEEKER NEEDS
All praise and thanks are due to Allah
Most High, and may His benedictions and salutations be upon His messenger, and
the progeny and companions of His messenger.
This short guide is a response to one
who wishes to take the path of faith, hope, and love so that he might become
complete and perfect as he was created. It was written to answer his questions
about what he should believe in and what he should do in the beginning, before
anything else.
O you who yearn for eternal beauty,
traveler on the path of the true wish, may Allah make you successful in knowing
the true way, finding it, and being upon it. May He use you and us in actions
that please Him and are done for His sake. For the beginning and the end and
what is in between, and success in them all, belong only to Him.
The way and means to eternal salvation
and bliss is in coming close to the Truth. Allah Himself teaches us the meaning
of His closeness to us. He teaches us by sending us His prophets. We say,
"we believe." It is the truth. We accept and confirm it. The only
thing then left for us to do is to follow the teachings and the example of His
prophet.
First, you must believe in the oneness
and uniqueness of the One who is before the before and after the after, who
created us and everything else, and you must not associate with Him anything
unbefitting the purity of His Essence. He Himself says in His divine book:
If there were in them gods besides
Allah, (the heavens and the earth) would both have been in disorder (mixing and
clashing and being destroyed). (Anbiya',
22)
The wills of many creators would clash
and cancel each other, not permitting anything to be or to happen. Therefore,
if we and all existence exist, He -- the One and Unique Creator - exists, and
He has no associates.
O you with beautiful nature and pure
heart, do not debate, discuss, even talk with people who attribute partners to
Allah. There is no use in trying to convince them. Even the deniers will
finally concede:
And if you ask them who created the
heavens and the earth they will say, Allah. (Luqman, 25)
They as well will finally admit an
unknown force as the initial Creator of the creation - but they will add to Him
further creators. The difference between them and the believers is that they
suppose that others, among the created, are also able to create. You do not
have to prove to them the existence of Allah. Let them prove, if they can, the
existence of His associates.
This is sufficient advice for you on
the subject of professing the oneness of Allah. Time is valuable: you cannot be
careless with it. If the mind has reached a state in which it is free from
doubt and the heart is safe and secure, it makes no sense to disturb this peace
with superfluous proofs.
The second matter of importance for one
who wishes to learn is the belief that Allah Most High is free from all
resemblance to anything visible or invisible in the creation. He is free from
all defect.
There are some who, wanting to see the
image of their Creator, err, and liken Him to a human being. Let His own words
be your guide in this. He says:
Nothing is like Him.... (Shura, 11)
Any thought, any word, any qualiy or
attribute not corresponding to this principle is a falsehood, unworthy of the
Divine. Therefore seek no further than the fact that none resemble or are like
Him. That is His reality. This is also confirmed by the declaration of His
messenger, who said, "At the beginning was Allah, and none with Him."
The ones who followed him added to this statement, "It is now as it
was." As it was before the creation, it is after the creation. From the
time when matter was hidden under the veil of nonexistence and there was no
form, nothing has been added or subtracted. Though He has created the creation,
still there are none like Him. Nothing is like Him. Nothing is Him, but
everything is from Him. The divine word that He is without likeness cancels all
other thoughts, claims, and interpretations.
You must also accept, and believe, even
if you do not understand, the allegorical verses of the Holy Qur'an and the
ambiguous statement of the Messenger of Allah concerning the unity and the
ultimate cause, as well as all the declarations of the prophets which have come
to us unaltered. You must consider that the significance of these words is a
part of divine knowledge and that as such, you accept them. The monumental
meanings of these holy expressions are for the understanding of people who are
close enough to Allah to be able to see His beautiful attributes.
There is no better proof of the
perfection of the Divine, who is self-existent and whose existence is a
necessity for the existence of all else, than the holy verse:
Nothing is like Him....
Allah declares with this verse His
being, His essence, His divine nature, His limitless greatness, His glory. So
write in your heart and mind this principle, this foundation of faith, and
believe in Allah's prophet and the message that he brought from the Divine
Truth, and in Allah's orders and justice. Furthermore, have faith in the true
declarations of all the prophets known and unknown. Love their companions;
accept the truth of their mission. Do not speak against them. Do not value one
over another. Think of them with terms of praise, as they are described in the
Holy Qur'an and in the words of other prophets, which can only be the truth.
Show respect, as did the prophets, for the character that distinguishes the
perfect man, and for holy places. Accept and believe in the deeds and the words
of the saints, even though you may not understand their state and the miracles
attributed to them.
Look upon the whole creation, and above
all, mankind, with good will - accepting, approving, forgiving, serving,
loving. Make that your nature in your dealings with the world. Listen to your
conscience. Cleanse your heart. In that clean heart, keep up prayer for your
faithful brothers. Help and serve, as much as you can, the people who hide
their misery, who are content with their poverty, the travelers on the path to
truth. Do not attribute to yourself virtue, goodness, and graciousness because
of your service to the creation. Consider that you owe other people thanks for
having humbly accepted your help. It is incumbent upon you to lighten the load
of those who are burdened. If people whose pain you have helped to alleviate
cause you pain in return - if their responses, their ways, their habits are
dark and cast shadows upon you - show patience and forbearance. Do not forget
that Allah says:
...surely Allah is with the patient. (Baqara, 153)
Do not spend your life in empty
endeavors and your time in idle talk. Instead, reflect and remember Allah, read
the Qur'an, guide the misguided to the enlightened path. Help others leave evil
and turn to doing good. Mend broken friendships. Help others to help others.
Find the right friend, who will be a
support for you, a good travelling companion on the path of truth. Faith is a
seed. It grows into a tree with the beneficent watering and sunshine of
faithful friends. Beware of being close to those who do not discriminate
between the faithful and the unfaithful - not knowing either faith or the
faithful, they do not care about them. They are either strangers to or enemies
of the truth in which you believe.
Look for a perfect teacher who will
lead you on the straight path. In your search for a guide, be sincere, because
sincerity distinguishes the true seeker. It is certain that if you cling to
sincerity and truthfulness, the Lord will manifest His attribute of the
Ultimate Guide upon you and will guide you to a perfect teacher. Sincerity in
the seeker is such a blessing that when it is present, Allah will even turn the
accursed devil himself and the seeker's personal devil, his ego, into angels of
inspiration serving him. Sincerity is such a catalyst that it turns lead into
gold and purifies everything it touches.
A matter of the greatest importance,
one of your greatest needs, is to be sure that the morsel of bread you put in
your mouth is lawful. Lawful sustenance, the lawfulness of all you enjoy in
this world, is the foundation of your faith. It is upon this foundation that
your religion can be built.
To advance in this path, in the
footsteps of the prophets (peace and blessings be upon them), you have to be
light - light in worldly goods, light in your concerns about this world. An
unmistakable sign of the heaviness that will prevent you from advancing is to
be a burden on people. Neither be a freeloader nor let others carry your load.
Particularly, don't accept goods and favors, either for yourself or for others,
from people whose hearts are dead, submerged in the sleep of heedlessness.
In what Allah permits you to gain as
your sustenance - in all your actions, behavior and words - fear Allah. Do not
seek comfort and luxury, especially when you have not worked hard for it.
Lawful sustenance is obtained by working harder than is demanded of you. A
clear sign of the lawfulness of one's gain is that it will not permit you to be
either stingy or a spendthrift.
Take care, since if the love of this
world takes root firmly in your heart, it constricts your heart, and it becomes
exceedingly hard to pull it out and throw it away. This world is a trial
ground; don't seek comfort and riches in it. Eat less. That will leave more
space in your heart and will increase your desire to pray and be obedient It
will make you more active and less lazy.
Cleanse and beautify your days and
nights with worship. The generous Lord asks you to His presence five times a day.
Do your prayers at the times He calls you, five times daily, and at each prayer
make an accounting of your actions since the last prayer. It is to be hoped
that only good deeds and actions befitting a Muslim are done between the times
of prayer.
Most people complain that this world,
their work to secure their sustenance, and their work as householders for their
families, take time away from their worship. Know that work done heedfully,
with consideration for others, in accordance with proper behavior, for the
pleasure of Allah, is also worship.
Allah has blessed you with intellect,
knowledge, profession, strength, and health. All grace and power are due to
Him. Use these to gather as much of your sustenance as possible in the minimum
of time. If possible, secure in one day your week's sustenance. Take the
example of Ahmad al-Sabti, a prince, the son of the 'Abbasid caliph Harun
al-Rashid. He used the maximum of his talents and strength and effort and
worked exceedingly hard as a manual laborer on Saturday. With what he earned in
one day he was able to live a whole week. He dedicated the remaining six days
of the week to working for Allah and worshipping Him.
After you perform your morning prayer,
stay with your Lord until sunrise, and after your afternoon prayer stay in His
presence until sunset. These are two periods of time when spiritual powers and
enlightenment flow in abundance. Keep your heart tied to Allah in humility and
in peace.
There is great virtue and merit in
performing extra worship of twenty cycles of prayer between the afternoon and
evening prayers, and between the evening and night prayers. Perform extra
prayers of four cycles just before the noon prayer, after and just before the
afternoon prayer, and after the evening prayer. Perform another ten cycles of
prayers in sets of two after the obligatory night prayer, and the three cycles
of closing prayer, witr, as the last worship of the day.
Do not sleep until you are unable to
stay awake. Do not eat until you are hungry. Dress only to cover your body and
to protect it from cold and from heat. Make it a habit to read from the Holy
Qur'an every day. When you read, hold the holy book with respect. Keep it in
your left hand at the level of your chest, and move your right hand along the
words you read. Read aloud, but just loud enough that you can hear your own
voice.
Read without haste, slowly thinking of
the meaning of each word. Wish for divine mercy and beneficence when you come
to the verses that inspire His mercy. Take warning from the verses of
admonition, and when reading them, promise your Lord your determination to act
upon His command, repenting, taking refuge in His mercy, seeking salvation.
When you read verses describing the praiseworthy qualities of the truly
faithful, think of your own qualities. Be thankful and praise Him for your good
qualities, and feel shame for the qualities missing in you, so mat you may hope
to find the character of the faithful in yourself. And when you read about the
faults of the nonbelievers and of the hypocrites who hide and distort the
truth, think about whether you are also afflicted with such faults. If you are,
try to stop them, to chase them away, to eliminate them. If you do not have
them, take refuge in Him, be thankful and praise Him.
What is essential for you is to be
heedful at all times, to be attentive to what comes into your mind and your
heart. Think about and analyze these thoughts and feelings. Try to control
them. Beware of the wishes of your ego, settle your accounts with it.
Have conscience, shame, in front of
Allah. That will be a motivation to make you heedful. You will then care about
what you are doing or saying or thinking, and the thoughts and feelings that
are ugly in the eyes of Allah will be unable to settle in your heart. Your
heart will then be safe from wishing acts not in accordance with Allah's
pleasure.[1]
Give value to your time, live in the
present moment. Do not live in imagination and throw your time away. Allah has
prescribed a duty, an act, a worship for your every moment. Know what it is and
hasten to do it. First perform the actions He has given to you as obligations.
Then do what He has given to you to do through the example of His Prophet. Then
take on what He has left you as voluntary, acceptable good deeds. Work to serve
the ones who are in need.
Do everything you do in order to come
close to your Lord in your worship and prayers. Think that each deed may be
your last act, each prayer your last prostration, that you may not have another
chance. If you do this, it will be another motivation for becoming heedful and
also for becoming sincere and truthful. Allah does not accept good deeds done
unconsciously and insincerely as readily as deeds done in consciousness and
sincerity.
Cleanliness is an order of Allah. Keep
your body and your inner self clean at all times. Whenever you make an ablution
make two cycles of prayer following it, except when you have to make an
ablution at times when praying is not permitted: at sunrise, at high noon, and
at sunset. Friday is an exception to that rule; it is permissible then to pray
at high noon.
Above all, what you need is high
morals, good character, proper behavior; you must identify your bad features
and rid yourself of them. Your relationship to whomever you come into contact
with must be based on the best of conduct - but what this means may vary with
conditions and circumstances.
Whoever neglects a single item of good
behavior is considered to have bad character. Men are created different from
each other. Their levels are different. Good behavior and character are also in
different levels. Behavior is not a form. It is not to act in the same way on
every occasion towards everyone. You have to consider each case, each person,
in accordance with the circumstance and. the need of the person. A good rule to
remember is that if a thing is done to bring salvation, truth, comfort, and
peace to others, to oneself, and to as many people as possible, protecting
them, eliminating pain and hardship, it is good behavior - on condition that it
is not done for personal benefit, but for Allah's sake. Is not man the servant
of Allah? Are not his life and his deeds dependent on divine predestination? He
is in a frame whose limits he, cannot leave. His will, his freedom of choice,
his destiny written on his forehead, are in the hand of the All-Powerful upon
whom all acts, all moves depend.
Proper behavior is the means by which
an intention becomes a good deed. Therefore it is the greatest capital in the
hand of the seeker. The proof is the word of the one who was brought with the
most beautiful character, the last prophet, Muhammad (peace and blessings be
upon him), who said, "I have been sent to perfect good behavior."
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
And the recompense of evil is
punishment like it, but whoever forgives and amends, his reward is with
Allah.... (Shura, 40)
The religious law says that you may
choose to demand your right or you may choose to leave it. Choose to leave that
which is due to you and forgive, instead of punishing, so that you will be
counted among the compassionate, the peaceful, the righteous, whose rewards are
promised by Allah.
It is also within good behavior to be
angry and to seek to punish when this is justified by the religious code. Anger
and its manifestation are one of the great sins if aroused by wrongs done to
you personally. But it is permissible and right and a part of correct behavior
and good character to become " "Use of something done against Allah
and His divine precepts, to manifest it, and to fight for Allah's sake. It is
best to separate yourself from people who do not believe in what you believe,
who do not do what you do, and who are against your faith. Yet at the same time
you should not think badly of them or condemn them for what they are. Your
intention in ignoring them should be that you prefer the company of believers.
Spend your time in remembering, glorifying, and worshipping Allah instead of being
with them. Treat well those who are dependent upon you: the people who work for
you, your children, your wives and husbands, your mothers, sisters, and
friends, the animals in your care, the plants in your garden. Allah has given
them into your hands to test you. You are in His care. Treat the ones in your
care as you want the One in whose care you are to treat you. The Messenger of
Allah says, "All of creation are Allah's dependents." He has left a
few of His dependents, such as your family, in you hands. That is why His
Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) says that the one who is best loved
by Him is the one who is best towards his dependents. Show love, compassion,
delicacy, generosity, and protection towards those who depend on you - and in fact,
to everyone. If you wish His compassion and protection, remember that you
yourself depend on the One, the lord and owner of all and everything.
Teach Allah's words in His divine book
and the good behavior of Islam to your children. Secure for them conditions in
which they can exercise what you have taught them. Do this without expecting
any return from them. From the very beginning, teach them to bear difficulty,
to have patience, to think. Do not place in their hearts the love of the world.
Teach them to dislike the things of this world that will render them proud -
luxuries, beautiful clothes, delicacies, excess of ambition - because all
these, if obtained, will be subtracted from the good due them in the hereafter.
Let them not get accustomed to good things; break their habits. Beware that
this, which may seem austere, should not bring forth in you the ugly character
of miserliness towards your children. Do it in respect and attachment to your
religion.
Do not seek to be close to the
heedless, to the ones who are slaves to the desires of their flesh. They take
hearts away from the light of truth and throw them into the dark hole of
heedlessness, as they did with their own hearts. If you are placed with them in
the same time and space, then face them and advise them. If they turn their
backs on you, it is because they do not know their fronts from their backs. Do
not stab them in the back. Be the same way to them whether they turn their
faces to you or their backs. Then they may like and respect you and perchance
they may be attached to you and follow you.
Do not be satisfied with your spiritual
state; advance. Advance ceaselessly, without interruption. With firm intention
pray to Allah, the Ultimate Truth, to bring you from the state in which you are
to a state beyond it. In every state, in every move, while doing a thing or
while being inactive, be sincere and truthful. Be with the Ultimate Truth. Do
not ever forget Him. Feel His presence always.
Learn to give, whether you have plenty
or little, whether you are happy or in pain. This is a proof of your faith in
Allah. Try to satisfy the needs of the needy. This is an affirmation that Allah
has assigned everyone's sustenance and nothing will change it. This is a proof
of your trusting in Allah.
A miser is a coward. The accursed Devil
whispers in his ear that there is no death, that he will live a long time; that
the world is hostile; that if he gives he will be left destitute, dishonored,
and alone; that he should not be fooled by the plenty that he now has, for no
one knows what will happen tomorrow. Worse still, if the miser has little, the
devil tells him that soon he will have even less. No one will help him; he will
be a load on others and will be detested. He has to look after himself. If
these evil imaginations capture the heart one may be led to he edge of
hellfire. On the other hand, the ones who give their ears to Allah hear His
blessed words. Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
...and whoever is saved from the
miserliness of his ego, these it is that find salvation. (Hashr, 9)
...whoever is miserly is miserly to
himself. (Muhammad, 38)
The final warning is:
If you turn back (on the path) He will
bring another people in your place. (Muhammad,
38)
That is to say, after having been
taught and after having been brought to the path of faith, if you begin or
continue to be a miser, you may lose your place, your level, and Allah's favor.
Someone else, who is generous and believes in Allah's generosity, will be
brought in your place.
The one who is niggardly has not
realized the terrifying meaning of Allah's words:
Destroy their riches and harden their
hearts. (Yunus, 88)
This is the curse of the prophet Moses
(peace be upon him) upon the Pharaoh. When Allah willed the destruction of
Pharaoh and his chief, the prophet Moses (peace be upon him) prayed to Allah,
the Absolute Judge, for them to be cursed with miserliness. With the effect of
this curse the Egyptians were afflicted with miserliness and envy. The poor and
the weak died of hunger and Allah judged the Pharaoh and his followers and
punished them because of their miserliness.
The ones who are cursed with stinginess
do not listen to the words of Allah's messenger (peace and blessings be upon
him), who says, "Allah has two angels next to Him who pray every morning,
'O Lord, increase Your bounties upon the ones who give, and take away what they
have from the ones who keep it!"'
When Hadrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be
pleased with him) wished to donate all that he possessed and brought it to the
blessed presence of our master, the Prophet of Allah asked, "What have you
put aside for he care of your family?" He responded, "I leave them in
the care of Allah and His messenger." When Hadrat 'Umar (may Allah be
pleased with him) brought half his fortune to donate and was asked the same
question, he answered, "I have left half of my goods for the sustenance of
my family." The prophet of Allah told them, "The difference between
you two is in accordance with your response to my question "
The one who gives from his sustenance
attracts; a more than he has given from the Ultimate Sustainer. The miser, in
addition to his sin of miserliness, accuses Allah Most High of stinginess and
prefers and trusts his miserable goods over the generosity of his Lord. This is
the unforgivable sin of attributing partners to Allah and may cause one to be
rejected from Allah's mercy and lose his faith, may Allah protect us.
Therefore, spend from what Allah has
given you. Do not fear poverty. Allah will give you what He has promised,
whether you or everyone asks for it or does not ask for it. No one who has been
generous has ever perished in destitution.
If you wish to find the truth and have
Allah's pleasure and support in it, then avoid being negative and control your
temper and anger. If you cannot stop anger, at least do not show it. When you
do this, you will please Allah and disappoint the devil. You will begin to
educate your ego and straighten and shorten your path. Anger is a result and a
sign of the ego not being under control, like a mean wild animal untied and
uncaged. As you hold your temper, it is as if you put a bridle on its head and
barriers around it. You begin then to tame it, teach it how to behave, to obey,
so that it cannot hurt others or itself (because it is a part of you).
When this discipline reflects from you,
revealing someone who can control his temper and hold his anger, your adversary
will be calmed. You will not be reacting to his provocations. You will not be
punishing him or responding to his negativity, but ignoring it. This is more
effective than punishing him. He may be led to see the reality of his acts, to
realize what is fair, and to confess his faults.
Give heed to this advice and make it a
habit. If you do, you certainly will see the positive result and the rewards
here and in the hereafter. You will be the winner on the day when your deeds
will be weighed. That is the greatest reward and the greatest grace that you
will receive. For if you hold your temper, the All Just will also hold back His
punishment for your sins, which are punishable by His divine wrath. Your
forgiving will be rewarded by His forgiving you. What better benefit may one
expect for effort in bearing hardship caused by your brothers and sisters in
faith?
Allah will treat you the way He has
ordered you to treat others. So try to assume the good qualities of being just,
peaceful, helpful, gentle, and loving. Persist in these qualities; act with
them. You will see that this character will spread from you to others around
you, creating harmony, mutual love, and respect. The Beloved of Allah, our
master the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), orders us to love each
other, to be in a continuous loving state. He repeats this in so many ways, in
so many statements. To leave anger, to replace it with bearing hardship, with
forgiving, with caring for the one who causes the hardship, is one of the
cornerstones of the foundation of love.
* * * * * *
Open your heart in order to receive
divine benevolence. A benevolent heart becomes the mirror in which Allah's
favors are manifest. When the divine favors manifest and come through you, when
you feel His presence, you will feel shame at your improper actions. This will
cause both you and others to have conscience. Thus your benevolence will
protect you and others from sin.
When the archangel Gabriel asked our
master the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "What is divine
benevolence?" The Last of the Prophets answered, "To pray and glorify
Allah as if you are in His presence, as if you see Him." Reverence
reflects in the heart of a believer who has reached the level of praying as if
he sees Allah.
Then our master the Prophet continued,
"For if you are unable to see Him, He certainly sees you." The one
who has reached that level of realization of divine benevolence will have
conscience. He will feel that gaze of Allah upon him and will be ashamed to
sin. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Conscience is
total good." If a believer has conscience, he is aware of what he is doing
and he cannot do wrong; Men a heart is filled with conscience, the possessor of
that heart encounters no harm either in this world or in the Hereafter. The
sign of a man with conscience is his lack of arrogance and self-importance. He
never oppresses or tries to dominate others. May you also reach the level of
benevolence and have conscience, and may you have the strength and foresight to
try to attain it.
* * * * * *
Wake before sunrise, remember Allah,
and repent. When repentance follows sin, it erases it The sin disappears as if
it never happened. When repentance follows a benevolent action or prayer, it is
like light upon light, grace upon grace. To remember Allah and to praise Him
unifies the heart when it is scattered all around - like a mirror broken into a
thousand pieces - and mends it, makes it into one, and turns it towards the
One. Then all trouble leaves the heart, and it is filled with the joy of the
One whom it remembers.
When your heart is filled to the brim
with remembrance, then read the Holy Qur'an. When you read, reflect upon the
meaning of what you have read. When verses remind you of His oneness and of His
being without likeness and free from all defect, praise Him. When you read
verses describing His blessings, bounties, generosity, and love or His wrath
and punishment, take refuge from Him in Him and beg for His mercy. When you
hear the parables about past prophets and their people, take heed and draw
lessons from what happened to them. There are infinite meanings within the
verses of the Holy Qur'an, within every word - changing with your states and
levels, knowledge and understanding. Therefore you cannot possibly be tired,
weary, or bored in reading them.
* * * * * *
Try to undo the knots of your
persistence in sinning. Knot over knot ties you up. How are you going to save
yourself? You will need the help of the one who tied those knots, your own
self. Talk to it, reason with it. Tell it: "O temporal flesh, you resent
listening to reason, but listen. Are you sure, as you inhale, that this is not
your last breath? Allah knows best, but the next breath may be your last in
this world to which you are so attached. Death will seize you by the throat;
yet you persist in piling wrong upon wrong, sin upon sin. The Ultimate Judge
warns the ones who persist in sinning with such punishment that mountains of
rock cannot bear it. How then can you, flimsy as a straw, imagine that you
could bear such horrible torments? Do not turn your back on me One who created
you. Face Him and repent. Do it now, without delay, for you do not know when
death will break you in two."
And repentance is not for those who go
on doing evil deeds, until when death comes to one of them he says, "Now I
repent ...... (Nisa', 17)
Say to the self: "Indeed, after
the aura of death has rendered you prostrate and life is fading away, if you
can remember at all and repent, that repentance will not be accepted by Allah.
The Prophet whom He sent as a mercy upon the universe said that though Allah
accepts your repentance until the time when your breath is being choked out of
you, at the moment of your death throes it is too late. Death comes without:
warning - to some while eating, to some while drinking, to others while
sleeping with their wives, to others in deep sleep from which they do not
awake. Whoever, before that, has not turned from falsehood to truth, has not
repented but persists in sinning, will fall into the abyss of death."
Talk this way to your self. Try to
discipline and educate the desires of your flesh. As. they are persistent in
sinning, be persistent in convincing them to stop sinning. If you keep warning
your lower self, with the help of Allah the knots binding your heart will be
untied. That is the only way to be saved.
* * * * * *
Fear Allah both in your actions and
deep in - your heart and thoughts. Fear of Allah is the fear of Allah's
punishment. Whoever truly fears the warnings of torment of the Absolute Judge
cannot but act in accordance with the pleasure of the Creator and seek the
right over the wrong. The Owner of the Final Word Himself said:
...and Allah cautions you against His
retribution.... (Al-Imran, 27)
... and know that Allah knows what is
in your minds, so beware of Him.... (Baqarah,
235)
The fear of Allah is a protection, the
thing that guards you from harm. Allah's protection is the strongest of all
armor, of all fortifications; no harm can penetrate it. That is what divine
fear secures for you. The Prophet of Allah, whom He sent as His mercy upon the
universe, himself took refuge in his lord. Praying to Him, he said, "I
take refuge in Your pleasure, in Your beauty, in Your gentleness, from Your
wrath and Your strength. I take refuge in Your divine mercy and compassion,
from your punishment. I take refuge in You from You."
Seek, learn about, and imitate K
beneficent acts of your Creator that manifest all around you. Protect yourself
against divine wrath with acts and deeds in accordance with Allah's pleasure.
Whatever act, whatever thing, whatever path is under the shadow of doubt and
fear, do not come close to it. Leave it. Know that knowing your Creator and
obeying Him is the only path that will lead you to peace and felicity. Revolt
and selfishness are a dead end. Only by gaining the divine consent can you save
yourself from your Lord's wrath. Only be entering the straight path can you get
out of the abyss of that dead end; only by actions proper to paradise can you
keep away from the fire. Allah says:
Fear Allah... and fear the Fire. (Al 'Imran, 130-31)
With the fear of Allah, rise away from
fire and towards felicity.
* * * * * *
While you persist in sinning and
stubbornly refuse to see your errors, why are you so proud that Allah treats
you with patience, kindness, and generosity in spite of your sins? Is it that
you are fooled by what the devil whispers in your ear, saying, "If it
weren't for your sins and your revolt, how would Allah manifest His infinite
mercy, compassion, and generosity?" Don't you see how irrational that evil
teaching is? Would it be less merciful and beneficent for the Owner of Infinite
Wisdom to prevent His servant from opposing His will and pleasure?
Then the devil may whisper in your ear
again: "You have no hope of attaining the level of benevolence of those
who are born with good character and obedience. They have come to this world
and shown their obedience to the will of Allah, gathered their Lord's mercy and
beneficence in this world, and left it. The real mercy, generosity, and
kindness of Allah will be manifest in the Hereafter on the Day of Judgment, Men
He judges His disobedient servants who need of His mercy."
Only someone who has lost his senses
could believe in and be deceived by such thoughts. Protect yourself against
such temptations and tell your devil: "What you say about Allah's infinite
patience and generosity towards His servants is true. Indeed, if there were no
revolt, disobedience, and sin, we would not see the manifestation of His divine
attributes. So many examples are related to us in the holy books and
statements. But you, evil one, are using the truth for your own purposes - so
that Allah's mercy be manifest, you encourage me to sin! You are trying to make
me revolt because Allah is patient and kind.
"You ask me to test Allah's mercy
and beneficence. How do you know, O accursed one, that I am of those who will
be forgiven? Indeed Allah forgives whom He wills and punishes injustice whom He
wills. How do I know to which party I belong? All I know is that I am full of
sin. And just as I was left in this world without the ability to repent and ask
His forgiveness, He may well refuse me His mercy before I enter hell and punish
me with the fire. Although one dies as one lives, and sin is the messenger of
disbelief, if I am fortunate and give my last breath as a believer, then He will
purify me in hellfire and take me out and give me peace in His mercy.
"If I knew for sure that there
were no day of reckoning with my sins, that there were no punishment, and if I
were certain that I would receive divine absolution, I might have considered
your twisted reasoning. Even then, it would be no better than admitting
foolishness, for it is certainly an unforgivable behavior for a servant to test
the patience of his Lord.
"On the other hand, even if I were
certain that I would receive divine punishment, the proper thing for me would
be shame and thankfulness for His delaying His punishment and spending of all
effort of which I am capable in trying to obey the commands of my Lord.
"I have not heard of any good word
that all sins will be forgiven. On the contrary, one is left free to choose
between the right and the wrong, and the Ultimate Judge is free to forgive or
to punish. In your case, though, O evil-commanding ego, there is no choice. You
are constant in your wish for the wrong and the forbidden!"
* * * * * *
Be chaste; chastity is to be cautious,
to try to abstain from all that is unclean and sinful. It is protecting
yourself from all that is doubtful and suspicious in and around you. When the
Messenger of Allah said: "Leave that which is doubtful and reach for that
which is sure," he was speaking of the necessity of abandoning things that
render you doubtful and hesitant, that create uncertainty, suspense, and fear
in your heart - and of turning towards things that render you secure and
peaceful.
It falls upon you to examine each act,
each word, each act of worship, each relation with others such as friendship or
marriage. You must find whether each thing is good or bad, clean or unclean,
right or wrong-in other words, lawful or unlawful. In some cases it is clear;
then you must choose the right over the wrong. In some cases it is doubtful;
then you must leave it as if it were wrong and seek that which is sure.
Follow the advice of the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him): Even if you feel in need of that which is doubtful,
even if you are unable to get anything else, do not take it; leave it for the
sake of Allah. This is chastity. Be sure that Allah will reward the chaste with
abundant goods much better than the doubtful thing that was abandoned. But do
not expect your reward immediately.
Chastity is the foundation of religion
and the path to truth. If you are chaste, all your deeds will be pure and
sincere; all you do will end well; you will be in harmony with the divine
order. You will be the recipient of divine generosity; all will turn to you.
You will be under divine protection. If you are chaste and pious, avoiding the
wrong and the doubtful, there is no doubt that you will receive all these
blessings. But if you turn your back to chastity and piety, the Absolute Judge
will place you in a shameful state - helpless, terrified. He will leave you by
yourself in the hands of your ego. Then you will be a toy for the devil, who
will find no resistance, no opposition to his tempting you, to his taking you
away from truth.
Spend all your effort to stay on the
path of piety, and may Allah help you.
* * * * * *
This world is a place of preparation
where one is given many lessons and poses many tests. Choose less over more in
it. Be satisfied with what you have, even if it is less than what others have.
In fact, prefer to have less.
This world is not bad - on the
contrary, it is the field of the hereafter. What you plant here, you will reap
there. This world is the way to eternal bliss and so is good - worthy to be
cherished and to be praised.
What is bad is what you do with the
world when you become blind to truth and totally consumed by your desires,
lust, and ambition for it. Our master the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him), in whom wisdom was as clear a crystal, was asked, "What is
worldliness?" He answered, "Everything that makes you heedless and
causes you to forget your Lord." Therefore the goods of this world are not
harmful in themselves, but only when you let them render you forgetful,
disobedient, and unaware of the Lord who has generously offered them to you. It
is your sense of the world, your relationship to it, your preference of it over
the One who gave it to you, that makes you insensitive and causes you to break
your connection with divine truth.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings be upon him) said, "Whoever prefers the world over the Hereafter
is made to suffer three things: an unbearable load that is never lightened; a
poverty that never becomes richer, and an ambition, a hunger, that is never
satisfied."
Therefore the one who lives for this
world alone is bound to bear its pains and difficulties - trying to resolve its
problems by himself, being totally dependent on it like a beggar, trying to
obtain the needs of his flesh and his ego from it. That flesh, that ego whose
appetite never knows satiation, whose ambitions are endless, is always wanting,
always hungry, always dissatisfied. These are the rewards of the world to those
who make the world their lord, forgetting the Lord of all the Universes.
This does not mean that you should
abandon the world, not do your duties in it or participate in its affairs -
retiring to a corner, making no effort, doing no work. The Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings be upon him) says, "Allah likes to see the believer
working at his profession." "Indeed Allah likes the one who has a
craft." "The one who earns his sustenance lawfully through his
efforts is beloved of Allah." These sayings mean that Allah's beneficence
encompasses all who work hard in a craft or business in this world. It is for
this reason that all the prophets worked for their sustenance.
It is related that one day Hadrat 'Umar
(may Allah be pleased with him) met a group of people who were sitting around
lazily doing nothing. He asked them who they were. "We are of those who
put their affairs in the hands of Allah, and we trust in Him," they
replied.
"Indeed you do not!" he
angrily responded. "You are nothing but freeloaders, parasites upon other people's
efforts! For someone who truly trusts in Allah first plants the seed in the
belly of this earth, then hopes and expects and puts his affairs in the hand of
the Sustainer!"
Some true theologians come close to
claiming work - in the professions, crafts, and businesses that are lawful
according to divine law - as a condition of faith. They have claimed that
certainty of faith is defined by the carrying out of religious obligations, and
that work is one of these. They based this on the verse:
But when the prayer is ended, disperse
abroad in the land and seek of Allah's grace, and remember Allah much that you
may be successful. (Jum'ah, 10)
Thus to leave the worldly and the world
does not mean not to do your duties in it.
Perhaps what is meant by being worldly
is giving yourself up solely to gathering the world's benefits. The worldly
person identifies with what he has gathered and is proud of it. Full of
ambition, he devotes himself to amassing the goods of this world without any
consideration of whether they are lawful or unlawful, his rightful portion or
the portion of others. Worse still is not to see any wrong in all this, to
think that it is the right way, the only way.
When the love of the world fills your
heart totally, it leaves no space for the remembrance of Allah. Forgetting the
hereafter, you prefer this temporal world. All that you need from the world is
something lawful to satisfy your hunger, something with which to cover
yourself, and a roof over your head. Let these be the only things you ask from
this world, nothing more. Don't be envious of the apparent temporal abundance
the world-bound seem to enjoy, nor wish for the riches they have gathered
without any consideration of right or wrong, of lawful or unlawful. How long
does one stay in this world?
Someone who chooses this temporal world
over the true good of the eternal Hereafter will never reach his goal, either
here or there. For the ambition of one who is ambitious for this world will
never be satisfied. Don't you see that the Maker of Destiny decides your lot in
this world, and that you receive neither more nor less than what you are
destined to receive? Whether you care or not, what Allah has set forth does not
change. Whether we want more or not, we can only attain that which is reflected
in the mirror of our destiny. Allah says:
We portion out among them their
livelihood in the life of this world. (Zukhruf,
32)
But people who take this world as their
god have endless wants, and those wants of theirs that are not appointed to
them, they will never receive. Thus they will be dissatisfied and unhappy all
of their lives and in the Hereafter they will have to face the wrath of Allah.
The desires of this world are like sea
water. The more you drink of them, the more you thirst. The Messenger of Allah
likened this world to a garbage heap in order to tell you to keep your distance
from it. Be satisfied with the portion of it that Allah has included in your
fate. Whether you like it or not, that will be your lot. Allah advised and warned
the prophet Moses (peace be upon him), "O son of Adam, if you are
satisfied with what I have apportioned to you, I will set your heart at rest
and you are worthy of praise. But if you are not satisfied with what I have
apportioned to you, I will grant the world power over you. You will race in it
as a wild beast races in the desert. And by My power and majesty, you will not
receive from it anything but what I have apportioned to you, and you will be
worthy of blame!"
This means that man will attain peace
of heart and the level of Allah's praise and grace if he accepts and is content
with his lot in accordance with Allah's divine apportionment. On the other
hand, if you do not accept the lot that is your fate, Allah will render the
world, which you so desire, your enemy. The world will become like a desert to
a hungry animal. You will run and run and tire yourself without being able to
find anything in it. Allah vows for the world-bound that no matter how they run
after the world, they will receive nothing more than their lot The only things
they will receive beyond that are fatigue, dissatisfaction, and disgrace.
Let us suppose that Allah has bestowed
upon you all the goods of this world, all the material properties of which you
may conceive - how much can you use besides the food and drink your stomach can
take, the clothing that will cover your body, and a place to live? The humble
of this world have no less, yet they are much better off. For they are at
peace, without worry, in this world; and certainly in the hereafter they have
less to account for.
Do not exchange your spiritual peace
and the possibility of eternal bliss for the temporal, decaying goods of this
world. No matter how grand and secure they look, they will die when you die.
Death may come in your next step upon this earth, and all your dreams of this
world will evaporate.
As the world-bound are sons of this
world, there are also people bound for the hereafter, sons of the hereafter. As
the Messenger of Allah advised, "be sons of the hereafter, bound for
eternity, not temporal sons of the earth who will return to the earth."
Read these words of your Lord and abide by them:
Whoever desires this world's life and
its finery, We repay them their deeds therein and they are not made to suffer loss
in it. These are they for whom there is nothing but fire in the hereafter. And
what they work therein is fruitless, and their deeds are vain. (Hud, 15-16)
Whoso desires the harvest of the
hereafter we give him increase in his harvest, and whoso desires the harvest of
this world, We give him thereof, and he has no portion in the hereafter. (Shura, 20)
* * * * * *
AFTERWORD
May the Eternal Truth wake you from the
slumber of heedlessness. May He make you aware of the origin, to which we will
all return and in which we will all remain for the rest of eternity.
May the Divine Seer of all and
everything open your inner eye, so that you can see and remember what you have
done and said all through your life in this temporal realm of experiments. Then
you will know and always remember that you must account for it all and that you
will be judged on the day of final judgment.
Do not leave your accounting to the Day
of Reckoning. This is the place and the time to do it. See yourself., close
your accounts. The only way to salvation is to go into the Beyond clean and
clear of debts. Give heed to the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him) who said, "Make your accounting before it is made for you, weigh
your sins before they are weighed for you." Examine your life; weigh your
transgressions against your good deeds. Do it while you still have time in this
world of numbered breaths, while you can, before you are left alone in that
dark hole in the ground.
While you are alive, your worldly self
is like a collector of benefits from Allah's bounties, which come to you from
myriads of hands. What you receive is not really yours; you are like a cashier
who distributes what he has received, and you are responsible for the
accounting of it.
If you do not do this today, be sure
that tomorrow on the burning Day of Reckoning you will scream and ask for help.
No one will come to your aid. You will. hear the divine voice coming from the
center of all divine orders, the voice of the Absolute Punisher who punishes
the guilty, reducing them to nothing. it will be saying:
Read your book. Your own soul is
sufficient as a reckoner against you this day. (Bani Isra'il, 14)
Hasn't the Lord sent you messengers;
hasn't He shown you the right way; hasn't He ordered you to remember Him and
praise Him day and night? Hasn't He given you time within the day and within
the night to follow His orders?
If you wait until the last minute, you
will receive no good from your regret. If you insist on waiting and delay the
accounting of yourself, know that all doors and windows will be closed to you
and you will be left outside. If this is the case, know that there is no other
door, no other place in which to seek refuge. There is no place to go - for you
or for anyone or anything in the creation - except Allah's door of mercy. Go
and kneel at its sill. Shed tears of repentance and beg for entrance. Try and
see what is behind the curtains.
There are three dangers which may keep
you from examining yourself making the accounting of your acts, and being
thankful to your generous Lord. The first of these dangers is unconsciousness,
heedlessness. The second is the flood of tastes and desires that gush from your
ego, your lower self. The third is bad habits, in fact all habits, which make one
like a machine. The one who can protect himself against these three dangers,
with Allah's help, will find salvation in both worlds.
Blessings be upon our master Muhammad
and his progeny and his companions - in all tongues, in all places, and at all
levels.
Whoever
theorizes his religion
offends against the Way of God, and
peace. Heretic!
Deviate toward the Law! Don't
complicate.
All that is forbidden. All this learned
talk
is ignorance. Station and state discard
it.
It's not discussion: Religion's what my
Lord said
or what he said - the master guide, the
envoy
(and peace be his) - for he said not a
word!
Footnotes
[1] Al-Shaykh
al-Akbar. Hadrat Ibn 'Arabi had a shaikh who used to write down on a piece of
paper everything he did or said during the day. At night he would make an
accounting of that day's words and actions. If he had done wrong, he would
repent and ask forgiveness; and if he had done right, he would offer thanks to
Allah. Hadrat Ibn 'Arabi noted not only what he did and said, as his shaikh had
done, but also his thoughts and feelings.