knowledge of the heart

The Prophet (S.A.W) said:
"Knowledge is of two kinds:
there is knowledge of the heart.That is the knowledge that is of benefit.Then knowledge of the tongue. The latter is Allah's proof for the child of Adam."

Heart knowledge (ilmu 'l-qalb) has nothing to do with what heart means in today's language. Heart knowledge is above the senses. Indeed it is beyond the intellect. It represents the core or the lubb of human reality.

The Prophet (S.A.W) said:
"The hearts of the children of Adam are like a single heart between two of the fingers of the All Merciful.  He turns it wherever He desires.  O Allah, Turner-of-Hearts, turn our hearts toward obeying Thee."

EYE OF HEART & TUNNEL OF EGO

There are many different ways to make people to reach to Heavens. These ways are according to the different capacities abilities and characteristics of people. We use methods depending on the understanding of people and their beliefs. This is done according to their Will Power. What is most important is the Will Power of those who really want. Therefore we must see the level on which they are at that time so that we can take them from that point to their heavenly stations either slowly or quickly.

Therefore we first ask of the seekers whether they are willing to be trained for their heavenly stations. That will power must come from the seekers themselves. Then the master of the Tariqat will give them something according to that level. Sometimes they do not give anything as it become first necessary to change certain characteristics within them, which will make them free to start moving upward. Sufi masters must have the Spiritual Powers so that when they look at someone they will know their capacity. It is important not to give anyone more than what they can carry. If he is overloaded he can be lost.

We are on the level of being seekers and not even yet beginners. We must prepare ourselves and try to command our egos not to oppose what we ask. The main hindrance for each one is their ego. It does not want you to go towards Heavens as the ego is connected to the lowest level. The ego knows that if you leave it that it would be left forever and it will not be able to control you anymore. Therefore this is a battle between our egos and our souls. This is why we are trying to trick our egos so that it will not object to our need to reach the Heavens. Therefore when you are able to control yourself at the lowest level, which is your ego, then it would become easy to improve little by little towards Heaven.

The Sufi masters give instructions, but then you must practice. If you are intending to do something you must ask me to help you and then my Spiritual Support will be with you. Anyone who asks for heavenly ways must find a Holy Person who knows his student’s capacities and abilities. When you have found him and when your heart is hundred percent confident of him then he will be your guide and he will take you upwards. This is like a train engine that is in front and it can still carry fifty or sixty wagons with it. Sometimes a second engine will join from behind and then it will be very easy.

The first step for anyone must be to find within himself a demand for Heavens. When that is ready your Lord will assign someone for you. He will make you meet some of those people who know the way. When you have found him you can put your hook onto him and relax. At every station unless it is underground you will find so many different views that you have never seen before, but until you have cut the tunnel of your ego you will not have any visions but you will continue to travel underground. When you have conquered your ego, you will find new Worlds and new views that you have never seen before.

This is why you must be patient. You must not say, I am not seeing, hearing or feeling, any of these new visions, hearings or understandings. Don’t ever say that. Maybe the tunnel of your ego is a short one and you can cut it easily and find yourself in endless distances designed with beautiful things, which you did not ever imagine before. Some people however continue traveling within their tunnels until the very end of their lives, but still they must keep to that way because at least in the last moment they will finish the tunnel of their ego, cut it and find the opening.

We must now be patient to find someone who may be suitable for our path and in whom we can find confidence to follow. He will take us out of our egos. We will then move from darkness to light. Beware and take care to keep your station with that train and then one day, it could be in the morning or in the evening, it can be anytime, you can cut it and enter into a new life, new vision and a new World. Darkness will vanish and you will find the light. It is necessary first to have the desire in your heart. Develop it with your guide and improve it. When the engine reaches the destination, you will also get there.

All masters are moving towards Heaven and through the Seven Heavens. But first you must cut the tunnel of your ego. There are forty-one different kinds of ways. All of them help us cut the tunnel of our egos. When you reach out of that tunnel you will find that there are no more bad desires remaining with you. You will be pure. At that moment you will taste the Sweetness of Lights, the Sweetness of Mercy, the Sweetness of Beauty, the Sweetness of Love, the Sweetness of Knowledge, the Sweetness of Wisdom, the Sweetness of Will Power and the Sweetness of Perfection.

Until then you must be patient and follow. You must not say, Oh, how long do I have to follow without seeing anything? No, the tunnel is according to your ego, long or short. May Allah grant you to reach your Heavenly Stations; you will then be happy, absolutely happy.

THE HIDDEN APTITUDES and its APPEARANCE

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) never gained any rank through his devotions or actions.  As a proof of this, look at this  (Hadith) of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W): Oh Allah, don’t leave me to my works, my actions, my devotions even for the time it takes to blink an eye or less than that.  This hadith indicates that the Prophet (S.A.W) never depended on his own works and devotions, but always hoped for Allah’s causeless mercy, and that his rank was not a result of any actions on his part.  Grandsheikh added: Even if Allah Almighty was going to recompense the Prophet (S.A.W) for his devotions, the Prophet (S.A.W) would not accept that.  How could he, the Prophet (S.A.W), accept a payment when even members of his Nation (Ummah) of lesser rank than him ? Saints and sincere believers  would never accept any payment or recompense for their acts of worship; in fact, no real believer would accept anything, because he is worshipping purely to gain his Lord’s pleasure.

Allah Almighty has given to each person a nature suitable for a certain rank (Fitra).  For example, you have a competence or aptitude (Ahliyya) for the Naqshabandi Way; no one can in any way change or alter that competence . it has to appear.  Just as different seeds have different unalterable natures hidden within them, so each son of Adam has a distinct aptitude granted to him by his Lord, granted according to the Divine Will alone, and at all times independent of our actions and devotions.  Sooner or later everyone’s aptitude must appear; don’t be hopeless because those qualities may now yet be hidden, for you must know that at any time Allah Almighty decrees, those qualities will appear and that appearance will not be connected in any way to our actions or devotions, but will be purely a grant from Him, the Almighty.  These words lead us to new horizons of understanding and open up vast areas of inner wisdom to explore  these good tidings should fill us with contentment.

Shah Naqshaband said: In our view, one’s having the competence for this Tariqat is more important a fact than his being a muslim or believer.  Why ? Because that capability which Allah Almighty has granted us is what is important, then, with our actions Islam and Iman will appear.  But that secret capability or aptitude from Allah Almighty is most important.

You may do all the good actions asked of you by Islam and Iman, but that capability which you have been granted is more important to Allah; therefore, the Prophet’s (S.A.W) hadith says: Allah is not looking to our outward actions, but to our hearts.  With His looking to our hearts, that worthy . nature is going to be ever more inundated with Divine Lights  more beautiful and complete.  But we are merely doing good actions with our bodies, while the heart and its movements in relation to its Lord are much more important.

The importance of that worthy-nature and of our realizing it is expressed in  the following story:  Once the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) was addressing his companions after the night time prayer (Isha) saying: Oh my companions, it is the same for every one of you whether he prays and does good actions or not, because the ranks that Allah Almighty has granted to you are neither going to decrease or increase , the ink of pre-destiny has dried, and what He has granted you must reach you . no more and no less , no matter what you do.

What was the reply of the companions  - They said : Oh Prophet, if it is like that, why the do we tire ourselves out and inflict suffering upon ourselves with all these devotions and good actions. Why do we get up on cold nights and come to the mosque from far distances in the darkness.  Why do we forsake our wives loving embraces every morning to come here?  From now on we shall not come here so early to pray but shall remain with our wives in hot beds; this is very good news for us.  The Prophet (S.A.W) replied: You are free to do as you like; come or don’t come  no one is forcing you.

That night they left the mosque with the intention of staying comfortable in their beds the next morning.  When the last part of the night had begun to show signs of giving way to the oncoming dawn, Bilal, the Prophet’s (S.A.W) Muezzin, began to recite devotional poetry from the minaret, as was his habit in the morning before calling for the prayer (Adhan), in order to awaken people in ample time for coming to the mosque.  On this particular morning, as soon as he started reciting, all of the companions awoke with a start.  They said to themselves, We told the Prophet (S.A.W) that we won’t be coming this morning; we must remain in our beds.  However, in spite of themselves, they threw aside their blankets, sprang from their beds, made ablutions (Wudu) and hurried off to the prayer.

When the Prophet (S.A.W) entered the mosque that morning, he looked around and saw that it was full of worshippers, then he said: Oh people, oh my companions, you intended something last night, and were firm in your resolve . what happened to you that made you come when you said that you wouldn’t??  They replied: We swear to Allah that when we heard the call to prayer, our beds became like thorn bushes or as beds of nails, and lying in them was like lying on fire .we couldn’t remain there even for one moment, so we jumped out and hastened to answer the call to prayer.

The Prophet (S.A.W) then said: Every creature may find ease only in behaving according to his particular competence (Ahliyya).  It is that ahliyya, that worthy-nature which Allah put in your hearts that made you move from your beds despite the intention to the contrary which you made last night.  Everyone is born with the nature of Islam (Fitra), and in his deepest heart is always yearning to re-discover that nature; this secret is inside every son of Adam, and this is what made you get up.

For these reasons, the Prophet (S.A.W) was in no way afraid that his companions would really leave worship because of having learned those truths.  Also, inheritors of the Prophet (S.A.W) are not afraid to reveal some truths to their followers, because that hidden nature which Allah put in their hearts will make them do, make them come despite their desires.

if the Prophet (S.A.W) declared that his worshipping was as nothing and that he never could depend upon it . how can we depend upon our worship?  If two prostrations of the Prophet’s (S.A.W) devotions were put in a scale and weighed up against the combined devotions of the Nations, his two prostrations would be heavier; and if his declaring the Unity of Allah once (La ilaha illa llah) was weighed up against the sins of all the sons of Adam, it would destroy all of those sins.  From this you can understand what the power and rank of our Prophet (S.A.W) is in the Divine Presence.

Neither our Prophet (S.A.W) nor any other Prophet is in need of sacrificing himself in the way the Christians claim that Jesus Christ made himself a sacrificial lamb for Allah or for the sake of his Nation:  this is a shameful thing to say.  It is enough to say once  La ilaha illa llah, no need for human sacrifice.  When Allah Almighty, desiring to try His servant, ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son, at the last moment, He withdrew His order for the slaughter and sent a ram down from the Heavens instead.  So how is He going to make Jesus Christ a lamb, an offering for the sins of the world?  This is a very ugly and unfounded claim.

The Last Prophet (S.A.W) and all Prophets before him were given Divine Powers with which to guide people to the straight path  no need for them to be lambs for Nations.

Despite the high value of our Prophet’s (S.A.W) devotions, he does not depend upon them and awaits no payment for them from Allah, but he performs them only for Allah’s good pleasure that is his goal.  Everyone may ask at this, what use is our worshipping, our acting?  No one can do any worship that is suitable for our Majestic Lord.  No one can worship his Lord as He deserves to be worshipped  beside His Greatness all is as nothing  but we have been ordered, and so we are carrying out those orders.

Sayyidina Ali, who said regarding ladies: Nothing good comes from them, but no one can live without them.  Ali’s wife, the Prophet’s (S.A.W) daughter Fatima, said to Ali: We are like roses, from time to time you must smell them, and otherwise you are useless.  Similarly, nothing is coming from our worship  it is useless , useless, that is, for giving adequate respect to our Majestic Lord; it is impossible to give absolute respect with such worshiping, but as we have been ordered, so we must do and whether useless or not, we cannot depend upon it?.

This is a reality that one must be aware of, and when you understand this point it will prevent you from becoming proud of your devotions, and that is very important, as whoever becomes proud of his devotions falls down, like Satan.  The very worst thing for a servant is to look at himself and say: Oh, how good I am, I am such an obedient servant of my Lord! and to look at others, saying: Look at them, they don’t do any worshipping, but we do!

We have been ordered to build ladders to the moon  builders of skyscrapers are puffed up with pride over their accomplishments, and look down with disdain on the people on the ground, saying : Oh you lazy people, we have already reached to the sky while you are still like miserable little ants on the ground.  They may say this, but no matter how high they build their skyscrapers, even if they pile stone upon stone eternally, they will never reach the moon in that way it is impossible.  What is important is to listen to the orders of Allah Almighty and to obey them as best we can, and although we will never reach the moon, perhaps we may be better than one who doesn’t try, because we carry out orders, and it is better to try even if we know that ultimate success is impossible to attain in this manner . we must do it out of respect for the Lord.  In every religion, every Prophet came to teach us this point.

THE LADDER and THE MOON

There was  a great Wali (saint) and lover of the Prophet, Ibn Omar Es-Safadi, was saying: If a person leaves everything and abstains from action, saying that he need not act because he trusts in his Lord and that his Lord is sufficient for him and will provide what His servant is in need of, then that person has become an unrighteous and sinful person.

There is a certain distance which servants must advance, and only when that distance has been covered and its limit crossed, that servant may say, From here on I leave everything to my Lord and from this point on I entrust all my affairs to my Lord!  For example, a farmer plows his field and plants corn, then he leaves it and has the right to just wait until the harvest yields, but if a person is not plowing and not planting, but just saying, I am trusting in my Lord to give me corn at harvest time, he is indeed far astray in his thinking and actions.  You must be aware of your duty and carry it out.  You can’t bring rain, you can’t force the corn to grow and bring forth cobs, but you can plan and plow then you can trust in your Lord to finish what you have begun.  This is what true trust in Allah (Tawakkul) is like.

This is a very important point, and one often misunderstood, especially in European countries, where people raise objections to Islam, claiming that Islam tells people that they need not work, and should depend only on their Lord’s favours.  In the present time even in the Muslim world, the younger generation is saying that Islam is the cause for the backwardness of their countries , but this is the result of wrong understanding.  In fact, what Islam tells us is that we may begin a work with our own action, but it is Allah who completes, and that the success of any endeavor is ultimately in His Hands.

This is a world of causes.  We are in need of causes and must hold on to them in this life, because miraculous doings may occur sometimes for Prophets and Saints, but not for everyone.  For that reason we have been ordered by our Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), to hold to causes so that we may witness effects and obtain results.  Allah Almighty says that no one reaches anything in this world without acting , he must act and see the results.  So, to act is a command from Allah Almighty and therefore we must not just sit down without movement and without action.  Trusting in Allah, or leaving your affairs to Allah, is correct only after we have finished our duty.

Sometimes in Tariqats, Sheikhs may try a murid(disciple) by ordering him to abandon every cause, to not seek his own means of existence.  But such cases are only rare exceptions and not the general rule , the general rule is to seek means, as Allah commands.

I am not mentioning it here in the context of worldly works, or actions for this life, but rather I am  referring to effort required of us for reaching heavenly stations and Divine Knowledge Oceans.  We  must strive and do good actions as much as we can, and when we finish, after doing our utmost, Allah Almighty will lift us up.  If we are asking for heavenly stations and miraculous powers, we must first struggle and not just say, Allah may give us, or, My action is not sufficient for me to reach such heavenly stations.

A good analogy to illustrate this point is this one:  Someone was given a broken pick and spade and was told: Take these instruments and dig up all seven layers of the Earth until you reach the end where you will find your treasure.  Do you think that it is possible to reach it with a broken pick and spade  - Of course not, but despite this you must dig as best as you can and not give up, saying, How can I perform this feat?  Your duty is to dig little by little, and your Lord is looking after you so that when He sees that you are firmly believing and working as ordered, He will send His Help just as you have reached the point of exhaustion and can’t do more.  At that time He will send a huge machine that will dig up your treasures for you instantly and effortlessly.  Because you are a powerless servant carrying out His order, He will bring your treasure up for you with His power, not yours.  He is only testing you: are you listening, believing, and obeying.  If you begin, He will finish, but if you say, It is impossible for even the largest machines . so how shall I ever do it?, you will be banned from the Divine Presence.  If you begin your digging in spite of the obvious impossibility of the task, then Allah’s Holy Verse in the Quran will apply to you:

Allah does not burden anyone beyond his capabilities.

We are not claiming that we will attain all heavenly stations as a result of our practices; we are only doing what our power enables us to do and, in reality, to reach the goal by means of our practices is like trying to reach the moon with a ladder; even if all the world’s ladders were tied together you couldn’t reach it . its impossible; but we must try anyway, for perhaps one night from the moon there will descend a ladder to meet our ladder, and at that time it may be possible to go up, but for us to build up to the moon  never.  We must do our duty.  Allah says that doing our duty is the cause of our reaching to Heavens, but you must know that it is not enough.  We know that ladders go up, but not to the moon.  This is the precise meaning of Tariqat, and we are not cheating people: if one is working with sincerity, our Lord may send a ladder at any time from the moon to take you up, but you must do your work, and trust in your Lord.

Many people are reading in books about miraculous happenings, and sometimes our ego asks for us to be one of these miracle-makers.  Tariqat is the way to be able to perform miracles, but we are not working in order to be able to do such things, but only for our Lord’s pleasure.  When He is pleased with us, He will also make us pleased with Him, and at that time you won’t be able to even look at or consider miraculous doings; it is only your ego asking to perform such feats.

THE OCEANS OF MERCY( Faith granted to everyone)

The gates of Paradise are open for all to enter; and according to the hadith of the Holy Prophet, Allah Almighty has parceled out Paradise, assigning to everyone his portion, and not allowing anyone to occupy the portion that has been assigned to another.  What this means is that Allah Almighty has given to His servants before they ever ask for anything, has given with a generosity that is absolute, as He doesn’t wait for us to ask that then He may give us according to our requests, He gives unbesought.


Allah Almighty treats His people in this life with the absolute Mercy emanating from His Divine Name Ar-Rahman (The All-Beneficent).  No one can fall outside of the bounds of a mercy and a beneficence that is boundless, as is the mercy implicit in the Holy Name Ar-Rahman.  Don?t ever think that the mercy oceans belonging to this Divine Name has any shore ? no ? they are boundless and endlessly deep, and so they ever will remain.  You must know that Allah is never going to take back anything which He has granted to His servants, and that even to think such a thing is unbelief (Kufr) and the worst thought that we can think about our Lord.  Yes, our Lord gave to us all a grant never ending, and that grant is faith.


This is not knowledge of the sort that we may be accustomed to hearing ? it may seem new and strange to our ears, but nonetheless it is the truth from the secrets which are opened up day by day to the Saints (Awliya).  Allah Almighty granted faith to the Sons of Adam on the Day of Promises, the day when the souls of all the descendants of Adam were brought forth from his backbone and asked by their Lord: ?Am I not your Lord??  We were all present on that day? Looking to our Lord, talking to Him, knowing Him? and we replied: ?Yea, verily.  We testify that You are our lord.  (Surat-ul-Araf : 172).


That faith was granted to everyone, but Divine Wisdom decreed that in this life some people?s faith would remain covered while that of others would appear.  The Holy Prophet said in regards to this: ?The hearts of the Sons of Adam contain treasures, and the keys to the hearts are in the Hand of our Lord.?  Therefore, if He is not going to open the hearts, no one can- not even His Beloved Muhammad, for whose sake the whole creation was created.

If you understand that faith is present in all of mankind, you must be very respectful towards each one of them and you must understand that only with Allah Almighty?s permission are you believing and showing your faith, while someone else is not showing faith only because his Lord has not opened it up for him.  You must understand the matter like this, and never say about anyone, ?He is an unbeliever?, - who can know what will be the state of any person at the end of his life?  The key to the hearts is in the Hand of the Almighty, and what will become of each person in the end is a secret known in its entirety only to Allah Himself; even the Prophet can only know something about this matter within defined limits.  On the Day of Promises, Allah Almighty granted faith to His servants, and He is not going to take it away from them? Perhaps they will declare their faith upon breathing their last breath? Such is Allah’s mercy.  Allah Almighty is keeping and hiding so many mercy oceans which are destined for His servants. 

(A question was asked) : Maulana, it is easy enough for me to understand how someone who dies a slow death from a long and torturous disease may have time to reflect on his life, and realizing his helplessness, believe and turn to Allah in repentance (Taubah) even though he was the most stubborn unbeliever and evildoer up until that time; but what I  can’t comprehend is how someone who is, for example, shot and killed while in the act of committing a heinous crime, may attain repentance despite the suddenness of his death.


(Answers is  Allah may create time within time.  The time that it takes that bullet to kill him may seem very short to us, but for that person Allah may make it a very long instant indeed, long enough for him to reflect upon his whole life and repent unto his Lord.  Isn’t Allah Almighty capable of extracting a confession from His slave?? He most certainly is.

(Question) :But, Maulana, how shall we understand all the verses of Quran which speak about eternal Hell with no exit?


(Answer) : Allah Almighty says in one verse of the Quran : And we don’t send our verses (Ayat) except to frighten (Takhweefeh). In other words, To scare the hell out of people.?  For example, you may say to your son,If you don’t stop doing that I will kill you!  In reality, you are never going to do any such thing, but that warning may just be sufficient to make him listen to what you are saying and to desist from that disliked action.

(Question) Maulana, why is it that the meanings we derive when we read the Quran seem to contradict the hidden meanings which you are uncovering?

(Answer) : Here I have some salt; it is a white powder that we use in most of our foods.  Who could guess that it consists of two poisons that would kill whoever consumed them? Also, here we have some water,who could guess that it consists of two gases ? two hydrogen atoms and one of oxygen.  He who knows, knows, and he who doesn’t know sees only the obvious and apparent.  The latter may deny, but his denial won’t make him right. 
                               

                                  My Mercy outdoes My Anger


Similarly, people read the Holy Quran and understand it on their respective levels; they may deny anything beyond their level of understanding, but their denial doesn’t decrease in the least the validity of the deeper truth, truth which cannot be gained merely through outward study, but is given as a grant from the Divine Presence. 

The final results of our actions (Aqiba) and Allah’s manner of judging them, pointed to Allah’s word: My Mercy outdoes My Anger, and he said: For me, these are the greatest good tidings, as it gives me hope of my safety from Hell to know that Allah Almighty’s Mercy will come and cover everything on the Last Day.


That Divine Forgiveness will cover so many people on that day; and the Prophet said that even Satan will be seeking forgiveness, and hoping that it may come to him also, but more than this the Prophet didn’t say.


Nothing from the actions of Allah Almighty’s servants will be a burden on Allah; don’t ever think that it could be.  Now, listen carefully to the following description which is recorded in the Holy Books: on the Day of Judgment, Allah Almighty will order a person to Hell, and the Angels will grab him and start dragging him to the fire.  When he realizes that this is really happening he will turn to his Lord and say: Oh my Lord, I never thought that You would really put me in the fire of Hell.  Allah then orders: Bring him back.  He was such an evil person, did so many dark deeds and listened always to the dictates of his lower self, but he never lost hope in his Lord’s Mercy for him and His reprieving him from Hell.  We can be proud of being our Lord’s servants, even if we are not obedient ones , proud that He is such a merciful Lord who will reprieve so many of us from the jaws of Hell, and admit them to Paradise.

There are different stations for each person in Paradise that Allah gave without their ever having been asked for; that is His favour and His grant unto His servants which he has communicated to them through His Prophets.  even disobedient servants will also finally attain Allah Almighty’s Mercy,  With Allah’s Endless Mercy everyone should finally enter Paradise.  Such considerations, however, are for the common people, and we are not seeking to stay at that level.  We are asking for the highest station, the greatest pleasure, the highest degree for His servants: the stations of Ridwan-Allah-ul-Akbar.  With those servants our Lord will be absolutely pleased, and they, in turn, will be absolutely pleased with their Lord.


Here is the answer to a question that anyone who is striving hard in the way of his Lord and obeying his commandments may ask: Why should we make a great effort to please Allah if there is a good chance that he will forgive us anyway??  The answer is: The degrees in the Divine Presence of those who have made efforts must differ from the degrees of those who were complacent in this life.                      
                    

                                             The Two Paradises


There are two Paradises: one of them is the real Paradise and the other is but a shadow or copy of it.  Allah Almighty is going to give to His servants according to what were their wishes and desires in this life.  Whoever was satisfied with this life’s pleasures, and preferred them to the love of his Lord, asking for ever more pleasures in everything of this world, and giving the love of Allah the second place in his heart, Allah will give him what he loves most: a Paradise full of pleasures: splendid gardens, luxurious castles and lovely virgin girls , all these gifts will be of a beauty unimaginable, incomparable to any beauty on Earth.

The original Paradise in the Divine Presence and the highest station (Maq’adu Sidq) is entirely different from the shadow Paradise.  The Prophet said that in that Paradise there are no palaces, no gardens and no girls.  In their place one will find the Lord’s smiling, radiant Countenance.  In the first Paradise, the shadow Paradise, the people will regard their Lord’s Divine Countenance once a week at the time that we now pray the weekly congregational prayer (Salat ul-Juma).  When they take a look at His Face they will forget all else; the Divine lights from His Divine Face will make them forgetful of everything else, this will occupy them until the veils of Majestic Grandeur are lowered; then they will return to their selves.  When they are gazing at their Lord’s Countenance, they are taken from themselves and are no more there, but when the Veil of Grandeur is lowered, the inhabitants of that Paradise come to themselves and proceed to enjoy their paradisiacal pleasures more than ever , everything will appear new and full of more light than before.  But for those who worked in this life for His pleasure, Allah is taking them to His Divine Presence and not letting them out.  That is the real Paradise.  Our Grandsheikh was saying that to be in the Divine Presence for only one second, he would give all the eight Paradises ? it is so valuable an experience.

In general, the people now living in this life like it more than they like the worship of their Lord, for which they are making only minimal efforts.  In their hearts, this life takes the first place and Allah takes the second; in the afterlife, they will find everything according to what was their liking here on Earth.  The inhabitants of both Paradises will be perfectly pleased with their Lord: those who are in the Divine Presence will be pleased, and the inhabitants of the Gardens will also be pleased , everyone will be content.  Now, you are all free to chose: If you prefer physical enjoyments, you will find what you are accustomed to, but if, in this life, you cultivate love for your Lord in your hearts, then, in that life, you will find His Presence.

For each group there will be eternal improvement. Everyone will be improving within their stations.  Allah Almighty will bestow on them ever increasing bounties, always corresponding to their levels.  For example, an immature child is not going to enjoy the company of adults. He will rather seek the company of other children ? just as an adult will not be content among children; and so, in the afterlife, each will blossom on his own branch and will never look to his position as being in the least deficient: there will be no envy on the part of the inhabitants of the lower Paradise in regards to those of the higher realms, for their satisfaction with their Lord’s favour will be complete.                                                  

                                                  The effigy


 A QUESTION WAS ASKED AT THIS POINT: Maulana, in the light of these good tidings from the secrets of the Holy Quran, namely: that Allah’s Mercy encompasses all, that the mere assumption of Allah’s Mercy is sufficient for attaining it, and that neither body nor soul will shoulder the blame for bad actions and will thus escape punishment, in the light of these teachings the element of fear seems to be negated.  So many of us came to Islam because of the fear of Hell that we feel when we read about it in the Holy Quran; won’t this news of Allah’s All-Embracing Mercy eliminate the fear of Hell as a deterrent of bad actions,

Answer:

We can understand that punishment is Allah’s way of purifying the servant for his entry into bliss.  Many people will suffer in their graves, on the Day of Resurrection and in the fires of Hell.  Absolute Justice will reprieve both body and soul from punishment, and forgiveness will be granted; but from those dirty actions which have come out of the interaction of body and soul, Allah will create shapes in the exact likeness of the sinners to represent them in Hell.  This likeness or effigy will be just as dirty as those actions were, and it will stay in Hell until it is cleaned.  In the face of this punishment, one will suffer intensely. His shame will be so great, and at that time so difficult to bear, that he will wish for the Earth to swallow him.

There is a famous tradition (Hadith) from the Holy Prophet which will shed more light upon the point in question.  He said that once a man died and was laid in his grave where two Angels came to question him, saying: Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet? And what is the Book that he brought? He withstood this interrogation and gave all the correct answers, so that, when the angels left, an opening formed in his grave and through this entered a person of such beauty, elegance and delightful fragrance that he couldn’t turn his eyes away from him.  He had never seen such a magnificent person, and his happiness at beholding him was so great that, if it could have been divided among the whole World, no one would have remained sad.  He asked that radiant person: Oh my Lord’s servant, who might you, be? That person replied with the sweetest voice: I am your good actions.  My Lord created me from the good actions performed throughout your life, and now I am your friend and companion forever.                                                  

Then the Prophet went on to say that if, however, a person has spent his life committing evil deeds and then, in his grave, is not able to answer the questions of the Angels correctly, there will come to him a person so ugly, so vile and so wile impossible to imagine.  How do you feel when a scorpion or a cobra is creeping up upon you? The disgust and repulsion he will feel at the sight of his horrible shape will be far in excess of that, and he will be thinking only of how he could escape from that grave, but it is impossible and every way he turns he will be facing that hideous apparition.  You cannot imagine the distress he will find himself in.  Finally, that horrid shape will take him in its arms and embrace him, exuding such a stench, that if you were to smell it now, you would not be able to eat for the next forty days.

Then the person in the grave will say: I seek refuge in Allah from you! Who are you? The vile creature will answer: Don’t you recognize me? You were with me all your life and you were very proud of me; I accompanied you to so many bars, casinos and houses of ill repute, and now you will not know me? I am your bad actions; I carried you all your life, and now you must carry me. I shall be with you until Judgment Day. Then, he and his bad actions will lie in that grave, and for that reason the grave is called the box of works.

On the Day of Resurrection, Allah orders for the effigy of those bad actions to be thrown into Hell, while the person stands on the heights between paradise and Hell (Al-Araf) to observe, in a state of shame and contrition, the punishment being dealt out to him, unto the form of his bad actions.  Then, finally, when he has been cleansed of those dirty actions, he is freed of them and passes on to the gates of Paradise.  There he finds two springs, two pools of water big enough for the whole Nation of Mankind (Ummah) to bathe in.  In the first spring, all those who enter it will be transformed physically, so that they emerge in a form befitting the inhabitants of Paradise: if they be male, they will come out as handsome as the Prophet Yusuf and if they be women, they will be transformed into equivalent beauties.  From the second spring they will drink, and this drink will eliminate all of the ego’s bad characteristics.  Both physically and spiritually clean, handsome and excellent, they will pass through a gate so wide that one billion people may pass at one time; but immediately on entering Paradise, each one will find his own private way to his own private Paradise, where he will be with his loved ones.

That is the final destination, but along the way one will encounter many troubles, as the results of bad actions are sufferings.  The Prophet said that his Nation (Umma) would often find punishment in this life rather than in the next and that each of those sufferings in this World would amount to forgiveness there.  This applies to all people after the time of Muhammad (S.A.W) for now all people belong to his Nation, whether they like it or not.  There now remains no Nation belonging to any of the former Prophets, as their time has passed and gone.  This is the time of the Last Prophet, and, at the end of time, Isa (alai) will return and announce that he and all Prophets before him are followers of Muhammad (S.A.W).       
                            

                                          The General Amnesty


Allah Almighty has created Hell for the purpose of cleaning and purifying, as He does not like to make people suffer without wisdom.  This is Grandsheikh’s understanding and it was also Sheikh Muhiyuddin Ibn al Arabi’s understanding of the Holy Tradition (Hadith Qudsi): My Mercy surpasses My Anger.  Therefore, we may hope for the final outcome to be a ?General Amnesty? for everyone, and we are pleased by that prospect.  For example, you may be in a palace full of every comfort, but the fact that there are suffering people outside your palace prevents you from being truly happy; when, however, you learn that all those people have attained mercy according to their levels, you will feel relieved and say: ?Now Allah has expanded His encompassing Mercy to everyone.


It is a good manner to always think about our own egos as being worthy of eternal punishment in Hell.  We can hope for reprieve only through Allah’s All-encompassing Mercy, and we ought never to assume that we will be the first to enter Paradise; instead, we should always think to ourselves: ?I am the worst and my ego is the dirtiest; were it not for Allah’s Mercy, I would surely be destined for Hell.  My only hope is His Forgiveness.


In a famous hadith the Prophet, peace be upon him, is related to have said: ?To him who knows no mercy, no mercy will be shown.?  The merciless person in whose heart there is no wish for mercy for anyone, he will himself not taste of mercy.  Mercy attracts more mercy, cruelty attracts cruelty, badness draws badness and goodness draws goodness.  But mercy dwells in the hearts of all true believers and therefore, in the face of the punishment, so many saints will run forward offering to take the punishment of so many others upon themselves. This is the degree of mercy and self sacrifice their hearts have attained , however, it is not Allah’s way to lay any burden or punishment on his saints in the afterlife, nor to punish any individual for sins he has not committed.


Sultan Al-Arifin, Abu Yazid Al-Bistami, once said: Oh my Lord, You have Power over all things and You have absolute Power to do anything You wish to do; therefore, I am asking You now to make my body so big as to fill the seven Hells, so that no place remains for other people.  Every punishment You would give to Your people, pour it on me instead.  Then came the Divine reply: Oh My servant, are you trying to compete with Me in generosity and mercy whereas I am the Most Merciful of the Merciful (Arham-ur-Rahimeen), the Most Generous of the Generous (Akram-ul-Akrameen)? All your generosity and mercy is only like a drop in an endless ocean compared to My Mercy and Generosity that I am giving out to My servants every minute, and I demand of you no blood sacrifice.


Whenever I speak on this subject, I am always asking Divine Permission to bring out more and more good tidings of Allah’s endless Mercy and Generosity  Now we are giving these good tidings, and if you are not receiving them with welcome, then you are only making yourselves suffer.  If there is anyone objecting and saying that there must be eternal Hell, then he may go there.  We are trying to pull them into our Lord’s Mercy Oceans, but they intend to put everyone in Hell, and they never think that they themselves will enter it; therefore they are agonized and outraged by our good tidings to the servants of our Lord.

Watch your Tongue, your Hands

There was a man who had a friend who was a dervish, and this man very much wanted to take hand with his friend’s Shaikh.  so one day, he asked his friend to talk to the Shaikh on his behalf.  The Shaikh didn’t say anything about initiation, but told his dervish to tell his friend that it would be OK if he came to the Shrine and watched and listened.  so he came, and watched and listened, and after a while became  impatient, and again asked, begged his friend to intercede with the Shaikh on his behalf.  The Shaikh said that he could now clean the bathrooms, and wash the floors, but could not yet participate.  Now the man very eagerly performed his new duties, but soon he again begged for his friend to approach the Shaikh and ask when he could become a dervish.  the Shaikh said that there was going to be a gathering in 2 nights, and that his friend could bring him a glass of water when he asks for it.  So they got together, and the dervish taught his friend how to serve the Shaikh water.  How to hold it properly in his right hand, with the left over it, how to approach and bow, crossing the right toe over the left, how to go down on the right knee, and hold the water out for the Shaikh to take.  Anxiously  awaiting this honor and opportunity, the man practiced at home until he felt comfortable, and was sure that he could give the Shaikh a glass of water without spilling any.
the night came, and the Shrine was crowded.  All the Shaikh’s dervishes were there, as well as other Shaikhs and some of their dervishes as well. the Shaikh was talking very emotionally, and at one point asked if he might have a glass of water.  At this point the man hurriedly filled up a glass, held it the way he was taught and carried it out to the Shaikh.  While the Shaikh was talking, the man got down on one knee and held out the glass.  Just at that moment the Shaikh caught up in the emotion of what he was saying gestured with his arm, and hit the man’s arm.  The glass went  flying and the water rose out of the glass into the air.  At the horror and shock and embarrassment, the man shut his eyes....
When he opened them, he was all alone on the top of a cliff overlooking a vast sea.  He certainly couldn’t understand, but realized that just lying there on the ground would not help.  He got up, faced away from the cliff, and in the distance saw the lights of a town.  A while later, upon entering the town he realized how dirty and hungry he was.  Passing a restaurant, he couldn’t resist.  He felt his pocket, but had no wallet with him.  Well, the worst that could happen would be that they would beat him, maybe they’d just let him work off the meal, but in either case, he’d be better off than he felt now.  So he went in, sat down and ordered a huge feast.  After coffee and dessert, when he could no longer eat, he started to pat his pockets and make a commotion.  the waiter came and asked what was wrong and the man had to admit that he seemed to have lost his wallet, and had no money to pay for his meal.  “Money? What’s that?” the waiter asked.  “But what do you mean?  I have to pay  for this meal you gave me, don’t I?”  “No.  But if you feel you must absolutely do something, then my grandmother died a short while age.  Please say a Fatihah for her.”  The man thanked him, said a Fatihah for the waiter’s grandmother, and left.
Walking down the street, he soon came to a clothing store, and noticed all the beautiful clothes on display.  He stood looking in the window, occasionally looking down at his own old and dirty clothing wondering how he could possibly get some new clothes.  After just a few minutes the owner of the store came out and invited the man in.  “You look like you’ve been travelling a long way and have just come to our town.  Would you like a new suit of clothes?”  “Yes I would, but I don’t seem to have any money with me!”  “Money?  You are new here.  We don’t use any money.  No one pays for anything in our town; it’s all free.”  “Are you serious?  You mean you’d make me a suit of clothes, and I wouldn’t have to pay a thing?”  “That’s right, but if you are uncomfortable, then say a Fatihah for my parents, and that will be more than enough.”  After he was fitted for his new clothes, the tailor asked him if he had a place to live since he seemed to be so newly arrived.  On hearing that he did not, the tailor said that he could stay in the apartment upstairs since it was now empty as he had recently gotten married.  “That would be wonderful,” said the the man, “but how could I pay you?”  “I could not think of asking you to pay anything.  Just, if you remember, once in a while say a Fatihah for my parents.”
He was settled in and resting that evening in his new apartment when all of a sudden he heard noises, and laughter, and a general commotion outside.  He went to the window and it seemed to him that every single woman and girl in the entire village was outside, and no men!  Out of the corner of his eye he saw the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen.  As he watched, she walked past the house he was in and continued across town.  He followed after her with his eyes until he could see her no more, and then just stood staring off into the night.  Eventually he got tired of standing there, and went to bed, but sleep never came.
The next morning when he came down, the tailor had already opened up the shop.  When the tailor saw him, with big bags under his eyes and a depressed look on his face, he became very concerned.  “What’s the matter?  Are you sick?  Was the bed uncomfortable?”  “No, no, it wasn’t that.  There’s nothing wrong.”  “There must be...Oh, I know.  Last night was the women’s night, and you saw someone you liked, didn’t you?”  “But that’s wonderful, why are you so sad?”  “But I don’t know who she is...”  “That’s doesn’t matter.  Here’s what you must do.  Tonight they will come out again.  Take a candle and have it ready.  Wait by the window, and if you see her, go quickly downstairs, light the candle and offer it to her.  If she accepts it, she likes you and all will be well.”  “But how will I know who she is.  How..”  “Don’t worry about a thing.  If she accepts you, just wait.  Someone will come to you soon.”
That night, he anxiously waited by the window.  slowly, in ones and twos, the women started to come out and wander the streets.  There, across the street, he saw her.  Quickly, he lit the candle he had been holding, rushed downstairs, made his way through the crowded street, and walked up to the unknown woman he had fallen in love with.  He stood in front of her.  When she stopped to prevent walking into him, without saying a word, he held out the lit candle to her.  She looked at him intently, and after a few moments gave a little smile, took the candle from his hand, turned around and walked away without a word.
The next day he came down to the shop in even worse shape than the day before.  “What happened?  Did she reject you?’ asked the tailor.  “No, she took it, but she just left.  How will I find out who she is?” “Didn’t I tell you not to worry?  Just be patient.  Someone will come to you soon enough.”  ThAt night, at about midnight, there was a loud pounding on his door.  He jumped out of bed, and opened the door to find 2 huge policemen there.  “Come,” said one.  “The  mayor wants to see you.”  “Now?  What did I do?”  “Don’t ask us,  We were told to bring you.  That’s all we need to know.”.. so he quickly got dressed, and went with the men to the mayor’s palace.
He was shown into the reception room where a very dignified man stood up at his approach.  “So you’re the young man whom my daughter has accepted. so, would you like to marry my daughter?”  “Oh yes sir, very much.”  “I understand that your new to town, and I would like to explain our rules.  You will have your own house, food and clothing, for which you will not have to pay anything.  In a little while, after you get used to being married, we will arrange for some job for you to do.  All you need do is promise to love, care and protect my daughter, as well as follow 3 simple rules.”  “Yes, anything.”  “It’s really very simple.  You must watch your tongue, you hand, and what is below your waist.”   “Is that all?  I can do that, no problem.”
They were married, and moved into the house that had been prepared for the daughter of the Town mayor.  things were wonderful.  And then one day several months after they were married, in the early evening someone knocked at the door.  The man asked his wife, “Dear, could you get that please.  I’m really tired.  If it’s for me, please just say that I’m out.”  “Excuse me?  What did you say?”  “I said, ‘If it’s for me, tell them I’m out.’”  “That’s what I thought you said.”  And she put on her scarf, and a jacket and left the house.  She didn’t return that night, and the next morning he was rather angry.  He thought that if she was out the entire night, she must have gone to her father’s house, and slept there.  so he went.  When he was shown into the mayor’s office by the huge policeman he had met earlier, he said,  “Excuse me for bothering you, but is my wife here?”  “Where else would you expect my daughter to come after you have broken you promise and our rules?”  “What?! What promise?  What rule?”  “You promised to watch your tongue.  And now you have not only lied, but you wished my daughter to lie as well!”  “What?  Just because I said that I wasn’t home.  I’d hardly call that lying.”  “Nevertheless, you were home, and you lied.”  “Well I am sorry.  I never dreamed you were so exacting.  It will never happen again, now that I know you are so strict.”
So the man and his wife returned home, and as before their life was one of peace and joy.  One fine spring day several months later they were out walking in the countryside.  they had walked for an hour or so, and he told his wife that if she wanted to rest, she should lie down in the shade of a tree, and he would just wander a little further and then come back.  So she lay down, and he walked through an apple orchard that was nearby.  Soon, he found on the ground the biggest, reddest, most perfect apple he had ever seen.  Thinking that it would be nice to surprise his wife with, for she might be hungry after her nap, he picked it up and returned to where she lay peacefully sleeping.  when she awoke about a half hour later, the first thing she saw was this beautiful apple.  Sitting up quickly, she looked at her husband and said, “What’s this?”  “An apple.”  “I know that, but where did you get it?”  “In an orchard about half a mile away.”  “Whom did you get it from?”  “What do you mean?  It doesn’t belong to anyone.  It was just lying on the ground, and I picked it up.”  Without a further word, she got up, put her scarf back on, and walked away.”
Knowing that she would go directly to the mayor’s, her father’s, house, he slowly gathered the things they had brought together, and slowly followed her.  This time, the mayor did not even wait for the man to speak.  As soon as he entered his office, the  mayor said, “So now you break the second rule and are a thief.”  “A thief?”  the was quite annoyed.  “A thief?  And what was it I am supposed to have stolen?”  “An apple.”  “I stole no apple.  I merely picked it up.  It belonged to no one.”  “But that is not true.  Did you plant the tree from which it fell?”  “no.”  “Do you own the orchard where it was found?”  “no.”  “Did you look for the owner and ask for him to make the apple a gift to you?”  “no.”  “So you stole it.  You took something that neither belonged to you, nor was put there with your hand.  That’s stealing!”  “Father-in-law, the rules here are so fine.  I didn’t realize how careful one had to be.  Please, I am sorry, and it won’t happen again.”  “Well, alright., but this is your last chance.  You have broken 2 of the rules, and if you do it again, you will have to go back to where you came from.”
As before, they returned home together, and the man was very good.  However, there was a certain spot by a river on the outskirts of the town where the women would go to do their washing.  They would take their scarves off, roll up their sleeves, pull up their long skirts over their knees, and wade into the water to do the wash.  Our friend began to go there, and hiding behind a huge boulder, watch them.  Once while he was there he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.  It was the huge policeman who had first brought him to the mayor.  “Come with me.”  Silently he went along to his father-in-law’s house.  There  his father-in-law, looking more sad than angry, said, “You have broken all three of our laws.  You have failed to control your tongue, you hand and your sex, so now you must go from our land.”  And nodding to the 2 policeman he said, “Take him back to where he came.”  They escorted him to the cliff, and grabbing hold of his arms and legs, swing him 3 times and cast him into space.  As he fell in fear he tightly closed his eyes.
When the sensation of movement gently ceased, he opened his eyes to see the Shaikh in front of him gently, compassionately smiling, and the water still traveling through the air.  “You see,” said the Shaikh.  “You’re not ready yet.”

A saint by the name of Basri

Bismillah ir‑Rahman ir‑Rahim
 Basri tells:
I had studied long years under Malik ibn Anas. I heard that the Imam Ja’far al‑Sadiq (R.A.) the honored member of ahli‑bayt il‑Mustafa was visiting Medina. With the intention of receiving the wisdom of the descendants of the Prophet (S.A.W.), I went to visit him. He told me, "My son, I have my work occupying the whole of my days and nights. As you tell me that you are a man of knowledge yourself, let me be; keep on learning under your teacher Anas ibn Malik."
I was heartbroken. I thought that if that holy man had seen any good in me he would not have denied the gift of his wisdom to me. I went and prayed at the tomb of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) that Allah might make me worthy to he brought into the presence of the venerable Sheikh and that his heart might be changed to accept me.
With bowed head I went and knocked at the door of Imam Ja’far once more. This time, by the grace of Allah, he let me into his presence asked me what I wished to know.
I asked him about knowledge. He answered, "O, Abu 'Abdullah, Knowledge does not come through learning. Knowledge is such a holy light that Allah alone can make it appear in the heart of His servant whom He chooses to guide to the Truth. So if your goal is knowledge, first seek the truth of servantship in you--if you are truly a servant of Allah, then seek knowledge with the firm intention and promise that you will put this knowledge into action as soon as you receive it, and then pray and beg, from Allah almighty that you may understand what you learn and that your actions may be in accordance with your knowledge. If Allah so wishes, he alone will teach you."
Then I asked him about the signs of being a true servant of Allah. He answered; "there are three signs of a true servant of allah.

• “He does not feel that he is the owner of anything that has been bestowed upon him, and especially not of things which are given to him by people. That beloved of Allah knows that all belongs to Allah, and all that has been given into his care should be spent according to the orders of the giver of these gifts, and for the ones whom he indicates. 
• “The true servant of Allah never acts according to his own thoughts, opinions, and judgment, but acts according to Allah’s orders, lovingly, without ever feeling resentment, and diligently avoids actions which Allah has forbidden.
• “Whatever happens to the true servant, whatever precautions he takes are with full trust that Allah’s will shall be done; he accepts and is satisfied with all and everything. 

"these true servants therefore are immune to the pains and pangs of this world. Neither arrogance, show‑offishness, nor hypocrisy are possible for them."
Then I asked him, "What should one do to be protected from the devil, the evil of the world and the evil in men?"
He answered:

• “Do not wish for the worldly, to accumulate wealth and property, to be secure, to be haughty, to be proud in your being free of need. 
• “Do not wish to reach a station of power and fame, to be looked up to and respected by men. 
• “Know the value of your time. Do not pass a minute of your in vain.” 

He said that if one followed these pieces of advice they would bring one to the first degree of servantship, the level of fear and love of Allah. As Allah promises in the 83rd verse of Surah al-Qassas, "we offer the home of heaven to those who are not haughty and proud, who do not oppress others with injustice and who do not cause harm. The good future is for those faithful who follow allah's orders avoid that which he has forbidden."
I asked for more advice. Imam Ja’far al‑Sadiq said, "I will give you nine final counsels. These are also my bequest to those who wish to follow the Path of Truth. I pray that all who wish to follow this Path make these rules a part of their life.
"THE FIRST THREE OF THE RULES PERTAIN TO THE DISCIPLINING OF THE NAFS (THE EGO).

• “Do not eat things for which you have no appetite, because to allow things for which one has no appetite to enter one's being brings idiocy and imbecility. 
• “Do not eat before you are hungry. 
• “Learn what is lawful to eat and eat only what is lawful. Start eating by reciting “bismillah ir‑rahman ir‑rahim.”

 "THE SECOND THREE OF THE RULES CONCERN KINDNESS AND GENTLENESS.

• “If someone tells you 'the one who says one negative word will receive ten negative words,' tell him and show him that if he calls you ten bad names, he will not hear a single bad word from you. 
• “If someone indeed calls you bad names and criticizes and insults you, say that if his words are true, may Allah forgive you, that you repent; but that if his words are false and he is lying, may Allah forgive him.
• “If someone threatens you, tell him that all you can do is try to give him good advice and pray for him.” 

THE LAST THREE OF THE NINE RULES ARE ABOUT LEARNING, TEACHING, AND KNOWLEDGE.

• Try to learn the things you need to know from the ones who know, whoever they are, but the questions which you ask must not be blemished with the thought of testing the one from whom you expect an answer nor of getting into a discussion with him. 
• Do not act in accordance with your own ideas and choice. Be always cautious not to interpret the laws of Allah in your favor. 
• Escape, as if running from a lion, from passing a judgment based on your own opinion about what is right or wrong for somebody else.”

 May Allah Ya Sami'u the Hearer of All, Ya 'Arifu the Knower of All, let us hear and understand and do what He wills. Amin.

54 Attributes of the Dervish(saint)

1. A dervish has Faith in Allah and loves and prays to the Creator and is compassionate to His Creation.
2. A lover believes in the last Prophet, Hazreti Mohammed Mustafa, may Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon him, and loves him more than anything but Allah, and respects his family, companions, followers and the ones who love him.
3. A lover learns, knows and joyfully and happily follows God’s ordinances.
4. A lover knows the fear of Allah and learns, knows, and avoids that which is forbidden by Him.
5. A dervish should earn his living through right action and according to Allah’s Law, should eat lawfully, clothe himself lawfully, and stay only in lawful places.
6. A lover does not lie, is always truthful, and advises truthfulness.
7. A lover is generous; he gives what he has lawfully earned for Allah’s sake, and is also generous with help and advice.
8. A dervish is patient in his faith, in his religious duties and in cases of hardship, and should advise others in patience.
9. A lover does his prayers five times daily without fail, and whenever possible in congregation, and considers this Allah’s greatest gift.
10. In addition to his daily prayers, he should do the voluntary devotions, the most important of which is the Tahajjud prayer, which was obligatory for the Prophet (saws).
11. In addition to the thirty days fast of Ramadan, a dervish should fast the first, middle and last days of the Arabic months, and is advised to fast 9 days in the month of Zul Hijjah, 11 days in the month of Muharram, most of the days of Rajab, and some of the days of Sha’ban, but especially on the day of Barat which is the 15th of Sha ’ban.
12. He must learn and follow as much as he can of the Sunnah (Traditions) of the Prophet (saws).
13. If the dervish is well to do, he has to go to the Hajj once in his lifetime, but he also should go to Madina to visit our Master the Messenger of Allah, and to Jerusalem, Damascus and Baghdad, and he should visit the Shrines of the Saints.
14. If he has means, he should distribute his Zakat with joy, and if he is poor, he should help less fortunate ones with his hands, his words and his time.
15. The dervish has to be clean and pure. Not only his body and his environment, but his heart should be cleansed of arrogance, especially pride of his spiritual state, hypocracy, envy, grudges, anger, and negativity in general. His speech has to be cleansed of gossip and blame, his sympathies from love of money and possessions, and of fame and position.
16. The dervish cannot drink alcohol or take any other intoxicants which are forbidden by Allah. And he should also avoid all excesses and oppose his desires, and pray for help in educating the flesh.
17. A dervish should not stay too long in the presence of his shaykh unless he is asked to do so.
18. When he is in the presence of his shaykh, he should sit on his of knees, be extremely careful of unbecoming behavior, and avoid speaking unnecessarily. He should not behave in a familiar way, and should follow proper "adab". He should consider his shaykh’s mistakes better than his own best achievements, and should attribute his development and inspirations totally to the shaykh. To act contrary to this will prevent the dervish’s advancement.
19. A dervish should consider that when he is in the presence of the shaykh, it is as if he were in the presence of Allah, of Allah’s Messenger, of the Saints and the Saint of his order, and act accordingly. An act which may hurt his teacher not only will prevent his advancement, but, Allah protect him and us, may cause terrible misfortunes and even death.
20. He should follow his teacher’s orders without fail, and with joy.
21. He should not try to test his teacher.
22. He should not criticize or even think critically of the acts of his master, even if they seem categorically opposed to the laws and ways of the religion and the path. He should remember that all actions and words of his teacher are in accordance with the Will of Allah.
23. A dervish has to know and follow the prayers, the rituals, and manners of his sect as taught by his teacher. He should hold the honor and name of his sect higher than anything else.
24. He should show respect and obedience to men of knowledge and wisdom, Hafizes and men who serve religion and mankind. It is satanic to try to argue with men of knowledge It should not be forgotten that the wise men are the inheritors of the prophets, and the mystical masters, the Shaykhs, are the inheritors of the Messengers of Allah. If there exist differences between the theologians and the mystics, it is on surface matters, in essence they are in agreement. As to the leaders of men, the politicians, they govern with Allah’s permission. Men are governed by those whom they deserve. If a nation is good, its governors are good. Let it not be forgotten that Allah is the curer of hearts. A dervish should not speak against the men of knowledge and the people who govern. He should consider all misfortune as his own doing and be patient and thankful for what he has, as all good and bad come from Allah.
25. He should never be tyrannical or hurt people.
26. He should always be ready to sacrifice everything for Allah and His Messenger and His Faith.
27. All existence should be pleased with the dervish.
28. A dervish should have in one hand Allah’s Book and in the other the Traditions of the Messenger of Allah. He should wear on his head the crown of Faith, and on his back the cloak of Religious Law. His eyes should see lessons, and his tongue should say the dhikr. Around his waist he should wear the belt of service to humanity, in his heart he should have compassion for Allah’s Creation and love and fear of Allah, and his feet should be in attendance to serve. In his hand he should hold the art of service to others. His ear should hear only the truth. His mind should be occupied with the temporariness of the world and the eternity which is the afterlife. Above all, he should at all times be ready for the trip from this temporal world to the eternal world.
29. He should have his ablution at all places and at all times.
30. He should continue to ask for mercy and forgiveness of Allah with every breath, and never forget his sins and wrongdoings. He should ask for redemption, and shed tears for his wrongdoings. Above all he must understand that it is his previous sins that cause new sins to come (as punishment for not asking forgiveness), and he should accept that his sins belong to him while the good that he does belongs to Allah.
31. If he misses a prayer he should remember that this is a punishment for a wrongdoing.
32. If an ugly act occurs through him, he should not forget that it is due to his past actions (He is being used by Allah.).
33. He should not overeat or sit at the table before he is hungry, and he should leave the table before he is full. He should wash his hands before and after every meal. When he takes his ablutions, he should brush his teeth.
34. He should be very generous and obedient to his mother, father and teachers. Generosity and obedience to one’s mother and father is equal to generosity and obedience to Allah. Obedience to the teacher is even superior to that. However, for the one who does not know Allah, there is no love or compassion. For the one who does not believe in the day of last judgement, there is no knowledge of truth or truthfulness to others. And for those who do not know and accept the Prophet, there is no knowledge of God. Even if one thinks he knows God, he will know Him wrongly. He will take a pagan image for God. He who wishes to find God, to know God and to be in Truth, has to go through him. In return, He will give him faith which will show the truth to him. He who loves the Prophet will have his faith completed. He who knows Hazreti Abu Bakr will know trustworthiness and loyalty. He who knows Hazreti Omar will know justice and be just. He who knows Hazreti Osman will know shame. He who knows Hazreti Ali will know knowledge and wisdom, and will know the value of wisdom and respect of the wise. He who knows Imam Hassan will not give value to this world. He who knows Imam Husayn will not lower his head to tyrants. You who do not obey Allah and his messenger and your mother and father, how can you expect obedience from people? You, with your faith incomplete, with your wish incomplete, without love for Him nor seeking His pleasure, not fearing His fire and punishment, not trying to know Him, how can you hope for His compassion and mercy? Know Him and you will be forgiven, and then He and all His Creation will love and show compassion for you. Believe in the day of last judgement so that nobody can fool you. That will make you respectful of the rights of people and the creation. He who knows the Prophet knows God. He who obeys him obeys God. He who is faithful to him is faithful to God. He who denies him denies God. He who revolts against him revolts against God. God, whom the messenger calls upon is God, and God whom your nafs calls upon is an idol. The one who does not educate his child to love Abu Bakr should not hope to receive from that child any obedience, loyalty or trustworthiness. If he does not show him the example of Omar, he cannot hope for justice. You must teach him love of Uthman, so that he will have shame and faith, and teach him the love of Hazretti Ali so that he will be generous and knowledgeable and be a servant to the one who teaches him ‘a letter’. You have not taught your child love and fear, so he does not obey you, does not have love and compassion for you. You have not taught him about the day of last judgement, so he has no respect for the rights of Creation. You did not teach him the love of the Messenger, so how can he love God?
35. A dervish should not inform people that he has submitted himself to the will of God; people will see that by themselves.
36. A dervish should be compassionate, generous and helpful to his family, children, in-laws, neighbors, and people whom he knows or does not know.
37. A dervish should not communicate with bad people, but he should not see himself as better or above them.
38. A dervish should not like or dislike anybody or anything in an egotistic and selfish way. His likes and dislikes should be for God’s sake.
39. If a dervish sees any potential for salvation in someone who is known as bad, he should befriend him in order to lead him to the straight path.
40. He should visit graveyards and remember that this is his final destination.
41. He should visit the sick and the poor, especially of his Brotherhood. However, he should try to satisfy the needs of everyone, without consideration for religion or sect.
42. A dervish should never forget his Shaykh, should visit him every day, every other day, or at worst, once a week. If he is far he should write.
43. He should have the power to resist misfortune and show patience. Know that the dervish’s cuff will never be free from dogs and his head from the stick of Yazid, as Pharaoh was to Moses, Nimrod to Ibrahim and Abu Jahil to Mohammed (saws).
44. As he will know that all is from God, he should accept everything; he should submit his will and should always be pleased with God and seek His pleasure in everything so that he can be pleased with Him.
45. In every act and thought he should remember God, his hands working for this world and his heart yearning for God.
46. No matter how insignificant, for a good deed he should go miles; no matter how insignificant, from the danger of a bad thing he should run for miles. Everything about him should be truthful, discriminating, completely trustworthy, and exemplary.
47. He should not cut heads or break a living branch. He should not be a burden on anyone. He should have various crafts and professions in addition to degrees so that in any eventuality he will not need to ask for help from others.
48. He should not waste time for his life, which is his greatest treasure, should not be spent without thought of God. Every minute should have a material and a spiritual value.
49. The dervish should master his hand, his tongue and that which is below his waistline. He should prevent unfaithfulness by his hand, desires by that below his waist, and gossip by his tongue. He should not say everything which comes to his mind, should know how to keep secrets, and should not blame or hurt people. All creation should be safe from the tongue and hand of the dervish, and should only benefit from his tongue and hand.
50. A dervish should not play with magic, divination and fortune—telling.
51. He should know what is lawful and unlawful, what his obligatory and voluntary duties are and also what is clean and unclean, and all the signs of his religion and sect.
52. He should take whatever his teacher gives him with great joy and love.
53. When he takes something from the hand of his teacher he should kiss his hand. When he gives something to his teacher, he should kiss his hand.
54. When he stands up in front of his teacher he should place the big toe of his right foot on top of the big toe of the left foot. This is a sign of readiness to receive orders.

THE PURPOSE OF THE CREATION OF HUMANITY

When Allah the Almighty Creator said wa kuntu kanzan makhfiyyan fa ahbabtu an ‘urafa  (I was a hidden treasure and it pleased me to be known, and from My Love of myself I created creation) He said kun, and all and everything became. And man became the means for God to be known. God says:
wa ma khalaktal-jinna wal-insa illa li-ya`buduni (Surah Zariyat, 56)
This was interpreted by Hadrat Ibn `Abbas  as: “And Allah created jinn and humanity only to know Him.” Thus He offers special honor to human beings by giving us the ability to know Him. The Lord further honored mankind by making us different from the rest of Creation, as God Himself bore no resemblance to His Creation. The Lord said:
inna Llaha khalaqa Adama `ala suratihi “Allah created the human being in His own image.”
This does not mean the image of a person as seen by the eyes. That which is in God’s image is our soul, about which Allah says:
wa nafakhtu fihi min ruhi (Surah Sad, 72)   “And I breathed into him of My own soul.”
Thus a human being is made of two parts—a temporal body made out of the 4 elements of earth, water, air and fire, attested to by the senses; and a part called the soul, which is divine and eternal, and can only be known by wisdom.
Through another attribute bestowed by God only upon man, the soul remains in God’s hands, under His command and control. The Lord says:
 kul ar-ruhu min amri rabbiy (Surah Bani Isra`il, 85)
“Say: The soul is under the command of my Lord.”
Allah created humanity from a drop of water, which became a blood clot, which became flesh and bones, veins and nerves, hands and feet and inner organs, eyes and ears and nose and mouth, so that we may see, hear, smell and talk. He gave the human being a brain to understand with, a heart to feel with, a tongue to speak with. He blew His soul into it, and it lived. He gave the baby who could do nothing but cry two devoted, loving, compassionate servants called a mother and a father, and fed the baby from its mother’s breast a complete food that needs no fat, no water, no toil of cooking, but is complete.
Day by day, from no knowable source, he makes humanity mature‑with a mind able to discover the rest of creation and its Creator; with a tiny black hole in its eye able to see the worlds, the suns and the planets; with eyelashes around the eye, eyebrows above the eye, to protect its sight; with a tongue and a throat to speak and sing with the most beautiful sound in existence, and with ears to hear. If He didn’t make all this, could it all be? There are so many eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear, tongues that cannot speak!
He gave man air and lungs to breathe it, food and a belly to digest it. Food and air turn into life-giving blood, and He made a heart to pump that blood to every corner of our being. The blind see with the sensitivity of their fingertips, and each fingerprint is unique. We who measure the value of things in dollars, what price would we ask for a finger, or a tooth, or an eye? Won’t we be thankful to the One who gave them to us?
The more we want, the more we receive. Not only did He give us our bodies and souls, but He gave us all and everything. Our Lord says:
wa sakhkhara lakum ma fis-samawati wa ma fil-ard (Surah Luqman, 20)
“He has made all that is in the heavens and in earth subservient to you.”
As our needs increase, His gifts increase, much more than we really need. Our Lord says:
in ta`addu ni`mat Allahi la tuhsuha (Surah Nahl, 18)
“If you were to try to count Allah’s favors upon you, you would not be able to number them.”
All we receive is from Him, all we have is His: our souls, our bodies, the world, the heavens.… Yet we claim them as our own, although we are heedless and could care less about them. We are pompously arrogant about our beauty, our strength, our intelligence, our creativity and achievements, our riches. All of these are His gifts. And we try to sell Him what He gave to us when we claim we did it, we know it, we have it, and we can do whatever we want with it. Why can’t we see that this isn’t so? Our Lord just lent these things to us, so that we may find out who we are by the way we keep His trust. And He will soon take it all back‑our souls and our selves included.
“O Man, what beguiles you from your Lord who is so generous and gracious to you? Who created you, then made you perfect, in the best state‑and in whatever form He wishes you to be, He makes it happen.” (Surah Infitar, 6-8)
“And He is the one who made for you the ears, the eyes, the hearts.” (Surah Mu’minun,78)
“Then why don’t you realize that you came to be from being nothing?” (Surah Maryam, 67)
“From dust He created you, then from a drop of life-germ, then from a bloodclot, then from a lump of flesh made you complete, keeping you in the womb of your mother until an appointed time; then He brought you forth as a baby, then made you attain maturity. Some are made to die younger, and some reach the worst time of their lives, old age, when they forget what they knew. Don’t you see the earth barren and He sends down on it water from heaven, and the earth stirs and swells and brings forth growth plenty for your sustenance?” (Surah Hajj, 5)
“And He is the one who made this world for you to abide in and stretched the heavens above you. He made you into human shape and made you beautiful and sustained you with the best of sustenance. That is Allah your Lord, blessed be He, the Lord of the Worlds.” (Surah Mu’min, 64)
“…and breathed into you your soul from His own divine soul.” (Surah Sad, 72)
“…and taught you all the names.” (Surah Baqarah, 31)
“…and taught you what you knew not.” (Surah `Alaq, 5)
“…but you think you are created by yourself without a Creator. Do you think that you have also created the heavens and the earth?” (Surah Tur, 35-36)
“He is the one who has created you, why cannot you accept? See you not that drop which you emit, is it you who created it and the man who is created from it? And your Lord has ordained your death, can you overcome your end?” (Surah Waqi`ah, 57-60)
“He is the one who gave you life, He is the one who will take it.” (Surah Mu’minun, 80)
“He is the one who makes you laugh and who makes you weep.., he is the one who gives wealth and content... and the one who created you in pairs, men and women; and the one who gives life and causes death.” (Surah Najm, 43, 45, 48, 44)
“His is the Kingdom and His is the praise and He is the Possessor of Power over all things. He is the one who created you, but one of you is a believer and one of you believes not, and Allah is the Seer of what you do.” (Surah Taghabun, 1-2)
“But surely man is ungrateful to his Lord...and on account of his love of the goods of this world he is niggardly. And the day will come when those in their graves will be raised and the deeds that men did, hiding them from the eyes of other men, will be made manifest. But surely the Lord is aware of their sins when they commit them.” (Surah `Adiyat, 6-11)
So be heedful of the reason for your creation “in the image of God”: it is to know Him, your Creator. “He who knows himself knows his Lord.” No one but you in the whole creation contains the divine qualities of ya Hayy, the Ever-Living, that is in your soul; iradah (will) that Allah gave you for choosing right over wrong; and qudrah, (power), for being His deputy in the world. If you realize that these qualities are drops from the ocean of God’s attributes, and are given to you for the purpose of bringing you close to Him, you will achieve the highest possible state for a human being‑that of being an `abd, a servant of Allah. But if you are fooled by your personal devil, your ego, and think that those divine qualities are your own, if you think of yourself as divine -may Allah protect us all‑ you will be guilty of the only unforgivable sin, shirk, setting up partners to God. And you will be doomed.
May Allah in His mercy make us as humble as the earth ‑that earth, which we walk on, and are made of‑ so that the eyes of our hearts may open and see the truth of our souls’ eternity. So that we are thankful. Amin.

The Story of the Accursed

In the last chapter of  Shaikh Muhyiddin ibn 'Arabi's (r.a.) book Shajarat al-kawn,  “The Tree of Being”, is a version derived from a hadith related by Muadh ibn Jabal from Ibn 'Abbas (r.a.). The version of  Muadh(r.a) is fuller than that of  Anas(r.a). It is given below, supplemented by additional information from Anas(r.a) 's report.
Sayyid Sharif Jurjani (q.s.) interprets shajarah in the title of Shaikh. Ibn 'Arabi's book as “the Perfect Plan” and kawn as “the scale of Being to which all beings should be compared for their qualification.” The work describes the Perfect Man, Allah's Beloved and ours, the Light of Creation, Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). Inshallah one day it will be translated for the benefit and growth of my ikhwan and the family of the Path and Islam. In the meantime, this story with which we are partly familiar seemed to me most instructive. May Allah forgive me if I verbalize wrongly but it seems as if it is giving the raw material to the ones who wish and hope to become perfect men.
From us the humble retelling, from Allah the understanding.
                                                             ***         
One day a congregation was gathered at the home of one of the Ansar around the Prophet (s.a.w.s). [According to Anas(r.a), it was Abu Ayyub(r.a).] In the middle of a wonderful discourse, an ugly voice from the outside was heard saying, “O the ones inside, [or, “O Messenger of Allah!”] Would you permit me to enter? I have business with you!”
All looked at the Prophet (s.a.w.s.), who said to the ones present, “Do you recognize the owner of this voice?” The Companions answered, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”
The Prophet  (s.a.w.s.) said, “It is Satan the Accursed.” On hearing that, Umar (r.a.) , who was present, pulling his sword, asked, “O Messenger of Allah, permit me to go and cut off his head!” [“'Let me smash his skull and free the people from his trouble!”]
The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) replied, “No, 'Umar, don't you know that you cannot kill him? He has permission to exist until Doomsday.” Then he added, “Open the door and admit him, as he did not come on his own but on Allah's orders. [Or, “There is always an underlying reason for things. Otherwise he would not have come here.”] Listen to what he says, and try to understand.” 
Then Rawi  (r.a.) one the Companions, relates the tale. “They opened the door and he appeared in front of us as an old man, cross-eyed [or blind in one eye] and scant of beard, with only six or seven long hairs hanging from his chin. He had a very big head, his crossed eyes close to the top of his head, high on his forehead, with big thick hanging lips like those of a water buffalo. He saluted the Prophet and the Companions, to which the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) responded, ‘O Accursed, the salam and salutations belong to Allah Most High.’ Then he said, ‘I heard you are here on business. What is it?’
“Satan said, ‘I did not wish to come here, I was forced to— an angel came to me from your Lord, who honors whom He wishes, and said, “Allah Most High orders you to to to Muhammad, but you will go to him in humility and abasement, and be submissive and tractable. You will tell him how you seduce and mislead humankind. You are going to answer all his questions truthfully, without a single lie.” And Allah said that if I lied to you He would turn me into ashes and blow me away in the wind, and my enemies would laugh at me. I come with such orders, O Muhammad .’
“Then the Prophet asked the Devil, ‘Tell me, who in the creation do you hate most?’
“The Devil answered, ‘You, O Muhammad! [‘And all the prophets.’] There is no one in the whole creation that I hate more. There is none other like you.’
“The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) confirmed that the Devil was his own, and all the prophets', greatest foe. He asked, ‘Whom else do you detest, besides me?’
“Satan said, ‘The young ones who have given up their pleasures and themselves for Allah's sake; the men of knowledge who act upon their knowledge and who decline all that is doubtful; the ones who are clean, so clean that they wash thrice that which they wish to cleanse. Then the patient poor, who neither ask from others the things they need, nor complain. Then the thankful rich, who give alms lawfully and spend lawfully.’ [Anas (r.a) lists fourteen enemies after the prophets: the knowledgeable who act on what they know; readers of the Qur'an who pattern themselves on it; those who call to prayer for Allah's sake; the satisfied poor; the compassionate; the generous; those who perform the morning prayer on time; advisors and reformers; abstainers from unlawful food and sexual relations; those who are always in ablution; the modest; those who place their trust in Allah; benefiters of the poor; the devout busy in Allah's service.]
“Then the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) asked, ‘What happens to you, O Accursed One, when my people do their prayers?’
“ ‘I shake and tremble as if stricken with malaria because I see your people raised in blessing and power each time they prostrate.’
“ ‘What happens to you, O Accursed, when my people fast?’
“ ‘I have my hands and feet tied until they break their fast.’
“ ‘What happens when they all meet on the Pilgrimage at the house of their Lord?’
“ ‘I lose my wits, I go mad.’
“ ‘What happens to you when they recite the Holy Qur’an?’
“ ‘I melt, like lead turning to hot liquid in the fire.’
“ ‘And when they pay alms?’
“ ‘ I am torn to pieces, as if the generous donor took a saw and sawed me into four pieces, because there are four beatitudes which the donor receives—the blessing of abundance, love and respect from Allah's creatures, a shield from hellfire, and relief from distress and troubles.’
“Then the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) asked the Devil what he thought of his beloved Companions. About  Abu Bakr (r.a.) he said, ‘I hate him. Even before Islam he refused to obey, nay, even to hear me. How can he now listen to me?’ About Umar ibn Khattab(r.a)  he said, ‘I run away whenever I see him!’  About 'Uthman ibn Affan(r.a)  he said, ‘ I am ashamed in front of him. Even the angels of mercy are ashamed in front of him.’ And about Ali ibn Abu Talib(r.a)  he said, ‘Oh, if I could just be safe from him, if he would just let me be, I would let him be. But he will not leave me alone!’
“Having heard the answers of the accursed Satan the Prophet thanked Allah and said, ‘Praise be to Allah Who has blessed my people with such felicity and cursed you with such negativity until that appointed time.’
“When the devil heard that, he said, ‘Alas, alas for you, what felicity for your people? How can you feel there is safety for them as long as I exist? I enter their very veins, their very flesh, and they cannot even suspect, let alone see or feel me. I swear by Allah Who has given me time until Doomsday that I will seduce them all, the intelligent and the simple-minded, the learned as well as the ignorant, the devout as well as the sinner. None will be safe from me except the true servants of Allah.’
“The Prophet (s.a.w.s.)  asked, ‘Who are the true servants of Allah, according to you?’
“The Devil said, ‘You know well, O Muhammad , that whoever loves his money and his property Allah does not count among His servants. Whenever I see someone who does not say “mine” and “me,” who does not love either money or flattery, I know he is truly a servant of Allah and I run away from him. As long as one loves money, property, flattery, he obeys me, he is my servant. I need many servants and I have many servants. I am not alone. I have 70,000 children, each of them with his assigned duties. Each of my 70,000 children has 70,000 satans serving under him, all assigned to different posts. Many are with the young, and the older women, and with the theologians and preachers and shaykhs. There are almost no differences of opinion between your young people and my devils, and your children play happily with my children. And some of the devout and some of the pious get along very well with my people! My devils lead the imagination of the pious from one height to another. Arrogant, they leave the sincerity of their devotions. Soon they fight with each other, and they don't even know what is happening to them. Then I whisper to them, “Disbelieve!”, but when they disbelieve, I say, “I am free of you. Surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.” (Surah al-Hashr, 16).’
“Then the accursed Devil told how he profited from habits of man which he liked. About lying he said, ‘Do you know, O Muhammad , that lying is from me and that I am the first liar? Whoever lies is my best friend; whoever swears to the truth of his lie is my beloved. You know, O Muhammad, that I swore by Allah and lied to Adam and Eve. I swore to them both, “Surely I am a sincere advisor to you.” (Surah al-Araf, 21) I also love rejection and gossip. They are my delightful fruits. I detest loving families.  If they think of rejecting each other, separating from each other, and talk about divorce, even if just once, the marriage bond in Allah's view is dissolved. The wife will be unlawful to the husband. When they sleep together, they will be adulterers. If they have a child he will be a bastard. I love all that.
“ ‘O Muhammad , let me tell you about my friends who abandon prayers or delay them. When it is time for prayer I make them imagine that there is still time, that they are busy. They should enjoy what they are doing, they can always pray later! I hope they will die before doing their next prayer, and some of them do. Even when they do their prayers late, their devotions are thrown in their faces. If I cannot succeed myself, I send them a human satan who will prevent them from their devotions. If I don't succeed again, I enter into their prayers. I tell them, “Look to the right, look to the left! Think of the past, plan your future!” And when they do I caress their cheeks and kiss their foreheads and take the peace from their hearts. You know, O Muhammad , that the prayers of those whose attention is outside of them or who are imagining things which do not belong in the presence of Allah are also rejected and thrown in their faces. And if I am not successful in that, I order them to do their prayers fast, and they look like hens picking at grain. If I still don't succeed, I follow them to the congregational prayers and put bridles on their heads. I pull, and lift their heads from the prostration before the imam, and I push their heads down before the imam touches his head to the ground, and I am overjoyed to remember that Allah will turn those unruly heads into donkeys' heads on the Day of Last Judgment. If I am still not successful, I try at least to make them crack their finders while they are making prayers. Then they will be among those who make my tasbih instead of Allah's tasbih. Or at least I will blow into their noses and make them yawn, and if they open their mouths a little devil will enter into them through their mouths and increase their love and ambition for this world. The one who loves and is ambitious for this world becomes my soldier; he obeys me and does as he is ordered.
“ ‘O Muhammad , how can you hope and be serene about your people's salvation and felicity? I have a trap at every corner for them. I go to the poor and tell them, “What has Allah done for you? Why do you pray to Him? Prayer is for those to whom He has given in abundance.” Then I go to ones who are sick and tell them to stop praying, and remind them that even Allah said, “There is no blame on the sick” (Surah Nur, 61). I hope that they will die having abandoned their prayers, so that Allah will meet them with anger in the hereafter.
“ ‘O Muhammad , if I have told a single lie, may scorpions bite me, and ask from Allah that He turn me into ashes. O Muhammad , do not be sure of your people. I have already converted a sixth of them, who have left their religion.’
“Then the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) asked, ‘O Accursed One, with whom do you most like to spend your time?’
“ ‘The usurer.’
“ ‘And your best friend?’
“ ‘The adulterer.’
“ ‘With whom do you share your bed?’
“ ‘The drunkard.’
“ ‘Who are your guests?’
“ ‘The thieves.”
“ ‘Who are your representatives?’
“ ‘The magicians and soothsayers.’
“ ‘What  pleases you most?’
“ ‘Divorce.’
“ ‘Whom do you love most?’
“ ‘Those who abandon their Friday prayers.’
[Anas (r.a)  gives ten friends of Satan: tyrants and oppressors; the arrogant; servile scholars who hide the truth for the benefit of tyrants; dishonest tradesmen; drinkers of alcohol; dealers in fraud; slanderers; those who stir up trouble among friends.]
“Then the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) asked, ‘What breaks your heart, O Accursed One?’
“ ‘The determination and the firm footsteps of those who march against the enemies of Allah for Allah's sake.’
“ ‘What gives you pain?’
“ ‘The repentance of the penitent.’
“ ‘What makes you grimace?’
“ ‘The alms given in secret.
“ ‘What makes your eyes blind?’
“ ‘The tahajjud prayer in the middle of the night.’
“ ‘What makes you bow your head?’
“ ‘Prayer done in congregation.’
“The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) continued asking: “O Satan, according to you, who are the happiest among people?’
“ ‘The ones who purposefully abandon their prayers.
“ ‘And the best among people?’
“ ‘The miser.’
“ ‘What prevents you from doing your job?’
“ ‘The gathering of men of knowledge and their discourses.’
“ ‘How do you eat  your food?’
“ ‘With my left hand and the tips of my fingers.’
“ ‘When the sun is hot, where do you seek shade?’
“ ‘Under people's dirty fingernails.’
“Then the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) asked, ‘What did you ask from My Lord on the day you were rejected from His presence?’
“ ‘I had ten requests which were accorded.’
“ ‘What were they, O Accursed One?’
“ ‘I asked Allah to make me a partner in the properties and children of the children of Adam. He gave that to me, and He said, “And incite whom thou canst with thy voice, and collect against them thy horse and thy foot, and share with them in wealth and children, and promise them. And the Devil promises them only to deceive.” (Surah Bani Isra’il, 64). I eat from the meat of animals killed without the basmalah and from the food bought by money gained through interest, injustice, and tyranny. I am the shareholder of the property whose owner does not take refuge in Allah from me. I am part father of the child, which comes from intercourse performed without the basmalah. I am the traveling companion of the one who rides a vehicle which is going to an unlawful destination.
“ ‘I asked Allah to give me a house, and He gave me the public baths. I asked Allah to give me a temple, and He gave me the marketplaces as my temple. I asked Allah to give me a book. He gave me the books of poetry as my book. I asked for a call to prayer, and He gave me the dancing music. I asked for someone to share my bed, and He gave me the drunkard. I asked Allah for helpers. Allah gave me those who believe in free will. I asked Allah to give me  brothers and sisters, and Allah gave me the squanderers who spend their money on evil things. Allah said, “Surely the squanderers are the Devil's brethren” (Surah Bani Isra'il,  27). Then I asked Allah to be able to see the children of Adam while they are unable to see me, and He accorded that to me. I wished that the very  veins of the children of Adam, be my routes, and it was given to me. So I flow in their veins as I wish and enter their flesh. All these were given to me, and I am proud of what I have received. And let me add, O Muhammad , that there are more with me than there are with you, end until Doomsday there will be more with me than there are with you.’
“ ‘Then the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said,  ‘If you had not proven what you said with the verses of Allah's book, it  would have been hard for me to confirm what you say.’
“The Devil continued, ‘Do you know, O Muhammad, that I have a son whose name is 'Atam [in Arabic, the first  third of the night]? He pisses in the ear of the people who go to sleep without performing their night prayers. His urine puts them to sleep, otherwise no one could have gone to bed without finishing their prayers. Then I have a son whose name is Mutaqadi [in Arabic, one who presses for payment]. His duty is to publicize the prayers, the devotions, the good deeds which are done in secret for Allah's sake, because Allah promises to reward the good deed done secretly a hundredfold. When deeds are publicized and receive credit and praise from the creatures of Allah, Allah takes away 99 of the promised 100 rewards. Then I have a son whose name is Kuhayl [kohl]. His duty
is to put kohl on the eyes of those in the presence of wise men or preachers. The ones whose eyes he has touched start falling asleep. They are thus prevented from hearing the words of Allah or receiving any benefit from them.’
“The Devil talked about women. He said, ‘Whenever a woman leaves her seat a devil sits in her place. On the lap of every woman sits a satan who makes her desirable to whoever looks at her. Then he orders the woman to open and show her arms, her legs, and her breasts, and with his claws tears her veil of shame and decency.’
“Then the devil started to complain. He said, ‘O Muhammad, in spite of all this I have no strength to take away the faith of the faithful. I only take away their faith when they throw it away. If I were able, there would be no one on the f ace of this world who could say la ilaha illallah, Muhammad rasulullah, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger.” I would not leave a single one to pray or fast. All I can do is to give the children of Adam imaginations, illusions and delusions, make the ugly appear beautiful, the wrong, right, and the bad, good. Neither do you have the power to give faith. You are only a proof of the truth, because I know that if you were given the power to give true faith you would not leave a single nonbeliever on the face of this world. The fortunate one who is a believer is fortunate in his mother's womb, and the rebellious sinner is a rebel in his mother's womb. As you are the guide of the fortunate, I am only the cause of sin of the ones who are destined to sin. Allah is He Who renders one fortunate and another rebellious. Then  he recited from Surah Hud, "'And if thy Lord  had pleased He would have made people a single nation, and they cease not to differ, except those upon whom thy Lord has mercy, and for this did He create them. And the word of thy Lord is fulfilled: I shall fill Hell with jinn and men altogether” (Surah Hud, 118-119).’ He recited from Surah Ahzab, ayat 38:  ‘ “And the command of Allah is a decree that is made absolute.” ’
“Then the Mercy upon the Universe told the Devil, “O Father of All Bitterness, I wonder if it is at all possible for you to repent and return to your Lord. I promise I would intercede for you.’
“The Accursed One answered, ‘O Messenger of Allah, it is Allah's justice. The ink on the pen which wrote the judgment is dry. What will happen will happen until Doomsday. The One Who made you the master of all the prophets, the speaker for the inhabitants of Paradise, the One Who chose you to be the beloved amongst all His creation, chose me to be the master of sinners and the speaker for the inhabitants of Hell. He is Allah, devoid of all lack. O Muhammad , this which I have told you is my last word to you, and I have told nothing but the truth.’ ”
All praise is due to Allah the Lord of all the worlds which existed before and which will exist after, visible and invisible. And Allah's blessings upon our beloved master, the Beloved of Allah, Mercy upon the Universe, and upon his household and progeny and companions and friends who are loved by him, and upon the ones who love him.