Letter 13
The disciples long before never busied themselves or strived in anything unless it smote their egos and brought life to their hearts. Today we have turned things over on their heads. They strived to let go of their desires and lower themselves. I say these words to you only because I have seen the gifts of those who smite their egos and bring life to their hearts. Unfortunately we have become content with less; and whoever is content with anything other than arrival at the witnessing of God is an ignoramus.
However, being attached to one’s desires and seeking to raise one’s station in the eyes of others is not the only thing that prevents one from receiving these gifts; one also needs a natural gift in one’s heart. The inner meanings do not descend on a heart unless it has a mighty connection with seeing the essence of its Lord. If so, the realities of the Lord’s essence will descend upon it until they efface him, whereby he will no longer imagine there is anything else besides His presence. Whoever has a strong connection with his Lord will be thus so. As for one who is naturally drawn to knowledge alone or works alone, he will never obtain the inner meanings of things or taste them, because his heart is directed to other than the essence of God; and God provides for His servant according to his aspiration.
Know that these inner meanings are ever present in the human being and they are as many as there are waves in the ocean. However, the material world has overtaken them and taken a grip on their hearts and limbs, preventing them from obtaining these meanings, for they are opposites that never meet.
This arriving is not reached through acts, whether abundant or sparse; it is reached through the bounty and grace of God alone.
(Ibn Ata ‘Illah) ‘Were you only unable to reach Him after all your blameworthy traits and empty claims were effaced, you would never reach Him; if He wishes to bring you to Him, He covers over your traits with His, and your qualities with His. Therefore your arrival to Him is from Him to you and not you to Him.’
This is a grace from God that He has granted the masters of the path. Were it not for them, no-one would be able to reach Him, as to know a man of God is far more difficult than to know God himself.
(Ibn ‘Ata ‘Illah:) ‘Hallowed be He who only made guidance towards His close ones as a means of guidance towards Him, and only guided to them those whom He wanted to bring unto Himself.’
There is no doubt that our Lord of the heaven and earth, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, was present and plain to see as the sun above the mountain, but despite that not everyone saw him. Others were veiled from him as were so many before amongst whom dwelt their prophets, and the men of God of their time, yet they rejected them and did not believe.
‘And you witness them looking unto you, but they do not see.’
‘And they say: “What sort of a messenger is this, who eats food, and walks through the streets?’ (Quran: 25/7)
More than two thirds of the Book of God is concerned with those who rejected the message and did not perceive the reality of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace. Consider Abu Jahl! He saw him as a mere orphan charge of Abu Talib!
If one finds a master of the path, at times he will see that breaking free of the ego is accomplished some times by hunger and at other times by satiation. At other times he may see that he must call you to increase your means, and at other times to limit them. He may call you to sleep, and at other times order you to limit it. He may call you to flee from the people, and at other times to sit with them and take solace from them. This is because one’s inner light may become so strong that the master fears that it will crush the disciple as it has done to so many others before. He may therefore take him out of isolation into the company of others to quell the light within, so it does not crush him; or he may do the opposite.
‘To thy Lord is the final goal.’ (Quran: 53/42)
Due to the limited number of people whose hearts are ready to follow, spiritual training has become so scarce. However, God’s knowledge is never completely severed.
This path will always be, through God’s power and might, as it is taken from our masters all the way back to the Messenger himself, who took it from the archangel Gabriel, who took it directly from God Almighty. Whoever comes forth to teach it has done so with the authority of God and His messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and as Sidi al-Mursi said, ‘No teacher comes forth to teach the disciples until divine inspiration has overcome him and he has been given authority from God and His messenger.’ It is through the blessing of this authority that this matter still stands and its folk remain upright, and God knows best.
Sidi Abu al-Mawahib al-Tunusi, may God be pleased with him, said with regard to witnessing the essence of our Lord, ‘Annihilation (fana’) is effacement and dwindling away until you cease to remain and are removed.’
(Sidi Abu Madyan:) ‘Whoever has not ceased to exist has not seen the Real.’
Be wary of assuming it is the dense or opaque matter that has veiled you from your Lord. It is your own delusion that has done so; and delusion is opposed to the truth.
(Ibn ‘Ata ‘Illah:) ‘It is not the existence of something present alongside Him that has veiled you, for there is nothing besides Him; rather it is the delusion that there is something present alongside Him that has veiled you.’
The state of annihilation can be achieved in a short space of time, God willing, by invoking God’s majestic name ‘Allah’ in a specific method. I found this method mentioned by Imam Shadhili in a book which was in the possession of some scholars in my homeland of Bani Zarwal. My teacher Sidi ‘Ali also taught me this, but in different way which is even more effective, and which achieves results in a shorter space of time.
The method is to picture the five letters of the name when reciting it. Whenever you feel the image in front of you slipping away, you must go back to it, even if you had to one thousand times in one night and one thousand times in the day. Using this method, a great thought came to me. I used to invoke using it at the beginning of the path for up to one month. Divine knowledge in its plenty would come to me, but I was not distracted by it; rather I focussed my intention on invoking the Name, bringing the letters to my mind constantly for one whole month until the words of God came to:
‘He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden.’ (Quran: 57/3)
I immediately turned my thoughts away from it back to the invoking of the Name as I had done to so many other notions that had come to me before. However, this one would not leave me; rather it grabbed a hold of me and would not let me go. I tried to turn my thoughts time and again from it but it would not leave me. I said to it, ‘As for His exalted words “He is the First and the Last” and “the Hidden” I understood, but I did not understand the word “Manifest”, as the only thing evident that we see is the creation. The notion replied back, ‘If the meaning of the word “Manifest” had meant anything other than that which you see before you, it would have been hidden, and not manifest, yet I say to you ‘The Manifest!’ From that point I realised that there was nothing present but God alone and there is nothing in the creation but Him, thanks and praise be to Him.
Annihilation in the essence of our Lord can be achieved, God willing, in a very short space of time by applying this method that we have laid down to you. By using it, it brings about divine thought from morning to evening if one has the time. I achieved it in the space of one month, and God knows best.
And without a doubt, if one is able to gain divine thought in his life even if it takes one year, two years or even three, then he has gained a great blessing and clear well-known secret. As the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said:
“A moment’s contemplation is more virtuous than seventy years of worship.”
Contemplation can take one from the material realm to the realm of purity; or we can say from the presence of created being to the presence of the Creator, and I say this as God is my witness.
We stress to anyone who has come back from a state of heedlessness to a state of remembrance that he must attach his heart to seeing the essence of his Lord at all times in order that it grant him its meanings. This is the way of its folk. Also I stress that he not suffice himself with the notions that come to him, and leave the litanies of the path, in order that he not be deprived of obtaining the goal.
Idris
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Sîdî Muhammad b. Qaddûr
He was a descendant of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, from the family of Wukîl. His grave is still to be found in Mount Karkar, which lies underneath a great dome. By the side of his tomb lies a sweet spring. Inside the dome still resides his rosary, which bears 1000 beads, and his giant lance, with which he hunted wild beasts.
He studied reading and writing in his youth by frequenting a scholar on Mount Qal‘iyya in Nador. The teacher would write him his portion of Qurân, leaving a
space at the bottom of his slate upon which he would write the divine name of God: ‘Allah’. He was instructed, on finishing his portion of Qurân, to close his eyes and invoke the Divine Name. He continued to do so, regularly repeating the Name after finishing each of his daily portions, until one day a powerful state overtook him and he fell to the ground unconscious. When his teacher came to check on him, he
found him lying still on the floor. Believing him to be dead, he fled the village fearing for his life. Once the boy had regained consciousness, he was in a
distant state and not all together himself.
He remained in this state for some time. He wandered into Algeria, where he met a man of God, who said to him:‘Were it not for your ancestor Muhammad, I would
not have wasted a word speaking to you. Your need is with the spiritual pole, Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Qâdir al-Bâsha who resides in the region of al-Khurûb.’ The
boy headed off earnestly to meet the Master and dedicate his services to him.
After a time, some of his master’s relatives began to despise the boy and grow jealous of him. The master ordered the boy to leave, so he went to the bottom of
the mountain, where he hid in the day, at night, he bringing fodder for the master’s animals. He remained like this for some time. There were times when hunger overcame him so that he was forced to eat snails to stop the hunger pangs. One night one of the master’s relatives spotted him moving amongst the animals, so they reported him,
believing him to be a thief. The master began to look out for the thief at night, but when he saw who a figure moving around outside he called out to him: ‘Who is it?’ He replied: ‘It is I, Bin Qaddûr.’ He invited him to come out and sit with him. Whilst they were speaking, a maid came up to them and reported that the vessel they used to make bread with was missing. When Sîdî bin Qaddûr heard this, he ran off to the market in search of one,and with which he returned, carrying it on his back all the way to his master’s house, a great distance. When his Master found him, he asked him where he had located the vessel. He told him that he had brought it from the marketplace at Qal‘iyyah. His master stood back astonished. The boy grew even dearer to his teacher from then on.
He remained in the service of his master until he was told to go to his homeland to spread the teachings of the path. ‘Be honourable and generous but also be on guard against your fellow family members, who will be envious.’ And so it happened that his family plotted to kill him. Whilst he was far off from the village on a mountain side, a man appeared before him bearing a knife, wanting to kill him. Sîdî bin Qaddûr began to admonish him and told him to fear God, but it was to no avail, so Sîdî bin Qaddûr was forced to shoot him with his rifle, killing him. Immediately, he ran home gathered his family and fled with them to a mountain called ‘the Spring of Zûrâ’. There he dug two caves in the earth, one for his family and one for his
students. There he lived with his family and disciples.
His reputation soon spread far and wide amongst the neighbouring tribes. One day a tribe called Banî Bûhyâ, who had previously pledged allegiance to him, came to visit him. They took him to their homeland at night on Mount Karkar. He ordered them to leave him there, and it was on this mountain that his zâwiya was built. It was also here that he issued people the invocation of the Divine Name and spread his teachings
until he finally passed away.
Idris
He studied reading and writing in his youth by frequenting a scholar on Mount Qal‘iyya in Nador. The teacher would write him his portion of Qurân, leaving a
space at the bottom of his slate upon which he would write the divine name of God: ‘Allah’. He was instructed, on finishing his portion of Qurân, to close his eyes and invoke the Divine Name. He continued to do so, regularly repeating the Name after finishing each of his daily portions, until one day a powerful state overtook him and he fell to the ground unconscious. When his teacher came to check on him, he
found him lying still on the floor. Believing him to be dead, he fled the village fearing for his life. Once the boy had regained consciousness, he was in a
distant state and not all together himself.
He remained in this state for some time. He wandered into Algeria, where he met a man of God, who said to him:‘Were it not for your ancestor Muhammad, I would
not have wasted a word speaking to you. Your need is with the spiritual pole, Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Qâdir al-Bâsha who resides in the region of al-Khurûb.’ The
boy headed off earnestly to meet the Master and dedicate his services to him.
After a time, some of his master’s relatives began to despise the boy and grow jealous of him. The master ordered the boy to leave, so he went to the bottom of
the mountain, where he hid in the day, at night, he bringing fodder for the master’s animals. He remained like this for some time. There were times when hunger overcame him so that he was forced to eat snails to stop the hunger pangs. One night one of the master’s relatives spotted him moving amongst the animals, so they reported him,
believing him to be a thief. The master began to look out for the thief at night, but when he saw who a figure moving around outside he called out to him: ‘Who is it?’ He replied: ‘It is I, Bin Qaddûr.’ He invited him to come out and sit with him. Whilst they were speaking, a maid came up to them and reported that the vessel they used to make bread with was missing. When Sîdî bin Qaddûr heard this, he ran off to the market in search of one,and with which he returned, carrying it on his back all the way to his master’s house, a great distance. When his Master found him, he asked him where he had located the vessel. He told him that he had brought it from the marketplace at Qal‘iyyah. His master stood back astonished. The boy grew even dearer to his teacher from then on.
He remained in the service of his master until he was told to go to his homeland to spread the teachings of the path. ‘Be honourable and generous but also be on guard against your fellow family members, who will be envious.’ And so it happened that his family plotted to kill him. Whilst he was far off from the village on a mountain side, a man appeared before him bearing a knife, wanting to kill him. Sîdî bin Qaddûr began to admonish him and told him to fear God, but it was to no avail, so Sîdî bin Qaddûr was forced to shoot him with his rifle, killing him. Immediately, he ran home gathered his family and fled with them to a mountain called ‘the Spring of Zûrâ’. There he dug two caves in the earth, one for his family and one for his
students. There he lived with his family and disciples.
His reputation soon spread far and wide amongst the neighbouring tribes. One day a tribe called Banî Bûhyâ, who had previously pledged allegiance to him, came to visit him. They took him to their homeland at night on Mount Karkar. He ordered them to leave him there, and it was on this mountain that his zâwiya was built. It was also here that he issued people the invocation of the Divine Name and spread his teachings
until he finally passed away.
Idris
Sîdî Bû ‘Azzâ al-Mahhâjî
His name is Abu ‘Abdullâh Bû ‘Azzâ al-Tilimsânî al-Mahhâjî from the tribe of Mahhâja, who originate from a region outside of Tilimsân, Algeria. He had two
zâwiyas: one in Oujda in Morocco, the other in Tilimsân. He took from Moulay al-‘Arabî al-Darqâwî. He was a man of a high spiritual station. It was related
that one day he was sitting with a scholar of law when a man came asking about a very complex issue. The scholar gave his answer, quoting what he had memorised
from the book of Khalîl (a traditional Maliki book of law). Once the scholar had finished his answer, Abû ‘Azzâ sat up and said, “I don’t think that to be the
correct answer. Go back and review the issue in the commentaries of Khalîl.” (This he said even though Abû ‘Azzâ had never touched a book of law.) On reviewing
the commentaries, the scholar found to his astonishment that the matter was just as Abû ‘Azzâ had said.
He would always surpass the scholars in discussion and leave them speechless if they sat with him. He would say, “If the angels were to descend from the
heavens, I would be able to converse with them.” At first he was a man of silence, until one day his teacher ordered him to speak. From that day, he would talk of things that would confound the intellects of the people.
He passed away on Friday 15th (in the middle of Rabî’ al-Awwal) September 1277. He was buried in the Ramîla District of Fez just in front of the mosque of Sîdî Bû Madyan.
Idris
zâwiyas: one in Oujda in Morocco, the other in Tilimsân. He took from Moulay al-‘Arabî al-Darqâwî. He was a man of a high spiritual station. It was related
that one day he was sitting with a scholar of law when a man came asking about a very complex issue. The scholar gave his answer, quoting what he had memorised
from the book of Khalîl (a traditional Maliki book of law). Once the scholar had finished his answer, Abû ‘Azzâ sat up and said, “I don’t think that to be the
correct answer. Go back and review the issue in the commentaries of Khalîl.” (This he said even though Abû ‘Azzâ had never touched a book of law.) On reviewing
the commentaries, the scholar found to his astonishment that the matter was just as Abû ‘Azzâ had said.
He would always surpass the scholars in discussion and leave them speechless if they sat with him. He would say, “If the angels were to descend from the
heavens, I would be able to converse with them.” At first he was a man of silence, until one day his teacher ordered him to speak. From that day, he would talk of things that would confound the intellects of the people.
He passed away on Friday 15th (in the middle of Rabî’ al-Awwal) September 1277. He was buried in the Ramîla District of Fez just in front of the mosque of Sîdî Bû Madyan.
Idris
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
The Letters of Moulay al-'Arabi al-Darqawi
Letter Six
I was once with one of the brethren, Sidi Ahmed at-Tahir, in the Qarawiyyin. We were both in a strong state of witnessing in those times, but that day I found he had withered, or should we say ‘weakened’, until he had started to fall into idle prattle like anyone else. I scolded him violently, saying: 'If you wish to succeed, then strike your ego and throw it aside.'
I also said to one of the brethren, who had told me that one day he had lashed out at a Jewish man, not for any reason but his own vain-glory, and maliciousness: 'Do not strike anyone, be he Jew, Christian, or Muslim, but rather strike out at your own ego, and continue to do so until it dies.’ This is of the up most importance.
Brethren, you too must leave the idle chatter aside completely. It is the worst of all mischief, and is not befitting of your station, nor does it comply with your state. Do not mention anyone unless you mention him well – ‘Whoever has not been grateful to the people has not been grateful to God.’
We believe, and God knows best, that he who has lost sight of the people has not truly witnessed God in all His glory. The one who is complete is he who is not veiled from the creation by his Creator, or from the Creator by His creation in all its shapes and forms. This is the one who has arrived and is complete. This is the Gnostic; and the opposite of this is the one who is lost and confused; except for the one who has lost his mind out of love for God (al-Majdhūb), for he no longer has the faculty to perceive things, and is therefore not lost and confused. Peace.
Idris
I was once with one of the brethren, Sidi Ahmed at-Tahir, in the Qarawiyyin. We were both in a strong state of witnessing in those times, but that day I found he had withered, or should we say ‘weakened’, until he had started to fall into idle prattle like anyone else. I scolded him violently, saying: 'If you wish to succeed, then strike your ego and throw it aside.'
I also said to one of the brethren, who had told me that one day he had lashed out at a Jewish man, not for any reason but his own vain-glory, and maliciousness: 'Do not strike anyone, be he Jew, Christian, or Muslim, but rather strike out at your own ego, and continue to do so until it dies.’ This is of the up most importance.
Brethren, you too must leave the idle chatter aside completely. It is the worst of all mischief, and is not befitting of your station, nor does it comply with your state. Do not mention anyone unless you mention him well – ‘Whoever has not been grateful to the people has not been grateful to God.’
We believe, and God knows best, that he who has lost sight of the people has not truly witnessed God in all His glory. The one who is complete is he who is not veiled from the creation by his Creator, or from the Creator by His creation in all its shapes and forms. This is the one who has arrived and is complete. This is the Gnostic; and the opposite of this is the one who is lost and confused; except for the one who has lost his mind out of love for God (al-Majdhūb), for he no longer has the faculty to perceive things, and is therefore not lost and confused. Peace.
Idris
The Letters of Moulay al-'Arabi al-Darqawi
Letter Seven
Occupy yourselves with that which your Lord has called you to do. Do not be concerned with those who harm you, whether they be from amongst you or from outside. If you do not seek to stand up for yourselves then God all-Mighty will do so for you and subsequently take over your affair, and if you stand up for yourselves then He will leave the affair in your hands and you will be left helpless, and God has power over everything.
(Sidi Qasim al-Khassasi:) ‘Don't ever be concerned with those who come to harm you. Instead, occupy yourself with God, and He will turn them away. He is the one who brought them to you in order to test whether you were being truthful in your claim. How many a man has slipped up on this point, and become concerned with defending himself against those who harmed him, therefore causing the harm to persist and falling into sin at the same time. If only he turned to his Lord He would turn them away from him, and suffice him.’ Peace.
Idris
Occupy yourselves with that which your Lord has called you to do. Do not be concerned with those who harm you, whether they be from amongst you or from outside. If you do not seek to stand up for yourselves then God all-Mighty will do so for you and subsequently take over your affair, and if you stand up for yourselves then He will leave the affair in your hands and you will be left helpless, and God has power over everything.
(Sidi Qasim al-Khassasi:) ‘Don't ever be concerned with those who come to harm you. Instead, occupy yourself with God, and He will turn them away. He is the one who brought them to you in order to test whether you were being truthful in your claim. How many a man has slipped up on this point, and become concerned with defending himself against those who harmed him, therefore causing the harm to persist and falling into sin at the same time. If only he turned to his Lord He would turn them away from him, and suffice him.’ Peace.
Idris
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