SHAYKH AL ISLAM

Chapter-46

46 - THIRD VOLUME, 46 th LETTER

Iman, worships and necessary advice

This letter, written to a very pious lady, explains beliefs and encourages worship:

May hamd-u-thena [Thanking, praising and lauding.] be to Allahu ta'ala, who sends us all the conspicuous and invisible blessings, who shows us the way to safety, and who honors us by making us an Ummat of His Beloved Muhammad Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam.

Allahu ta'ala is the only one who gives every blessing, every goodness to all creatures. He is the One who creates everything and who gives the blessing of existence. He is also the One who keeps everything in existence every moment. Perfect and good attributes are given to men through His mercy, through His sympathy. Our attributes of life, knowledge, hearing, seeing, power and speech are all from Him. He, alone, sends innumerable blessings. He is the One who saves people from troubles. He is the One who accepts prayers and rescues people from disasters. He is such a Razzaq [He who gives sustenance, food.] that He does not cut off the sustenance of His born servants on account of their sins. His forgiveness and mercy is so plentiful that He does not disclose the ugliness of the faces of sinners. He is so patient that He does not hurry in punishing His born servants.

He is so bounteous that He showers His favors and blessings upon everybody, whether beloved or hostile. And, as the most honorable, most valuable and highest of all His blessings, He communicates Islam to His born servants clearly, and shows them the way He likes. He deigns to command them to attain endless bliss by following the highest of creatures. Thus, His blessings and favors are clearer than the sun and more conspicuous than the moon. Also, He is the One who sends the blessings that come through others. Others' favors are similar to the custodian depositing something with a person. To ask anything from somebody else means to expect something from a poor person. An ignorant person as well as a learned one knows this. A blockhead as well as a clever person understands it.

COUPLET:
Even if the hairs on my body began to speak
They couldn't do even one-thousandth of the thanks Thou deserve.

Everybody knows that he who does favors should be thanked. It is a requirement of being human. Those who do favors are respected. Generous people are deemed great. Then, it is a requirement of a being human to thank Allahu ta'ala, who is the real owner of every blessing. It is a duty, a debt, which the mind necessitates. However, since Allahu ta'ala is free from any defect or fault, while men are smeared with the taint of defects and with the stains of deficiency, they do not have any relationship with Him. They cannot understand how great He is or how to thank Him accordingly. Methods which they think of as beautiful and use to describe Him may be loathsome to Him. What they think appropriate as a way of lauding and praising Him may, in fact, insult and belittle Him. Unless He dictates the means by which He should be praised and thanked, other ways cannot be trusted as being worthy of Him, nor can they be acceptable ways of worshipping Him. A way that a man chooses to thank Him may actually be a form of slander. Therefore, the religions and Shariats which have been communicated by His prophets 'alaihim-us-salawatu wattaslimat' reveal how He should be praised, respected and thanked. Ways of respecting Him through the heart are communicated in the religion, and the thanks that are rendered to Him by the tongue are, again shown there. Religions explain clearly and in detail the actions which every organ will do. Then, thanking Allahu ta'ala by believing with the heart while the body does certain actions is possible only by adapting oneself to the religion. The reverence and the worship that is rendered to Allahu ta'ala outside the religion cannot be depended upon. They usually are done in a form contrary to His wishes and what is thought of as a blessing turns out to be a sin. As it is understood from these words, following the religion is a requirement of being a human and is something which the mind approves and likes. Allahu ta'ala cannot be thanked outside His religion.

Each religion which Allahu ta'ala declared is of two parts: itiqad (belief) and 'amal (worship); that is, iman and rules. Of them, itiqad is the same in every religion. Itiqad is the essence and the basis of the religion. It is the trunk of the tree of the religion. And 'amal is like the branches and leaves of the tree. The itiqads communicated in ancient religions were defiled in the course of time. The only righteous itiqad today is the itiqad which is communicated by the Islamic religion. He who does not have this correct itiqad will not be saved from Hell. It will be impossible for him to escape the torment of the next world. There is hope for those without 'amal to be saved. They may depend on the mercy of Allahu ta'ala, who may forgive them, if He wants, or may torment them to the extent of their sins, if He wants, and then take them out of Hell. Staying eternally in Hell is for those who do not have the correct itiqad as communicated by the Islamic religion, that is, those who do not believe the tenets that are of the Islamic religion, which were communicated by Sayyiduna Muhammad (Alaihis-salam). Those who have the itiqad, but who do not have 'amal, that is, who do not carry out the rules with their heart and body, will not stay in Hell eternally, though they may go there. Since the tenets that must be believed are the essentials, the absolutely indispensable bases of Islam, it is necessary for everybody to teach and to learn them. [It is everybody's first duty to learn them. He who does not learn correct iman and its rules and who does not teach them to his children has not done his duty as a human being. Everybody has the right to learn them. It is the first of all human rights.]

Since the ahkam, that is, the commandments and prohibitions, are dependent upon Itiqad (Iman) and since they are lengthy and detailed, we will leave them to be dealt within the books of Fiqh [and morals]. We will note down only the very necessary ones, inshallahu ta'ala.

[Iman and itiqad are the same. There is a very lengthy and profound branch of knowledge describing them called ilm-i kalam. Savants of Kalam are very great people, and books of Kalam are numerous. These books are also called books of aqaid. Things that are to be done or abstained from with the heart and body are called ahkam-i Shariyya or shortly the Shariat. The branch of knowledge communicating the ahkam-i Shariyya, which is done with the body, is called ilm-i fiqh. The books of kalam of the four madhhabs are the same, but their books of fiqh are different. The books that are written for non-educated people and that briefly and clearly describe the knowledge of Kalam (Iman), morals and Fiqh, which everybody should know and do, are called the books of ilm-i hal. It is the first duty of each Muslim to get books of Ilm-i hal written by blessed people who know, love and take care for their religion. Afterwards, he must teach what he has learned to his wife and children. To attempt to learn the religion from the speeches and articles of ignorant people who call themselves and play the part of men of religion means to throw oneself down into Hell.]

THINGS THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO BE BELIEVED:

Allahu ta'ala exists by His zat; His existence is of Himself. As He exists now, He has always been existing and will continue to exist. There cannot be nonexistence before or after His being. His existence is indispensable. That is, He is Wajib-ul-wujud (the Indispensable Being). There cannot be nonexistence at that rank. Allahu ta'ala is One. That is, He does not have a partner or a likeness. He does not have a partner in being Wajib-ul- wujud, in being worshipped or in being worthy of worship. For having a partner, Allahu ta'ala has to be insufficient, dependent, which are defects and faults. There cannot be deficiencies in wujub, and uluhiyyat [ 'Wujub' means 'being necessary.' It also means 'the being whose existence is indispensable.' Allahu ta'ala and his eight Attributes are in the grade of wujub. They are wajib. 'Uluhiyyat' means 'being worthy of being worshipped and entreated.' It is necessary to worship, entreat a being who creates man and keeps him in existence every moment and who creates everything which is necessary for man and who protects him against horror and who is powerful enough to do everything and who does not have a likeness, an assistant or any being powerful enough to oppose Him. This being is the grade of uluhiyyat.]. He is sufficient, independent. That is, He is by Himself. Then, there is no need for a partner or a likeness. And being unnecessary is a defect and is not compatible with wujub and uluhiyyat. As it can be seen, to think that He has a partner shows that each of the partners is insufficient. That is, to think that there is a partner exposes the fact that there cannot be a partner. That means to say that Allahu ta'ala does not have a partner. He is one.

Allahu ta'ala has perfect Attributes that are not deficient. They are: hayat (to exist), 'ilm (to know), sam' (to hear), basar (to see), qudrat (to be omnipotent), irada (to will), kalam (to say) and takwin (to create). These eight Attributes are called Sifat-i thubutiyya or Sifat- i haqiqiyya. These attributes of His are eternal. That is, they are not (of recent occurrence). They exist separately from Himself. The Ahl as-sunnat savants have communicated this, so may Allahu ta'ala reward them for their work! None of the seventy-two sects, but only the Ahl as-Sunnat could realize that Allahu ta'ala had separate Attributes. In fact, the recent ones of the Sufiyya-i 'aliyya (great men of tasawwuf) said that those Attributes were the same as the Divine Person (Allah Himself), thus they are akin to the seventy-two sects, though they were of the Ahl as-Sunnat. Yes, they do not say that the Attributes are nonexistent, like the others say, but it is understood from the implications of their words that they view the Attributes as nonexistent. The seventy-two sects claim that they protect Allahu ta'ala against defects and that they know Him as perfect by considering the Attributes to be nonexistent. While they think of this as being perfect, they disagree with the Qur'an al-Karim. May Allahu ta'ala bless them with adhering to the way of the Qur'an al-Karim!

The other Attributes of Allahu ta'ala are either itibari (thought of as being) or salbi (impossible to exist). For example, qidam (not nonexistent before His existence), azaliyyat (not having a beginning as an existence), wujub (impossible to cease existing), and uluhiyyat. For example, Allahu ta'ala is not a substance. He is not of a substance. He is not of matter. He is not a state. He does not have a place. He is not of time. He has not entered anything or settled in any place. He is not limited or surrounded by anything. He is not on any side or in any direction. He is not connected with anything. He does not resemble anything. He does not have a likeness or an opposite. He does not have a mother, father, wife or children. [He who says, "Allah, the Father," becomes a kafir.] All these are things that exist in creatures, in beings who were created later. They are all signs of a defect and fault. They are all Sifat-i Salbiyya. All perfect attributes exist in Allahu ta'ala. No defective attributes exists in Him.

Allahu ta'ala knows the wholes, the fragments, the big things and the tiny motes. He knows every secret. He knows the tiniest motes in earth and in the skies. He is the One who creates everything. Certainly, He knows the things He creates. To create, it is necessary to know. Some unfortunate people say that He does not know of every mote. They suppose that it is greatness and perfectness not to know of every mote. Likewise, by saying that Allahu ta'ala created something which they call active mind, willy-nilly, they suppose that this is perfection too. They are so ignorant that they think of ignorance as perfection. They suppose that it is an act of greatness to do something willy-nilly, like the forces recognized by the knowledge of physics. They fabled something called the active mind. They say that everything comes to being from it. They know Him as incapable and ineffective and as someone who created the worlds, the skies, and everything in them. To this poor person [Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani means himself], there is nobody on earth who is more ignorant and baser than they are. And some other people think of them as scientists, as men of positive knowledge, and suppose that they know something and tell the truth.

Allahu ta'ala is the speaker of one word from eternity in the past until eternity in the future. All His commandments are from that one word. All His prohibitions are, again, from that one word. Likewise, all His news and all His questions originate from that one word. the books Tawrat and Injil denote that one word. Also, the Zabur and the Qur'an al- karim signify that one word. Likewise, His other books and pages are all explanations of that one word. When eternity in the past and eternity in the future become one moment at that rank despite their being infinite - even thought it would not include the word 'one moment,' we use the word 'one moment' since there is no other word - the word, which is in that one moment, is also certainly one word, one letter, and even one dot. To say one dot, like saying one moment, is due to there being no other appropriate word. Otherwise, it would not be correct to say even one dot. The wideness and the narrowness in Allah Himself and in His Attributes are not like those which we know and with which we are familiar. He is far from being wide or narrow, which is an attribute for creatures.

Believers will see Allahu ta'ala in Paradise. But they will see Him with a seeing which is not known. Seeing something which is not known or comprehended, will be seeing which is not comprehended. Maybe the one who sees will go into a state that cannot be understood, and then will see. This is a mystery, a puzzle, which has been communicated to the distinguished ones of the Awliya in this world. This profound, difficult matter, which is hidden to everybody, has been revealed to them. It has not been understood, with the exception of the Ahl as-sunnat, neither by groups of Believers nor by any individual from the disbelievers. All but those great people said that Allahu ta'ala could not be seen. Others went wrong because they likened the things which they did not know to those which they saw. It is obvious that such comparisons and measurements will give wrong results. [And today, many people are dragged towards eternal disaster by losing their iman because of this wrong measurement and comparison.] To be blessed with the honor of iman in profound matters such as these falls to one's lot only in the light of obeying the sunnat (that is, the Shariat) of Muhammad (alaihissalam). How can they be honored with attaining this blessing, those who are deprived of the honor of believing in seeing Allahu ta'ala in Paradise in light of the famous saying, "He who refuses will be deprived"? On the other hand, it is not suitable to be in Paradise and not see, for the Shariat says that all of those in Paradise will see. It does not say that some of them will see while some others will not see. We will quote for them the answer which Hadrat Musa gave to Pharaoh, which Allahu ta'ala declares through the 51 st and 52 nd ayats of Sura Taha: "Pharaoh said, 'What became of those who came and passed before us!' He said in response, 'My Allah knows their states and futures. It is written in Lawh al-Mahfuz [see Preface]. My Allah never goes wrong or forgets anything. As for me, I am merely a born servant like you. I know only as much as He lets me know.' "

Paradise is also a creature of Allahu ta'ala, as everything is. Allahu ta'ala does not enter or stay in any of His creatures. But His divine lights appear in some of His creatures. And some others do not have that talent. The mirror reflects the images of the things opposite itself. But stone or soil does not reflect them. Though Allahu ta'ala is in the same nisbat (relation) to each of His creatures, the creatures are not the same in respect to one another. Allahu ta'ala cannot be seen in the world. This world is not convenient for attaining the blessing of seeing Him. He who says that He can be seen here is a liar, a slanderer. He has not understood the truth. If this blessing were attainable in this world, Hadrat Musa 'alaihis-salam' would have seen Him before anybody else. Our Prophet 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' was honored with this good luck in the Miraj [The Prophet's ascent to Heaven.]. Yet it did not happen in this world. He went into Paradise. He saw Him there. That is, he saw Him as he will be seen in the next world. He did not see Him in the world. While being in the world, he went out of the world, went into the next world and saw Him.

Allahu ta'ala is the creator of the worlds and skies. He is the one who created mountains, seas, trees, fruits, metals, germs, animals, atoms, electrons and molecules. As He ornamented the first sky with stars, so He ornamented the earth by creating human beings. He created simple substances, elements. Compounds came into being through His creation. He is the one who created everything out of nothing. Everything other than Him was nonexistent. None of them is eternal. All righteous religions declare that everything other than Allahu ta'ala came to being later while having been nonexistent and that there is nothing eternal except Allahu ta'ala. They say that those who know others as eternal are disbelievers. Imam al-Ghazzali, the Proof of Islam, said in his book al-Munqidhu 'aniddalal (reproduced by offset press by Hakikat Kitabevi) that he who knows anybody besides Allahu ta'ala as eternal is a kafir.

Qur'an al-Karim communicates that those who know the skies, the stars and other things as eternal are liars. There are many ayat al-karimas showing that the worlds were created out of nothing. Extremely dissolute is the person who disbelieves the Qur'an by following his mind, which may go wrong at any time. Unless Allahu ta'ala gives light to a person, he will not be enlightened.

As human beings are creatures, so all their deeds and actions are Allahu ta'ala's creatures. For, nobody besides Him can make or create anything. How can a creature create another, while it itself has been created? The stamp of createdness denotes little power and signifies insufficient knowledge. He who has little knowledge and power cannot create or invent. In man's action, what falls to his lot is a result of his acquiring. That is, action has been produced through his power and will. It is Allahu ta'ala who has created and made that action. It is man who has acquired it. As it is seen, the optional actions of men, those which they do willingly, happen from their acquiring and Allah's creating. If man's acquiring or option [that is, his liking] does not take part in his action, that action turns into convulsions. [It becomes like the movement of the stomach or of the heart.] However, it is obvious that optional actions are not like them. The difference between optional actions and convulsions, though they are both created by Allahu ta'ala, is in the acquiring. Pitying His born servants, Allahu ta'ala made the creation of their actions dependent upon their intention and wish. He creates man's action when man wants. It is for this reason that man is responsible. The blessing or the sin of the action is given to man. The intention, the option, which Allahu ta'ala has given to His born servants, is equal in doing or not doing the action. He declared clearly to His born servants through His prophets which actions are good or bad to do or not to do. Man, being free to do or not to do each of his actions, will for certain choose one of them; the action will be either good or bad, and he will receive either a blessing or a sin. Allahu ta'ala has given His born servants as much power (energy) and option (liking, choosing) as to carry out His commands and prohibitions. There is no need for Him to give any more ability. He has given as much as is necessary. He who does not believe this is a person who cannot realize things easily. Because his heart is sick, he looks for pretexts for not obeying the Shariat.

[Allahu ta'ala willed in pre-eternity to give to mankind the power of option, and to let them choose freely the things they want to do or do not want to do. He never forces men to do something. The reason for mankind having the power of option is because Allahu ta'ala willed it so. The freedom that mankind has in doing what he wishes clearly indicates that mankind has the power of option, as well, it denotes that Allahu ta'ala willed it in preeternity that way. If He had not willed mankind to have the power of option, and if He had not created it in them, then man would not be free, but would be obliged to do the thing he wished for. However, when a man wishes and wills to do something, Allahu ta'ala, too, wills it and creates it. Allahu ta'ala is the creator of the things men opted for. Man cannot create and then do any one of his wishes. After he wills something, then Allahu ta'ala also wills it and creates it. He, Allahu ta'ala, is the only Creator and Maker of every thing. There is no creator other than Him. To call anyone other than Him Creator, or to say '...someone created' is very wrong and is an act of making someone a shareholder, a partner with Allahu ta'ala, which is what He most strongly prohibited and informed that such people will experience an endless and most vehement torment.]

All of this which we have communicated concerns profound matters involving the knowledge of kalam. Their easiest and clearest explanation consists of what we have written here. We have to believe what the savants of the right way have communicated. We shouldn't busy ourselves with discussing or researching [them].

COUPLET:
Attacking is not good in all circumstances,
It'll be better to take shelter sometimes!

Having mercy upon His born servants, Allahu ta'ala sent them prophets 'alaihim-us- salawatu wattaslimat'. Through them He guided His born servants to the right way, to the way of endless bliss, and called His born servants to Himself. He invited them to Paradise, the place for His consent and love. Man is so poor, but he will not accept the invitation of such a giver of favors, as He is. Man is very stupid and deprives himself of His blessings. All the information which those great people communicated from Allahu ta'ala is true. It is necessary to believe all of it. Though mind is a means for finding out the truth and what is good, it cannot find it alone, for it is insufficient. It has been completed with the coming of prophets 'alaihim-us-salawatu wattaslimat'. There is no excuse, no pretext left for men. The first of the prophets is Hadrat Adam. And the last one is hadrat Muhammad Rasulullah 'alaihi wa alaihim-us-salawatu wattaslimat'. It is necessary to believe in all the prophets. All of them should be known as innocent (sinless) and true. To disbelieve one of them means to disbelieve all of them. For all of them communicated the same iman. That is, the essentials, the bases of the things to be believed in were the same in all of their religions. [Wahhabis do not believe that Adam ('alaihi's-salam) was a Prophet. The book Kashf-ush- shuhubat, a book of Wahhabism, states in its initial pages that the first prophet was Noah ('alaihi's-salam)]. This is only one of their wrong credal tenets. Hadrat Isa (Jesus) did not die. When Jews wanted to kill him, Allahu ta'ala raised him alive up to Heaven. At a time towards the end of the world he will descend to Damascus from Heaven and will follow the Shariat of Muhammad (alaihissalam). Hadrat Khwaja Muhammad Parisa, one of the great Awliya educated by Hadrat Bahaddin-i Naqshibandi Bukhari, a great Awliya, a diver into the ocean of tasawwuf, says in his book Fusul-i sitta, "Hadrat Isa will descend from Heaven, will act according to the madhhab of Imam-i Abu Hanifa, will say halal about what he said was halal, and will say haram about what he said was haram."

ANGELS: They are the precious born servants of Allahu ta'ala. Some of them have been honored with conveying information to other angels and to His prophets (alaihimussalam) among mankind. They do what they are commanded to do. They do not revolt. They do not eat or drink. They do not get married. They are neither male nor female. They do not have children. They carried the (heavenly) books and pages. Because they are trustworthy, what they convey is true. To be a Muslim, it is necessary to believe in angels in this manner. According to the majority of the savants of the right way, the exalted ones from among human beings are superior to the exalted ones from among the angels. Since human beings struggle against the Devil and their own nafs, they are exalted, though they are in need. But angels were created exalted. Angels say tasbih and taqdis [The words 'tasbih' and 'taqdis' are used in the same meaning. Though there is a very delicate difference between their meanings, they both mean 'without any fault or defect.']. Yet it is peculiar to the higher ones from among human beings to add jihad to it. Allahu ta'ala declares in the ninety-fourth ayat of Surat-un-Nisa, as interpreted: "Those Muslims who perform jihad, who war against the enemies of religion by sacrificing their possessions and lives for Allah's sake, are more exalted than those who do not go out, but instead only worship. I promise Paradise for all of them."

All of what the Mukhbir-i sadiq 'alaihi wa 'ala alihi-s-salatu wa-s-salam' (he who always tells the truth (the Prophet) communicated about the grave, Resurrection, Hashr (assembling in the space of Arasat after the Resurrection), Nashr (dispersing after the settling of accounts to go into Paradise or Hell), and about Paradise and Hell, is true. Believing in the next world, like believing in Allahu ta'ala, is a principle of iman. He who disbelieves in the next world is a kafir, as if he disbelieved in Allahu ta'ala.

There is torment in the grave and there is squeezing in the grave. He who disbelieves it does not become a kafir, but he becomes Ahl-i bidat since he has not believed the hadiths that are well known. [Such people disbelieve the torment in the grave because they doubt that those hadiths are true ones. If they accepted them as hadiths, they would believe it. For this reason, they do not become disbelievers, but they stray from the Ahl as-sunnat. But, he who says, "I do not believe in the torment of the grave, whether it is written in hadiths or not. Mind and experiments do not confirm it," becomes a kafir. Now those who disbelieve it in this manner become disbelievers.] Since the grave is a pass between this and the next worlds, the torment in the grave is transient like worldly torments but resembles the torments of the next world. That is, in one respect, it is like worldly torments, while in another respect, it is like those of the next world. The torment in the grave will be mostly done to those who fouled their clothes while urinating and to those who spread gossip among Muslims while they are in the world. Two angels named Munkar and Nakir will ask questions in the grave. It is difficult to answer their questions. [Munkar and Nakir mean that which is unacknowledged. See the explanations after Juma salat in the 4 th fascicle.]

There is the day when the world will end. That day will surely come. On that day, the skies will be torn into pieces, the stars will disperse, the earth and mountains will break into pieces and will be annihilated. The Qur'an communicates this fact and all groups of Muslims believe it. He who disbelieves it becomes a kafir. Even if he misrepresents his obstinacy well by means of some fantastic stories, or if he deceives the ignorant by pushing knowledge and science on them, he is still a kafir. At the end of the world, after all creatures are annihilated, they will then be recreated, and everybody will be resurrected from his grave. Allahu ta'ala will resurrect the bones that have rotted and turned into dust. That day a pair of scales will be set up; the account-books of all humans will fly to their owners, to the righteous ones from their right and to the evil ones from their left. The bridge of Sirat, which is set over Hell, will be passed, the pious ones will pass over it and will go into Paradise, but those who are for Hell will fall down into Hell. These things which we communicate are not impossible. Since the Mukhbir-i sadiq 'sall-Allahu ta'ala alaihi wa sallam' has declared them, we have to accept them and believe them instantly. We shouldn't doubt about them by being fed on illusions. Allahu ta'ala declares in the seventh ayat of Surat-ul-Hashr: "Take what my Messenger has brought for you!" that is, believe whatever he says! On the Day of Resurrection, with the permission of Allahu ta'ala, the virtuous ones will perform shafaat for the bad ones, that is, they will intercede for them. Our Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam declares: "My shafaat is for the ones with great sins from among my Ummat." After settling accounts, disbelievers will go into Hell and will stay in Hell and be tormented eternally. Believers will stay in Paradise and in the blessings of Paradise eternally. Those Muslims whose sins are greater than their good deeds will possibly go into Hell, being tormented there for a while or to the extent of their sins. Yet they will not remain in Hell eternally. A person with iman equaling a speck will not remain in Hell eternally, but being blessed with divine mercy, he will enter Paradise.

[It is written on the two hundred and ninth page of the book Amantu Sharhi, written by Kadizada Ahmad Effendi, "In Hell, there is a place called Zamharir. That is, it is the cold Hell. Its cold is so vehement that it cannot be endured for even a moment. Disbelievers will be tormented by being thrown once into the cold Hell and then once into the hot one, and then again into the cold one and then again into the hot one." It is written in the sixth chapter of the fourth part of the book Kimya-yi Saadat, and also in the chapter "Calling One's Nafs to Account" at the end of the book "The States of the Resurrection and the Next World," which is the Turkish version of the book Durrat al-Fakhira, by Imam-i-Muhammad Ghazzali, that there are cold zamharir torments in Hell. This fact is also stated clearly in Hadith ash-Sharifs.

By attacking Islam through lies and slanders, the enemies of religion say, "Because all Prophets came to hot countries, they always frightened people with fire by saying that fire was the means of torment of Hell. If they had come to the poles, to the cold northern countries, they would have said that the torment would be done with ice." These disbelievers are both ignorant and stupid. As a matter of fact, if they knew of the Qur'an and if they had heard of the words of the great men of Islam and if they were a little clever, they would become Muslims immediately. At least, perhaps, they would not be so low as to write down these reckless lies. Our religion both declares that there are cold torments in Hell, and communicates that prophets were sent not only to hot countries, but also to every country on earth, whether hot or cold. The Qur'an answers the questions asked to our prophet according to the knowledge and understanding of the persons who asked them. Also, it explains the unknown beings in the next world by likening them to the ones which they have seen and known in the world. Since the Makkans had not heard of the poles and of the countries of ice, it would be useless to tell them about the freezing torments of Hell. The existence of such information compatible with this subtlety in the Qur'an and hadiths causes today's disbelievers to become more confused.]

Believers and disbelievers become evident at their last breath. Many people remain disbelievers throughout their lives, and, at last, they get blessed with Iman. As well, there are those whose lives go by with Iman, but who turn into quite the opposite at last. On the Last Judgement, they will be judged according to their last breath. O' our Allah! After showing us the right way and honoring us with Iman, protect us against going wrong, against aberration! Have mercy upon us, pity us! Thou alone can show the right way!

IMAN (FAITH): It is called Iman to believe through the heart the things that are known as being of the religion, and to express one's iman with one's tongue. The things that must be believed in are: To believe in the existence of Allahu ta'ala, His oneness, His books and pages, and His prophets and angels. To believe in the Hashr and Nashr of the next world, the eternal blessings in Paradise, the eternal torments in Hell, the cracking of the skies, the dispersing of the stars, and the breaking of the earth into pieces. To believe that it is fard to perform the prayer of namaz five times each day, to believe in the numbers of rakats [In performing namaz, the actions of standing, bowing, putting the head on the ground twice are altogether called one 'rakat.' Most prayers consist of two or four rakats. One of them consists of three rakats.] in these prayers, to believe that it is fard to give the Zakaat of one's property [see article 34], to fast everyday in the month of Ramadan, and, for him who can, to go to the city of Makkah and perform the Hajj. It is necessary to believe that it is haram to drink wine, to eat pork, to kill a person unjustly, to disobey one's parents, to steal, to commit adultery, to appropriate an orphan's property, to charge or pay interest when lending or borrowing money, [for women to go out unveiled or naked, and to gamble]. If a person with iman commits a grave sin, his iman does not go away, nor does he become a kafir. He, who says halal about a sin, that is, about a haram, becomes a kafir. He who commits a haram becomes a fasiq (sinner). One should say, "I am certainly a Mumin." One should say that one has iman. One should not say inshallah (if Allah wills) while saying that one is a Believer. It may imply doubt. Yes, it may be permissible to say inshallah about one's last breath, yet it is better not to say so.

The superiority of the four Khalifas to one another is in accordance with the sequence of their caliphates. All the savants of the right way said, "After the prophets 'alaihim-us- salawatu wattaslimat' the highest of human beings is Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq 'radi-Allahu anh'. After him is Hadrat 'Umar Faruq 'radi-Allahu anh'." To this poor person, being higher or superior does not depend on having virtues, attributes or good habits. It depends on accepting Islam before others, giving one's property more than anybody else for one's religion, and risking one's life. That is, it depends on being a teacher to one's successors. The successors learn everything from their predecessors. All of these three conditions were found in Hadrat Siddiq. He accepted Islam before anybody else and sacrificed his possessions and his life for the sake of the religion. This blessing has not been the lot of anybody else besides him in this Ummat. Rasulullah declared towards his death: "To the extent that Abu Bakr did, there is nobody who sacrificed his property and life for my sake. If I were to have a friend, I would have made Abu Bakr my friend." He declared in a hadith: "Allahu ta'ala sent me to you as a prophet. You did not believe. Abu Bakr believed me. He helped me with his property and life. Do not hurt him and revere and respect him!" He declared in a hadith: "There will not come another prophet after me. If there were another, certainly 'Umar would be a prophet." Hadrat Amir 'Ali 'radi-Allahu anh' said, "Both Abu Bakr and 'Umar are the highest of this ummat. He who holds me superior to them is a slanderer. As slanderers are to be thrashed, I will trash him."

We should know that the battles amongst the Ashab-i kiram 'alaihim-ur-ridwan' were for good reasons. Those differences among them were not for the desires of the nafs or for the passion of obtaining a post, a chair, an office, or to become a leader, for all these are the evils of the nafs-i ammara. But their nafses had become quite pure through the company, or by the presence of the Best of Mankind (Rasulullah). Only, in the battles that took place during the caliphate of Hadrat Amir 'Ali, he ('Ali) was right. Those who disagreed with him were wrong. But, because it was a mistake of ijtihad [see article 26], it can by no means be criticized, let alone saying that they were fasiq (sinful)! All of them were just. The judgements given by any of them were acceptable. With respect to correctness and dependability, there was no difference between the judgements given by those who followed the Amir and the ones which were given by those who disagreed with him. The battles between them did not cause them to lose their being trustworthy. Then, it is necessary to love all of them; to love them is to love our Sayyid, the Prophet. He declared in a hadith: "He who loves them loves them because he loves me." We should utterly abstain from disliking them, especially from feeling hostility towards one of them because having enmity towards them means having enmity towards our Prophet. He said in a hadith, "He who is their enemy is so because he is my enemy." To revere, to respect those great people would be to revere and to respect the Best of Mankind. To belittle them would mean to belittle him. For respecting the company of the Best of Mankind and the words of the Best of Mankind, it is necessary to respect and esteem all of the Ashab-i kiram. Hadrat Abu Bakr-i Shibli 'quddisa sirruh', one of the great ones of the Awliya, says, "A person who does not respect or esteem the Ashab-i kiram 'radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhum ajmain' has not believed in Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam'."

A'MAL-I SHARIYYA (The acts pertaining to the Shariat): After correcting our belief, it is necessary to do the things which the Shariat commands. Rasulullah 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' declared: "The building of Islam has been constructed upon five pillars. The first of them is to say, "Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa Rasuluh' and to believe its meaning." The meaning of this word of Shahadat is: "I know and believe as if I saw that there is no god, nobody besides Allahu ta'ala, whose existence is necessary and who is worth worshipping and obeying. I know and believe as if I saw that Muhammad (alaihissalam) is both a born servant and the Prophet of Allahu ta'ala. He having been sent, the religions of the prophets preceding him have been completed and their validity has been abrogated. Attaining endless bliss necessitates following him. Each of his utterances has been communicated to him by Allahu ta'ala. All of them are correct. There is no likelihood for any mistake." [A person who wants to become a Muslim first expresses this word of Shahadat and its meaning. Then he learns how to perform a ghusl and namaz, and then the fards and harams to the extent that is needed.]
The things to be believed in have been written above.
The second pillar of Islam is to perform namaz five times each day, which is a basic pillar of the religion. Namaz is the highest of worships. The most valuable worship after iman is namaz. Like iman, its beauty also is of itself. But the beauty of other worships are not of themselves. We should be very careful to perform namaz correctly. First, we should perform a perfect abdast (ablution), and then we should begin namaz without showing any indolence. We should try to perform it in the best manner in the qiraat (standing and reciting the Qur'an when performing namaz), in ruku' (bowing by putting the hands on the knees, in sajdas (prostrating twice), in qawma (standing upright and motionless after ruku') and in jalsa, (sitting upright and motionless for a moment between the two sajdas) and in its other places. We should understand the tumaninat as necessary, that is, to keep each of our limbs motionless during ruku', sajda, qawma and jalsa. We should perform namaz at the beginning of its time and avoid slackness.

The acceptable, beloved born servant is the one who does the commands of his owner only because they are his commands. It will be an act of obstinacy and impertinence to be late in doing the command. You should always keep at hand one of the fiqh books written in Persian, such as the book Targhib-us salat wa taysirul-ahkam, or any other like this one. [Teachings in the book Targhib-us salat wa taysirul-ahkam were collected after extracting them from about one hundred books. The book is in three parts. The first part deals with the fact that namaz is fard, the second part is about abdast, and the third part deals with the things which break an abdast. This book can be found in the Library of Nur-i Osmaniyye.] We should learn the matters of the Shariat by referring to such books. [He who learns the religion from books and magazines written by doubtful persons for the sake of earning money learns wrong things. We should find and read the books written by pious Muslims for Allah's sake. The best Turkish books for learning the Shariat are the books Birghiwi Vasiyetnamesi Sharhi and Amantu Sharhi by Kadizada. Also helpful are the books Mawkufat, Durr-i Yakta Sharhi, Ey Ogul Ilmihali, Mawahib-i Ladunniyya, Majmua-i Zuhdiyya and Miftah-ul Cennet Ilmihali. The book Islam Yolu (The way of Islam) written by Muhammad Atif Effendi of Iskilip, who was a dersiam (lecturer of that time) in Fatih medresesi (school of theology) and the head of a school named 'Ibtida-i dahil Medresesi,' is very useful. This book was printed in 1959. It has sixty-three pages. These have been printed with Arabic letters. A book may be trusted not only by seeing its title, but also by seeing the name of its author].

When should not read the book Gulistan or other story books before learning the Ahl as- sunnat belief and knowledge of fiqh. The book Gulistan or other books of its kind are unnecessary when compared to fiqh books. [When Gulistan is unnecessary. I wonder what we should say about those who are addicted to newspapers and magazines that are the religion's enemies?] It is primarily necessary to read, learn and teach what is indispensable in the religion. What is more than this remains as of secondary importance. [Especially those who learn other things before learning religious knowledge and those who strive so that their children acquire money, property and posts, instead of teaching them correct religious knowledge - they are so wrong! I wonder if earning one's future means to acquire these things? Or does it mean to earn Allah's consent? Each parent should first think of having their children earn their real future, their endless bliss.]

We should try not to miss Tahajjud namaz (namaz performed after midnight) unless there is a necessity. [The namaz which is performed after the two-thirds of the night has elapsed is called the tahajjud; it is performed before the dawn. Tahajjud means to forgo one's sleep. Our Prophet 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' used to perform tahajjud even during war. He who has omitted prayers of namaz should perform his omitted prayers during the time of tahajjud. Thus he will both pay his debt of omitted prayers and earn the thawab of tahajjud. How to perform the namaz called Tahajjud and other nafila (supererogatory) prayers of namaz is written in our (Turkish) book Islam Ahlaki (Islamic Morals). If it is difficult to wake up at midnight, order some of your servants to wake you up then. After getting up for a few nights, you will form it as a habit and will begin to wake up. He who wants to wake up for tahajjud and morning prayer should go to bed right after performing the night prayer, instead or being late for sleep by busying oneself with useless things. At the time of tahajjud, it is necessary to repent, to say istighfar, to trust oneself to Allahu ta'ala, to entreat Him, to think of one's sins, to remember one's faults, defects, to fear by thinking of the torment in the next world; and to tremble with the thought of the bitter torments of Hell. One should beg for afw and maghfirat (forgiveness) very much. At that time and also at any time, it is necessary to say istighfar (Astaghfirullah-al-'azim-allazi la ilaha illa huwal-hayy-al-qayyuma wa atubu ilayh) a hundred times and to think of its meaning. [''Azim' means one whose person and attributes are perfect. 'Kabir' means one whose person is perfect. 'Jalil' means one whose attributes are perfect.] One should say it a hundred times after the afternoon prayer [after telling one's tasbihs and saying one's prayers]. It may be said when one has an abdast (ablution) or when one does not have an abdast. It is declared in a hadith: "good news to those on whose pages there are many istighfars on the Day of Last Judgement!" Muhammad Mathum-i Faruqi, in the eightieth letter of the second volume, states, "It has been proven by experimentation that reciting istighfars is effective in getting rid of calamities and hardships. It has been reported in a hadith ash-Sharif that saying istighfar causes every sort of adversity to be removed and one's sustenance to increase." During the time of duha, that is, at a certain time after sunrise, it is necessary to perform at least two rakats of namaz. The namaz of tahajjud or duha (forenoon) is of twelve rakats at most. [In supererogatory prayers of namaz, you should say salam after two rakats at night and after four rakats during the day.]

After performing each fard namaz, you should try to recite the Ayat-ul-Kursi [see article 31]. Our Beloved Prophet (saw) said, "Between Paradise and the person who recites the Ayat al-Kursi after fard namaz, there is no obstacle besides death." After each of the five times of namaz every day, you should silently say the word tanzih (SubhanAllah) thirty-three times, the word tahmid (Alhamdulillah) thirty-three times, the word takbir (Allahu akbar) thirty- three times and a certain prayer (La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika-lah, lahu-l-mulku wa lahu-l-hamdu yuhyi wa yumitu wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in Qadir) once; all of them add up to a hundred. [See article 31].

You should say "SubhanAllahi wa bi hamdihi" a hundred times every day and every night. There are many blessings in it. Also, it is necessary to say once every morning and once every evening the prayer, (Allahumma ma asbaha bi min nimatin aw bi-ahadin min khalqika, fa minka wahdaka, la sharika laka, fa laka-l-hamdu wa laka-sh-shukr) by substituting (ma amsa) for (ma asbaha) in the evenings, which the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam has prescribed. Our Beloved Prophet (saw) declared: "He, who says this prayer during the day, would have fulfilled the thanks for that day. When he says it at night, he would have fulfilled the thanks for that night." It is not necessary to have an ablution for saying it. You should say it every day and every night.

The third principle of Islam is to give the zakat of one's property. It is certainly necessary to give Zakaat. You should give Zakaat willingly to the persons whom the Shariat commands you to give it to.

Allahu ta'ala, who is the real owner of all blessings and possessions, commands the rich to give Muslims one-fortieth of their blessings He has given them and promises that as a recompense for this He will give them many blessings and many more rewards. [He declares: "Certainly I will increase the property of the Zakaat which has been given, and I will bless you with using it at useful occasions. As for the property of the Zakaat which has not been given, I will make you spend it unwillingly through nuisance or calamity; I will take it away from you and give it to your enemies, and you, seeing this case, will be burned and scorched about it."] It will be such a great absurdity, obstinacy not to give such an insignificant amount [to any one of your Muslim brothers whom you want].

Not to do the commandments of Allahu ta'ala is caused by a sickness in the heart. A sickness in the heart means that it does not believe in the Shariat thoroughly. To be a Believer, it is not enough only to express the word Shahadat (Ash hadu an la...). Munafiqs (those who pretend to be Muslims though being disbelievers) also express it. The sign of the existence of iman in the heart is to do the commands of the Shariat willingly. To give one gold coin to a poor Muslim with the intention of Zakaat is more blessed than giving a hundred thousand gold coins as alms because to give Zakaat is to obey the Shariat's command. But those that are given without the intention of Zakaat are supererogatory worships. Supererogatory worships are of no value when compared to fard worships. They are not even like a drop of water compared to an ocean. The Devil, by deceiving Muslims, prevent them from performing their omitted Salaats. Performing the supererogatory Salaats, [supererogatory pilgrimage, and umra] are made to appear more beautiful. Also, by misrepresenting supererogatory deeds and actions as beautiful, he prevents them from giving Zakaat. [The promised great rewards for the Sunnats and for the supererogatory are for those who do not owe fard deeds and who have paid their omitted fard worships. But those who still have omitted fard worships will not be given any rewards for any worships besides the fard ones.]

The fourth principle of Islam is to fast every day in the holy month of Ramadan. We should be sure to fast every day in the blessed month of Ramadan. We should not miss this important fard for any reason. Our Prophet (SAW) declared: "Fasting is a shield that protects the Believer against Hell." If one cannot fast for some indispensable reasons, such as sickness, one should eat secretly and, immediately after the excuse is over, one should perform it. We are all His born servants. We are not independent or without an owner. We should live within the commandments and the restrictions of our owner so that we may be saved from Hell. Those who disobey the Shariat are obstinate born servants and perverse, disobedient agents; they must be punished.

The fifth principle of Islam is the Hajj [once in a life, to go to the city of MAKKAH and perform the duty of Hajj]. The duty of Hajj has certain requirements. All of them are written in fiqh books. It is declared in a Hadith ash-Sharif: "An accepted Hajj does away with one's past sins."

He who wants to escape Hell should learn very well what is halal and what is haram and should earn from the halal and abstain from the haram. He should avoid the things which the bringer of the Shariat (Rasulullah) has prohibited. He should not go beyond the limits of the Shariat. How long will this sleep of unawareness last? When will we become attentive? When the hour of one's death comes, one will be awakened, and one's eyes and ears will be opened. But repentance will be of no avail then. Nothing will be obtained, except being disgraced. Death is gradually approaching us all. The various torments of the next world are awaiting people. When man dies, the end of his world takes place. Let us wake up before death wakes us up and before it is too late! After learning the commandments and prohibitions of the Shariat, let us live these few days of life of ours compatibly with them. Let us save ourselves from the various torments of the next world! The interpretative meaning of the sixth ayat of Sura (chapter) Tahrim, is: "O you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is men and stones."

After correcting our belief and doing the worships compatible with the Shariat, we should enrich our time with dhikr-i ilahi (mentioning Allah's name); we should not live one moment without remembering Allahu ta'ala. While the body, the hands and feet are busy with worldly affairs, the heart should always be with Him, getting flavor from remembering Him. This great fortune falls to anybody's lot in a short time who is on the way shown by our superiors. Alhamdulillah, you know that this is so. Perhaps, some of it has occurred to you, even though it may be very little. You should not let go of what you have obtained; you should thank Allah very much and strive so that it may increase. Things which everybody may attain only in the end are attained at the beginning of this way. Then, even when they obtained little, they have still obtained very much. For they know of the end, yet at the beginning. Nevertheless, you should not be contented with what you have obtained no matter how much it is. You should not, however, discontinue thanking Allahu ta'ala. You should both thank and wish that it will increase. The purpose of the heart's mentioning Him is to dispel the love of anybody else besides Him from the heart. The illness of the heart is that it has various attachments. Unless such attachments are eradicated, real iman will not fall to one's lot. It will not be easy to carry out the commandments and the prohibitions of the Shariat.

A couplet:
Make dhikr, dhikr as long as you are alive
Your heart gets purified, into dhikr as you dive.

[Dhikr means to remember Allahu ta'ala. And this may well be done through the heart. When a person makes dhikr, his heart becomes purified. That is, love of the world leaves his heart and love of Allah takes its place. It is not dhikr for many persons to assemble together and to shout "Hay" or "Huy!" or to dance and whirl. Many things have been made up under the name of tariqat for a hundred years [see articles 35 and 40]. The way of the great men of religion, of the murshids of tasawwuf, of the Ashab-i kiram has been forgotten. The ignorant, and even the sinners have become shaikhs and have committed sins under the names of dhikr and worship. Especially recently, there has not been a Darwish convent left in which the haram and the Shiism have not asserted themselves. Today, there are almost no real savants of tasawwuf either in Istanbul, in Anatolia, or in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Hijaz or Pakistan, that is, in any of the Islamic countries. False and counterfeit murshids, those members of a tariqat exploiting Muslims, however are numerous.

We should read the old, real books of great men of religion and correct our worships, dhikr and thoughts in accordance with them. We should not believe the thieves of property and religion, who work behind the curtain of valuable names, such as, men of tariqat, shaikhs, murids; but we should avoid them.]

We should eat food not for pleasure or flavor, but for getting strong enough to do Allah's commands. If in the beginning you cannot intend so, force yourself to intend so at each meal. Entreat Allahu ta'ala so that you can develop a real intention! We should wear new and clean clothes, and, when dressing, we should intend to adorn ourselves for worship, for namaz. Allahu ta'ala declares in the Qur'an: "When performing each namaz, wear your adorned, clean, and favorite clothes!" We should not wear our clothes for ostentation in front of others; this is a sin. [Ibni Abidin, while explaining the makruhs in fasting, says that it is mubah to dress smartly.] All actions, work, words, reading and listening, [sending one's son to school] should always be for Allah's sake. One should try so that these will be compatible with His Shariat. Then each of one's limbs and one's heart will turn towards Allahu ta'ala. One's heart will mention Him [that is, it will remember Him]. For example, sleep, which is altogether a state of unawareness, will thoroughly be an act of worship when done with the intention of doing religious service with strength and soundness. For one has slept with the intention of worshipping. Our Prophet (SAW) declared: "A savants' sleep is worship." Yes, I know, it will be difficult for you to do these today. For you are surrounded by various obstacles. You have been seized by customs and by fashion. You have been struck with such illusions as to feel shame because your self-respect will be injured. All these prevent you from carrying out the Shariat's commands. But, Allahu ta'ala sent the Shariat in order to abolish corrupt customs, loathsome fashions, and to tranquilize the madnesses of the nafs-i-ammara, such as egoism and self-respect. Yet, if it falls to your lot to remember Allahu ta'ala's name continuously through the heart, if you perform namaz five times each day without being slack by observing its conditions, and if you are careful about the halal and the haram as much as you can be, it may be hoped that you will get rid of these obstacles and will be allured towards doing everything for Allah's sake. The second reason why I have written down this advice is that it will be useful for you to realize your own defects and faults, even if you do not fulfill them, and this is a great blessing, too. We trust ourselves to Allahu ta'ala against the complacency of missing a blessing and yet being unaware of what we have missed, against not knowing of our fault, and against not being ashamed of not having done our duty. Such persons are the stubborn and ignorant persons who do not know the Shariat and who do not do their duties as worshippers.

[In the one hundred and fortieth letter of the second volume, Muhammad Mathum Sarhandi (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) says, "In a hadith al-qudsi it was stated: 'He who opposes any of my born servants who are Awliya will be at war with Me. Among the things [deeds] which get my born servant closer to Me, I like the fards best. I like very much my born servant who comes closer to Me by making nafila 'ibadat. I will be the ears which hear, the eyes which see, the hands which hold things, and the feet which walk, of my born servant whom I like very much. I will certainly give him whatever he wants. I will certainly protect him when he takes refuge with Me.' " This hadith al-qudsi has been explained in the third page of the seventeenth chapter of the second part and in the one hundred and eighty second page of the book Hadiqa, on the one hundred and sixty-fifth page of the Turkish book Kiyamat ve Ahiret, and also on the sixty-second page of the book The Sunni Path. The qurb (that is, to approach Allahu ta'ala) which come forth with fards, is more than the qurb which comes from the nafilas. But, the fards of taqwa owners when done with ikhlas cause qurb. Ikhlas means to do the worships because Allahu ta'ala commands them. Every Sunni Muslim has an amount of ikhlas. Depending on his taqwa and worshipping, pieces of information pertaining to heart and called fayd (fayz) will come to his heart. If he receives these fayds, which emanate from a Wali's heart, his ikhlas will grow stronger in a short time. Taqwa is to hate the harams and even not to think about doing a haram. It means a case of spiritual closeness to Allahu ta'ala, and to obtain His consent, and being loved by Him. [See the last paragraphs of the section Final Word of Se'adet-i Ebediyye in this book.]

The Nurs and Fayds, which Allahu ta'ala sends to Believers' hearts, will come more profusely to those who have stronger Taqwa and who worship more. In other words, there will be an increase in such people's aptitude and tendency to receive fayd. Fayds emanate from Sayyiduna Rasulullah's (saw) blessed heart. Receiving the fayds coming requires loving Sayyiduna Rasulullah (saw). And loving Him, in its turn, requires learning his knowledge, beautiful moral properties, miracles and perfections. If Sayyiduna Rasulullah Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam, too, sees a person, his receiving fayds will become augmented. It is for this reason that those who attended his sohbat and saw his beautiful face and heard his sweet words received more fayd. And it is for this reason that the Ashab al-kiram received more fayd, their hearts were purified from worldly affections and they had ikhlas. The nurs and fayds they attained traveled through the hearts of the Awliya and reached our time. If a person knows a Wali living in his time, loves him, attends his sohbat and ingratiates himself with him, the nurs which emanated from Rasulullah's blessed heart and arrived into the Wali's heart will flow into his heart, too, and thus his heart will become purified. If he cannot attain his sohbat, he might as well do Rabita, that is, imagine the Wali's countenance, face, in which case he will be blessed as if he attained the Wali's sohbat. Mazhar-i-Jan-i-Janan, who was in Delhi, made tawajjuh towards Shah Behik, who was in Kabil (Kabul), and made him attain high grades despite the enormous distance. Hadrat Mazhar-i Jan-i Janan said, "I have attained all my blessings and faids because of my love for my masters. Can our defective ibadat be a means for our getting closer to Allahu ta'ala?" In order to get closer to Allahu ta'ala humans must perform ibadat with ikhlas. Ikhlas is possible only by receiving faid from the arifs. A hadith ash-Sharif written in Qunuz ad-daqaiq says, 'Everything has a source. The source of ikhlas and taqwa is the hearts of 'Arifs.' In order to be a wali, that is, to obtain spiritual closeness to Allahu ta'ala, that is, to attain love for Allahu ta'ala, the things that are fard must be performed. The first of the fard things is to have a belief as taught by Ahl as-Sunnat scholars. The second step is to abstain from the things which are haram, to perform the worships which are fard].