OBJECTIVE ONE

On Purification Explained in seven Chapters

CHAPTER ONE

On Purification in General

As it has already been said, besides the outer appearance of the .sa1at , it has a reality, and apart from its exterior it has an interior. And, as its outer form has its formal disciplines and conditions, its interior has its disciplines and conditions, too, which are to be observed by the salik. Thus, purification has also its outer form and formal disciplines, the explanation of which is out of the scope of these pages. The faqihs (jurists) of the Ja'fari sect (may Allah make high their words and raise their ranks) have explained them. As regards the inner disciplines and purifications, they shall be explained in general: It should be noted that the reality of the salat is ascension to the Proximity and reaching to the Presence, of Allah, the Almighty and Most high. Thus, to attain to this great objective and ultimate goal, one should practise certain purifications which are other than the outer purifications. The thorns of this road and the obstacles in the way of this ascension are such impurities that f the salik was marked by one of them, he would be incapable of ascending to Peak and completing the ascension. Such impurities are the hindrances in Way of the salat and the plagues of Satan. But what is a help to the salik in his journey and is a discipline of the Presence is the condition of this reality, The traveler to Allah has first to remove the obstacles and impurities so that he may he purified and attain to purity which belongs to the world of light. Unless all the impurities, outer and inner, open and hidden, are purified, the salik will have no chance of attending the Presence (of Allah).

Thus, the first kind of impurities is that of the outer instruments and powers of the soul which may be polluted with obstinacies and acts of disobedience to "the Benefactor" wa1iyun-ni'an, This is an apparent Snare of Iblis. As long as man is trapped in this snare, he is deprived of being in Allah's Presence and attaining to His Proximity. No one may have the notion that without purifying the outside of his kingdom he can reach the state of' the truth of humanity, or he can purify his inner heart, as this will be a Satanic vanity and of Thud's big tricks. This is because the heart's impurity and darkness will be increased by disobediences, which mark the triumph ghalabah of nature over spirituality. Unless the salik conquers the kingdom of the outside, he will remain deprived of inner conquests, which are the big objective, and no way will be opened for him to happiness. Thus, one of the big obstacles of this suluk is the impurities of the acts of disobedience, which must be purged and purified with the water of sincere repentance. It should also be noted that all the external and internal powers which Allah , the Exalted, has bestowed upon us from the invisible world are divine deposits free from all impurities and are purged and purified, and even illuminated with the light of the God-given disposition, and excluded from Satan's dark and impure influence. Yet, since they have descended In the dark abode of the world of nature, and the influential hands of the devil of imagination and fancy have reached them, they have deviated from the original purity and primary disposition, and got polluted with diverse Satanic filths and impurities. So, if the salik to Allah could, by adhering to the care of Allah's wali, repel Satan's influence, purge the kingdom of the outside and return the divine trusts as they had been given to him with no treason, he would be forgiven and protected, and, as far as the outside is concerned, he need not then he would turn to the inside to purge it from the impurities of moralities. This is the second kind of impurity, which is more corrupt difficult to cure, and thus, it is more important to the people of because as long as the inner moralities of the soul are corrupt and by spiritual impurities it will not deserve the state of holiness and place of intimacy" khalwat-i un , as the origin of the corruption of kingdom of the soul is its corrupt morals and its vile habits. And, unless the salik changes his vile habits to good ones, he will not be safe from acts. If he is successful in repentance (while still having vile habits), its .._which is a matter of grave importance - cannot be achieved. So, the reification depends On the inner purification besides the fact that the impurities cause deprivation from happiness, and originate the Hell of which , as the people of knowledge say, is worse and more intense in than the Hell of deeds. This question has frequently been mentioned in of the infallible Ahlul Bayt (A.S.). Therefore, it is a must for the salik to Allah to carry out this purgation. has cleansed his soul of the corrupting impurities of the morals with the pour water of useful knowledge and lawful, good austerity, he will have to purifying the heart, the capital which, if reformed, all kingdoms will and if it is corrupt, all will be corrupt. The impurities of the world are the origin of all impurities, such as being attached to other to oneself and to this world. This is originated by the love of this which is at the head of all sins, and by self-love, which is the mother of As long as the roots of this love are still deep in the heart of the see no marks of the love of Allah in it, and he will find no way to fl and objective. So, as long as there are remnants of this love in his journey will not be to Allah, but to the self, to the world, and to being purged of the love of self and of the world is the first stage of the journey to Allah in reality, because before this purgation the not be to Allah , and it would be a sort of carelessness to refer to in this instance. After this stage there are other stages, after which there will appear a model 01 'attar's Seven Cities of Love. the saver of which, as a salik, Could see himself at the bend of a lane, while we remain behind walls and thick veils, and think that those "cities" and "kings" arc nothing but of the weavings of OUT presumption. I have nothing to do with Shaykh Attar or Mitham at-Tammar but I do not deny the original (gnostic) stations, and I cordially love their owners, and, by this love, I hope to be relieved. You yourself be whom you may, and bind yourself to whom you like.

The pretender wanted to come to look at the Beloved (Friend), The hand of the invisible came and pushed off the stranger.⁽⁹⁸⁾ But I do not approve of disloyalty by brethren in faith and by spiritual friends to the gnostic friends, and I will not refrain from offering advice, which is the right of the believers to one another. At the top of the spiritual impurities, which cannot be purged even with seven seas , and which caused despair to the great prophets (A.S.), is the impurity of "the compound ignorance" ahl-i murakkab which is the origin of the incurable disease of denying the stations of the people of Allah and of knowledge, and is the source of doubting the people of the heart. As long as man is polluted with such impurities, he will not take a step towards knowledge maarif or rather, this impurity so often extinguishes the inborn light nur of disposition, which is the light chiragh for the road of guidance , and puts out the fire of love, which is the heavenly horse buraq for ascending to high stations, causing man to eternally stick to the earth of nature. Therefore, it is necessary for man, through thinking about the status of the prophets and the perfect holy men auliya (S.A.) , and by contemplating their stations, to wash those impurities away from his heart, and not to he satisfied with the status he is in, because this satisfaction with the knowledge ma'arif one has, and remaining stagnant, are of the great tricks of lb/is and the evil-commanding soul. We take refuge from them with Allah. Now as this thesis is written according to the taste of the common people, I refrain from the three purifications of the holy men auliya And praise be to Allah.

know that as ii "g as man is in the world of nature and in the abode of the primary hayulani matter, he is under the rule of the divine soldiers and the Satanic soldiers. The divine soldiers are the soldiers of mercy, safety, happiness, light, purity and perfection. The soldiers of Iblis are on the opposite side. But as the divine aspects have mastery over the Satanic aspects, at the beginning, man's disposition possesses natural divine light , safety and happiness, as is openly stated in the noble hadiths and hinted at in the noble divine Book.⁽⁹⁹⁾ As long as man is in this world, he can, on his o free will, put at the disposal of either of the two. So, if from the beginning of the disposition till the end, Satan had no way of intruding, man would divine, luminous from head to foot with purity and happiness, his heart the light of Allah, observing nothing but Allah. His inward and outward Would be luminous and pure ,and no one would use them but Allah, Satan would have no share in them, nor would his soldiers he able to him. Such an honourable being is absolute purity and pure light, and faults and the future ones are forgiven.⁽¹⁰⁰⁾ He is an absolute conquerer, enjoying the station of original " great infallibility " 'ismat-i kubra and the other infallibles have the same station as the followers of that sacred essens He is the Seal of the Prophets and possesses the station of absolute perfection His vicegerents, though of separate substance, join him in disposition and completely follow him in absolute infallibility. As to some of the infallible prophets and holy men auliya (A.S.), they have no absolute infallibility and are not protected against Satan's intrusion, such as Adam's act with respect to the "tree", which was one of the intrusions of the big lb/is, the Head of the Iblises, and despite the fact that the "tree" was a paradisiacal divine tree, yet it was marked by a multiplicity of names , which is contrary to the state of complete humanity. This is one of the meanings, or of the ranks, of "the forbidden tree".

If the light of the divine disposition was polluted with the formal and spiritual impurities, it would be at a distance from the court of the Proximity and "the Presence of Love" hadrat-i uns in proportion to its pollution, until the light of disposition completely goes out, and the kingdom becomes altogether Satanic, and its inside and outside, secret and open , are put at the disposal of Satan. Thus Satan becomes its heart, ear (hearing), eye (seeing), hand, and leg, and all his other organs become Satanic. If somebody reaches this stage - Take refuge with Allah from it - he becomes absolutely wretched md will never see the face of happiness. Between these two limits there are so any stages which only Allah , the Exalted, knows. Whoever is nearer to the horizon of prophethood, is of "those on the right hand" ashab-i yamin , and whoever is nearer to the Satanic horizon, is of "those on the left hand" ashab-i yamin It should be noted , however, that even after the pollution of the inborn disposition, it is possible to purify it. As long as man is still in this world be an get out of Satan's domain and can easily enter into the party of Allah's .struggle, who are the soldiers of the divine mercy. The reality of jihad-i nafs self struggle - which, according to the Messenger of Allah (S.A.), is more meritorious than struggling with the enemies of the religion, and is the greater jihad ⁽¹⁰¹⁾ Is this getting out of Satan's domain and entering the domain of the first stage of purity is the observance of divine laws and the to Allah's commands. second stage is to be adorned with virtuous morals and faculties. thud stage is the purity of the heart, which means submitting the Allah, after which the heart becomes luminous, or rather it becomes of light and a degree of divine light. The luminosity of the heart other organs and inner powers, and the whole kingdom turns into light upon light, till the heart becomes divine and godly and the hadrat-i lahut manifests in all the inner and outer stages. In this case, completely vanishes and is annihilated, and Lordship explicitly in which case, the heart of the sa1ik is overcome by a state of and familiarity, and he loves the whole world, and experiences acnes, and the sins and faults become forgivable to him, and will be by the shelter of "love manifestations" tajalliyat-i hubb and primary wilayat begins to appear in him, and he becomes worthy of attending the presence of Intimacy" mahdar-i uns Then, there are other stages, which does not suit these papers.

It is stated in Misbahush-shari'ah-Shari'ah that Imam as-Sadiq (A.S.) said "When you intend purification and wudu' ritual ablution , proceed to the water as you proceed to Allah's mercy, because Allah has made water the key to his proximity and supplication, and a guide to the court of His service. And, as Allah's mercy purifies the sins of the servants, similarly the outer fifths are Purified by water and by nothing else. Allah, the Exalted, says: 'And He it is Who sends the winds as good news heralding His mercy, and We send down purifying water from the sky.'(Surah al-Furqan: 48). He also says: And We made every living thing of water. Will they not then believe?' ('Anbiya ':30) .So , as He has given life, with water, to everything of the blessings of this world, likewise, He has made obedience the life of the hearts, out of His mercy and grace. Think of the clarity , softness, purity and blessing of water and of its tender mixing with everything. Use it to purge the organs which Allah has ordered you to purify, and observe their disciplines in his obligations and traditions as under each one of them there are 'many advantages. So, if you use them respectfully, the springs of he advantages will burst out for you presently. Then, mix with the creatures (servants) of Allah like the mixture of water with things: It gives to everything its due without any change in its own meaning. And learn a lesson from the Messenger of Allah (S.A.) (who said): 'A sincere believer is like water'. Let your clearness with Allah, the Most High, e like the clearness of water as He sent it down from the sky and called ii 'purifier' tahur, Purify your heart with fear Of Allah aqwa and certitude .aqin as you cleanse your organs with water.⁽¹⁰²⁾ In this noble hadiths there are delicate points and facts which enliven the hearts of the people of knowledge, and bestow animation on the clear souls of "the people of heart" ashab-i qulub Describing water, in this hadiths, as to be Allah's mercy, or interpreting it to be so, denotes that water is one of the great manifestations of Allah's mercy which He sent down to the world of nature, and made it the source of life for the beings. Rather, the vast divine mercy , which ascended from the high heaven of His Names and Attributes, and with which the lands of the individual entities a'ayyunat-i a'yan were revived, is called "water" by the people of knowledge. And as the vast divine mercy is more obvious in the apparent substance of water than in other things, Allah , the Exalted, has assigned to ii the task of purifying the Outer filths, and made ii the key to the door of His proximity and of the supplications to Him ,and the guide to the court of His service, which is the door of the doors of the inner mercies. Actual, the water of Allah's mercy descends and appears in every growth nashah of existence and in every visible and invisible scene to purify the sins of Allah's servants according to that growth nashab and suitable no that world. So. the invisible sin of the Individual entities are purified with the water of mercy which deceits from the heaven of His Oneness ahadiyat , and the sins of the non-existence of the outer quiddities ' 'mahiyat-i kharijiyah are purged with the water it th vast mercy descending from the heaven of His Unity wadhidiyat in every stang of existence according to that stage. In the stages of human growths nasha 'a of mercy has different manifestations, as with the water from His Essence onto "the purgatory collective individuations" .j jamiya-i barzakhiyah the sins of the existential secret " sirr-i wujud are purified : "Your existence is a sin incomparable with any other sin With the water descending from His Names and Attributes and the manifestation of Act the vision of the attribute and the act is purged. With the water ascending from the Sky of His Just Judgement "hukm-I adl the inner moral impurities are purified. With the water descending from the sky of His Forgiveness the sins of the servants are purged. And with the water descending from the sky Of "the kingdom of heaven" malakut the formal impurities are purged. So, it is clear that Allah, the Exalted has made water the key to His proximity and the guide to His court of mercy. Then, in the noble hadiths there is another instruction, which opens another way to the people of suluk and of observance. It says: "... think of the clarity , softness, purity and blessing of water and of its tenderly mixing with everything. Use it to purge the organs which Allah has ordered you to purify, and observe their disciplines in His obligations and traditions, as under each one there are many advantages. So, if you use them respectfully, the springs of the advantages will burst out for you presently."

This noble hadiths refers to the degrees of purity in general and puts it in four general degrees, of which one is that which is mentioned so far in the noble hadith, i.e. purifying the organs. It also notes that the people of observance and the salik to Allah should not stop at the apparent form of the things. They are to regard the appearance as a mirror reflecting the inside, to detect the facts from the forms and not to be satisfied with formal purification, Which is a Satanic snare. So, in the purity of water they discover the purity of the organs Which they are to purge and clarify by way of performing the Obligatory duties and the divine laws, whose fineness is to be used to make fine the Organs and to take them out of the coarseness of disobedience, and to let Purity and blessing flow into all the organs. And, from the tenderly mixing of water with things, they realize how the divine heavenly powers are mixed with the world of nature, preventing the impurities of nature from affecting them when the of the invisible, is to be protected against the intrusion of Satan and When the organs are clothed with the divine obligations and laws and their at' disciplines, the inner advantages gradually appear, the springs of the divine secrets burst out and a part of the secrets of servitude and purity uncover themselves for the salik . After explaining the first stage of purification and its instruction, the hadiths gives the secondary instruction, saying:".. then mix with the creatures (servants) of Allah like the mixture of water with things: It gives to everything its due without any change in its own meaning. And learn a lesson from the Messenger of Allah(S.A.) (who said): 'A sincere believer is like water".

The first instruction concerns the salik's managing his organs and inner powers. The second instruction mentioned in this noble hadith concerns man's relation with Allah's creatures. This is a comprehensive instruction telling how the salik's behaviour with the creatures should be, which is also an implication of the reality of privacy khalwat; that is the traveler to Allah, while treating each group of the people with kindness, giving them their natural dues, and dealing with any one of them according to his disposition, is to strictly observe the divine rights, and never to lose his own meaning, which is servitude and attending to Allah. At the same time of being in multiplicity Kath rat. he is to be in privacy kha1wat, and his heart -which is the lodging of the Beloved -is to be free from others and empty of all designs and paintings. Then the hadiths refers to the third instruction , which concerns the salik's connection with Allah, the Exalted. It says:" Let your clearness with Allah , the Most High, be like the clearness of water when He sent it down from the sky and called it 'purifier' tahur ." That is , the traveler to Allah should be free from the intrusion of nature, and its impurity and darkness should not be allowed into his heart, and all his acts of worship should be free from all external and internal polytheism. As the water is pure when descending from the sky, and the hands of impurity have not extended to it, the heart of the salik, which has descended pure from the heaving of the invisible, is to be protected against the intrusion of Satan and nature, and to be prevented from being polluted with the with the impurities. After this instruction the hadiths comes to the last and the comprehensive instruction for the people of austerity and of suluk. It says: purify your heart with fear of Allah and certitude as you cleanse your organs with water." Here is a reference to two lofty stations of the people of knowledge one is god fear, which is perfected by abandoning everything other than Allah. The other is certitude, which is perfected by discerning the presence of the Beloved.

The "purifier" is either water - which is, in this respect, basic - or "earth". Know that the traveler to Allah has, generally speaking, two ways to take him to the loftiest goal, the station of proximity to the Divinity: The first of them, which is the principal and original one , is the journey to Allah by turning towards the Absolute Mercy, especially the compassionate mercy, which is the compassion that takes every being to its appropriate perfection .It is of this kind of compassionate mercy that the prophets (S.A.) were sent to lead on the roads and to help those lagging behind. To the people of knowledge and the people of heart, the House of Realization is the form of divine mercy. The Creatures are perpetually and completely drowned in the oceans of Allah's mercy, yet they do not make use of it. The Great Divine Book - which has descended from the divine invisible world and the proximity of the Lord, and has appeared in the form of words and speech so that we the deserted, the Pilsners in the jail of nature and in the fetters of the crooked chains of the Soul's desires and whims , make use of it and rescue ourselves - is one of T he greatest manifestations of the absolute divine mercy, of which , We the blind and deaf, have in no way made use - mc Messenger - the Seal of the prophets, the honourable absolute guardian .who came from the Sacred Presence of the Lord and the company of the divine proximity and familiarly to this abode of estrangement and dread, where he had to keep company with the people like Abu Jahl (the Prophet' s uncle and his hitter enemy) or even worse, and whose sigh:"...my heart is enveloped by a cover of dust...⁽¹⁰³⁾ has burnt the hearts of the people of knowledge and friendship - is Allah's vast mercy and the divine absolute generosity, who had come into his (worldly) body as an all-embracing mercy for the dwellers of this lower world, in order to take them out of this abode of terror and estrangement, like a 'ring-dove"⁽¹⁰⁴⁾ which throws itself into the net of blight to save its flock.

The traveler to Allah is to take the purification with the water of mercy as to be a form of using the descending divine mercy, and to make use of it as long as it is possible for him to do so. Should his hand become short of it, because of inertia or negligence, and be bereaved of the water of mercy, he would have but to pay attention to his own humility, indigence, poverty and destitution .When he has in full view his humility of servitude and is aware of his need, his poverty and his own potentiality , and discards his haughtiness conceit and selfishness, a door of mercy opens to him, and the earth of (his) nature changes into the white earth of mercy, and becomes the dust which is one of the two purifiers"⁽¹⁰⁵⁾, and becomes the object of Allah's mercy and kindness. The stronger this state in man, i.e., his awareness of his humility, the more he receives of mercy. Should he decide to depend (L)fl himself and on his action in his journey, he would perish, since there might he no one to help to him, like an infant which boldly starts walking alone, taking pride in its own steps, and depending on its own ability, without its father offering it and help, rather leaving it to itself. But when it recognizes its inability and inefficiency, it turns to its affectionate father. distrusting its own powers and entrusts itself to the care of its father, who offers his help, hugs it and guides it step by step to walking. So, it is better for the traveler to Allah to break the leg of his journey and completely renounce his self-confident, austerity and action' and abolish himself, his power and ability. He should always remember his mortality and dependence in order to become an object of Allah's cal, and to rover a hundred-year distant road in a single night by the attraction 1 the Lord, and the tongue of his inside and his state say, in the Presence f the Lord's Sanctity , imploringly and helplessly: "Or, Who responds the distressed , when he calls unto Him, and removes the evil...?' ⁽¹⁰⁶⁾

CHAPTER FIVE Some Disciplines of the Wudu'(Ritual Ablution) in Respect of the Interior and the Heart

Imam ar-Riza (AS.) is quoted to have said: " The servant has been Commanded to perform the wudu' (ritual ablution) so as to be pure when standing before the Mi-Powerful and supplicating, and by obeying Him, to be purged from filth and impurity, beside his removing laziness, expelling sleep and purifying the heart to stand in the Presence of the All-Powerful Confining it (the wudu') only to the face, the two hands, the head and the two feet, was because when the servant stands before the Mi-Powerful, the parts which are exposed are those which are Ordered to be washed in the wudu': as with his face he performs the sujud (Prostration), with his hands he requests, desires, dreads and Supplicate with his head he inclines to Him in his ruku' (bowing down) and his sujud, and with his legs he stands and sits..."⁽¹⁰⁷⁾ etc.

Up to here he explained the principal point in the wudu', informing the 1e of knowledge and suluk that to stand in the holy Presence of Allah, the Glorified and Most High, and to offer supplication to the Provider of Needs, require certain disciplines which should be observed. One must not appear His Presence even with the external filths and impurities and with a sleepy eye let alone with a heart which is filled with dirt's, and it is afflicted with Spiritual impurities, which are the origin of all impurities. Despite the fact that a narrative says: "Allah, the Exalted, does not look at your faces, but He look at your hearts"⁽¹⁰⁸⁾, and despite the fact (hat the means with which man attends to Allah, the Exalted, and what is, in the worlds of creation, worthy of looking at His Majesty, Greatness and Glory, is the heart, while the other organs have no share in it, yet, they did not neglect the outer cleanliness. So, they decided the external purification for cleaning man's exterior, and the inner purification for cleaning his interior. In this noble hadith, it is clear from assigning the purification of the heart to be a result of the wudu' that the wudu' has an interior with which man's interior is purified, and meanwhile it appears that there is a connection between the exterior and the interior, the visible and the invisible. Similarly it becomes clear that the outer cleanliness, the outside wudu', is of the acts of worship, and of obeying the Lord. Therefore, the purification of the outside results in the purification f-the inside, and purging the exterior leads to the purity of the interior. Generally, the traveler to Allah must, at the time of wudu' be aware of his being about to stand in the Presence of Allah, the Almighty, as with such states of heart as he has, he does not deserve to be in His Presence, or he may even be dismissed from the Presence of the Lord, the Most High. Thus, he has to get ready to have his outer purification transferred to his interior, and to purify his heart which is the object of Allah's attention, or, actually, is he lodging of His Sanctity from all that is other than Allah, and to take out from his head any notion arrogance and I-ness, which is the origin of the origins of the impurities SC) as to become worthy of His Presence. After that, Imam ar-Rida (A.S.) explains the reason for specifying certain organs to wudu'. He says: 'Confining it only to the face, the two hands, the head and the 4O feet, was because when the servant stands before the All-Powerful' the which are exposed are those which are ordered to be washed in the ' s with his face he performs the sujud (prostration), With his hand be requests, desires, dreads and supplicates with his head he juiciness to Him in his ruku' (bowing down) and his sujud, and with his legs be stands and sits..."

the gist of his discourse is that these organs take part in worshipping Allah, and it is through these organs that worship is manifested. Consequently, it is necessary to purify them . Then he refers to those acts of worship which appear from them , opening the way of their being valid and useful to the deserving people, and making the people of knowledge familiar with these secrets that the organs on which servitude appears in Allah's Blessed Presence, should be clean and purified, as the outer limbs and organs of the body , which have a deficient share of those meanings, would not be worthy of that station without purification. Although submission is not, actually, a character of the face, and none of requesting, desiring, dreading, supplicating and facing the qiblah belongs to any of the tangible organs, yet, as these organs are the manifestations of those meanings, they must be purified. Therefore, purifying the heart, which is the real place of servitude, and the actual centre of those meanings, is more necessary. Without its purification, the external organs will never he purified even if they are washed in seven seas , and it (the heart) will not deserve being in the Presence of Allah. Actually, Satan will have a hand in it, and t will be dismissed from His Glorious Presence.

In an authorized narrative in 'Ilalush-Shara i it is related that: "A group of Jews came to the Messenger of Allah (S.A.) and asked him question Among their questions they asked: "Tell us, Mohammad why, are these four organs given the wudu, while they are the cleanest parts of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.) said: 'When Satan whispered to Adam , S.) and he came near the "tree" and looked at it, he lost face. He stood UP and w a ked to it-the first step taken towards sinning. He took with his hand Some of what was of it and ate it. Off his body flew what were on him of jewellery and apparel. He put his hand on the top of his head and wept. Allah accepted his repentance, but made it incumbent upon him and his offspring to purify those four organs. So, Allah ordered the face to be washed, because it eked at the "tree". He ordered the hands to be washed to the elbows, because took with them (the fruit of the tree). He ordered the head to be anointed with the hand wet with water), as he put his hand on the top of his head, and Ic ordered the feet to be anointed because with them he walked to sin."⁽¹⁰⁹⁾ Concerning the reason for imposing fasting, there is also a noble hadiths the effect that the Jews asked him: "What caused Allah to impose on your people to fast for thirty days?" He said: "It was Adam (A.S.), because that which he had eaten from that "tree" remained in his stomach for thirty days. So Allah made it incumbent upon him and his offspring to endure hunger and thirst for thirty days ,and He allowed them, out of His kindness, to eat and rink at the nights."⁽¹¹⁰⁾ These noble hadith give the people of allusion and the people of heart ) understand many points: Although Adam's sin was not like the sins of the other is, as it might have been a natural one, or a sin of being inclined to multiplicity, the tree of nature, or of attending to multiplicity of names after e attraction jadhibah of self-annihilation fana '-i dhati, yet it was not expected from one like Adam (A.S.) who was Allah 's chosen one .safiy' and distinguished by proximity quit and self-annihilation. Therefore, according to e love-zeal ghairat-i hubbi of His Sanctified Essence, He announced his disobedience and going astray to all the worlds and on the tongues of all the prophets (A.S.). He, the Exalted, said:" And Adam disobeyed his Lord, so he went astray."⁽¹¹¹⁾ Thus, so much cleaning and purification were needed for him Adam) and his offspring who were hidden in his loin and (so) participated in ie sin, though they did participate (in it) after coming out of the loin, too.

Therefore ,the sin committed by Adam and his offspring has many agrees and manifestations. The first of those degrees is paying attention to multiplicity of names, and the last of those manifestations is eating from the bidden tree, the invisible malakut form of which is a tree that carries diverts of fruits. And its visible mulki form is its nature and affairs , and diverse 5 of this world and the sell as seen now in his offspring, is of the affairs the love same inclination to that tree and eating from it. Similarly, for their of the purifying cleansing, .salat and fasting- for the redemption of the clean' g, father's sin which is the origin - there are many degrees in proportion to the degrees of the sin. From this explanation it is understood that all kinds of disobedience of the children of Adam are related to eating from the "tree", and are purified in a certain way. All their sins of the heart are also related to that tree, and are purified in a certain way. Then, all kinds of spiritual sins are related to II, too, and are purified in a certain way. Purifying the external organs is the "shadow" ,zill of the purity of the heart and spirit for the perfect. It is an order, and a "means" to them, for the people of suluk. As long as man is within the veil of the individuation ta 'ayyun of the organs and their purification, and he lingers there, he cannot be of the people of the suluk, and is still in the sin. But if he engaged himself in passing through the stages of external and internal purifications, and used the formal and outer purifications as a means of purifying the spirit and the heart, and in all the acts of worship and rites he observed their spiritual aspects and was benefited by them, or better, if he gave more importance to the internal aspects and regarded them to be the most high objective, he would be admitted through the door of the suluk along the road of humanity ,as is referred to in a noble hadith in Misbahush-shari'ah "... And purify your heart with taqwa (fear of Allah) and yaqin (certitude) when you cleanse your organs with water."⁽¹¹²⁾ So, a salik man needs first a scientific suluk so as to distinguish, with the blessings of "the people of remembrance" 2h1-i dhikr (S.A.) the stages of servitude and regard the formal worship inferior to the spiritual and inner worship. then the practical suluk, which is the reality of the suluk The aim of this suluk is to free the soul from other than Allah and adorn it with the manifestations of his names and essence. Getting to this stage, the salik would be at the end of his journey, attaining to the goal of his progress to Perfection and acquiring the secrets of austerity and worship, as well as the delicacies of suluk. Those are the manifestations of Majesty which are the secrets of purity, and the manifestations of Beauty, which are the objective or other worships. To give the details is out of the capacity of these pages.

"The people of knowledge" ahl-i ma'rifat say that the (state of) janabah (major ritual impurity) is getting out of the homeland of servitude and entering exile ghurbat. It is "declaring lordship" izhar-i rububiyat and claiming I-ness and entering within the frame hudud of the Patron 'maula and acquiring the quality of mastery siyadat. The ghusl (ritually washing the whole body) is a purification of this filth and a confession of the shortcoming. One of the religious personalities has numerated one hundred and fifty states, in ten Chapters, saying that the salik should purify himself from them during his Practising the ghusl. Most of them, or rather all of them, stem from might izzat, power jabarut and haughtiness of the soul, selfishness and self-conceit.⁽¹¹³⁾ The writer says that the (state of) janabah is vanishing fana' in nature and neglecting spirituality. It is the ultimate end of the complete sovereignty of annularity and bestiality, and falling down to the lowest of the low. The ghusl S purging from this sin, turning away from the rule of nature , and attaining t the divine authority and power. This is brought about by cleansing the Whole kingdom of the soul which has vanished in nature and been afflicted With Satan's conceit. So, its cordial disciplines are that the traveler to Allah, at the time o ghusl, should not stop at the outer purification and washing the body, as t is a low superficial crust and belongs to this world. His paying attention to the janabah of the inside of the heart and the secret of the spirit and purifying them from that impurity should be more important to him. Therefore, he is to avoid letting his bestial soul and animal concern sha'n overpower the human soul and the divine concerns shu 'un-i rahmani, and to repent of Satanic impurity and arrogance, and to purify the inside of the spirit which is a divine blow breathed in him by "the Breath of the Compassionate" nafas-i rahman from Satanic tastes, which mean paying attention to other than Allah, being the root of the forbidden tree, so that he may deserve his father's, Adam's, Paradise. He is also to know that eating of this tree of nature, desiring this world and attending to multiplicity are the origins of janabah, and, unless he purifies himself from this janabah by immersion in, or by complete purification with, the water of Allah's mercy, which flows from the pillar saq of the Divine 'Arsh and is free from Satan's intrusion, he will not be fit for the sa1at , which is the reality of ascension to (Allah's) proximity, as there can be no salat without purification.⁽¹¹⁴⁾ This is referred to in the noble hadiths in al-Wasa'il. quoting Shaykh as-saduq (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, with authorities:

"A group of Jews came to the Messenger of Allah (S.A). The most learned of them asked him some questions. Among his questions was: 'What for did Allah command that one should perform ghusl because of the Janabah but He did not command it after relieving oneself from feces and urine? The Messenger of Allah (S.A) said: 'When Adam (AS.) ate from the (forbidden) tree, it crept into his veins, hair and skin'. During sexual intercourse water would come out of every vein and hair in his body . So, Allah made it incumbent upon his offspring to perform the ghusl of the janabah till the Day of Resurrection …"⁽¹¹⁵⁾ as the narrative goes.

In another narrative, Imam ar-Rida (A.S.) said: They were ordered to perform the ghusl because of the janabah, but they were not ordered to do it after the khala' (relieving oneself from feces and urine), though it is filthier than the Janabah, because the janabah pertains to the soul of man, and that which conies out is something from the whole body, while the khala' does not pertain to the soul of man, and what comes out is the food that goes in through an inlet and comes out from an outlet."⁽¹¹⁶⁾ The appearance of these hadiths, to "the people of the appearance" ashab-i zahir,, denotes that as the semen is from the whole body, the whole body needs the ghusl, and this coincides with the opinion of a number of physicians and natural philosophers. But giving it the cause of eating from the tree, as in the first hadith, and ascribing the janabah to the soul, as in the second hadith open a way to information for the people of knowledge and allusion, because the question of the "tree" and Adam's eating of it are of the secrets of the sciences of the Qur'an and the infallible Ahlul Bayt (A.S.), in which many sciences are occult. For this reason in the noble hadiths the causes of legislating many rituals are ascribed to the said case of the "tree" and Adam's eating of it, such as the wudu', salat, ghusl, fasting during the month of Ramadan and its being thirty days, and many of the hajj rituals. The writer has for many years been thinking of writing a thesis on this subject, but other engagements have prevented that. I ask Allah, the Exalted, success and happiness. Generally speaking, you are an offspring of Adam , a seed for meeting (Allah) and created for knowing (Him). Allah, the Exalted, has chosen you for Himself and has shaped you with His two hands of Beauty and Majesty , and told the angels to fall down bowing to you, and caused Iblis to envy you. So it You Want to get out of the state of the janabah of your father, who is your origin, and to be worthy to meet the Beloved hadrat-i mahbub and to become ready to attain to "the state of familiarity" maqam-i un and "the Presence of the Divine Sanctity" hadrat-i quds , you are to ritually wash the interior or You heart with the water of mercy, and to repent from attending to this World which is of the manifestations mazahir, of the forbidden tree, and to completely wash your heart, which is the meeting place of the Beautiful and the Beauty of the Majestic, from loving the world and its evil affairs, which are Satanic impurities, for the paradise of meeting the Haqq(Allah) is a place for the pure: "No one enters Paradise except the pure".⁽¹¹⁷⁾ "Wash yourself, then walk to the tavern".⁽¹¹⁸⁾

The one who is aware of Allah and knows the stations, must observe I1I the inner and outer rights and help everyone who has a right to get it. He must purify himself of exaggeration, fault and going to the extremes, remove the filth of denying the outside of the Shari ah, which is, in fact, limitation, and remove the filth of denying the inside of the Shari 'ah, which is restriction, and both of which are of the temptations of Satan and his treacheries, so that the road of travelling to Allah and attaining to the spiritual stations become easy for him.

Thus, one of the stages of removing filth is removing the filths of the false fancies which prevent Allah's proximity and the ascension of the believers One of the concepts and positions of the universality of the ultimate prophethood, or rather, of the proofs of the finality of the prophethood, is that he (the Last Prophet) attained, in all the spiritual states to all their rights and shares as regards all the affairs of the Shari ah. As in the knowledge of the affairs of the Lordship, the Glorified, He is known in the highest height and in the nearest nearness to the state of universality:" He is the First and the Last and the Outward and the inward",⁽¹²⁵⁾ "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth...",⁽¹²⁶⁾ "if you are lowered down with a rope to the lowest of the earth, you will come down onto Allah"⁽¹²⁷⁾, and "...Wherever you turn, there is Allah's Face...,⁽¹²⁸⁾ etc., through which the knower of the divine knowledge, attracted by the divine attractions, feels invisible delight and divine ecstasy. Similarly the practical-cordial monotheism is permeated into the last stage of the horizon of the of nature and the corporeal body, and no being is deprived ol a share of knowing Allah. In short, the people of Sufism unknowingly speak of 'isa's jesus's wisdom, while the phenomena lists speak of the wisdom of Moses The Muhammadans, however, are, by limitation, innocent of both of them. To expand on this brief is out of the question and does not suit these pages.

Quoting Imam as-Sadiq (AS.) Misbahush-shari'ah-Shari ah, narrates. 'The mustarah( W.C.= washing closet = where one relieves oneself = toiled ) is called so because the people arc relieved there from the weights of the filth clear out there the dirt's and impurities. The believer learns from this that the pure of the ephemeral things of this world (i.e., food) will finally have (impure) end. Then, he will be relieved by abandoning this world and such and turning away from it. He empties his soul and his heart from being engaged with it and disdains collecting and j)assessing it, as he disdains the impurities, the feces and filth. He thinks, of himself, how he is honoured in an instance and feels humiliated in another. He then realizes that adhering to contentedness and taqwa gives him relief in both worlds, that comfort is in neglecting this world, in refraining from enjoying it and in removing the impurity of (wanting) the unlawful and the doubtful, and so, he closes the door of arrogance to himself after knowing it, runs away from sins, opens the door of modesty, remorse and shyness, strives to carry out His commands and to refrain from the forbidden, hoping for a good return and a delightful proximity. He imprisons himself in the prison of fear, patience and abstinence from (satisfying) the desires until he arrives, with Allah's custody, in the eternal abode, and tastes His pleasure, as this is what is reliable (counted), and everything else is nothing."⁽¹²⁹⁾ This is the end of his noble speech. In this noble speech there is a comprehensive order for the people of knowledge and suluk, and it is that a conscious person, on his journey to the Last Abode, must, in whatever state he may he, demand all the spiritual pleasures, and not neglect, in any condition, to remember his ultimate goal and return. That is why the wise men have said: "The Prophet serves the (divine) decree qada' as the physician serves the body." As the great Prophets and holy men auliya (A.S.) have no care whatsoever except for Allah's decree qada and the "near-to. Allah" yalillahi aspect. and the heavenly Kingdom malakut Of the divine decree governs their hearts, they believe that the management ol all affairs is in the hands of Allah's angels, who are the divine soldiers, while e physician, being far from this stage and discarded from this valley. the running of the affairs of nature to the natural powers.

in brief salik should, in all conditions. make use of all the aspects of suluk. So, as he sees that the trivial matters and the pleasures of the visible are destined to annihilation and change, and realizes that their fate is corruption and vanishing, he will easily have his heart turn away from them and free his heart from thinking of them and being engaged with them, and he will disgusted with them as he is with filths. The inside of the world of nature is filthy. Filth and dirt seen in a dream - which is a door of' revelation mukashafah - are interpreted to mean worldly positions and wealth, and, cording to the revelations mukashafah of 'Au (A.S.), this world is but a carrion.⁽¹³⁰⁾ So, as the believer empties himself from the loads and excretions of nature and relieves the natural town from their harm, he is also to relieve his heart from being attached to it (nature) and getting engaged with it. He is to 'remove from his heart the burden of loving the world and position, and empty he spiritual utopia and relieve it from those impurities. Let him think how being engaged in the world will , after few hours, humiliate the honourable soul and force it to undergo the worst and most disgraceful slate. Let him know that :0 busy the heart with the world, after a while, when the curtain of visibility is drawn up and the veil of nature is pushed aside, will humiliate man and bring urn to the reckoning and punishment. He is to know that adherence to taqwa md contentment brings comfort in both worlds - a comfort which is a result )f neglecting the world, he slighting it and rejecting its pleasures and entertainments. Having purged himself of the formal filths , he is also to purify himself from the impurities of the haram (the unlawful) and the doubtful cases. Having understood himself and recognized the humility of his need, he as to close to himself the door of arrogance and haughtiness, to run away 'from recalcitrance and sin, and to open to himself the door of modesty, remorse and shyness. He is to strive to obey Allah and refrain from disobedience, so as to return to Allah good and well, and to attain Allah's proximity with purity and serenity of the soul. I-Ic is to imprison himself in the prison of tear and patience and curb his soul of its desires. so as to he saved am the prison of Allah's punishment, and to join Allah's custody in the eternal abode, and, thus, to taste Allah's contentment. This is the ultimate )C of the people of ,suluk, and everything else is naught.

OBJECTIVE TWO

Know that man's rational soul is a reality which, at the same time of its and perfect simplicity, has diverse aspects (growths = nasha 'at), the pal ones of which are, genially, three: The first aspect (growth= nash'ah) is the external mundane visible displayed in the apparent senses, and its lowest surface is the body

The second is the aspect nash 'ah of the barzakh world (the Isthmus, or intermediate world) displayed in the internal senses, the barzakhian intermediate body and "the mould of the ideal" qalib-i mithali ".

The third is the invisible internal aspect nash 'ah , displayed in the heart its affair he relation of each of these aspects to the other is that of the external internal, and of the manifestation to the manifested. This is the reason effects, the characteristics and the reactions of each of these aspects to into the other aspects. For example, if the sense of seeing discerns something, it will have an effect on the barzakhian sense of seeing according to 'nash'ah . Then the effect is transmitted to the internal seeing sense of the heart according to its aspect [nash'ah]. In the same way the effects of the cordial aspect appear in the other two aspects. This, besides being proved by a strong and firm evidence, coincides with the conscience, too. Consequently, all the formal disciplines of the Shar' have their effect, or effects on the interior; and each of the good characters - which belong to the barzakhian Status of the soul - also has its effects on the exterior and interior. All the divine knowledge ma 'arif and the true beliefs also have their effects On the two barzakhian and external aspects. For example, this belief that to have control over the kingdom of existence as well as the invisible and visible worlds belongs to Allah, and no other being has any control over them, except that permitted shadowy control, brings about so many spiritual perfections and good human moralities, such as depending on Allah and trusting Him, and pinning no hope on any creature. This is the mother of perfections and the cause of so many good deeds and commendable acts, and prevents one from committing evil practices. Likewise other sorts of knowledge, which are so numerous that these pages, as well as the broken pen of the writer, have no patience to count them nor to relate the effects of each one of them, since it needs writing a huge book which can be expected only from the powerful pen of the people of knowledge, or from a warm soul of "the people of ecstasy" alil-i hat: My hand is short, while the

dates are (high) on the date-palms".⁽¹³¹⁾

Similar is, for example, contentment rida' as a character, which is one of the human moral perfections. it is effective in purifying and polishing the soul, rendering the heart a place for special divine manifestations, elevating faith to a perfect faith, the perfect faith to tranquility "tuma 'ninah tranquility to its perfection, its perfection to vision mushahadah , the vision to a perfect vision, its perfection to "reciprocal love" 'mu'ashaqah' (with the Beloved), the reciprocal love to its perfection, its perfection to courting murawadah, the courting to its perfection, its perfection to union muwasalah, the union to its perfection, and to what neither I nor you can imagine. The character of contentment has a surprising effect on the kingdom of the body and on the formal marks and acts, which are leaves and branches. It changes hearing, seeing and other powers and organs into divine ones, and the secret of "I will be his hearing and seeing"⁽¹³²⁾ is somewhat manifested. As those stages have an effect, or rather, effects, on the appearance, they are also affected so surprisingly by the outer shape, all the ordinary and extraordinary movements and pauses, and all the acts and abstentions, so that it sometimes happens that a scornful glance by a salik at a servant of Allah causes the salik to fall from his high status to the lowest of the low, and this will need him years to make up for it.

Now, as our helpless hearts are weak and shaky, like the weeping willows, losing their stillness, by every gentle breeze, it would be, therefore, necessary, even in ordinary situations - one of which is the instance of choosing one's clothes - to observe the conditions of the heart and to take care of it. As the soul and Satan have quite firm snares and clever delusions which we are unable to understand, we have to do our best, as much as we can and is in our capacity, to resist them, and to ask, in all cases, Allah's help and support for success.

So, we say that as it has become clear that the exterior and the interior have reciprocal effects, the seeker for the truth and spiritual elevation has to avoid choosing such clothes arid models which have bad effects on the spirit, deviate the heart from perseverance and remembering Allah, and turn the soul's direction to worldly matters. Do not think that Satan's delusions and the

tricks of the evil-commanding soul are confined only to expensive and nice Clothes and luxurious articles. Actually even by old and worthless clothes they may disgrace a man. Therefore, one should avoid seeking fame through clothes, or rather h should avoid all conducts contrary to the normal and the Customary. He is to obtain from wearing highly luxurious clothes made of expensive materials and attractively and notoriously tailored, because our are Very weak and inconstant, and they slip by slightest distinction and deviate from moderation. It may often happen that a wretched, helpless man, devoid of all degrees of honour, humanity, dignity and perfection, just because Of a f W metres of silk or woolen cloth, well tailored in a foreign style, and which might have been obtained through shameful and dishonourable bargains looks down upon the servants of Allah with scorn, arrogance and haughtiness devaluating the people. This is caused only by a completely powerless soul with so small a capacity that it takes the spit of a worm or the apparel of a sheep to be a cause of honour and dignity for itself. 0 helpless man! How wretched and indigent you are! You should be the pride of the world of possibility, and the gist of space and place. You are the offspring of Adam, and you should teach the names and the attributes. You are the child of the (Allah's) successor; so, you should be of the brilliant signs (of Allah). "A whistle calls you from the turret of the 'Arsh".⁽¹³³⁾ You, unfortunate degenerate! You have usurped a handful of remnants and apparels of helpless animals, by which you take pride. This pride of yours is that of a silk worm, a ;sheep, a camel, a squirrel or a fox. Why do you feel proud of others' clothes, md show arrogance by others' pride?

In short, as the quality, the value and the decoration of the clothes have :heir effects on the souls, Imam Amirul Mu'minin (A.S.), as quoted by the late 2u0 the Rawandi, said: "Whoever wears luxurious clothes, he will be, inevitably, arrogant, and the Fire is inevitably for the arrogant."⁽¹³⁴⁾ There are effects in their fashion and tailoring. It sometimes happens that the one who wears the clothes cut similar to those of the foreigners, gets a feeling of ignorant attachment to them, and thus, he repulses and abominates the friends )f Allah and His Messenger, and loves their enemies. in this respect. Imam t-Sadiq (AS.) is quoted to have said: "Allah, the Exalted and Most High. inspired one of the prophets commanding him: 'Tell the believers not to wear he clothes of My enemies, not to eat like My enemies, and not to walk like My enemies, so as not to be My enemies as they are My chemise.⁽¹³⁵⁾

As the too luxurious clothes affect the souls, similarly, too low and hobby clothes, both in material and quality, also affect them. It is most probably that this is more corruptive, by many degrees. than the exquisite clothes, as the soul can have quite crafty plots. When one sees himself distinguished from others by wearing rough, demin clothes, while others wear 'fine soft clothes, he tries, as he loves himself, to neglect his defects, regarding his accident and irrelevant affair as a matter of pride. He may probably get to admire himself and look down at the servants of Allah, alleging that the others are out of Allah's holy sanctum, thinking himself to be among the most sincere and favorite servants of Allah. It is also most probable that he will be afflicted with hypocrisy and other big corruptions. So wretched he is that, out of all the degrees of knowledge, taqwa and spiritual perfections, he suffices himself with rough, shabby wears, unaware of thousands of his big faults, the biggest of which is this very bad effect resulting from these clothes. He thinks himself, who is of Satan's friends, of the people of Allah, regarding the servants of Allah as nothing and worthless. It also happens that the style and the way he wears his clothes throw him into many mischief's, such as wearing them in such an arrangement as to make him famous as an ascetic and a holy man. In short, to wear clothes for distinction, on either side of the extremities, is a matter which shakes the weak hearts, and deprives them from good moralities, and causes conceit, hypocrisy, arrogance and pride, each one of which is a mother of spiritual vileness. They further lead to being attached to this world and loving it, which is the head of all sins and the source of all evils. Many hadiths also refer to many of the said affairs, as is stated in the noble at-Kafi, quoting Imam as-Sadiq (A.S.), saying: "Allah, the Exalted, becomes angry with one's getting famous through clothes".⁽¹³⁶⁾

He is also quoted to have said: "The famous, good or bad, is in the Fire,"⁽¹³⁷⁾

He is further quoted to have said: "Allah becomes angry with two fames: the fame of clothes and the fame of the salat.⁽¹³⁸⁾ A hadith is quoted from the Messenger of Allah (S.A), saying: "Whoever Wears an apparel of fame, Allah will make him wear, in the Hereafter, an apparel of humility."⁽¹³⁹⁾

So, it must be noted that as the external form of the salat is not proved o be correct without the purity of the clothes and the body, and as impurities - which are of Satan's vile acts and cause repellence from the presence of the Beneficent rahman - block the way of attending the 'presence, the musa1li with clothes and body polluted with Satan's vileness is expelled from the divine Presence and prevented from attending the station of familiarity maqam-i uns. Similar is the vileness of disobeying Allah, which is also of Satan's practices and of the fifths of that foul creature. It also prevents me from entering the Presence mahdar. So, the red-handed disobedient one, with an impure cover of the isthmus body, cannot be admitted to Allah's essence mahdar, . Purifying this cover is of the conditions of the realization md correctness of the internal salat. As long as man is in the veil of this world, ie cannot know about the invisible body, the purity and filth of its clothes and he condition of its being pure and without filth. The day he comes out of this 'veil, and the sovereignty of the interior and of the day of gathering yaumul jam twists aside the extensive disunion of the exterior, and the sun of truth rises out of the dark mundane veils, and the eye of the invisible interior opens. and the eye of the visible animalist closes, thereupon. with the eye of insight. e will understand that his salat , had been, till the end of life, void of purity md surrounded by thousands of obstacles, each one of which was an independent cause for expelling one from the Holy Presence of Allah. Alas A thousand alas! For on that day there will he no way for indemnity and there will be no cure. There will be nothing but regret and remorse - endless regrets and continue remorse's And warm them of the day of anguish when the matter shall have been decided…"⁽¹⁴⁰⁾

After that the clothes of the interior body became pure, it would be necessary for the very invisible body to be purified from Satan's filths, that is, purification from the filths of the dispraised characters, as each one of them is apt to pollute the interior and to expel man from the Presence mahdar and prevent him from the Proximity. Such characters are of the filths of Satan, who is deprived of (Allah's) mercy. The origins of all the dispraised acts are self-conceit, selfishness, ostentation and obstinacy, each one of which is the origin of many dispraised characters, and is at the head of many sins. Having completed this purification and purified the clothes of taqwa with the water of sincere repentance and lawful austerity, the salik will have to busy himself with the purification of the heart, which is the real concealer satir and into which Satan's intrusion is greater and its impurities spread to other clothes and congealers. So, without purifying the heart other purifications will not be easy. The purification of the heart passes through several stages, some of which will be referred to in these pages.

One of them is purging the heart from loving this world, which is at the head of all sins and it is the origin of all corruptions. As long as man has this love in his heart, it will not be possible for him to be admitted to the Presence of Allah; and divine affection, which is the mother of purities. is not accomplished with this impurity. Perhaps in the Book of Allah and in the advices of the prophets and holy men (AS.), particularly Amirul Mu 'minin (Au) (AS.), importance is the least given to other than abandoning this world, neglecting t and avoiding it, all of which are of the realities of taqwa. This stage of purification is not achieved except by useful knowledge, strong cordial tea, concentrating one's thoughts on the beginning mabda and he rerun Allah) ma ad , engaging the heart in taking lessons from the decay return to destruction of the world. and the excellence and happiness of the invisible worlds: "May Allah have mercy upon one who knows where he has come from, where he is and where he is going."⁽¹⁴¹⁾

Another purification is to be purged from dependence on the reator which is a concealed polytheism; yet, to the people ol knowledge, it is a manifest polytheism. This purification is accomplished through (the belief in) Allah's Unity of Acts, which is the source of all cordial purifications. It must be noted that mere demonstrative knowledge and contemplative step concerning the Unity of Acts do not have the required result. It sometimes happens that too much indulgence in the experimental sciences brings darkness and displeasure to the heart, and hinders man from attaining to the higher objective. In this respect it is said: "Knowledge is the greatest veil." The writer believes that all sciences, even the science of tauhid (monotheism), are functional (practical ='amali), Perhaps the grammatical etymology of the word "tauhid", which is "taf il", proves that, as according to its etymological function it means advancing from multiplicity to oneness, and annihilating and abolishing the aspects of the multiplicity in "the Essence of Union" 'am-i jam. This idea cannot be proved with evidence, as with cordial austerity and instinctive inclination towards the Owner of the hearts, the heart is to be informed about what proofs say, so that the truth of tauhid can be understood. Yes, proof tells us that "There is no effecter nu'aththir in the (world of) existence except Allah"⁽¹⁴²⁾, which is one of the meanings of "There is no God but Allah." By the blessing of this proof we cut short the intruding hands of beings from the realm of the Majesty of existence, and return the invisible and visible worlds to their Owner, and display the truth of: "His is what is in the heavens and the earth",⁽¹⁴³⁾ "And in His hand is the Kingdom of everything,"⁽¹⁴⁴⁾ and "He it is Who in the heaven is God and in the earth God." ⁽¹⁴⁵⁾ But unless this proved subject reaches

heart and becomes an internal form sum! of the heart, we will not cross the limit hadd of knowledge to the limit of faith; and of the light of faith, which illuminates the kingdom of the interior and the exterior, we shall have no share and no profit. This is the reason that although we have the proof supporting this divine, lofty subject, we are still in multiplicity and know little which is the pleasure of the eyes of the people of Allah - we do ring )f: "There is no effecter mu 'aththir in the (world of) existence except look with the eye of greed, and extend the hand of demand to everybody:

The legs of the inferentialists are wooden, Legs will be very much infirm, if wooden.⁽¹⁴⁶⁾ This purification IS of the great stations of the wayfarers to Allah. There r, further stations, which are beyond our limit, though probably we refer to some of them within these papers, when the occasion arises, insha' (Allah willing).

The traveler to Allah finds himself present in the Holy Presence mahdar of Allah, the Almighty and Most High, or rather, he sees that his interior and exterior, his covertness and overtones are the very presence as it is narrated in al-Kafi and at-Tauhid that Imam as-Sadiq (AS.) "The spirit of a believer is more connected to the spirit of Allah than the of the sunbeam to the sun." ⁽¹⁴⁷⁾ Yet, strong evidential arguments in sciences stress that the entire circle of existence, from the highest stages to the lowest visible ones, is the very connection and mere and want (poverty) in its relation to the Absolute Self-Existent, the and Most High. It is probable that the reference is to this in the ayah: it is you who are in need of Allah, and it is Allah Who is the Praised One,"⁽¹⁴⁸⁾ because if a being among the beings, in Of States, in a moment of the moments and in an aspect of the aspects, Connection to the Might of the Holy Lord, it would be out of the spot ideality and poverty, and into the sanctuary of Self-Necessity and Sufficiency. The one who knows Allah and is journeying to Him will have grave this true evidential subject, this divine gnostic delicacy, by way tat austerities, disregarding the limits of reason and argument, on the face heart, in order to bring it to the borders of gnosis 'irfan, SO that the of faith and its light become manifest in his heart. The people of heart Allah step past the limit of faith onto the stage of revelation kashf and n shuhud. This would be possible through intense self-mortification mujahadah, privacy with Allah and loving Him. It is stated in misbahush-Shari'ah that Imam as-Sadiq (AS.) said:

"The informed one (the gnostic), his person is with the people and his I is with Allah. Should his heart be inattentive of Allah for a twinkle of an he would have died of craving for Him.

The informed one (the Gnostic) is the entrusted with Allah's trusts. He is treasure of His secrets, the source of His light, the evidence of His mercy on his creatures, the mount of His knowledge, and the criterion of His favour justice. He is not dependent on the people, nor is he in need of them for wants and the world. He feels intimate only with Allah, and gives no utterance, makes no gesture and draws no breath except by Allah, for Allah, i Allah and with Allah."⁽¹⁴⁹⁾

In short, when the salik finds himself, in all aspects (affairs, states =shu'un), being the very Presence hudur, he covers all his internal and external kinds of nakedness 'aurat in order to observe the Presence and the inline of Presence. He realizes that the exposure of the internal nakedness he Presence of Allah is much more hideous and disgracing than the sure of the external nakedness, as in the hadiths: "Allah does not look at forms, but He looks into your hearts."⁽¹⁵⁰⁾ The internal kinds of nakedness rat are the dispraised characters, vile customs and immoralities, which rive man of being worthy of the Presence mahdar and of the discipline of once hudur. This is the first stage of violating the covers and the exposure nakedness 'aurat It must be noted that if one does not cover himself with Allah's veiling and if he does not put himself under the Names of "The and "the Forgiver", demanding concealment and forgiveness it happens that when the visible curtain is rolled up, and the worldly remove, they cause his exposure in the presence of the favourable and the appointed prophets (AS.). Allah alone knows how much the internal nakedness is ugly, disgraceful, stinking and scandalous. o dear, do not compare the conditions of the Hereafter with this world, world can never have the capacity of the appearance of a single blessing it of that world. This world, with all its vast heavens and kingdoms cannot take in the appearance of a low invisible world such as the of the grave, let alone the high kingdom of heaven, of which the Resurrection World is a sample. In a detailed hadith narrated by the Shaykh ash-Shahid ath-Thani (may Allah be pleased with him) in Munyatul Murid quoting Fatamah, the Siddiqah (A.S.), who, quoting the Messenger of Allah (S.A.), said: "The Messenger of Allah (S.A.) said: 'The scholars of our followers will be resurrected wearing coats of honour according to their knowledge and to their efficiency in guiding the servants of Allah, such that some of them are given a thousand coats of light'. Then he added: 'Some of those gifts are better than the best thing on which the sun may shine, by a thousand times." ⁽¹⁵¹⁾So much for its blessings. As to its punishments Fayd (may Allah have mercy upon him), in Ilmul Yaqin, has quoted a hadith from the late as-Saduq, on his authority, quoting Imam as-Sadiq (A.S.) who said that in a hadiths Gabriel said to the Messenger of Allah (S.A.): "If a single link of the chain, whose length is seventy cubits, is placed on the world, the world will by its heat. Or if a drop of the Zaqqum and earl' (repulsive stinking is dropped into the waters of this world, the people will die of its bad smell." ⁽¹⁵²⁾We take refuge with Allah from the wrath of Ar-Rahman.

Therefore, the traveler to Allah has to replace his bad characters and with the prefect ones, and to vanish them in the stormy and endless of Allah's perfect attributes, and to change the dark Satanic land of (his) tahi'at to a white and bright land, and to find out in himself: "And the earth shines with the light of its Lord",⁽¹⁵³⁾ and to bring about the state of the names of Beauty and Majesty of the Holy Essence in the kingdom of his existence. In this state he will he under the shelter of Beauty and Majesty, and will acquire the divine moralities; and the vices of " personal individuations" ta 'ayyunat-i nafsiyah and the darkness of fancy will be completely concealed Having attained to this state, he will be favoured with the special care of Allah, the Most High, Who will help him with His special secret protection (kindness) and conceal him under the cover of His Majesty such that no one, except Himself will know him, and he will know none but Allah:

"My friends are under My qibab (domes), no one knows them except Me."⁽¹⁵⁴⁾ The sacred Book of Allah has many references to this point for those worthy of it, such as: 'Allah is the Protector of those who believe. He brings them out of the Darkness into the light ⁽¹⁵⁵⁾ The people of knowledge and of past good records know that all the creational individuations ta 'ayyunat-i khalqiyah and the essential multiplicities katharat-i 'ainiyah are darkness zulumat, and the absolute light cannot happen except by discarding the annexations and breaking the individuations which are the idols in the way of the salik. When the darkness of the actual and participial multiplicities is effaced and vanished in 'the Essence of Union" 'am-i jam', all the nakedness will be covered, and the absolute presence and the complete attainment will take place, and the musalli, being concealed by the Haqq(Allah), will be performing the Haqq 's (Allah's) salat. The ascending salat of the Seal of the Messengers (S.A.) was probably of his type, in its particular states and stages. Allah knows better.

It is stated in Misbahush-shari'ah-Shari'ah that Imam as-sadiq (A.S.) said: "The most decorative clothing for the believer is the clothing of taqwa, and the finest me is faith. Allah, the Almighty and Glorified, said: 'and the clothing of taqwa, that is the best.' As to the exterior clothing, it is a blessing from Allah, s it covers the nakedness of the children of Adam. It is a grace granted by Allah to His servants, the children of Adam (A.S.), which He did not grant to n them. To the believers, it is a means to perform the duties imposed Stan upon them. The best of your clothing is that which does not distract from Allah, the Almighty and Glorified, rather it brings you nearer to ,thanking remembering and obeying Him, and it does not bear you to conceit, hypocrisy. decoration, taking pride and boasting, as these are among the pests of the religion and bring cruelty to the heart. When you put on your dress, remember Allah, the concealer of your sins by His mercy.

Clothe your interior with truthfulness, as you dressed your exterior with your dress. Let your interior be under the protection of fear, and your exterior under the protection of obedience. Take a lesson from the favour of Allah, the Almighty and Glorified, as He created the means for making clothes to conceal the apparent nakedness, and He opened the doors of repentance and imploring in order to cover the internal sins and evil characters. Do not uncover any one's faults, as Allah has covered your greater faults. Attend to your own faults, and forgive that whose state and affair do not concern you. Beware of perishing your life for the action of others, letting the others trade with your capital, while you destroy yourself. Forgetting the sins is of the gravest punishments from Allah in this world, and of the most effective causes for the punishments in the Hereafter. As long as the servant is engaged in his obedience to Allah, the Exalted, in recognizing his own defects and abandoning what is disgraceful in the religion of Allah, he will be isolated from the plagues, plunging in the sea of the mercy of Allah, the Almighty and Glorified, and will win the gems of the advantages of wisdom and expression. But as long as he is forgetting his sins, unfamiliar with his defects, resorting to his own might and force, he will never be successful." ⁽¹⁵⁶⁾

Know that the wayfarer to Allah has, according to his existential growths nasha'at-i wujudiyah, certain places, each of which has its particular The salik will have to know them before he attains to the salat of knowledge.The first is the natural growth and the apparent mundane stage, and its the earth of nature. The Messenger of Allah (S.A.) said: "The earth is me a place for prostration and a purifier."⁽¹⁵⁷⁾The salik's discipline this stage is to make his heart understand that his descending from growth nash ah and the coming down of the soul from its high lace to the lowest earth of nature and his being reduced from the ahsan-i taqwim to the lowest of the low are for the voluntary to Allah and the ascension to the mi raj of Proximity and reaching the Allah and the Threshold of His Lordship, which is the objective of the final end of the people of Allah. "May Allah have mercy upon LOWS Where he has come from, where he is and where he is going.⁽¹⁵⁸⁾

The salik must realize that he has come from the house of Au munificence karamat, and is now in the house of worshipping Allah, an go to the house of Allah's recompense. The Gnostic says: "From Allah, in and to Allah." So, the salik must tell himself, and his spirit, that the house o nature is a mosque for worshipping Allah, and that he has been brought to this world for this purpose, as Allah, the Almighty and Glorified, says: "And I have not created the jinn and the ins (mankind) except that they should worship Me."⁽¹⁵⁹⁾ After realizing that the house of nature is the mosque for worship, and finding himself in seclusion mu'takif in it, he is to observe the relevant disciplines and abstain from remembering other than Allah. He is not to leave the mosque of worship, unless there be a need, such as for relieving himself, and then to return, and not to be familiar except with Allah, nor to have any affiliation with others, as these are contrary to the disciplines of cleaving to the door of Allah. In this stage the knower of Allah will have certain moods halat which cannot be written down, and as the writer is out of "the innate disposition of humanity" fitrat-i insaniyat , indulging in the overflowing darkened sea of nature, void of truth and reality, as well as of all the stations of the saliks and of the gnostics, the best thing for him is not to disgrace himself in the Presence of Allah, the Almighty, and his close friends, but to go past this stage and take his complaint against the evil-commanding soul to the Sacred Threshold of the Lord of Majesty, as perhaps He would extend to him a helping hand out of His general kindness and all-embracing mercy, and thus he would compensate during the rest of his life for what has passed: "Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves, and if You forgive us not and have not mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers.⁽¹⁶⁰⁾

The second stage is the state of the external and internal powers. which are the visible and invisible soldiers of the soul, whose place is the ground (earth ard) of man's nature, i.e. his structure and body. The saliks disciple in this respect is to inform the inmost of the heart that the ground art of hi' nature is the mosque of divinity and the place for the prostration of the soldiers of the Beneficent rahman . Therefore, the mosque should not i with the filths of Iblis 's intrusion, and the divine soldiers should not be order the influence of Iblis, SO that the ground ard of the nature is !'eliminate with the Lord's light, and be freed from the darkness and the of being away from the Court of the Lord. So, let him believe that his possible and incised powers are in seclusion in the mosque of the body, and he is to treat his body as he treats a mosque, and to look at his powers as being in selection in the Court of Allah. In this stage, the obligations of the salik are more, because it is his own responsibility to undertake cleaning and purifying the mosque, as he also is to observe the disciplines of seclusion on the part of those (visible and invisible powers) that are in seclusion in this mosque.The third stage is the salik 's cordial invisible growth nash 'ah, whose

place is the invisible barzakhian body of the soul, which is created and developed by the soul itself. The salik's discipline, in this instance, is to make himself realize that this stage greatly differs from other ones, and to preserve it is of the saIik's important duties, because the heart is the leader of those in seclusion in the Court (of Allah), and with its corruption all of them will corrupt: "If the scholar is corrupt, the world will corrupt".⁽¹⁶¹⁾ The heart of a scholar is a small world, while the scholar is the heart of the big world. In this stage the salik's duties increase, because the building of the mosque is also added to his responsibilities and it maybe that - God forbid! - his mosque will be a mosque of harm dirar , of disbelief and of disunity of the Muslims. In such a mosque it is not allowed 10 worship Allah, and it must be pulled down.Having established the divine invisible mosque with the hand of the Beneficent and of the guardianship, and purified it from all impurities and Satanic intrusions, and begun his seclusion there, the salik is to strive to take himself is seclusion in the mosque in order to seclude in the Court of the

Out of h Owner of the mosque. And, after purging himself from self-love and getting outOf his own fetters, he himself will become the house of Allah, or better to say, he will become the mosque of the Lord, and Allah will glorify Himself through Manifestation of Action, then of Names and of Essence in that mosques and glorification is the salat of the Lord, saying: subbuhum quddus, Rabbul mala ikati war ruh (All-Glorious, All-Holy, the Lord of the angels and the spirit).⁽¹⁶²⁾ The traveler to Allah has, in all the stages of the journey, another duty to perform, neglecting which is not permissible at all, for actually it is the core of the cores and the objective of the suluk. This duty is not to forget to remember Allah in any situation or Stage, and to seek to know Allah from all rituals and worships, and to see Him in all phenomena, and not to let the blessings and munificence prevent him from the company suhbat and prevent, as this is a kind of istid raj (being engaged in other than the Haqq). In short, he is to take the spirit and the interior batin of the worships and rituals to be knowing Allah, and to look into them for the Beloved so that the attachment of loving and being loved becomes fixed in his heart, and he may be favoured with hidden graces and secret associations.

It is stated in Misbahush-Shari'ah that Imam as-sadiq (A.S.) said: "When you arrive at the door of the mosque, know that you have come to the door of a great King. No one may walk into His Courtyard save the purified, and no one is admitted to His Company mujalasah hut the truthful. So, attach reverence to your coming to the ground of serving the King, as you would be exposed to a great danger if you were negligent.⁽¹⁶³⁾ Know that He is capable of doing what He likes of justice and grace with you and by you. So, if He was kind to you with His mercy and favour, He would accept from you little worship and give you much reward for it. But if He demanded from you a share of truth and sincerity, to be just with you, He would block you and reject your worship, even if it is much. He is the doer of what He wants. Confess to His Presence your inability, shortcoming, humility and poverty, as you have Come to Him to worship and to get His Intimacy 'mu anasah . Expose your secrets 10 Him, knowing that nothing, covert and overt, of the entire universe, is hidden from Him.

Be, before Him, as the poorest of His servants. Empty your heart of all occupants that keep you away from your Lord, as He does not accept except si) and the sincere(St). Find out in which register your name is If you tasted the sweetness of supplication and the delight ol Him, and drank from the cup of His mercy and generosity Out to reception of you and response to you, then you would become for His service. So, enter, as you will have permission and protection. like the one whose rope has snapped and his hope has come time has got the better of him. So, if Allah found in your heart true to Him, He would look at you with the eye of kindness, mercy and cause you to be success in attaining to what He likes and is pleased with since He is generous and loves generosity for His servants who fly resort to Him and burn out at His door for the want of His Allah the Most High, says: 'Or, Who answers the distressed one, calls Upon" Him, and removes the evil…?"⁽¹⁶⁴⁾ I have related the complete text of this noble speech because it is a set of instruction for the people of knowledge and the to Allah, who, by contemplating them may acquire a different state.

of Place haven't understood the stages of the place according to his states and growths nasha 'at , the salik is to exert his effort, in respect with the disciplines of their permissibility, so that his sa1at may come out of the intrusions of the evil Iblis. In the first stage he is to perform the disciplines of worship and servitude, and to fulfil his former promises of world of pre-existence and the Day of Covenant, cutting Satan's intruding from the kingdom of his nature, so as to establish amicable relations with Owner of the House, and his actions tasarrufat in the world of nature may usurping. Some of the people of good aptitude say that the inner of the noble ayah "0 you who believe! Fulfil the obligations. The quadruped are allowed to you," ⁽¹⁶⁵⁾ is that allowing the cattle s conditioned by the fulfillment of the guardianship obligation. hadiths relate that all land is the Imam's, and that other than the Shi'ahs Usurpers. ⁽¹⁶⁶⁾ People of knowledge regard the waliyul'amr (the ;preliminary legal authority) as the owner of all kingdoms of the existence, and the stages of the visible, and the invisible, and regard using them Without the Imam's permission to he wrong. The writer says: The accursed Iblis is the enemy of Allah, and his conducts and all the Satanic intrusions in the world of nature arc tyrannical and usurping. So, if the wayfarer to Allah could bring himself Out of the control of that wicked one, his conduct would he divine, and his place, Clothing food and matrimony would he permissible and clean. And as much as he remains under Satan's control, his permissibility's become less and Satanic polytheism chirk will affect them. So, if man's external organs become Under Satan's control, they will he Satanic organs, usurping Allah's kingdom, as the seclusion of the invisible powers in the mosque of the body can only be permissible and right when those powers are of the soldiers of Allah, in which case lb/Is soldiers will not have the right to intrude into the kingdom of the human body, which is the property of Allah, the Exalted. Having cut the intruding hand of Satan short off the kingdom of the heart, which is the private residence of Allah, and cleared his heart for Allah's manifestation, and excluded other than Allah, such as lb/Is, from it, the external and internal mosques and the visible and invisible places become permissible for him, and his .salats become like those of the people of knowledge, and consequently, the purity of the mosque is realized, too.

OBJECTIVE FOUR

Know that the people of knowledge and of observance pay attention to, and take care of, the times for the salats according to the depth of their knowledge of the Sacred State of the Lord, and according to their longing for supplication with the Creator, Honoured be His Name, as these times are for supplication and meeting Allah. Those who are attracted by the Beauty of the Beautiful, and are fond of the beauty of eternity, and are drunk with the cup of affection, and are in a State of ecstasy by (drinking) a goblet from "alastu"? (Am I not ... ?)⁽¹⁶⁷⁾, are delivered from both worlds, closing their eyes against the regions of existence and joining the Majesty of the Sanctity of Allah's Beauty. To them the Presence is continual, and they do not forget, even for a single moment, remembrance contemplation, perception and observance.

The people of knowledge, virtues and honourable learned souls, and of good disposition, would prefer nothing to supplication to Allah. They demand Supplication and privacy with Allah. They take glory, honour, virtue and know ledge to be in supplication and remembering Allah. Should they look at the Universe and the world, their look would be gnostic. In the world they are request of Allah and want Him. To them, all beings are the manifestations of Allah and the charms of the Beautiful: "I love the whole world as the whole d is from Him."⁽¹⁶⁸⁾ They watch for the times of the salats with all their is, and eagerly wait for the time of supplication to Allah, Preparing selves to he present at a fixed time to meet Him. Their hearts are present from the Presence mahdar they demand the Present, as they respect the once mahdar for the sake of the Present. They believe that servitude is citation and sociability with the Absolute Perfect, and their eagerness for hip is due to this fact. And those who believe in the invisible and the other world, and are fascinated by the generosity of Allah, the Exalted, and who would not change eternal heavenly blessings and the everlasting pleasures and the permanent fullness for mundane perishing chances and the temporal, incomplete and facetted delights, at the times of worship - which is the seed of the blessings noting to the other world - they prepare their hearts and perform it e-heartedly and anxiously. They wait for the times of the .salats - which the times for getting the results and winning the treasures - and take noting for the eternal blessings. As their hearts are aware of the invisible J and they cordially believe in the eternal blessings and the continual of the Hereafter world, they fully utilize their time and do not waste hose are the owners of Paradise and the lords of grace in which they will in forever. Those groups that have been mentioned, and the others which have not mentioned, obtain pleasure from worshipping itself, in proportion to their and their knowledge. They never feel the heaviness of the obligations, but we, the helpless, who are in the chains of hopes and desires, and in the s of whims and wishes, drowned in the overflowing dark sea of the world nature, where neither a smell of affection and love has reached the sense Of our spirit, nor has our heart's sense of taste tasted any delicacies Of ledge and virtue. We are neither of the people of gnosticism and vision, f the people of faith and tranquility. We take the divine worship to be a obligation, and regard supplication unto Allah a burden. We trust ring but this world, which is a manger for animals, and are attached to noting except to this house of nature, which is the seclusion place of the eye of our heart's insight is blind to the Beauty of the Beautiful, the taste of our spirit is void of the taste of gnosticism. The master of the circle of the people of knowledge, and the gist of the of affection and truth says:" I spend the night with my Lord Who feeds and gives me to drink."⁽¹⁶⁹⁾ 0 Lord! what a night which Muhammad (S.A.) in the House of private Intimacy with You! What food and drink were which You, with Your Own hand, fed that honourable being and freed from all worlds! It is proper for that master to say: "I have with Allah a which is not within the capacity of any favourable angel and prophet. ⁽¹⁷⁰⁾ that time of the times of this world and the other world? Or was it the time of the Privacy of "qaba qausayn" (the distance of two bows' length) and discarding the two worlds? Moses, the interlocutor with Allah, fasted for forty days and could attain to a meeting with Allah, and Allah said: "So, the appointed time of his Lord was complete forty nights."⁽¹⁷¹⁾ Yet, he could not attain to a meeting like Muhammad's, and it cannot be compared with that him. In the meeting place Moses was told: "Take off your shoes"⁽¹⁷²⁾, which is interpreted to mean "affection to family", while the Seal of the Prophets was to love 'Au. In my heart, of this secret, there is a firebrand, of which I not talk. You yourself from this brief, read its detailed talk.

Some wives of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.) were quoted to have that "The Messenger of Allah (S.A.) used to talk to us and we used to him. But when the time for the salat arrived he appeared as if he did not us and we did not know him, as his attention was completely directed Allah."⁽¹⁷³⁾ It is said that Amirul Mu'minin 'Ali (AS.), when it was time for the .salat used to writhe and tremble. Asked once about his uncommon state, he said: "The time has come for the trust which Allah, the Exalted, offered 10 heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to carry it and Were afraid of it".⁽¹⁷⁴⁾ Sayyid Ibn Tawus (may his spirit be sanctified) says, in Fal?hus Sa il, that when Imam Husayn (A.S.) used to perform the wudu', he changed colours and his joints trembled. Asked about the reason, the Imam said: "When one is going to stand before the Owner of the 'Arsh, his color is ought to turn pale and his joints to tremble".⁽¹⁷⁵⁾ Imam Hasan had a similar condition, ⁽¹⁷⁶⁾ It is narrated that Imam as-Sajjad (the fourth Imam) (A.S.) user to get pale at the arrival of the time of the wudu'. He was once asked: "What is this state which happens to you whenever you want to perform the wudu '?' 1-le said: " Do you not know before whose presence I am to stand ?⁽¹⁷⁷⁾

If we, too, think a little and tell our veiled and discarded heart that the times of the salats are the times of being present at the Ho Threshold o Owner of Majesty, the time's in which Allah, the Exalted, the Master of the Kings and the Absolute Great, invites His helpless and spotless servant 10 supplication, admitting him to His House of Generosity. so that he may the eternal happiness and permanent pleasures and cheerfulness, we will pleasure and cheerfulness, according to our level of knowledge when the of the salat arrives. If the heart understands the greatness and the important of the situation, there will be fear and dread in proportion to the extent of understanding of the greatness. But as the hearts of the holy men 'auliya' their conditions are different, according to the gracious and the overpowering manifested and feeling the greatness and mercy, sometimes their longing for the meeting, and their feeling the mercy and beauty excite them to display pleasure and cheerfulness, and they hail: "Relieve us, 0 Bilal!" ⁽¹⁷⁸⁾sometimes (divine) manifestations of Greatness, Power and Sovereignty, drive them to ecstasy, trembling and shivering.

In short, 0 you helpless! The cordial disciplines of the times are in preparing yourself for entering into the Presence of the Master of this world and the Hereafter, for conversing with Allah, the Almighty and Most High. So, cast a glance at your weakness, helplessness, humility and indigence, and at the Greatness, Glory and Majesty of the Sanctified Essence, Glorified be His Majesty, in Whose court of Greatness the prophetic Messengers and the favorite angels go into rapture, and confess their incapability, humility and wretchedness, Having so looked, and taught your heart, it would feel afraid and you regard yourself and your worship trivial and worthless. Then, contemplate the extent of the mercy, complete kindness and all-embracing affection of His Sacred Essence, to realize that such a helpless servant, with all his impurities and wretchedness, is invited to His Sacred Court, received by the ceremonies of sending down of angels, heavenly Books and Prophets and Messengers (A.S.), who call him to the meeting of intimacy, without this helpless possible servant having any previous aptitude, or there being imaginable, in this invitation to His Presence any benefit for Him we take refuge with Allah - or for the angels of Allah and the Prophets (A.S.). It is natural, however, that the heart is pleased with this contemplation, and it is filled with hope and expectancy. Therefore with steps of fear and hope, desire and dread, prepare yourself for the Presence and have ready the required provisions for the Attendance, the most important of which is to attend the Meeting mahdar with a shy and fearing heart , feeling broken, humiliated, weak and helpless, and believing Yourself Unworthy to worship and servitude and to be admitted into the

Presence and regarding that giving you permission to enter into worship and servitude Was only because of the general mercy and the all-inclusive kindness of the One, the Almighty and Glorified. if you put your humility before your eyes, and humbly and heartily submitted to the Sacred Essence of Allah, and if you considered yourself and your worship worthless and trivial, Allah, the Exalted, would be kind to you, raise you and bestow upon you of His grace,

One is (turning to) the forefront, which is turning the face from all The other is psychological, and it is the orientation of the face towards the ka bah, which is the ummul qur?'(the Mother of the Towns ) and the of the extension of the earth. This appearance has an inside, and the inside has a secret, or rather, The people of the invisible secrets distract the interior or the spirit dispersed directions jihat of the multiplicities of the invisible and visible, direct the secret of the spirit towards being attached to the One. They all the multiplicities as vanished in the secret of the "Collective ahadiyat-i jam'. When this spiritual secret settles in the heart, the (Allah) appears in the heart as the Greatest Name, which is the state of the union of the Named" /am'-i asma'?, and the multiplicities of the Names and disappear in the Greatest Name, and the heart is directed, in to the Greatest Name, And when it comes out from inside the Heart to the outer visibility, the plan for annihilating (all) other (than is to turn away from the east and west of the visible world, and the plan orientation towards the Union hadrat-i jam is the orientation towards the of the extended earth, which is Allah's hand in the earth. .s regards the traveler to Allah, who travels from the outside to the and advances from the overt to the covert, he is to use this formal Lion towards the center of the earthly blessings, and discarding other orientations, as a means for the cordial moods, and never to be satisfied e meaningless appearance. He is to divert the heart - which is the focus of Allah's attention - from the different and diverse directions, which are real directing it towards the qiblah of the truth, which is the origin of the of the blessings of the heavens and the earth, and doing away with the of other ,hair and otherness ghairiyat so as to get to the secret of: "I have turned my face toward Him Who originated the heavens and the ⁽¹⁷⁹⁾ to some extent, and to have in his heart an example of the stations and gleams of the invisible world of the (Divine) Names, so that the diverse directions and the different multiplicities may be burnt away by the gleam. Allah, the Exalted, would help him, and the small and big idols in the inmost corner of the heart may be destroyed by the hand of (His) guardianship. However, this is an endless story, so let me drop it and go by.

He said:" This is the truest poetry said by the Arabs."⁽¹⁸⁰⁾ Having informed your heart about the falsity of all that is in the House of Realization, and about the perfection of the Sacred Essence, there would be no need for the heart to premeditate for turning to the real qiblah and loving the Beauty of the Absolute Beautiful, and detesting the entire House of Realization, except the manifestation of the Sacred Essence, as in fact, the very divine disposition in man naturally invites to that, and: "I have turned my face toward Him Who originated the heavens and the earth,"⁽¹⁸¹⁾ becomes the motto of man's soul, heart and situation, and" "I do not love the setting ⁽¹⁸²⁾ becomes his natural motto. Thus poor, know that the world, excepting Allah, is transient, perishing, vanishing and batil. None of the beings has anything by itself, and none of them in itself, has any beauty, glory, light or splendor. Beauty and Splendor exclusively belong to the Essence of Allah. As the Sacred Essence is in Divinity and in being Necessary Existent, He is also unique in Glory, Perfection, and particularly He is unique in existence, while the humility of essential non-existence adam-i dhati and nullity are engraved e foreheads of the others. So, turn the heart, which is the center of the light on the divine innate disposition, away from the different aspects of falsities, nullities and shortcomings, and direct it toward the Center of Beauty and perfection, and in your pure conscience let the motto of your disposition be hat the Gnostic of Shiraz says: Our conscience accommodates none but the Beloved, Give up both worlds to the foe, suffices us to have the Beloved.

Imam as-Sadiq (A.S) is quoted to have said: "When you face the qiblah, despair of the world and of what is in it, and of the creatures and of what they -e busy with. Empty your heart of whatever takes your attention from Allah, ie Exalted. Discern with your heart the Greatness of Allah, the Glorified. remember your standing before Him on the day when" 'Every soul shall become acquainted with what it sent before, and they shall be brought ck to Allah, their true Guardian. ,⁽¹⁸³⁾ and stand on the foot of fear and Hope."⁽¹⁸⁴⁾ These noble instructions are for the like of us, the veiled, who are unable to keep the states of our hearts constant, join between Oneness and multiplicity and attend to both Allah and creation. Such being the case, we would despair of the world and what is in it when we turn to Allah and face e qiblah. We should also sever our greed from the creatures and empty our art and spirit of whatever takes our attention from Allah, so as to be worthy His Presence and let a manifestation of majesty appear in the secret of Our spirit. And when we gain the light of majesty according to our capacity, we are remember our return to Allah and our standing in His Sacred Presence On day when "Every soul shall be acquainted with what it sent before id they shall be brought back to Allah, their true Guardian"(surah Yunus:30), and they shall cross out all the whims of the soul and the false deities. 20 Thus, in the Presence of such a Great One, of whose manifestations of s this House of Realization, some one like you and a poor man like me, walk and stand on the foot of hesitation, fear and hope. When we see our Less, laziness, helplessness. poverty and humility, and discern Allah's Haughtiness, Majesty and Might, we are to feel fear and awe from danger of eminence; and when we understand His unlimited mercy, leniency and boundless generosities we are to be hopeful.