Download Letter 70 Maktubat

FIRST VOLUME, 70th LETTER
This letter, written to Khan-i Khanan, informs that man's accumulating alam-i
khalk and alam-i amr within himself makes him remote from Allahu ta'ala on the
one hand and brings him closer to Allahu ta'ala on the other. May Allahu ta'ala
keep you on the right way shown by Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa's "sall-Allahu
'alaihi wa sallam' Shariat. May He have mercy upon those who say "Amin' to this
invocation! The accumulation of alam-i amr and alam-i khalk within man has
caused him to become close to Allahu ta'ala, to be valuable and superior. It is
this accumulation, again, which has caused him to become away from Allahu
ta'ala, to deviate from the right way, and to remain ignorant. Owing to this
accumulation, man's mirror has been made perfect and he has been closer to
Allahu ta'ala. He has become eligible for reflecting the names and attributes of
Allahu ta'ala and even the Divine Person Himself. The hadith al- qudsi that
purports "I do not go into heaven or earth. But I go into the heart of my
believing slave," points out this fact. Man's needing every mote of the motes in
alam [all classes of beings] has made him away from Allah. For, man needs
everything, every mote. The twenty-eighth ayat of Baqara, "I created everything
on earth in order to meet your needs," states this fact. Because of this need of
his, man sets his heart upon everything. On account of this indigence inherent in
his nature, man is inclined to set his heart on worldly needs. And this, in turn,
pushes him away from Allahu ta'ala and causes him to deviate from the right
way. Translation of a stanza in Persian:
The highest of creatures is man
He, again is deprived of this rank.
If he does not give up that way and come back,
He will be more deprived than anybody else.
As it is seen, man is the highest of creatures. The lowest, the worst of creatures
is he, again. For, as Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa "sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam',
the Beloved One of the Creator of all beings, is a man, so Abu Jahl bin Hisham,
the enemy of the Creator of all beings, is a man. Then, unless a heart gets rid of
loving others it will not attain the love of a being who is different from others.
And this is a case of the worst wretchedness and disgrace. Following the formula
of "if something cannot be obtained altogether, it should not be missed
altogether," we should spend this ephemeral life adapting ourselves to the owner
of the Shariat "alaihissalatu wassalam". For, escaping the torment in the next
world and attaining endless blessings will be possible only by following him "sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam'. To do this, he who has gold and silver possessions,
banknotes, commercial goods, and animals which graze on the grass, should
give his zakat as prescribed by the Shariat, thus showing that he is not attached
to property and animals. As we eat, drink, wear beautiful clothes, we should not
think of our pleasure and comfort, but we should intend to become strong
enough to do our worships and to obey the thirtieth ayat of Surat- ul-Araf:
"When performing namaz, cover yourselves with lovely, clean attirement!" We
should not let these intentions become mixed with other intentions. If it is hard
to make this intention, we should force ourselves to do it. There is a famous
saying, "If you cannot weep, force yourself to weep." To make such an intention
we should incessantly pray and beg Allahu ta'ala.
Translation of a Persian couplet:
I hope He will see my tears.
For He turns drops of water into pearls.
Likewise, we, should do everything compatibly with the writings of those true
savants who love and spare their din, and we should deem it a means of security
against endless torment to follow these savants, who refrain from the Rukhsats
permitted by the Shariat and hold fast to the Azimats which the Shariat holds
superior. Allahu ta'ala declares in the hundred and forty-sixth ayat of Nisa sura:
"If you have iman and are thankful for the blessings, Allahu ta'ala will not
torment you!"