8th LETTER

This letter, written to Khân-i khânân Abdurrahîm, explains the îmân through the ghayb of the Khawâs, i.e., of the distinguished, that of the ignorant, and that of those men of tasawwuf, who are between these two, and compares them:

Hamd be to Allâhu ta'âlâ. Salâm to those slaves of His chosen and loved by Him! Translation of a Persian line:

No matter whatsoever, it is sweeter to talk about the beloved!

It is declared in the hundred and eighty-sixth âyat of Baqara Sûra, "My slaves ask you about Me. I am so close to them!" and in the seventh âyat of Mujâdala Sûra, "When three men talk secretly, Allâhu ta'âlâ becomes the fourth. When five people talk secretly Allah becomes the sixth. Also, when they are fewer or greater Allâhu ta'âlâ is together with them, no matter where they are."

Allah's being close and together is bichûn, as He Himself is. That is, the case is not as we know or understand it. How it is cannot be understood. Men, who can understand through the sense organs and with the help of mind, cannot understand things that cannot be sensed or thought through mind. Allâhu ta'âlâ is far from everything which comes to our mind, thought and comprehension when said "close and together" and from all the things which the Awliyâ perceive through kashf and shuhûd. He is never like any of them. To consider Allâhu ta'âlâ to be like one of the abovementioned images causes one to deviate into the corrupt and eccentric way called Mujassima, which is one of the seventy-two heretical groups. We believe in the fact that Allâhu ta'âlâ is close to us and together with us. But we cannot comprehend how this closeness and togetherness is. The grade which the greatest Islamic savants can reach in this world is to believe in Allah's Person and His attributes through ghayb, that is, without knowing how they are. Translation of a Persian couplet:

The îmân through the ghayb, which is held by a few beloved, distinguished and exalted scholars, is unlike the îmân of the ignorant through the ghayb. The ignorant have attained the honour of îmân through the ghayb by hearing from others and through deduction. The distinguished have believed by realizing the existence of the ghayb by means of Allah's veils of jamâl and jalâl, tajallîs and zuhûrs. On the other hand, men of tasawwuf, who are between these two groups, upon seeing the curtains and tajallîs, have thought they comprehended the ghayb and have said that they attained îmân-i shuhûdî instead of îmân-i ghaybî.They think that îmân-i-ghaybî is the îmân of the ignorant and even of the enemies. As it is declared in the fifty-fourth âyat of Mu'minûn Sûra and in Rûm Sûra, "Those who are in each group think that what they themselves understand is right." Another reason why I am hurting you by writing these is that Mawlânâ Abdulghafûr and Mawlânâ Hadji Muhammad are among those who are close to us and whom we love. Every favour bestowed upon them will please us, who are faqîrs. A Persian line in English:

It causes no sorrow to converse with benefactors!

I send my salâm.