Beyond States and Stations

The travellers upon the ṭarīqah take pleasure in discussing such states as constriction and expansion, grief and joy, awe and intimacy, intoxication and sobriety, ecstasy and quenching, effacement and affirmation, variability and steadiness, and the like. They deem these states and fluctuations to be their ultimate aim. How limited in capacity are those beginners who mistake the dregs for pure wine—who have taken but a sip or two, and, becoming intoxicated, fall into dancing and song! How burdensome is the company of crows to the falcon! Who will tell the sparrow and the pigeon that for the sālik, every moment is a new time and place?

The wayfarers of the stations of gnosis traverse such stations as seclusion and isolation, silence and abstinence, absence and contemplation, resolve and contentment, freedom and chivalry. They rejoice in the pitching of a tent in a new station and congratulate each other on these achievements. But what do these caged ones know of the delight of flight in the azure expanse? What do they know of the all-encompassing ocean, every drop of which is a boundless sea? How could they comprehend those travellers whose journey admits of no fixed station—for the Muslim’s destination lies beyond the blue dome of the sky.

The possessors of wilāyah delight in speaking of its ranks and degrees—of the abdāl, the akhyār, the awtād, the aqṭāb, the quṭb al-aqṭāb and the ghawth. Alas, how narrow is their world! How small their ambition! They are veiled, to whom the eternal mystery has not been unveiled; they are ignorant of the realities of Qays and Farhād; content with the stations of Bāyazīd, Dhū al-Nūn, Shiblī and Junayd; yet the reality of the stations of al-Ṣiddīq and al-Fārūq has not dawned upon them. They have looked from behind the veil and fancied themselves knowers of reality. Alas for those who have abandoned the journey and settled for a station—who have turned their faces from the shoreless ocean, making the coast their pinnacle; who have been content with the colours of the camel-litter, imagining them to be the very Laylā:

> Remove the veil so it may be known
That they worship other than the true beloved.

Come, O child of Ādam, let me show you that station which is beyond all states, stations, and ranks—a station that was once an evident reality, but your heedlessness has made it a sealed secret. Come, and I will open this sealed secret to you; draw near, that I may whisper in your ear that which you have forgotten, that which your heedlessness has turned into a riddle. What is this “secret of secrets,” this “reality of realities,” this kernel of kernels? What is that delight which has enraptured the angels? It is beyond all states; beyond all stations; beyond all wonders and miracles. It is the gift which the Lord of the Mighty Throne granted especially to you—the gift of worship, the honour of servitude, the bounty of ʿubūdiyyah.

O child of Ādam! Have courage. If you have the strength, seek out that station whose root is connected to the Highest Throne. This is the station of al-Rūḥ al-Amīn; the station of the angels nearest to God; the station of Ibrāhīm, the friend of God; the station of Mūsā, the one who spoke to God; the station of the possessor of the Miʿrāj; the station of the righteous servants of God. It is the station of the elect of the elect. It is no cheap attainment; it lies beyond the gaze of the cloistered dwellers of the khānqāh; far above the reach of the seekers of isolation. It is utterly other than their terminologies and claims. This is the station of the truly fortunate—None receive it save those who are greatly endowed.

> If the embrace of the shell is not in its destiny,
The raindrop can never become a pearl.

Bear witness, O all lands, all seas and oceans, mountains and deserts, trees and plants, beasts and cattle, humankind and jinn—that a single moment of worship is dearer than all of you. One “Subḥān Allāh” spans wider than the distance between heaven and earth. One “al-ḥamdu lillāh” will fill the scale whose greatness none can fathom. Let the heavens bear witness, along with the stars and constellations, the sun and the moon—that your standing in prayer, your bowing and prostration, are more precious than all of them.

> The qalandar reckons the sun, the moon, and the stars,
Yet he is no mount of the days—he rides over them.

The Throne and the angels around it chant the praises of the Lord of the Worlds, whose remembrance exceeds the dominion of Sulaymān; before it, the grandeur of Sanjar and Ṭughril is nothing; the east and west of Dhū al-Qarnayn are but a point; the shoreless ocean is fordable.

> After thirty years, this truth became clear to Khaqānī—
That a moment with God is better than the dominion of Sulaymān.

Therefore, O child of Ādam! Repent of the ways of beggary; recite lā ḥawla over the glances of the slaves; leave behind the narrow lanes of ṭarīqah and ḥaqīqah; turn your gaze away from the winding valleys of technical jargon. Pass beyond the states; go further than the bounds of the stations. Bid farewell to the abdāl and the aqṭāb. Rise above contemplation and ecstasy. Kindle the warmth of your heart; make worship your emblem; be steadfast in servitude. Stand, bow, prostrate, accustom yourself to praise and glorification. Know that whoever attains this station is truly the possessor of a station—he is the companion of Jibrīl and Isrāfīl, the peer of those who stand by night and seek forgiveness at dawn. So flee to Allah.

> Though both fly in the same sky,
The vulture’s world is one, and the falcon’s world is another.

Disclaimer: This article was translated by AI. Original post: https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/6712