- Translated by: Aisha Rafea
To you, who want to meet Allah, seek His Face, gather in His remembrance, the talk of the Truth is addressed. It guides you to your goodness, to fruitfulness, to Life. The Truth reveals to you that He has entrusted you with a touch of His Secret, His Spirit, and His Light. However, the day you were encased in earthly existence, secrets of Life are veiled from you. Prophetic Revelations came to uncover to you what God had entrusted you with, deep within.
"Thou wast heedless of this, now have We removed thy veil, and sharp is thy sight this Day!" (HQ:50: 22)
“(signs of the Truth) are within you; do not you discern!” (HQ:51: 21)
"Heavens and earth contain Me not, but the heart of My faithful servant containeth Me." (Prophet Muhammad conveying the words of God: Hadith Kudsi):
"Verily man, you think of yourself as a trivial body while, in fact, you are a microcosm." (Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb)
"Among all creatures Allah manifested Himself mostly in man." (A Sufi saying)
Thus, verses of Koran and Prophetic Hadiths tell us continually about Secrets of man and his distinction among all creatures:
"We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth and the Mountains; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: but man undertook it; - he was indeed unjust and foolish; (before undertaking it" (HQ:33: 72)
All guidance and Commandments of Religion are there for us to be qualified for seeing what God has endowed us with. It is the greatest exertion Gihad Akbar of the soul Nafs to give no chance to the lower self to stand as a veil hindering our communication with the Truth within us. The self is dense and dim but, by exertion Gihad, it gradually becomes less and less dense until it reaches a degree of delicacy or transparency that it no longer stands as a veil that hinders us from discerning the secrets within. Koran says:
"He created man from sounding clay like unto pottery," (HQ:55: 14)
The self, which is manifested in the earthly existence is like "clay". It is so dense that you can never see what is inside the "pottery". But if it is melted and made so delicately see-through it becomes as transparent as glass.
"The parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass; the glass as it were a brilliant star:" (HQ:24: 35)
The "glass" here points to the "self" nafs. When it becomes so delicate, and you direct your sight inwardly, it is no longer a veil that hinders you from seeing the Light of God within. All aspects of worship, actually, are meant to get the self melted and refined so that it might not constitute a veil between man and his heart where the Light of God and His shining Blaze reside.
We are guided to learn that, truthfully speaking, there is no contradiction between Divine Commandments and what our true nature fitra commands us. We bring up the seeming contradiction dictated by the "self" with its "dimness" which veils the Truth in our hearts and the Light of God deep within us.
You man, have to exert yourself to be able to see that Light, to see the Truth, to see the true meaning of your own existence and your own soul. Without seeing you are realizing nothing, and gaining nothing.
Religiousness, as we always say, is not a list of forms we have to hold, or images we have to worship, or rites we have to practice with no awareness or understanding. Religiousness is a sincere action that leads to fruitful results, to spiritual transformation, and positive change.
If our religious practices do not transform us into better beings, this is an indication that we have been practicing them meaninglessly. Namely we have not known how to practice them truly.
He, who prays but does stop atrocities, has gone through no prayers.
He, who learns nothing from pilgrimage, has gone through no pilgrimage. He, who is not evolving spiritually through fasting by exertion of the self, has gone through no fasting.
And he who is not purified through giving almsgiving his commitment to the religious practice is of no meaning.
First and foremost, he who does not express devotion to God in all his actions, his utterance of the creed "there is no God but God" is worthless. And he who says: "Muhammad is the Messenger of God" but does not know how to be guided by him as an Exemplar, his testimony is nonsense.
And he who does not know how to be guided by Religion to uncover the Secrets within himself, he is no follower of Religion.
And he who has not learnt that religion is a Path, a Way, a Means for attaining Life, does not really know any path.
The common approach to Religion, alas, does not reach even the minimum level that leads man to righteousness. Religion has turned into mere shapes and forms and hypocrisy:
We are guided to learn that, truthfully speaking, there is no contradiction between Divine Commandments and what our true nature fitra commands us. We bring up the seeming contradiction dictated by the "self" with its "dimness" which veils the Truth in our hearts and the Light of God deep within us.
You man, have to exert yourself to be able to see that Light, to see the Truth, to see the true meaning of your own existence and your own soul. Without seeing you are realizing nothing, and gaining nothing.
Religiousness, as we always say, is not a list of forms we have to hold, or images we have to worship, or rites we have to practice with no awareness or understanding. Religiousness is a sincere action that leads to fruitful results, to spiritual transformation, and positive change.
If our religious practices do not transform us into better beings, this is an indication that we have been practicing them meaninglessly. Namely we have not known how to practice them truly.
He, who prays but does stop atrocities, has gone through no prayers.
He, who learns nothing from pilgrimage, has gone through no pilgrimage. He, who is not evolving spiritually through fasting by exertion of the self, has gone through no fasting.
And he who is not purified through giving almsgiving his commitment to the religious practice is of no meaning.
First and foremost, he who does not express devotion to God in all his actions, his utterance of the creed "there is no God but God" is worthless. And he who says: "Muhammad is the Messenger of God" but does not know how to be guided by him as an Exemplar, his testimony is nonsense.
And he who does not know how to be guided by Religion to uncover the Secrets within himself, he is no follower of Religion.
And he who has not learnt that religion is a Path, a Way, a Means for attaining Life, does not really know any path.
The common approach to Religion, alas, does not reach even the minimum level that leads man to righteousness. Religion has turned into mere shapes and forms and hypocrisy:
"woe to the worshippers Who are neglectful of their Prayers, Those who (want but) to be seen (of men), But refuse (to supply) (even) neighbourly needs." (HQ:107: 4-7)
People forgot the truthful objective of Prayers. They remember only to "bow and prostrate". Such reduction led them even further (from God). They are getting further because (their apparent commitment to practices) does not push them for more contemplation, more awe, more aspiration for righteousness, more inquiry for divine support, and more repentance. But rather they become more arrogant assuming that they are committed to religion so long as they "stood straight, bowed and prostrated". A Sufi, therefore, once said, "it is quite possible that a sin which led a person to a state of brokenness and humility of the spirit, is better than an act of righteousness that led to arrogance and haughtiness".
O Servants of God, we do need to rejuvenate our concepts, visions, and approaches to Religion. Prophet Muhammad tells us that, "Allah sends in the beginnings of each new century some sagacious one who reinvigorates religious affairs for the common people". The Prophet told us that because that "sagacious one" is resident within our being. He is (manifested in) the meaning of Life within every human being. He is God's Grace endowed to everyone living on earth. God has endowed man with merits of reasonability, understanding, remembrance, God invocation, and laboriousness. We do not make appropriate use of those merits anymore, nor do we mention them. We have just overlooked them and, thus, our cause has gone beyond all bounds.
You have to know that God's endowments to you are innumerable: Within you is your salvation.
Within you are the Message of Truth, and the Messenger of Truth.
Within the true nature of every human being fitra, lies the Call to Truth.
Seek God, Who is closer to you than your jugular veins
He is with you whersoever you go.
He is in your hearts. His Home is within you.
Remember Him. Turn your insight to Him. Go for a pilgrimage to your hearts so that you may listen to the word of Truth coming from within you, coming from Life within, transforming you into Servants of God. We pray God to support us realize that, and become truly His Servants.
To sum up, you'd rather know that within you dwells the Light of God, the Secret of God, the Spirit of God, and the Name of God. Revelations came to reveal what is already within you. They guide you to the wisdom behind your existence, the Law that governs your existence, and the Path you have to follow to be saved. Revelations were there to uncover to you the Way of Life you have to follow on earth so that you can realize what God created you for. Revelations teach you that all these meanings are an intrinsic part of your true nature fitra. They give you the tools and means by which you can discern those meanings within you. Yet, however, you have not used those means and tools in the way they are meant for. You turned them into means of distraction. So all your actions became meaningless; they are like a mirage, mere imagination, delusion and fancy.
O Servants of God, we do need to rejuvenate our concepts, visions, and approaches to Religion. Prophet Muhammad tells us that, "Allah sends in the beginnings of each new century some sagacious one who reinvigorates religious affairs for the common people". The Prophet told us that because that "sagacious one" is resident within our being. He is (manifested in) the meaning of Life within every human being. He is God's Grace endowed to everyone living on earth. God has endowed man with merits of reasonability, understanding, remembrance, God invocation, and laboriousness. We do not make appropriate use of those merits anymore, nor do we mention them. We have just overlooked them and, thus, our cause has gone beyond all bounds.
You have to know that God's endowments to you are innumerable: Within you is your salvation.
Within you are the Message of Truth, and the Messenger of Truth.
Within the true nature of every human being fitra, lies the Call to Truth.
Seek God, Who is closer to you than your jugular veins
He is with you whersoever you go.
He is in your hearts. His Home is within you.
Remember Him. Turn your insight to Him. Go for a pilgrimage to your hearts so that you may listen to the word of Truth coming from within you, coming from Life within, transforming you into Servants of God. We pray God to support us realize that, and become truly His Servants.
To sum up, you'd rather know that within you dwells the Light of God, the Secret of God, the Spirit of God, and the Name of God. Revelations came to reveal what is already within you. They guide you to the wisdom behind your existence, the Law that governs your existence, and the Path you have to follow to be saved. Revelations were there to uncover to you the Way of Life you have to follow on earth so that you can realize what God created you for. Revelations teach you that all these meanings are an intrinsic part of your true nature fitra. They give you the tools and means by which you can discern those meanings within you. Yet, however, you have not used those means and tools in the way they are meant for. You turned them into means of distraction. So all your actions became meaningless; they are like a mirage, mere imagination, delusion and fancy.
"Fancy can be of no avail against Truth"(HQ:10: 36).
All Commandments are supposed to lead to tangible effects on your existence, on your behavior, and on your handling of anything in life. You are supposed to be able, when you turn your sight inwardly, to discern the Truth. And when you turn to your hearts, you can see the Holy Home within, your Kebla, not allegorically or metaphorically, but a living reality.
This is our ultimate goal. If we realized it we would realize the original goal of our life and our existence. Go ahead and work. Do not ever get desperate. Exert yourselves and never feel bored. Invocate God and never be lazy. Go forward and never refrain. Contemplate and meditate, never adhere to stagnation. Have tremendous hope in God's Support and more tremendous aspiration for His Grace. In case that you have not yet realized any of the meanings we have been immortalizing together, do not lose hope that you will. Stimulate your aspirations for them. If you turned your sight inwardly and you did not discern anything, ask God to unveil to you what resides in your hearts, and to get your souls purified (so that you can discern).
This is our ultimate goal. If we realized it we would realize the original goal of our life and our existence. Go ahead and work. Do not ever get desperate. Exert yourselves and never feel bored. Invocate God and never be lazy. Go forward and never refrain. Contemplate and meditate, never adhere to stagnation. Have tremendous hope in God's Support and more tremendous aspiration for His Grace. In case that you have not yet realized any of the meanings we have been immortalizing together, do not lose hope that you will. Stimulate your aspirations for them. If you turned your sight inwardly and you did not discern anything, ask God to unveil to you what resides in your hearts, and to get your souls purified (so that you can discern).
