September 24, 2015
That person one night was crying, “Oh Allaah!”
That his mouth might be sweetened thereby,
And Shaytaan said to him, “Be quiet, Oh austere one!
How long wilt thou babble, Oh man of many words?
No answer comes to thee from nigh the throne,
How long wilt thou cry ‘Allaah’ with harsh face?”
That person was sad at heart and hung his head,
And then beheld Khidr present before him in a vision,
Who said to him, “Ah! thou hast ceased to call on Allaah,
Wherefore repentest thou of calling upon the Beloved?”
The man said, “The answer ‘Here am I’ came not,
Wherefore I fear that I am repulsed from the door.”
Khidr replied to him, “Allaah has given me this command;
Go to him and say, ‘Oh much-tried one,
Did not I engage thee to do My service?
Did not I engage thee to call upon Me?
That calling ‘Allaah’ of thine was My ‘Here am I,’
And that pain and longing and ardour of thine My messenger;
Thy struggles and strivings for assistance
Were My attractions, and originated thy prayer.
Thy fear and thy love are the covert of My mercy,
Each ‘Oh Lord!’ of thine contains many ‘Here am I’s.”
(adapted from Masnavi i Ma’navi,
translated by E.H. Whinfield, p. 169 - 170)
* * *
Some say that the essence of so many spiritual traditions is the cry, “Oh Allaah,” Oh Beloved, Oh Absolute. A cry of complete reliance, complete surrender, complete obedience to and honor of the Absolute who sustains and provides for us, always offering Its guidance and protection -- portents of Its unending Love (for us). Yet how many of us make such a call -- let alone live it -- when things are well? In many respects, we make suffering and hardship necessary to be directed back to this call.
So it was with the man in the story who was crying, “Oh Allaah!” / That his mouth might be sweetened thereby -- to have his mouth sweetened from the bitterness of pain and discontent. One of the challenges of making this call from this place is that, if the (unrestrained) mind reacts to unpleasant conditions, this call can become polluted by expectations. This gives room to Shaytaan (also know as Satan), the whisperer, to suggest things in our minds that will turn us away from this call.
In this story, Shaytaan whispers to the man’s expectations to receive a perceptible answer and be delivered from suffering. These are common expectations for many who call to the Beloved in hardship. Yet, when in the midst of such, countless masters advise: simply call on the Beloved. They don’t say call on the Beloved and have an expectation, for just a seemingly small expectation is enough to grant Shaytaan an open door to our minds. And Shaytaan will speak in ways that appeal specifically to our mentality. In this case, Shaytaan “compliments” the man’s austerity -- Oh austere one! -- while encouraging him to Be quiet. And then speaks to the man’s expectation for deliverance with a seemingly sound logic: since No answer comes to thee from nigh the throne why continue to cry ‘Allaah’ with harsh face? -- since no obvious answer comes, why continue to cry in the midst of suffering? Not too many people, particularly those who are suffering, would dispute the logic of this when examined on the level of the mind.
The man succumbs to Shaytaan’s reasoning: That person was sad at heart and hung his head, and stops crying to Allaah. By grace, Khidr appears before him in a vision -- this phrase indicates that the story has now moved into the mystic realm. Khidr, also known as the Green Man, is highly revered among Sufis: when he appears there is often a profound lesson he has come to share. Note how this master works: first, he asks why the man has stopped crying to the Beloved. The man replies: “The answer ‘Here am I’ came not, / Wherefore I fear that I am repulsed from the door.” This not only reveals his unfulfilled expectation, but also what he adds to it: his fear that the Beloved has rejected him. This is complete conjecture on the man’s part! Projections of a wounded ego that couldn’t be farther from the truth! Can you see the danger of even well-intentioned expectations, especially when Shaytaan starts whispering to these?
After this is revealed, the teaching begins. Khidr first acknowledges: “Allaah has given me this command.” It cannot be emphasized enough that the wise only do what the Beloved commands and nothing else, even if it seems otherwise -- like that Khidr has come to teach this man. Not all genuine teachers will proclaim this, but if they are truly serving the Beloved -- living the cry “Oh Allaah” -- this is their course. Then Khidr delivers the message the Beloved wills to be shared. It may seem that Khidr is speaking but, even if the words are shaped by the particulars of his form, the message is from the Beloved. Always look to the message: which sometimes is deeper than and may differ drastically from the form and how it is being presented. But in this instance, the message is in line with the words: Did not I -- the Beloved