This letter, written to Khwâja Sharâfaddin Husain, states that every deed agreeable with the Prophet’s way is dhikr:
Al hamdu lillâhi wa sallâmun alâ ’ibâdihilladhinastafâ. The letter which my cherished son sent by Mawlânâ Abdurrashîd and Mawlânâ Jan Muhammad has arrived here together with the other things vowed. May Allâhu ta’âlâ, as a reward for them, bless you with the best things! We are pleased to hear of the news of your good health.
O My Son! This time of yours is a great opportunity. And opportunity is a great blessing. Times passed in good health and without anxiety are rare windfalls. You must spend each hour with the dhikr of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Every deed, even if it is shopping, which is agreeable with Rasûlullah, is dhikr. Then, every action, every attitude must be agreeable with Rasûlullah. In this case all will be dhikr. Dhikr means to dispel unawareness. In other words, it is to remember Allâhu ta’âlâ. When a person observes the commandments and prohibitions of Allâhu ta’âlâ in everything he does, in his every action, he will have escaped from forgetting the Owner of commands and prohibitions and performed dhikr all the time.
45 - MU’JIZA, KARÂMAT, FIRÂSAT and SIHR
Sayyid Abdulhakîm bin Mustafâ Arwâsî ‘rahmatullâhi ’aleyh’ says in one of his letters:
All of the wâridât-i ilâhiyya happens within the ’âdat-i ilâhiyya. That is, Allâhu ta’âlâ creates everything under some causes. He has given these causes the effect, the power to act. We call such powers natural forces, laws of physics, chemistry and biology. For doing something, for obtaining something, we have to hold fast to these causes. For example, to obtain wheat it is necessary to plough the field, to sow the seeds and to reap. All the actions of men happen within these laws of Allâhu ta’âlâ. In order to do favours, to bestow gifts upon His beloved slaves and to deceive His unbridled enemies, Allâhu ta’âlâ suspends His laws and creates for them things without causes. For example:
1- Phenomena that happen from prophets ‘alaihimussalâm’ beyond the Divine laws of causation but within the Divine power are called mu’jiza. Prophets have to exhibit mu’jizas.
2 - Phenomena which happen beyond the laws of causation through the Awliyâ of the ummats of prophets ‘alaihimussalâm’ are called karâmat. Ibni Âbidîn says in the chapter dealing with ‘murtads,’ people who left Islam, “Mu’tazila and Wahhâbî did not believe in miracles, that is, karâmât. Imâm-ul-haramayn, Imâm-i ’Umar Nasafî and many other Islamic scholars ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim ajma’în’ prove that karâmat is something permissible.” The Awliyâ do not have to exhibit karâmats. They do not want to exhibit karâmats. Rather, they feel embarrassed towards Allâhu ta’âlâ.
3 - Among any ummat, phenomena that happen beyond the laws of causation from those who are not Awliyâ are called firâsat.
4 - If they happen from fâsiqs, from those whose sins are many, they are calledistidrâj, which means to degrade, demote them gradually.
5 - Those that happen from disbelievers are called sihr, that is, magic.
46 - THIRD VOLUME, 86th LETTER
This letter, written to Dervish Habîb Hâdim, explains the reason for the abundance or scarcity of khâriqas and karâmats:
Diving into an excess of mubâhs (actions permitted by the dîn) causes a decrease in karâmats. Especially if one reaches down to the doubtful actions and thence, may Allah protect, approaches the harâms, karâmats and khâriqas will disappear altogether. When mubâhs are infrequently used, not more than necessary, there will be an increase in the occurrence of karâmats and khâriqas. The exhibition of khâriqas (wonders) is necessary inprophethood. It is not necessary in Wilâyat. For, prophethood must be declared to everybody. But it is not wâjib to declare the fact that one is a Walî. On the contrary, it is better to cover the fact. For, prophethood is to invite people to Allâhu ta’âlâ. But being a Walî is to get close to Allâhu ta’âlâ. Everybody knows that inviting people requires advertising oneself. But approaching is to be done secretly. If many karâmats are seen on a Walî, this does not show that he is higher than another Walî who has few karâmats. A Walî who has no karâmats seen may be more exalted than the Awliyâ who exhibit many khâriqas. Author of the book Awârif [Hadrat Shihâbuddîn-i Suhrawardî], who is one of the greatest Awliyâ, wrote this fact in detail. While prophets’ exhibiting many or few khâriqas does not denote their being higher or lower in degree despite the fact that it is a condition for them to exhibit miracles, how could it ever show superiority in a Walî though it is not a condition? In my opinion, prophets’ doing riyâdat and mujâhada and using even the mubâhs in the least degree was intended to exhibit miracles. For, it is wâjib for them to exhibit miracles and it is a condition of prophethood. It was not intended to go up to the grades close to Allâhu ta’âlâ. For, prophets ‘alaihimussalawâtu wattahiyyât’ are the beloved leaders who have been chosen for the way of ijtibâ. Allâhu ta’âlâ, by catching hold of them with the hook of love, pulled them up to Himself. Thus, they were made to reach the grades of closeness without taking pains. Doing riyâdat and mujâhada and struggling in order to reach the grades of closeness to Allâhu ta’âlâ are peculiar to the way of inâbat and irâdat, which is the way for murîds. But the way ofijtibâ through which prophets are taken is the way of murâds. Murîds proceed by suffering hardships. But murâds are made to proceed by fondling, by endearments. They are made to reach the grades of closeness without any hardships.
In the way of inâbat and irâdat, it is necessary to put up with riyâdats and mujâhadas. In the way of ijtibâ these are unneccessary. They are useful, however. If a person who is being made to proceed through fondlings and services struggles himself and facilitates his progress, he reaches the purpose faster and goes further up. If he himself does not struggle, his progress will not be so easy and fast. Yes, Allâhu ta’âlâ pulls a person whom He likes up so fast that he goes faster than all. In short, in the way of ijtibâ struggling or suffering hardships is not necessary either for reaching the goal or for going faster and further up. But sometimes these are useful. Riyâdat and mujâhada means to use the mubâhs as much as necessary [and not to do the excessive desires of the nafs]; these things provide those who are in the way of ijtibâ with other benefits. Among these benefits are jihâd-i akbar and the purification of the heart from mundane dirts.
Using things which one needs as much as necessary or working to obtain them does not mean to set one’s heart on the world. What is worldly is the fudhûl (excess), that is, things useless and more than necessary. [Even these things are not considered to be worldly if they are earned and spent in a manner approved by Allâhu ta’âlâ.] Another great benefit of riyâdat, that is, of using things that are mubâh as much as necessary, is that they will shorten and facilitate one’s accounting on the Day of Last Judgement. It also causes one’s promotion in the next world. The more one suffers in the world the more comfortable will he be in the next world. For this reason, too, did the Prophets suffer mortifications. All these sum up to mean that though it is not necessary in the way of ijtibâ to suffer riyâdats or to use the mubâhs as much as necessary, these are still good and useful. Considering their numerous benefits, we might as well say that they are necessary, and indispensable. O our Allah, have mercy upon us! Bless us with the lot of righteous and useful deeds! Salâm to those who are on the right way!
47 - SECOND VOLUME, 92nd LETTER
This letter, written to Sayyid Mîr Muhammad Nu’mân ‘quddisa sirruh’, states that to be a Walî means to be close to Allâhu ta’âlâ and that being a Walî does not require having khâriqas and karâmats:
May our hamd be to Allâhu ta’âlâ! Our salâms be to those people loved by Him! I have been praying for the good health of my most beloved brother, Sayyid Mîr Muhammad Nu’mân. Reaching the Wilâyat [being a Walî] does not require the occurrence of khâriqas and karâmats. As it is not necessary for Islamic scholars to exhibit khâriqas (wonders), so it is unnecessary for the Awliyâ to make a show of khâriqas. For, Wilâyat means qurb-i ilâhî [being close to Allâhu ta’âlâ], and Allâhu ta’âlâ bestows this qurb [closeness] upon His Awliyâ after fanâ [that is, after forgetting everything other than Allâhu ta’âlâ]. He may bless a person with this closness and yet may not inform him with unknown things in this world. Someone else may be both given this and informed of the unknown. And a third person may be given none of this closeness but may be informed of the unknown. The third one is a man of istidrâj. His nafs being polished, he is being informed of unknown things, thus being made to fall into the pit of heresy. The state of such people is declared in the eighteenth âyat of the sûra of Mujâdala: “They think they are doing something good. Know that they are consummate liars. Shaytân has deceived them and led them astray. He has made them forget Allâhu ta’âlâ to such an extent that they neither mention nor remember Allâhu ta’âlâ. They have become the soldiers, the servants of Shaytân. Know that these people who are in Shaytân’s group have missed the inexhaustible blessings. They have been caught by endless torment.” People in the first and second groups who have been honoured with the fortune of qurb are Awliyâ. Informing about the unknown does not increase or decrease their Wilâyat. The difference between them is in respect of the grade of closeness. A Walî who has not been informed of anything unknown may be more advanced and higher on acount of the qurb bestowed upon him. Hadrat Shihâbuddîn ’Umar Suhrawardî ‘quddisa sirruh’, author of the book Awârif-ul-ma’ârif, is one of the greatest Awliyâ. All the other Awliyâ like him. After explaining karâmats and khâriqas in his book, he says “A Walî of high grade may be given no karâmats or khâriqas, or, karâmats are given in order to increase yaqîn (belief). A person blessed with yaqîn does not need karâmats or khâriqas. All these karâmats are inferior to the dhikr of Dhât-i ilâhî and to the heart’s being ornamented with this dhikr.” Shaikh-ul-islâm, Khwâja Abdullâh-i Ansârî, one of the greatest of the Sôfiyya-i aliyya, says in his book Manazilussâyirîn, “There are two kinds of firâsat. The first one, the firâsat of the men of ma’rifat, is to detect the talents of the disciples and to recognize the Awliyâ of Allâhu ta’âlâ. The second one, the firâsat (clairvoyance) of those who subject themselves to mortification and who polish their nafs by hunger is to know of the secret things about creatures. Most people, not remembering Allâhu ta’âlâ but thinking of the world day and night, search for those who give information about the worldly things which they want to obtain. They deem them great. In fact, they think of them as Awliyâ close to Allâhu ta’âlâ. They do not even turn to look at the ma’rifats, the true and subtle knowledge of the Awliyâ. But perhaps they speak ill of them and, saying, ‘If they were Allah’s beloved slaves, they would know about our lost things, about our secret thoughts. A person who knows nothing of our states can never understand the subtle knowledge which is above creatures’; they deny the firâsat of Awliyâ and their knowledge of Allah’s person and attributes. Because of their wrong estimation they are deprived of the correct knowledge and ma’rîfats of these great superiors. They are unaware of the fact that Allâhu ta’âlâ has concealed these superiors from the eyes of the ignorant and has made them belong to Him. He has made His Awliyâ busy not with worldly affairs but with Himself. If the Awliyâ were attached to men’s deeds and states they would not be worthy of Allah’s presence.” Abdullah-i Ansârî wrote much more about this.
I have been told by my master, Khwâja Muhammad Bâqî, ‘quddisa sirruh’ that Shaikh Muhyiddîn Arabî ‘rahmatullâhi aleyh’ wrote as follows: “Those Awliyâ on whom many karâmats and khâriqas were seen have repented at their last breath of having exhibited them. They have said that they wished they had had no karâmats seen.” If the superiority of a Walî were to be measured with his exhibition of khâriqas, it would be out of place to repent for them.
Question: When it is not a condition of Wilâyat to exhibit wonders, how will the true Walî be distinguished from false shaikhs?
Answer: In this world the Walî does not have to be known. The true one and the false must be mixed. In this world, the true and the false, the right and the wrong must be mixed with each other. Nor is it a condition for a Walî to know of his own Wilâyat. Many Awliyâ did not know of their own Wilâyat. How could others recognize them? And it is not necessary to recognize them, either. Yes, prophets ‘alaihimussalâm’ had to exhibit miracles. Thus a prophet was distinguished from a person who was not a prophet. For, it is necessary for everybody to know a prophet’s prophethood. Since the Awliyâ invite people to the Sharî’at of their own prophet, the prophets’ miracles are enough for them. If the Awliyâ invited people to something other than the Sharî’at, it would certainly be necessary for them to exhibit wonders. Since they invite to the Sharî’at, it is never necessary that they exhibit wonders. The savants of the dîn invite everybody to do the commandments written in the books. The Awliyâ both invite to this and call to the bâtin of the Sharî’at. First they invite to the Sharî’at. Then they show how to mention the name of Allâhu ta’âlâ. They especially ask us to busy ourselves with dhikr-i ilâhî all the time, incessantly. By doing so, one’s body will altogether be suffused with the dhikr, and the heart will contain nothing but Allâhu ta’âlâ. Everything else will be forgotten so utterly that one will not be able to remember anything besides Allâhu ta’âlâ however hard he may try to do so. Why should it be necessary for the Awliyâ to exhibit wonders for these two kinds of invitations? Guiding means to give these two kinds of invitations. Miracles and wonders have no place here. We must also say that a vigilant disciple perceives many of his master’s miracles and wonders as he makes progress on the way of tasawwuf. In that unknown way every moment he has recourse to his [master’s] help and is always blessed with his help. Yes, it is not necessary for him [his master] to exhibit wonders to others. But to his disciples he exhibits miracles every moment and wonders come upon them one right after another. Can it ever be that the disciple will not feel the wonders of his master, who has enlivened his dead heart? He has made him attain mushâhadas and kashfs. The ignorant think it is a great miracle to enliven a dead man and resurrect him out of his grave. But the great superiors have especially dwelt upon curing sick souls. Khwâja Muhammad Pârisa, one of the greatest Sôfiyya-i aliyya, notes, “Because most people think of someone who enlivens the dead as great, those who are close to Allâhu ta’âlâ have not wished to do this but have enlivened dead souls and have tried to enliven the dead hearts of their disciples. Indeed, enlivening the dead is of no value when compared with enlivening hearts and souls. In fact, the former is useless, it means to waste time doing useless things. Enlivening a dead man provides him with a few more days to live. But enlivening the heart provides an endless life. The existence of those who are close to Allâhu ta’âlâ is a miracle in itself. Their inviting people to Allâhu ta’âlâ is one of Allah’s compassions. Their enlivening dead hearts is their greatest miracle. Men’s salvation is by means of their existence. They are the most valuable creatures. Allâhu ta’âlâ showers His compassion through them. He sends food by means of them. Their words are medicine. One single compassionate glance they cast at you is a healer. They are jalîs-i ilâhî. Allah’s gifts and blessings are never absent from the place where they are. Those who are with them are never evil. Those who know them are never deprived.”
The most clear difference distinguishing them from liars is the fact that their words and actions are suitable with the Sharî’at and that the hearts of those who are with them are filled with the fear and love of Allah and cease to care for other things. These signs are seen on those who are in contact with the Awliyâ. Those who have no relations with them are deprived of everything. Translation of a Persian couplet:
A person who is not apt for
goodness,
Will not benefit, even if he sees the Prophet.
[Hadrat Ubaydullah-i Ahrâr says in Rashahât, “To do himmat means for an exalted person who has relation with Allah’s names to keep the accomplishment of only one thing in his heart. He pays his tawajjuh to that thing. He does not bring anything else to his heart. He wants only that thing to be done. And Allâhu ta’âlâ creates that thing. This is Allah’s ’âdat. It is also a witnessed fact that things on which disbelievers have paid their himmat have come about. Allâhu ta’âlâ has bestowed this power upon me. But occupying this grade requires adab. And adab, in its turn, means the slave’s adapting himself to Allah’s will, not adapting Allah to his will. It means to be always under Allah’s command and to do himmat when He decrees a command.” Khwâja Muhammad Yahyâ, Hadrat Ubaydullah-i Ahrâr’s son, says, “There are three groups of those who have tasarruf (power to do himmat, to pay tawajjuh to others). Those who are in the first group use their tasarruf whenever they want in the heart of any person they like and make him reach the grade of fanâ. Some do not use their tasarruf unless Allâhu ta’âlâ commands. They pay their tawajjuh to people they are commanded to do so to. The third group perform their tasarruf in others’ hearts when some attribute, some hâl enwraps them.”]
You write in your valuable letter that the sultan of our time has been esteeming Islam, administering justice and observing the commandments of the Sharî’at. We are pleased to read these. As Allâhu ta’âlâ illuminates countries with their presidents’ light of justice, so He strengthens Hadrat Muhammad’s Sharî’at with their protection and help. O my dear brother! “The Sharî’at is under the sword’s protection,” was declared. That is, the Sharî’at’s spreading and being observed is dependent upon the presidents’ protection and help. [As long as the government is strong enough, everybody will enjoy security of property and life. Also, Muslims living in non-Muslim countries wherein human rights are observed and people perform their religious duties freely should not stand against the government or violate the laws because they are given freedom, and also they should not cause fitna or anarchy. They should pay their taxes and debts in time and should be helpful to the government. Scholars of the Ahl as-sunnat advise us to act as we have explained above.] Sad to say, the Indian government’s protection of Muslims had been slack for a long time. And Islam had become weak, too. The Indian disbelievers had shamelessly ruined the mosques and turned them into their own temples and playgrounds. Demolishing the gaves of blessed people, they had changed them into parks. While the disbelievers had been frankly committing every sin and every sign of disbelief, the Muslims had been suffering hardships in practising Allah’s commands. It being prohibited for the Indian disbelievers to eat and drink during their festivals, they had been preventing the bakers and cooks in the Muslim cities from selling bread and food. In the blessed month of Ramadân, they had been eating and drinking wildly before the Muslims at public places. The Muslims could not say anything. It is a shame that we had fallen down into such a weak and wretched situation though the state and grovernment officials were on our side. When esteemed by the authorities, Islam had shone and the highest savants, the superiors of Sôfiyya had been loved and respected by everybody. With the authority given by the State, they had struggled for the spreading of the Sharî’at. As I have heard, when Timur (Tamerlane) ‘alaihirrahma’, the prosperous and victorious amîr, was passing a Bukhârâ street, he saw a number of men shaking off the dust from a number of carpets. He wondered whose they were. Upon finding out that the carpets belonged to Khwâja Naqshiband Bahâeddîn-i Bukhârî’s ‘quddisa sirruh’ residence, he approached the place and, replete with love and respect for Islam, stood under the dust of carpets, rubbed the dusts of the residence on his face and eyes as if putting on the perfume of musk and amber, and wanted to get honoured with the fayd and barakat of those who were on the way of Allah. He is hoped to have died with îmân owing to his love and respect for those who were close to Allâhu ta’âlâ. As we have heard, when the news of Timur’s death was heard, one of the Awliyâ of the time ‘quddisa sirruh’ said, “Timur has died and taken away îmân with him.”
While reciting the khutba on Fridays, the khatîbs mention the sultans’ names after descending down to the lowest step. Its reason is that the sultans want to show the fact that they are lower than Rasûlullah ‘sallallâhu alaihi wa sallam’ and his four Khalîfas. They have it recited in this manner because they deem it unbecoming to have their names mentioned together with the names of those great people.
Sajda (prostration) means to put the forehead on the ground, which indicates inferiority, self-humiliation. It is the last grade of humbleness and reverence. For this reason, prostration is done only to Allâhu ta’âlâ. It is not permissible to prostrate oneself before anybody other than He. One day, while our Prophet was going somewhere, a villager came up to him and said that he would have îmân in him if he would exhibit a miracle. Sarwar-i ’âlam ‘sallallâhu alaihi wa sallam’ said, “Go to the yonder tree and tell it that Allah’s Messenger calls it.” When the villager did so the tree left its place and came before Rasûlullah ‘sallallâhu alaihi wa sallam’. No sooner had the villager seen this than he became a Muslim. “O Rasûlallah! If you would grant, I will prostrate myself before you,” he said. ‘Before none but Allâhu ta’âlâ should one prostrate oneself. If it were permissible to prostrate oneself before others, I would command women to prostrate themselves before their husbands,” was declared. Some of the savants of fiqh permitted prostration before sultans with the intention of greeting them, but in this respect what would become the sultans is to observe their adab towards Allâhu ta’âlâ and not to permit prostration before anyone besides Allâhu ta’âlâ. Allâhu ta’âlâ has made them superior to and dominant over everything and all others needy before them. In gratitude for this great blessing, they must allow prostration, the greatest expression of incapability and self-humiliation, only to Allâhu ta’âlâ, and not make themselves partners with Allâhu ta’âlâ. Though it has been permitted by some savants, they themselves [the sultans], on account of their beautiful modesty, must not permit it. Favours only will be the reward for those who bestow favours. I shall say more when we see each other. Salâm to those who are on the right way, who follow the footsteps of Rasûlullah ‘sallallâhu alaihi wa sallam’!
48 - SECOND VOLUME, 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:
When told, “Alastu...,” those who
were vigilant said,
“He exists,” and they said no more.
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 shuhûdîinstead 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.
49 - SECOND VOLUME, 13th LETTER
This letter was written to Mirzâ Shamsuddîn. It answers his letter and explains the states of savants of zâhîr, of men of tasawwuf, and of those distinguished savants who have reached perfection in knowledge and who are the inheritors of prophets:
Hamd be to Allâhu ta’âlâ and blessings and salâm be upon His prophets! I send my salâm to you and to those who are on the right way. My dear brother Shaikh Muhammad Tâhir has delivered the valuable letter you sent so kindly. We have been pleased to read it. You say that you have been and will be reading my letters of advice in Maktûbât until we see each other. My Dear Sir! Giving advice is our primary duty in the dîn and is to adapt ourselves to the highest of Prophets ‘’alaihimu-s-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât’. What the savants obtain of the dîn and their following Rasûlullah is first their correcting their belief. Next comes their learning the teachings of the Sharî’at and practising what they have learned. And what the men of tasawwuf obtain is hâls, wajds, pieces of the knowledge of tasawwuf and ma’rifats, together with those that are attained by the savants. And as for what the ’Ulamâ-i râsikhîn obtain of the dîn who have been blessed with the glad tidings that they are prophets’ inheritors, along with the fact that they have been blessed with the lot of obtaining all of what the savants of the dîn and the men of tasawwuf have obtained, they have been blessed with many a piece of secret and subtle knowledge. These pieces of secret and subtle knowledge are indicated by the concealed and covered âyats in the Qur’ân, which are called mutashâbihât. They have been explained by means of ta’wîl. It is these superiors with râsikh (perfect) knowledge who adapt themselves to Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’ fully. These only are the inheritors of Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’. Since they adapt themselves to Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’ precisely, and being prophets’ inheritors, they get a share from the blessings bestowed upon prophets. They, too, are made to hear secret knowledge peculiar to those great people. They, therefore, have been honoured with the glad tidings: “The savants of my Ummat are like the Prophets of the sons of Isrâil.” [Imâm-i Yâfi’î, in his book named Nashr-ul-mahâsin, reports that this hadîth sherîf is sahîh. In many books, for example, in the letters number 268 and 294 of Maktûbât, and in the letter number 121 in the third volume by Imâm-i Rabbânî, and also at the beginning of the boo