40th LETTER

This letter, written to Muhammad Chetrî again, mentions the importance of ikhlâs.

Thanks be to Allâhu ta'âlâ. Prayers and salâm be on His Prophet 'sall-Allâhu 'alaihi wa sallam'. My son! After passing beyond the grades of jadhba and sulûk, it has become clear that the purpose in jadhba and sulûk, that is, the purpose of the way of tasawwuf is to reach the grade of ikhlâs. To reach the grade of ikhlâs, it is necessary to get rid of worshipping the idols inside and outside of man. Ikhlâs is one of the three aspects of the Sharî'at. The Sharî'at has three parts: 'Ilm (knowledge), 'amal (worship) and ikhlâs (doing everything for Allah's sake). As it is seen, tarîqat and haqîqat are useful in obtaining ikhlâs, the third facet of the Sharî'at, that is, they are the Sharî'at's assistants. This is the truth. Unfortunately, not everybody can understand this. Others deceive themselves being content with dreams and fancies. Like children, they waste their time with walnuts. What could such people ever know of the superiority and subtlety of the Sharî'at? How could they ever know what tarîqat and haqîqat are? Thinking of the Sharî'at as a mere cover, like the shell of a walnut, they say that the walnut's kernel is the tarîqat and haqîqat. Being unable to see the essence of the matter, they have their attentions distracted by the words which they heard that were memorized about love and dhawq. They ardently desire to attain hâls and grades. They think of these as something. May Allâhu ta'âlâ bless them with seeing the right way. May He give safety to us, to you and to all His devoted slaves! Âmîn.