| 786 The Zahuri Sufi Web Site |
An excerpt from:
'The Path of Tasawwuf '
by
Hazrat Khadim Hasan Shah Zuberi Moini Gudri Shah Baba
(Nawob Gudri Shah Baba).
Fikr
Concentrated observation of the Divine Nature is called Fikr. Obtaining self-knowledge by
means of Fikr leads to the knowledge of Almighty God, Who says: "Everything is within you but
you are not aware of it". The holy Prophet said: "He who knows his own self, knows God." So
this proves that man is the sum-total of all existing things and the trustee of the Divine nature
and qualities, and that through self-knowledge he obtains knowledge of the Universe and of
God, whether it is hidden in the invisible world or visible in the world of existence. Grace is the
key to this treasury. At this stage the body will possess Divine qualities, as God Almighty says
in the holy Qur'an: "I become my servants ears, his eyes, his hands and his feet."
To the outward eye, the external parts of the body - the hands, the feet, the eyes, the ears, and
so on are visible. A doctor or hakim feels the pulse or uses instruments; by careful study he
diagnoses the condition of the stomach, the heart, the brain, and other interior parts of the
human body. The efforts of a doctor can only go as far as the construction and formation of the
human body and its attributes. According to medical opinion man is made of four elements:
earth, water, fire and air and his life depends on the arrangement of these four elements. Death
is the name for the disarrangement of these elements.
The inward glance of the Arif perceives more than this. He can fathom the source of intelligence,
intellect, discernment, understanding and perception in the human structure. He studies the
source of the bodily functions of walking, looking and listening. He finds out who is the real
Performer or Soul of Souls, bestowing these powers. Sometimes the search of an Arif arrives
at this truth, that really man is made of one element - of earth; the other three elements depend
on earth. The warm particles of earth are fire, the liquid particles are water and the subtle
particles are air. So the different particles of earth are apparent in various shapes in all existing
things, but for our convenience we have given them separate names.
So all existing things are a complex of different kinds of particles of earth and every particle of
earth is the sum total of all existing things. The extent of its conciseness is that in the visible
world it is lost sight of and in the invisible world, in the mind and in the perception, it exists. That
is to say: the universe exists by means of knowledge and is invisible and apparently
non-existent, because one does not perceive its attributes.
What we know as an atom bomb, as radium, as the sun or the moon are actually particles of
earth called by different names on account of their attributes of light, radiance, speed, and other
attributes and powers or energy.
Sometimes the revealing glance of the Arif goes so far as to know from where the beginning of
his manifestation is, in what world he was hidden before his birth and where he will go after his
death. Fikr guides him to the truth about man's existence and finally to the ultimate Truth.
Sometimes the Arif knows from where the first man came and how - and who put the power of
causing another man to be born into the delicate jewel, his seed. In the drops of human seed the
complete man is hidden just as the tree is hidden in one small seed. Planted in healthy soil the
seed will grow into a tree. But who is the cause of its manifestation?
Who is the real Performer? Who is the Omnipotent by whose perfect power the first seed came
into being? By asking these questions the Arif will learn that after the flowers and the fruit, the
final result of the plant is again the seed. The seed is the beginning and the seed is the end.
Sometimes the Arif in his search for the knowledge of God, reaches the point where he
recognises that man, by calling Him the Eternal or the Absolute Being, shows the limitations of
his perception. The true reality is beyond the boundaries of human wisdom and perception;
there human wisdom and perception are helpless. There is only Truth. The holy Prophet has
ordained : "Do not give too much thought to the origin, but take notice of the signs and
symptoms."
When an Arif proceeds towards the knowledge that everything is in man, then the mineral,
vegetable, and animal kingdom in his being testify to this fact. Then the light of the sun and the
moon by which we can see the world around us, are manifested in his eyes and his inner heart.
He realises, that the Kingdom of God is within him. The hidden secrets are in man himself,
which testifies that man himself is the secret of God. The world of Nasut is the human body, the
world of Malakut is hidden in human behaviour, the world of Jabarut is manifested in the heart of
man and the world of Lahut is the hidden secret, yea, the most hidden secret.
The servant cannot go beyond his bounds, the name of Allah has its limits, but in reality both are
unbounded.
There is no limitation to the servant's service, neither is there any limitation to the cherishing and
sustaining qualities of the Cherisher and Sustainer.
An excerpt from ' The Path of Tasawwuf (Mysticism) ' by Hazrat Khadim Hasan Shah Zuberi Moini Gudri Shah Baba:
published by East West Publications, Fonds B.V., The Hague, 1978 . Revised by Dr Zahurul Hasan Sharib.
'The Path of Tasawwuf '
by
Hazrat Khadim Hasan Shah Zuberi Moini Gudri Shah Baba
(Nawob Gudri Shah Baba).
Fikr
Concentrated observation of the Divine Nature is called Fikr. Obtaining self-knowledge by
means of Fikr leads to the knowledge of Almighty God, Who says: "Everything is within you but
you are not aware of it". The holy Prophet said: "He who knows his own self, knows God." So
this proves that man is the sum-total of all existing things and the trustee of the Divine nature
and qualities, and that through self-knowledge he obtains knowledge of the Universe and of
God, whether it is hidden in the invisible world or visible in the world of existence. Grace is the
key to this treasury. At this stage the body will possess Divine qualities, as God Almighty says
in the holy Qur'an: "I become my servants ears, his eyes, his hands and his feet."
To the outward eye, the external parts of the body - the hands, the feet, the eyes, the ears, and
so on are visible. A doctor or hakim feels the pulse or uses instruments; by careful study he
diagnoses the condition of the stomach, the heart, the brain, and other interior parts of the
human body. The efforts of a doctor can only go as far as the construction and formation of the
human body and its attributes. According to medical opinion man is made of four elements:
earth, water, fire and air and his life depends on the arrangement of these four elements. Death
is the name for the disarrangement of these elements.
The inward glance of the Arif perceives more than this. He can fathom the source of intelligence,
intellect, discernment, understanding and perception in the human structure. He studies the
source of the bodily functions of walking, looking and listening. He finds out who is the real
Performer or Soul of Souls, bestowing these powers. Sometimes the search of an Arif arrives
at this truth, that really man is made of one element - of earth; the other three elements depend
on earth. The warm particles of earth are fire, the liquid particles are water and the subtle
particles are air. So the different particles of earth are apparent in various shapes in all existing
things, but for our convenience we have given them separate names.
So all existing things are a complex of different kinds of particles of earth and every particle of
earth is the sum total of all existing things. The extent of its conciseness is that in the visible
world it is lost sight of and in the invisible world, in the mind and in the perception, it exists. That
is to say: the universe exists by means of knowledge and is invisible and apparently
non-existent, because one does not perceive its attributes.
What we know as an atom bomb, as radium, as the sun or the moon are actually particles of
earth called by different names on account of their attributes of light, radiance, speed, and other
attributes and powers or energy.
Sometimes the revealing glance of the Arif goes so far as to know from where the beginning of
his manifestation is, in what world he was hidden before his birth and where he will go after his
death. Fikr guides him to the truth about man's existence and finally to the ultimate Truth.
Sometimes the Arif knows from where the first man came and how - and who put the power of
causing another man to be born into the delicate jewel, his seed. In the drops of human seed the
complete man is hidden just as the tree is hidden in one small seed. Planted in healthy soil the
seed will grow into a tree. But who is the cause of its manifestation?
Who is the real Performer? Who is the Omnipotent by whose perfect power the first seed came
into being? By asking these questions the Arif will learn that after the flowers and the fruit, the
final result of the plant is again the seed. The seed is the beginning and the seed is the end.
Sometimes the Arif in his search for the knowledge of God, reaches the point where he
recognises that man, by calling Him the Eternal or the Absolute Being, shows the limitations of
his perception. The true reality is beyond the boundaries of human wisdom and perception;
there human wisdom and perception are helpless. There is only Truth. The holy Prophet has
ordained : "Do not give too much thought to the origin, but take notice of the signs and
symptoms."
When an Arif proceeds towards the knowledge that everything is in man, then the mineral,
vegetable, and animal kingdom in his being testify to this fact. Then the light of the sun and the
moon by which we can see the world around us, are manifested in his eyes and his inner heart.
He realises, that the Kingdom of God is within him. The hidden secrets are in man himself,
which testifies that man himself is the secret of God. The world of Nasut is the human body, the
world of Malakut is hidden in human behaviour, the world of Jabarut is manifested in the heart of
man and the world of Lahut is the hidden secret, yea, the most hidden secret.
The servant cannot go beyond his bounds, the name of Allah has its limits, but in reality both are
unbounded.
There is no limitation to the servant's service, neither is there any limitation to the cherishing and
sustaining qualities of the Cherisher and Sustainer.
An excerpt from ' The Path of Tasawwuf (Mysticism) ' by Hazrat Khadim Hasan Shah Zuberi Moini Gudri Shah Baba:
published by East West Publications, Fonds B.V., The Hague, 1978 . Revised by Dr Zahurul Hasan Sharib.
