The Naqshbandi affiliation is above all others

In the books of the Naqshbandi masters this saying of the elders is recorded: “The Naqshbandi affiliation is above all affiliations” — that is, our affiliation is above all affiliations. The reason for this is that the Naqshbandi affiliation (nisbat) is a particular name for presence and awareness (huzur wa agahi), and this very presence and affiliation belongs to Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him); and the head of the circle of this exalted path is Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), who,

after the prophets (peace be upon them), is the best of all the children of Adam; therefore his affiliation and his presence will also be the greatest and loftiest of all.

Sweetness and Ecstasy at the Beginning, Tastelessness and Loss at the End

Among the distinctive features of the Naqshbandi order is that in it, at the outset and beginning, the seeker (salik) is granted sweetness, relish and ecstatic finding (wijdan), while at the end there is tastelessness and loss (fiqdan), which is among the concomitants of despair and hopelessness. In contrast, in the other paths there is tastelessness and loss at the beginning, and sweetness and ecstatic finding at the end. Likewise, in this path there is nearness and witnessing (qurb wa shuhud) at the beginning, and distance and deprivation at the end; with the masters of the other paths it is the reverse. Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) says: From this one should perceive the difference between this order and the other orders, and gauge the greatness and lofty rank of this exalted order, because nearness and witnessing, sweetness and ecstatic finding, give news of distance and separation, while distance and deprivation, the absence of sweetness and loss, give news of utmost nearness. Whoever understands, understands.

The explanation of this secret is that no one holds anything nearer to himself than his own self, yet the relation of nearness and witnessing, of sweetness and ecstatic finding, is absent with regard to his own self, while these relations are present with regard to what is other than himself. A hint suffices for the intelligent. This is why the elders of this order always kept spiritual states and ecstasies (ahwal wa mawajid) subordinate to the rulings of the Shari'ah, and regarded spiritual tastes and gnostic insights (adhwaq wa ma'arif) as servants of the religious sciences. They never, like children, sold the precious jewels of the Shari'ah in exchange for ecstasy and states, and they were never deluded by the intoxicated utterances of the noble Sufis. States that came about through committing what the Shari'ah forbids they never accepted, nor did they desire them. This is why

they never declared musical audition (sama') and dancing permissible, and did not turn to vocal remembrance (dhikr-e jahri). Their state is permanent and their time is perpetual; the essential theophany (tajalli-e dhati), which for others is like a flash of lightning, is permanent for them. Any presence that absence can reach has no worth with them; rather, the work of these great ones is loftier even than presence and theophany. (Summary of Letter 221)

The Inclusion of the End in the Beginning

Among the distinctive features of the Naqshbandi path is also “the inclusion of the end in the beginning” (indiraj-e nihayat dar bidayat). Hazrat Khwaja Naqshband (may his secret be sanctified) said: We place the end within the beginning. Because one does not reach the reality of this statement, the mind falls prey to all kinds of doubts. For example: if the end of others is included in their beginning, what will their own end be? Further, since the end of others is arrival at the Real (wusul bi'l-Haqq), where will their journey from the Real lead? It would also follow that a Naqshbandi beginner (mubtadi) is equal to one who has reached the end (muntahi) in the other orders, with whom he shares affinity in this respect. Hence a clarification is necessary. There are various explanations of it:

The First Explanation

One is that in this path the journey begins from the World of Command ('alam-e amr), not from the World of Creation ('alam-e khalq), whereas in the other paths this beginning is from the World of Creation. While traversing the ascents of divine attraction (jadhba), the Naqshbandis also traverse the stages of the path (suluk) within it, and the journey through the World of Creation is accomplished for them within the World of Command.

In short, others begin from the World of Creation and end in the World of Command, whereas in the Naqshbandi order the beginning is from the World of Command. That is why it is nearer, and why the end of others

is included in their beginning.

From this it is known that the initial journey, that is, the journey through the horizons (sayr-e afaqi) and the traversing of the stages of suluk, is in this path included within the final journey, that is, the journey within the self (sayr-e anfusi) and the traversing of the ascents of attraction. It does not mean that they come down from the end to make the journey of the beginning, and that after completing the journey of the end they then also make the journey of the beginning. (Letter 221, Volume One)

The Second Explanation

Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) says that what the Naqshbandi masters (may Allah sanctify their secrets) intend by this statement is that (since the Naqshbandi affiliation works by reflection and dyeing, in'ikasi wa insibaghi) the shaykh of this path who has reached the end, through his spiritual influence (tasarruf) and attention (tawajjuh), grants the worthy beginner, by way of reflection, a taste of the wealth of his own end, and mixes the salt of the end into his beginning. From this it has become clear that the beginner's equality with the one who has reached the end does not follow at all.

The Difference Between a Naqshbandi Beginner and Other Beginners

Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) says that the inclusion of the end in the beginning is a very great blessing. Although the beginner of this path does not hold the rank of one who has reached the end in knowledge, he is not without a share of the wealth of the end. Even supposing this beginner does not find the opportunity to cover the road of arrival and traverse its stages, he will still not go away without a share of the wealth of the end, and that particle of salt will make the whole of him savoury and seasoned. This is unlike the beginners of the other paths, for they are far from the end and fall short of traversing the stages and covering the distances. With this explanation the difference between the beginner of this path and the beginners of the other paths has become clear.

The Difference Between the Naqshbandi Adept and the Adepts of Other Paths

Now hear the difference with respect to those who have reached the end. He (may his secret be sanctified) says: Between those who have reached the end in this path and in the others there is the same degree of difference. The adept of this path has the same degree of superiority over the other adepts; indeed, the end of the exalted Naqshbandi path lies beyond the beyond of the ends of all the other paths. Whether or not you believe this statement of mine, if you are fair you may perhaps believe it. That end whose beginning is mingled with the end will certainly be distinct from other ends; inevitably (in such a case) it will be the end of ends. A partisan group from the other orders says to us: Our end is arrival at the Real, glorified is He, and you call it your beginning; so where do you go from the Real, and where will your end be, other than the Real?

I say that we go from the Real to the Real; fleeing from every trace of shadowiness (zilliyat), we join the Origin of origins; turning away from theophanies (tajalliyat), we seek the One who manifests; and leaving the manifestations behind, we seek the Manifest in the most hidden of the hidden. And since there are various degrees of hiddenness, we go from one hiddenness to another, and from that second hiddenness we step into a third — and then wherever Allah Most High wills.

In short, there is a difference between one end and another. Consider: one end is that which the noble saints (awliya) attain, and another is that which the noble prophets (blessings and peace be upon them) attain. Can anyone say that the end of the noble saints (may Allah Most High be pleased with them) is one with the end of the noble prophets (peace be upon them)? Indeed, even the ends of all the saints who have reached the end cannot be held to be equal and the same; were it so, all the noble saints

would be of equal rank. Hence it is known that the end of all is Allah Most High, yet there is in any case a difference between them according to their ranks. (Summary of Letter 3, Volume Two)

With this explanation both of the objections mentioned above are removed.

The End of the Naqshbandi Affiliation

The end of this exalted path, if it is attained, is “naked union” (wasl-e 'uryani), the sign of whose attainment is the arising of despair and hopelessness of reaching the Sought One. The explanation of naked union in the words of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified), in translation, is as follows:

By naked union we mean the lifting of all veils and every obstacle. And since the greatest and strongest of veils are theophanies of every kind and the various manifestations, it is necessary that all those theophanies and manifestations be done away with, whether that theophany and manifestation be in contingent mirrors or in necessary loci, because both are equal in being veils and obstacles; although there is a difference between them with respect to honour and rank, that lies outside the seeker's view. (Letter 221, Volume One)

The Third Explanation

Another meaning of the inclusion of the end in the beginning is that the attraction (injidhab) and love which those who have reached the end attain at the end are included in the attraction and love of the Naqshbandi path that arise at its outset and beginning. For the attraction of the adept is of the spirit (ruhi) and the attraction of the beginner is of the heart (qalbi), and since the heart holds the position of an isthmus (barzakh) between the spirit and the self (nafs), the attraction of the spirit will also be included within the attraction of the heart.

Here the question arises: this quality is found in all attractions, so what is particular to the Naqshbandi path about this inclusion? The answer is that this

inclusion is particular to it because the elders of this order have laid down a special method for it — a specific road for reaching and arriving at this goal — whereas the great ones of the other orders attain this blessing by chance and rarely; they have no special method for acquiring it.

Journeying in the Homeland

Among the distinctive features of the Naqshbandi path is “journeying in the homeland” (safar dar watan), by which is meant the journey within the self. Although this journey is established in the paths of all the masters, in those paths it is attained at the end, after crossing the bounds of the journey through the horizons, whereas in the Naqshbandi path the very beginning is with this journey. The masters of this order also accomplish the journey through the horizons within the journey within the self. This is in fact what became the source and origin of the inclusion of the end in the beginning.

Solitude in the Crowd

Solitude in the crowd (khalwat dar anjuman) is also a distinctive feature of this exalted path, and it branches out from journeying in the homeland. When the seeker is enriched with the wealth of journeying in the homeland, then even the dispersion of the gathering travels into the solitudes and retreat-chambers of the homeland, and the dispersion of the horizons finds no way into the chamber of the inner self. Although this solitude in the crowd is also attained by those who have reached the end in the other orders, in the Naqshbandi path this wealth is obtained right at the beginning, and so it has been counted as its distinctive feature. A detailed account of these matters will come later.

Precedence of Attraction

The precedence of attraction over wayfaring (suluk) is also a distinctive feature of this exalted path. Its journey begins from the World of Command, not from the World of Creation, and the stages of suluk are traversed within the traversing of the ascents of attraction; the other paths are the opposite, as has already been stated.

Discipleship Through Teaching and Learning

In the Naqshbandi order the bond of spiritual guide and disciple (piri-muridi) does not depend on the spiritual lineage (shajara) and the cap (kulah), as it does in most paths; rather, it rests on the teaching and learning of the method of the path.

Practising the Rulings of the Shari'ah Is the Great Struggle Against the Self

It is also a distinctive feature of the exalted Naqshbandi path that, with these masters, the greatest struggle (mujahada) and discipline (riyazat) against the self is to carry out the rulings of the Shari'ah and to make it binding upon oneself to follow and adhere to the Prophetic Sunnah (upon its master be blessings and peace). For the chief purpose of sending the messengers and revealing the books is to end the desires of the commanding self (nafs-e ammara), which is the enemy of Allah Most High; therefore the removal of the self's desires will come about through carrying out the rulings of the Shari'ah. The firmer a person is in the Shari'ah, the further he will be from desires.

So it is known that nothing is as hard and burdensome on the commanding self as carrying out the commands and prohibitions of the Shari'ah. The ruin and undoing of the self can be conceived only through following the Shari'ah.

Guiding the Seeker Depends on the Influence of the Guiding Shaykh

Leading the seeker through the stages of suluk depends on the spiritual influence of the guiding shaykh (shaykh-e muqtada) of this path; without his influence its doors do not open, because the inclusion of the end in the beginning is an effect of his attention. The attainment of the meaning of “beyond how” and “beyond manner” (be-chuni wa be-chiguni) is the fruit of his perfect influence. The state of selflessness (be-khudi), which the masters have regarded as the hidden road, is not within the beginner's power to attain, and that attention which is free of the six directions is not something the seeker is capable of by himself. Just as the Naqshbandi saints have complete power to bestow the affiliation, and in a short time grant presence and awareness

to the sincere seeker, so too they have full power to take that affiliation away, and through a single act of inattention and turning away they leave the holder of the affiliation destitute.

Giving and Receiving Benefit Is Through Silence

In the exalted Naqshbandi path both giving benefit (ifada) and receiving benefit (istifada) take place mostly through stillness and silence. The masters (may Allah Most High sanctify their secrets) have said: Whoever does not benefit from our silence cannot benefit from our speech either. Their silence is not affected; rather, it is among the necessary features of this path, because the attention of these great ones begins from the bare Oneness (ahadiyyat-e mujarrada), that is, a Oneness free of name and attribute. These great ones desire nothing but the Essence, and it is known that silence is what befits this attention and suits this station: “Whoever knows Allah, his tongue falls silent.” (I have taken these themes mostly from Letter 221, Volume One.)

The Naqshbandi Path Is Protected from Satanic Whisperings

The exalted Naqshbandi order is safe and protected from the whisperings of Satan. The reason is that the elders of this order founded the path upon presence, awareness and inner collectedness (jam'iyyat); the unveiling of lights, the seeing of dreams and the like carry no weight with them. This is unlike the other paths, whose foundation is upon lights and secrets. (Durr al-Ma'arif)

The Naqshbandi Affiliation

It should be known that the witnessing (shuhud) of Allah Most High takes place either in the mirror of form, or in the mirror of meaning, or beyond both form and meaning. This unveiled witnessing is called “lightning witnessing” (shuhud-e barqi), meaning that this witnessing is attained like a flash of lightning and then becomes hidden

behind veils. If this same witnessing, purely by the grace of Allah, becomes lasting and comes fully out of the narrowness of the veils, it is called “recollection” (yaddasht) and “presence without absence” (huzur-e be-ghaybat). This presence is the presence of the Naqshbandi saints, and it is what is referred to as the Naqshbandi affiliation.

Bear in mind that another distinctive feature of the Naqshbandi path is that in it attraction precedes suluk. The attraction of the Naqshbandi saints is of two kinds: the first kind is the attraction that has come from Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him); the second kind is the attraction whose origin of manifestation in this exalted order is Khwaja-e Khwajagan Muhammad Baha'uddin Naqshband (may Allah sanctify his secret).

Why the Naqshbandi Order Is Attributed to Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him)

You have just read that the first kind of attraction has come from Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), and in this respect the path of these Naqshbandi masters is attributed to Hazrat Abu Bakr. Attaining this attraction depends on giving attention in a particular way. This attraction is the sustainer (qayyum) of all existents; annihilation and effacement (fana wa izmihlal) are attained in it.

Why It Is Attributed to Hazrat Khwaja Naqshband (may his secret be sanctified)

You have just read that the second kind of attraction comes from Hazrat Khwaja Baha'uddin Naqshband (may Allah be pleased with him); for this reason the order came to be attributed to his blessed person. This attraction arises by way of essential companionship (ma'iyyat-e dhatiyya), and it passed from Hazrat Khwaja to his first deputy (khalifa), Hazrat Khwaja Ala'uddin Attar (may his secret be sanctified). Since Hazrat Khwaja Ala'uddin (may Allah have mercy on him) was the axis of guidance (qutb al-irshad) of his time, he too laid down a method for acquiring this kind of attraction, and among the deputies of his family that method is known as the Ala'iyya method.

These great ones have written that the nearest of all methods is the Ala'iyya method,

even though the method of acquiring this attraction is tied to Hazrat Khwaja Ala'uddin (may his secret be sanctified). Without doubt this method is abundant in blessing; even a small portion of it is more beneficial than many methods.

Hazrat Khwaja Ubaydullah Ahrar (may his secret be sanctified) received the wealth of this attraction from Hazrat Mawlana Ya'qub Charkhi (may Allah have mercy on him).

For acquiring the first kind of attraction, which is attributed to Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), a separate method has been set: this is the road of numerical awareness (wuquf-e 'adadi). And the suluk undertaken to acquire this attraction is also of two kinds, indeed of several kinds. One kind is that by which Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) reached the goal by this method; and the Seal of Messengership (upon its holder be blessings and peace) also arrived through this same house of attraction, by this same method.

Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), on account of the perfect sincerity he held towards the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) and his annihilation in him, was singled out among all the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) with the particularity of this road; and this same affiliation of attraction and suluk reached Hazrat Imam Ja'far Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him) with this same particularity.

The honoured mother of Hazrat Imam Ja'far Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him) was from the noble descendants of Hazrat Siddiq Akbar; so Hazrat Ja'far had from Hazrat Abu Bakr one outward birth and another inward birth. That is why he said: “Abu Bakr gave birth to me twice.”

Since Hazrat Imam Ja'far Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him) had also acquired a separate affiliation from his noble forefathers (may Allah be pleased with them), he combined both paths, joined this attraction with that suluk of his, and through that suluk reached the goal.

In short, Hazrat Imam Ja'far Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him) received the suluk of two great ones: first, of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq, and second, of Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both). His exalted person became the meeting-place of these two seas (majma' al-bahrayn).

The Difference Between the Suluk of Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Ali

The difference between the suluk of Hazrat Abu Bakr and that of Hazrat Ali is that the suluk of Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is traversed through the journey through the horizons, while the suluk of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) has no particular connection with the journey through the horizons. It appears as though Hazrat Siddiq made an opening in the house of attraction and reached the Sought One. In the suluk of Hazrat Ali gnostic insights are attained, while in the suluk of Hazrat Siddiq Akbar love predominates. On this basis Hazrat Ali necessarily became the gate (door) of the city of knowledge, and Hazrat Abu Bakr developed the capacity for friendship and intimate solitude with the Holy Prophet, the Master of both worlds ﷺ. The Master of both worlds ﷺ said:

“Were I to take anyone as an intimate friend (khalil), I would have taken Abu Bakr as an intimate friend.”

If I were to make anyone my sincere friend, I would make Abu Bakr Siddiq.

Hazrat Imam Ja'far Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him), by virtue of combining the aspect of attraction, whose basis is love, with the aspect of the suluk of the horizons, which is the source of sciences and gnostic insights, acquired an abundant share of love and gnosis. After that the said Imam entrusted this composite affiliation as a trust to Hazrat Bayazid Bistami (may his secret be sanctified). Hazrat Bayazid (may his secret be sanctified), as it were, kept carrying this trust on his back until it was gradually conveyed to those worthy of it. Before taking up the burden of this trust, the attention of Hazrat Bayazid (may his secret be sanctified) was directed elsewhere, and he did not have affinity with this affiliation.

There are many wisdoms in carrying this affiliation. Although those who carried it acquired very little share from it, the affiliation received an ample share from the lights of these great ones. For example, a kind of intoxication (sukr) blended into this affiliation is among the traces of the lights of the Sultan of the Gnostics, Bayazid (may Allah be pleased with him). This intoxication takes away the senses of beginners and removes their awareness; after that this intoxication gradually becomes hidden, and owing to the predominance of sobriety (sahw) that affiliation becomes blended into the degrees of sobriety: outwardly there is sobriety and inwardly intoxication.

In the same manner, this affiliation, gaining light from each great one, reached its own worthy holder, the Lordly gnostic Hazrat Khwaja Abdul Khaliq Ghijduwani, who is the head of the circle of the Khwajagan. At that time this affiliation regained its freshness and came into the field of manifestation. After Hazrat Khwaja (may his secret be sanctified), the aspect of the suluk of the horizons became hidden again in this order.

After attaining this attraction, the masters set out on other roads and attained ascent, until Hazrat Khwaja Naqshband (may his secret be sanctified) appeared in the world of manifestation; then that affiliation appeared again together with this attraction and the suluk of the horizons, and on account of these two aspects he combined the perfection of gnosis and love. Despite this comprehensiveness, he was granted another kind of attraction which comes by way of companionship (ma'iyyat). Further, his most rightly guided deputy, Hazrat Khwaja Ala'uddin Attar (may his secret be sanctified), was honoured with both blessings, attraction and the suluk of the horizons. Likewise Hazrat Khwaja Muhammad Parsa (may his secret be sanctified) also obtained a full share of his perfections. Despite these perfections, Hazrat Khwaja Parsa obtained the affiliation of singularity (nisbat-e fardiyyat) from Mawlana Arif (Dikgarani), and

this very predominance of that affiliation became an obstacle to his becoming a spiritual guide and bringing seekers to completion. After the deputies of Hazrat Khwaja Naqshband (may his secret be sanctified), the lamp of this noble family was Hazrat Khwaja Ubaydullah Ahrar. After fully traversing the attraction of the Khwajagan, he turned to the journey through the horizons, carried this journey up to the Name, and attained consumption and annihilation (istihlak wa fana) in it; then he came into the house of attraction, and in this aspect he brought about a special consumption and effacement, and in this aspect he also attained subsistence (baqa).

In brief, he held a mighty station in this aspect, and those sciences and gnostic insights that are attained in annihilation and subsistence were granted to him in this very station, although there is a difference in the sciences owing to the distinctness of the two aspects. One of these differences is the affirmation or the absence of the Unity of Existence (tawhid-e wujudi); likewise the affirmation of matters that suit the Unity of Existence, such as encompassment (ihata), pervasion (sarayan), essential companionship, and the witnessing of unity in multiplicity despite multiplicity being wholly hidden; and such a seeker's inability to apply the word “I” to himself; and other matters of this kind.

In contrast are the matters that follow from the subsistence that comes after absolute annihilation, because the sciences that follow from that subsistence are not like the matters mentioned above; rather, they are in complete accord with the true Shari'ah.

In brief, the subsistence that lies in the aspect of attraction — whatever the kind of attraction — cannot bring one out of intoxication and cannot admit one into sobriety.

In attraction love predominates, and intoxication is inseparable from the predominance of love; in short, intoxication cannot be separated from it in any way. Therefore its sciences are necessarily tinged with intoxication, such as holding to the Unity of Being (wahdat al-wujud), because the basis of the Unity of Being is intoxication and the predominance of love,

in the sense that nothing besides the Beloved remains in his sight, and so he passes the judgment of negating all that is other than Him. Were such a person to come to sobriety, the witnessing of the Beloved would not prevent him from witnessing what is other than Him, and he would not pass the judgment of the Unity of Being.

And the subsistence that comes after absolute annihilation and the end of suluk is the source of sobriety and the origin of gnosis; intoxication has no place there. Of the sciences and gnostic insights that were lost in the state of annihilation, something returns, but coloured with the colour of the Origin. This is what is meant by subsistence through Allah (baqa billah). Therefore there is necessarily no room for intoxication in their sciences, and so their sciences accord with the sciences of the noble prophets (blessings and peace be upon them).