'I now wish to give some elaboration upon the fruits of Islam. So let it be clear that when a true seeker of his Lord becomes perfectly established upon Islam and devotes all his powers to this endeavour—not with any contrivance or artificiality, but with a natural inclination—then the ultimate result of this condition is that the highest manifestations of the guidance of God Almighty, free from all veils, turn towards him and all kinds of blessings descend upon him. The commandments and beliefs which had hitherto been accepted as a matter of faith or on hearsay are now openly realized and felt through true visions and through certain and explicit revelations. The intricacies of the Shariah and the Faith, and the sealed mysteries of Millat-e-Hanifiyyah [the Religion ever inclining towards God] are disclosed to him. He is walked through the Kingdoms of God so that he may attain the perfect stage of certainty and spiritual insight. His tongue and speech, all his actions and words, and his states of movement and rest become blessed.
He is granted extraordinary courage, perseverance, and
resolve. He is granted a position of great eminence in the realization of
truth. He is freed from the narrow-mindedness, meanness, and stinginess caused by
the veils of humanness. He is no longer prone to repeated stumbling, narrowness
of vision, the bondage of lust, lowliness of morals, and removing all kinds of
the darkness of spirit fully from him; he is filled, instead, with the light of
godly moral qualities. Thus, he is completely transformed and is adorned with
the garment of a new birth. He hears through God Almighty, sees through God
Almighty, moves with God Almighty, and rests with God Almighty. His wrath
becomes the wrath of God Almighty, and his mercy becomes the mercy of God Almighty.
His prayers at this stage are chosen for acceptance and not by way of trial. He
is the embodiment of Allah’s manifest argument and protection on earth, and his
very being is the cause for joy in heaven.
The loftiest of lofty gifts that are granted to him is
conversation with Allah and the discourses from the Omnipotent God, which
continue to descend upon his heart—pure like the light of the moon and free
from the dust of doubt or misgiving. This experience is highly pleasurable, and
gratifies, satisfies, and comforts the soul.
And the difference between this discourse and revelation is that the spring of revelation is, so to speak, constantly flowing among the Holy and Elect [of God]. They speak with the speaking of the Holy Spirit, they see with the sight of the Holy Spirit, and they hear with the hearing of the Holy Spirit, and all their desires arise out of the very breath of the Holy Spirit. The affirmation is true—and absolutely true!—that they are the figurative fulfillment validating the following verse:
'Nor does he speak out of his own desire; it is nothing but pure revelation that has been revealed by God' (Surah an-Najm, 53: 4–5).
Nevertheless, Divine dialogue is a separate
phenomenon, which is that—akin to a verbal wahy [revelation]—the
Word of God Almighty descends upon them, and they receive a response from God
Almighty to their questions just as a friend responds to a friend. We can
define this converse only as a particular manifestation of Allah, glorified be His
eminence, which takes place through an angel of the higher order. Its object is
to notify of the acceptance of prayer, or to give information regarding some
new and hidden affair, or to supply knowledge of future events, or to inform
regarding God’s approval or disapproval of something, or to bestow certainty
and cognition in some other types of affairs.
In short, this wahy is a Divine voice emanating from Allah in the form of
converse and discourse with a view to permeating the addressee with the
certainty of knowledge and satisfaction. It is impossible to describe its
nature better than by saying that it is a Divine voice produced purely by the
prompting of God and His inspiration and in which one’s own ego, thought, or
deliberation plays no part at all. It is a speech experienced as pleasant,
blessed, and possessed of Godly glory and the awe of Divine force.
Here, every seeker after truth would naturally ask
what he should do in order to attain this high spiritual station of discourse
with God. The answer is that this stage is a new existence in which one is
granted new faculties, new abilities, and a new life. This new existence cannot
be acquired without the annihilation of the previous existence. When the
previous existence is wholly discarded through a true and real sacrifice, which
means the sacrifice of one’s self, honour, wealth, and all other trappings of
the ego, this second existence immediately takes its place.
If it is asked, what are the signs of the annihilation
of the earlier self, the answer is that previous characteristics and emotions
are replaced by new characteristics and new emotions, and a tremendous change is
experienced in one’s nature. All states of existence relating to morals, faith,
and worship, appear as transformed as if they are donning a new character
altogether. In short, deliberating upon his own condition,one should find
himself to be a new person and, similarly, God Almighty is seen in a new
perspective as well. Such new delights should be experienced in gratitude,
steadfastness, and remembrance of God that were completely unknown beforehand.
One should feel clearly that he has full trust in his Lord and does not care at
all for anything other than Him. The contemplation of the Being of the Holy
Creator should dominate his heart to such a degree that every other being
disappears altogether from his vision of things that exist, and all material means
appear useless, contemptible, and of no value. Devotion and loyalty surge up to
such a degree that the thought of suffering every type of pain seems easy to
bear, and, not only in contemplation, but even the actual experience of
calamities and misfortunes is perceived as a delight. When all these signs are
present, it can then be understood that the previous existence has suffered
total death.
The realization of this death brings about amazing
strengths in the cause of God Almighty for the seeker. He is endowed the
ability to perform those activities that others talk about but cannot perform,
to tread upon the paths that others see but cannot traverse, and to carry the
burdens that others only estimate but cannot lift. He is granted the ability to
carry out all these arduous tasks, not of his own strength, but with the help
and assistance of a great power granted by God, which renders him greater than
the mountains in firmness and bestows a faithful heart upon him. Then, for the
sake of the majesty of God Almighty, such deeds emanate from him, and such
feats of sincerity are manifested, that [one realizes] what is the worth of a
human being and what is the essence of a son of Adam, that he could accomplish
them on his own.
He cuts asunder and frees himself from all besides
Allah, and removes all intervening barriers and obstructions. He is tested and persecuted
and encounters diverse types of trials, and is afflicted with such calamities
and misfortunes that would have destroyed the mountains and darkened the sun
and the moon, but he remains steadfast and cheerfully endures all hardships. Even if the
mortar and pestle of calamities were to grind and render him like dust, no
sound would proceed from him except: ‘I am with Allah.’ When a person arrives at this stage, his affair rises
above the conditions of this world, and he is granted, by way of reflection,
all of the guidance and high status that were bestowed upon previous Prophets
and Messengers, and he becomes their heir and deputy.' [Aina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, pp. 264-267].