Karamat and Kashf

From 'Maktubat': The Letters of Imam Rabbani Ahmad Serhendi

"Karama is true. It means keeping away from polytheism, attaining marifa and deeming oneself nonexistent. Karama and istidraj should not be mistaken for each other. To wish to possess karama and kashf means to love someone other than Allah. 'Karama' means 'qurb' (nearness) and 'marifa.' The frequent occurrence of karama is due to more ascent and less descent on the way of tasawwuf. Karama is for strengthening yaqin. A wali who has been blessed with yaqin does not need karama. Karama is of no value when compared with the state of the heart which has got used to dhikr. There may be mistakes in a wali's kashf. The place where kashf takes place is the heart. Genuine kashf is not of the imagination, and it takes place in the heart through ilham. Kashfs mixed with imagination are not dependable. The kashfs of awliya' are reliable if they are congruous with Islam. If not so, they are not to be trusted. The kashfs and ilhams of awliya' cannot be taken as proofs or documentary evidences by other people. However, what a mujtahid said is a document for the followers of his madhhab. The possession of kashf and karama does not indicate the highness of the spiritual status. Kashfs and tajallis occur to the wayfarers on the way of tasawwuf. Those who have reached the end of the way are in amazement and busy with 'ibada. One should come with a bowed neck in modesty to a wali so that much benefit can be obtained. Much benefit can be acquired if one puts on himself the clothes of awliya' modestly and respectfully. Allahu ta'ala protects His awliya' from committing grave sins. Some awliya' were seen far from the place where they lived. It was the appearance of their souls in their bodily forms. Awliya' are not protected from small sins, but they are soon awakened from ghafla, and they make tawba and do pious deeds and ask for forgiveness. Awliya' beckon people both to the evident orders of Islam and to the secret, subtle knowledge. Some awliya' did not descend back to the world of causes. They are not aware of the excellences of prophethood, and they are not helpful to the people. They cannot supply faid. Most awliya' had the excellences of wilaya. For example, qutbs, awtad and abdal were so. They are able to bring up the youth with 'Ali's (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh) help.

"The superiority of the status of awliya' is proportional to the degree of Allahu ta'ala's love for them. Wilaya is the state of having attained to the zills (shadows, images, see next paragraph). Awliya' love and enjoy only the shadows. Wilaya is the shadow of nubuwwa (prophethood). One should take wilaya as wudu' (ablution) and nubuwwa as salat. Wilaya means purification from bad habits. A wali does not have to know that he is a wali. It is not a defect for the wali if he is granted wilaya without being made aware of it. To be a wali, it is necessary to expel the love for this and the next world out of the heart. It is good to be fond of the next world, this being one of the excellences of prophethood. There exist in man ten latifas, ten faculties from the spiritual world. The superiorities of wilaya and prophethood occur on these ten latifas. Wilaya means fana' and baqa'. It means to detach the heart from this world and to attach it to the hereafter. Wilaya cannot be comprehended through intellect or logic. Wilaya means nearness to Allahu ta'ala, and it is bestowed on those who have driven out of their hearts the thought of creatures. Throwing the thought of creatures out of the heart is called fana'. All excellences of wilaya are to be obtained by obeying Islam. And the excellences of prophethood are given to those who obey also the inner subtleties of Islam not known by everybody. The excellences of prophethood is not the prophethood itself. The kashfs and ilhams occurring to those who, passing all the degrees, have reached the end of wilaya happen to be in complete accordance with the knowledge drawn from the Nass, that is the Book and the Sunnat, by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. Half of the progress in wilaya is upwards and the other half is downwards. Many people supposed that the upward progress was of wilaya and said that the downward progress was of prophethood. In fact, the descent is also of wilaya as the ascent is. Wilaya consists of jadhba (attraction) and suluk (progress by endeavoring), which are the two main corner-stones of wilaya but non-essential for the excellences of prophethood. The last rank in the wilaya is the degree of 'abdiyya (slavery to Allahu ta'ala). There is no further rank higher than this rank. Awliya' are directed towards Allahu ta'ala. However, with the excellences of prophethood, there are directions both towards Allahu ta'ala and khalk (creatures, human beings), and these two [directions] do not harm each other. Although the nafs of awliya' has become mutmainna (tranquil), the materials of the body are still needy and wishful.

"Wilaya is of five degrees. Each degree corresponds to the exaltation of one of the five latifas and is related to the path of one of the prophets called Ulu 'l-'azm, the first degree being related to the path of Adam ('alaihi's-salam). The wilaya of a prophet at the first degree of wilaya is more valuable than the wilaya of a wali of the fifth degree. The nafs should be annihilated to reach the highest degree of wilaya called wilayat khassa. The order 'Die before you die!' points to this annihilation. Wilaya is either khassa (special) or 'amma (common). Wilayat khassa is Muhammad's ('alaihi 's-salam) wilaya. And among his umma, those awliya' who follow him may attain to this wilaya, which is complete fana' and mature baqa'; the nafs is annihilated and resigns itself to Allahu ta'ala and Allahu ta'ala is pleased with it. The highness of wilaya does not depend on the degrees or the succession of the five latifas. One who has attained the wilaya of the latifa akhfa which is the highest, is not necessarily superior to the awliya' of wilayas of other latifas. The superiority of wilaya is measured by nearness or farness to the Origin ('Asl). A wali who has attained the wilaya of the latifa qalb, a latifa of lower degree, if closer (Qarib) to the Origin, is higher than the wali of the latifa akhfa but who has not come as close to the Origin as the former has. A wali who has attained Muhammad's ('alaihi 's-salam) wilaya is secured from being dismissed. Walis of other degrees are not secured and are in danger. Wilaya can be obtained only by the annihilation of qalb (heart) and ruh (soul). But this in its turn requires the annihilation of the other three latifas. The wilaya of a wali is called wilayat sughra (minor wilaya), and that of a prophet is called wilayat kubra (major wilaya). Wilayat sughra continues until the end of the progress in anfus and afaq. In wilayat sughra, there is no way of escape from error and illusion. It is the other way round with wilayat kubra. Wilayat sughra begins after passing beyond the originals of the five latifas outside the 'Arsh and ends after passing the zills (shadows, images) or appearances of Allahu ta'ala's Attributes which are the originals of the above-mentioned originals. Wilayat sughra takes place in afaq and anfus, that is, the creatures outside and inside man. In other words, it takes place in zills or images. Those who reach the end of this part of the way attain to the tajalli al-barqi, that is, tajallis (appearances) like instantaneous lightning. Wilayat kubra takes place in the originals of these images and is a progress closer to Allahu ta'ala. The wilaya of prophets is of this kind, and its tajallis are continuous. Wilayat sughra consists of jadhba (attraction) and suluk (progress by endeavoring). Attaining to the perfections of wilaya is possible by suluk, the qalb's dhikr, muraqaba (meditation) and rabita. However, the progress in the perfections of prophethood is attained by reciting the Qur'an al-karim and performing salat. For further advancement, there is no means left, but it is only by Allahu ta'ala's favor and benevolence that one may make further progress. One cannot go out of Islam however far one might advance. All the virtues of wilaya that have been attained will be ruined if there is any slackness in obeying Islam. It is through love and affection that one can advance beyond this point. Love and affection are different from favor and benevolence. Even the wilaya of prophets is inferior to their prophetic perfections. The Wilayat al-Muhammadiyya has brought together the wilayas of all the prophets in itself. Attaining to the wilaya of a prophet is equivalent to attaining a part of this wilayat khassa. The superiority of a wali is as great as his downward progress. His batin, that is, his qalb, ruh and other latifas, has been separated from his zahir, that is, his sense organs and mind. The ghafla state of his zahir does not confuse his batin. A wali can never attain to the status of a prophet. A wali may be superior to a prophet in one respect, but that prophet has an overall superiority over the wali. A wali may commit a venial sin but soon he repents and begs for forgiveness and he is not dismissed from his status of wilaya. The thing sought for in the way of tasawwuf is beyond fana' and baqa', tajallis and zuhurs, shuhud and mushahada, words and meanings, knowledge and ignorance, names and attributes, and imagination and wisdom.

"The murshid or rehber is the wasita who guides one to Allahu ta'ala. The more a disciple loves his rehber, the more faid he receives from his rehber's heart. The rehber is the vehicle and the tenor (purpose) is Allahu ta'ala. Al-murshid al-kamil is like a suction pump; on the one side, having descended to the stage of qalb, he is connected with the ruh, and, on the other, he has a connection with the nafs. He conducts the faid and marifa from the ruh to his disciples through the nafs. Anyone who hurts or does not believe the rehber cannot attain the true faith. [This is why the Wahhabis remain deprived of Allahu ta'ala's faids and ma'arif.] It has been declared, 'A dog is better than you if your heart is not broken by the one who offends your rehber.' Progress is impossible if there is any wavering in believing and trusting the rehber. There is no medicine for such wavering. For receiving faid from a rehber without his tawajjuh, it is sufficient only to love him. The iman of those who are in the presence of a rehber gets stronger and a desire to obey Islam rises. His words, hals, actions and 'ibadat are totally congruous with Islam; the one who follows and obeys him will have obeyed Rasulullah. He who is not so cannot be a rehber. [Those who are not on the right path and pass themselves off as rehbers, though they are not true ones, will mislead and harm their disciples.]

"Tasawwuf means to follow in the footsteps of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam). Different paths have appeared as a result of [the differences in] men's nature. The purpose of tasawwuf is to increase the ikhlas. A rehber is necessary on the way of tasawwuf. The Twelve Imams and 'Abd al-Qadir al-Geilani and those who were like them (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) were rehbers.

"There are two ways leading to Allahu ta'ala: the way of nubuwwa and that of wilaya. A rehber is not necessary on the nubuwwa way, which leads one to attain to the 'Asl (Origin). A rehber is necessary on the wilaya way. There are no such things as fana', baqa', jadhba or suluk on the way of nubuwwa. To make progress on the wilaya way, it is necessary to forget about everything [this world and the next] and not to set the heart upon them. As for the nubuwwa way, the next world need not be forgotten. Tasawwuf is the way of strengthening the faith and living up to Islam with ease. Tariqa and haqiqa are the servants of Islam. Tariqa teaches that creatures should be deemed nonexistent. Haqiqa teaches that Allahu ta'ala should be known as existent. Tariqa does not teach one to keep away from people or to shut oneself up in some nook but to perform al-amru bi'l-maruf wa 'n-nahyu 'ani 'l-munkar and jihad and to live up to the Sunnat."