Khwaja ‘Abdu’llah Isfahani wrote a very useful treatise on the Order of the Masters of Wisdom, under the patronage of a distinguished descendent of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). We shall now present some excerpts from this work:

The principle rule of this order [Tariqat i-Khwajagan] is the following: From whichever perfect guide the seeker receives initiation, he must preserve the guide’s image in the treasure of his heart, until the time when he begins to demonstrate how his heart has been affected by the warmth and quality of that connection. As for what is necessary after that, it is not to abandon that same image, but to embrace it much more tightly than ever. The seeker must rivet that image to his heart, with his eyes, his ears and all his faculties.

What is called the “heart” is the centre of the comprehensive human reality, of which all the higher and lower elements of the universe are detailed particulars. The seeker must exert himself to experience the substance of that lofty reality, by expressing the affirmation of Oneness in his heart, using the formula: “There is nothing in existence, other than Allah!” By making this effort, whatever temptation may be whispered, he will consider it as being from Allah and existing because of Allah. This is because that whispered temptation is also one of the mental entities, and also like so many things that are false and absurd, it actually represents a manifestation of the Truth. If this procedure is followed, an ardour will arise in the heart, putting an end to trouble and dispelling dangers.

Even when whispered temptation departs, it is essential to cling to the same relationship. If whispered temptation still refuses to go away, the seeker must pronounce the word “Allah” in a slowly drawn-out manner, while striving to establish the meaning of Oneness in the heart. He must continue to pronounce the word “Allah” until the moment when boredom and weariness overcome the lower self. If signs of tiredness and exhaustion appear, he must desist.

As the spiritual traveller is obliged to know and understand, while he is making progress in the state of detachment from himself, and in his relationship with the great saints, attention to other things amounts to something resembling unbelief [kufr].”

To be in oneself is unbelief [kufr],
while transcending oneself is true faith [iman].