Bismillaah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem
Wa salli 'ala Sayyidina Nabiyyihi Muhammadin wa 'ala aalihi wa saahbihi ajmaa'een
Salaam dear brothers and sisters,
Our Beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad (salla Allaahu alaihi wa salaam) said in a famous hadith:
"Utlub il 'ilma wa law fis-Sin."
(Seek knowledge even in China)
He (SAW) also said: "Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim." Both hadiths are regarded both as "sahih" (sound) and "hasan" (fair) and have reached us, his (SAW) beloved Ummah, among others through Sayyidina 'Umar, Ibn' Abbas, Ibn Mas'ud, Jabir, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, al-Sakhawi and al-'Iraqi (may Allaahu be pleased with them all).
What kind of knowledge (ma'rifat) is implied here? It is the knowledge of both worlds, the inward and the outward. The knowledge of being. The knowledge of existence. Know that Islaam embodies just that knowledge. It is the completeness of Islaam that makes it the best Way (Religion). The Prophet (SAW) who is an Empty Vessel resounding only with (the Name) Allaahu (SWT) and a shoreless Ocean of Knowledge with rivers that branch forth from his pure heart towards our hearts, said:
"Shari'ah is my words, Tariqah my actions, Haqiqah my inner states."
Ma'rifat is then the direct outcome of combining all these three states. This is the unique, most exalted station of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW). For this reason he (SAW) said:
"My Kibla is neither in the East nor in the West but is in between them."
and
"I have been given (the realities of ) all names."
Ma'rifat is the Direct Knowledge of Reality gained in the process of approaching al-Haqq (SWT) tirelessly. It is the light with which we see things as they really are. A Sufi is a striving Muslim who adopts the Way of Love towards his Rabb. Love (Mahabba) has been said to by the Prophet (SAW) to be "his foundation" and Longing (Hanin) to be "his boat" upon which he (SAW) sails towards the Beloved, Allaahu (SWT). A high-rank Sufi is not a person who has emptied his mind of the intellect ('aql) nor abandoned it for the sake of mere submission, rather he is the one who has reached the perfection of the intellect, and in the light of that, the genuine reality of Love becomes apparent to him. This is what was meant by the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) when he said: "The Truth is discerned with 'ilm yaqeen, 'ainul yaqeen, and haqqul yaqeen." Indeed, your love and intellect are the sails and rudder of our seafaring souls, my beloved brothers and sisters. The process of gaining ma'rifat is what is called by the noble Qur'an, tafakkur (meditation, reflection). It produces insight and with insight, only Allaahu, the Singular Reality, alone is found. And when That Reality is found, love finds its ultimate reason in existence. This station is subtly and eloquently personified by Sayyidina Imam 'Ali (karram Allaahu wajhah), whom the Prophet (SAW) declared to be the Gate of his (SAW) Knowledge. Hazrat 'Ali (KW) said:
"The speech of a person of knowledge carries with it the fragrance of the Garden (Jannah)."
Let us listen for a while to one of his (KW) sermons:
"Knowledge is the legacy of the Prophets; wealth is the inheritance of the Pharaohs. As the Prophets are superior to the Pharaohs, so knowledge is better than wealth.
"You have to guard your (material) wealth, but knowledge guards you. So, knowledge is indeed better than wealth.
"When knowledge is distributed, it increases, whereas when wealth is distributed it decreases. So, knowledge is indeed better than wealth.
"A person of wealth has many enemies, while a man of knowledge has many friends. So, knowledge is indeed better than wealth.
"A learned person because of his wider outlook tends to be generous, while a rich person because of his love for money tends to be miserly. As such, indeed knowledge is better than wealth.
"Knowledge cannot be stolen, while wealth is constantly exposed to the danger of being stolen. Accordingly, knowledge is indeed better than wealth.
"With the passing of time, knowledge gains (more and more) in depth and dimension. Hoarded coins get rusty, or cease to be legal tender. So, knowledge is indeed better than wealth.
"You can keep account of wealth because it is limited, but you cannot keep account of knowledge because it is boundless. That is why knowledge is indeed better than wealth.
"Knowledge illuminates the mind, while wealth tends to blacken it. So, knowledge is better than wealth.
"Knowledge is superior to wealth because knowledge induced the humanity in the Holy Prophet (SAW) to say to Allaahu, "We worship You as we are Your servants," while wealth engendered in Pharaoh and Namrud the vanity which caused them to claim divinity."
Seek, therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, and find just that knowledge. Each of you, be a person of knowledge. Never tire of learning wherever you are. Learn from good teachers. Above all, the reality of this is that you seek knowledge in Allaahu. Seek this in sweet intimacy with Hu (SWT). The ma'rifat our Beloved Prophet (SAW) and Hazrat 'Ali (KW) are talking about is like a well. You can use it as much as you want and yet it will never be used up. In the awareness of the Presence of Allaahu alone is ma'rifat acquired. Because the Presence is filled with infinite possibilities. This is that which is hidden but always present at the same time. In this alone is the supreme virtue. This world is filled with thoughts that weaken the mind, colors that blind the eye, sounds that deafen the ear, flavors that numb the taste, and above all, desires that wither the purity of the heart. Yet with ma'rifat, you may observe the world and remain detached from the entanglement of things because you trust your inner vision. A person of knowledge has a content heart. He finds his rest in his loving surrender to Allaahu and the light which Hu (SWT) has shed upon his heart. The content heart is like an open sky, capable of all forms, allowing things to come and go. That is the way all things are embraced in harmony.
It is important to realize where we all come from. We are from Allaahu and to Allaahu alone will we return. As the Qu'ran sharif says, In remembering Allaahu, the All-Pervading, alone does the heart find peace (rest). In returning to the Source of all existences is indeed serenity (salaam). And in the state of serenity, we naturally become tolerant, kindhearted, dignified, fluid. This is the fitrah (original state) of the self.
My brothers and sisters, we each are like a wave adrift in this ocean we call existence. Yet home is not far. This very existence is our home. We just have to realize that Allaahu is ever-Present. Allaahu is the Wajib al-Wujud, the Presence behind, above, beyond our individual existences as the following poem describes:
There was something formless and perfect
Before the Universe was manifest.
Silent, Unchanging, Solitary, Serene,
One with the Eternally Present.
We call it Peace (Salaam), the reality of Islaam.
Indeed, Islaam is the raft that brings us to our destination: Peace. Realizing this journey back to our Source is the beginning of ma'rifat. By opening ourselves to the Presence of Allaahu, we embrace peace in its depths and we open ourselves to insight. And with ma'rifat, as we immerse ourselves in the Presence of Allaahu, we can deal with whatever life brings us. Indeed when death comes to us, we are ready. Just trust this knowledge and have no fear and everything, insha Allaahu ta'ala, will fall into its proper place. To Allaahu alone is the origin (return) of all things, seen and unseen, that move and rest whether silently or loudly. Allaahu alone is the Great, the Boundless (al-Kabir, al-Wasi'). Allaahu alone knows best.
Salaam e Ishq,
{Dani}
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