Religion is the soundness of external purification. Truth is the soundness of the inner condition. The one is liable to alterations, is the work of man and can be acquired; the other is immutable, the same from the time of Adam to the end of the world, and is the Divine Grace. The one is like matter, or the body. The other is like spirit, or the soul.—Letters 25 and 26.
[A higher stage is simply mentioned, in Fawâed-i-Ruknî, as Mârfat (the Divine Knowledge), without any detailed explanation. Thus, Sharîat corresponds to the exoteric religion of any given nation; Tarîqat to the Lesser Mysteries of the ancient Western mystic, or the Probationary Path of the Eastern mystic; Haqîqat to the Greater Mysteries of the ancient Western mystic, or the Path Proper of the Eastern mystic; Mârfat to the stage of the Perfect Man, or the Master.—Trs.]
Accessory to Prayers.
After the morning prayer, the twilight should be spent in muttering the Divine Names, sacred recitations, repentance and apology. One should not speak at this time, except to obey an express injunction or prohibition of the Scriptures, to bless or benefit the faithful, and to instruct a student in need of knowledge. The company of a Saint, a knower of God, or one's own Teacher, if available, is preferable to mutterings and recitations.
Before the sunset prayer, some time should be spent in attentively examining the desire-nature i. e., reviewing the gains made and the losses incurred during the day.
One should go to sleep pure, and with holy recitations, and should not sleep unless overpowered. One should get up in the latter part of the night before twilight, and immediately take to the sacred duties.—Letter 28.
Purification.
It is purity which makes man respectable. It is the storehouse of all boons and virtues.... Islâm is based on purity, and cannot tolerate the slightest stain. She does not show her face to the impure.