Be on the alert, and take no step without due caution, for Time is a penalty to the heedless.
It is said:—When a man wishes to enter the Path, the Chief of the Evil Ones, Satan, seizes his skirt and says: "I bear the Cross of Curse for this work, that no unclean fellow may enter the Path. If any dare come in without the Robe of Monotheism and sincere Earnestness, I lop off his feet." ...
"Should thy inner eyes unfold, every atom would tell thee a hundred secrets. Then wouldst thou see each atom ever advancing. All are absorbed in the march—thou art blind—and the march goes on in thee as well. There is no limit to the progress of LOVE. Such has been, there is no help." From highest heaven to lowest abyss, all things are seeking and striving. It is the wicked man alone who has made peace with the enemy, and cut himself off from the Beloved.—Letter 53.
Knowledge.
Knowledge is to purification and asceticism what ablution is to prayer. No practice is possible without knowledge, as no prayer is possible without ablution....
Knowledge is of two kinds: that received from teachers and books, and that unfolded in the soul. Again the latter kind is twofold:
(1) The Knowledge transmitted from the Divine Sanctuary into:—
(a) The Soul of a Prophet. Such Knowledge is called Wahî.[10]
(b) The Soul of a Master. Such Knowledge is Ilbâm (inspiration).