Q.—Explain the distinctive opinions of the Ṣūfīs in at-Tanāsuk͟h, or the Transmigration of Souls.
A.—O Brother! our teaching regarding al-Barzak͟h (Qurʾān xxiii. 102) has nothing whatever to do with at-Tanāsuk͟h. Of all the erring sects in the world, those who believe in Metempsychosis, or Transmigration of Souls, is the very worst.
Q.—The Ṣūfīs regard certain things as lawful which are forbidden. For instance, they enjoin the use of wine, wine-shops, the wine-cup, sweethearts; they speak of the curls of their mistresses, and the moles on their faces, cheeks, &c., and compare the furrows on their brows to verses of the Qurʾān. What does this mean?
A.—The Ṣūfīs often exchange the external features of all things for the internal, the corporeal for the spiritual, and thus give an imaginary signification to outward forms. They behold objects of a precious nature in their natural character and for this reason the greater part of their words have a spiritual and figurative meaning. For instance, when, like Ḥāfiz̤, they mention wine, they mean a knowledge of God, which, figuratively considered, is the love of God. Wine, viewed figuratively, is also love: love and affection are here the same thing. The wine-shop, with them, means the murshidu ʾl-kāmil, or spiritual director, for his heart is said to be the depository of the love of God; the wine-cup is the Talqīn, or the pronunciation of the name of God in a declaration of faith, as: “There is no God but Allāh!” or it signifies the words which flow from the Murshid’s mouth respecting divine knowledge, and which, when heard by the Sālik, or “one who pursues the true path,” intoxicates his soul, and divests his heart of passions, giving him pure spiritual delights. The sweetheart means the excellent preceptor, because, when anyone sees his beloved, he admires her perfect proportions, with a heart full of love; the Sālik beholds the secret knowledge of God which fills the heart of his spiritual preceptor, or Murshid, and through it receives a similar inspiration, and acquires a full perception of all that he possesses, just as the pupil learns from his master. As the lover delights in the presence of his sweetheart, so the Sālik rejoices in the company of his beloved Murshid, or preceptor. The sweetheart is the object of a worldly affection, but the preceptor of a spiritual attachment. The curls or ringlets of the beloved are the grateful praises of the preceptor, tending to bind the affections of the disciple; the moles on her face signify that when the pupil, at times, beholds the total absence of all worldly wants on the part of the preceptor, he also abandons all the desires of both worlds—he perhaps even goes so far as to desire nothing else in life than his preceptor; the furrows on the brow of the beloved one, which they compare to verses of the Qurʾān, mean the light of the heart of the Murshid; they are compared to verses of the Qurʾān, because the attributes of God, in accordance with the injunction of the Prophet: “Be ye endued with divine qualities,” are possessed by the Murshid.
Q.—The Murshids and their disciples often say: “We see God.” Is it possible for anyone to see God?
A.—It is not possible. What they mean by this assertion is that they know God, that they see His power; for it is forbidden to mortal eyes to behold Him, as is declared in the Qurʾān, [Sūrah vi. 103]: “No sight reaches Him; He reaches the sight—the subtle, the knowing.” The Prophet commanded us to “adore God, as thou wouldst didst thou see Him; for, if thou dost not see Him, He sees thee.” This permission to adore Him is a divine favour, and they say that they are God’s servants by divine favour. ʿAlī said: “Should the veil fall from my eyes, how would God visit me in truth?” This saying proves that no one really sees God, and that even the sainted ʿAlī never saw Him.
Q.—Can it possibly be erroneous to say that, by seeing the traces of anyone he may be beheld?
A.—One may certainly be thus seen. When any person sees the brightness of the sun, he may safely say that he has seen the sun, though, indeed, he has not really seen it. There is another example, namely: Should you hold a mirror in your hand, you see a figure in it, and you may, therefore, say that you see your own face, which is really an impossibility, for no one has ever seen his own face, and you have asserted what is not strictly correct.
Q.—Since everyone sees the traces of God, as everyone is able to do, how is it that the Ṣūfīs declare that they only see Him?
A.—Those who make this statement do not know what they see, for they have never really seen Him. A person who has eaten of a sweet and savoury dish given to him, but of which he knows not the name, seeks for it again with a longing desire after it, and thus wanders about in search of what has given him so much delight, even though he be ignorant of what it really was. So are those who seek after God, without knowing Him, or what He is.