In the Mystic Footsteps of Saints (Sufi Wisdom Book 1)

by Muhammad Nazim Adil Al-Haqqani

So, if you consider yourself to be a seeker of truth, don’t be lazy or timid in your quest, but seek to benefit from the clues provided by those who received initiation into this second category of knowledge. Don’t be surprised that Shaykh Muhyuddin, Mawlana Rumi, Abu Yazid al Bistami, Shah Naqshband or Grandshaykh Daghestani reveal knowledge that is beyond the pale of the outward or apparent understanding of Islam.

Whoever encounters a jewel but knows not the distinguishing characteristics of gems may think it to be part of a fossilized coke bottle and throw it away. There is a famous diamond in Istanbul, perhaps one of the biggest and most valuable diamonds in the world. The story of this diamond may help illustrate my point. That diamond was originally found in a dustbin by a street sweeper. He put it in his pocket and brought it to a spoon maker he knew. The spoon maker saw that it could be valuable, so he offered the street sweeper a wooden spoon in exchange for

the diamond. The street sweeper was very happy with the trade, as in those days it was a sign of distinction to carry a spoon in one’s belt, and to always be prepared in case rice or soup was served. Then the spoon maker took the diamond to a jeweler, who paid him a lot of money for it. The jeweler polished it and notified the Vizier about the existence of an extraordinary diamond. The Vizier bought it for a fortune and presented it to the Sultan, who had never seen its like. But to the street sweeper its worth was equivalent only to one wooden spoon. So, everyone receives what he needs on his level, and this was a divine order to the Prophet: “Give to those who may receive”, and it is written on the Preserved Tablet who will be eligible for that knowledge.

The third category of knowledge is that which is between Allah and His prophet to the exclusion of all others. This is the realm of the private confidence bestowed upon the Prophet by his Lord, and it is a depth of knowledge that distinguished him from an...

Islam derives its vitality from its inherent simplicity and universal principles. The basics may be practiced by all, irrespective of distinctions based on race, nationality, sex, age or cultural adherence, and it is in harmony with nature – with the nature of man and with that of the earth. But we must be worthy of understanding this and communicating it.

If you are wise, you will expect or demand only very little in the way of conformity from newcomers. Don’t try to load your burden on them – and if you are trying to shift your burden you must consider its causes. Don’t worry about bringing people “in line” but rather concern

yourself with making sure that your own practices are becoming a means for attaining inner peace and are not becoming an end in themselves. If your practice brings you inner peace and wisdom others will emulate those practices voluntarily.

To Each His Own Desserts

Hajjaj bin Yusuf was one of the most famous tyrants of history. “The Tyrant” was his title and a title well earned, as every time he entered a city he made hills from the heads of the people he killed. Once Hajjaj conquered a city and summoned a group of prominent citizens, asking them, “Am I an oppressor or a just ruler?” Naturally those people were quaking with fear, and humbly addressed him: “Oh our Amir, you are very just.” He shouted angrily: “They are liars, take them out of my sight and behead them!” Then Hajjaj called in another contingent of prominent citizens and asked them the same question, but as they understood what had happened to the previous group they said: “How can you be called just when you kill the very people who declare you to be just? Surely you are a tyrant!” “Liars, all of them! They lie

too! Executioner, take them away and behead them too!” And so it continued throughout the day: a group was called, and answered, “You are just” and was killed; then another group who answered, “There has never been a tyrant the likes of you,” was killed as well. Gradually all of the prominent citizens of the town were slaughtered, except for a group of religious scholars who Hajjaj was intending to question last. As they were walking towards their dreaded meeting with Hajjaj, an ecstatic madman of God came up to them and asked them where they were going. “Go away,” they answered. “We have no time to talk to you now.” “Tell me where you’re going,” he insisted, “to a banquet? I am going with you!” And so he sauntered from side to side of the group, bothering them and pushing himself upon them. Finally, one very old shaykh said to him: “Oh my son, leave us, we are going to a slaughterhouse.” “Oh let me come too! After slaughtering there should be a feast with plenty of meat!” “As you like,” said the old shaykh. Then the madman took a stick and went out in front of the group of scholars like the leader of a marching band. In this manner they arrived at the court of Hajjaj. Hajjaj was sitting like a frowning statue when the bizarre madman entered with the scholars. Hajjaj was taken aback by the appearance of the madman and a little afraid, as his clothes were weird and his turban was awry. The madman shouted: “Hey, Hajjaj!” The hearts of the scholars fell, and they thought: “My...

and slaughter them.” Then Hajjaj said to the madman: “Alright, I accept. I will ask you my questions and you will answer for them. Am I an oppressor or a just ruler?” “God forbid that you are an oppressor or a just ruler! You are the ruler sent upon us in accordance with our own attributes. You are a punishment, the curse of God, upon these people. We are the real oppressors, not you.” Then Hajjaj applauded, saying: “All you have said is true. This is the answer I have been waiting for. All day long I have been listening to lies. They called me an oppressor, but no, it is they who are liars, and when the others called me just they were even more shameless. Yes, I am Allah’s punishment for their actions. Now I have my an...

During the night journey of the Prophet Muhammad and his ascension to the seven heavens, the Angel Gabriel accompanied him part of the way, through the seven heavens, but at a certain point stayed back in awe of the radiance of the divine countenance, fearing to approach further lest he burn. The holy Prophet then ventured on alone and was shown by his Lord a huge gathering of people, also identical to himself, and the Lord told him: “These are the saints of your nation and my servants: And no one knows the armies of the Lord except Him. Whoso steps in your footsteps will partake of your honor and light.”

We have waded into an ocean of deep and secret knowledge, and as it is secret we are being signaled back to shore by the “lifeguard” lest we all drown.

The holy Prophet advised his nation to work for a living, though our stay in this world is only temporary. He advises us to seek out our sustenance, not to wait for it to find us. It is best for us to work for our livelihood, to engage ourselves in any type of work that does not transgress the Law, as the most tasteful of food is that earned with one’s own hands. For man to seek his sustenance within the bounds of the divine Law is most pleasing to our Lord, and is also conducive to good mental and physical health. So whoever is able bodied must work. Don’t argue that, since the sustenance of every creature is already destined for him you need neither pursue it nor avoid it – these are the excuses of lazy people – and Allah does not favor laziness. As long as you are in this world there must be some work that you can do with your hands.

Our grandshaykh’s wife used to warn us: “If you see Grandshaykh making a great fuss over a visitor, beware of that person!”

Even if you were to read all the books in this shop, don’t imagine that you would progress even one step towards those heavenly stations. No, all that will happen to the reader of all the books in this shop is that he will become fed up with esoteric subjects – like me – I have read too many books, and now I am fed up and can’t even look at books. The key is only found in meeting a person who may impart wisdom to you, may help you arrive at your private station in the Divine Presence. Without the help of a guide you may catch a glimpse of something spiritual, then turn your back on it – like someone who goes to the movies, sees the show and then goes back to where he came from.

Allah loves the brokenhearted. You are coveting a little water in a clay jug, but when you break it that water rejoins the lake from whence it came. Our egos try to prevent that reunion, and always object to any suggestion of the need to seek reunion. The main purpose of spiritual exercises in any tradition, East or West, is to enable us to overcome the objections put forward by our egos, so that we may pursue our journey to Unity Oceans.

It is from that burning need for the divine that our friend here has retreated from worldly life. He is trying to break that jug and attain the endless beauty of that unity. All the beauty contained in nature – people, animals, plants and minerals – is not even a drop in the Ocean of that absolute beauty. The galaxies are swimming in His Power Oceans. Oh man, your soul is an endless source of secrets that no one can fathom but the Creator. What does it all mean? It means that all the sources gushing from your heart are streaming towards divine oceans.

Moses received light, wisdom and guidance, then the Lord ordered him to, “Go unto Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Give this light to him and to his nation, to bring them out of darkness.” And the Virgin Mary brought Jesus into the world and cared for him until he was ready to give his light to his people – she never tried to keep him for herself. You must also be for others: that is the best and highest of ways. He who is only for himself is greedy.

We must try to be for others more than for ourselves. It is acceptable if we live for ourselves as well as for others, but it is the lowest acceptable level. To sacrifice ourselves for others is the highest level, the level of all the prophets.

If not for our egos, such self sacrifice would be easy, we would all be angelic; but as we are all in the possession of our egos rather than being the possessors of our egos, we need to come here to train ourselves in the way of fighting the ego. Don’t underestimate the scale of that battle, for indeed, fighting a whole nation single handedly is an easier task. Your determination to really strive for such a goal will certainly be tested, and it is a good sign that you have come to such a place as this. But if you try to stay here, to declare all out war on the ego, the ego will defeat you. Your egos have thousands of tricks and traps, therefore, it is too dangerous to try ...

Our grandshaykh explained that each personality is an emanation of a divine Name, a unique attribute of God, and that there are as many divine attributes as there are human beings – and more, endlessly. Therefore, on the purest spiritual level, each and every individual is a unique manifestation of God.

Shaykh Nazim: The divinely ordained personality is always sound and intact, but as, for example, a consistently strong wind may cause a tree to grow crooked so one’s environment can affect one’s development. We must draw a distinction between “essence” and “attribute.” There is an essence to everything. You are tall, for example, but without a body “tall” is a meaningless adjective. Similarly, “good” and “bad” manifestations are impossible without a person to manifest them. It is only the adjectives that are influenced by the atmosphere. One hundred years ago there was a religiously observant atmosphere in this country, now there is an atheist atmosphere, and the manifestations of this atmosphere can only be altered with the greatest difficulty.

Shaykh Nazim: You must locate the open door. People have an allergy against religion, so don’t mention it. We have ninety nine methods to be utilized in the treatment of disturbed people, so when you have incorporated enough of this teaching you will receive inspiration that will guide you to the application of suitable methods. In the meantime you must keep a journal in which you record the details of your patients’ afflictions, and analyze their personalities.

Shaykh Nazim: No psychiatrist can ever encounter as much resistance to the treatment he is giving his patients as we encounter in our training of Sufi aspirants. The ego is allergic to “paint remover”; that is why you, in your position, can only hope to remove a particularly unsatisfactory layer and quickly replace it with another. My job is one that encounters serious and terrible resistance from the ego, as I am trying to remove all the paint and lay bare the original “dye of Allah” which pertains to the divine essence, the original spiritual personality. But the ego wants only that its layers of paint are never removed. Even when people come to see a Sufi shaykh their egos are hoping to obtain more adornments, but it is our duty to take everything from the hands of the ego, not to adorn it further: to undermine its possessiveness and dissipate acquired characteristics in favor of original ones. Therefore, when people first come I try to give them something, but when I leave I collect it from them. If I were to say this to you at first and immediately set to removing the layers of ego, quickly you would all escape from my hands and I would finally be able to retire. To move a mountain is an easier task than removing one of the acquired characteristics of our egos. Our egos are but vehicles to make possible for our souls to exist in this realm, but the ego puts forward claims to being the man and not just the horse. Our job is to make this all clear and to help people get...

Question: I have been living in Muslim countries for a long time, but still I don’t feel entirely at home there, nor any longer, in the land of my birth. Shaykh Nazim: We shall send you to the moon. Feeling that one is neither Occidental nor Oriental is a sign of real faith, as the holy Quran declares that divine lights are neither Oriental nor Occidental. Your goal must be to belong to your Lord, not to East or to West. Identification with one’s worldly homeland and with all that pertains to it is a reflection of the soul’s longing for its heavenly homeland; but we must remember that it is only a reflection and not the original. Until we have love for our original homeland we will hate the very thought of death, shrink from our reunion with our Lord, and that is very dangerous. Therefore, we are seeking a way to increase our faith to the level where we will be burning to meet Him, and we must know that He will be pleased to receive us.

Shaykh Nazim: We shall send you to the moon. Feeling that one is neither Occidental nor Oriental is a sign of real faith, as the holy Quran declares that divine lights are neither Oriental nor Occidental. Your goal must be to belong to your Lord, not to East or to West. Identification with one’s worldly homeland and with all that pertains to it is a reflection of the soul’s longing for its heavenly homeland; but we must remember that it is only a reflection and not the original. Until we have love for our original homeland we will hate the very thought of death, shrink from our reunion with our Lord, and that is very dangerous. Therefore, we are seeking a way to increase our faith to the level where we will be burning to meet Him, and we must know that He will be pleased to receive us.

Question: One of the most alarming developments in modern society is the breakdown of the family. First, the extended family ceased to exert its previous influence on people, and the nuclear family became the primary identification for individuals. Subsequently, the nuclear family has proved to be built on shaky foundations. Nowadays, so many children grow up with only one parent, and old people are relegated to old age homes. What is happening to mankind? Shaykh Nazim: All these are symptoms of the disease. The tree of humanity has been stricken with the blight of atheism. I am not referring to a blight that has afflicted a branch or two, but to one that has rotted all the branches to the core. Therefore, what is ultimately called for is a drastic cutting back of that tree, so that new, healthy and strong branches may emerge from the trunk. But, as it is not in our power to apply any general measures we must be content with the role of one who digs a well in the middle of a barren wilderness, and thereby extracts enough water to make a few trees bloom. It is not in our hands to alter the general condition of mankind, but when that power, the power of the Divine Presence is released, an empowered envoy will come to prune back the diseased branches.

Look, those sparrows are pleased with their Lord, and Allah is pleased with those who are pleased with Him. Therefore, you must seek ways to make Allah pleased with you. We walk this earth with a heavy burden of ego, and of course it is impossible for us to be so light, to flutter and twitter without a care in the world like sparrows, but we can emulate their ways in the trust of God. He Almighty is the Only One who can guarantee your future: you cannot determine what will happen to you, and you cannot know what accidents or misfortunes may befall you, your spouse, your children, nation or business. Don’t put your trust in your job, your power, your knowledge or your beauty, for it may be that none of this will avail you when you are the must vulnerable. This is an undeniable fact, and somewhere within themselves people know this. Therefore, those skeleton smiles, when dropped, revert to the frowns that reflect how the people are really feeling.

The shadow of worry pursues the “uninsured”, and just as an aspirin may temporarily alleviate the symptoms of a migraine headache, but not cure its causes, so do temporary pleasures make people temporarily oblivious of their miseries. The guarantee of our Lord gives us permanent pleasure, and its source is in our hearts. Whoever has such a fountain in his heart need not be a consumer in the amusement market. Why should he need to escape from his house every night to the discotheque, theater or gambling casino when his heart provides him with all he needs to be happy?

The main cause of depression is the effect of memory upon people. Most people harbor in themselves some very deep regrets about their own past actions or about what they feel to be wrong decisions or mistakes made through the course of their lives. When we recall such painful events, a fire roars out of control through our hearts. Then we arrive at a gaping hole in our hearts that cannot be filled, no matter what we try to fill it with – so deep are our regrets.

Grandshaykh told me a story of a man who always felt aggravated by his surroundings who always felt as if people were disturbing his peace of mind. One day he got so fed up with the society of men that he decided to leave it behind and become a cave dwelling hermit. So he settled all of his affairs and retired to a remote mountainside. After searching for many days he finally found a cave suitable for his purposes, and occupied it, saying: “There is no one here and no one knows where I am. I am finally in peace.” Just as he was saying this to himself, someone passed in the valley below, looked up at the mountainside and noticed a very beautiful rock just near that cave. “I must have a piece of that colorful rock,” he said to himself, and began hacking away at it: tak! tak! tak! At this the man in the cave became really exasperated and said: “Oh my Lord, I try to escape from people and You send me this! There are so many mountains, why did You have to send him to this one?” No one can escape discomfort in this life, as the holy Prophet said, “There is no rest in this world.” You may live in a city or a village, even on the side of a mountain – but all you will discover is that this life is made of unrest. We have been ordered to be patient in the face of this situation, for, “He who is patient ultimately succeeds.” Allah sends us trials and burdens in accordance with our capacities, but every single person must carry some burden through this life. We will be asked to carry ...

Mankind is one extended family. We are all related, and, therefore we share many characteristics, among them a great spiritual power hidden within our being. But our five senses carry us away from ourselves and ensure that we are constantly engaged in our surroundings. As long as we are the slaves of our senses they will draw us into the perpetual pursuit of insatiable sensual desires, and as long as we follow their dictates we cannot gain control of that spiritual power within us.

The following story should illustrate clearly the likeness of people who rely on television journalism to form their opinions about Islam, rather than seeking accurate historical information. Once upon a time an erudite scholar was traveling through the countryside. He reached a village and went to the mosque to pray. As the prayer began he realized that the village Imam was an ignoramus, making mistakes in the recitation as well as in the movements of the prayer. The scholar addressed the villagers: “Oh people, you must replace that person with a qualified Imam, for this one doesn’t know what he is doing.” The villagers were surprised and asked their Imam: “That person tells us that you are ignorant. What do you say?” “He may say what he pleases, but you may put us to the test and see which one is more learned.” Then the villagers gathered like a peasant jury, to let each press their claims and to pass a verdict. If they saw the letter “1” they would have taken it to be a wooden beam. Then the Imam said to the scholar: “Write the word ‘ox’.” So the scholar put on his glasses and wrote the word ‘ox’ in very beautiful calligraphy. Meanwhile, the Imam sat down and drew a picture of an ox. Then he asked the peasants: “Tell me, which one is a better ox?” “Yours is”, they said, and ran the scholar out of town saying, “You are an imposter! Our Imam is alright and we accept his authority.”

Sunbul Effendi could perceive the envy of their hearts, though they were very careful to conceal it, even from themselves, and he knew that it was necessary for him to show them why he was giving special attention to the young murid, and why he was the most suited to be the shaykh’s successor. So he asked one of the older murids, “I want to ask you a hypothetical question. Of course it is impossible that such a thing could ever be, but if you were the Lord of this world, and had the reins of divine power in your hands, what would you do, what decrees would you issue?” “Well, of course such a thing is impossible, glorified be God! However, if you ask me to imagine this strictly hypothetically, I would, if I could, put an end to all public manifestations of indecency. I would close every cabaret, every bar, and even every coffee house as coffee houses are the soil in which the seed of evil is planted, to be transplanted at a later time into bars.” The shaykh said: “That is very proper, commendable actions no doubt.” Then he asked another old timer what he would do if he were so empowered. He said: “I would make sure that every Muslim woman covers herself properly and behaves modestly. I would not tolerate a single hair showing from beneath their scarves. Everything would be put in order, and I would make my point clear by lining the streets with sword and baton carrying enforcers of the law.” “Oh my son,” said the shaykh, “you are a very important person.” Then he asked the ...

It means nothing to Allah that you were known in this life as a Muslim, Christian, Jew or Buddhist, but He will be concerned with whether you deserved the title of Haqqani. Those who have been Haqqani in this life are transformed; their very essence adopts divine attributes so that they become “Rabbani” or beings who pertain to the Lord intimately. It is about these people that Allah Almighty says in a holy hadith: Oh My servant, be obedient to Me and I will make you Rabbani; then you (also) will say to a thing “be” and so will it be.

Only those who have subdued their egos may be given any power. A rocket is not launched until all of its systems have been checked many times over – and the flight of each soul to its heavenly destination is much more important than launching a rocket, so don’t imagine that grandshaykhs empower their murids easily.

Once, Ubaydullah al Ahrari called one of his murids and said: “Oh Abdullah, go climb that mountain and wait there for me, I am coming after you.” The murid climbed the mountain and began to wait. The morning passed, then the afternoon. The sun set and still there was no sign of the shaykh. The next day the dervish waited patiently, but still the shaykh did not come. But his orders were clear, so he waited: a week, a month, a year, five years, seven years. He survived on that mountain as a beast would survive. In the summer he fed himself with berries and in the winter from the bark of trees. When he prayed the birds would alight on his shoulders and at night when he chanted his dhikr the animals would gather around him in a circle. There he waited for seven years without any news from his grandshaykh. But the grandshaykh had originally received the order to send that murid to the mountain from the holy Prophet, and he was awaiting the order to go up after him. When the order arrived the shaykh went up to the murid’s perch in the blink of an eye and said to him. “Oh my son, why have you been waiting here so long? I told you that I was coming, so when I didn’t come why didn’t you come and see what had happened to me? I could have died or been hurt, I could have been lost on the mountain: so why didn’t you search for me?” The murid answered: “Oh my Master, I was ordered to wait for you, not to look for you. You ordered me to wait here until you came and, as the saying goes, W...

Then there appeared a flock of wild doves as an escort for a very large green bird, a bird that appears to murids who have successfully completed their seclusion. That is a sign that the murid is ready to be escorted to the presence of the holy Prophet and the grandshaykhs of his assembly. The holy Prophet ordered Ubaydullah: “Now I have witnessed that your murid is absolutely in control of his ego, you may give him his powers.” The powers received at this point are six: 1. Haqiqat ul Jadhbah (The Secret of Attraction) 2. Haqiqat ul Fayd (The Secret of Emanation, or Outpouring) 3. Haqiqat ut Tawassul (The Secret of Connection) 4. Haqiqat ut Tawajjuh (The Secret of Alignment) 5. Haqiqat ul Irshad (The Secret of Guidance) 6. Haqiqat ut Tayy (The Secret of Folding Space)

The Power of Connection is the power to connect at all times to this chain of transmission of divine power and favors. For saints it is the intimate knowledge of the prophet’s realities and those of the chain of shaykhs leading to him. For those who are yet aspiring to that station it is the daily invocation of the names of those grandshaykhs leading up to the holy Prophet. In our time, the time when the advent of Imam al Mahdi is anticipated, many more people will have access to this power than ever before.

“Oh my Lord, I ask You to grant me understanding, and to enable me, Oh my Lord, to make others understand.” (A prayer of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him)

The holy prophets and their Inheritors in every age have been endowed with knowledge of divine realities which is hidden from the rest of humanity, and it is their main duty to make these realities comprehensible to mankind in general, and to individual people in whatever way possible, in accordance with the respective levels and capabilities of those people. As the teachers of humanity they have been granted the ability to communicate in this manner: to speak directly to people’s hearts. This they have been granted from the attributes of their Lord. But only prophets and their true inheritors may find such flexibility available to them; for others it is very difficult to address anyone other than those who share with them a similar background and manner of perception. But divine teachers may be to every people what they need, may say what they need to hear; that is why people of varying backgrounds and ranks in life may all find peace with the same man and follow him.

Seekers of Truth must look for those qualities in a teacher who purports to be addressing subjects related to the divine. Otherwise they will be pursuing useless studies, and, according to the holy Prophet, a sign of a person’s perfection in Islam is his abandonment of useless activities (“that which doesn’t concern him”).

“Baqa” or permanence, is to be with Him always. In such a station your personality does not appear; what appears is only divine existence. You have been dressed in divine Unity. That is the “station of Unity”, “Maqam at Tawhid”. What Baqa means is that you will never lose sight, hearing, feeling, knowing, understanding, but these stations will be without limits. We must try to attain these stations, but the Way is difficult and requires severe training. One of the aspects of that training is to try and see everything as proceeding from Him Alone. This is the sixth pillar of faith in Islam: the belief that everything that happens in this world, the good and the bad alike, are from God. This is referred to as “Tawhid al Af’al” or “The Unity of Actions.” The way to begin to realize this point is to remember the Source of all events, Allah Almighty, when

events occur, and not to occupy one’s self with blaming or lauding those who are not really the causes of events, only the instruments to their occurrence. This means that if Ahmed comes and gives you a pound coin and then Fulan comes and slaps you and takes it away, you don’t think of Ahmed as the giver of the money, nor of Fulan as a thief. If you think like this you have fallen from that high level of faith. You must perceive the hand of Allah behind both hands – that which giveth and that which taketh away – as He is the creator of the actions of people.

When someone is generous or kind to you, you must remember that it was your Lord who sent him with that favor, and you must thank your Lord. But at the same time you are going to say: “Thank you” to that person, as without giving thanks to the carrier of that blessing your thanks to its origin is not going to be complete. Therefore the holy Prophet said: “Who thanks not people thanks not Allah.” Our Prophet, upon whom be peace, is advising us strongly that we should not allow our vision of unity to distract us from perfecting our politeness with our fellow men. But you know that it is your Lord who sent him, and you are not forgetting that under any circumstances. And when you see that Ahmed ...