Dalil al-Arifin
THE INITIATION OF THE COMPILER
On Sunday, the fifth of Rajab in the year 581 of the Hijra, I, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, had the honor of being initiated into the spiritual path by the esteemed master, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. This took place in the city of Baghdad at the mosque of Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi. I was formally accepted into his circle of disciples and bestowed with the four-ridged cap.
The assembly was graced by the presence of several great saints, including Shaykh Shihabuddin Umar Suhrawardi, Shaykh Daud Kirmani, Shaykh Burhanuddin Muhammad Chishti, and Shaykh Tajuddin Muhammad Isfahani. After their gathering, the discourse turned to the topic of prayer.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PRAYER AND RITUAL PURITY
The master explained that no one can attain proximity to the Divine Court except through prayer. Prayer is the spiritual ascension of the believers. The act of prayer is, in fact, a secret conversation a servant has with their Lord. The more one’s heart is present and tranquil in prayer, the closer one becomes to God, for sharing a secret requires such closeness. The Prophet Muhammad affirmed this when he said, “The one who prays is in private conversation with their Lord.”
He then shared his personal experience, saying that he served his own master, Khwaja Usman Haruni, for twenty years with such dedication that he never considered day as day or night as night. During their travels, he would carry his master's bedding and provisions upon his own head. Seeing this devotion, his master opened the gates of divine grace for him, teaching that all spiritual attainment comes through sincere effort and service. He also mentioned Shaykh Awhaduddin Kirmani, who served his master for forty years by carrying his provisions on his head, achieving indescribable spiritual benefits. A true disciple, he stressed, must never transgress a single directive from their guide.
The discussion then shifted to the rites of purification. The master referenced a teaching that two angels descend to Earth each day. One stands at the Ka'bah and proclaims that whoever neglects their divine obligations loses God's protection. The other stands at the Prophet's tomb and announces that whoever neglects the Prophet's traditions (Sunnah) will be deprived of his intercession on the Day of Judgment. He emphasized the importance of running water between the fingers and toes during ablution, a tradition that ensures God will shield those fingers from the fire of Hell.
To illustrate this, he told the story of Khwaja Ajall Shirazi, who once forgot this small act. A voice from the unseen rebuked him, asking, “You claim love for our Prophet, yet you neglect his tradition?” The Khwaja was so profoundly affected that he never again omitted a single tradition and lived in constant awe, wondering how he would face the Prophet on the day of reckoning. Similarly, he recounted that Khwaja Fudayl ibn Iyad once forgot to wash his hands the third time during ablution. That night, he saw the Prophet in a dream, who gently admonished him for his oversight. Fudayl awoke in fear, performed his ablution anew, and as an act of penance, offered five hundred cycles of prayer daily for an entire year.
The men of God, he continued, even make a point to sleep in a state of ritual purity. When one does so, God appoints an angel to pray for their forgiveness until they awaken. The soul of such a person is taken beneath the Divine Throne, adorned with a robe of honor, and prostrates before being returned. In contrast, the soul of one who sleeps without purification is turned away at the first heaven.
THE NATURE AND VIRTUES OF THE GNOSTIC
The talk then turned to the definition of a true Gnostic (Arif). A Gnostic, the master taught, is one who witnesses hundreds of divine manifestations from the unseen world every day. In a single moment, a thousand different spiritual states may descend upon them, yet in all of it, they see nothing but the Light of God. A Gnostic is one who can extract pearls of divine light from the ocean of gnosis and present them to the jewelers of spiritual insight for validation. They are perpetually intoxicated with love for the Friend; whether speaking, silent, or sleeping, their entire being is consumed with His thought.
The people of divine love, after performing the dawn prayer, remain seated in contemplation until the sun has risen for the Ishraq prayer. Their goal is to receive the Friend's accepting gaze, which increases their inner light. He explained that anyone who sits after the dawn prayer with the intention of performing the Ishraq prayer is accompanied by an angel who prays for their forgiveness until they are finished.
He narrated a tradition in which the Prophet saw Satan looking pale and defeated. Satan confessed that his despair was caused by four things: the forgiveness granted to the caller of prayer and those who respond; the divine blessings upon warriors in God's path; the acceptance of dervishes who earn lawfully and give to others; and most of all, the devotion of those who remain in their place of prayer from dawn until sunrise. Satan lamented, having once read in a heavenly scripture that God forgives such a person and seventy thousand of their relatives. To reinforce the point, the master told of a man who, despite his many sins, was seen in paradise because his one constant habit was to remain on his prayer mat after the dawn prayer to read the Qur'an until the time of Ishraq, an act God accepted, forgiving all his failings.
Concluding the session, the master's eyes filled with tears as he described the highest state of the Gnostics. A spiritual state descends upon them in which they can traverse the cosmos in steps. In one step, they pass the Veil of Majesty to reach the Veil of Grandeur, and in the next, they return. Their lowest rank is to circle the heavens, and only God knows the true extent of their spiritual journeys.
THE RITUAL BATH AND ITS SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE
The discourse of the second assembly began with the subject of the ritual bath required after major impurity. The master taught that this state of impurity pervades the entire body, down to the root of every single hair. Therefore, during the cleansing bath, it is essential that water reaches the base of every hair without exception. If even one remains dry, the purification is incomplete, and on the Day of Judgment, that part of the body will testify against the person.
He then narrated a tradition from his own master, Khwaja Usman Haruni, regarding the origin of this ritual. When Adam was sent down to Earth from Paradise, the archangel Gabriel came to him after he had been with Eve and instructed him to bathe. Upon doing so, Adam felt a profound sense of joy and asked Gabriel about the reward for this act. Gabriel explained that for every hair washed, the worshipper receives the reward of a year of worship. For every drop of water that falls from the body, God creates an angel who will praise Him until the Day of Resurrection, with all the merit of that worship being credited to the person. Adam then asked if this great reward was for him alone or also for his descendants. Gabriel assured him that it was for every believer in his lineage who performs the bath after lawful intimacy.
At this, the master’s eyes filled with tears, and he lamented that this immense blessing is reserved only for those who act within the bounds of what is lawful. A great many people, he warned, are deprived of this grace because their actions are forbidden. For one who performs the ritual bath after an unlawful union, the spiritual consequences are reversed: for every hair, a year's worth of sins is recorded in their name. For every drop of water, a demon is created who performs evil deeds until the Day of Judgment, and the burden of all that sin falls upon the one who performed the impure act.
THE FOUR STAGES OF THE PATH
The master then outlined the spiritual journey, explaining that it consists of four primary stages. The journey begins with Shari'ah, the Divine Law. A person must first establish its principles in their life, avoiding any action that contradicts it. Once this foundation is firm, they proceed to the second stage, which is Tariqah, the Way or the Path.
After traversing the Path, the seeker arrives at the station of Ma'rifah, or Gnosis, where they attain true recognition and spiritual insight. The final stage is Haqiqah, which is Ultimate Reality. When a person reaches this station, they find whatever they seek. A true Gnostic is one who has passed through all these stages and arrived at the state of Divine Uniqueness. He also reminded the assembly that the soul is a trust from God, and the body has a sacred duty to guard it without betrayal.
PERFORMING THE PRAYER WITH PERFECTION
Returning to the topic of prayer, he stressed the necessity of performing every part of it—especially the bowing and prostration—with complete tranquility and mindfulness of all its pillars. When a prayer is performed correctly, angels carry it to the heavens, and a light emanates from it that opens the celestial gates. It is then taken beneath the Divine Throne, and a command is issued to record the worshipper's reward.
With great sorrow, he then described the fate of a deficient prayer. He wept for those who are heedless in their worship, explaining that when their prayers are taken to the heavens, the gates remain sealed. A divine command is given: “Take this prayer back and strike the face of its owner with it.” The rejected prayer then curses the person, saying, “May God ruin you as you have ruined me.” He told a story of the Prophet Muhammad, who once saw a man praying improperly and informed the man, with tears in his eyes, that for forty years he had not been praying according to the prophetic tradition.
He said that on the Day of Judgment, the completeness of one's prayers will be a decisive factor for salvation. If the prayers of the prophets, saints, and all believers are found to be perfect, they will be saved from the Fire; if not, they will be cast into it.
A HERMIT'S FEAR
To emphasize this point, he shared a personal encounter with a great saint who lived as a hermit in a cave, guarded by two lions. The master had gone to visit him, and the hermit, whose body was wasted away to mere bones from the awe of God, confessed that for years he had been consumed by a single, overwhelming fear: the prayer. He explained, “When I perform it, I am terrified that I might have overlooked a single condition, rendering all my efforts worthless and turning the prayer itself into a cause for divine wrath.” The hermit gave the master an apple and advised him to strive to fulfill the rights of the prayer, lest he face great shame on the Day of Judgment.
The master concluded with tears, reminding everyone that prayer is the central pillar of faith. If the pillar stands firm, the entire structure of one's religion is sound, but if it is damaged, everything collapses. He cited Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, who stated that God commanded the establishment of prayer seven hundred times in the Qur'an. On the Day of Judgment, a person will be questioned first about their faith, then about their obligatory prayers, and finally about their adherence to the Prophet's traditions. He wept at the thought of the shame one would feel if they failed this final questioning in the presence of the Prophet himself.
ON THE TIMELINESS OF PRAYER AND THE GRAVITY OF OATHS
The third assembly commenced with a discussion on the importance of performing prayers at their prescribed times. The master explained that the felicity of a Muslim lies in this punctuality, and great sorrow awaits those who are negligent. He spoke of a city whose people were so devout that they would prepare for prayer even before its time arrived. When asked why, they replied that they lived in fear that the appointed time might pass, leading to a shame they could not bear before the Prophet on the Day of Judgment. They were mindful of his teaching: “Hasten to repent before death arrives, and hasten to pray before the time departs.”
To combine two obligatory prayers into the time slot of one is considered among the greatest of sins. He narrated a tradition from the Prophet warning against delaying the afternoon prayer until the sun's light begins to fade and turn yellow. While it is virtuous to pray the dawn prayer when the morning is bright, the noon prayer in summer should be delayed until the heat subsides, for intense heat is a "breath of Hell." However, during winter, it should be performed as soon as the sun passes its zenith. He also reminded them that it is the tradition to perform the sunset prayer immediately after the sun has set; to delay it is disliked.
Even so, the sincere remorse over a missed prayer holds immense value. The master told of how the great saint Bayazid Bastami once overslept and missed the dawn prayer. He wept with such profound grief and intensity that a voice from the unseen declared that, because of his sorrow, God had credited the reward of a thousand prayers to his account. He also taught that whoever is diligent with their five daily prayers will find those same prayers walking ahead of them on the Day of Judgment, acting as a luminous guide. Conversely, to abandon prayer is to abandon faith itself, as the Prophet said, “He who does not pray has no faith.”
The consequences for heedlessness are severe. The master cited a commentary on the Quranic verse, “Woe to those who are heedless of their prayers.” The term for ‘woe’ in this verse, Wayl, is the name of a valley in the deepest part of Hell, filled with a torment so severe that the valley itself cried out to God, asking for whom it was prepared. The divine reply came: “For those who delay their prayers beyond the prescribed time.” As a testament to the piety of the early Muslims, he recounted how the Caliph Umar, upon realizing he had delayed his afternoon prayer until the stars appeared, immediately freed a slave as an act of atonement.
VIRTUES AND WARNINGS ON CHARITY AND OATHS
The conversation then turned to other deeds. He taught that for anyone who feeds a hungry person, God will place seven great veils between them and the Hellfire, each veil separated by a distance of five hundred years' journey.
In contrast, he issued a stern warning against taking false oaths, an act that destroys a household by stripping it of all blessing. He shared a powerful narrative of a conversation between God and the Prophet Moses. God revealed that He had created a place in the lowest level of Hell called Hawiyah, a place of utter darkness filled with monstrous scorpions and snakes. Its fires are so potent that a single drop of its torment would incinerate the entire world. This terrible punishment, God told Moses, was prepared for two groups of people: those who abandon prayer, and those who swear false oaths in God's name.
To illustrate the immense gravity with which the saints treated their words, he told the story of Muhammad Aslam Tusi. This great saint once uttered an oath while in a state of spiritual ecstasy. When he returned to normal consciousness and was told what he had done, he declared that his lower self had overstepped its bounds. As a penance, he took a second oath to never eat again, and a third to never speak to another person for the rest of his life. He lived for forty more years, and though he fulfilled his needs through gestures, he never broke his vow of silence.
THE NATURE OF SINCERE LOVE
In the fourth assembly, the great masters in attendance discussed the nature of a true and sincere lover of God. The Khwaja began, stating, “A sincere lover is one who, when affliction comes from the Friend, accepts it with the greatest joy.” Shaykh Shihabuddin Suhrawardi added that a true lover is so consumed by yearning that he would remain unaware even if a thousand arrows were to strike his head. Shaykh Saifuddin Bakharzi offered that a sincere lover is one who, though constantly struck by trials, is so absorbed in witnessing the Friend that the blows have no effect. The master confirmed that this last description was closest to the states of the great saints of the past.
He then narrated a parallel discussion that once took place in Basra among the early saints, including the venerable Rabi'a al-Basri. Malik ibn Dinar suggested that a sincere lover is content with whatever comes from the Friend, but Rabi'a insisted the standard was higher. Others proposed that a true lover is one who remains patient or even unaware when struck by pain. Rabi'a, however, dismissed these ideas as still containing a trace of ego. She then gave the final definition: “A sincere lover is one who, when pain and affliction arrive, is so lost in the Friend that they are not even aware that the trial has occurred.” All who were present acknowledged this as the ultimate expression of sincere love.
THE HEEDLESSNESS OF LAUGHTER AND THE AWE OF THE GRAVE
From the topic of love, the discourse shifted to a warning against heedlessness, specifically the act of laughing loudly and without restraint. This, the master taught, is considered a major sin among the people of the spiritual path. The first to laugh in such a manner was Satan himself. He reminded the listeners that when a person passes by a graveyard, the dead call out to them, saying, “O heedless one! If you only knew what has befallen us and what awaits you, you would lose all appetite for worldly amusement.”
To illustrate this, he told the story of a saint he met in Kerman who was nothing but skin and bone from his constant worship. The saint explained that forty years prior, he had been with a friend in a graveyard when his friend said something that made him laugh out loud. Instantly, a voice boomed from a nearby grave: “O heedless one! For you, a difficult journey lies ahead and your adversary is the Angel of Death. What business have you with laughter in this place of decay?” The saint was so shaken that he retreated to a cave and had not laughed since, consumed entirely by the fear of his final reckoning.
The master shared other examples of this profound awe. The saint Ata al-Sulami wept for forty years out of fear of the grave and the Day of Judgment, never looking up at the sky out of shame for his past sins. Fath al-Mawsili wept so much that the flesh of his cheeks wasted away. After his death, he was seen in a dream and recounted how God had brought him near and asked why he wept so much. He replied that he wept from the terror of the grave and the Angel of Death. God then told him, “Because you feared those things, We have granted you sanctuary from all that is fearsome.”
The master himself had witnessed such states. While traveling with his own teacher, Usman Haruni, he met a shaykh who wept so much that blood flowed from his eyes. The shaykh told them, “What business does one whose adversary is the Angel of Death have with being happy and cheerful?” He also saw a dervish, after witnessing the torment of a soul in its grave, let out a scream and fall to the ground, his body dissolving into water from sheer terror.
He concluded this topic with a strict prohibition: laughing, eating, drinking, or engaging in idle chatter in a graveyard is a grave sin, for it is a place of reflection and awe, not of indulgence. He explained that the reason all the prophets and saints viewed this world as insignificant was because their hearts were overwhelmed by the reality of the grave and the certainty of death.
THE FIVE GREAT ACTS OF WORSHIP
The fifth session began with the master identifying five particular actions that, for the people of the spiritual path, are counted as profound acts of worship.
HONORING ONE'S PARENTS
The first of these is to look upon the face of one’s parents with love and reverence. The Prophet taught that for every such gaze, God records the reward of an accepted Hajj pilgrimage. Furthermore, whoever serves their parents faithfully will be granted the reward of a thousand years of worship. To illustrate, the master told the story of a deeply sinful young man who was seen in Paradise after his death. When asked how he attained such a station, he explained that every time he left his home, he would kiss his elderly mother's feet, and she would pray for his forgiveness and for him to receive the reward of the pilgrims. God accepted his mother's prayer and granted him salvation.
The great saint Bayazid Bastami attributed his own lofty spiritual station to the prayers of his parents. As a young boy, upon learning the Quranic verse commanding kindness to parents, he immediately dedicated himself to their service. One freezing winter night, his father awoke thirsty. Finding no water, Bayazid went out into the snow to fetch some. By the time he returned, his father was asleep. Not wishing to disturb him, Bayazid stood waiting by his bedside, holding the cup. The water froze solid in his hand from the cold. When his father awoke and saw his son’s devotion, he prayed with all his heart that God would make him the king of the Gnostics. It was this prayer, Bayazid affirmed, that was the source of his spiritual rank.
REVERING THE QUR'AN
The second great act of worship is to look at the holy Qur'an. This act carries a double reward: one for the recitation of the words and another simply for gazing upon the sacred text. For every letter read, ten good deeds are recorded in one's account.
The master shared the story of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, who was seen in a dream after his death and asked about his fate. The Sultan recounted that one night, he was staying in a room where a single page of the Qur'an was placed in a niche in the wall. Feeling it was deeply disrespectful to lie down and sleep in its presence, yet not wanting to move it from its place, he chose to stand in reverence all night long. For this single act of veneration, he said, God forgave him entirely. To look upon the Qur'an increases the light in one's eyes in this life and will become a source of light in the grave.
VISITING THE SCHOLARS
The third act is to visit the living religious scholars and saints. Whoever looks upon a scholar for the sake of God has an angel created from that gaze who will pray for their forgiveness until the Day of Judgment. To harbor love for the scholars and shaykhs in one's heart is to receive the reward of their worship, and to die in such a state is to be resurrected in their blessed company. Conversely, the master told of a man who despised the learned. When he died, his face turned away from the direction of prayer, and a voice from the unseen declared that because he turned from God's friends in life, God had turned from him in death.
LOOKING AT THE KA'BAH AND THE SPIRITUAL GUIDE
The fourth act of worship is to look upon the Ka'bah. To visit the sacred house is a great honor, and the one who does so with sincerity will be counted among the great ones.
The fifth and final act is to look upon one's spiritual guide and to serve them. The master relayed a teaching from his own shaykh, Usman Haruni, that whoever serves their guide for even a single day will be granted a thousand palaces in Paradise and will enter the gates without any reckoning. The reward of a thousand years of worship will be written for them.
THE WONDERS OF DIVINE POWER AND CREATION
The sixth assembly began with a reflection on the boundless power of God, whose creations are so numerous and magnificent that the human intellect is incapable of fully comprehending them. The master reminded the gathering that while the Prophet's companions were told they could not see God in this world, they were promised a vision of Him in the hereafter. Such is God's power over existence that it was shown to the Prophet Muhammad that all the prophets who came before him were brought back to life, and he invited them to the truth of his message, which they accepted. Faced with such omnipotence, the master stressed, there is no escape from servitude; one must worship God as is His due, for in that lies salvation.
To illustrate the power God bestows upon His friends, the master shared an experience he had with his own teacher, Khwaja Usman Haruni. An old man, weeping with grief, came to the shaykh and told him that his young son had been missing for twenty years, and he did not know if he was alive or dead. He begged the master to pray for him. Khwaja Usman entered a state of deep spiritual contemplation for a moment, then raised his head and told the man, “Go. We have prayed to God on your behalf. You will find your son waiting for you at the door of your house.”
The old man left, and a short while later, he returned with his son by his side. Overjoyed, he placed a gold coin at the master’s feet. The shaykh asked the young man where he had been for two decades. The son replied, “I was held captive by the jinn.” He explained that just moments before, a great, luminous saint had miraculously appeared, shattered his chains, and instructed him to return home. The young man looked at Khwaja Usman in awe, marveling that saints could possess such incredible power while presenting themselves to the world as simple dervishes.
COSMIC WONDERS AND ANGELIC REALMS
The discourse then expanded to the cosmic scale of God's creation. The master spoke of an angel with hands so vast that one rests in the East and the other in the West, whose eternal praise is, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger.” This angel is charged with the regulation of day and night; with one hand he brings forth light, and with the other, darkness. He spoke of another angel of immense size, with one wing in the heavens holding back the celestial winds and another on Earth holding back the primordial waters; if either were released, the world would be annihilated.
He described the great Mountain of Qaf, which surrounds the entire known world. An angel is assigned to this mountain, holding the reins of the earth's veins; by God’s command, he can pull on the vein of a particular land to bring scarcity or release it to restore abundance. Beyond this, he narrated a teaching from his master about a world seventy times larger than our own, a vast expanse inhabited only by angels whose sole purpose is to praise God.
While his master was relating these wonders, a dervish in the assembly allowed a flicker of doubt to enter his heart. Instantly, Khwaja Usman entered a meditative state, and both he and the doubting dervish vanished from the gathering. They reappeared a moment later, and the master asked the dervish where he had been. The man, humbled and awestruck, replied, “At the Mountain of Qaf.” The master then taught that this is the inner power of the true dervishes. Moinuddin Chishti also shared an incident where he made the Ka'bah itself visible to a man who was stubbornly arguing about the correct direction for prayer.
THE PATH TO SALVATION
The session concluded with a sobering reminder of the hereafter. On the day Hell was created, God also created a monstrous serpent to devour defiant sinners. On the Day of Judgment, Hell will be brought forth, restrained by thousands of angels, and it will let out a breath so terrifying that all of creation will tremble. When asked what act could provide security from such a fate, the master replied, “There is no path closer to God than to help the oppressed, to feed the hungry, and to clothe the destitute.”
THE POWER AND MYSTERY OF SURAH AL-FATIHAH
In the seventh assembly, which was attended by a group of pilgrims, the discourse centered on the immense virtues of Surah Al-Fatihah, the opening chapter of the Qur'an. The master taught that this chapter is a powerful means for fulfilling one's needs. He relayed a teaching from the Prophet that whoever is facing a great difficulty should recite Al-Fatihah forty-one times between the optional and obligatory parts of the dawn prayer, and by God's will, their need will be met.
He then spoke of the chapter's exalted status, recounting a tradition in which the angel Gabriel delivered a message to the Prophet directly from God. The message stated that if this one chapter had been revealed in the Torah, the followers of Moses would not have strayed; if it had been in the Gospel, the followers of Jesus would not have erred. God declared, “I have placed this chapter in the Qur’an so that your community may remain firm in their faith and be safe from the punishments of the grave and the Hellfire.” Gabriel then added that the virtues of Al-Fatihah are so boundless that if all the oceans were ink and all the trees were pens, their substance would be exhausted before its merits could be fully described.
This chapter is also a universal cure. The master explained that even for an illness considered incurable, one should recite Al-Fatihah forty-one times and gently blow upon the face of the sick person, and they will find health. He cited the prophetic saying, “Al-Fatihah is a cure for every ailment.” He told the story of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, who suffered from a long and severe illness that no physician could remedy. The great saint Fudayl ibn Iyad was summoned, and he recited the chapter forty times over the Caliph, who was cured instantly. The key to its efficacy, the master stressed, is not merely the recitation, but the unwavering certainty of faith with which it is recited.
THE SEVEN NAMES AND HIDDEN MEANINGS
The master revealed that while most chapters of the Qur'an have a single name, God has honored Al-Fatihah with seven, including “The Opening of the Book,” “The Mother of the Book,” “The Chapter of Healing,” and “The Chapter of Mercy.”
Even more profound is the fact that seven letters of the Arabic alphabet are completely absent from its text, and each absence carries a spiritual promise. The letters for perdition, Hell, the bitter tree of Zaqqum, wretchedness, darkness, separation, and disgrace are not found within the chapter. Therefore, the one who recites it is granted safety from these calamities. The chapter contains seven verses, and the human form has seven major limbs; for one who recites it, God protects these seven limbs from the Fire.
The master then elaborated on the numerological secrets within the chapter, explaining how the number of letters in each verse corresponds to immense spiritual rewards, from attaining the merit of all the prophets to the forgiveness of sins and the crossing of the celestial bridge with the speed of lightning.
He concluded the session with a personal account of a miracle he witnessed with his own master, Khwaja Usman Haruni. They once arrived at the Tigris River to find it in a raging flood. His master instructed him to close his eyes. When he opened them a moment later, they were standing safely on the opposite bank. His master explained that he had simply recited Surah Al-Fatihah five times, dedicating the reward to the Five Pure Ones (the Prophet Muhammad, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn). A voice from the unseen then gave them safe passage over the water. For the accomplishment of any difficult task, the master affirmed, there is no practice more potent than the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah.
THE DAILY LITANY OF THE SEEKER
The eighth assembly focused on the essential spiritual discipline of the wazifah, or the daily litany of prayers and remembrances that forms the foundation of a seeker's life. The master taught that a dervish must establish a fixed litany and, once adopted, never abandon it. He quoted the Prophet, who said, “The one who abandons his litany is accursed.” To neglect this practice is to invite spiritual consequence, as illustrated by the story of a pious man whose horse’s leg broke the morning after he had missed his litany, an incident he understood to be a direct result of his omission.
He shared another tale of the great saint Abdullah Mubarak, who once neglected his daily practice and heard a voice from the unseen chiding him: “O Abdullah, you did not fulfill the pact you made.” The voice reminded him that all the prophets and saints were steadfast in their spiritual routines. The master therefore urged his disciples to remain firm upon whatever litany was given to them by their spiritual guides, explaining that this practice was the very sunnah of their esteemed shaykhs.
A COMPREHENSIVE DAILY PRACTICE
The master then outlined a comprehensive daily spiritual regimen for a dedicated seeker. The day begins before dawn, rising from the right side with the name of God. After performing ablution, the seeker should offer a two-rak’ah prayer, followed by the recitation of specific verses from the Qur’an. The sunnah prayer of Fajr has its own special recitations, Surah Al-Inshirah and Surah Al-Fil, and the time between this prayer and the obligatory Fajr prayer is to be filled with seeking forgiveness one hundred times.
The period after the dawn prayer, until the sun has fully risen, is a precious time for focused worship. The seeker is to remain seated, facing the Qibla, engaging in a continuous stream of remembrance. This includes reciting specific praises of God, declarations of faith, and supplications for protection and mercy, each repeated a set number of times. This litany involves invoking the ninety-nine beautiful names of God, followed by ninety-nine names and titles of the Prophet Muhammad. The seeker then recites Ayat al-Kursi, the final verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, and other key verses, concluding with heartfelt prayers for the forgiveness of themselves, their parents, and all believers.
As the sun climbs higher, the worship continues with the voluntary prayers of Ishraq in the early morning and Duha in the forenoon. Each of these prayers consists of several cycles, with specific chapters of the Qur’an to be recited in each. The time between them is to be filled with sending blessings upon the Prophet and reciting the Qur’an, a practice which, the master noted, can lead to a meeting with the spiritual guide, Khidr.
The midday and afternoon prayers of Zuhr and Asr are also followed by their own litanies, including the recitation of the final ten chapters of the Qur’an after Zuhr and specific chapters like Surah Al-Fath and Surah Al-Mulk after Asr, the latter of which serves as a protection from the torment of the grave. As evening approaches, the Maghrib prayer is supplemented by a special two-rak’ah “Prayer for the Protection of Faith” and the six-rak’ah Awwabin prayer.
The spiritual exercises of the day culminate at night. After the Isha prayer, the seeker performs the Witr prayer and a special four-rak’ah “Prayer of Felicity.” The night itself should be divided into three parts: the first for worship, the middle for rest, and the final, most precious part for the night vigil prayer, Tahajjud. This prayer, which was obligatory upon the Prophet and is essential for the saints, should consist of eight rak’ahs. The master reinforced its importance with the story of a saint who missed his Tahajjud and found his horse lamed the next day, a sign from God of his spiritual lapse. This complete practice, the master concluded, is the sacred inheritance of the spiritual masters of their path.
THE PATH OF THE LOVER AND THE GNOSTIC
The ninth assembly delved into the profound mysteries of Suluk, the spiritual journey, and Ishq, or divine love. The master began by explaining the degrees of the path. Some say there are a thousand stations, while others say fifteen, but in either case, the first major station is that of Kashf (spiritual unveiling) and Karamat (miraculous abilities). However, he warned that the true wayfarer must not stop here to display their powers. The tradition of the masters is to conceal such gifts and continue the journey until its absolute completion. To reveal oneself prematurely is a sign of immaturity on the path.
He then spoke of the disposition of the lover, telling a story of the great Junayd of Baghdad. When people urged him to ask things of God, who would surely grant them, Junayd replied that he did not wish to be like Moses, who had to ask for a vision. Rather, he aspired to the station of the Prophet Muhammad, to whom everything was granted without his ever having to ask. “If one is truly worthy,” the master concluded, “God bestows His gifts without any need for petition.”
THE FIRE OF DIVINE LOVE
The heart of a true lover (ashiq), the master taught, is a furnace of divine love. No fire on earth is hotter, and anything that enters such a heart is instantly consumed by its flame. He recounted the intense states of the saints, such as the lady Rabi'a of Basra, who one night was so overwhelmed by the fire of yearning that she ran through the streets crying, “The fire! The fire!” The townspeople rushed out with buckets of water, but a wise shaykh stopped them, explaining, “The fire consuming Rabi'a is not of this world and cannot be extinguished by water. It is the fire of love for God, and it will only be cooled by the vision of the Beloved.”
This love renders the lover completely oblivious to the world and even to themselves. The master told of a man who was publicly flogged in the marketplace of Baghdad but uttered no sound. When asked later if he felt the pain, he replied, “I was so completely absorbed in witnessing the Friend that I was unaware of the blows.”
This annihilation of the self is the goal of the path. The master narrated a powerful, allegorical dialogue between the saint Bayazid Bastami and God. When God offered Bayazid paradise, the throne, and all of creation, the saint rejected them all, stating, “Lord, You know what I want. I want only You.” Bayazid then swore by God’s glory that if he were to attain this union, he would stand at the gate of Hell and with a single sigh extinguish all its flames for the sake of creation. At this, a voice declared, “O Bayazid, you have attained what you sought.” This journey requires the seeker to leave everything behind: first the world, then the hereafter, and finally, their own self. Only then can the first true step on the path be taken.
THE REALITY OF THE GNOSTIC
When a person steps outside of their own self, the master explained, they discover that the lover, the love, and the Beloved are all one. The gnostic (Arif) no longer acts from his own volition but becomes an instrument for divine action. As Bayazid said after thirty years of spiritual struggle, “Whatever I was, I am no longer. Now, God Himself is the mirror of His own Essence. What I say, He makes me say.”
The discussion then moved to the miracles of the saints in Damascus, where great masters like Shaykh Awhaduddin Kirmani turned a pomegranate into pure gold with a single touch. Yet, the truest state is not in the performance of miracles but in the inner reality. The master concluded by defining the state of a true dervish, who said, “I am one who considered the world an enemy and fled from it, then turned to God until I became an enemy to my own existence.” The sign of true gnosis, the master taught, is to flee from creation and adopt a state of profound and reverent silence before the Divine.
THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF COMPANIONSHIP
The tenth assembly began with a lesson on the profound impact of one's company. The master cited the Prophet's saying, “A person follows the way of their friend, so each of you should consider well whom you take as a companion.” He explained that a person's character is dyed by the color of their associates. If a sinful person keeps the company of the righteous, there is hope that they will become righteous. Conversely, if a righteous person keeps the company of the wicked, they risk becoming wicked themselves. All spiritual attainment, he stressed, is ultimately gained through companionship. The influence is so powerful that even a hundred years of good deeds can be nullified by keeping bad company.
To illustrate this transformative power, he told the story of the Caliph Umar and the captured king of Iraq. When the king was brought before him, Umar invited him to Islam, but the king refused. Umar decreed that he would be executed. On the day of the execution, the king, feigning thirst, asked for water. When it was brought, he made Umar swear an oath not to harm him until after he had drunk the water. Umar agreed, whereupon the king immediately threw the cup to the ground, shattering it and spilling the water. He then reminded Umar of his oath, which could now never be fulfilled.
Impressed by the king's cleverness, Umar granted him his life and, instead of punishing him, placed him in the company of a pious Companion of the Prophet. Within just a few days in this righteous environment, the king's heart was completely changed, and he sincerely embraced Islam. When Umar then offered to return his kingdom to him, the king refused, saying, “I no longer have any need for the kingdom of Iraq. Just grant me a small, ruined village where I may spend the rest of my days in worship.” A ruler's duty, the king explained, is to ensure his lands are prosperous, and since Umar was now the ruler, that responsibility was his. This profound change, from a defiant king to a humble ascetic, was the direct result of a few days spent in good company.
THE INNER STATES OF THE GNOSTIC
The discourse then shifted to the inner realities of the spiritual path. The master defined a true dervish as one who is utterly free from the desires of this world and the next. A true gnostic is one who asks for nothing from God except God Himself. He cautioned that a gnostic who abandons worship is consuming from a forbidden source, as their state demands the highest level of servitude. When asked for the sign of divine love, the great saint Junayd of Baghdad replied that a true lover is one who receives affliction from God with even more joy than they receive blessings.
Even the greatest of prophets lived in a state of profound awe and fear. The master narrated that the Prophet Muhammad, despite his exalted station, wept constantly. He explained that he was beset by two fears: that at the end of his life, a divine decree might come saying, “We do not want you,” and the fear of whether or not he would depart from the world with his faith intact.
The mark of a true saint, the master continued, is the abandonment of all personal claims and the cheerful acceptance of tribulations. The defining characteristic of a gnostic is to be perpetually silent and lost in deep reflection. The dearest person in the world is a gnostic who speaks only of the attributes of the Beloved. The Sufi, he concluded, is one from whose heart all ordinary human failings like lust and greed have been purged. They are an enemy to the world and a friend to God, having no concern for creation, their gaze fixed only on the Creator.
THE STATE OF THE GNOSTIC'S HEART
The eleventh assembly continued the exploration of the inner states of the gnostic. The master taught that the heart of a true gnostic is like the wind; it never settles in one place and holds no attachment to any created thing. The sign of such a person is that they neither complain about others nor do they give others cause to complain about them. This detachment is perfected in the state of tawakkul, or complete reliance on God.
The ultimate example of this is the Prophet Abraham. When he was being catapulted into the fire, the angel Gabriel appeared and asked if he had any need. Abraham replied, “From you, I have no need.” When told to ask God, then, he simply said, “His knowledge of my state is sufficient; there is no need to ask.” This, the master explained, is the pinnacle of reliance. Such a state is only achieved when the seeker has severed their heart from three things: the world, their own self, and all of creation. Shaykh Shihabuddin Suhrawardi affirmed this, saying that there is nothing more pleasant in this world than the company of the poor in spirit and the reverence of the saints.
TRUE RELIANCE AND REPENTANCE
The essential first step towards this station is tawbah, or repentance, which means turning away completely from the ways of the ignorant and their company. The weakest of all people, the Prophet taught, is one who is capable of repenting but fails to do so. On this path, two things are indispensable: the proper etiquette of servitude to God, and a profound reverence for the reality of gnosis.
Once on the path, the lover of God will find themselves visited by tribulations. Shaykh Shibli explained the wisdom behind this, saying that trials are sent to the lover so that no one other than God can find comfort in their company, thus preserving their heart for God alone. The journey of the lover is to realize that their greatest veil is their own self, and their primary task is to hold the Friend dear while treating the self as the enemy.
THE MYSTERIES OF DIVINE LOVE
The master then delved into the mysteries of divine love. The pleasure of this love is so immense that, as Junayd of Baghdad said, if all the torments of Hell were placed on a lover’s right and all the joys of Paradise on their left, they would feel nothing, desiring only the pleasure of the Beloved. The lover’s heart becomes a direct receiver of divine speech, as alluded to in the holy tradition, “My heart narrates from my Lord.” This heart speaks nothing but the truth.
The master shared a story of a dervish who, while wandering in the desert, came upon a human skull that was laughing. When he asked how a skull could laugh, it replied, “This is the state of one who dies in the love of God.” The heart of the gnostic must be so annihilated in its own state that it subsists only in the witnessing of the Friend. Proximity to this Friend, the master concluded, is attained only through the perfection of one's servitude. The seeker is only sincere when all of their own desires have vanished, and only the will of God remains. In this state, the lover becomes so absorbed in the thought of the Friend that if asked their own name, they would not be able to recall it.
DEATH, THE BRIDGE TO THE FRIEND
The final assembly of the master took place in the presence of his most devoted disciples and companions. The discourse turned to the reality of death. He quoted the Prophet Muhammad, who once asked his companions, “Why do you fear death? It is nothing but a bridge that allows a friend to cross over to the Friend.” Death, the master taught, should be remembered as an act of friendship, for the heart was created for the love of the Beloved. The gnostic, he said, is like the sun, whose light shines upon the entire world, and whose departure is merely a transition to another horizon.
THE PASSING OF THE SACRED TRUST
Then, the master’s tone became solemn, and he announced to the gathering, “I have brought you all to this place because it is from here that I intend to depart from this world.” He called for his scribe and instructed him to write the formal document of spiritual succession, appointing his beloved disciple, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki—the compiler of these discourses—as his successor. “He will hold my station,” the master declared.
When the document was prepared, a profound and sacred ceremony took place. The master took his own turban and placed it upon Qutbuddin’s head. He then bestowed upon him his personal prayer mat, the very Qur’an from which he recited, and the wooden staff that had belonged to his own master, Khwaja Usman Haruni.
He then charged him with a heavy responsibility, saying, “This is a sacred trust from the Prophet Muhammad, passed down through our chain of masters. Just as I have fulfilled its rights, so too must you, so that on the Day of Judgment, I am not shamed before our spiritual ancestors.” Qutbuddin accepted the mantle of leadership with humble gratitude.
THE MASTER’S FINAL ADVICE AND DEPARTURE
The master then imparted his final piece of wisdom, listing four qualities that are like jewels for a dervish. A true seeker, he said, must be like a river in generosity, giving to all without distinction; like the sun in affection, shining on everyone equally; and like the earth in humility, bearing the burdens of all creation. He also taught that one must strive to feed the hungry, treat one’s enemies with kindness, and remain cheerful even in the midst of sorrow.
His state then began to transform, and he prepared for his departure. Qutbuddin, sensing the moment of farewell, moved to ask for leave. The master, perceiving his disciple’s thoughts, called him forward. Qutbuddin kissed his master’s feet, and the master embraced him, kissing his head and entrusting him to God.
Qutbuddin then traveled to Delhi, while the master proceeded to Ajmer. Forty days after their parting, a messenger arrived with the news: twenty days after their farewell, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti had passed from this world. Overcome with grief, Qutbuddin fell into a deep sleep. In a dream, he saw his beloved master, strolling in magnificent robes in Paradise, beneath the Divine Throne. He rushed to kiss his feet and asked about his state. The master replied, “God, in His infinite grace and mercy, has forgiven me and granted me a place of proximity among the residents of the Throne. This is now my home.”
Concise Summary
This work records the discourses of the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, covering the essential pillars of the spiritual path, from the outer perfection of prayer and ritual purity to the inner states of divine love, gnostic annihilation, and the profound, transformative relationship between a spiritual master and his disciple.