O dervish! You are a servant of God, and He is your Master and Creator, and you are His possession. It is incumbent upon Him to bestow upon you, and to send down sustenance befitting you, and He must have mercy upon you, and you must have fellowship with Him, so that you may receive grace from Him, and He may have mercy upon you. When He, your Master, calls you to the threshold of His generosity and receives you at the door of His bounty, you must be a worthy servant, so that you may be deserving of both mercy and fellowship. And a worthy servant is one whose heart is in accord with the Truth, and who is humble and loving towards creation. As for his heart being in accord with the Truth, it cannot be devoid of two qualities: First, that he be eager for Him. Second, that he be truthful with Him. And this is the explanation of eagerness: that the servant's heart be full of fire and passion and love for Him, and eager for union with Him, such that his heart never looks to anyone other than Him, never hears from anyone other than Him, never speaks of anyone other than Him, never accepts from anyone other than Him, never seeks from anyone other than Him, and never goes to anyone other than Him.

On the way, and second, that he be truthful within himself, that he be faithful to Him, such that whatever he says is in accordance with His command, and whatever He commands, he does not turn away from it. And whatever He dislikes, he shuns, and whatever He likes, he seeks. And whatever He commands, he does all of it, and from His words and actions, he never deviates. And whatever he has covenanted with Him in his heart, he never falters in that covenant, and he fulfills his covenant, and never turns away from His words and actions. And this is the explanation of being in accord with creation: that creation cannot be devoid of five qualities: First, that you send blessings upon them and worship your Lord for their sake. Second, that you constantly abstain from them, and abstain from their wealth, their lives, their honor, their reputation, and all that belongs to them. Third, that you serve them, and serve them with your wealth, your life, and all that belongs to them, and do not neglect their service in any way. Fourth, that you have compassion for them, such that you do not neglect compassion for them in any way. Fifth, that you be honorable towards them, such that you do not neglect honor towards them in any way. And a servant should never be devoid of these five qualities. And if he is devoid of them, he is an imperfect servant, estranged from the mercy of the Truth, deprived of His fellowship, and veiled from reaching Him.

And the right of the servant, when He calls him to His house and summons him to His threshold, is that he cannot be devoid of two qualities: First, that He is his Master. Second, that He is his Helper. And this is the explanation of being a Master: that He keeps him in His possession and control in all circumstances, and does not entrust His servant to anyone. Nor does He allow him to go into the possession of another. And second, being a Helper means that He protects His servant from every harm, from every calamity, from every affliction, and from every hardship, and helps him, and overcomes all of them, and keeps His servant safe from those harms. And the explanation of the Master not entrusting His servant to anyone is that when He does not entrust His servant to anyone, He protects him from all of them, so that he does not fall into those harms, and does not leave His servant alone, and does not leave His servant with anyone other than Himself, such that he is alone, and others are with him. And the explanation of the Master keeping His servant in His fellowship is that He is with him in all circumstances, and hides nothing from him, and fulfills all of the servant's needs and important matters, and removes from him all calamities, afflictions, harms, hardships, and whatever befalls him. And He bestows upon him all of His generosity, and bestows upon him all of His favor and bounty, and does not leave the servant neglected in any way, nor does He leave him neglected from His favor and bounty.

O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.

Sample No. (69) 371