My dear friend! When the lightning bolts of direct perception [shuhud] come flashing forth from the cloud-bank of the grace of: Allah guides to His Light whomever He will. (24:35) --and the fragrant scents of attainment waft on the wind that blows from the gracious favor of: He singles out for His mercy whomever He will. (3:74) --the sweet-smelling plants of intimate friendship will blossom in the meadows of our hearts, and the nightingales of longing will sing in the gardens of our spirits, with the tremulous tones of: Oh, how I grieve for Joseph! (12:84) The fires of yearning will smolder intensely in the stoves of our innermost beings, and the wings of the birds of our thoughts will shed their feathers, from flying too far in the vastness of sublime exaltation. The stallions of our minds will lose their way in the deserts of intuitive knowledge, the foundations of our intellectual principles will quake from the shock of awe, and the ships of our firm intentions will lose their bearings in the depths of the oceans of: They did not assign to Allah the attributes that are due to Him. (6:91) So it sailed with them in the midst of mountain-like waves. (11:42) --and at the moment when the waves collide in the ocean of the ardor of: He loves them and they love Him. (5:54) --each and every one will exclaim, in the spiritual tongue that needs no ordinary words [lisan al-hal]: My Lord, bring me to land in a blessed harbor, for You are the Best of harborers! (23:29) So then they will receive, as a foreordained gift, the gracious favor of: As for those to whom the [reward] most fair has already gone forth from Us.... (21:101) --and it will bring them ashore on [Mount] Judi, a trustworthy landing site [maq'ad sidq]. It will introduce them to the sessions of the delirious ecstatics of the Day of: "Am I not...?" (7:172) It will spread for them the table-mat of the bounty of: To those who do good belongs the finest--and an extra reward! (10:26) --and it will pass to them the cups of attainment, filled from the jugs of nearness, by the hands of the cupbearers of: And their Lord will quench their thirst with a pure drink. (76:21) They will thus be honored with the everlasting estate and the endlessly enduring fortune of: And when you see, there you will see a state of bliss and a great domain. (76:20)

My dear friend! When the suns of our spiritual experiences [ma'arif] rise from their points of ascension in the skies of our innermost beings, the earths of our hearts will be illumined by the light of: And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord. (39:69) --and the coverings of the darkness of ignorance will be removed from the eyes of our minds, with the ointment of: But now We have removed from you your covering. (50:22) The eyes of our inward intellects will then be dazzled by the radiant emanations of the lights of holiness [al-quds]. Our processes of thought will wonder in amazement, at the disclosure of the marvelous secrets of the realm of the spiritual kingdom [al-malakut]. Excited by the thrill of ardent love [al-'ishq], the seeker will go a-wandering in the deserts of the quest. Then, in the sites of nearness, the raptures of yearning [ghalabat ash-shawq] will become familiar to him, and the herald of: Allah is truly Bountiful toward mankind. (10:60) --will proclaim: And He is with you wherever you may be. (57:4) Once he has discovered the secret of 'togetherness' [al-ma'iyya], the seeker will lose his personal existence, in compliance with the dictate of: And do not set together with Allah another god. (51:51) As soon as he has plunged into the sea of the personal extinction [fana'] of: No part of the matter is your concern. (3:128) --so that he may obtain the jewel of the affirmation of Oneness [tawhid], the waves of solicitude [ghaira] will fling him into the ocean of sublimity ['azama]. Each time he makes for the shore, in the plight of bewilderment, he must say: My Lord, I have wronged myself, so forgive me! (28:16) --for then he will be picked up by the rescue vessels of the kind favors of: And We have carried them on land and sea. (17:70) --and they will set him down on the beach of the the tender kindness of: We visit with Our mercy whom We will. (12:56) They will hand him the keys to the treasure houses of the mysteries of: And Allah is always encompassing all things. (4:126) --and they will point out to him the indications of: And that unto your Lord is the final destination. (53:42) He will thereby come to know the meaning of: And He revealed to His servant that which He revealed. (53:10) --and he will understand the implication of: Indeed, he saw one of the greatest signs of his Lord. (53:18)

My dear friend! When the armies of the providential ecstasies [jadhabat] of: Allah chooses for Himself whomever He will. (42:13) --have conquered the government of our hearts, they will humble and exercise the arrogant aspirations of our domineering selves [an-nufus al-ammara] with the bridles of the training of: And strive for Allah's sake with all the effort He deserves. (22:78) They will confine the tyrants of passion inside the prison of dutiful devotion [taqwa], bound in the chains of strenuous exertion [mujahada], and they will shackle the Pharaohs of desire with the fetters of: Obey Allah and obey the Messenger. (4:59) They will chastise the agents of our wishes and our preferences with the discipline of: He who does wrong will have the recompense thereof. (4:123) They will completely demolish the innovations that constitute our conventional habits and customary practices, along with the foundations that support the pillars of fraud and deception. The herald of the spiritual state [munadi 'l-hal] will proclaim, in the language of veracity [lisan as-sidq]: Kings, when they enter a township, ruin it and make the noblest of its people the lowest. (27:34) The courtyard of our hearts will thus be purified and cleansed of the stain made by the filthy refuse of the house of: If anyone desires anything other than Islam as a religion, it will never be accepted of him. (3:85) --the gardens of our spirits will acquire a fragrance from the breezes of the gracious favors of: He whom Allah guides, he is indeed the one who is guided aright. (7:178) --the surfaces of the leaves of our innermost beings will be engraved with the calligraphic markings of the subtleties of: As for such, He has written faith upon their hearts. (58:22) --and the lamp of our consciences will become the mirror of the lightning bolts of direct vision, through the shining rays of the lights of: And Allah will perfect His light. (61:8) The spiritual state of the seeker will then fit the description of how it is to be: On the day when the earth will be changed to other than this earth. (14:48) The seemingly unshakable mountains of his ardent yearnings will disintegrate into scattered particles of dust [haba'an manthura], and he will say with the tongue of truthfulness: And you will see the mountains, which you suppose to be solidly fixed, flying by with the flight of clouds. (27:88) The Israfil of intense love ['ishq] will blow the trumpet of: And the Trumpet will be blown. (39:68) --until there is no longer any mystery about the stunning cause of: So whoever is in the heavens and whoever is in the earth will swoon away. (39:68) Then, just in time, the announcer of the good fortune of: The greatest terror will not grieve them. (21:103) --will arrive to reinvigorate them. He will summon them to the highest heaven ['Illiyyun], a sure abode [maq'ad sidq]. As he delivers the glad tidings of: Good news for you this day. (57:12) --he will open for them the gates of the Gardens of Delight, and he will say: Peace be upon you. Well you have fared, so enter in, to dwell therein forever. (39:73) --and they will say: Praise be to Allah, who has fulfilled His promise to us, and has caused us to inherit the land, for us to make our dwelling wherever we will in the Garden [of Paradise]. How splendid is the wage of those who labor! (39:74)

My dear friend! You must turn aside from the tempting urges of carnal appetites: And follow not desire, lest it lead you astray from Allah's path. (38:26) --and depart from the dwellings of heedless neglect: And do not obey someone whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance. (18:28) --and shun the companionship of hard-hearted folk: But woe unto those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allah. (18:28) You must hear, with the ears of your heart, from the summoner of: Respond to your Lord, before there comes a day from Allah that cannot be turned back. (42:47) --the summons of: Is not the time now ripe for the hearts of those who believe to be humbled to the Remembrance of Allah? (57:16) You must wake up from the sleep of delusion: And do not let the Deceiver deceive you in regard to Allah. (31:33) --in response to the admonition: What, does man suppose that he will be left to wander aimlessly? (75:36) You must inquire about the stations of the people of present awareness: Men whom neither commerce nor trafficking diverts from the remembrance of Allah. (24:37) You must journey toward the Ka'ba of the intended destination, on the foot of the head, in the desert of the dedication of: And devote yourself to Him with intense devotion. (73:8) --with the traveling provision of: Say "Allah!," then leave them [to their idle prattling]. (6:91) --and on the riding camel of the commitment of: And I commit my affair to Allah. (40:44) --with the caravan of the truthful people of: And be with the faithful. (9:119) You must pass beyond the dwellings of the vanities of the world of: We have set all that is on the earth as an adornment for it. (18:7) --and keep a safe distance from the perilous roads of the temptations of Your wealth and your children are merely a temptation. (64:15) You must head for the routes that follow the courses of the guidance of: This is surely a Reminder; so whoever is willing, let him choose a way to his Lord. (73:19) --and offer a supplication with the tongue of the urgent need of: Is it not He who answers the distressed, when he calls unto Him? (27:62) --by saying, in humble entreaty and with a sense of personal incapacity: Guide us in the straight path. (1:6) --until the herald of the ancient providential favor of: As for the friends of Allah, surely no fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve. (10:62) --comes to meet you with the good tidings of the salutation of: "Peace!"-such is the greeting from a Lord All-Compassionate. (36:58) --and carries you on the packhorse [janiba] of: Help from Allah and a victory near at hand. (61:13) --and invites you to enter the Gardens of the bliss of: So they returned with grace and favor from Allah. (3:174) Then the breeze of the fragrant aroma of loving union [wisal] will blow from every side. The goblets of the drink of loving affection [mahabba] will be passed around by the hands of the cupbearers of the Unseen [suqat al-ghaib], and the bearer of direct witness [mushahid ash-shuhud] will declare: Behold, this is a reward for you. And your endeavor [upon earth] has found acceptance. (76:22) By night, the entertainer of intimate friendship [munadim al-uns] will weave the fascinating tale [samar] of: And Allah spoke directly to Moses. (4:164) He will paint such a vivid picture, in his elaboration of the scenario of: Then, when his Lord revealed Himself to the mountain, [He caused it to crumble to dust]. (7:143) --that his audience will experience, through the optic nerves of their perceptive faculties [nawazir 'uyun al-basa'ir], the delirious raptures [sakarat] of the spiritual states [halat] of: And Moses fell down swooning. (7:143) Then, when they see for themselves the effects of the visions of: Faces on that day will be resplendent, looking toward their Lord. (75:22) --they will confess their personal inadequacy, and they will say, in the spiritual language that needs no ordinary words [bi-lisan al-hal]: The eyes do not perceive Him, but He perceives the eyes. (6:103)