Fragments

All that we know is nothing but God; the whole of our knowledge comes to just this: we know that He is being itself. He is being itself, look and see; do not ask how. There is nothing but Him, do not say, do not ask why.

A thousand thanks to God, that in all things my trust rests always on his generosity. A thousand kindnesses reach my soul from the Beloved, and what delights me is this: he knows I lean on him. And if, instead of kindness, some reproach should come, I am still glad, for the master shaped that trial for me.

I am Qasem, Qasem-e Anvar, and the secrets of eternity are not hidden from me. What would people know of who I am? I know all through God, and I know Him wholly; and everyone knows that I am present within all things.

The word 'dervish' is spelled with five letters in Persian, and each letter carries a lesson greater than the last. The 'D' is proof of this: make peace with pain, even if a hundred needles prick your body from every side. The 'R': do not put on a face of hypocrisy, for such pretense shames the stranger and torments yourself. The 'V' means saying goodbye to all but God; and that is a rare and blessed task. The 'I': become of one heart and one color on the path of love; no one absorbed in their own self ever becomes whole. The 'SH': the one who gives thanks and never complains, who wishes even his enemy well. Whoever has been given these five qualities, seek him out and take refuge in him, for he is a true dervish.

If you long for the world of the soul, you must be born from renouncing the pomp of kings. With courage, take the unstrung bow and turn it into two straight lines, for the task is simple. After that, when only the point of the spirit remains, to stay stuck there is no work for real men. Turn the point into a zero and be reborn, so you may know that everything is the glory of God.

Service without friendship has no worth or value at all; service may be in your hands, but friendship is not. Friendship is what binds itself deep inside your service; no service in this world is bound as tightly as friendship. You brag of being drunk, yet you have not touched a drop of wine; love says: you have drunk only buttermilk, and a buttermilk drinker is no drunkard.

In every subject he spoke with perfect justice, the noble Ghazali, Proof of Islam.

Tayfur, the master among those who travel the road of faith, a man without equal in all his life. In religious law he arrived and found his way; but when he reached the truth itself, he lost the road. The path vanished and the traveler was lost with it; here is where a man loses his own way.

My friend has appointed me to raise up a word on which the good of a whole world depends. But diminishing myself has long been my habit, and if I strive at it, the loss only doubles.

They placed the knowledge of eternity in my heart, a strange kind of knowledge, yet they never taught me a single lesson in how to use it. In three states it became clear to me that even the sheikh who spent forty days in seclusion was never given a real lesson.

I send my greeting and my blessing to Shah Rustam, for no one ever had a son as fine as him. Prince Rustam, son of Shah Muhammad, a man of spiritual nature, has left this ruin of a world and carried his body off to the eternal home. He saw paradise adorned with a thousand splendors, turned his heart away from this world and grew closer to that one. O God, keep his pure soul happy in paradise; O helper of those who cry for help, grant him eternity and the vision of You. That light of my eyes hid his face and vanished from us; it was the year eight hundred and thirty three when he showed this parting. For all his rank and honor, he kept seeking knowledge tirelessly; he became close to the Beloved, and the light of true wisdom carried him away. Wherever people speak your name upon their lips, the weary Qasim lets two rivers of tears run from his eyes.

If I don't say it, someone else will: the very one the doorkeeper shut the gate against. The unbelievers of Europe, of Byzantium, of Tartary, are all better Muslims than Qasemi.

Lord, by the truth of your grace, which stirs the souls of lovers, let your beautiful names shine forth and appear in all creation. From your boundless generosity, grant something to your servants: either innocence at the start, or repentance at the end.

You told me: trust the old master's words. Tell me then, how did you measure them yourself? May God's mercy rain a thousandfold on his soul, for the path of his teaching runs among the righteous. His words are like fine sweets, rich and delicious. But listen, my dear child: beware, beware! If your strength of will is weak, then eat, but only in small measure. For if that mouthful suddenly turns your stomach, once you have rotted, you will make the whole house rot with you. Your heart fills with malice, your eye with fault-finding, and you end up denying all the spiritual masters. You count the whole world, end to end, as unbelievers, and all your sense of decency vanishes at once. Out of a base nature you cause harm and claim: forbidding wrong in religion is meant to hurt. Even if you have heard our master's words, keep the sayings of the great ones before your eyes. Do not eat sugar alone; mix it with rose, for in the blend there is much benefit. You are sick at heart, and for this affliction not one remedy but a hundred are needed. Out of ignorance, do not limit yourself to a single cure. Step out of bigotry and leave your malice behind. The souls of true men reach the source and the messenger, while you stay veiled, trapped in mere hearsay. If you are a man, do not be satisfied with imitation. Like true men, take hold of the skirt of manhood. For if you hold a hundred sciences but have no heart, a thousand hidden idolatries are lodged in your load. Take this counsel from Qasim and do not sit any longer scattering yourself to the wind in the lane of ruin. Come to the stream of unity, so you may see again that from there the rivers spread out. Leave duality behind, and gather into one binding all the words of Rumi and Attar.

God, the all-knowing, the one who takes your hand, kind and merciful, eternal and all-powerful. By the light of His holiness the heart of Qasemi became a sacred presence, a throne of true knowing. By God's grace he is free of wealth and years: a prince without riches, an elder without age. The old masters are gone; nothing remains of them but an ancient, tender story. You are a disciple of learning, yet you have let your heart be locked away in the prison of longing. Come to us, hear a new story, for you cannot find enlightenment from the dead.

My longing to meet you is beyond what you could ask; my need for your care is beyond what you could ask. My hope in your kindness is beyond what you could ask; my joy in the delight of speaking to you is beyond what you could ask.

If you meet a mystic or a seeker, in truth they are both of one mind. Praise this one, and honor that one: for this one is drunk on God, and that one is worthy of it.

Silence, hunger, night vigils, solitude, and constant remembrance of God: these bring the unfinished souls of the world to completion. Silence is the very shape of knowing God; but in wakeful nights, knowing your own soul comes and greets you. Hunger becomes the path to knowing the true Sovereign; religious wisdom finds its order through solitude. The root of all these perfections is nothing petty; it belongs to the great one whose heart is whole, who drinks in whole oceans of meaning. Guardian of the Prophet's faith, uncoverer of the messengers' secrets, reviver of soul and world, effacer of every trace of darkness. Judge upon the seat of truth, leader of humans and spirits alike, the one who knows the sacred goal, the true aim of Islam.

After so much wonder, the beloved witness shows itself to us, yet with so many veils, we cannot see it as it truly is. Beyond the veil, Qasem has a hidden path to the truth, where by God's grace he sees the beginning and the end as one and the same.

The universal Intellect, the universal Soul, the universal Nature; after these, know the essence of all meanings. The universal Body, the form of the Throne, then the Footstool, and after that nine heavens set turning by the command of God. The starless outer sphere is the first of them, and see clearly, the moon is the last. After that comes the sphere of ether and air, and after that, know, the water and the earth. Then mineral and plant were completed, and after them the animal appeared. By the decree of eternal love there emerged the angel, the jinn, and at last the human being. The human gathers all these ranks in one; he is what God intended from all being and space.

Listen, you deceitful, cunning people, full of trickery: may God's curse fall on you and on the Devil alike. How long will you mock the character of God's holy men? The Devil measured himself against Adam; now you do the same.

The pinnacle of sainthood, holding the true worth of Sheikh Safi, had guided this path for nearly ninety years. At the moment of departure his soul gave a breath and said: 'O Angel of Death, I have reached God.' When the angel saw his state, he stood amazed and said: 'O Sheikh, a thousand times may God have mercy on you.' Qasimi, burned by separation from the master: be patient in this parting, may God grant you patience.

Lord of the age, king of Gilan, crown of the shah: guard your hearts, for this is the true road. Do you know what sin is? Forgetting God. Hold fast to the truth, and you will be free of sin.

May it reach you, so that from this holy household some lasting good fortune may always endure. A thief carried off my donkey into your town; there's no trace of it, neither dead nor alive.

Long ago the wise ones said, those who were filled with wisdom: If you are seekers on the trail of truth, demand the thieves' guilt from the watchman himself. The king is the guardian of the poor, above all this blessed and fortunate king.