Seadet-i Ebediyye - Endless Bliss Fifth Fascicle

27 – THIRD VOLUME, 15th LETTER
This letter, written to Mîr Muhammad Nu’mân ’qaddas-Allâhu
ta’âlâ sirrah ul-’azîz’, informs that the troubles and pains coming
from the Beloved are, to the lover, sweeter than His blessings and
sweets.
Hamd [1] be to Allâhu ta’âlâ and salâm to those people beloved
and chosen by Him! My dear sayyid brother! Listen with
attention! I have heard that our good-willed brothers have had
recourse to all kinds of remedies so that we might rid ourselves of
our grief and that all your efforts have been of no avail. The
hadîth-i sherîf, “There is khayr, goodness in what Allâhu ta’âlâ
creates and sends,” is well-known. Being human, for some time we
sorrowed over the events that had befallen us; we felt annoyed.
But after a few days, with the grace of Allâhu ta’âlâ, the sorrows
and grievances disappeared, not a bit of them being left. They left
their places to joy and relief; for, those who had been disturbing us
had been merely executing the Will and Decree of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
In view of this firsthand fact, I realized that it would be useless to
feel sorry or grieved and that a person who claimed to love Allâhu
ta’âlâ must not feel so. Indeed, the afflictions which the Will of the
Beloved sends upon the lover must be, like the favours coming
from Him, endearing and sweet to the lover. As the Beloved’s
favours come sweet, so should His hurting. In fact, one must find
more pleasure in the bitterness than in the sweetness coming from
Him. For, pains and distresses do not please the nafs. [2] The nafs
does not like such things. When Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is beautiful in
every respect and beautiful from every aspect, wills to hurt this
slave of His, His Will must, certainly, come sweet to the slave. As
a matter of fact, he must take delight in it. Because the wills and
wishes of those who have been disturbing us concur with Allâhu
ta’âlâ’s Will, because their will indicates the Will of the Beloved,
what they will and do also is certainly beautiful and sweet. A
person’s work representing the Beloved’s Work is, like the
Beloved’s Work, endearing and sweet to the lover. Therefore, that
person also becomes beloved for the lover. Amazing to say, the
greater the pain and torture that person inflicts on the lover, the
sweeter they come to the lover. For, the tortures inflicted by him
show that the Beloved is like an enemy. The doings of those who
[1] Praise and gratitude.
[2] A malignant being inherent in man’s nature. All its desires are against
the commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
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