Seadet-i Ebediyye - Endless Bliss Third Fascicle

The fourth grade: He sees one being. He does not see more
than one. Men of Tasawwuf call this state ‘Fanâ in tawhîd.’
Of the four grades above, the first one is the tawhîd of
munâfiqs and is like the outer shell of a walnut. As the outer shell
of a walnut is bitter and looks ugly from within though a lovely
green from without, and when burned it makes lots of smoke
and puts the fire out and is useless except that it protects the
walnut for a few days, likewise the munâfiq’s tawhîd has no other
use than to protect him against death in the world. When the body
rots away and the soul is left alone after death, it will be useless.
The tawhîd of the ignorant and of the savants of Kalâm, the
second grade, is like the wooden second shell of the walnut. As
this wooden shell of the walnut is of no use except to protect the
walnut for a while, likewise this grade of tawhîd is useful only in
protecting one from Hell’s fire. The third grade is like the
walnut’s kernel. The kernel is the useful part of the walnut, yet,
when compared with the oil of the walnut, it will be seen that it
only bears the sediment. What makes the third grade look like the
sediment is the state of seeing creatures in this grade. The real
tawhîd is in the fourth grade and nothing other than Allâhu ta’âlâ
is seen. One forgets even about oneself.
Question: It is difficult to attain the fourth grade of tawhîd.
How can one ever manage to see all things as one being? We see
various means and we see the earth, the sky, the creatures. Are all
these the same one thing?
Answer: It is easy to understand the first, second and third
grades of tawhîd. It is the fourth grade which is difficult to
understand. Yet this kind of tawhîd is not necessary for tawakkul.
It is difficult to describe it to someone who has not tasted it. Let
me say briefly that many different things may be alike in one
respect. Therefore, they may be thought of as the same one thing.
Likewise, when an ’Ârif sees all things as the same one thing in
one particular respect, he sees all of them as one thing. For
example, there are such things as flesh, skin, head, feet, eyes, ears,
stomach and lungs in man. But with respect to being human, they
are all one body, and, when we think of a man we do not
remember his different parts, but we think of them as one body.
When we are asked what we are thinking of we say that we are
thinking of nothing but one thing. When we see a man we say that
we see no more than one body. There is such a grade of ma’rifat
[knowledge] in Tasawwuf that an ’Ârif who reaches there sees all
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