Seadet-i Ebediyye - Endless Bliss Third Fascicle

those men of religion who talk and write wrong and those men of
Tasawwuf who hold a belief which is bid’at. It is necessary to
inform about them so that Muslims will not be deceived by them.
The second kind of bî’at is to join, to do bî’at with a Walî or
with his real members in order to get barakat. Thereby, one gets
blessed with the glad tidings they have been given, and with their
intercession. For example, Ghawth-uth-thaqalayn ’Abd-ul-
Qâdir-i Geylânî said: “My murîds will not die without making
tawba.” [Tawba means to repent for one’s sins and to beg for
Allah’s forgiveness.] In order to attain this glad tidings one must
do bî’at with one of the great superiors of this path. It is not
necessary to repeat this bî’at.
The third kind of bî’at is done in order to be blessed with the
fayd of the Awliyâ and to get benefits from them. If a person does
bî’at to one of the superiors of Tasawwuf, carries out the duties,
the dhikrs, the grades of ikhlâs prescribed by him, and yet cannot
get benefits, it is permissible for him to do bî’at with another
Islamic scholar whether his former master consents to it or not.
But he must not deny the former master. The failure means that
he does not have an allotted share from him. If he sees that his
master is slack in obeying Islam or finds out that he tries to
ingratiate himself with the rich or that he is fond of the world, he
must look for Allâhu ta’âlâ’s fayd, love and ma’rifat in another
Islamic scholar. If one, as a child, did bî’at with an Islamic scholar
and finds out that he is a true scholar after reaching the age of
puberty, he goes on with his bî’at and duties, or he does bî’at to
another Islamic scholar whom he likes.
An Islamic scholar is a person who obeys, holds fast to the
Sunnat of Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, [i.e. to Islam,]
who avoids bid’ats whether they are zâhir or bâtin, and who holds
the belief of the Salaf-i sâlihîn. He has the same correct belief as
that of Ghawth-uth-thaqalayn Abdulqâdir-i Geylânî and Shaikhul-Islâm
Ferîdaddîn-i Genj-i Sheker. He knows the knowledge of
Fiqh as much as is indispensably necessary. He frequently reads
the book of hadîth-i-sherîfs entitled Mishkât-i sherîf and tafsîrs of
the Qur’ân al-kerîm. He reads books of ethics written by men of
Tasawwuf, such as the books entitled Minhâj-ul-’âbidin and
Kimyâ-i sa’âdat by Hadrat Imâm-i Ghazâlî, and other books
describing the states and words of great men of Tasawwuf.
Reading these books is very useful for the tasfiya and the tezkiya
– 273 –