As for the circle of haqiqa, that is different. Neither nafs nor Shaytan (Satan) can get in there; even the angels cannot enter that place. Anything besides Allah’s Essence burns there. Gabriel, peace be upon him, when explaining this to our Prophet, peace be upon him, says:

“If I move one ant’s length further, I will be burned.”

The servant of Allah in this situation is relieved from the enmity of nafs and Shaytan. He is submerged into sincerity and salvation. Allah the Most High relates Shaytan’s words as:

“I swear by your might that I will lead all astray except your sincere slaves.” (Saad 38:82-83)

The servant of Allah cannot reach haqiqa unless he possesses ikhlas (sincerity; purity), because human traits can dissolve only with the manifestation of zat (the essence or Person of Allah).

The elimination of ignorance can be attained by having knowledge and understanding of the zat of Allah. This cannot be attained through education [studying books].

Allah the Most High teaches without means, just as it happened to Nabi Khidr (Prophet Khidr), peace be upon him. Allah gives knowledge from His presence, and so the servant becomes an arif (knower in the spiritual or inner sense; gnostic) and worships with ihsan (goodness).

The one who reaches this realm can observe the sacred ruhs. He sees Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. He converses about everything in creation, from the beginning to the end, with him. The other prophets also give him the good tidings of wuslat (reaching union with the Beloved, Allah). When Allah the Most High mentions them, He says:

“Their friendship is so good.” (Nisaa 4:69)

The person who cannot find this ilm (knowledge) within himself cannot be an alim (person of knowledge; scholar), even if he reads a million volumes.

The reward that you acquire by the understanding of zahiri ilms can only take you to paradise. There, only the nur (light) of the divine attributes is manifested.

The alim, with outer knowledge, cannot get into the forbidden, private [holy] quarters. He cannot reach the realm of closeness, because he must be in a state of flying, and to fly you need two wings.

The servant of Allah is the one who works for and with zahiri and batini knowledge, and reaches the realm we are talking about.

Allah the Most High says in a hadith qudsi (holy hadith, wisdom that Allah imparted to the Prophet, peace be upon him, apart from that recorded in the Qur’an):

“O My servant, if you want to be included in my harem (intimate quarters), do not get stuck in mulk (the material world), malakut (the angelic world) or jabarrut (the archangelic world).”

The reason behind this is that alem-i mulk (the material world) is the shaytan (devil) of the alim, alem-i malakut is the shaytan of the arif, and alem-i jabarrut is the shaytan of the one who has attained haqiqa.

Whoever contents himself with one of these will be expelled from the dergah (center; meeting place). This is how it is in the presence of Allah. What I mean is that this person has lost the opportunity to be in closeness to the divine essence; his advancement with respect to degrees has ceased.

The fact is that he had wanted closeness. He cannot reach that realm in this condition because he did not wish for what truly should have been wished for. He has only one wing.

For those who reach the intimacy of Haqq (The True; Allah’s name or attribute Al-Haqq), there are so many rewards that no eyes have seen, no ears have heard, and no human heart has known their names. That is the paradise of nearness. No houris (pure companions for those in Paradise, as mentioned in the Qur’an; heavenly virgins) or kiosks [beautiful buildings] are there.

What a human must do is know where he stands and refrain from claiming for himself what he does not deserve. Hz. Ali says:

“May Allah have mercy on those who know their limits, know how to hold their tongues, and do not waste their lives.”

The above quote is taken from this book:

To arrive at the centre then, to approach a centered presence even when they are offering their permission, is it seems not as simple as it may sound. So the events that appear on Earth are contextualised and any current crisis can at the very least be seen in the light of the light of God, rather than the smoke and mirrors of dynasty, conspiracy, reign and wealth.

Getting “stuck” is identified as a problem even in this 12th century text, so my definitions of stuck-addiction are in line with the help that was offered to people in the past, simply brought into the language of today to look at getting the best possible meanings of the words.

It seems as ever though that becoming unstuck is impossible without God’s help.

Knowing for themselves what a person cannot claim that they deserve is directly joined with their accepting from God that which they do deserve.

If this matter of deserving can ever be transmitted into the awareness of Mankind, it is the very history of religions, their dramas, saints and scoundrels. It is the history of the power of One Love as met in the history of Mankind and its mortal combat with itself to become Humankind.

The prayer of the mu’min given by Al Mu’min is, “O God, I seek refuge in You, from You.”

Where God is the helper anything is possible.
(Bülent Rauf)