Your reaching Allah is by way of your natural and spiritual disposition and faculties
(i.e. with the soul). You reach Him with your gaze of spiritual insight (nathr-e-baseerat).
Our Rabb cannot be physically joined by anything. He is beyond such union.

The meaning of wusool (reaching) with Allah is not a physical union as is the fusion of two physical objects. This type of union is a characteristic of material objects. Allah Ta'ala is devoid of physical or material dimensions. The Sufi concept of Wusool is a spiritual union in which the soul visualises Allah Ta'ala with such clarity which negates the need for any proof (daleel). The yaqeen acquired is of such a high degree which excels the confidence an observer gains from his physical visualisation of objects. It is possible for the eye to sometimes err in its vision, but such an error is precluded in ilmul-yaqeen. This exceptionally high degree of spiritual perception is called mushaahadah. It is also referred to as wusool, tajalli and Faidh-e-Rahmaani (Divine Munificence of The Merciful One).

This mushaahadah becomes a permanent inseparable attribute of the heart just as vision is for the eye.

If the only way of reaching Him was by the annihilation of your evils and your claims (of vanity), never would you reach Him. When he desired to bring you to Him, He concealed your attributes in the shadow of His attributes and covered your language in the veil of His language. He then brought you to Him by virtue of His grace which He directed to you. You did not reach Him on account of the deeds you presented to Him.

The Wusool or Mushaahadah described earlier is attained when the nafs becomes lifeless. Every evil quality and demand has been expelled from it. It no longer has any motives and desires. It becomes like a lifeless person in the custody of a living person. The attainment of such a stage is beyond the ability of the bandah.

If Allah Ta'ala had decreed that a bandah cannever reach Him as long as he does not kill his nafs by means of his own efforts of riyaadhat and mujaahadah, then no one would have attained His Proximity because evil is the natural propensity of the nafs. When Allah Ta'ala wishes to favour a bandah with His Proximity, He illuminates the bandah with the rays of His lofty attributes. The bandah's attributes are then over-shadowed and concealed. Thus, the bandah reaches Allah Ta'ala by virtue of Divine Grace and Mercy. The bandah does not attain Wusool on the strength of his a'maal and mujaahadah. In fact, this is not possible.

The elimination of the natural, despicable qualities of the nafs does not occur, rather these lowly attributes are over-shadowed by the manifestation of the radiance of the Divine Attributes. Despite this, riyaadhat by virtue of Allah Ta'ala directs His grace to the bandah when he initiates the process of effort (mujaahadah). But, the cause of attaining Allah's proximity is not the Saalik's effort, but is the fadhl of Allah.

While the Saalik should not relax in his a'maal-e-saalihah and mujaahadah, his trust should be only on the fadhl of Allah Ta'ala. The obstacle blocking the path to Divine Proximity is the Saalik's reliance on his deeds.

Your qurb with Him is that you perceive His qurb (proximity), otherwise where are you and where is His qurb?

All attributes of excellence and perfection in reality belong exclusively to Allah Ta'ala. Such attributes apply figuratively to the bandah. It is Allah Ta'ala Who in reality has qurb with the bandah. The Qur'aan says:

“When My servant asks you about Me, then (know that) verily, I am near (to him).”

The meaning of the bandah's qurb with Allah Ta'ala, is that he perceives with his spiritual eyes Allah's qurb (i.e. the closeness of Allah Ta'ala with him). The effect of such mushaahadah will be that the bandah will observe, every moment, the respects of the Divine Court. He will be firm on the Shariah.

Divine Qurb does not mean physical nearness which is a characteristic of material objects. Similarly, is does not mean Qurb-e-Haqeeqi whose nature and reality are known to only Allah Ta'ala. The bandah cannot aspire to gain Qurb-e-Haqeeqi because this is an attribute exclusive with Allah Ta'ala.

Be connected to the attributes of His Ruboobiyat (Divinity) and remain predicated to your attributes of uboodiyat (serfdom).

The attributes of Ruboobiyat (i.e. being the Rabb) are the perfect and excellent attributes of Allah Ta'ala, e.g. power, splendour, knowledge, wisdom, etc. The attributes of uboodiyat (being a slave of Allah) are, for example, poverty, weakness, disgrace, ignorance, dependence, etc.

Entire creation along with its being and attributes is the impression of Allah's Sifaat (attributes). Wujood-e-Haqeeqi (True Existence) is the attribute of only Allah Ta'ala. The existence of all other objects is secondary and is the result of Divine Bestowal, e.g. sunlight in reality is the attribute of the sun. The brightness on the wall produced by the sun will figuratively belong to the wall. Thus, truly speaking no object has any inherent quality. There is only a connection with Sifaat-e-Haqeeqiyah (The True Attributes, i.e. the Attributes of Allah Ta'ala), in that all objects are the impressions of the Divine Attributes. But man is oblivious of this reality, thinking that the attributes belong to him. He, therefore, thinks: ‘I have existence. I am an a lim. I am wealthy. I am honourable.' Little does he understand that only Allah exists. Only he has knowledge. Only He has treasure. Only He has honour.

The Shaikh (rahmatullah alayh), admonishing the Mu'min, tells him to keep in mind the connection which he should have with the Divine Attributes. He should banish ignorance, which means abandonment of the personal attributes to which he lays claim. His existence and attributes are merely the impressions of the Divine Attributes. All man's attributes are subservient to the Divine Attributes and have no independent existence. The Mu'min should engender in him the attributes of uboodiyat (servitude, subjection). He should view his contemptibility in relation to the true honour of Allah Ta'ala, and compare the ghina (sufficiency, wealthiness) of Allah with his own faqr (insufficiency, poverty). He should perceive and recognise his own weakness in relation to Allah's power, and understand his own ignorance by contemplating True Knowledge, i.e. the Divine Attribute of Knowledge.

It is unlawful for you to claim something which belongs to someone else. How can you render lawful the claim of your attributes while He is the Rabb on entire creation?

This statement is presented as proof for the earlier assertion. It is improper and unlawful to claim something which belongs to another person even though in reality, that person is not the true owner of that object because only Allah Ta'ala owns everything. When it is improper for man to claim ownership of even the property of a person who, in fact, is not even the actual owner (Allah alone being the owner), then how can it be permissible for him to lay claim to the attributes of Ruboobiyat (Divinity or godhood) such as honour, dignity, power, knowledge, etc.? Allah is the Rabb of the entire universe and the attributes of Ruboobiyat belong exclusively to Him. It, therefore, behoves the Mu'min to confine himself to the limits by understanding that all attributes of excellence belong to Allah alone. He should never attempt to even substantiate his own existence so that he remains free from all vestiges of shirk. Thus, will Imaan remain pure.

Be firm in your attributes of uboodiyat and He will aid you with His attributes. Be firm in your contemptibility and He will aid you with His honour. Be firm in your weakness and He will aid you with His power.

In the previous naseehat was the exhortation to free yourself from all your attributes because the nafs has a very strong relationship with its imagined attributes of excellence. It is proud of its honour, strength, power, etc. It remains entrapped in this imagination, deriving pleasure from vain and false hopes. It dreads the very thought of abandoning these baseless desires. Abandonment of desires is like suicide to the nafs. The Mu'min is, therefore, reminded of Divine Aid which he will gain when he renounces vain and false desires.

When the bandah is firm in his condition of uboodiyat, Allah Ta'ala will not abandon him. Prior to the abandonment of desires, the bandah would seek aid from his imagined attributes. In most cases he was unsuccessful. However, after freeing himself from his imagined excellences, Allah Ta'ala aids him with His attributes of reality.

It is only the mushaahadah of the perfect Divine Attributes which can extricate you from the attributes of your nafs.

The attributes of the nafs in this context refer to qualities of excellence which the nafs imagines in itself, e.g. the attribute of greatness, independence, power, knowledge. In fact, the nafs will even regard itself to have independent existence. These are all imaginary ideas of the nafs. As long as man dwells in such fantasy, he will not reach Allah Ta'ala.

The expulsion of these nafsaani attributes cannot be achieved by means of mujaahadah. It is only when Allah Ta'ala directs the illumination of His attributes to the bandah and the nafs then perceives the True Divine attributes, that the imagined attributes of the nafs are displaced. Man has the awareness of the splendour and greatness of Allah Ta'ala. However, this knowledge is not sufficient to displace his pride. Only when the reflection of Allah's attribute of Kibriyaa'i (greatness) falls on him and he vividly perceives it, will his imagined greatness be eliminated. Similarly is it with all his other imagined attributes.

Thus, only after mushaahadah of Allah's perfect attributes does the bandah achieve nearness and communion with Allah Ta'ala.

The lowly material world can contain your physical body, but it cannot contain your spiritual being.

Man consists of body and soul. While the physical body belongs to this material world, the soul is a spiritual substance belonging to the unseen celestial realm. But, the rooh (soul) has a relationship with its physical body.

The physical body, for its subsistence, depends on physical provisions, e.g. food, water, etc. On the other hand, the soul being a spiritual substance does not subsist on material nourishment. Its nourishment is thikr and taa'at (obedience to Allah Ta'ala).

Thus, the material world can sustain man's physical body, but not his spiritual being. There is no affinity between the rooh and the physical world which is a prison for the soul. Therefore, if man fully engrosses himself in this perishable abode, the rooh will initially become terrified and its strength will gradually dissipate. If the effort is only on developing the physical body and the rooh is neglected, it (the rooh) will be rendered impotent.

It is, therefore, necessary that man takes from this material world only sufficient to sustain his body. He should not involve himself in elaborate schemes for the sake of the physical body. Allah Ta'ala, Himself has assumed the responsibility of providing for man. Man should, therefore, apply his undivided attention to the nourishment and development of his rooh and eliminate the pollution which has settled on the rooh as a result of its relationship with the material body. He is to cleanse his rooh from this pollution by means of thikr, taa'at and mujaahdah. In this way will he gain complete freedom from the physical body and be vouchsafed the everlasting life.

The affirmation of khusoosiyat (speciality) does not mean the non-existence of human attributes. Khusoosiyat resembles the light of the day which appears on the horizon. Similarly, the rays of His attributes sometimes shine on the darkness of your existence and sometimes this (illumination) is restrained from you. You are then returned to your original qualities. Thus, the illumination is not inherent in you, but, settles over you from Allah Subhaanahu Wa Ta'ala.

The attributes of the Auliya are of several kinds. Some attributes are necessary for them, e.g. being devoid of disgraceful characteristics such as pride, malice, vanity, etc., and being adorned with lofty qualities such as dependence on Allah, humility, sincerity, constancy in thikr, etc. These attributes are with them every moment. Some attributes are the natural human qualities, such as weakness and to be affected by an episode of grief, for example.

When Divine Attributes (of Allah Ta'ala) radiate on the Auliya, all other human attributes are overwhelmed. The Auliya then demonstrate such wonderful feats which are beyond the ability of others, e.g. when the Divine Attribute of knowledge radiates on them, they proclaim such wonderful knowledge which leaves other Ulama dumbstruck.

When there is no radiation (tajalli) of Divine Attributes, the human qualities are conspicuous. The episodes of the Auliya bear testimony to this fact. Sometimes they elaborate on issues of great intricacy, while sometimes they are unaware of even common everyday matters.

The term Khusoosiyat (speciality) here refers to the wonderful impressions (of the Divine Attributes) which are occasionally manifested. The existence of the special attributes does not mean that the human attributes of the Auliya have become non-existent. Human attributes are common to all people, even the illustrious Auliya. The temporary assertion of the Divine Attributes does not eliminate the human attributes. This resembles the sunlight which spreads in the entire horizon. All creation becomes visible and the impression is conveyed that the light is the inherent quality of all objects which have become visible, but in reality this is not so. The rays of Allah's attributes similarly illuminate the darkness of the material existence of the Auliya. At that time special impressions become manifest.

When the rays of Divine Illumination are withheld, the human attributes of the Auliya become manifest. All human weakness are the again discernible in them. Thus, the radiation of this noor is not inherent in them nor does it form an integral part of their being. They have no control over it and cannot acquire it by choice.

Some people labour under the misconception that Divine Proximity is achieved only when all human attributes are eradicated and the attributes of Ruboobiyat (Divinity) become entrenched in the bandah. This idea is utterly baseless and deceptive. Many people are involved in shirk on account of this misconception. As a result of this fallacy they believe the Auliya to be partners with Allah Ta'ala in His exclusive attributes. Nauthubillah! Rasulullah ( r ) too was not aware of certain things, e.g. the episode of Ifq (when Sayyidina Aishah –radhiyallahu anha – was maliciously slandered). As a result of extreme hunger he would tie stones on his blessed stomach. At other times he would feed thousands, inform people of far-away happenings and reveal the knowledge of former and later times.