DUTIES TO BE DONE WITH THE HEART

Muhammad Ma’sûm al-Fârûqî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) wrote in the 313th letter of the second volume: “There are five kinds of duties to be done with the heart; the first one is the dhikr of the name of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Man’s heart contains a latîfa called qalb. Without any sound, ‘Allah, Allah....’ is said through the imagination in the heart. The second duty is to perform the dhikr of the Kalimat at-tawhîd, again through the imagination. In both kinds of dhikr no sound should be produced. The third duty is wuqûf-i qalbî. This, too, is to meditate always upon the heart and to be utterly intent not to remember anything other than Allâhu ta’âlâ. The latîfa called the heart can never remain vacant. A heart that has been purified from the thoughts of creatures will spontaneously turn towards Allâhu ta’lâlâ. [It is like the air’s automatically filling a bottle while being emptied of its contents.] It has been said, ‘Empty your heart of the enemy! Then there will be no need to invite the beloved to the heart.’ The fourth duty is murâqaba, which is also called jam’iyya or âghâhî. It is to think always that Allâhu ta’âlâ sees and knows everything every moment. The fifth duty is râbita. It is to think that one is in front of an exalted person who perfectly follows the practice of Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) and that he is looking at his face. Thinking so ensures one to have permanent adab toward him. Adab and love attach the hearts to each other. It causes the faid and baraka in that person’s heart to flow into one’s heart. The easiest and the most useful of these five duties is râbita. If somebody who does not perfectly obey Rasûlullâh has somebody else perform râbita towards him, it harms both of them.”