Excerpts from Nafahat al-'Uns: The Lives of Notable Figures of the Spiritual Path

Excerpts from Nafahat al-'Uns: The Lives of Notable Figures of the Spiritual Path
by Sidi Ruslan Moore
Sayyid Amir Kulal
May Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him!
He was one of the deputies of the above-mentioned Khwaja Muhammad Baba Sammasi. It was from him that the venerable Khwaja Baha' ad-Din Naqshband received the link of fellowship, knowledge of the customary procedures of the spiritual path, and the teaching of the remembrance [dhikr]. A huge gathering had assembled one day. The venerable Amir sent for Khwaja Baha' ad-Din, then he looked at him and said: "O my son Baha' ad-Din, I have completely fulfilled what the venerable Khwaja Muhammad Baba Sammasi (sanctified be his innermost being) said on your behalf. For your sake, I have fulfilled whatever obligation there may be in the matter of training. That is because he had given me this command: 'You must not fail to provide my son Baha' ad-Din with training and kind treatment.' I have acted in accordance with his command.'" Then, pointing at his breast, he went on to say: "I have let this garden lie fallow for your sake. I have hatched your bird of spirituality from the egg of human nature. Nevertheless, your bird of aspiration is eager to fly high. You now have authorization. Near or far, wherever you smell a fragrant scent, you must spare no effort in the quest for its source." The venerable Khwaja Baha' ad-Din is reported as having said: "When these words issued from the venerable Amir (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him), they represented a means of testing, for if we remained completely loyal to the Amir, we would be remote from tribulation and close to safety." The venerable Amir once said to the venerable Khwaja: "When a teacher trains a pupil, he wishes to observe the marks of this training on his pupil, in order to have confidence in its effectiveness. If he notices a defect in his pupil's work, he must endeavour to correct it." He then gave him this command: "My son Amir Burhan is ready. No one has exerted influence upon him, and he has received no spiritual training. You must now preoccupy yourself with his training in my sight, so that I may observe its effect, and so that I may have confidence in your capacity." The venerable Khwaja Baha' ad-Din responded by exercising vigilant supervision under the watchful eye of the venerable Amir Sayyid. On account of his extreme dedication to propriety, however, Baha' ad-Din paused from time to time in his compliance with that command. The venerable Amir admonished him, saying: "There is no need for you to
pause!"
The venerable Khwaja Baha' ad-Din then duly complied with the command, focused his attention on the inner being of Amir Burhan, and preoccupied himself with exercising spiritual influence on his inner being. The signs of that influence were immediately visible in both the outer and the inner being of Amir Burhan. A magnificent state of being became manifest in him, and evidence of genuine spiritual intoxication was clearly apparent.
The compiler of the sacred words of Khwaja Baha' ad-Din Naqshband, he being Khwaja Muhammad ibn Muhammad HafiD Bukhari, has said in his work entitled Risalat-i Qudsiyya: "Towards the end of his life, the venerable Amir once sat for a day and a night with his attention focused on the Qibla [direction of the Ka'ba in Mecca]. He did not say a word to anyone. "Then, after having become the subject of gossip, he gave thanks to Allah and said: 'The purpose of this concentration was to ascertain whether they will open this door with acceptance or with rejection. In accordance with the meaning implicit in the noble Qur'anic verse:
For them there are good tidings in the life of this world and in the Hereafter. (10:64) la-humu 'l-bushra fi 'l-hayati 'd-dunya wa fi 'l-akhira.
-those who abstain from this world will depart from this world with good tidings.'"
May Allah be well pleased with him! ( Coutesy: Sunni Path http://www.sunnipath.com/ )