The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 65
Faith, Certainty and Insight 65 and a contentment and a peace and a delight are experienced like the experience of suddenly meeting and embracing a long separated friend, and the bright, delicious, blessed, comforting, eloquent, fragrant and gladdening words of God begin to descend at all times, whether sitting, standing, asleep or awake, like a cool, pleasant and fragrant breeze which comes across a garden of flowers and begins to blow in the morning and brings with it a delight and intoxication, and the seeker is so drawn towards God Almighty that he finds it impossible to live without a lover-like contemplation of Him, and not only is he ready to sacrifice his wealth, life, honour, children and all he has, but has already sacrificed all of it in his heart, and he feels such a strong pull the nature of which he is not able to determine; and he perceives a brilliant light illumining his inner self like the dawning of the day; and he observes streams of devotion, love and loyalty flowing mightily through himself and feels every moment as if God Almighty has descended upon his heart; when this condition is experienced in all its aspects it is then that a seeker should be happy and should express his gratitude to the True Beloved, for that is the ultimate stage which is called liqā'. . At this stage, the seeker feels as if he has been washed in many holy waters, and has been created anew by casting out every trace of his ego, and the throne of the Lord of the worlds has been set inside him, and that God's shining countenance with all its winning beauty has appeared before him. . It should, however, be remembered that the last two stages, baqā and liqā', are not achieved through one's own effort but are Divine bounties. Effort is confined to the stage of fana and the journey of all righteous seekers