Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 219
Malfuzat - Volume I 219 rock, could any sensible man entertain that milk would flow forth from within the rock and the child would be satiated? Of course not. In the same manner, until a human being falls down at the threshold of God Almighty, their soul does not pass through the process of complete self-effacement, which is needed to fos- ter a relationship with divine providence, nor is this even possible until the soul is reduced to a state of non-existence or to a state that resembles nothingness; for this is what divine providence requires. Until this is so, the soul cannot be nour- ished with spiritual milk. The Arabic word lahw comprises all the pleasures of food and drink. The ulti- mate outcome of these pleasures, as you can observe, is nothing but distaste. Pride over forms of adornment, modes of transport, fine houses, authority or family background are all things that are ultimately viewed by their possessors as abhor- rent, causing grief, saddening one's disposition, and turning it restless. The Arabic word la'b among other things, implies a love for women. When a man is intimate with a woman, his passion and pleasure ultimately turns dull. However, if all this is preceded by true love for none other than Allah Almighty, a person experiences satisfaction upon satisfaction, and pleasure upon pleasure, until finally the door of true divine insight is opened to them and they enter into an eternal and undying satisfaction, where nothing but purity and cleanliness ex- ists. That pleasure lies in God, so strive to seek Him and search for Him, for this is true pleasure. ¹ 1 Al-Hakam, vol. 3, no. 22, 23 June 1899, p. 1