Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 271
271 until one attains a level of perfect certainty. An individual must continue until every obstruction and veil of darkness is moved aside and until they perceive that now they are not what they once were; in fact, now they are in a new country, a new land, a new sky, and even they themselves are a new creation altogether. This second life is what the sufis term as baqa (subsistence). When a person reaches this stage, the spirit of Allah Almighty is breathed into them and the angels de- scend upon them. This is the secret in the Prophet of God, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saying that if anyone wished to see a walking corpse, they could look at Abu Bakr ra. The rank of Abu Bakr ra was not only due to his apparent deeds, but because of what was in his heart. Faith Is a Secret Bear in mind that faith is a secret between a believer and Allah Almighty—it is a secret of which no one from the rest of mankind, except for the believer them- selves, can be aware. This is the deeper essence of the following: ْ اَنَا عِنْد َ ظَن ِّ عَبْدِی ْ بِی I am to my servant what he thinks of me. On certain occasions, those people who are bereft of true knowledge and divine verities, due to their being unaware of the ties that a certain believer holds with Allah Almighty, are surprised or astonished as regards their circumstances— those which relate to their finances and livelihood, for example. At times, this astonishment of theirs will even take them to ill-thinking and lead them astray, because their sight is limited to their own limited means. Such people are unaware of the secret and mysterious nature of the relationship between that person and Allah the Exalted. It is my desire that my friends make their hidden relationship with God on the pattern of the honourable companions of the Holy Prophet sa. Dedicate Your Lives in the Way of Allah Almighty My purpose is that people must dedicate their lives in the way of Allah Almighty. I have read in certain newspapers that such and such person has dedicated their life for the cause of the Arya Samaj and so and so priest has given over their life to the mission. It surprises me as to why Muslims do not dedicate their lives for the service of Islam and in the way of God. If such people looked at the blessed era