Hadrat [1] Imam-i Rabbani says in the 29th letter of the second volume of his Maktubat: Hamd be to Allahu ta’ala and salam (greeting) to those slaves of His whom He has chosen and loved! My Dear Sir. The coming of disasters may be unpleasant outwardly, but it is expected that they will be blessings. The world’s most valuable stock is (collected from) sorrows and afflictions. The most delicious food on the world’s meal table is (made up of) problems and calamities. These sweet blessings are covered with bitter medicine. Therefore, calamities and disasters are showered on the beloved ones.
Those who are fortunate and wise see the sweets placed in them. They chew the bitter covers on them as if they were sweet. They take flavour from the bitter. Why shouldn’t they, since everything coming from the Beloved will be sweet. Those who are sick do not feel their taste. The heart’s sickness means its having fallen in love with somebody other than He. The fortunate ones take so much flavour from the troubles coming from the Beloved One that they do not taste the same flavour in His favours. Though both are coming from the Beloved One, the lover’s nafs [2] does not get a share from the hardships. But His favours are wished by the nafs, too.
May it do good to those who get the blessing!
GLOSSARY
[1] Hadrat: title of respect used before the names of great people like and Islamic scholars.
[2] nafs: a force in man which wants him to harm himself religiously; an-nafs al-ammara. A negative force within man prompting him to do evil. (Nafs-i ammara). Nafs is ammara by creation, that is, it always wishes evil and harmful deeds to be done. It is reluctant to obey the Shari’at. The nafs of a man who obeys the Shari’at and makes progress in the way of tasawwuf becomes mutmainna. It wishes to obey the Shari’at.
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