Volume 1. Letter 21.
Clarifying the Degrees of Sainthood—especially the Muhammadan sainthood, upon its possessor be the most perfect blessings and salutations—and praising the exalted Naqshbandī path, may God sanctify the secrets of its folk, raise their rank, and grant them pre‑eminence over all other paths. Addressed to Shaykh Muḥammad al‑Makkī, son of al‑Ḥājj Mūsā al‑Qārī of Lahore.
The noble, delicate letter has reached this weak and slender servant. May God, Exalted is He, magnify your reward, ease your affairs, and accept your excuse—by the sanctity of the Master of humankind, purified from the faltering of vision, upon him and his family be the finest of blessings and the most complete of salutations.
Know, my brothers, that the “death before death,” which the People of God name fanāʾ (annihilation), must be truly realised; without it one cannot reach the Sanctuary of Holiness, nor escape serving the false deities of the horizons and the airy idols of the self. The very reality of Islam is left unfulfilled, the perfection of faith unattained—so how could one join the ranks of God’s devoted servants or reach the station of the spiritual pillars? Yet this fanāʾ is the very first footstep in the stages of sainthood, the earliest perfection won at the outset. Thus the beginning of sainthood should be measured by its end, the first stage by the station of its last degree. As has been well said:
Judge the gardener’s spring by the garden’s end;
Cheap seasons are known from the early spring.
Sainthood unfolds in degrees, each above another, for upon the footprint of every prophet there is a particular sainthood. Its highest degree is that which stands upon the footprint of our Prophet—upon him and all his brethren be the fullest blessings and the most abundant salutations—for the self‑disclosure of the Essence (tajallī dhātī), in which no heed is paid to Names, Attributes, states, or relations, whether by affirmation or denial, is exclusive to his sainthood ﷺ. In that station every existential and notional veil is rent, both in knowledge and direct vision; union is then gained in nakedness, and true ecstasy is tasted, no mere conjecture.
The perfect followers of him—peace and blessings be upon him—share fully and abundantly in this exalted, rare station. So cling to his following if you would attain this supreme sainthood and perfect this highest degree. With most shaykhs—may God have mercy on them—this essential unveiling flashes like lightning: the veils of Names and Attributes are torn for but a moment before the Majesty of the Essence, then fall again, screening the overwhelming lights of the Divine. Thus essential presence is a lightning‑flash, essential absence frequent. But with the great Naqshbandī masters—may God sanctify their secrets—this essential presence is continuous; they count fleeting presences that yield again to absence as of no value. Hence the perfection of these great ones surpasses all other perfections, and their nisbah (spiritual affinity) rises above all other affinities, as they themselves say: “Our nisbah is above all nisbahs,” meaning by nisbah that perpetual essential presence.
More wondrous still, the end of the path of these perfected ones is folded into its beginning—their model here being the Companions of the Messenger of God, may God bless, honour, and ennoble him. For they, at the very outset of companionship, attained what is usually gained only at the end: the ending subsumed in the beginning. Just as the sainthood of Muḥammad, the Messenger of God—peace and blessings be upon him and his family—surpassed the sainthoods of all prophets and messengers, so the sainthood of these great ones surpasses the sainthoods of all saints—may God sanctify their secrets. Indeed, their sainthood is ascribed to al‑Ṣiddīq al‑Akbar. A few other perfected shaykhs have obtained this ascription, but only by borrowing from al‑Ṣiddīq al‑Akbar, may God be pleased with him, as Shaykh Abū Saʿīd related of this unbroken tradition. The very cloak (jubba) of al‑Ṣiddīq al‑Akbar—may God be pleased with him—came into Shaykh Abū Saʿīd’s possession, as the author of Nafaḥāt records.
My aim in revealing a glimpse of the perfections of this exalted Naqshbandī path is to stir seekers toward it; otherwise, what business have I to expound its excellences? As Mawlānā says in the Mathnawī:
It is not fitting to expose such love to the crowd;
Love must be hidden, as the proverb holds.
Yet I describe it so they may yearn for it
Before the moment passes, lest they later grieve.
Peace be upon you, and upon all who follow right guidance.
Summary of Central Themes and Teachings
Opening & Invocation
Addressed to Shaykh Muḥammad al‑Makkī of Lahore.
Begins with humble greetings, prayers for the Prophet ﷺ, and supplication for the addressee.
Signals the letter’s purpose: clarifying ranks of sainthood and praising the Naqshbandī path.
1 — “Death before Death” (Fanāʾ)
Fanāʾ (ego‑annihilation) is indispensable; without it:
No entry into the “Sanctuary of Holiness.”
No escape from worldly or self‑made idols.
Islam’s reality and faith’s perfection remain incomplete.
Fanāʾ is the first step and measuring rod for all later stages of sainthood.
2 — Hierarchy of Sainthood
Every prophet leaves a distinct spiritual footprint that supports a corresponding walāyah (sainthood).
Peak degree = sainthood on the Muhammadan footprint, tied to his unique tajallī dhātī (Divine‑Essence disclosure).
In this highest station, all existential and conceptual veils are torn away; union and true ecstasy are tasted directly.
3 — Muhammadan Tajallī and Its Share
The Prophet’s followers can receive a full share of this exalted disclosure.
Attaining it demands strict following of the Prophet’s example in practice and inward state.
4 — Two Pedagogies Compared
Most Sufi orders: essential unveiling flashes briefly “like lightning,” then veils return.
Naqshbandī order: unveiling is permanent; fleeting flashes are deemed inferior.
Result: Naqshbandī spiritual affinity (nisbah) is “above all nisbahs.”
5 — “End Within the Beginning”
In Naqshbandī training, the final station is folded into the first steps—mirroring the Companions who gained peak realizations at the outset of their companionship.
Practical takeaway: a seeker can reach extraordinary heights early if the beginning is rightly aligned.
6 — Link to Abū Bakr al‑Ṣiddīq
Naqshbandī sainthood traces to Abū Bakr al‑Ṣiddīq.
Other shaykhs attain that rank only by borrowing from his spiritual legacy.
Anecdote: Abū Saʿīd received Abū Bakr’s cloak, symbolizing transmission.
7 — Purpose of Disclosure
Author reveals these perfections not to boast, but to motivate seekers toward the path before opportunity passes.
Cites Mawlānā Rūmī: profound love is best veiled, yet a hint can spark yearning.
Closing
Ends with the universal greeting: “Peace be upon you and upon all who follow right guidance.”