This is the Third Maraqbah(Meditation); collectively, the three are known as the Maraqbaat-e Salasah (The Three Meditations), i.e. the first three Maraqbaat. This Maraqbah(Meditation) is done under the Ayah(Verse of Holy Quran): Nahno Aqrabo elaih-e min Hablil Wareed. (Qaf: 16) It means that: „We are closer to man than his jugular vein‟. It is obvious that the Creator who creates and eliminates each cell and grants life and death, is definitely nearer to man than his jugular vein, as the vein and the blood flowing through it are themselves composed of the same very cells. The Omnipotent, Who creates the cells and then forms them into blood, flesh and bones is definitely the Nearest of all, and He-swt is creating each cell and eliminating each cell. The Lights of this station are bright red; the gates and walls are red. Yes, the construction of verandas and arches is slightly different than that of Ahadiyyat and Maiyyat(Stations on spiritual path). The seeker finds himself in front of a magnificent gate through which red light is being emitted, and it is exactly similar to what has already been mentioned. If he goes in, he will find that the corridor to the right takes him to a grand stadium where countless Arwah(Souls) are honourably seated. These are those pious souls who passed away while they were at this station and they have access here while abiding in Barzakh. It must be kept in mind that only that Rooh(Soul) receives the power of flight in Barzakh, which receives Prophetic blessings in the world and attains to spiritual stations; and is granted only as much power as it had attained during its worldly life. Otherwise all other pious and noble people, scholars and ascetics who have attained salvation or have gained any high status in Barzakh, have a specific place apportioned to them (in Barzakh), which is connected to the grave. Their Rooh(Soul) can remain there; but apart from this it has no power to fly. The importance of Prophetic blessings can be realized from this, and also the greatness of the personalities known as Masha‟ikh(Friends of Divine Being) who acquire the Prophetic Lights and become the custodians of this treasure through a lifetime of endeavour, and then for Divine Pleasure, distribute them among others. The great Masha‟ikh used to tell only a very few people about this treasure, although a large number of people visited them and were reformed, taught oral Zikr(remembrance) and given Wazaif (plural of Wazifah) to recite; but only a select few were taught Zikr-e Qalbi(Remembrance of heart). The value of this treasure can also be ascertained by the fact that, they did not consider all and sundry competent enough to receive it. In our times, Maulana Ahmad Ali Lahori-rua was a very great personality. According to my knowledge, he passed away in the higher stations of the „Arsh(Divine Throne) and he was the Qutb-e Irshad of his time. There are four or, at times, three Qutb; so he was one of the four or five most eminent personalities in the world, but after his death not a single person was found to be doing (Zikr on) the Lata‟if(Spiritual Organs). I have read his statement in their monthly journal, „Khuddam ud Deen‟. He wrote: „I gained this treasure after investing 45 years of my life. If someone spends four years with me, I will conduct him to Fana Fir Rasool-saws, take him spiritually to the Court of the Holy Prophet-saws , but on the condition that he should leave his family with four years‟ worth of provisions and bring four years‟ of his personal expenses with him.‟ Sometimes I reflect that the poor do not have the capacity for this, and when have the rich been the seekers of this treasure? Yes, Hazrat Mujaddid Alif Sani-rua delivered this blessing to many Ulama but he had to suffer a lot of distress as well. Some of his unfortunate students went astray and, instead of repenting, even passed verdicts of Kufr against him – although, in the era of the Holy Prophet-saws these spiritual blessings were not only distributed, they were rained upon! Every man, woman, old, young, scholar or unlettered, rich or poor, who looked at the Holy Prophet-saws with Iman (Faith) or the Holy Prophet-saws‟s blessed glance fell on him, was elevated to the illustrious office of Companionship. Even if all the Wilayah(Friendship of Divine Being) of the world were to be collated, it would not attain to the status of even the dust of the footprints of the Companions. This Sunnah remained intact during the era of the Sahabah (Companions) and anyone who gained their company became a Tabi„i, and those who gained the company of the Taba‟een were called Tab„a Taba‟een. These three blessed periods are called „Khair ul-Quroon‟, meaning the best period of all times. Thereafter, this blessing was lifted from this world. It was only granted to those personalities who after making great effort and receiving Tawajjuh(Spiritual attention), acquired the Lights from their predecessors and after illuminating their Lata’if(Spiritual Organs), received the blessings of the Maraqbaat(Meditations); and thus the Salasil(Spiritual Orders) of Tasawwuf(Sufism) came into being. The names of some very great men of Allah Kareem are included in these Salasil(Spiritual Orders), all of whom were able to attain to Wilayah(Friendship of Divine Being), which is a very great honour. During the earlier times, most of the Ulama(scholars) also acquired it, and all of them whether they were scholars of Tafseer (Commentary), or Hadith or Fiqh (Law) were Sufis. Later, this blessing began to decrease. Basically, these days, very few fortunate ones acquire (proper) knowledge, the majority claim themselves to be Maulvis (religious scholars) on the basis of memorising only a few speeches, and then instead of making the effort to acquire this wealth, they become intent on denying it altogether. May Allah-swt protect us from this! Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlvi-rua has written that once he had to go to the court of the King of the Jinns about some matter. He explained the issue, and an elderly Jinn was also present there who was so old that he could not lift up his drooping eyelids. He lifted his eyelids with his fingers and looked at me and said, „Today, while listening to you I remembered that I was present when this issue was explained by the Holy Prophet-saws‟. Shah Sahib goes on to claim, „I am a Tabi„i as I have seen a Sahabi (Companion) Jinn‟. Two years ago, in connection with an issue related to Jinns, I found a very elderly Jinn, from the period of the Holy Prophet-saws , living in a habitation of Jinns in the mountainous regions of Kashmir. He was so old that he could hardly move and was resting on a stretcher or bed, and he was a Sahabi (Companion). I requested him to visit Dar ul Irfan. About six months later, he accepted my second request, and one evening his servants brought him to Dar ul Irfan on a stretcher. I, with his permission, got a dish of egg halva prepared for him. He drank two sips of tea from my cup and ate about six or seven spoons of halva; then after staying for a while, he left. I mixed the remaining halva from his plate with more halva and offered it to the many Ahbab. Now many months have passed since he died. There was another Sahabi Jinn, who I only heard about, but could not meet, and he too has left for his last abode. In my view there are no more Muslim Jinns from that era, still alive. Now, according to this principle, I am also a Tabii, but remember that assimilation of the Qalbi(Spiritual/Heartfelt) feelings through company of the Holy Prophet-saws is a human attribute alone. The Jinns do not have such capacity, and since they cannot attain them, the question of distributing to others does not arise. However, in any case there is certainly a „connection‟ or relationship, which is granted to the slaves of Allah-swt . So, all these are the ways of attaining the blessings. In this Maraqbah(Meditation), an amazing feeling of Divine Nearness is experienced. Feelings cannot be penned, they can only be felt; no words have been designed to describe them. How aptly it has been said by someone: I know full well that numbers and weights To measure pain are never sought Seemab, tis only on a whim that we too Are carrying the load without a thought So these can only be felt and their effects are cast on one‟s practical life. After the „Best of Times‟ the Sunnah of freely distributing Qalbi(Spiritual/heartfelt) feelings had been abandoned, but after 1400 years, Hazrat al „Allaam Allah Yar Khan-rua was granted the distinction to revive this Sunnah once again. Whosoever came into his presence was blessed with Zikr-e Khaffi Qalbi(remembrance of heart), and people from all walks of life profited from it. Men, women, young, old, scholar, illiterate, everyone left his assembly with their breasts illuminated. In our villages, usually some poor man of the village is employed for supplying water and for cleaning the Masjid(Mosque), and it is often seen that these people themselves do not offer Salah(Prayer), but even the server of Hazrat Ji-rua‟s Masjid had attained to Fana Fir Rasool-saws! Such attainment, which requires years of hard effort, was also seen to have been achieved there within days! Although I took years for my Lata‟if(Spiritual Organs), but it was also observed that a person came, stayed for a week or so in attendance, and left attaining Lata‟if(Spiritual Organs), Maraqbaat(Meditations), Fana Baqa, and even the station of Salik-ul Majzoobi. Subhan Allah-e wa bi-Hamdi-hee. Subhan Allah il Azeem. Zikr-e Qalbi(remembrance of heart) bestows inner feelings, which influence one‟s practical life. All the body parts function under the direction of the brain, but the brain itself is controlled by the heart. If the heart is dark and murky, the brain thinks evil, commands evil and the body parts indulge in evil. But, if the heart is illuminated and has been blessed a connection with Allah-swt, then it commands righteousness; the brain thinks of virtue and the body parts perform noble deeds. However, it is correct that every person has a different capacity and is affected accordingly – and the greater the effect the more positive the change. Yes, it is certain that, by the Grace of Allah-swt , every Zakir(one who remembers the Divine Being) undergoes a positive change which keeps progressing and its positive effects are reflected in his character. It is also a fundamental fact that complete submission is just not possible unless there is firm belief in Allah-swt and in His Attributes. The only way is the faith in the Messengership, and complete obedience and adherence to the Holy Prophet-saws . These feelings and blessings establish a special relationship with the Holy Prophet-saws, which is otherwise not possible (to establish), and therefore they occupy the position of a life-force for Faith and conviction. But, only those, blessed by Divine Grace can discern this. The three Maraqbaat(Meditations), Ahadiyyat, M„aiyyat and Aqrabiyyat, are called the Maraqbaat-e Salasah(The three Meditations). It is the beginning of the stations of Sulook(Sufi path of Love), and can be attained only if granted by Allah Kareem. The purpose of life is to develop the strength of Faith of a level that accords obedience and the drive to do good deeds. These Maraqbaat(Meditations) are the strongest means of achieving this. In reality, every blessing is contingent upon action and endeavour, while most people tend to talk more and act less. They find it easy to deny the blessings they cannot attain and not stopping there, they resort to criticizing the Men of Allah and causing them harm, which is a vile act. In principle, if you have not set foot in a domain, know nothing about it, and have never bothered to find out about it, then who has given you the right to pass a verdict about it or criticize it? In my humble opinion that is the height of ignorance. May Allah Kareem preserve us from this!

Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan (RH)