Preface by Sheikh Nazim al-Qubrusi

clipped and replaced with the humble cloak of security. For the main difference between the Naqshbandi Way and others is that while they are giving we are taking away. Everything must go: even your separate existence. First you will be without anything, then you will be nothing. Only those who are prepared to take such a step can be real Naqshbandi murids.

Our Grandsheikh explained that, as long as a drop is falling from the heavens it may be called a drop, but when it drops into the Ocean it is no more a drop, it is an ocean

So, if anyone is interested in spiritual stations and powers, he may attain them through following any of the forty Sufi Paths, as these ways are most efficacious. Through the recitation of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah everyone receives bountifully in accordance with his intention, but finally, the sincere seeker should be struck with remorse for his having pursued stations and states. One day he will perceive how he has fallen victim to distraction, and say:

“Oh my Lord, I have been wasting myself and my efforts on something other than You”

Yes, if a seeker ends his life in those states he will regret that they distracted him from seeking His Divine Countenance; therefore, we have been ordered to strip our followers of their spiritual adornments, so that they may be presented to their Lord thusly:

“This is Your servant ‘nothing’. Oh our Lord, accept Your servant, as he is lost to himself and only for You”.

This is our top priority, and helping our followers attain such a condition is our duty.

You must understand that the strange and enchanting experiences are the scenery of the journey, not the…