Preface by Sheikh Nazim al-Qubrusi

goal. Don’t imagine that you are out for a scenic Sunday drive, no, this is the high road, the direct route, not the scenic route, and we have only our goal in mind, like a climber seeking the summit of Everest. Our attraction for our Beloved is the attraction of the moth to the fire: we are throwing ourselves in.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is our Guide and our example. On his miraculous Night Journey, in which he was conducted by the Angel Gabriel first from Mecca to Jerusalem and then up through the seven heavens and into the Divine Presence, he passed through the whole Universe, but Allah Almighty informs us through the Holy Qur’an that the Prophet’s vision:

“Neither swerved nor transgressed”

In other words, he looked and beheld, but never let those sights distract him from ascending towards his most destination.

The Holy Prophet was able to behold those sights without their distracting him because his heart was only for his Lord – he was the “Beloved of Allah” – but as for ourselves, we are vulnerable and weak willed, as those powers and attainments may accord with our egos’ desires, whereas annihilation is never an attractive proposition for the ego.

Therefore, in order to provide us with maximum protection on our way, my Grandsheikh informed me that Naqshbandi Masters take a totally different approach to the unveiling of the heart’s eye. There are many veils between us and our heavenly positions. A Naqshbandi Master rends these veils in a descending fashion: starting with that closest to the Divine presence and then successively downwards towards the level of the murid.

This process continues throughout the training of the murid, until there is but one veil restraining the murid’s vision from the contemplation Of the Divine Reality. In order to protect the murid, however, the Grandsheikh does not rend that veil, lest the murid’s ego allow him to indulge in something other than his Lord. That lowest veil is the Veil of Humanity (Hijab ul-Bashariyya) and it is rent finally with the last breath before death, at which time the murid understands the wisdom in keeping him veiled, as his vision reaches, unobstructed and unflinching, to the highest Heaven.