YOUR THIRD RULE

You should know that all your strength lies in sincerity and truth. Yes, strength lies in truth and sincerity. Even those who do wrong gain strength from their sincerit y in their wrongdoing.

Evidence that strength lies in truth and sincerity is this service of ours. A small amount of sincerit y in our work proves this claim and is evidence for itself. For seven or eight years of service to learning and religion here has surpassed a hundredfold the twenty years of service I performed in my native region and in Istanbul. And in these places  the  people  assisting  me  were  a  hundred  or  even  a  thousand  times  more numerous than my brothers who work together with me here, where I am alone, with no  one,  a  stranger,  semi-literate,  under  the  surveillance  of  unfair  officials  and persecuted by them. I have absolutely no doubt that the service I have carried out with you these seven or eight years and the moral strength which has resulted in success a hundred times greater than formerly, has arisen from your sincerity. I  have also to confess that by your heartfelt sincerity, you have saved me to an extent from  the hypocrisy which used to flatter my soul under the veil of fame and renown. God willing, you will be successful in gaining absolute sincerity, and you will cause me to gain it too.

You should be aware that it is because of this mystery of sincerity that ‘Ali2  (May

God be pleased with him) and Ghawth al-A‘zam3   (May his mystery be sanctified)

honour  you  with  their  miraculous  wonder-working  and  wondrous  vision  of  the Unseen.  They offer you consolation in protecting manner and applaud your service. Yes, you should have no doubt that this attention of theirs is because of sincerity. If you knowingly harm it, it is from them that you will receive punishment. You should bear in mind “the blows of compassion” in the Tenth Flash.

If you want to be backed by the support of such spiritual heroes, and have them as masters at your head, gain complete sincerity in accordance with the verse,

But give them preference over themselves.(59:9)

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2   ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib: the son of the Prophet Muhammad’s (UWBP) uncle, who from a young age was brought up by the Prophet (UWBP), who later married him to his daughter, Fatima. ‘Ali was one of the first to believe in the Qur’anic revelation, and was famous for his heroism in battle. He became the fourth caliph.

3   Sayyid ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani (Geylanî), known as the Gawth al-A‘zam, was the eponym of the

Qadiri Order and a towering spiritual figure in the history of Islam. He lived 470/1077-561/1166 and is buried in Baghdad.