Declaration – Eid al-Fitr 1416 (1996-02-22)

The Third Reminder from His Holiness Haj Ali Tabandeh, Mahboub Ali Shah
to the Brothers in Faith

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My brothers,

This is the third reminder from this faqir to the seekers on the path of Nimatullahi Sultan Ali Shahi faqr. What does repeated speech and advice signify in the realm of faqr? Is it blindness of heart, or disregard for the one offering the advice?

1. Persisting in heedlessness on the path of faqr is an ungratefulness for a blessing that cannot be compensated, and repeated heedlessness becomes a barrier to divine mercy. Who does not know what fate awaits one who closes their eyes to the light of the caravan guide?
2. The spiritual nurturers of faqr are like gardeners who plant the seed of faith and tend to it in hopes of gathering many blossoms. They concern themselves with nothing else.
3. While the gardener irrigates, the flowers too must preserve the gardener’s labor through their rooted strength. Are we not trampling the gardener’s efforts with our worldly desires?
4. The gardener has been appointed to tend the garden, and has been granted the insight and wisdom to carry out this task. It is not proper to demand from him what is not his responsibility. How beautifully the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “You are more knowledgeable about your worldly affairs than I.”
5. A seed not yet sown in the soil retains the potential for cultivation. But once it is planted and fails to grow, the soil causes it to rot and decay.
6. Who does not know the fate of a spoiled seed or a dried tree? Can it be replanted in another soil? Until the heart is cleansed of love for the world, it will not become the abode of the Beloved’s love. In a field once sown, new seeds are not planted.
7. This world is the field of the hereafter. It is astonishing that some, despite knowing that if the seed of faith is nurtured with the water of love and righteous deeds it can rise from the depths of the earth to the heights of the heavens—and that a single seed can yield a hundred to seven hundredfold—still neglect it and allow the thorns of heedlessness to hinder its growth.

In the end, I hope that those who have drawn near to this Order with dreams of wealth or position, or out of comfort-seeking, will awaken, and no longer further blacken the pages of their record. They must realize that they labor in vain and place a burden upon the gardener.