Four Groups of Believers

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Shaykh al-Islam, Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah Niyas al-Kawlakhi (q.s.), said, that people are divided in four groups.  The first group is that of salikin, travellers, who are lam yajdzub, not enraptured.  These are the people of prayer, fasting, haj and worship.  They are righteous and their actions are praiseworthy, without blemish, yet there is no way for them to bathin, the inward, so they have not smelt the fragrance of Allah (s.w.t.). 

The second group is that of the majadzib, those enraptured ones who do not care about zhahir, appearances, and who are kafirun, disbelievers, from the point of view of the shari’ah according to ahl azh-zhahir, the people of appearances.  If the ruler were to see them, he would have them executed, but fi al-haqiqah, in reality, huwa al-mu’min haqiqatan, they are the true believers.  When all are returned to Allah (s.w.t.), they will find these people happy and Beloved in Allah’s (s.w.t.) Sight.  These people have no concern for benefiting others, rather they harm them, since those who take them as example are misled thereby.  The enraptured are so absorbed in their attention to Allah (s.w.t.) that they do not pay attention to others or even to observe the shari’ah. 

Allah (s.w.t.) Accepts this from them because He has Put them in this state by Drawing their hearts to Him in such a way that their neglect of everything else, even the control and discipline of their own selves, is excused, because they are not capable of it.  If, however, a normal person were to take them as models in his journey to Allah (s.w.t.), thereby not disciplining his self and obeying the shari’ah, he would be misled because following the shari’ah is obligatory for those of sound mind and it is a necessary step to attain Allah’s (s.w.t.) Love, so he would not be excused for his disregard of Sacred Law. 

The third group is that of those who have jadzb, joined rapture, and suluk, traveling, becoming yabqa ba’d al-fana’, permanent after extinction, and observing the etiquette of the shari’ah.  Their zhahir, outward, implements the Commands and refrains from what is Prohibited, while their bathin, inward, is absorbed in the Essence of Allah (s.w.t.), seeing nothing but Him.  They have joined fana’ wa baqa’, extinction and permanence, for permanence after extinction is kamal, a perfection, while permanence before extinction is a hijab, veil. 

The fourth group is that of those who become extinguished in the Essence and permanent in al-khilafah, deputyship, joining annihilation and permanence.  The difference between them and the people of the third group is that the latter’s travel, rapture and annihilation never really went beyond al-asma’ wa asw-swifat, the names and the attributes, while the fourth group’s rapture, travel, annihilation and permanence are in the Essence, so they return to Allah (s.w.t.) in a way that no thing and no modality are known for it.  Their sayr, journey, never ends because Allah (s.w.t.) never ends.