Irfan (Volume 2) IRFAAN 2

161-162

In state of sleeping, the bird of spirit is tied with its body and the cage of its earthly frame through an Invisible link and a Subtle thread and this thread becomes loose in state of sleeping and it dives into the Subtle Realm at the time of dream. However, this thread gets untied at once from the earthly body as Allah Almighty says:

Allah receives (men's) souls (Nafs) at the time of their death, and that (soul) which dies not (yet) in its sleep. He keeps that (soul) for which He has ordained death and dismisses the rest till an appointed term (39:42)

That is, Allah Almighty takes the whole Nafs at the time of one's death (and Nafs is that thing, which do not die during state of sleeping but instead remains alive). Hence, Allah Almighty captures that body on which death was warranted and releases the other thing for its prerecorded time.

Thus the relation of the spirit with the grave and dead body is almost same as is of the bird with its nest and tree. Only that much is the difference that the spirit remains present and stationed inside the nest like an egg or a chick during the span of life but flies from its egg or nest at the time of death and can thenceforth return to its nest whenever its wills and whenever it likes.

When the Subtlety of the Arif Saalik turns alive after breaking the egg of Nasoot of the Ruh (spirit) or when he has died virtually like 'Die-before-Death' during his worldly life and his body and spirit have parted from each other during his life span and he has casted off the Kaseef earthly garment of matter and puts on the Subtle raiment of the spirit, he goes to and return from the Realm of the Unseen and the Realm of Barzukh voluntarily and meets with the Subtle creatures of the Realm of Invisible in state of Muraqiba. The only difference between the Dream and Muraqiba is that, the Sensual Dead-Hearted person who is seeing Dream remains incapable, unconscious and involuntary and he does not know even this that what he is seeing is either a dream or is in real life. The Carnal person often goes in the tide of his thoughts in dream and that thought, which drives him, his dead Nafs is swept to that direction like a wooden shred.

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This is not beyond possibility that sometimes a person sleeps after doing good and virtuous deeds and sees bad dreams and sometimes he sleeps after doing bad things but sees good dreams. In short, in dream, the dead sensual subtlety of the human being floats like a lifeless wood haphazardly, involuntarily and without control over the surface of the Realm of the Unseen and is swept away to that direction where the tide takes it. On the other hand, the Subtlety of the Qalb of the Living-Hearted Arif swims in the Ocean of the Realm of the Unseen like a fish with its control and desire and reaches that Station and Destination for which it had willfully intended for and meets that Subtle Invisible Creature which he wanted to meet! This is the reason that only a Living-Hearted Arif Saalik can converse with, talk with and meet with the Roohani through offering Dawat on the People-of-Graves and can get benefits from them and can benefit them. A Sensual Dead-Hearted person cannot invoke the Roohani and cannot meet him even if he reads the Holy Quran on the grave of a Saint for his entire life. However, if the Roohani is himself desirous, he can show himself to him in his dream and gives answer to his question through a code or unclear gesture or hint. In finding the possible explanation and outcome of such gestures, the People of Dream remain perplexed (and puzzled) and not sure. In short, the world of dream is not dependable.

Further, this should remain in mind that there is great difference in the deaths of a dead hearted sensual person and a Living-Hearted spiritual person. The death of the former uses to be alloy of punishments and grieves whereas the death of the later is the sleep of a bride, a cordial gift and just a migration from one place to the next because the Living-Hearted Arif had already experience many virtual deaths prior to the real death in terms of 'Die-before-Death '. Hazrat Maulana Room Rahmatu-Allahe Ta-aala Alaihe says:

We have grown such green (and lively) many a times,

We have seen three hundred and seventy such frames.

[Jalal ud Din Rumi]

Hazrat Jaami Rahmatu-Allahe Ta-aala Alaihe says:

All others die onetime but the poor Jami died many a times!

The butter of his soul and spirit has already got separated from the milk and Chaach of the body and Nafs. Truth is this that the death, for a Momin Living-Hearted person, is like his most desired thing and a comfort and luxury because for him, the world is a site of trials, a dungeon and ordeal.