“Just as by knowing a lump of clay, everything that is made of clay can be known, since any differences are only words, and the essential reality is clay. In the same way by knowing a piece of gold, all that is made of gold can be known, since all the differences are only words, and the reality is only gold.

In the beginning there was only Being. Some people claim that in the beginning there was nothing at all and that everything has come out of nothing. But how can this be true? How can that which is come out of that which is not? Out of the Being’s creation came the cosmos. There is nothing in the cosmos that does not come from that One Being. Of everything that exists, this Being is the innermost Self. He is the Truth the Self Supreme.”

Hazrat Ali r.a said, “Man arafa nafsahu faqad arafa Rabbahu”. The one who has known his nafs/self has known his Creator.

The Holy Quran says about the creation of man: Such as He created you in the beginning so shall ye return. “Kamaa –bada’akum-ta’udoon.” Surah-7, V-29.

At another place the Holy Quran says, “What is with you must vanish. What is with Allah will endure.” “Ma-indakum-yanfadu-wa-ma-indallahi-baqin.” Surah-16, V-96.

“What happens when we sleep? When a person is absorbed in dreamless sleep, he is one with the Self although he doesn’t know it. We say he sleeps but we mean he sleeps in the Self.”

The Holy Quran says, “It is He Who doth take your souls by night.” “Wa-huwallazi-yatawafaakum-bil-layli.” Surah-6, V-60.

“A tethered bird grows tired from flying in every direction, finding no rest anywhere, and settles down at last on the very same perch on which it is tied. In the same way the mind, tired of wandering around here and there settles down at last in the Self, its life and breath, to which it is bound. All creatures have their source in that Being; He is their home; He is their strength.”

The Holy Quran says, “Surely there is peace of heart in the contemplation of God”, “Ala-bi-zikrillahi-tatma’inal-quloob.” S-13, V-28.

“When a man is dying speech folds into mind, mind folds into life, life dissolves into light, and his light merges into that Being. That Being is the seed, the Truth, the Self, and you!”

The Holy Quran says, “Then how is it when the dying breath is withdrawn into the throat, and you wait for the moment of [death], We are closer to him than you, even though you cannot see.” “Fa-lawla-iza-balaghatil-hulqoom-wa-antum-hinaizin-tanzaroon-wa-nahnu-aqrabu-ilayhi-minkum-wa-la-kin.-tubsiroon.” S-56, V-83-85.

“As the rivers that flow from the east or the west merge in the sea and become one with it, forgetting that they were ever separate rivers, so all creatures lose their separateness when they merge into pure Being.”

The Holy Quran says, “Everything will perish save His Face.” “Kullu-shayyan-halikun-illa-wajhu.” S-29, V-88.

“If you strike at the root of a tree, it bleeds but still lives. If you strike at the trunk, the sap oozes, but the tree lives on. The Self as life fills the tree and supports it: it flourishes in happiness , gathering food through its roots. However, if life departs from one branch, that branch withers, and when life leaves the whole tree, the entire tree withers. The body dies but your Self does not.”

The Holy Quran says, “Every soul shall have a taste of death.” “Kullu-nafsin-zaiqal-mawt.” S-3, V-185. The soul does not die but only has a taste of death through the perishing of the physical body. The soul is a ray from the Supreme Self and therefore withdraws to It.
Regarding the spirit or the soul Allah says in the Quran, “Say the spirit is from the command of My Lord.” “Qul-ir-ruhu-min-amri-rabbi.” S-17, V-85.

“Spirit is the invisible and subtle essence of the whole universe. When you add salt to water, it dissolves in the water completely. You do not see the salt anymore. But when you taste the water it will be salty. The salt permeates the water just like the Self. Even though we cannot see it, the Self is within all things and there is nothing that does not come from Him.” Chandogya Upanishad.

The Holy Quran reminds, “For God is the Reality and what they invoke other than Him is illusion.” “Bi-anallaha-huwal-haq-wa-anna-ma-yad’una-min-dunihil-baatil.”S-31, V-30.

“Nature itself consists of different personalities, and each of them has its peculiar attributes. The sum total of all these personalities is One, the only Real Personality. In relation to that One all other personalities are merely an illusion. Just as, in a limited form, a nation or a community is the sum of many personalities. Just as nature manifested in numerous names and forms is still called nature, singular not plural, just as the individual combines within himself the different parts of his body, arms, limbs, eyes, ears, and is possessed of different qualities yet is one person, so the sum total of all personalities is called God.” HIK.

“He is the possessor of all the visible and invisible attributes of the Absolute, and has different names in different languages for the understanding of man. It may be said that the personality of a man is quite comprehensible, since his actions exhibit him as a single individual, whereas God's personality has no clear identification of its own. The answer is, that variety covers unity. 'Hidden things are manifested by their opposites, but as God has no opposite He remains hidden. God's light has no opposite in the range of creation whereby it may be manifested to view' (Jelal-ud-Din Rumi).” HIK.

“The wise man by studying nature enters into the unity through its variety, and realizes the personality of God by sacrificing his own. 'He who knows himself knows Allah' (Sayings of Mohammed). 'The Kingdom of God is within you' (Bible). 'Self-knowledge is the real wisdom' (Vedanta).” HIK.

“God's relation to nature may be understood by analysing the idea expressed in the words, 'I myself'. This affirmation means the one individual; at the same time it identifies the dual aspect of the One. In this phrase 'I' is the possessor, and 'myself' is the possessed. So also God, the unmanifested, is the possessor; and nature, the manifestation, is the possessed, which has its source hidden within itself.” HIK.

“God is regarded from three points of view: personality, morality, and reality. According to the first view, God is the most high; man is dependent upon Him and is His most obedient servant. According to the second view, God is the all-merciful and all-good Master of the Day of Judgement, while all evil is from Satan. The third is the philosophic view that God is the beginning and end of all, having Himself no beginning nor end. As a Sufi mystic has said, 'The universe is the manifestation of Allah, where from His own unity He created, by involution, variety — the state of various names and forms — , thereby distinguished as Allah, worthy of all praise and worship.'” HIK.

“Nature has been involved through spirit into matter, and evolves through different stages. Man is the result of the involution of spirit and the evolution of matter; the final effect of this cause is 'self-realization', which means that the Knower arrives at that stage of perfection where He can know Himself...”

The Dervish is the one who has understood his dual nature of human/divine. The dervish realizes that he is the locus for the Divine Manifestation. As Rumi says, “ We are the scraps of iron, your love is the magnet; Without seeking You are the object of the search.”