BismillahirRahmanirRahim

Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Al-Haqqani An-Naqshibandi, Sohbat of 8th of July, 1988.

…ta’wila al-wasila, an explanation of wasila – mediary. He said this, because he could not comprehend the wisdom of this holy verse, saying, We’ll look after you. A word then came from Allah Almighty: Nobody can reach to this station without a mediary Whoever wishes to regard Us, who wishes to behold Our beauty, he should adopt a mediary to achieve this station. We have made so-and-so to be the qutub as a means to this goal. Meaning, he holds the key, he is the wasila / mediary. We have designated him to help you reach to Us, to bring you to the station where you can behold Us. If you do not find him, you will wait there for all eternity, for that station will not open to you without a mediary.

Yes, the Prophet Musa fell down and rose again. Why did the Prophet Musa go in search of al-Khidr, ‘alayhi s-salam? Was it only for the sake of adornment – To increase his knowledge? What was his intention in seeking to increase his knowledge? He, who was master of a shari’a / law, a prophet of great rank and standing, what could he have hoped to gain from the Prophet Khidr? What was his real purpose in seeking him out? Would he have sought the Prophet Khidr without purpose? The intention of seeking such a person who has been granted ‘ilmu laduni, knowledge directly imparted by Allah, that is actually the truth that was planted in his heart at the time when Allah Almighty spoke to him and said: you will not be able to behold Me, and when he fell down and rose up again. You can never look at Us directly. Without there being a mediary and a means / wasila you cannot ever reach that station. Therefore the Prophet Musa set out so urgently to find the one being in that age who had been granted knowledge from that source, who was prepared to be the guide, the means to this station.

The knowledge of ‘ilmu laduni which he possessed did not accord with the outward shari’a that the Prophet Musa had been given. It agreed with its inner truth, but not with its outward aspect. For there is truth in the shari’a, and of course the ‘ilmu laduni cannot be separated from the truth of the shari’a. So when al-Khidr destroyed the boat, and Musa chided him for that, it was the outward shari’a of Musa that voiced objection. As for the Truth, the inner aspect of the shari’a, when the Prophet al-Khidr, explained why he had done this, the truth of the shari’a approved and said Yes, you are right.

However, in our outward aspect we cannot accept this. But according to our inner truth your action agrees with us; so the outer aspect of the shari’a confirmed the actions of the Prophet al-Khidr, it is all right, it said. For that reason he made him undergo a threefold trial. And he saw that the Prophet Musa was not able to surpass the outward knowledge he had been given. The Prophet al-Khidr offered him three bridges. Three bridges he offered him, so that he might pass into the region of Truth. If you can’t go on this, take that one; if this won’t do, go on that one.

Cross on all three, if you like. This was enough for Musa, ‘alayhi s-salam. That is why the Prophet al-Khidr finally said there is no need for me to remain with you. You will not admit any more crossings than these, so cross over at those three crossings that you have made.

So he [Musa] was given permission. It was for this wasila that the Prophet Musa sought him out. Together with his slave boy, or his friend or his servant…

Video link: Al-Wasilah