“The four constituent elements of the conscience—and the soul’s four primary faculties—will, mind, feeling, and ‘al-latifa ar-rabbaniyya’ (the spiritual faculty sensing God directly) each has an ultimate end. The ultimate end of the will is worship of God; the ultimate end of the mind is knowing God; the ultimate end of feeling is love of God; and the ultimate end of that spiritual faculty sensing God is direct witnessing of God. The perfected worship called taqwa includes all four. And the Shari’a both preserves their balance and moderation and directs them toward their highest ends; likewise, it rescues the self’s three instinctive drives from excess and deficiency, and steers them toward the point of justice that comprises wisdom, chastity, and courage.”¹⁾

“The will is, fundamentally, one of the pillars of the self. In fact, the Sage Bediüzzaman also counts the will—together with ‘al-latifa ar-rabbaniyya’ (the spiritual faculty sensing God directly), consciousness, and feeling—as one of the four pillars of conscience in the spiritual heart. These subtle faculties inspire a person with different insights: sensing and feeling the universe, then taking it up with its various dimensions and ‘carding’ it—analyzing and interpreting it. The will connects a person to love of God; the heart to knowledge of God; consciousness to direct witnessing of God; and feeling to the horizon of Paradise. All of these have been embedded in human nature as parts of a system that transcends the intellect.”²⁾

“Conscience—which can distinguish good from evil, takes pleasure and expansiveness in goodness, and feels distress and sorrow at wrongdoing—has four core components: ‘al-latifa ar-rabbaniyya’ (the spiritual faculty sensing God directly), the will, the mind, and feeling. Along with their different roles and functions, each of these has a primary purpose: the will’s true purpose is worship of God; feeling’s is love of God; al-latifa ar-rabbaniyya’s is direct witnessing of God; and the mind’s true purpose is knowing God. Therefore, the mind should constantly be filled with knowledge related to knowing God—nourished by learning that leads to Divine recognition.”³⁾

“After seeing what cannot normally be seen, reaching what cannot normally be reached, and surpassing what cannot normally be surpassed on the Miraj journey, the fact that our beloved Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, returned again to this realm of hardship is crucial for understanding the furthest point the horizon of altruism can reach. On this journey, the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, met Jesus, Moses, Abraham, and Adam, peace be upon them all, and was welcomed, honored, and revered by these blessed figures. He then entered Paradise and beheld its dazzling beauties. After that, he beheld the utterly perfect Beauty of God. Who can know how the human spirit experiences and senses such direct witnessing of God! In Bad’al-Amali, it is said that believers honored with the vision of God will forget even the delights of Paradise.”⁴⁾

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