What the Seeker Needs Pt 1

In the name of Allah, The Beneficent, Most Merciful

WHAT THE SEEKER NEEDS

Kitab Kunh ma la budda minhu lil-murid

By Muhiyy ad-Din Ibn 'Arabi

 (translated by Tosun Bayrak)

All praise and thanks are due to Allah Most High, and may His benedictions and salutations be upon His messenger, and the progeny and companions of His messenger.

This short guide is a response to one who wishes to take the path of faith, hope, and love so that he might become complete and perfect as he was created. It was written to answer his questions about what he should believe in and what he should do in the beginning, before anything else.
O you who yearn for eternal beauty, traveler on the path of the true wish, may Allah make you successful in knowing the true way, finding it, and being upon it. May He use you and us in actions that please Him and are done for His sake. For the beginning and the end and what is in between, and success in them all, belong only to Him.
The way and means to eternal salvation and bliss is in coming close to the Truth. Allah Himself teaches us the meaning of His closeness to us. He teaches us by sending us His prophets. We say, "we believe." It is the truth. We accept and confirm it. The only thing then left for us to do is to follow the teachings and the example of His prophet.
First, you must believe in the oneness and uniqueness of the One who is before the before and after the after, who created us and everything else, and you must not associate with Him anything unbefitting the purity of His Essence. He Himself says in His divine book:
If there were in them gods besides Allah, (the heavens and the earth) would both have been in disorder (mixing and clashing and being destroyed). (Anbiya', 22)
The wills of many creators would clash and cancel each other, not permitting anything to be or to happen. Therefore, if we and all existence exist, He -- the One and Unique Creator - exists, and He has no associates.
O you with beautiful nature and pure heart, do not debate, discuss, even talk with people who attribute partners to Allah. There is no use in trying to convince them. Even the deniers will finally concede:
And if you ask them who created the heavens and the earth they will say, Allah. (Luqman, 25)
They as well will finally admit an unknown force as the initial Creator of the creation - but they will add to Him further creators. The difference between them and the believers is that they suppose that others, among the created, are also able to create. You do not have to prove to them the existence of Allah. Let them prove, if they can, the existence of His associates.
This is sufficient advice for you on the subject of professing the oneness of Allah. Time is valuable: you cannot be careless with it. If the mind has reached a state in which it is free from doubt and the heart is safe and secure, it makes no sense to disturb this peace with superfluous proofs.