Excerpts from Nafahat al-'Uns: The Lives of Notable Figures of the Spiritual Path

Excerpts from Nafahat al-'Uns: The Lives of Notable Figures of the Spiritual Path
Answered by Sidi Ruslan Moore
Khalil AtaMay Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him!
According to the venerable Khwaja Baha' ad-Din Naqshband: "I saw in my dream that they were sending me to a dervish by the name of Khalil Ata, who was one of the great Turkish Shaikh. When I woke up, the image of that dervish had stayed in my memory. I had a grandmother who was righteously devout in her worship and obedience. When I told her about my dream, she said: 'O grandson, good fortune will come to you from the Turkish Shaikhs!' "After this, I sought that dervish constantly, until I finally encountered him in the market of Bukhara. I recognized him and asked if his name was Khalil Ata, but I did not get to sit and converse with him on that occasion. I went back to my house and the night arrived, then a messenger came and told me: 'That dervish Khalil is wishing to meet you.' "It was the season of summer, so I took a supply of fruit and went to meet him. As soon as I saw him, I wanted to tell him about that dream of mine. He said in Turkish: 'What you have in your mind is quite obvious to me. There is no need to explain!' "My spiritual state was transformed. While in his fellowship, I was enabled by him to witness rare spiritual states and things unheard of and unseen. "After a period of time, the sultanate of Transoxiana was assigned to him. It seemed appropriate for me to remain in his service, and I witnessed great things from him during this period. He used to treat me with considerable kindness. Sometimes gently and sometimes harshly, he taught me the proper manners of fellowship. He has been very useful to me in this respect, for my business has derived great benefit from the things I learned from him about the stations of the journey on this path. "My being in his service was like this: In the public arena, I would always be respectful of his regal modes of conduct. In the private domain, however, I had become his personal confidant. "During the six years of his sovereignty, very many sessions of intimate fellowship took place. In the presence of the congregation attending his special gatherings, he would often say: 'If anyone serves me for the sake of the good pleasure of the Lord of Truth (Exalted is He), he will be distinguished among the people.' As for the person to whom he was alluding in this statement, his identity would always be known to me. "After six years, his material domain disintegrated. That kingdom, his servants and his sultanate turned to dust in an instant. "After this, my heart lost interest in the business of this world. I settled in Riwartun, one of the villages of Bukhara."
May Allah be well pleased with him! (Courtesy:Sunni Path http://www.sunnipath.com/ )