𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐧 (س) 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐟𝐢 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐲𝐤𝐡 𝐍𝐮𝐫𝐣𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐢 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 (𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧) 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐧 (𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧) 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬, 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐧 (ش). 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥.
How the Three Locks Work:
1. Lock on Hearing: The first lock is placed on the ears, preventing the servant from hearing divine inspirations and guidance. When the ears are spiritually blocked, shaitan can manipulate and deceive, cutting off the flow of heavenly knowledge.
2. Lock on Sight: The second lock is on the eyes, veiling the vision of the heart. This prevents the servant from witnessing spiritual realities and keeps them heedless, unable to see the truth even if it is presented before them.
3. Veil on the Heart: The third lock is a veil over the heart, stopping the soul from feeling divine vibrations and inspirations. With the heart veiled, the soul is disconnected from the ocean of power and knowledge that Allah ﷻ has destined for it.
These three locks correspond to the three dots on Sheen (ش) and are the mechanism by which shaitan blocks the flow of Ilm al-Yaqeen (knowledge of certainty), Ain al-Yaqeen (vision of certainty), and Haq al-Yaqeen (truth of certainty). As long as these locks remain, the servant cannot reach the heavenly knowledges meant to dress their soul.
Unlocking the Seen: The path of Sufism, especially through muraqabah (spiritual contemplation) and connection to a true guide, is designed to break these locks. By opening the ears to divine guidance, purifying the vision through annihilation of the self, and unveiling the heart through sincere spiritual practices, the seeker can access the ocean of power and knowledge within the letter Seen. This is the process of transforming Sheen (ش) back to Seen (س), restoring the original light and allowing the soul to be dressed by the heavenly realities.
May Allah ﷻ grant you the strength to break these locks, open the ocean of knowledge within your soul, and dress you in the lights of certainty. May your heart, hearing, and vision be unveiled for the realities of Divine Presence.
Sources (www.nurmuhammad.com):
> Secrets of Stoning Jamarat & Three Locks of the Heart
> The Secrets of the Three Lights of Creation
Aal-e-Qutub Aal-e-Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi 