Thread by @alawiteuser

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝘆𝗸𝗵𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀: 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲:

Praise be to the One whose secret is veiled within the innermost being of His awliyāʾ, who made of the veils stations [maqāmāt], and of concealment a path for the folk of purity [ahl al-ṣafāʾ].

To proceed: I write concerning a people who walked the Path in silence, who made the mountains their scriptures and the night a veil for their letters, and whose creed was love.

A people who inherited the Light in secrecy, and bequeathed it in whispers, out of fear of the sultan’s sword and the Frank’s lash.

The elders of the Alawites, may God preserve their secret, revealed nothing of knowledge save what the common folk could bear, and poured forth no light save upon those purified by covenant and sealed by affection.

For to them, the word is not mere utterance, but covenant; the symbol is not obscurity, but a lamp for those who perceive.

They regarded the public declaration of what is particular as a betrayal of the inheritance and a snare for the seekers.

There came a time when the shadows of the sultans weighed upon the necks of the Alawite gnostics. At the mere mention of the People, their skins would crawl; they accused them of heresy, branded them innovators, and issued rulings calling for their blood.

The elders were hunted through the wilderness, sought refuge in caves, and took on false names. When they gathered, they spoke in symbols, communicated in signs, and studied the secrets under the cover of a blackened night.

And if one of them was questioned about his belief, he would veil his answer in another, saying: "We are the people of the qiblah; we deny neither obligation nor sunnah.

But we possess a comprehension of interpretation [taʾwīl] whose reach is known only to those whom God has purified their hearts."

Then tribulation descended upon the land of al-Shām, when the horses of the Franks trampled its soil, raising the banner of liberty while hiding beneath it the sword of domination.

They enticed the People with false promises, spoke in the tongue of protection, yet sought only division and discord. The shaykhs stood between two fires: one from past oppression, the other from incoming deceit.

Some chose seclusion, others were forced into diplomacy, and some unveiled that which had been concealed, hoping thereby to ward off harm. But when disclosure emerges without its proper station, it breeds discord and scatters the secret.

The matter became confused among the people, the word was divided, the light dimmed, the table was crowded with intruders, and few remained who truly grasped the secret of the Path.

In that storm-tossed age, the shaykhs continued to teach the secret to its people, to conceal the light within miḥrābs, and to counsel caution among themselves.

When a seeker reached the station of vision, he was granted a portion of the letter, not its fullness, and if his step faltered, the door was closed, and the secret withheld.

Their gatherings were held in secrecy, and the cups passed therein were not of wine, but of a knowledge that intoxicates the heart without eclipsing the intellect.

The People endured only because they concealed; others perished when they disclosed without permission.

For concealment to them is not cowardice, but wisdom; and public declaration is not heroism, but tribulation, if it is not heard by one worthy of it.

Whoever reflects upon their legacy will know that in their way lies the preservation of the secret, the safeguarding of the light, and the upholding of the covenant.

None knows them save he who knows himself; none comprehends their language save he whose soul has been purified of the filth of the world.

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