Indeed, using mystical books which are written in a proper way, and even those which have not complied properly, is useful for a mystical traveler who has the ability to distinguish between correct and wrongful ones. Especially, when he does not have a mystical master or when he is far away from his master. Specifically, in a state of the dominance of love or a state of contraction and grief. We will mention the benefits below.
1. It will cause the heart to be firm and the soul to be luminous, so it will increase the patience and determination of a mystical traveler. The glorified God uttered: And with each[story] We relate to you from the news of the messengers We make firm your heart.
2. Reading the words of mystics and talking about their states will increase the affection of a mystical traveler towards the saints and the righteous. Thus he will grow spiritually. By paying attention to the saying and narrating below, the importance of such friendship with God’s saints will be clear. Some mystics uttered: No nearness is closer than friendship and amicability and no distance is farther than enmity and antagonism. They said: Friendship is one of the two kinds of nearness(another one is kinship). Our sir Imam Sadiq(PBUH) uttered: The day-long friendship is considered a relationship,
the month-long friendship is considered a linkage, the year-long friendship is considered an affinity, and that kind of connection should not be broken up, indeed God will end His attention and connection with anybody who ends their affinity for someone.
3. Reading such books will allow a mystical traveler to acquire assistance for his soul from the spirits, narratives and the stories of mystics. It will open the inner knots of a mystical traveler. And it will give him spiritual composure after the difficulties and calamities he faced in the spiritual wayfaring. In fact, a believer is a mirror to another believer. Jonayd Baghdadi said: “The stories of our masters are an army of the glorified God’s armies to illuminate hearts of mystical travelers”. It is necessary to know that a mystical traveler must avoid following what has come in such books like dhikr, invocation and other orders except after talking with their master about it. The reason for that is because it will confuse him and make him distraught. As we say: A sick person has to get a prescription from a doctor, not from the professional medical books.
Ayatollah Mohammad Saleh Komeily (God graciously preserves him.)
Al-matalib al-solokieh
