In the name of Allāh the Beneficent the Merciful, whosehelp we seek. Praise be to Allāh who protects thehearts of the sincere (servants) from the entranceof others and makes their hearts an object in whichlights are manifested. May Allāh bless and grantpeace to the one who is the fountainhead ofgenerosity and kindness and secrets, Muhammad andhis family and his companions, the chosen ones(akhyār).

Shaykh al-Ḥājj Yūsuf al-Tāj (may Allāh grant himcomplete success and make him among the people ofverification) said:

I acquired this treatise named Maṭālib us sālikīn liman qasada Rabbal ‘Ālamīn (The quests of spiritual seekers who seek theLord of the Worlds) from our master, the saint(walī), gnostic withAllāh (`ārif billah),master of his age, and axis (qutb) of his time, the noble master `Abdal-Karīm al-Naqshbandī al-Lāhorī (may Allāh sanctifyhis soul, and illuminate his grave, and may webenefit from him).

We have also related this treatise from him (may Allāhbe pleased with him). Know, o my brother (may Allāhgrant you and us success as He likes and as itpleases Him), that there are three things that arenecessary for you to know: tawḥīd, ma`rifah and `ibādah. Tawḥīd (Oneness) islike a tree, ma`rifah(gnosis) is like the branches and leaves and`ibādah (worship) islike fruit. If you find a tree, you will findbranches and leaves, and if you find branches andleaves, you hope, or expect, to be granted fruit bymeans of this tree. However, if you do not findbranches and leaves in this tree you will not findfruit under any circumstances. This is ametaphorical example.

We say that if you understand the real and trueexample, meaning that, if you attain the stage oftawḥīd, you willattain ma`rifah, andif you attain ma`rifah, you will attain `ibādah. One who does notdeclare the unity of Allāh (waḥdāniyyah) is a disbeliever. One whodoes not know about ma`rifah is ignorant. The worship of anignorant person reverts to him.

Tawḥīd is of two types.The first tawḥīd iswaḥdat al-wujūd justas the accomplished, devout Ṣūfīs propound thatthere is no existence in the unseen and visible inform – meaning in the external and internal, exceptthe One Being and One Essence and One Reality.