The Israfili Army
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1. Allah's army is mentioned in many verses of the wise Qur'an. As it is said in surah-yi Fath: "And Allah's are the hosts of the heavens and the earth" (48:4, 7). This means that there are all kinds of spiritual and physical armies in God's kingdom, and the Israfili army is one of them. So here today we are going to talk about the Israfili army.
2. The Israfili army consists of those fortunate and blessed men and women of faith, upon whom the gracious Lord has bestowed the great bounty of melodious voice (lahn-i dawudi), and through whom the people of faith are always provided with spiritual nourishment. Their sweet and melodious voice is indeed the miracle of the sur-i Israfil, for by this God-given ability they revive the dead air by infusing it with the soul of melody. This wisdom-filled act is one of the signs of nature and is therefore worthy of contemplation.
3. Those pure souls are extremely blessed who, by equipping themselves with the arms of instrument and voice, continuously wage jihad against carnality (nafsaniyyat), ignorance and negligence. Through this, pure Mawla's ardent lovers attain the great bliss of giryah-u zari, self-effacement, and merging. We are all grateful to the Israfili army, for they always make us melt [in Mawla's love]. The translation of a noble verse is: "And there is not a single thing but it does His tasbih with His hamd, but you do not understand their tasbih" (17:44). Certainly, everything recites tasbih in mute expression in its own place, as well as in the spoken language in the Perfect Human Being, as it is said in a noble verse: "Allah, Who makes everything speak, has made us speak" (41:21). This means that where the spiritual resurrection takes place in the Perfect Human Being, all things gather there, having come to life through the all-embracing voice of the sur-i Israfil. All things then recite the tasbih in harmony with the naqur (trumpet). See also the story of Hazrat-i Dawud in these verses: 21:79, 34:10, and 38:18.
4. Each one knows its own way of prayer and tasbih (24:41). Everything in the universe prostrates to Allah (16:49). This shows that there is also a secret of worship (cibadat) in the instrument and the voice, which is why Hazrat-i Dawud used to recite the Psalms with different instruments. It is for this reason that the Psalms are called "mazamir-i Dawud". Mazamir, which is the plural of mizmar, means flutes, all kinds of instruments used by musicians, melodies, songs, and prayers recited in melody.
5. The Psalms did not contain the commandments of sharicat, but their purpose was to teach humankind heavenly love. It was also necessary, according to the law of nature, to annihilate the carnal soul by the wisdom of the instruments. Had this not been the case, the wise Qur'an would have condemned the use of music with the Psalms, just as it condemns the alterations and additions made in the Tawrat and Injil.
6. Hazrat-i Dawud used to recite the Book of Heavenly Love (i.e., the Psalms) accompanied by the music of various instruments. His manner of recitation was indeed according to Allah's pleasure, for the Beneficent Lord had bestowed a special miracle upon each prophet. All miracles come together in spirit and spirituality, but it is not so physically. Thus, Hazrat-i Dawud was a clear example of the trumpet of resurrection (naqur-i qiyamat), so that people may look to God's prophets and benefit from their examples.
7. Those who belong to the Israfili army know themselves and their work very well. They are greatly favoured by God. We all love them very much. They are our soul, for we are all the armies of the same King, and together we have to achieve a great victory. God willing, we shall be victorious.
8. We all give a loving salute and a sincere dast-busi to the Israfili army. Remember that in paradise, there is everything for those who believe: everything, every treasure, and every rank. No bounty is impossible there.
Zulfiqarabad, Gilgit 01 August 1998
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