After the sixth valley comes that of destitution and death, a valley whose exact description is impossible. What may be regarded as the essence of this valley is forgetfulness, silence, deafness, and swooning. There Thou seest thousands of eternal shadows vanish at a single ray of the spiritual sun.
When the ocean of immensity begins to stir its waves, how could the forms traced upon its surface endure there? Now, the forms seen upon this ocean are nothing other than this world and the world to come, and whoever declares that they do not exist thereby acquires great merit. He whose heart has been lost in this ocean is lost there for ever, and remains at rest. In this tranquil sea he finds nothing but annihilation. If he is ever permitted to return from this annihilation, he will know what creation is, and many secrets will be revealed to him. When the experienced travellers of the spiritual path and men of action entered the realm of love, they went astray at the very first step; and what, then, did it avail them to have embarked upon it, since not one of them could take the second step? Now, since all went astray at the first step, they may be considered to belong to the mineral kingdom, though they are men. Aloeswood and firewood, when cast into the fire, are both equally reduced to ashes. In two forms, indeed, they are but one and the same thing; and yet their qualities are quite distinct. However vile an object may be, if it falls into an ocean of rose-water, it will remain base because of its own qualities. But if a pure thing falls into this ocean, it will lose its separate existence and partake of the surging of its waves; ceasing to exist in isolation, it will henceforth be beautiful. It exists and does not exist. How can this be? It is impossible for the mind to conceive.
The lover of Tûs, that ocean of spiritual secrets, said one day to one of his disciples: “Keep melting away through the power of love, until thou art as thin as a hair. When thou art as thin as a hair, it will be fitting for thee to be placed among the hairs of thy beloved. For whoever is as thin as a hair in her sight will doubtless become a hair in her tresses. If thine eyes are turned towards the spiritual path and thou art clear-sighted, contemplate that path in the same way, in all its detail.”
He who has left the world to follow this path finds death, and after death, immortality. If, O my heart! thou art turned upside down, cross the bridge Sirat and the burning fire; give not thyself over to grief, for the oil in the lamp, as it burns, produces a smoke black as an old raven; but when the oil has been consumed by the fire, it ceases to have its gross existence. If it passes through a burning fire, it will become like the immaterial body of the Koran. If thou wishest to arrive at this place and attain this lofty abode, first rid thyself of thyself, then bring forth another Borde from nothingness. Clothe thyself in the robe of nothingness and drink from the cup of annihilation, then cover thy breast with the love of diminution and place upon thy head the burnous of non-existence. Place thy foot in the stirrup of absolute renunciation, and resolutely urge thy useless steed toward the place where there is nothing. In the midst and beyond the midst, above, below, in unity, gird thy loins with the belt of nothingness. Open thine eyes and look; put blue collyrium upon thine eyes. If thou wishest to be lost, thou shalt be lost in an instant, then shalt thou be lost in another manner; but nevertheless walk calmly until thou reach the kingdom of annihilation. If thou possessest the tip of a hair of this world, thou shalt have no tidings of that world. If the least trace of egoism remain in thee, the seven oceans will be full of calamities for thee.