From the Twenty-First Discourse—page 456
in Irshad: Wisdom of a Sufi Master, by Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak Al-Jerrahi, trans. Muhtar Holland. An Ashki Book of Amity House, Warwick: 1988.
THE FOUR RIVERS & THE “TWO BOW-LENGTHS”
Our Master continues: “During my Ascension, I saw a dome of light. Four rivers issued from this dome. One of these rivers was of water, one of honey, one of wine and the other of milk. These four rivers flowed, bubbling, from that dome of light. Gabriel said to me: ‘O Messenger of Allāh, would you not like to see the source of these rivers?’ When I said: ‘Yes’, the dome opened up. Inscribed within it was the sentence:
Bismillāhi’r-rahmāni’r-rahīm
In the Name of Allāh, All-Merciful and Compassionate.
“The River of Water flowed from the Arabic Letter “M” in the word bismi-llāh, the River ofHoney from the “H”, the River of Milk from the hole in the center of the “M” in rahīm. When I said: ‘Who will drink from these rivers, Gabriel?’, the reply came from the Exalted Lord, ‘O Muhammad, if any member of your Community mentions Me by My names and says: Bismillāhi’r-rahmāni’r-rahīm with sincere intention, then, on the Day of Resurrection, I shall allow that servant of mine to drink from these rivers while everyone else goes thirsty. O Muhammad, if any member of your Community makes ablution and says: “There is no god but Allāh,” for the sake of My Majesty, I shall give that servant of mine a Paradise as great as this world.’”
Our Master reached the Two Bow-Lengths….