BismillahiRahmaniRaheem
“Empty your cup” is one of the greatest pieces of advice I have heard from my master Hz Sheykh Lokman Effendi. From our insensibility, we may think it’s not that a big deal to empty one's cup, but in reality, this advice is deeply rooted in Islamic Sufi traditions that it is nearly impossible to find any Sufi master who hasn’t stressed emptying the cup upon seekers of the way.
One of the greatest friends of Allah, Hazrat Mevlana Rumi QS begins his Masnavi Shareef (Poetry Collection) with the “Ney '' as the subject. Why did he choose “Ney '' as the first topic of his Masnavi? Because ney is a hollow musical instrument and upon blowing a breath into it, it starts to play amazing musical notes. So in reality the ney symbolises Mevlana Rumi QS himself. As he is someone who has attained perfection in the way of truth, therefore, he became hollow and empty from the inside - i.e. free of his ego and worldly attachments. And then he is able to play those melodious notes in the form of Masnavi that the whole world is drunk with. In reality, the idea of the ney is to tell the seeker that you have to empty your cup and be free to return to Allah.
To empty one's cup, one must see it and to see one’s cup, one must have a look at the state of his heart, and the things that are occupying it are filling the cup. What we are filled with? The love of Dunya, ego, pride, anger, and other lowly characteristics. Our cup is so dirty and we are so spoiled that we do not realize it.
When we start our journey on the way of love, one of the first things our masters will make us realize is to see what is in that cup and how to empty that cup. It’s not like I will read a book about it and will do it myself. But there is a training that we need to undergo in order to clean our cup. And when that cup is clean they are going to pour it with the knowledge that no book has recorded and no ear has ever heard, the highest knowledge and that’s the knowledge of Allah. As the Quran is saying: “Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup [of wine] whose mixture is of Kafur,”.
There had been numerous scholars with the greatest academic portfolios but they became a source of deviation, why was it? Because their cup was filled and they didn’t empty that beforehand. They thought their knowledge and worship were enough for them and they didn't need to seek a master who would perfect them. So their ego tricked them and they became a source of deviation for themselves and for others. Just like Shaitan, when Allah said to him to submit to Adam AS, he refused because of his knowledge and worship and thus he became a cursed one. His submission was actually to empty his cup and accept Adam AS as his master.
Over time, people had undergone hard training and it didn’t matter if they were coming from a worthy lineage or they had the greatest scholarships. It was a must that everyone would seek a master to learn ego and how to tame it. From Abdul Aziz Hudai to Baba Dawood Khaki QS everyone had to go through the fire of love that would make them perfect. Just like when a potter makes something from clay, he needs to burn it at a high temperature to make it enduring. One needs to go through the test of love to empty the cup.
According to a tradition, when Shah e Hamdan QS finished his academic study, he once saw a dream in which Prophet Muhammad AS was on a mountaintop with his four friends. Shah e Hamdan tried to climb up to the mountain but Prophet AS said to him that you couldn’t reach here by yourself but you needed to go to Sheykh Mehmood who will take you here. And then the Pir of Kashmir went to seek his master who made him perfect in the way of haq. He wasn’t made to read a book by Sheykh Mehmood but his main task included arranging the shoes of the people (who came to visit Sheykh Mehmood) in the shoe rack for about more than 20 years. And eventually with the service to his master Shah e Hamdan made his cup empty and reached to such a high that no saint of the time had achieved.
The friends of Allah have the ability to empty cups and fill them. And even sometimes they break the cup away and give a new cup. And all of the journey that is part of the process is mesmerizing and filled with the light of Prophet AS. So seek a friend of Allah to befriend him and learn how to empty the cup.
