A section on law, self and saints: no path without the robe of the law, the tricks of the self that people blame on Satan, and a long praise of the Naqshbandi saints.
The book's only strophic poem: four stanzas returning to the refrain on the beauty of God, the master as architect, and the world as testing ground and dream.
The section on the many saints and the few masters: saints hidden not in coffee-house crowds but in the corner of oneness, proud deniers and a warning not to be a goose.
A ghazal that portrays the saint in a chain of definitions: heir of the prophets, settled upon the Throne, making the son of Adam human, purer than the ascetic.
Not sitting, speaking or eating with a denier: the example of Bahâeddîn Nakşibend, the poet's own testimony and a remedy of ablution and recitation.
The book's first supplication: the prayer of a poet captive to his unbelieving self, repentant and wretched, asking not to be left to himself, for his master's sake.
The section on enemies of the law who claim to be dervishes: self-pleasure called love, Naqshi claimants ignorant of the law, and a cloak shown to keep an endowment.
The lover who passes beyond the world, the hereafter and Leylâ, the path of blame that accepts reproach, and the ascetic who says “lâ” and stops short of “illâ”.
A historical document in confrontational language, showing a Sunni Naqshbandi sheikh's view of Kızılbaş circles in the late nineteenth century: the “sürh-ser”.
A harsh address to one who reviles the Companions: the Sunni principle of independent judgement, “the words of a Persian traitor” and who truly loves the Prophet's house.
The section on contentment and the four caliphs: the heart's mirror polished by remembrance, man and animal, not blaming destiny, and praise of the four together.
Eyes that both watch and wait: the poet as Kıtmîr, praying for the sake of the Prophet, the four caliphs, the two imams and his master Mustafa İsmet.
A bond permitted only to the perfect sheikh, a counter-question to those who hold wealth in their hearts, and a verse list of authorities: rabıta defended.
The single couplet within the section on rabıta: the disciple as a watchman bound with iron to the door of the saints, and rabıta as the greatest pillar of nearness.
Five names for the sheikh's heart: house of grace, lodge of the Prophet and the polished mirror in which the disciple sees himself; a ghazal on “ḳalb-i şeyḫ”.
The section of counsel to sheikhs: when a gift may be taken, a dervish woman in Istanbul who sued her sheikh for gold, and deficient sheikhs who refuse leave.
A twenty-nine-couplet poem turning on the question “Ḳanı”, where: a lament for corrupt times, sheikhs for gold and blind seekers who wander to Baghdad.
The section on the Naqshbandi masters' path: a way whose beginning is others' end, the Khalidi branch and a eulogy of Mevlânâ Hâlid as renewer of the last age.
A five-couplet ghazal with the refrain “‘âşıḳān”: lovers whom the people think mad but who are wisest, patient, grateful and travelling with God.
The section on regard for miracles and unveilings: inner states as a test, saints who lost sainthood through selfhood, and the duty of keeping an unveiling hidden.
A ten-couplet ghazal with the refrain “oldum ṣanır”: irony at the novice who takes a drop of grace for the ocean, the first rapture for the end, himself for Rüstem.
The one section named after a city: the “red-head” way in Amasya, mourning in Muharrem and cursing of Muâviye, deficient sheikhs and dervishes for a living.
A ghazal addressing the denier: the heart as God's Throne and house of the Merciful, surrender to a master, and the denier who sees himself in the mirror.
The section on spiritual striving: counsels of retreat, fasting, little sleep and food, and an unexpected eulogy of tea, one or two glasses after a meal, as help on the path.
A seven-couplet ghazal calling poverty wealth: the capital of contentment, the poet as Ankâ, the rake against the ascetic and the kindness of his master İsmet.
A section for the traveller whose sheikh has died: continued rabıta, a spiritual power like a drawn sword, and pledging oneself to the most perfect deputy.
Two Persian couplets after the section on the traveller whose sheikh has died: holding the hem of other friends, and the world as a house of trade until the hereafter.
A single Persian couplet: the wise man who knows his own self, and the real praise reserved for the one who knows God; reason and gnosis, with an uncertain reading.
A six-couplet ghazal rhyming in “-mend”: thanks from a poet who attained the Naqshbandi grace, an answer to the adviser, and a strong noose around the neck.
The section on the Khalidi path and the forty-day retreat: loyalty to the law, the silent remembrance taught to Ebûbekir, and practical rules for the erbain.
A six-couplet ghazal with the refrain “Naḳşibend”: those who remember in the heart, a hidden treasury found with the law, masters of the hidden road, and Shah Bahâ.
The section on the Arabs and the Companions: love for the Arabs as the Prophet's people, the people of Mecca and Medina, and speaking ill of the Companions as unbelief.
The notion in the book's title becomes a refrain: five couplets defining good conduct, beginning and end of every science, door of sainthood, nobler than the world.
Four couplets, the shortest section: the sheikh's lawful conversation with disciples, warning against innovation, conduct and companionship, and following the elders.
The book's only ghazal wholly in Persian: a supplication with the refrain “feryâd res”, the wound of exile, a lover fallen drunk and a poet among the rakes.
The section on knowledge of the heart: a voice without letters, the unschooled Prophet, unlettered saints, Şems, Mevlânâ and Câmî, and sheikhhood without learning.
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