The Iron Rules of Hazrat Inayat Khan
With Earthic Chivalry Themed Commentary by Pir Zia Inayat Khan

Make no false claims.

“Truly, certainly, and without doubt.” These are the words with which the Emerald Tablet begins. The intention to be honest is a proper beginning. “A good word is as a good tree,” says the Qur’an. “Its roots are firm and its branches are in heaven.” (14:24). Make sure to speak words rooted in reality and destined to bear fruit in the Garden.

Speak not against others in their absence.

Jamshid and Kay Khusraw used the Grail to view faraway scenes. The Grail makes the absent present. Disparaging remarks are always a sign of spiritual distance from the person invoked. Pirzadi-Shahida Noor said, “I would never speak badly of a flower, for fear of hurting the feelings of the fairy in it that was doing its best to make it beautiful.” Speaking badly of someone antagonizes not only the person themself but also their etheric, astral, and noetic symbionts. The offense reverberates through the Tricosm.

Do not take advantage of a person’s ignorance.

The rootless state of mass society puts people on unsound footing, making them susceptible to mesmeric manipulations that deprive them of their sacred agency. For Earthic chevaliers, it is always a transgression to obtain an advantage from a person by diverting them from the immanence of the entelechy in which their life’s natural guidance rests.

Do not boast of your good deeds.

The murmur of the breeze as it glides through leafy boughs, the boom of the surf as it washes into rock pools teeming with opalescent crabs, the crackle of burning twigs in the blaze of a roaring bonfire, the song of a darkling thrush amidst the gloom of winter: these are sounds that delight the ear. A boast has the opposite effect. Sadly, it diminishes the deed it celebrates.

Do not claim that which belongs to another.

“Where were you when I laid Earth’s foundation,” the Deity asked the prophet Job (Job 38:4). Earth, and all that is of the Earth, belongs entirely to the Deity. But God is generous. “We settled you on the Earth, and provided means of livelihood for you in it; but little are the thanks you give,” reminds the Qur’an (7:10) The proposition is clear: use without abusing, populate without desecrating.

Do not reproach others, making them firm in their faults.

“Reproach” comes from the Latin root repropiare, “to bring near.” But the nearness of a reproach is not the intimacy of spiritual discernment. Instead, it puts a person cheek by jowl with an alien other. Empathy, by contrast, keeps a respectful distance from its object and yet breaths the air of unity. The other is another oneself. Rumi instructs, “rid the road of strangers if you wish to find My place / don’t cast a glance at others if you long to see My face.” 

Do not spare yourself in the work which you must accomplish.

Fulfilling an incarnation is a lifetime’s work. Heavy lifting and fine tooling are both parts of the job. Nor can an incarnate Trust-bearer afford to omit creative collaborations, whether in connection with human or extra-human circles of colleagues. Alphan, omegan, and coeval partnerships require simultaneous and equally committed cultivation. Hylic, psychic, and pneumatic networks all need leveraging. Teamwork is essential, and dropping the ball is not an option.

Render your services faithfully to all who require them.

The current era is styled “Anthropocene” in view of the immensity of the human impact on Earth’s living systems. The lights of our sprawling cities can be seen from space. The changed composition of Earth’s atmosphere is not visible, but is nonetheless vastly consequential. Other earthlings are now on the back foot. Countless animal species face imminent extinction. The planet’s elementals and orionids are in deep conference. As the winds of the new climate intensify, human populations too will feel the blast. Paladins will be needed more than ever.

Seek not profit by putting someone in straits.

“What does a man gain by winning the whole world at the cost of his true self,” said the prophet and spirit of God Jesus (Mark 8:36). Money is a marker of energetic exchange. Extracting it aggressively and hoarding it jealously are parasitic behaviors. Conversely, generosity is biophilic and life enhancing. When the pursuit of money visits harm on others, the harm extends to the inner fibers of the acquisitor by way of the subtle entanglement that connects all lives. 

Harm no one for your own benefit.

Whether the benefit is material or otherwise, the question is, is it gained at the expense of someone else’s health and happiness? If it is, the loss is bound to be mutual. Enjoyment built on the foundation of others’ suffering cannot be expected to endure long. If the reckoning doesn’t occur in the visible world, it will take place in the invisible. There are animal, vegetal, mineral, jinnic, and angelic courts in addition to the familiar human ones.