Cordial disciplines

One of the cordial disciplines of the worships and the spiritual duties of the traveler along the path to the Hereafter is paying attention to the Might of the Lord and to the humility of servitude. It is one of the important stages for the salik (traveler). The strength of everybody's suluk (journey) is in proportion to the strength of this attention, or rather the perfection or the imperfection of humanity is connected to the perfection or imperfection of this matter. The more one is overwhelmed by egoism, egotism, self-conceit and selfishness, the farther he will be from the human perfection and from the nearness of the presence of Allah. The veil of self-conceit and egotism is thicker and darker than all other veils. To tear open this veil is more difficult than tearing all other veils, and tearing it is a preparatory step to tearing other veils. In fact, tearing off this veil is the master key for the invisible, the visible and the great door of the ascent to the perfect spirituality. As long as man has his eyes on his own self, his imagined beauty and perfection, he will be veiled and discarded from the absolute beauty and pure perfection. The first condition for travelling to Allah is to leave this house. Actually, it is the criterion for the struggle between right and wrong. So, every salik, who travels with the steps of selfishness and self-conceit, and is wrapped in the veils of egotism, his sufferings would be in vain and his journey would not be to Allah, it would rather be to his self: "The mother of the idols is the idol of your self'. [18]

Allah, the Most High, says: "And whoever Leaves his house migrating to Allah and His Messenger, and then death overtakes him, his reward is, indeed, with Allah," [19] The formal migration, or the form of migration, is the corporeal migration from the formal house to the ka'bah or to the shrines of the holy men [awliya'] (AS), but the spiritual migration is the going out of the house of the soul and the house of this world to Allah and His Messenger. To migrate to the Messenger and the guardian [waliy] is also a migration to Allah. As long as one's soul has an inclination to oneself and to egotism, it is not journeying. And so long as there are residues of I-ness in the salik's eyes, and as long as the walls of his own town and the adhan announcing selfishness have not yet disappeared, he is regarded present, not a traveler or an emigrant.

It is stated in Misbahush-shari'ah that Imam as Sadiq (AS) said: "Servitude is a gem whose core is Lordship [rububiyat]. Whatever is lost of servitude is found in the Lordship, and whatever is hidden of Lordship is obtained by servitude." [20]

The one who travels on the foot of servitude, and burns his forehead with the brand of the humility of serfdom, will reach the Glory of (His) Lordship. The way of attaining to the facts of Lordship is journeying along the footsteps of servitude, and what is lost of servitude because of egoism and egotism, can be recovered under the shadow of the Lordship's patronage, until he reaches a stage in which the Haqq (Allah), the Most High, will become his ears (hearing), eyes (seeing), hands and legs, as is stated in the true and well-known hadith accepted by the two sects. [21]

When the salik forsook his conducts [tasarrufat] and completely submitted the kingdom of his existence to Allah, leaving the house to its Owner, and perishing in the Glory of (His) Lordship, the Owner of the house would Himself manage the affairs. Thus his conducts [tasarrufat] would become divine, and his eyes would be divine and he would see with the Haqq's (Allah's) eyes, his ears would become divine and he would hear with the Haqq's (Allah's) ears. The more complete the lordship of the soul and the more its glory be cherished, the more, in the same proportion, the Glory of the (divine) Lordship decreases and becomes incomplete (in the salik's kingdom of existence), because these two stand face to face: "This world and the next are like the two wives of a man". [22]

Thus, the salik to Allah has to recognize his state of humility, and to place the humility of servitude and the Glory of the Lordship before his eyes. The stronger this viewpoint, the more spiritual his worship and the stronger the spirit of his worship, until, if, with the help of Allah and the perfect holy men [awliya'] (AS), he reaches the truth of servitude and its core, he will catch a glimpse of the secret of worship. In all the worships -especially (in) the salat which has a position of comprehensiveness [jami'iyat], and is, among the worships, like the Perfect Man, and like the Greatest Name (of Allah), or rather it is the very Greatest Name these two positions, i.e. The position of the Glory of Lordship, which is a fact, and the position of the humility of servitude, which accompanies it, are occult. Among the recommended acts the qunut, and among the obligatory acts the sujud, have particular specialities to which we shall refer later insha 'allah.

It should be noted, however, that absolute servitude is of the highest degrees of perfection and of the loftiest positions of humanity, of which no one has any share except the most perfect of the creatures of Allah, Muhammad (SA) at the top, followed by the perfect walis (the Guardians). The others are limping in servitude, and their worshipping and servitude are endued with causes, only with the steps of servitude one can reach the real absolute mi'raj. That is why the noble ayah says: "Glorified is He Who carried his servant by night ...". [23] It was the step of servitude and the attraction of (His) Lordship that carried that holy person to the mi'raj of proximity [qurb] and union [wusul]. In the tashahhud of the salat - which is a return from an absolute "annihilation" [fana'] that was achieved in the sujud there is once again a tendency to servitude, before paying attention to the Messengership. It may also be a reference to the position of Messengership as a result of the essence of servitude. This is a lengthy subject which is out of the scope of these papers.

The Stages of the Stations of the People of Suluk

Know that there are for the people of suluk, in this station (i.e. paying attention to the humility of servitude and the Glory of His Lordship) and other stations, countless stages and degrees, only to a few of which we can generally refer, since comprehensively knowing all their aspects and counting all the stages are beyond the capacity of this humble creature: "The ways to Allah are as numerous as the breaths of the creatures". [24]

One of those stages is the stage of Knowledge ['ilm], which is such that it proves, by scientific conduct [suluk] and philosophic argument, the humility of servitude and the Glory of (His) Lordship. This is a pure sort of knowledge, since it is clearly proved in the high sciences and supreme philosophy that the entire House of Realization [dar-i tahaqquq] and the complete circle of existence are mere relation and attachment and nothing but poverty. The Glory, Kingdom and Sovereignty belong to His Sanctified Essence of Majesty. No one can have any share of Glory and Majesty, while the humility of servitude and poverty is engraved on the forehead of every body, and is registered in the innermost part of their truth. The truth of gnosis and vision [shuhud], and the result of suffering and suluk, are in lifting the veil off the face of the truth, and discerning the humility of servitude and the origin of poverty and lowliness in oneself and in all the creatures. The invocation ascribed to the master of all beings (the Prophet of Islam) (SA):"O Allah, show me the things as they are", [25] may be a reference to this stage, i.e. Wishing to see the humility of servitude which requires discerning the Glory of the Lordship.

Therefore, if the salik on the road of the truth, the traveler in the way of servitude, covers this distance with the steps of scientific suluk and the mount of intellectual advance, he will fall in the veils of knowledge and attain to the first station of humanity. But this veil is a thick one, as it is said: "Knowledge is the greatest veil." The salik should not stay behind this veil. He is to tear it, since, should he be contented with this stage and keep his heart chained by it, he would fall into istidraj (being engaged in other than the Haqq). Istidraj in this stage, means becoming engaged in the numerous secondary branches of knowledge, presenting many arguments justifying his intellectual roamings in that field, and depriving himself of the other stages, because his heart is attached to this stage only, neglecting the wanted result, which is attaining to annihilation in Allah. He, thus, would spend his life in the veil of argument [burhan] and its branches. The more these branches, the thicker the veil and the greater the distance from the truth. The salik, therefore, should not be deceived, in this stage, by Satan, secluding himself from the truth and reality, and stopping his journey to the goal on the pretext of being a great scholar, a very learned person and a powerful man of argument. He must set to work briskly, be serious in his quest for the real demand, and take himself to the next stage, which is the second stage. And that is such that he should write what (his) reason has understood through irrefutable proof and scientific conduct, with the pen of intellect on the tablet of the heart, to convey the truth of the humility of servitude and the Glory of Lordship to the heart and free himself from the chains and the veils of knowledge. We shall refer to this stage presently, insha'allah. So, the result of the second stage is acquiring belief in the facts.

The third stage is that of "tranquility and calmness of the soul", which is, in fact, the perfect stage of faith. Allah, the Exalted, said to his "friend" [khalil = Ibrahim] :"Have you not believed [yet]? " He said: "I have, but just to have a calm heart." [26] A reference to this stage may come later.

The fourth stage is that of "vision" [mushahadah], which is a divine light and a divine manifestation, as a consequence of the manifestations of the Names and the Attributes appearing in the secret of the salik, and enlighting his complete heart with the visionary light. This stage comprises many degrees that are out of the capacity of these pages. In this stage an example of the effect of the nafilahs: (I would be his hearing, sight and hand) [26a] will appear, and the salik will see himself drowned in limitless ocean, beyond which there is another very deep ocean, in which the secrets of "fate" are partly disclosed. Each one of these stages has its special istidraj (being engaged in other than the Haqq) through which the salik is exposed to great perishing [halakat]. So, he will have to rid himself, in all stages, of egoism and I-ness. He should not be self-conceited nor egotistic, both of which are the sources of most of evils, especially for the salik. However, we shall have another reference to this subject presently insha'allah [Allah willing].

Concerning submissiveness [khushu]

One of the things necessary for the salik in all his worships, especially in the salat, which is at the head of all worships and has a position of comprehensiveness [jami'iyat] , is submissiveness [khushu]. It is, in fact, a complete submission [khudu'] mixed with love or fear. It is the result of comprehending the Greatness, Power and Majesty of Beauty and Glory. The detail of this generality is that the hearts of the people of suluk are different according to their disposition and nature:

Some of the hearts are amorous and of the manifestations of Beauty [jamal] and, driven by their nature, they are attracted to the Beauty of the Beloved. When, in the suluk, they comprehend the shadow of the Beautiful, or witness the origin of the Beauty, the Greatness hidden in the secret of the Beauty effaces them, and they go into rapture, for in every beauty there is a hidden glory, and in every glory there is a covered beauty. There is probably an allusion to this point in his saying when the guardian of the gnostics and of the saliks, Amirul Mu'minin (the commander of the faithful), may Allah bless him and all his offspring, says: "Glory to the One whose compassion is vast for His friends despite His severe revenge, and whose revenge is severe for His enemies despite His vast compassion," [27]

Thus, the Majesty, Greatness and Power of Beauty envelop them and they fall into a state of submission [khushu] before the Beauty of the Beloved. This state, at the beginning, causes agitation to the heart and engenders anxiety. Then, after submission [tamkin], it changes to a state of familiarity, and the agitation and anxiety, caused by the Greatness and Power, turn into familiarity and peace, and there happens a state of tranquillity, as was the state of the heart of khalilur-Rahman (Allah's Friend = Ibrahim) (AS).

Some other hearts are fearing and they are of the manifestations of Glory [jalal]. They are in continual understanding of the Greatness, Grandeur and Glory. Their submission is of fright, and the Subjugative and Majestic Names are manifested to their hearts, as was the state of the prophet Yahya (may Allah's peace be upon him and our Prophet and his progeny). So, submission is sometimes mixed with love, and sometimes with fear and fright, though in every love there is fear, and in every fear there is love.

The degrees of submission are according to the degrees of understanding the Greatness, Majesty and Beauty. Now as we, in our case, are deprived of the light of visions, we have but to indulge in acquiring submission by means of knowledge and faith [iman]. Allah, the Exalted, says: "Successful, indeed, are the believers who are submissive in their salats," [28] Submission in the salat is regarded as a sign of faith [iman]. So, whoever is not submissive in his salat, will, according to Allah's saying, be excluded from the faithful [ahl-i iman]. Our salats which are not accompanied with submission are caused by a deficiency of faith or by lacking it. A belief [i'tiqad] and knowledge are other than faith, our knowledge of Allah, His Names and Attributes and of other divine Knowledge [ma'arij], is other than faith. Satan, according to the testimony of Allah, has information about the Beginning and the Resurrection, yet, he is a disbeliever. He said: "You have created me of fire, while You created him of dust," [29] So, he believes in Allah and in His being the Creator; and he says: "Respite me until the day they are resurrected", [30] So, he believes in the Day of Resurrection, too. He knows about the Books, the Messengers and the angels. Nevertheless, Allah addresses him as a disbeliever, excluding him from the group of the believers [mu'minin].

Thus, the people of knowledge are distinct from those of faith. Not every man of knowledge is a man of faith. Therefore, after acquiring knowledge, one has to join the believers, and to convey the Greatness, Majesty, Brightness and Beauty of Allah, the Most Exalted and High, to his heart, so that it may become submissive, since mere knowledge does not result in submission. You can realize it in yourself: although you do believe in the Beginning and the Resurrection and in Allah's Majesty and Glory, your heart is not submissive. As to Allah's saying: "Has not the time yet come for those who believe that their hearts should be submissive when remembering Allah and what has come down of the truth," [31] it may be that it is the formal faith the very belief in what the Prophet (SA) has brought - which is intended here, for the true faith is accompanied by a degree of submission; or the submission in the noble ayah may refer to a submission at its complete degree, as sometimes they apply the word, 'alim (erudite) to the one whose knowledge has reached the limit of faith. In the noble ayah: " ...verily only the erudite among Allah's servants fear Him, " [32] the reference may be to them. In the terms of the Book and the Sunnah, knowledge, faith and Islam refer to different degrees, the explanation of which is out of the scope of these papers.

Generally speaking, the salik on the way to the Hereafter -specially if with the mi'raj (ascending) step of the salat -will have to make his heart submissive by the light of knowledge and faith, so as to strengthen, as much as he can, this divine gift and the beneficent gleam, in his heart, trying to keep this state during the whole length of the salat. This state of consolidation and stability, though a bit difficult at the beginning for people like us, it becomes quite possible by practice and by exercising the heart.

My dear: Acquiring perfection and the provision for the Hereafter requires demand and seriousness, and the greater the demand, the more it deserves being serious about it. Certainly, with such a state of weakness, laxity and carelessness, one cannot ascend to the divine proximity and to be in a place neighbouring the Lord of Might. One has to manly set forth in order to reach what one wants. Since you do believe in the Hereafter, and find no way of comparability between that world and this -whether regarding their happiness and perfection, or their sufferings and calamities, as that world is eternal, with no death and perishing, where the happy live in comfort and dignity and in everlasting bliss, a comfort which has no like in this world, a divine glory and sovereignty, the like of which cannot be found in this life, and a bliss which never occurs in anybody's imagination, and similarly regarding the sufferings of that world, its pains, torments and evils can have no match in this world -you should know that the way to happiness runs through obeying Allah, the Lord of Might. None of the acts of worship and obedience can be on the same footing as that of the salat, which is a comprehensive [jami] divine mixture [ma'jun] undertaking the happiness of humanity. If it is accepted, all other acts (of worship) will be accepted. So, you are to exert utmost seriousness in obtaining it, never to feel tired in the quest, and to bear whatever hardship there may be, though there will be none. Actually if you continued it for a while and got cordially familiar with it, you would get, in this very world, so much pleasure out of your talk with Allah -a pleasure which cannot be compared with anyone of this world's pleasures. This will be quite obvious if we study the states of the people supplicating to Allah.

In general, to sum up our discussions in this chapter, we may say that, having comprehended the Greatness, the Beauty, and the Majesty of Allah, either by means of reasoning and proofs, or through the explanations of the prophets (AS), one must remind his heart of it, and then, by gradual remindings, cordial attention and continual remembering Allah's Greatness and Majesty, he has to bring about the state of submission in his heart, so as to attain to the required result. At any rate, the salik should not suffice himself with his present station, as any station which we may obtain does not worth a farthing in the market of the people of knowledge, nor it worths a grain of mustard in the bazar of "the people of heart". The salik must, in all situations, remember his own faults and deficiencies, so that he may find, through this, a way to his happiness. And praise be to Allah.