7 – Scrupulousness.
Scrupulousness means to hold back the soul from indulging in anything with blameworthy consequences. Ordinary people are scrupulous by avoiding all that is plainly unlawful; the elite are scrupulous by avoiding all that disturbs the heart with ugliness and darkness, as summed up by the words of the Prophet (upon whom be blessings and peace): ‘Leave that which makes you doubt for that which makes you doubt not’. The elite of the elite are scrupulous by refusing to be attached to ought but God, and closing the door to desire for ought but God, and channelling the aspiration towards God, and being content with nothing but Him. This is the scrupulousness of which Hasan al-Basri was speaking when he said: ‘The essence of religion is scrupulousness, and the bane of religion is greed.’ Now the scrupulousness which is diametrically opposed to greed in every way is the scrupulousness of the elite of the elite; a single bit of is worth thousands of prayers and fasts. Thus (Ibn ‘Ata ‘Illah) says in the Tanwir: ‘The servant’s understanding is not proved by his having much knowledge or by his adherence to his litanies; his illumination and understanding are rather proved by his being satisfied with his Lord, and his heart’s being attached to Him, and by his breaking free of the thrall of greed and adorning himself with the robe of scrupulousness.’ (He is speaking of the scrupulousness of the elite of the elite.) God knows best.
8 – Asceticism.
Asceticism means for the heart to have no attachments save to the Lord; or for the life of this world to be alien to the heart and worthless to the soul. Ordinary people are ascetic by leaving all that is above their needs; the elite are ascetic by leaving all that distracts from the act of drawing nigh unto God in all situations; the elite of the elite are ascetic by refraining from looking towards anything but God at all times. In all cases, the essence of the matter is that the heart is alienated from all but God, and from any desire save for the Beloved. Thus, asceticism engenders love, as the Prophet (upon whom be blessings and peace) said: ‘Be ascetic in the world, and God will love you…’ It also engenders spiritual wayfaring, and is the means of arriving at its end; for the heart cannot undergo this journey whilst it is attached to ought but the Beloved.
9 – Reliance.
Reliance means for the heart to trust in God so that it depends on nought besides Him, and to be attached to God and consign all things to Him, secure in the knowledge that He knows all things. Or, it means to trust what is in God’s hand more than what is in one’s own. Its lowest level is to be with God as the deputy is with the kind and compassionate commissioner; its middle level is to be like the child with his mother: he turns to no one but her for anything; its highest level is to be like the dead body in the hands of the washer. The first is for ordinary people, the second is for the elite, and the third is for the elite of the elite. Doubt may enter the head of the first; the second is without any doubt, but he only attaches to his mother when he needs her; as for the third, there is no question of either doubt or attachment, for he is annihilated from his own self, and at all times he sees nothing but what God does with him.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Renewing One's Initiation
I recently came across this passage in the book al-Ira’ah by the Tijani scholar Hajj Lahsan Ba‘qili, and it moved me deeply; I feel that had I read this some years ago, it would have given me immense benefit and saved me a lot of anguish; but that was not Allah’s will. Nevertheless, I reproduce it here in case it may benefit others and save them from falling into a demonic snare which has claimed many a Sufi aspirant over the centuries. The Sheikh says:
(The passage uses certain expressions of more use to Tijani disciples; I have taken the liberty of modifying them, so that it is of more use to those who are not members of that particular blessed order, as I am not)
…Many times people are initiated by a sheikh or muqaddam who has spiritual blessing, but then meet someone else who is more qualified, and renew their initiation with him, and then they neglect their relationship with the first one even though he was the one who first brought them into the order and began their blessed path. And they might even slight him by saying, “I was initiated by so-and-so,” naming the second, and when you press them they say, “I entered the order at the hands of so-and-so,” speaking of him as though he is unimportant and distant. By neglecting the first wellspring of their success in the order, they end up suspended halfway: neither disciples, nor otherwise. They are like someone who makes ablutions for the midday prayer and then retains his state of purity until the afternoon prayer: it is recommended for him to renew it anyway, for the sake of performing a recommended act, so he renews his ablutions. But if after he prays he remembers that the first ablution was actually nullified before he made the second, his prayer is invalid. It does not matter that he made ablutions the second time, since when he did so he only intended the blessing of it, and not to cleanse himself of his impure state, and nothing more. Likewise, when someone renews his initiation with another sheikh but still remains tied to the first initiation without honoring it properly, his initiation is invalid and no one else will benefit him, even if he were to meet with every sheikh in the world. The only way to avoid this is to repent and explain the reasons for the separation, and be given permission by the new spiritual guide; and then his intention should be to enter the order from the beginning again. And you find that those who go through this endure many difficulties and suffer from worry, sorrow and paranoia.
(The passage uses certain expressions of more use to Tijani disciples; I have taken the liberty of modifying them, so that it is of more use to those who are not members of that particular blessed order, as I am not)
…Many times people are initiated by a sheikh or muqaddam who has spiritual blessing, but then meet someone else who is more qualified, and renew their initiation with him, and then they neglect their relationship with the first one even though he was the one who first brought them into the order and began their blessed path. And they might even slight him by saying, “I was initiated by so-and-so,” naming the second, and when you press them they say, “I entered the order at the hands of so-and-so,” speaking of him as though he is unimportant and distant. By neglecting the first wellspring of their success in the order, they end up suspended halfway: neither disciples, nor otherwise. They are like someone who makes ablutions for the midday prayer and then retains his state of purity until the afternoon prayer: it is recommended for him to renew it anyway, for the sake of performing a recommended act, so he renews his ablutions. But if after he prays he remembers that the first ablution was actually nullified before he made the second, his prayer is invalid. It does not matter that he made ablutions the second time, since when he did so he only intended the blessing of it, and not to cleanse himself of his impure state, and nothing more. Likewise, when someone renews his initiation with another sheikh but still remains tied to the first initiation without honoring it properly, his initiation is invalid and no one else will benefit him, even if he were to meet with every sheikh in the world. The only way to avoid this is to repent and explain the reasons for the separation, and be given permission by the new spiritual guide; and then his intention should be to enter the order from the beginning again. And you find that those who go through this endure many difficulties and suffer from worry, sorrow and paranoia.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sheikh al-Alawi's Lote Tree
The lote-tree in Mostaghanem beneath which the Sheikh al-Alawi loved to sit and invoke.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Ibn Ajiba on the Spiritual Virtues (3)
5 – Patience
Patience means that the heart accept the Lord’s decree gladly. Ordinary people have patience when their hearts gladly accept the difficulties of performing righteous deeds and abstaining from sins; the elite have patience when their souls gladly accept to endure the exercises, efforts and terrors of the spiritual path, keeping their hearts always attentive, and seeking to behold what lies beyond mystical veils; and the elite of the elite have patience when their spirits – or their secrets – gladly accept the presence of wonders and graces, or the constant and unending vision of God.
6 – Gratitude
Gratitude is the heart’s joy at receiving blessings whilst the body is devoted to obedience of the Blesser. Or, it is to acknowledge the blessings of the Blesser with devotion. It has three forms: The gratitude of the tongue, which is to vocally acknowledge the blessing with resignation, which is itself a blessing; and the gratitude of the body, which is to devote it to God’s service; and the gratitude of the heart, which is to see the Blesser in every blessing. The foundation of all of these is contained in Junayd’s words: ‘One must not disobey God by means of His blessings.’
Ordinary people are grateful when they praise God with their tongues; the elite are grateful when they serve God with their bodies; and the elite of the elite are grateful when they immerse themselves completely in the vision of the Giver.
Patience means that the heart accept the Lord’s decree gladly. Ordinary people have patience when their hearts gladly accept the difficulties of performing righteous deeds and abstaining from sins; the elite have patience when their souls gladly accept to endure the exercises, efforts and terrors of the spiritual path, keeping their hearts always attentive, and seeking to behold what lies beyond mystical veils; and the elite of the elite have patience when their spirits – or their secrets – gladly accept the presence of wonders and graces, or the constant and unending vision of God.
6 – Gratitude
Gratitude is the heart’s joy at receiving blessings whilst the body is devoted to obedience of the Blesser. Or, it is to acknowledge the blessings of the Blesser with devotion. It has three forms: The gratitude of the tongue, which is to vocally acknowledge the blessing with resignation, which is itself a blessing; and the gratitude of the body, which is to devote it to God’s service; and the gratitude of the heart, which is to see the Blesser in every blessing. The foundation of all of these is contained in Junayd’s words: ‘One must not disobey God by means of His blessings.’
Ordinary people are grateful when they praise God with their tongues; the elite are grateful when they serve God with their bodies; and the elite of the elite are grateful when they immerse themselves completely in the vision of the Giver.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Ibn Ajiba on the Spiritual Virtues (2)
Penitence, Fear and Hope
2 – Penitence
Penitence goes deeper than repentance, because it means renouncement accompanied by a feeling of humble regret and a firm resolve to return to the straight path. It has three levels: To turn from sin to repentance, and from heedlessness to attentiveness, and from being divided from God to being united with Him.
3 – Fear
Fear is the heart’s worry of encountering something it dislikes or losing out on something it desires. Its fruit is that it makes one resolve to be righteous and flee from sin. And to act as though one is fearful whilst being remiss in piety is a false claim. Ordinary people fear punishment and the loss of reward; the elite fear rebuke and the loss of nearness; and the elite of the elite fear to be veiled from God because of poor etiquette on their part.
4 – Hope
Hope is the heart’s gladness in anticipation of something it loves, on condition that one does what one can to attain it – otherwise it is but a wish and a fancy. Ordinary people hope to attain unto reward in the hereafter; the elite hope to attain unto God’s goodly pleasure and His nearness; and the elite of the elite hope to be firmly rooted in the Beatific vision, and to continue to learn more and more of the mysteries of the Loving Sovereign.
Fear and hope are like the wings of the heart, without which it cannot fly; and perhaps the gnostics have more hope, whilst the righteous have more fear.
2 – Penitence
Penitence goes deeper than repentance, because it means renouncement accompanied by a feeling of humble regret and a firm resolve to return to the straight path. It has three levels: To turn from sin to repentance, and from heedlessness to attentiveness, and from being divided from God to being united with Him.
3 – Fear
Fear is the heart’s worry of encountering something it dislikes or losing out on something it desires. Its fruit is that it makes one resolve to be righteous and flee from sin. And to act as though one is fearful whilst being remiss in piety is a false claim. Ordinary people fear punishment and the loss of reward; the elite fear rebuke and the loss of nearness; and the elite of the elite fear to be veiled from God because of poor etiquette on their part.
4 – Hope
Hope is the heart’s gladness in anticipation of something it loves, on condition that one does what one can to attain it – otherwise it is but a wish and a fancy. Ordinary people hope to attain unto reward in the hereafter; the elite hope to attain unto God’s goodly pleasure and His nearness; and the elite of the elite hope to be firmly rooted in the Beatific vision, and to continue to learn more and more of the mysteries of the Loving Sovereign.
Fear and hope are like the wings of the heart, without which it cannot fly; and perhaps the gnostics have more hope, whilst the righteous have more fear.
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