Fana and Baqa Infinities of Islam

Shono Momin Musalmano,
Kori Ami Nibedono
E Duniya Fana Hobe
Jeneo Jano na!

Hearken O Faithful Muslims,
How do you act ignorant while knowing
fully well that this cosmic world
(and your 'own' world, too) is going
to meet annihilation, soon!

 ~ A popular Bengali Song, translated in approx. meaning

Dr. Liaquat Ali Khan's paper titled: Fana and Baqa Infinities of Islam: Approaches to Islamic Law and Behavior is an excellent reading for those who are interested to delve into a broader implication of the Quranic terms Fana and Baqa in the reality paradigm, specially how the concept relates to human law and Divine Law. Dr. Khan is currently serving as Professor of Law at Washburn University and have produced some noteworthy works in the field of International Law, Islamic Law and Democracy. The scholarly paper on Fana and Baqa is made available in the public domain and a part of this paper: 'Introduction' and 'Fana and Baqa Attributes' is shared in this post.

Introduction

Jalaluddin Rumi’s poem narrating the conversation between the lover and the beloved captures the essence of fana (transient) and baqa (eternal) infinities. The lover comes to see the beloved and knocks at the door. The beloved asks: “Who’s there?” The lover replies: “It’s me.” The door is not opened. The lover goes away to perfect his longing for the beloved. Years later, the lover returns and knocks at the door. The beloved asks: “Who is it?” The lover replies: “You.” The door is opened.

This mystical narrative captures a Sufi truth that ego cannot reach the eternal love of God. The lover’s self-annihilation (fana) and complete submission to the beloved’s will is the inevitable precondition for the lover to experience eternal (baqa) love. The poem also captures the submission principle, a cardinal belief of Islam, under which Muslims, as individuals and communities, forego ego and completely submit to the Will of God.

Ego and love cannot coexist, but ego and law can. Secular law emanating from human ego can establish order and justice. Secular law anchored in human ego, however, mounts barriers to the understanding of God’s Law. Only when positive (man-made) law submits to the supremacy of the Word of God can human beings obtain the benefits of God’s Law. This willingness to submit positive law to God’s Law revealed in divine texts is the paradigmatic definition of Islamic law...

In popular vocabulary, “infinity” describes something everlasting or something that cannot be fully comprehended. God, space, time, and numbers have been associated with infinity... In this article, I use the word infinity in two distinct senses. First, I use it to describe the seemingly unending evolution, and eventual annihilation, of the physical universe whose beginning and end are unknown and uncertain; this is fana infinity. Additionally, I use infinity to describe permanence, timelessness, afterlife, and God’s Law; this is baqa infinity. The two infinities are related and yet they are mutually exclusive. Under Islam, what is permanent is not subject to evolution and annihilation, and vice versa. Thus, fana and baqa infinities describe two distinct dimensions of Islamic law, which are critical for understanding the sources of Islamic law and their socio-psychological influence on Muslim attitudes and conduct.

In Islam, fana and baqa infinities are not merely theoretical constructs for the consumption of theological elites. They also carry immense practical meaning for ordinary believers in their worldly affairs. These infinities bear upon core beliefs of the Islamic faith. Based on these conceptions of infinity, for example, Muslims believe that positive law (human law) is ephemeral but God’s Law is eternal. They also believe that the physical universe is transient but afterlife is everlasting. Believing Muslims conduct their lives seeking rewards both in the physical world and in the afterlife. For them, any notion of law that ignores, sets aside, or opposes the relevance of the afterlife and focuses exclusively on rewards and punishments rendered in the worldly life is inherently defective, for it fails to understand the normative hierarchy of Islamic law.

Fana and Baqa Attributes

The Qur’an uses fana and baqa paradigms to state that everything in the physical universe will perish except the face of God. The fana infinity intimates both the evolution and the annihilation of the physical universe. The physical universe is a phenomenal cosmos that is changing, expanding, and contracting in infinite ways that are both known and unknown to human beings. The Qur’an captures the ceaseless evolution of the physical universe in the words kun fayakoon, that is, “be and it is.”

In the words of Iqbal, an early twentieth century Muslim philosopher, kun fayakoon are not the words that God spoke just once at the time of creation. These words are the divine music of an ever-evolving, infinite physical universe. Montgomery Watt and Richard Bell, in commenting on numerous verses of the Qur’an, also note “God’s continuing activity in the present.” Kun fayakoon thus attests to constant unfolding of the physical universe. In recorded history, human beings have been continuously discovering new systems of knowledge that organize and move the physical universe. The unceasing evolution of the infinite physical universe, however, is beyond the full comprehension of human intellect.

Centuries before Islam presented the notions of fana and baqa infinities, Greek, Hindu, and Zoroastrian systems furnished insightful introductions to these infinities. The Greek literature, particularly Aristotle’s writings, which cultivated early Islamic philosophy and theology, clarified theoretical and practical understandings of fana infinities, including temporal, spatial, and mathematical infinities. Aristotle came close to understanding the baqa infinity when he distinguished between actual infinity and potential infinity to argue that actual infinity can be recognized in concept but not in reality. Greeks found the practical application of baqa infinity in the repetition of tasks. The Greek gods punished Sisyphus, a deceitful king who believed he was smarter than Zeus, by condemning him to roll a huge boulder up a steep hill only to watch helplessly while the boulder, just before reaching the top of the hill, rolled back down, forcing Sisyphus to start this endless drudgery again and again. This punishment was derived from a rudimentary concept of baqa infinity.

While the Greeks wrestled with baqa infinity, the Persians perfected the notion of fana infinity. Persian Zoroastrianism adopted a fana definition of the physical universe proclaiming that “God made the world in one day; he will one day destroy it.” Hindus captured the distinction between baqa and fana infinities by constructing the concept of endless reincarnation, a concept similar to Sisyphus’s punishment. Hinduism, however, offered non-being, achievable through good deeds, as the ultimate baqa infinity that defeats the cyclical infinity of life.

Under Islam, the fana infinity captures both the evolution and annihilation of the physical universe. God’s Law predicts the folding up of the physical universe. According to the Qur’an, the mountains, which represent the metaphorical durability of the material world, will be uprooted and scattered like dust. Even during the life-tenure of the physical universe, evolution and annihilation are its constitutive elements. Witness the evolution and annihilation of animals, birds, plants, and other organisms that inhabit the physical universe. Each life form evolves and replicates itself for an unlimited period of time. Potentially, every life form is infinite with no sunset provision on its longevity. Yet nature discontinues life forms.

While natural forces are primarily responsible for the extinction of life species, human beings may also unintentionally, unknowingly, or deliberately participate in destroying specific species of animals, birds, and plants. The extinction of dinosaurs, an animal species that evolved over millions of years, testifies to the natural fana of the life species in the physical universe. Likewise, human beings constitute an infinite life species. There is no assurance, however, that the human life will continue to exist as it has for millions of years. The Basic Code predicts the worldly fana of the human species. What appears to be infinite in the physical universe is indeed finite. The idea that the physical universe will ultimately be destroyed is a core Islamic belief and a foundational principle of Islamic law. The baqa (eternal) infinity is the complementary Islamic belief that further highlights the fana infinity. God’s Law revealed in divine texts is the manifestation of baqa infinity.

Some 8,000 light-years away, Eta Carinae,
a star a hundred times more massive than the sun
is approaching it's own fana or annihilation

The physical universe and the systems of knowledge, which animate cosmic phenomena, follow God’s Law. Nothing in the physical universe or its systems of knowledge is arbitrary, chaotic, or out of God’s control. According to Ibn Arabi, God’s Law is the spirit of the physical universe. God’s Law preceded the creation of the physical universe and it will survive the annihilation of the physical universe. Likewise, God’s Law that animates the human body does not die with the physical death of the human body. In this sense, fana and baqa infinities coexist in the physical universe.

Everything in the physical universe and beyond submits to God’s Law as preserved in umm al-kitab, the Mother Book. God’s Law is revealed to human beings through divine texts, including the Upanishads, the Dhammapada, the Avesta, the Torah, the Gospels, and the Qur’an. The Qur’an affirms God’s Law revealed in prior divine texts, clarifying confusions and misunderstandings. According to Islamic belief, the Qur’an has perfected God’s Law for human beings. This perfected divine law cannot be modified, altered, or set aside. God’s Law revealed in divine texts is immutable.

Secular and atheistic ideologies may challenge the epistemology of baqa sources. For example, ideologies like communism deny the existence of God and God’s Law. These types of ideologies may also disregard the related beliefs such as afterlife as irrational and unverifiable concoctions.

Persons who reject God’s Law, however, may still recognize the infinities of the physical universe. In addition to God’s Law, afterlife is part of baqa infinity. On the day of reckoning, human beings will be resurrected and they will face God’s justice and mercy in accordance with God’s Law. After justice has been done to each soul to the minutest level, a new life will begin. This new life, located in post-resurrection spatio-temporality (hell and paradise), is eternal “a place beyond which there is no beyond.”

No divine text intimates that afterlife will also end. In fact, there are strong indications in the Qur’an that post-resurrection life will last forever. As noted in the introduction, baqa and fana infinities inform the practical enterprise and dynamics of Islamic law. They determine the actual behavior of Muslims toward families, communities, and non-Muslims. These infinities illuminate the two distinct sources of Islamic law, one divine and permanent, and the other human and subject to change, though the two sources are related. The following discussion explores these sources of Islamic law and their internal relationship.

In the realm of law, two factors distinguish fana infinity from baqa infinity. First, what belongs to fana infinity experiences an endless process of progressive and regressive change. Cultures and communities that human beings construct, as well as the natural universe, which God created, are both dynamic and evolutionary - a phenomenon frequently described in popular maxims such as “everything changes” or “nothing stays the same.”

In contrast to fana infinity, baqa infinity remains the same; it is not evolutionary. The chief characteristic of baqa infinity is its immunity from change. What is evolutionary cannot be permanent and what is permanent cannot change. In the physical universe, some objects and systems are more durable than others, but all are subject to regressive deterioration. Likewise, positive laws are subject to transformation and have no permanence. Some positive laws are more durable than others, but no positive law is permanent in form, shape, or content. Fana infinity is the normal state of positive law.

Second, what belongs to fana infinity is subject to dissolution and eventual annihilation. Numerous life forms, including birds, animals, and plants, which replicate themselves for centuries, meet extinction. The life of a human individual is finite and transient, though the constitutive material of the human body is indestructible. By contrast, the human species as a life form is ceaselessly reproducing itself. The human species may also be evolving intellectually and spiritually. Despite its evolution, the human species possesses certain durable definitional characteristics that distinguish it from other species. According to natural probability, however, the human species cannot last forever. According to Islamic belief, the human species will cease to exist and will be resurrected on the Day of Judgment.

On both counts, the human species is not permanent. It is evolutionary as long as it survives. Positive law is also subject to dissolution. Statutes, customs, and constitutions - all bodies of positive law - are impermanent and face extinction.

According to Islam, transience is the sine qua non of all creation, including time, space, and life forms. The fana infinity of time, space, and life forms is fragile because all creation is subject to annihilation. All human affairs are subject to the logic of change and obliteration. Permanence has been denied to human acts, human ideologies, human constructs, and positive law. Nothing that human beings do is eternal. Only God and God’s Word are permanent.

Relying on distinctions between baqa and fana infinities, the following sections discuss the transience of positive law and the permanence of the Islamic Basic Code. The discussion highlights the conceptual and functional differences between positive law and the Basic Code.

[+] Continue your reading | You may read the full article from here.

Another paper by L. Ali Khan titled, The Paradoxical Evolution of Law presents law’s evolution as a paradoxical union of the finite and the infinite. At any given point in time, law is a finite body of norms, which can be identified. At the same time, law’s evolution is infinite because rule-mutations that alter those norms are indeterminable. In modern legal systems, law’s evolution occurs under the constraining influence of master texts, which provide normative durability by enshrining the fundamental norms of a legal system and fortifying them against change. Despite this stabilizing role, however, master texts are themselves open to mutations. Therefore, law’s evolution under the constraints of a master text mediates the paradoxical union of law’s finite and infinite nature. The paper may be accessed here (PDF).

* Selected Works of Liaquat Ali Khan

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Quranic Meditation on Fana and Baqa Signs | Friday Qur'an Reading

Signs of The Qur'an - Surah ar-Rahman 55:26-30

~
Kullu man 'alayha fan

Wa yabqa Wajhu Rabbika Zul Jalali wal Ikram

Fabi ayyi 'alaai Rabbikuma tukazziban

Yas'aluhu man fis samawati wal ard; 
kulla yawmin huwa fi sha'an

Fabi ayyi 'alaai Rabbikuma tukazziban

~

All things subsisting as creation must perish

and yet shall subsist the absolute majestic and glorious Countenance of your Lord,

 Will you deny the mystical station of no-station of your Lord?

All in the heavens and earth beseech Him; 

every moment He reveals unique Splendor!

 Will you deny the mystical station of no-station of your Lord?

 
~ a non-linear rendition based on the translations of Shaykh Nooruddeen Durkee's 'The Tajwidi Qur'an', Yusuf Ali's translation of the Quran and Sadar Uddin Ahmed Chishti's 'Koran Darshan' ~

The above lines are one of the most powerful and striking collection of verses of not only the Chapter Surah ar-Rahman where it is found, but of the entire Qur'an. A powerful seed for repeated contemplation, recitation in salah and meditation. These verses include two very exalted and important terms for the Mystics and Lovers of God: namely, 'Fana' and 'Baqa', pointing respectively to self-effacement or annihilation of the separate self and subsisting or permanency in God.

Note on Translation: Generally the verse, Fabi ayyi 'alaai Rabbikuma tukazziban is translated as "Which favors / bounty of your Lord will you deny?" This certainly is one of the translation on the literal level, but people of gnosis / ma'rifa have also rendered this verse differently. In Sadar Uddin Ahmed Chishti's (1914-2006) Sufi Exegesis 'Koran Darshan' (in Bengali), he points out that 'al' (alif lam-alif) is not (only) favor / bounty or niyamat but the station of egolessness, the station of total disappearing of the self. It is the totality, ever expansive and ever subsisting station of negation of the self.

In the context of these verses, this particular rendition of the translation becomes more relevant and appropriate because the verses are speaking about both fana (annihilation or destruction of the self) as well as baqa (subsisting, regeneration, rebirth). And both fana and baqa, in their highest meaning has to do with the station of negation. For those who are not familiar with the two terms, Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin has an excellent explanation of Fana and Baqa which can be read here.

Tomar Shesh Nahi Tai
Shunno sheyje
Shesh kore dao Apnake je.

O You Who has no end,
You Yourself Veil Your Self
Disguised in Your own Fana,
You become the No-Self.

- Song of Tagore, a Sufic translation

Calligraphy of the full Surah: ar Rahman (the Merciful) by Everitte

Fana and Baqa are
Abandoning sleep
When the quarterback
Says, Make your leap
For the sake of love
Dive in real deep.

Fana and Baqa are
Oceans without shore
Waters that allow
Soul-full rapport
Yet, with each stroke
Self turns to door

Fana and Baqa are
A time for recall
The moment, Alastu
Universe yet to install
Each life promises
I’ll give my all.

~ from Shamas Nanji's poem 'Fana and Baqa'

In Kashf al-Mahjub (Revelation of Mystery), the oldest known Persian Treatise On Sufism by Ali B. Uthman Al- Jullabi Al- Hujwiri, the author gives a very good explanation of the two terms Baqa / Subsistence and Fana / Annihilation with classifications. You may read the chapter on Baqa and Fana here.

Ego and Love cannot coexist. That is the essential teaching of Fana and Baqa. The lover's self-annihilation (fana) and complete submission to the beloved's will is the inevitable precondition for the lover to experience eternal (baqa) love. (credit)

the Universality

Now question arises, "is this a spiritual teaching invented by the Muslims or Sufis, or has it been part of the universal spiritual currents of humanity?"

Look at the saying of blessed Master of Humanity, Jesus Christ, peace to his noble soul when he says, recorded in three of the Gospels simultaneously, "He who loses his life shall find it." (Matthew 10:39, Luke 9:23-4, John 12:25). The equivalent of Fana in the New Testament is called kenosis (Philippians 2:7), "self-emptying." At the end of this process is fana-fi-Allah, effacement in God. The Bible states that Jesus emptied himself (Greek. ekenosen), in order to let God's light shine through. For the thoughts, the desires, the caprices of the ordinary self only obstruct that light. Self-emptying (kenosis) leads to Unity or Union (enosis), in other words.

Henry Bayman mentions in his book The Station of No Station, "Now the Sufi concept of fana (extinction, annihilation) has its direct correlate in Buddhism: Nirvana, which means extinguishing (literally, the snuffing out of a candle).

We thus see that this process of faqr leading to fana fi-Allah in Sufism brings together four great religions: Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. For Islam is already implicit in Sufism. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3) and “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8) is the way Jesus sermonized it on the Mount. And the formula fana fi-Allah means “Nirvana in Brahman” in terms of Buddhism and Hinduism, thus unexpectedly uniting, at a single stroke, these two great yet apparently disparate traditions."

Invocation of the Divine Name: Ya Baqi - The Enduring

not My will, but Yours be done

For common people who has no exposure to Sufi ideas, not received nisbat from any Sufi Master, all or any explanations of Fana and Baqa of the highest order may sound like reading out an abstract of a Ph.D thesis done in five years to a student who studies in school at grade five. Such subject matter may turn out to be pleasant reading but one must start from where one himself or herself is. One must take up according to one's ability.

So from that perspective, Fana is dying before the death and for common people or seeker of beginner's rank, it is to forsake one's own whims and desire for the sake of the Lord's. It is the practice of Taqwa, which is to obey the Commands of Allah and to refrain from the Prohibitions. The Sufis say, "I will and God will and I leave my desire for what God desires." To submit one's desire, that is to harmonize one's will with God's will is the entry point of Fana. And this presupposes that one learn the Commands and Prohibition from the revealed and preserved Final Scripture. Thus knowledge is prerequisite for gnosis of God. This is the knowledge about God, His Commands and His limits which are manifestation of His Will in terms of knowledge and which when embodied in life produce harmony of human will with Divine will.

"Not as I will, but as Thou Will, Father," as cried out Jesus in one of the last recorded supplication of his. So this forsaking one's own will for Divine Will is the beginning of entrance into the gate of Fana. To obey the command of God is practical spirituality that marks the slow death of the ego, which has the inbuilt inclination towards going against the will of God - and hence the Prophetic wisdom goes, "Die before you die."

Abu Yaqub Nahrajuri says: “A man’s true servantship lies in annihilation and subsistence,” because no one is capable of serving Allah with sincerity until renounces all self-interest. Therefore, to renounce humanity is annihilation, and to be sincere in servantship is subsistence. In this connection, Ibrahim b. Shaiban says: “The knowledge of annihilation and subsistence depends on sincerity, unity and true servantship; all else is error and heresy.”

Whoever is annihilated from his own will subsist in the will of Allah, because your will is perishable and the will of Allah is everlasting. When man stands by his own will his object of desire will be annihilated and he will stand by annihilation, but when he is controlled by the will of Allah his desire of object will subsist and he will stand by subsistence. Thus the Divine Law (Shariah), the Commands and Prohibition of God gives the basic matrix upon which one can exercise both annihilation and subsisting of action and attributes.

Henry Bayman again from his book The Station of No Station:

The journey to God cannot be accomplished in one step. This is why it is a long, drawn-out process composed of intermediate steps. The Sufis have many ways of talking about these steps, and one of them is that extinction in God is preceded by, first, extinction in one’s master (fana fish-sheikh), and then extinction in the Prophet (fana fir-rasul ). Extinction in God is capped by a further step, subsistence in God (baqa bi-Allah).It is in the first of these that the seeker implores, “Lift away my self from me, Master” (Shamsi). All the while, one prays - with Yunus - to God, who is the true goal of the journey:

Remove me-ness from me, with you-ness fill me
Take my life while in this life
Let me not die over there.

In Yunus’ way of thinking, the goal is to bring out the wonderful inner self within man, the divine self of the Perfect Human:

Do not say I am in me, because I am not
There is an I inside me, inner than myself.

Calligraphy by Bin Qullander

Quranic Verses 55:26 to 30 as Meditation

Returning back to the verses mentioned at the beginning of this post:

Kullu man 'alayha fan
Wa yabqa Wajhu Rabbika Zul Jalali wal Ikram
Fabi ayyi 'alaai Rabbikuma tukazziban
Yas'aluhu man fis samawati wal ard; 
kulla yawmin huwa fi sha'an
Fabi ayyi 'alaai Rabbikuma tukazziban

All else other than God is perishing
and eternally permanent is the majestic and bounteous Countenance of your Lord,
Will you deny the mystical station of no-station of your Lord?
All in the heavens and earth beseech Him;
every moment He reveals unique Splendor!
Which bounty of Your Lord can you deny?

You may download an audio recording of the above verses from here (mp3), recited by Saad al-Ghamadi.

Mawlana Asraf Ali Thanvi, may Allah be pleased with him, mentioned that it was the practice of the blessed companions of the Holy Prophet that they used you read few verses of the Quran over and over again until the verses would get impressed upon their hearts. In a sense this was their method of Remembrance (Dhikr / Zikr) through which they not only memorized the verses, in the process, the truth within the revelation would be manifest within their hearts through repetation. Through repeated chanting of the verses they would also understand fully the commands or prohibition of God and would embody the actions accordingly.

Following the same method, the above verses can be used as a seed for chanting, meditation and reciting at salaat or prayer. While repeating and concentrating upon their first layer of meanings, since Quranic revelation is holographic in nature, it has the ability to unveil other layers of meanings and epiphanies.

To better understand the literal and individual words you may consult the Quranic Arabic Corpus here. It is recommended to commit the verses (in Arabic) in memory and to recite it repeatedly in salaat with concentration and also outside the salaat at Zikr or Remembrance seed. May Allah expand our heart to Truth. Ameen.

# Further:
* Fana fillah and Baqa billah
* Extinction and Subsistence in Allah
* The Divine Name: al-Baqi
* Fana and Baqa from the Teachings of Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin
* Fana and Baqa Infinities of Islam: Approaches to Islamic Law and Behavior, an excellent scholarly paper by L. Ali Khan published by University of St. Thomas Law Journal
* What is Fana? What is Baqa? | Sufi Wisdom
* Fana and Baqa (Baka) | spiritual death and resurrection
* The Meanings of the Four Books by Henry Bayman

# In the Series:
* Friday Quran Reading: The Chapter of the Mystical Letter & Sound “Qaaaf”

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The Practice of Intent by Shaykh Ebrahim Schuitema

The Practice of Intent is a short treatise by Shaykh Ebrahim Schuitema where he sums up something remarkable in a very precise form. He provides a pathway to the essence of what and how of the Deen (the Path, the Journey and every encompassing the both) as a technology of transformation.

Here Shaykh Ebrahim mentions how the journey is about the cultivation and polishing of intent, which is the very foundation of every action as well as existence (Remember the saying of our Master, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "All actions are by their intentions" and "God says, I was a Hidden Treasure intending to be known, hence I manifested the creation"). The author in the role of a Sufi Teacher provides a very contemporary counsel while keeping the focus on some of the most basic aspects of the Deen. This is also the Shaykh's advice to his students and in parallel, his introduction to Sufism.

The treatise is arranged in these sections: Introduction, Salah, Meditation, Keeping a Journal, Attention and few Appendices including the Wird of Shaykh Ebrahim Schuitema and his Aphorisms of Intent.

In 'Salah' part he gives some unique tips and to increase awareness and fine tune our concentration during salah. There are many who wonder about concentration and focus in salah, the daily prayer of Islam, and insha'Allah they can find their answer.

He pass on a very important but often over looked aspect when he says, "If one wishes to increase concentration in salah, then one must start concentration in wudu or ablution." This is a simple but very useful advice.

Shaykh Ebrahim in the 'Meditation' part of this booklet gives a straight forward and one of the simplest method of meditation from Islamic Sufic perspective. Those who wonder where meditation can fit into the daily practices of a Muslim or any seeker in that matter, in a practical and useful way, here Shaykh Ebrahim is about to teach us something which we all can apply easily within our daily life since its nothing too technical or loaded with unnecessary details.

He recommends to keep a daily journal or diary and reminds that 'any voyage of discovery has a ship's log'. In Keeping a Journal section the Shaykh writes: "The basic assumption that lies behind the intention of keeping a journal of your daily experience is that your life is a conversation with Allah. The 'other' that Allah presents to you in the moment you are in are the words He uses, and the Time is the grammar or syntax... Your day is a letter of correspondence from Allah to you. The moments are His words and the flow of the day is His grammar."

Finally in the part 'Attention' the Shaykh provides a comparison of receptive vs. predatory way of attention and advices the reader to develop more of receptive attention so that we can be more aware and acknowledge of what is coming to us, i.e., what Allah is presenting to us, the blessing that is constantly present. The teachings of this section is about how to see things from an increasingly higher perspective and how to change from an ambiance of resentment to an ambiance of gratitude. In other discourses and writings of the Shaykh (outside this treatise) these are further elaborated, link is provided at the end of this post to find his writings and recording of discourses.

Selection from the Book: This is Shaykh Ebrahim Schuitema speaking

This matter of ours is about freedom. It is a freedom of such magnitude, that its price is everything in existence and its prize is the whole of existence. There is no higher aspiration and it is therefore worthy of utterly single-minded commitment. In the face of this quest all other pursuits are trivial.

By me having accepted this role the first thing you should understand is that there is very little I can do for you. There is also not a lot you can do for yourself, other than to cast yourself at practice with single minded intent. In this game you will discover that success lies on the other side of failure and is always brought to you by a design which is utterly inexplicable and completely outside of your ingenuity. You have to have expended your own resources first, though, before you can really say in you heart of hearts 'I give up. I submit'. In other words, 'I am in the state of Islam'. To be graced by this patterning of intent is to encapsulate the whole of existence in the Totality of the Self. Not to discover this is to spend a life in terror from the inevitable crushing by the Totality of the Other.

This journey is about the cultivation and polishing of intent. 

Viktor Vasnetsov: The Flying Carpet (1880), Oil painting

In this process the first thing one needs to do is take the flying carpet called the musalla off the wall as an object of worship and to stand on it. The deen is a technology of transformation, and it gets ruined in the hands of the sanctimonious who seek to turn it into a cultural identity.

As a technology of transformation it is staggeringly powerful. 

And so a good place to start is with the basics. If you are not praying regularly then do so. 5 times a day. Also keep up all 5 the pillars. Beyond this I recommend that you start keeping a daily journal or diary (any voyage of discovery has a ship's log).

Every week read the daily entries and summarise them. Every month read the weekly summaries and summarise them again. Every Quarter summarise the three months and every year summarise the quarters. The effect of this is to deliberately pull you out of the minutiae of day to day events and to see things from an increasingly higher perspective.

We need to govern our wayfaring with common sense. There are so many staggering excesses being committed in the name of tassawuf that we very often get lost in a maze of mystification and obscurantist nonsense.

I think the following rules of thumb are helpful:

1. If you can't translate something which is being said to you into plain English that makes a pragmatic contribution to the issue you are struggling with then be careful.

2. If someone claims that your progress on the path is dependent on your loyalty to them then be careful.

3. If a group claim to be somehow the chosen then be careful.

4. Accept help from wherever your Rabb sent it.

5. Be diligent in making your own consciousness and the quality of your perception the fundamental project of your day to day experience and see all the things that you do as a means to that end.

6. Commit to the five pillars and most particularly your salaat as a non-negotiable cornerstone of your practice.

(end of quote from the Book)

You may read the book online / download the PDF from the link below. Click on the Book cover to access the book. With permission from Shaykh Ebrahim - Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim:

Click on the cover above to access the Book: The Practice of Intent by Shaykh Ebrahim online

This is a call of Shaykh Ebrahim as he mentions in the way of introduction: "We are living in critical times and these times demand that everybody become the authority. If you find any of the following practices useful it is imperative that you pass them on to others as this matter is about the survival of our planet. We must try to get as many people as possible to forgo their own agenda and learn how to be receptive, so that they can see what Allah is bringing to them. Islam or submission means that you forgo what you are focusing on and your own agenda and you allow or open up your attention to see what Allah is bringing to you, to Allah's agenda."

Shaykh Ebrahim Schuitema is a Sufi Teacher from the Darqawi-Shadhiliya Tariqa and currently lives at Gauteng, near Johannesburg, South Africa. Shaykh Ebrahim received his chain of transmission in the Tariqa from the late Shaykh Mustafa Bassir of Morrocco, may Allah bless his soul. His center known as Zawia Ebrahim is situated in the Walker Fruit Farms in Gauteng near Johannesburg, South Africa. The Zawia was founded in 2000 by the Shaykh, may Allah bless him and grant him good life. For a collection of audio and literature by Shaykh Ebrahim and members of the Zawia visit here.

* A selection of articles by Shaykh Ebrahim
                                                       * Some valuable Darqawi Resources 

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On the Subject of Repentance / Tawbah

O my Servants who have transgressed against themselves (by sinning)! Despair not of the Mercy of God. Indeed God forgives all sins: for He is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful. ~ Holy Qur’an 39:53


If any one does evil or wrongs his, her own soul but afterwards seeks God’s forgiveness, he, she will find God Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. ~ Holy Qur'an 4:110







1.
Tawbah / Repentance: The Gate of all Gates

In the book “He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord,” Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal writes in the chapter titled, The Veils and Repentance:

Whomsoever wants to attain this happiness (of beholding the Lord with the eyes of the Heart), let him (or her) first enter from the gate of all gates, which is “repentance” (at-tawbah). Repentance is named “the gate of the gates” because it is the first gate through which the devotee enters into proximity in the garden of the Lord.

And know that repentance is obligatory because Allah, Glorious is His Being says, “Repent to Allah, all of you, o faithful believers” (Q 24:31). And Allah also says, “O You who believe, repent to Allah, a sincere repentance.” (Q 24:31) and all the other ayat agree that repentance is obligatory.

The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, “The repentant one is as one without sin; for repentance erases what happened before it.” And He also said, “The repentant one is Allah’s beloved.” Allah is exceedingly happy with the servant who repents.

Repentance is an immediately incumbent obligation, since avoidance of sin and obedience to Allah are an unceasing duty.

2.
Tawbah is Nourishment and Freedom from Burden

The fruit of accepting repentance (at-tawbah) is regret (an-nadima). Regret is a state of the heart.

Sidi al-Jamal continues: If you then look fairly and with compassion at yourself, you will see that your need for tawbah / repentance is greater than your need for food, drink and shelter, because sins veil you from beholding the Unseen and stand between you and the Beloved. The greatest veils between the servant and his Lord are the veils of sin, because these are made of darkness, where as other veils, even though wayfarer should seek to remove them, are made of light, and so they do not totally veil the servant.

3.
The Best Tool for Repentance

For activating the heart's preparedness for repentance, as practice, Sidi al-Jamal goes on to advice to repeat the phrase: “la ilaha illa’Llah” (there is no deity except Allah, no gods except One God), because by this continuous remembrance, Allah ignites an angelic lamp by which the inner darkness is expelled so that the blemishes and the diseases that stop the aspirant from attaining happiness manifest to him.

It is also narrated that Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani, may Allah sanctify his secret, used to advice to any man who came to him complaining about leaving a prayer or about not-being diligent in establishing it, to remember Allah by reciting “la ilaha illa’Llah.” And if another came to him complaining that he had committed adultery or that he drank intoxicants or that he committed any other offensive deed, the Shaykh would also advise him to practice the remembrance (az-Zikr).

Know that repentance is regretting or to be sorry for past sins; for the Messenger of Allah said, “Remorse is repentance.” Regarding the saying, “Repentance is also the determination not to return to commit the same sin again.” This naturally associates regret with repentance; for whoever sincerely repents is determined not to return to commit it again.

This repentance, that is regret of past sins, is the repentance of the common people, and, without doubt, it is acceptance to Allah. As for the repentance of the special ones, it is repenting of everything that keeps the heart busy from the remembrance of Allah, Possessor of Perfection and Glory. As for the repentance of the elite of the special, it is repenting from heedlessness, and from forgetting the Presence of Allah. Such is the repentance of the truthful ones (siddiqun), the intelligent ones, those who know the value of themselves, and those who know that every breath of theirs (with remembrance of Allah) is better than the lower world and what it contains (for the lower world contains nothing but soon-to-be-rotten corpses and selfish rivalry over perishing stuff). ~ Shaykh Muhammad al-Jamal, may Allah bless him and grant him good life

Art by David Adams via Flickr

4.

Someone asked

Someone asked, "What are the steps to achieving sincere repentance, especially related to a sin one upon reflecting, or that which comes to mind involuntarily a person still has feelings of pleasure associated to it. It is said that if you have these feelings then you have no sincerely repented, desperate to know how to reach this station. Help!"

Here are my two cents, may Allah forgive our imperfections:

All power and help comes from Allah, beside Whom there is no other agency of  power, help or transformation. La hawla wa la quwwata illa bi'Llah. First of all, under any circumstances, the one who longs to surrender to Allah, one who longs to attain the station of Taslim, it is always the best starting point to start with surrender. Surrender to the grace of God, first through this understanding that without the Grace, the Rahmah of Allah we have neither any hope for acceptance of any of our deeds (no matter how lofty we believe they are) nor forgiveness. The fact that our heart feels remorse / sadness over past sins and we are moved to ask for forgiveness - they are all from Allah's favor. It is His pure grace that while there are many who are heedless about their sins, He by His Grace, have bestowed the repenter with the inclination of repentance.

It is certainly a Sign of Allah's love for the servant that one has in his or her heart the inclination of repentance from past sins as Allah declares in the Qur'an: "Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance (at-tawwabeena) and loves those who purify themselves." (Q 2:222)

Allah loves to Forgive and forgiveness is His way of bestowing divine love to the faithful believers. So we can take consolation from this glad tiding that Allah has given us the inclination to repent and ask His forgiveness.

Also, it is a positive sign of a believer to be careful about sins or  transgressing the Limits which are prohibited by God. The Prophet said, “The believer regards his sins as if he, she were sitting beneath a mountain which he fears it may fall on him; whereas the sinner (munafiq) regards his sins as if a fly landed on his nose and he wiped it away.” (Al-Bukhari)

On the aspect of sincerity of repentance, it is a quality which demands great care, attention and mindfulness. Sincerity is not easy and its a lofty station. If sincerity were easy to attain, everyone walking on earth would be a saint. Among all the companions of our Master, only one was awarded the title "siddique" / sincere. Among millions of servants of God, only few rare ones can be called truly sincere.

On the subject of sincere repentance Allah says in the Qur'an:

O you who have believed, repent to Allah with sincere repentance - in the hope that your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds / imperfections / sins and admit you into Paradise beneath which rivers flow [on] the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him. Their light will proceed before them and on their right; they will say, "Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You have power over all things." (Q 66:8)

The Arabic word for repentance is Tawbah (literally means “to turn”) which essentially refer to turning towards Allah in humility after having disobeyed Him or transgressed His limits. The word itself provide a hint that it is demanded upon the servant to turn again and again towards Allah in the occurrence of the mistake or at the thought of it. Man is created weak and at the same time God has compensated human weakness through His promise of immense Divine forgiveness. If it were not for the recurrence of sin or the repeatable thought of it in the mind, the Divine Attributes of Ever Forgiveness would not be manifested.

God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance…
~ Romans 2:4 

al-Ghafir, al-Ghafur and al-Ghaffar: three Attributes of Allah

Shaykh Tosun Bayrak teaches: God has three separate yet connected divine attributes and they are namely: al-Ghafir, al-Ghafur and al-Ghaffar. All the three names point to the divine reality that He is the Most Forgiving One.

As for His Name al-Ghafir, it is the quality of hiding His servant's erroneous acts, mistakenly done acts, shameful acts in order that they be able to live with each other, have faith in each other and respect each other. Otherwise, if Allah al-Ghafir, in His mercy did not hide our faults, everyone would run away from everyone else. There could be neither a society nor a single family.

As for His name al-Ghafur, it hides our faults from the realms of spirits and angels just as He does in the human realm. The angles can see things we cannot see in this world. Through the baraka of this Name: al-Ghafur inscribed in the kingdom we find the respect and closeness from the spirits and angles from whom our sins are hidden, who constantly pray and send blessings on behalf of the self-surrendered ones and also so that we are not ashamed in the Hereafter.

And finally God's name, al-Ghaffar is the most encompassing in forgiveness. A man whose faults are hidden from others is saved from being ashamed in front of them, but he may still be ashamed of himself within himself. Everyone has a degree of conscience which suffers from his actions. Allah al-Ghaffar in His mercy hides a person's fault from himself and makes him forget in order to alleviate his suffering.

So by the beautiful name of al-Ghaffar God wills to hide the faults of his creatures even from themselves and it is a sign of unfathomable divine mercy. Take no blame upon yourself for that of your faults which God veils you even from yourself. The angels praise your sincere prayer and holy intention to be more close to purity. Its better that you seek forgiveness for both the faults that you are made aware or unaware.

So is that not enough for us to be grateful to Allah? And when we do, Allah shall increase His grace, increase His forgiveness and free us from the past mistakes and every inclination towards it.

Here is a supplication from the Quran that can be made frequently whenever the thoughts of past sins come to the mind:

Quran 3:8

Rabbana la tuzigh quloobana 
baAAda iz hadaytana 
wahab lana min ladunka rahmata. 
Innaka anta al-wahhab.

"Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate
after You have guided us,
and grant us mercy from You.
Truly, You the Grantor of bounties without measure."

Along with it its worthy making supplication saying, "Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You have power over all things." (Q 66:8)

Beside these, a regular wazifa (spiritual practice) would be to recite "Astaghfirullah" which means, "O Allah I ask your forgiveness" abundantly. Other Istighfar statements are: "Astaghfirullaha wa Tubuh ilaih,' I ask forgiveness of Allah and I turn to Him. "Rabbighfirlee watub alayya innaka tawwabul ghafur," My Lord, please forgive me and accept my repentance. Indeed You are the Forgiver.

Another powerful statement of forgiveness is, "Astaghfiru Llahillazi la ilaha illa huwal Haiyyul Qayyum, wa tubu ilaih," I ask forgiveness of my Lord except Whom there is no other deity, He is Every Living, Eternal and I am turning towards Him.

Repentance by Sadiq M. Alam

5.
The Basics of Repentance and Going Further

Repentance is an holistic action that encompasses and affects all dimensions of time.

The most important adab / etiquette of repentance is that it must happen in the present, in here and now without delay. As for its consciousness, it extends both to the past and the future. Those who wishes to purify themselves, their karma, for them repentance is an action which is demanded to be frequent in the here and now and must not be postponed. The act of postponing repentance is another mistake. The moment one commits a mistake and one’s heart reminds one’s self, then and there repentance better be made. This is the element of here and now of repentance.

The past element of repentance is this: O God I acknowledge my mistake, my shortcoming and I am sorry for what I have done in the past. I have committed oppression on my own self and others, both unknowingly as well as knowingly. And I seek Your forgiveness, for You are the Sole Authority to Forgive and Possessor of Never Ending Forgiveness and I seek Refuge from Your Wrath and Disapproval to Your Mercy and Approval.

The future element of repentance is this: God I promise not to repeat my mistake, my shortcoming, my stupidity, my transgressing Your limits. Please enable me to be firm on my promise to You, please give me capacity not to commit this mistake for there is no power and transformation except through Your Power and Your Agency.

The above three when occur by the grace of God, then through God’s approval repentance is accepted. Even after this the thoughts may keep coming back because that is the nature of the mind which keeps whispering (waswasa). This demands greater vigilance and further asking of protection of God.

Generally, we who are imperfect in our action and deeds, even our act of repentance remains flawed. Thus the act of mistake, the falling from the mark (also known as Sin) keep coming back. This is because we are still far below from the rank of the sincere and truthful ones.

For such scenario persists it is advisable that one seek out those who are sincere and truthful, a spiritual elder and to obtain his or her companionship. It is through coming in contact with such beings who reminds us of God, sincerity in the heart is regained. One of the great reviver of Islam, Ashraf Ali Thanvi said, “Those who keep relationship with the friends of God, saints, even if they don’t attain perfection, they will at least become tayeb (one who repent). On the Day of Judgment if they are not raised with the perfected ones, they will surely be raised with the repentant ones.”

If one is lucky one may find those with whom one can take bayah or make promise or give pledge and recommit his or her act of repentance. We have precedence of this in the life of the Prophet where he took bayah or pledge of various group of people for various actions including their tawbah of the act of ignorance. The Sufi Master continues this tradition and help seekers make tawbah and renew their promise and repentance of following God's covenant and respecting the limits. Such a promise taken with a vicegerance of God (Khalifa, a Murshid) is far more powerful and effective in establishing the rights of repentance which is not to commit that act in the past, or a habitual sin which one is sorry for.

In the book titled Manazel e Suluk by Shah Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar of Karachi prescribed that if someone find it very difficult to leave any sinful act, he should keep company with a Shaykh who is Rabbani (Allah-wala / Godly). If he spends forty days under his guidance and wardenship, God willing, for that person it will be made very easy to leave the sins.

Ashraft Ali Thanvi gave analogy that just like as the egg of a hen when remains under the wings of the mother hen for twenty one days, it produce life inside the egg, not only that, the chic also comes out to the outside world by breaking the shell of the egg; similarly if a person stays for forty days with his Murshed, he will attain the renewed life of faith (imani zindagi) and deep relationship with God (nisbat ma’Allah).

The above is the classic Sufi prescription. In case of forty days are not possible to fulfill, even a lesser number of days can be taken. But a Murshid's role can be very transformative in terms of changing the heart and help it reach a station where any trace of the past sins, even it's memory, let alone inclination or obtaining pleasure from its thought - may completely be eliminated, by God's doing.

Last but not the least, the Path is very practical and organic and the inclinations of the nafs / self doesnt have to be repressed but there are prescribed ways in the Divine Law to channel it through permissible and recommended way. It would be advisable to contemplate about ways to control the inclinations within the limits of the Divine Law, which might altogether eliminate psycho-spiritual complexity/ conflicts regarding such scenario. May Allah help us all and make our journey easy for us.

----

Answering to the question "What is Sincere Repentance?", contemporary Islamic Scholar Shaykh Faraz Rabbani provided a response on SunniPath which might be useful. Follow this link.


# Further:
* On Repentance from Riyad as-Salihin (The Meadows of the Righteous) by Imam Nawawi
* Repentance (Tawbah)
* Repentance for Sins
* Hadith of the righteous Imams on Tawbah
* Kitab al-Taubah
* The essence of sincere repentance
* The Mercy of Allah in Regard to Forgiveness
*  The Prayer of Repentance and Sincere Repentance in Islam
* Books by Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal
* Six Steps of Repentance | a Christian perspective

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Dua e Habibi | Qum Qum Ya Habibi Kam Tanam / Get up my beloved, how is it that you sleep?

Painting by Italian Painter Filippo Palizzia - 'Sleeping Shepherd and His Dog'

In the name of God the Merciful, the Benevolent	بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
Get up my beloved, how is it that you sleep?	قم قم يا حبيبي كم تنام Qum-Qum Ya Habibi Kam Tanam
It is strange for the lover how can he sleep!	عجبا للمحب كيف ينام Ajabal-lil-Muhibbe Kaifa Yanam
The Seeker of the Garden does not sleep	طالب الجنه لا ينام Talabil Jannati la Yanam
The Creator of the night does not sleep	خالق الليل لا ينام Khaliqul-Laile la Yanam
The Creator of cosmos does not sleep	خالق الخلق لا ينام Khaliqul-Khuluqi la Yanam
Get up my beloved, how is it that you sleep?	قم قم يا حبيبي كم تنام Qum-Qum Ya Habibi Kam Tanam
The Throne and the Footstool do not sleep	العرش والكرسي لا ينام Al-Arsho wal-Kursi la Yanam
The Tablet and the Pen do not sleep	اللوح والقلم لا ينام Al-Lauho wal-Qalamo la Yanam
The Kingdom of God does not sleep	كل الملكوت لا ينام Kullul Malakuti la Tanam
Get up my beloved, how is it that you sleep?	قم قم يا حبيبي كم تنام Qum-Qum Ya Habibi Kam Tanam
The sun and the moon do not sleep	الشمس والقمر لا ينام Ash-Shamso wal-Qamaro la Yanam
The earth and the heaven do not sleep	الارض والسماء لا ينام Al-Ardo was-Samao la Yanam
The star and the tree do not sleep	النجم والشجر لا ينام An-Najmo wash-Shajaro la Yanam
The land and the ocean do not sleep	البر والبحر لا ينام Al-Barro wal-Bahro la Yanam
The Garden and the Fire do not sleep	الجنه والنار لاينام Al-Jannato wan-Naro la Yanam
The paradisal companions and the cup bearers do not sleep	الحور والقصور لا ينام Al-Hooro wal-Qusooro la Yanam
Get up my beloved, how is it that you sleep?	قم قم يا حبيبي كم تنام Qum-Qum ya Habibi Kam Tanam
The bird and the beast do not sleep	الطير والوحش لا ينام At-Tairo wal-Wahsho la Yanam
The Seeker of the Friend does not sleep	طالب المولي لا ينام Taalibul-Maula la yanam
The lover and the beloved do not sleep	العاشق والمعشوق لا ينام Al-Aashiqo wal-Maashooqo la Yanam
Passion and love do not sleep	العشق والمحبه لا ينام Al-Ishqo wal Muhabbato la Yanam
The night and the day do not sleep	الليل والنهار لا ينام Al-Lailo wan-Nahaaro la Yanam
The Kindness and Favors of the Friend do not sleep	نعم المولي والكرام لا ينام Ne'mal-Maula wal-Ikraamo la Yanam
Get up my beloved, how is it that you sleep?	قم قم يا حبيبي كم تنام Qum-Qum ya Habibi Kam Tanam
Adam, God's Chosen one, does not sleep	ادم صفي الله لا ينام Aadamo Safiullahe la Yanam
Abraham, God's Friend, does not sleep	ابراهيم خليل الله لا ينام Ibrahimo-Khalilullahe la Yanam
Moses, to whom God Speaks, does not sleep	موسي كليم الله لا ينام Moosa-Qaleemullahe la Yanam
Jesus, God's Spirit, does not sleep	عيسي روح الله لا ينام Eisa Roohullahe la Yanam
Muhammad, God's Messenger does not sleep	محمد رسول الله لا ينام Muhammad Rasoolullahe La Yanam
Awake, Awake my beloved, how is it that you sleep?	قم قم يا حبيبي كم تنام Qum-Qum ya Habibi Kam Tanam
I bear witness that there is none to be worshiped except Allah, the One, Who has no Partner	اشهد ان لا اله الا الله وحده لا شريك له Ashhadu anna La ilaha illa Allahu Wahdahu la Sharika laHu
I bear witness that Muhammad is His Surrendered Servant and Message Bearer	واشهد ان محمد عبده ورسوله Washhadu anna Muhammadan 'Abduhu wa Rasuluhu
Allah bless him and give him peace.	صلى الله عليه وسلم Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam

- Original Arabic text is known as Dua-e-Habibi, author is unknown

Thanks to Sidi Abu Faydan (Muhammad Harun Riedinger) of Karachi for his help with the English translation and Sister Samreen Mukhtar for sending the name and providing the transliteration. May Allah reward them both.


“Bismika Rabbee wada‘tu jambee wabika arfa‘uh, fa’in amsakta nafsee farhamhaa, wa’in arsaltahaa fahfadhhaa bimaa tahfadhu bihee ‘ibaadakas-saaliheen.”

“In Your name O Allah, I lay my side and in Your name I raise it. If you keep my soul, give it Your Loving Mercy, and if You release it, care for it as You care for Your righteous servants.”
- Supplication of the Prophet before sleep


In this creation of the Most Exalted Creator, the inner and the outer is intermingled. What the truth conveys in the inner is also reflected in the outer. If we want to be awakened (another word for enlightenment, to have a luminous heart and soul), which happens on the most inner or subtle level of our being - it also demands that on the outer level one must be awake.

And this being awake must happen against the natural tide through struggle (jihad), that is against the natural tendency of sleeping during the precise time when for common people it is time for sleep. To be awake at night literally, is the first degree for attaining awakening internally. That is why keeping night vigil, waking up at night and standing or sitting for prayer and meditation is an universal method prescribed in every tradition for those who seek enlightenment.

Qumil-Layla - Keep night vigils - instructs God in the Quran (73:2)


To have a heart ever awake is a goal of those who wishes to be luminaries among humanity.

My eyes sleep, but my heart never sleeps.
- Saying of Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him, give him peace and help us reach his Path


May God forgive us for our slumberness, most importantly our slumber of heedlessness and help us in rising in the nights which is preserved for remembering the Beloved. May God replace our sleeping hearts with a heart which is ever awake. Ameen O Most Generous Giver!


Verily, getting up at night (for prayer) is the most effective means of subduing (one's carnal self, nafs), and the most upright way to acquire firm control over one's action and speech.
~ Quran, Surah al-Muzzammil, 73, 6


Keep the Dhikr (Divine Remembrance) when people are asleep.
- Advice of the Sufis


# Further:
* Sleep from an Islamic perspective
* To die/ to sleep: Tafsir of Surah 39, Verse 42
* The ears are active during sleep
* Prophet's Guidance regarding sleep
* The Six Kalimas (Sacred Words)

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The Writings of Sultan Bahu and Spiritual Empowerment across space and time

1.
Spiritual Transmission that transcends space-time

Speaking of the ability of illuminated beings for spiritual transmission and guidance transcending space-time limitations, we have an example of an Wali (a friend of God), a saint of specially elevated spiritual rank, one of those who attained God, someone who passed away from this temporal world more than three hundred years ago, leaving behind gifted writings of such spiritual magnitude that he could boldly prescribe his writings as enough for seekers of truth to guide them to their goal. It is also reported by advanced saints of later days of how simply reading, writing the works of the venerated saint caused spiritual ecstasy and elevated visions.


This is what a servant of God who was bestowed special grace, who wrote about his divinely inspired writings:

"With the study of this booklet, one is awarded the immersion of divine oneness in a flash and meeting of the highly exalted congregation court of the Holy Prophet, that is an unlimited Ghinayat or freedom from want."

"Any one who will study this book with sincerity and devotion, will not be left with any need for a Zahiri or external Spiritual Mentor / Master or seeking formal initiation on the hand of a Spiritual Elder / Pir and seeking instruction. Entire ranks of the world and the religion, he will achieve through this book."

Now this is not conjecture, imagination or fancy of the minds. We're speaking here about one special friend of God, a people of an'amta 'alaihim, known as Sultan Bahu, may Allah be pleased with him. About obtaining companionship of such personalities of truth, God commands in the Scripture, "O you who have faith! Be mindful of your duty to God, and be with the being of truth (swadiqin)." (The Qur'an 9:119)


2.
King of Gnostics: Sultan Bahu

The venerable saint Sultan Bahu (1628-1691) was a great Sufi Master, Mystic, Prolific Writer and Saint who founded the Sarwari Qadiri Sufi order. He was born at Soon Valley, in the Punjab Province of present day Pakistan. He is one of the most popular saint in Indian-Sub Continent. Sultan Bahu is a direct descendant of Imam Ali, spiritual heir of Prophet Muhammad. Sultan Bahu's spiritual station is so high among the saints of God that he is known as Sultanul Arifeen (King of the Gnostics).

The Name BaHu

The saint's name itself is very powerful. The characteristics of the name has multidimensional qualitative features. About his name the saint says,

"With one dot Ba-Hu becomes Ya-Hu
and Bahu is always steeped in the
remembrance of Ya-Hu."

In the science of numerology the sum total of the name Ba-Hu is 14, the date of the full moon and the start of adolescence. It has been seen and experienced by many a true seeker that by simply mentioning or hearing his name, the seeker has gone into ecstasy proclaiming Ya Hu Haqq Bahu. You may read details of his life and biography from Biography of Sultan Bahu.

Initiation

Exoterically Hazrat Bahu's spiritual lineage descends from Prophet Muhammad, then Imam Ali, and later on via Shaykh Junayd Baghdadi, Sheikh Najmuddin and eventually from Abdûr-Rahman, the latest person being his direct initiator in the external plane.

Esoterically, Hazrat Sultan Bahu was initiated by the Prophet Muhammad himself, profound peace and blessings be upon his soul. He received instructions and spiritual guidance from the fountain head of all lights himself and was accepted as a child of light in the court of Hazrat Bibi Fatima, the lady of light and her husband Ali.

In one treatise Sultan Bahu refeers to this esoteric initiation as:

Bahu, on whom Prophet bent
Initiate Bahu in lovers way
Accepting Bahu in families' tent.

Esoteric initiation in the life of the saint was experienced on two occasions. It is narrated in 'Muraqaba Sultani' that the first esoteric initiation took place when the saint was in adolescence. In his own words, "Once in my youth a very handsome and awe-inspiring person on horseback approached me. He held my hand and asked me to accompany him. I asked him who he was. He replied 'I am Ali ibn Abu Talib and I have come to take and escort you to the exalted and holy court of Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu alaihi wa sallam.' Suddenly I found myself in the august court of the Prophet. All the Prophets, companions, the four successors together with the Paak Panjetan (the immaculate five) were present. Also present in the court were Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani (Head of the Saints) and many more saints. This was a most illustrious court, heavenly in nature, full of light and tranquility. The Holy Prophet was seated above all the others bestowing light and blessings like a shining star. The Holy Prophet was very much pleased to see me and putting me on his lap initiated me as his spiritual son. Thereafter all the Holy Personalities present in the assembly did likewise putting me on their laps.



The second initiation took place in the years of maturity. Second time too, he was present in the court of the Holy Prophet. Imam Ali and the Holy Prophet asked me to stretch forth my hands. Taking both my hands into his, the Holy Prophet initiated me and I was blessed with his special Tawajjuh (spiritual attention), love, care and barakah (blessings).

Thereafter the Holy Prophet gave my hands into the hands of Sheikh Abdul Qadir and instructed him to train his spiritual son Sultan Bahu, in the Qadiri Sufi Order. After being blessed by the greatest Saint, all the holy personalities in the assembly blessed me with their spiritual light and barakah. The Prophet then addressed me that I should guide the true seekers to the Path of Allah.

So this is a very tiny glimpse of who Sultan Bahu is.

3.
Authority and Power of Saints continue beyond the shores of life and death

In Islam, wilayat, the condition of wali, refers uniquely to the gnostic station of a person. The station of a wali is the station of knowledge of the Real by direct witnessing. Thus in the Spiritual Kingdom of Allah, Hazrat Sultan Bahu holds a very high position of his own. He is referred as 'king of the gnostics' an appropriate title.

It is a well known fact that in the temporal world, an officer loses his powers after retirement or on death, but not so for the saints of Allah. In the spiritual world the powers of the saints of Allah remain as good as they were in their lifetime. Just as they illuminated the hearts and the minds of the people during their lifetime, so too, after their taking veil from the temporal world, they continue to illuminate the seekers after truth. One should not be surprised by such occurrences.

Sultan Bahu's spiritual legacy remains along with other great contributions such as reviving the heart of people, is his great volume of writings. He penned a great number of treatises under divine inspirations (ilham). The following is a list of the important works of Sultan Bahu that still exist today, and can be traced back to him with credibility: Nurul Huda, Risala-e-Roohi, Aql Baidaar, Mahq-ul-Fuqar, Aurang-Shaahi, Jami-il-Asraar, Taufiq-Hedaayat, Kaleed Tauheed, Ainul Faqr, Shamsul Arifeen, Magzane Faiz, Ameerul Quonain, Asrare Qaderi, Kaleed Jannat, Muhqamul Fuqar, Majaalis-tun Nabi, Muftahul Arifeen, Hujjatul Asraar, Jannatul Firdaus, Kash-ful Asraar, Risaala Ruhi Shareef, Abayat-e-Bahu (poetry), Muhabbatul Asraar, Ganjul Asraar, Dewaan Bahu, Panj Ganj, Fazlul Laqa, Jhook Sultany are titles of some of the works attributed to him.

4.
In this age of difficulty in finding a perfect spiritual master

Due to simplicity, and effectively of these works, one is almost obliged to think that this great holy personality knew through intuition that there will be a time like the present, when it will be difficult to find a perfect spiritual master. This is the reason, perhaps, why Hazrat Sultan Bahu clothed his spiritual treasure and barakah in the shape of his books. The master himself said in "Nurul Huda" that 'for many years a true seeker has not passed my path to whom I could impart my spiritual wealth which is given to me as a trust." Thus he put his esoteric knowledge and spiritual wisdom and teachings in writing and in this way has forever made its benefit available for humanity.

Hazrat Sultan Bahu's teachings have been preserved in the form of his books, which are beacon of light in this age and beyond. A mere pursual of his works open for the seekesr the doors of gnosis / spiritual knowledge (marifat). Sultan Bahu's works are true guide to the lost soul. It influences the seekers so much so that he is strengthened in his resolve for higher knowledge. His message is clear, spend your life for Allah, Allah's Messenger and Truth. Your living and dying should be for Allah alone. To him attainment to Allah is the goal and reality.

His writings give a clear insight into the reality and the realm of Sharia, Tariqat, Haqiqat and Marifah of Allah. Although employed in simple language, he has recounted and explained, the extreme ends of the different exalted and sublime phases and stations of Marifa and Faqr. The effect of his works is such that a seeker, who pursues his works continually, God-willing, will achieve his heart's desire.

In the opinion of Faqir Nur Muhammad Sarwari Qaderi, a later day saint who said "I have read many a book by well known scholars and sufis - past and present - but the effects, barakah and esoteric knowledge which I have found in the writings of Sultan Bahu is not to be found in any other works. Allah is my witness. It seems that the soul and spirituality of Sultan Bahu is running through the pages of his works. Just by mere pursual, one is elevated to a state of ecstasy. Sometimes the reader without any effort or spiritual exercise reaches the state of inner inspiration and spiritual visions. "


5.
The Gifts of Sultan Bahu for the seekers

The works of Sultan Bahu is translated mostly from original Persian into Urdu and English language and made available by the website Hazrat Sultan Bahu. May Allah reward all who made this possible.

I am mentioning the benefits of each title, most of which were mentioned by the Saint himself in his writings as quoted from the original site. Click on each book's title to read them online via Hazrat Sultan Bahu website.

Note: If you experience error in loading by clicking on the link below, then copy this address, http://www.hazratsultanbahu.com/english/ and paste in your web browser and then try access the books from there, instead of this link.Thanks

Noorul Huda (Light of Guidance)

It is said about this book that: "The one who will keep this book under study day and night with sincerity certainty and belief will become aware of the mysteries of Lord. The one who will study this book with sincerity/ absoluteness and devotion, will not be left with any need of Zahiri/tangible Murshid/mentor or seeking Bai'at/initiation on the hand of a Pir and seeking Talqin/instruction/indoctrination. Entire Maratib/ ranks of the world and the religion he will achieve through this book.

This book is a means to approach to the Marifat/cognition of Haqq/the absolute truth. And bestows the honor of Hazoori/ones presence at an intangible station of the inner self or in an unseen gathering through dream or muraqaba and is a means of sending to the Holy Majalis/congregational court of Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. (regular) Reader of this book becomes a guide of the mankind and becomes one with unadulterated/pure inner self/inward. But the seeker in study of the book must be truth in devotion, bashful and well mannered." This is probably the most important work of Hazrat Bahu. (* Read Translation in English, pg 281)

Kashf ul Asrar (The Revelation of Mysteries)

Every person who will read this book with sincerity, nothing will remain hidden or unseen from him Insha'Allah (God willing). (* Read online in English, pg 19)

 Mahabbat ul Asrar (Cordiality Towards Mysteries)

With the study of this Risala (treatise) is awarded the immersion of Tauhid (Divine oneness) in a flash and meeting of the Majlish/congregation Court of Hazarat Muhammad, sallalahu alaihi wa alihi wa sallim, that is an unlimited Ghinayat/ freedom from (any other) want. (* Read online, pg 53)

Majalisa tun Nabi (The Courts of the Holy Prophet)

The person who use to read this book completely, the infinite mysteries of the vision of the Marifat/cognition will face towards him perfectly, and more than this is that the person who will use to study this book day and night regularly, he will left with no need of any outwardly Murshid/mentor/master. (* Read online, pg 32)

 Rasala e Ruhi (The Sacred Treatise of Spirit)

Read Rasala e Ruhi online, pg 9

 Orung Shahi (Covering for the Throne)

Therefore anyone who will study this book with due sincerity, he will not left with need for an outwardly/physical Murshid/mentor/master, because through its study the knowledge of Loh e Mahfooz/the preserved Scriptum is revealed forever and wherever desires, can provide ability and inclination and success to his sight through this fortune. This treatise is Qutub ul Moazzam Muimma ba Ism Musamma/ a sanctified pole of crux with the name fi Allah is, a criterion for the erudite and it's every page is elixir and treasure of munificence. And each line is hiding in itself the secret of the Noor/holy light of Muhammad, sallalahu alaihi wa aalii wasallam. Its every page guide towards Hazrat Muhammad. (* Read online, pg 25)

Muhkumul Faqara (Well-founded coherence of Faqeers)

He whose guidance is not done by his Murshid/mentor/master, for him, this book is sufficient as a guide to God, always keep it in your study day and night. You will get perfection in Faqar after becoming the Arif bi Allah, Gnostic of God.  (* Read English translation online, pg 50)

Qalide Tohid (The Key of Oneness)

And whomsoever will keep it in his study, day and night, nothing will remain hidden for him and he will not be left with dependency on any other (with the permission of Lord) and if an indigent will read it, he will be enriched. And if a disheveled and perplexed person will read it, he will find perpetual jamiyat/integrity of mind and if a naqis/imperfect person will read it, he will become perfect! Through the study of this book, he will recognize and know the spiritual conduct and how to walk on spiritual pathway to God of the faqar / spiritual poverty in both the outer self and the inner self. This book is useful to both the tyro and the master. And if a jahil/one lacking in knowledge will read it, he will become an advanced learned master of the tafseer/interpretation. (* Read the English translation online, pg 38)

To know more about how to get Spiritual transmission direct from Hazrat Bahu, read this book: How to get Spiritual Power. Please note that the intention of seeking has to be pure, and the highest goal is to attain the good pleasure of God, not the empowerment of the ego for the sake of other people, selfish power or worldly fame or glory - for that is showiness, hypocrisy and deviation from the Path. May God protect and preserve us from such tests.

You may Bookmark this page for future reference.


6.
Few Points of Note

Wasila of approaching God

The Qur'an says, "O you who look forward to attain perfect faith,
be mindful of your duty to God,
and seek the means (wasila) of approaching Him, and strive in His way in order that you may be really successful." (5:35)

Wasila refers to anything that is a source of drawing near God. The word wasila (pl. wasa'il) is a noun used twice in the Qur'an (5:34 and 17:57), means recommendation, the means of access, favourable influence or intermediary means. The writings which are left by friends of God under beautiful inspiration from God can also be wasila.

On taking Wasila / means to know /reach the Beloved,
here is an elegant secret.
This is what the Beloved whispers to us:

"All Your Attempt To Reach Me,
Are in Fact My Attempts To Reach You."

~ transmitted by Mevlana Rumi

Sufi is Son of the Moment

Some readers may find it strange that being a Sufi master how he himself may suggest that his writings/ books may replace the need of a living Teacher, which is the classical position of Sufic Science.

Every authentic Sufi Master teaches according to the need of the time and people while at the same time they are follower of the Holy Prophet. Sultan Bahu's proclamation remind us two points: firstly he was realizing that time is coming when for most people finding pefect spiritual master of will become increasingly difficult (for many impossible), people will be more and more engaged in the world than other way.

Secondly, his course of action conforms with the Sunnah (tradition of Islam or Way of the Prophet) in this particular manner: if we remember that in the last sermon the Prophet declared, "I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray." So by extension of Prophet's own example and the revelation he received is left behind as the Archetypal example of Guidance transcending both space-time, similarly Sultan Bahu's inspired work, according to his own realization is infused with baraka and guidance to guide seekers beyond space-time limitations. By the grace of God this is neither impossible nor a violation of Sufi adab. 

According to his own word about the flood gate of grace which is kept open to receive:

Dar Elahi khola hay anye kay liye,
na aie to Wo beniyaz hai.

Door of the Lord is ever kept open if one comes,
If none comes, My Lord is Without


Now Some Caution

The Books may appear to be written for advanced seekers, but they have the quality of bringing on board, by the grace of God, both novice and advanced, provided their inward state is sincere. In all of these books, the Sufic technical terms are explained in each page. As a pre-requirement it would be beneficial for the readers to be well familiar with Islam, specially its articles of faith first.

Quoted from the mother-site related to harnessing the benefit from the Books it is mentioned: Sometimes novice seekers, due to his/her own shortcoming and sometimes by not being able to understand becomes respondent and relinquish further study. This should not be allowed to happen. The reader should keep on studying the books constantly because the spirit of Hazrat Sultan Bahu runs through the pages of his books and the Saint's esoteric and intrinsic attention is concealed and hidden in his writings. It is this quality of his hidden esoteric attention, which makes the book, become one's teacher and instructor, helping thereby in automatically resolving all the subtle points of bewilderment and confusion.

The above is true and has been experienced by many a scholar that sooner or later one reaches ones hearts desire. With sincere devotion and respect and by continuous reading an electricity of divine light is created in the heart of the reader, inculcating in him a spiritual revolution and attraction which gives rise to a strong yearning and  affectionate longing for Allah the Beloved. One should not forget that all the writings of Hazrat Sultan Bahu are divinely inspired. His works are a true means of gaining access and entrance into the court of the Holy Prophet.

It's worth mentioning another experience of a great Sufi master Faqir Nur Muhammad Sarwari Qaderi, regarding the works of Hazrat Sultan Bahu he says, "I have penned the works of Hazrat Sultan Bahu, over and over for the last thirty years. During this period, I did not touch any work of Hazrat Sultan Bahu without being in a state of ablution. Whatever spiritual reality and phenomenta of the path I copied in the day, was traversed in the night and the written esoteric reality and phenomena was made manifest to me. It appeared as though, the author has composed and bequeathed these books to me exclusively, because hither so far none has comprehended and benefitted out of them like myself." A translator of Hazrat Bahu's book, Dr. K. B. Naseem sahib acknowledges, "whenever I translated Hazrat Sultan Bahu's Books by myself, he always gave me spiritual power."

The treasure of Faqr and Marifat is passed from heart to heart, breast to breast. It is the true seeker whose courage is stronger than the mountains, who with the staff of patience, strong resolve and determination surmounts his inabilities and becomes successful in attaining the higher knowledge described in the works.

It is advisable for true seekers of the path who wish to succeed in their search for truth, to obtain corrected translated work of his holiness and with true sincerity, purity of heart and great resolve, pursue and study his works continually. This particular site HazratSultanBahu is well known for its most accurate translation for there are other translations which are not well done.

This will, God willing, bring into play the Tawajjuh (spiritual attention) of his holiness on the seeker. And if a perfect teacher is his partner, he unites the capable seeker with Allah, the Most High through a single attention or enters him in constant attendance in the court of the Holy Prophet, inshaAllah.


Al-Fatiha to the blessed soul Hazrat Sultan Bahu and Salawat upon our Venerable Leader in boh worlds, Habib-Allah Muhammad Mustafa, the Messenger of God.


# References:
* HazratSultanBahu.com
* Spiritual Genealogy / Chain of Succession of Sultan Bahu
* Sayings of Sultan Bahu
* Ordering Free Books from Sultan Bahu's Dargah
* To Be With the Truthful by Muhammad al-Tijani al-Samawi

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