The Lights of the Prophet
is one of the most beautiful descriptions of the Universal Man, the
Seal of Prophethood and Messagehood, and the Light that manifested
through him. The degree of illumination depends upon the receptivity
of that which it attaches itself to, not on the Light Itself. This
book was written by Shaykh Ibn Sab'in, one of the inheritors of the
Holy Prophet Muhammad.
Abu Muhammad Abdul Haqq Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Naasir, bin Fatih,
Ibn Sab'in was born in Marseilles, Andalusia in 613 AH. Ibn Sab'in
was born to a family of great wealth and honour, their genealogy connecting
back to the Holy Prophethimself.
He passed away in Mecca in 669. He is among the ranks of the most
misunderstood Sufi Shaykhs, Al Muhaqqiqun (the Verifiers).
His famous formula of 'Allah faqat' 'Allah, and nothing else'
has caused much misunderstanding among the general masses, but, when
you study his work carefully, you find that he is on nothing other
than the Straight Path of the teaching. He has the inward and the
outward balanced in a state of equilibrium, but his argument was with
the theologians of his time who solidified and stagnated the teaching,
the wishy-washy Sufis who did not have the capability to understand
him and those who did understand, but kept the higher teaching a secret
for fear of their own condemnation.
He was critical of those who followed Greek philosophy without understanding
the limitations of its approach and the limitations within that line
of teaching. Our Shaykh's approach is a philosophical approach within
the boundaries of the Islamic teaching and Tasawwuf.
According to our Shaykh Ibn Sabi'n, these Lights are 33 in number.
Everything that we do within Islam, the compulsory and the voluntary
practices all contain light. As Muslims, it is our business to look
for the light contained within these practices as much as possible
and to convey it as much as possible until we also become light. The
practices of the Holy Prophet,
the inward and the outward, all contain light if they are practiced
with awareness and understanding. May Allah benefit us by contemplating
on them.
The First Light - Nur al Shahadah
- the Light of Witnessing
It is also called Nur al 'Izza, the Light of Majesty because
the Holy Prophet connects
it with 'Allah', in the testimony of faith, Ashadu an La ilaha
il Allah, wa ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasul Allah (I bear witness
that there is no god other than Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad
is the Messenger of Allah). So without this, you cannot believe in
God, you are denying God, you are not fulfilling the requirements
for you to develop as a human being, you are separating yourself in
reality from the Light, which is the Light of Muhammad .
The recitation of the shahadah - Ashadu an La ilaha il Allah,
wa ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasul Allah, (I bear witness that there
is no god other than Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah) this is light, so by reciting this, its light
infuses the heart. By performing the other required aspects of the
teaching, you increase the light in your heart. In each individual,
this light increases (or decreases) according to their capacity to
receive it and also their actions, intentions and behaviour. The key
to all of this, though, is the Grace of Allah.
The light of all the Prophets and the light of all creation as well
derive from the Muhammadan Light. This Light of Majesty is the light
contained within the formula of witnessing. This is the unveiling
of the Majesty of Allah and also contains the laws that the Holy Prophet
Muhammad brought as well. The light is infused in the laws and whatever
is contained within them. The Light of Majesty is ever-present within
this formula. Each time you recite it, the light within you increases.
So, if you say it in dhikr (in the Remembrance of Allah),
you say it in the adhan (the call to prayer), in tashahhud
(the formula of witnessing), you are receiving more of that light.
What is 'Izzah, or Majesty? Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
Wa lillahil 'izzati wa li rasulihi,
"Greatness is to Allah and His Messenger" (Holy Qur'an 63:8).
By making this Greatness accessible to the
Reality of Muhammad , it is an indication to the greatness and the
completeness of the message of the Holy Prophet . For example, when
a Sultan or King sends his envoy, he carries the King's authority
and power within his message and he represents that particular power.
He is the viceregent of the sovereign who sends him. Anyone who connects
himself to the Holy Prophet, to this Light of Greatness, Allah adds
to the verse:
Wa lil mu'mineen, 'and the believers',
they also have that greatness within them.
Because the Prophet
connects to Allah, he has that Light of Greatness, that Nur; then
those who believe, they are also connected. The Companions, for example,
their light was very, very powerful, because they were very close
to that light and they connected to him instantly. Their power was
without even knowledge; they just knew that he was and that he is
what he is. That was enough for them to give everything.
So, the believers who have this greatness, this comes through Allah
and through the greatness of the Holy Prophet . They are the triumphant
ones and they are the soldiers that will be victorious because they
have the actions that are the essence of that greatness. Whatever
they do are the actions of greatness. This is the first Light.
The Second Light - Nurat ul Ghayyatul
Insaniyya -The Light of the Highest Aim of the Human Being
This is the Light that the Holy Prophet has, because he is the Insan
ul Kamil, the complete human being and what he brought is the teaching
of how the human being can complete his own humanity. The Holy Prophet
said "I have been sent to complete the higher ethics (or character
traits)." This is the aim of the human being, not just to be
a human or a human being, but to go beyond this and achieve this completeness.
He achieved this in one particular night - the Night of Al Isra &
Mir'aj. This is the ultimate state that any human being can achieve,
in the Night of the Ascension. All of the Prophets are the best of
the creation, but he went beyond that and entered another realm altogether.
We know from the Hadiths that he saw the different Prophets in each
heaven - Moses, Yahya, Adam, Ibrahim, he went beyond them all. With
this light of unveiling, he reached the ultimate aim, beyond the Lote
Tree of the Uttermost Boundary, beyond the angels of the qarabi'in
, and more.
The Third Light - Nur al Idrak -
The Light of Perception (that you achieve real knowledge with)
This Light, infused in the Holy Prophet
is the Light with which he saw Allah. When they asked him how, he
replied "Nawarani, fara- aytahu". "He illuminated
me and I saw Him, through His Light". This is the station that
is between "Two bows lengths or nearer". This witnessing
is not particular to any form - so any form that Allah manifests Himself
in can be recognised by the Holy Prophet .
By this particular Light, the Light of achieving knowledge or witnessing
knowledge, he used to see the same from his back as he did from his
front . He reached and entered Paradise before he died. With this
Light, he was able to see the people in the graves suffering and he
saw the people in Paradise displayed on the wall of his mosque . Paradise
displayed itself to him there. He has seen the Angels in their original
forms, the way Allah created them in their majestic greatness. Not
in their human form, but in their original spiritual forms, as when
he asked Gabriel to show himself in his true form and he totally eclipsed
the heavens and the earth . This witnessing was by way of this Light,
Nur al Idrak; it gave him the power to see all other hidden
things.
The Fourth Light - Nur al Nubuwwa
- The Light of Prophethood
This Light manifested the signs that were required to confirm his
Prophethood and also the challenges that were put to his Prophethood
to bring miracles. This comes to him from the Station of Prophethood,
Maqam an Nubuwwa. For example, when they were in the desert
and the water gushed forth from his hands , when he healed blind people,
raised the dead, commanded the clouds to rain and many other things
- the animals coming to him and speaking with him - all these things
belong to the Light of Prophethood. This is the Fourth Light.
The Fifth Light - Nur al Nash-aa
- The Light of his upbringing
This is something very special - and specific to the Holy Prophet
Muhammad .
We don't know how the other Prophets were raised, but the life of
the final Prophet has been well documented and describes in detail
how he was protected. This is called the protection of his nature.
This has been unveiled to him in the incidents where the Angels came
to him and opened his chest and washed his heart with celestial water
and how Allah looks after him and protects him and all of the qualities
that he has. Even though he was orphaned at a young age, he was very
well looked after and protected.
This protection is also to confirm his Prophethood and Messagehood,
because they were signs to the earlier nations of his coming and how
they would recognise him. His mother confirmed that she could hear
his praising of Allah when he was still in the womb and after he was
born. His foster mother, Halimah Sa'adiyya, said that if she had eaten
any food that contained even the smallest amount of doubt, he would
refuse to suckle. This is another protection of his nature, keeping
him pure and sinless.
The Sixth Light - Nur al Saabiqa
- The Light of the quality of being the first
He was the first in that he was the Master of all of the children
of Adam. All of this has been given to him through Allah and the knowledge
of Allah does not change. Whatever Allah gives does not change. He
said "I was a Prophet when Adam was between water and clay."
He achieved the unveiling to see this. He was known among the earlier
Prophets before the creation. He knew that he was a Prophet when there
was still the concept of mumkin al wujud, the 'possibility
of existence'. He was there with Allah before the possibilities began
to manifest themselves.
His name in the Preserved Tablet is 'The First'. If the Angels want
to send mercy or help to the creations of Allah, they would go to
that name and through their praise of that name, 'The First' Allah
would gush forth His Mercy. The Holy Prophet's name 'The First' is
the means that Allah uses to bring forth His Mercy to the creations.
The Seventh Light - Nur al Tashrif -
The Light of Honour
This is the honour of being the first to see that which is seen. He
saw the specifications of 'why' this world has been created. He saw
Allah's Name and his own name written in the Preserved Tablet and
the Book of Light. As Allah mentioned in the Holy Qur'an "And
that Allah may help you with powerful help"(48:3), "Allah
will complete His Light" (61:8), "Allah will not allow but
that His light should be perfected" (9:32), "It is He Who
has sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, to
proclaim it over all religion: and enough is Allah for a Witness."(48:28)
"And say: 'Truth has arrived, and Falsehood perished: for Falsehood
is (by its nature) bound to perish.'(17:81).
The Eighth Light - Nur al Tadallu -
The Light of Implementation of Obedience
This is Nearness of the slave to Allah in totality. Tadallal means
Nearness. Without this Light of Nearness, we cannot get anywhere.
This is why we need to follow in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet
. Everybody follows his footsteps, and if your connection to this
light is powerful, then you know where you are going and you know
what you are doing, but if it is not, then the Light becomes dim,
and whether they are a believer or not, they cannot see where they
are going. They may deviate and find themselves in serious trouble.
Everyone is within this Light of Nearness, the question is how close
are you to that Light? If you are in the front, the road is very clear
- if you are a little too far away, then you can see the light, but
if the one holding the light turns the corner, you are once again
in the dark. This is an example of the difference between nearness
and distance to the Light of Prophethood.
Allah says in the Chapter of the Stars:
"He approached and came nearer" (fatadalla) (Holy
Qur'an 53:8).
The Ninth Light - Nur al Tarkib -The
Light of Uniting
This Light is the Majestic aim of the Unity. When the Holy Prophet
contemplated on the creation and saw the order that they were in -
he began to think about the secrets of destiny- the higher order and
the lower order of things. This caused an agitation in his heart until
he was able to unify them within himself and they became one. He united
all of this glorious knowledge and went from the multiplicity of the
creation to the unity of the One.
The Tenth Light - Nur al Mawlid
- The Light of his Birth
It was unveiled to him that he is among those who are in extreme happiness.
He is the happiest one. This comes through the proof of the Divine
Celestial bodies and the order of the heavenly realms. The composition
and relationship of the planetary and heavenly spheres were in complete
and ultimate harmony at the moment of his birth .
He has an amazing share in the Days of the World. His connection to
the Days of the World is more powerful than anything that has been
given to anyone before. On the day he was born, hundreds of miracles
took place. For example, the Zoroastrian fire was extinguished, the
Palace of Kisra collapsed and there was an earthquake in the Land
of India. This was a sign for them, and a group of Hindus came all
the way from India to meet with the Holy Prophet . They sat with him
and communicated with him telepathically without saying a word. They
received from him what they received and then they moved on.
The Eleventh Light - Nur al Khulqata
- The Light of His Creation
The Light of his creation shone from between his eyes and it was so
powerful that no one could look at him directly; it was like the sun
streaming forth. It was evident to all of the Arabs when they saw
him that there was something about him and it was sufficient proof
for many of them to embrace Islam without further question. His grandfather
used to say about him "My son, he will be a great man."
His light was also evident in his smile. His wife Sayyida Aisha related
a story about him concerning his light and the moon. She said that
once during the full moon, he was kneeling down mending his shoe.
His forehead began to sweat and light began to shine from the sweat
and she was staring at him . His light was so luminous that it eclipsed
the light of the full moon. This light was in his movement, his speech,
his actions and all aspects of his personality .
When the Archangel Gabriel accompanied the Holy Prophet on the Night
of Ascension and they came to the Lote Tree of the Uttermost Boundary;
Gabriel could go no further. He said "If I come any closer, even
the distance of an ant, I will be incinerated." So the Holy Prophet
left Gabriel there and continued on . Beyond the station of the Lote
Tree there is nothing for Gabriel but annihilation and he said "I
will be consumed by the Majesty and the Beauty of Allah." Subuhat
(the floating divine luminations) are the Lights of the manifestations
of the Attributes.
There is no other Prophet that has reached this level. Every other
Prophet and Messenger that came before came as a representative to
speak on his behalf - to inform the people about his coming. If you
get this, everything else will come to you. You will get all the help
from all the other Prophets through this. If you know how to put your
Prophet in his proper place, then you will get help from John the
Baptist, from Jesus, Jacob, Jethro, and all the others, they may come
in a dream to assist you, sent by the Holy Prophet Muhammad . Each
one of us has a certain temperament based on the quality of one particular
Prophet. It is rare that one will accumulate all of the qualities
of the Holy Prophet Muhammad as the Universal Man, but you could come
close enough to see through him. If you are close enough to his reality,
you start to see things through the Reality of Muhammad . And this
is the best way to see everything.
All of his movements, his actions and his speech contain light within
them and those around him were able to see it. When one of the Companions
(Qatada ibn al Nu'man) was injured with an arrow strike to his eye,
the Holy Prophet blew on it and put it back in its place. From that
time on, he was able to see better with that eye than with the other
one . Another companion had a broken arm and because of this light,
when the Holy Prophet held it and blew on it, the bone healed immediately.
The Holy Prophet
used to pray "Oh Allah, make me light". He has light in
every limb of his body - light in his fingers, his clothing, his feet,
even his eyelashes and hair. Whenever he touched a child, that child
would be distinguished from all the other children - with the knowledge
that he had been touched by the Light of the Holy Prophet and the
beautiful celestial fragrance emanating from him .
This light is the Light of all the spiritual and physical lights.
Through this light the connection is made between the spiritual and
the physical and the physical to the spiritual.
The Twelfth Light - Nur al Tarbiya
- The Light of Education
This is where he saw, with this Light, how he was protected and he
never did anything that was opposite to the Divine Order. He was in
a state of harmony with the Divine Protection. This Light was also
the cause of certain events taking place; for example, there was always
a cloud above him, sheltering him from the heat of the desert sun
and keeping him cool. When they were rebuilding the Ka'aba, he appeared
at exactly the right time to settle the dispute between the tribes
about re-laying the Black Stone. When Abu Jahl challenged the Holy
Prophet to wrestle him, saying that if the Holy Prophet beat him,
he would embrace Islam. Abu Jahl was a powerful man, but when the
Prophet touched him, he was gone. These conditions and situations
have all come about because of these lights.
The Thirteenth Light - Nur al Intiqaal
- The Light of Transmission
This is the Light that was in the eyes of his father and his mother.
That light was transmitted back to him; he inherited it from them
again after he was born. The transmission took place from the beginning
of time from purity to purity. All of his mothers and fathers (and
grandparents) have always been the best of the community. His light
chooses the best of creations to manifest in. The ones that this light
is transmitted to are the most righteous and beautiful in character.
When this light manifests in someone, laziness departs from him and
he becomes energetic and full of grace in his movements. He becomes
so good that the people around start to notice. This connects with
his 'Light of being first'. With this Light he has seen the very essence
of his reality.
All of the Prophets became Prophets after they
were told they were to be a Prophet - except for the Holy Prophet
Muhammad , who was always a Prophet. With the Prophets that came before
him, it took a long time to prepare them for their Prophethood in
this life. The Prophets of Allah are pre-ordained from eternity, and
they are the best of creations.The covenant of the Prophets was taken
from them in the heavenly realm. 124,000 Prophets and Messengers all
took this covenant as the warners of Allah and to inform the people
of the coming of Muhammad :
"Behold! Allah took the covenant of the
prophets, saying: "I give you a Book and Wisdom; then comes to
you a Messenger, confirming what is with you; do you believe in him
and render him help." Allah said: "Do you agree, and take
this my Covenant as binding on you?" They said: "We agree."
He said: "Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses."
(Holy Qur'an 3:81)
This is why you will find the name of Muhammad
or another of his names with all people, in all traditions - his name
has been mentioned, whether they acknowledge it or not. In some traditions,
reference to him is hidden so that the people did not understand it
until much later. The Holy Prophet's name is mentioned in some of
the oldest texts that we have, the Hindu teachings. Followers of the
Hindu teaching have been sitting in their temples, day in and day
out, praising the Holy Prophet for centuries, but they weren't aware
of it because they thought it meant something else.
It is only in our time that people are coming to realise that his
name is there and has always been there. Dr. Zakir Naik, in response
to a man who had written a book trying to discredit Islam (while admitting
that he had found Muhammad's name three times in the Hindu scripture),
said that he had found his name mentioned in around 50 places in the
Puranas and began to quote them. These references include his birthplace,
his family lines, characteristics and details of his life.
The most amazing reference indicates that one can attain the highest
spiritual success and realisation by praising him . They called him
the last Avatar, but it was the same as the Jews and the Christians
- they did not believe in the Holy Prophet Muhammad
. The one they were waiting for came, but they were unable to recognise
him. They asked John the Baptist and the Prophet Jesus - "Are
you the one?"
In the Holy Qur'an, the Holy Prophet
is always addressed with the highest respect and dignity - "Oh,
Prophet", "Oh, Messenger". Some of the Arabs used to
call out to the Holy Prophet from a distance using his first name
until Allah revealed:
"Oh, you who believe! Lift not up your
voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor shout when speaking to
him as ye shout one to another, lest your [good] deeds come to nothing
without your perceiving it". (Holy Qur'an 49:2) and:
"Those who shout out to you from outside
the inner apartments - most of them lack understanding."(Holy
Qur'an 49:4). The Holy Prophet was a very shy man, and it was one
of his beautiful qualities.
"And he would be shy of (asking) you (to
go); But Allah does not shy away from the Truth" (33:53)
It is very difficult to know the essence of
Allah, as He says in His Holy Book:
"There is nothing like unto Him." (Holy Qur'an 42:11)
Through the footsteps, the methodology and
the practice; and the Lights of the Holy Prophet in these activities,
whatever actions you make are full of light, but we don't generally
see it. I knew of a man who became Muslim after witnessing the collective
prayer. Allah opened his eyes and he saw the light connecting all
of the people together and it grabbed his heart. Allah gave him the
Light of the Prayer - this light contains the Light of the Shahadah,
the Light of the Ablutions, the Light of the Intention to Pray, the
Light of the Qibla, and the Lights of the learning, listening and
recitation of the Qur'an. Done properly, these actions will infuse
you with Light.
The Fourteenth Light - Nur al Nihaya
-The Light of the End
The Light that Allah uses to end Prophethood and Messagehood. This
Light is complete within the Holy Prophet - all those little lights,
the 124,000 Prophets and Messengers are all accumulated and completed
within and manifested in the Holy Prophet Muhammad . We have said
earlier, that people used to witness the light emanating from him
- when he spoke, the light would come from his mouth, from between
his eyes, in his body, and they were aware of his light again if they
looked for his shadow; he was so infused with intense light that his
body cast no shadow.
The Light of the End is the Seal of Prophethood with regards to the
Divine Law. There are no more Prophets to come and the revelation
of Divine Law is complete.
"He is the messenger of Allah and the
Seal of the Prophets." (Holy Qur'an 33:40)
Shaykh al Nabulusi (may Allah sanctify his
secret) said "You should know that our Master Muhammad is the
seal of all the Prophets and Messengers. He has the spiritual 'tasting'
of all the Prophets that came before him". He knows what every
Prophets' teaching contained, and what it tasted like. He came also
with belief in all of them - none of the earlier Prophets were rejected,
but he activated a new cycle that started with Prophet Adam to Prophet
Jesus and began again with his appearance in the physical form. Before
he was there in spiritual form, but then it became the physical form.
He has also spoken about their states of consciousness. He spoke about
every Prophet and said "May Allah have mercy on my brother Moses.
Had he stayed long enough with the righteous man (Khidr), he would
have shown us a lot of amazing things, but he lost his patience."
With regards to the other Prophets, he said that "If I had appeared
in their time, they would have no option but to follow me."
He also said "I was a Prophet when Adam was still between water
and clay. " He is the source of the fountain of knowledge of
realisation for all the Prophets and Messengers and he has all of
the teaching in its purity. His teaching also cancels any untruthful
manifestations with regard to certain Prophets and Messengers. He
corrected and completed the teaching.
The Fifteenth Light - Nur al Tadamman
- Light of Embracement
When this Light was unveiled to him, he saw that his method is the
easiest and most complete, even from what the Prophet Abraham had
practiced. Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
"The faith of your father Abraham (is
yours). He is the one who has named you Muslims." (Holy Qur'an
22:78)
His teaching is much easier to follow than the teaching of the Prophet
Abraham. One of the names of the Holy Prophet is Mukhtaar,
The One who chooses. He chose for us the best and the most profitable
method in everything. In food, fasting, prayer, dhikr, in marriage,
in whatever you name it, he brought the easiest. Of course, people
complicate things and make life miserable for themselves and those
around them and they call it Islam. This is not Islam - Islam is very
beautiful and relaxing and peaceful and full of fresh knowledge that
brings you closer to Allah and to understand the purpose of why we
have been created. This gives you the peace and tranquillity that
everyone searches for. He was the 'one who chooses' because he was
the one who was chosen as the beloved of Allah. Allah loved him to
such a degree that he was given free choice .
Narrated 'Aisha: Whenever Allah's Messenger
was given the choice of one of two matters, he would choose the easier
of the two, as long as it was not sinful to do so, but if it was sinful
to do so, he would not approach it. (Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book
56, Number 760)
Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said,
"Make things easy for the people, and do not make it difficult
for them, and make them calm (with glad tidings) and do not repulse
(them )." (Sahih Bukhari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 146)
The Sixteenth Light - Nur al Taskhir
-The Light of Subjugation
It was unveiled to him that he is the main aim of the creation of
the heavens and the earth and that Allah has subjugated all of the
celestial bodies to him. When the Arabs said to him 'split the moon',
he commanded the moon to split and they saw it cleft asunder. When
they saw this, they were dumbfounded, but when he closed it again
and they had recovered, they said 'this is witchcraft'.
"The Hour (of Judgment) is near, and the
moon is cleft asunder. But if they see a Sign, they turn away, and
say, this is (but) transient magic." (Holy Qur'an 55:1-2)
All of the celestial bodies have been subjugated
to protect the followers and the people who practice the teaching
of the Holy Prophet . So, when there is no one left, everything will
collapse. That is the Light of Subjugation. If there is no light (of
the believers) coming out from the Earth to keep the Sun moving, the
Moon rising and setting, to keep the stars in their place, everything
will go. The energy that keeps them in place is the Light of Belief.
Then Allah will give the signal to Israfil, the Angel of the Trumpet:
"The Day when the trumpet will be sounded:
that Day, We shall gather the sinful, bleary-eyed (with terror)."
(Holy Qur'an 20:102)
The subjugation of the celestial bodies is
to protect the divine structure of the universe. This is also one
of his miracles. This will continue as long as his teaching will exist
on earth. Many people have forgotten this point in understanding the
Holy Prophet . There is another point that people have forgotten in
the teaching concerning 'falling stars'. These are the Angelic forces
fighting demonic forces on earth - they pelt them with these 'falling
stars'.
"But any that gains a hearing by stealth,
is pursued by a flaming fire, bright (to see)." (Holy Qur'an
15:18)
This is another of the miracles of the Holy
Prophet . Before the coming of the Holy Prophet , magic and sorcery
and witchcraft were very powerful. After his arrival, all of these
forces were greatly weakened.
"Feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan."
(Holy Qur'an 4:76)
The subjugation of the Angels - the Angelic
forces have served the Holy Prophet and his followers and they have
fought alongside him in many battles. The Saints who follow the steps
of the Holy Prophet witness the Angels with their physical eyes and
can speak with them and they learn from one another.
In total, all of the spiritual manifestations belong to this particular
area of the Light of Subjugation. From this Light, the Holy Prophet
knew that he was the mudallal (the one Allah spoils). Of all of the
124,000 Prophets and Messengers, the Holy Prophet Muhammad
was the only one who was always given before he asked. Prophet Musa
prayed:
(Moses) said: "Oh, my Lord! Expand me my breast; ease my task
for me; and remove the impediment from my speech, so they may understand
what I say" (Holy Qur'an 20:25-29). For the Holy Prophet it was:
"Have We not expanded for you your breast?"
(Holy Qur'an 94:1)
"And raised high the esteem (in which)
you (are held)?" (Holy Qur'an 94:4). What other Prophet has the
same? Other Prophets and Messengers asked and received, but the Holy
Prophet was given before he asked and his mission was a mission to
all of the creations, in all the universes.
"And [Oh, Prophet,] We have not sent you
except as a Mercy to all the worlds." (Holy Qur'an 21:107).
There is more that we could say with regards
to the Light of the last Prophet and Messenger of Allah to all creations
and we will be greatly benefiting ourselves if we study the teaching
and how to absorb and to increase this light within ourselves. The
method is simple. The miracle of the Holy Qur'an is the only miracle
that stands before humanity to illuminate them and to unveil the realities
of the Creative Truth, Al Haqq. In the next issue, we will
explain the remainder of the 33 Lights and may Allah sanctify the
secret of our Shaykh Ibn Sab'in for pointing us to these Realities
that he saw before him in all of his life and that are in front of
us as well for those who have eyes to see.
And salutations and peace be upon our Beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad
al Mustapha, the Chosen One, the one who said 'Ma'arafani illa
Rabbi' 'Only my Lord knew me'. He said no one will become a true
believer until Allah and His Messenger are dearer to him than anything
else.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah
said: Allah said:
"Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be
at war with him. My slave draws not near to Me with anything more
loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and
My slave continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so
that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which
he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes
and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me,
I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I
would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much
as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful slave: he hates
death and I hate hurting him." (related by Al Bukhari)
And Allah speaks the Truth and He guides to
the Straight Path.
Murshid F. A. Ali ElSenossi
What
is Sufism?
The Spiritual Psychological Teaching
of Islam
Sufism is the esoteric,
heart teaching of Islam. We are living in the 21st Century, the age
of 'modernisation', mass communications, the internet and the 'global
village' concept, so would hope by now that Sufism (Tasawwuf) does
not require much explanation. This teaching has been made more accessible
around the world by means of thousands of websites and talks on internet
television programs and You Tube. Sufi Books, Sufi music (qawwali),
and Sufi poetry are some of the ways that Tasawwuf is introduced
to humanity at large. We are not surprised when we discover that some
of the best-selling books are written by great saintly people who
are deeply rooted in the traditions of the final Prophet and Messenger
to all of creations, The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may the salutations
of Allah be upon him, and peace. For the sake of clarification and
explanation, and as an introduction to our web site, we will give
the authentic teaching and explanation with regard to this beautiful
and illuminating way. The methodology and practices go back to the
Practices (Sunnah) of the Holy Prophetand
the Science of Prophethood.
It has been said that Tasawwuf has taken its name from many different
sources. In some Traditions the Sufis are connected with the Companions
of the Holy Prophet
. There was a group of very highly devoted and sincere seekers of
Allah known as the Ahl as-Suffa, the People of the Bench. They spent
their lives in a state of remembrance of Allah and complete detachment
from this world with great love and devotion to the company of their
Beloved Prophet.
It has also been said, that Sufism is related to the root of the word
"safa" – to purify – here meaning to purify the heart of
other-than-Allah. There are many names attached to this particular
teaching. The Sufis nonetheless say: "If one says he is a Sufi,
he is not a Sufi". To be a Sufi is to be in a state of complete
awareness of the self and complete awareness of the Divinity and you
must have sufficient knowledge of both the exoteric and the esoteric
teachings of Islam. If you try to separate Tasawwuf from its
root, which is Islam, you are opening a very dangerous door and could
cause yourself and others great harm. To do this is also to try to
build a castle without foundations. There are many legends regarding
this name, but by whatever name we call it, it is the heart of Islam
and we could say that every good Muslim is a Sufi and every good Sufi
is a Muslim.
Now, we go back to our subject - the aim,
the method, the practice and the travel on this great Path of Allah.
"The goal of self-transformation
is to remove all the veils between us and Allah. The final veil
is the "I", the sense of separateness we each carry.
To remove this is far from easy. Ask yourself, "How can
I take the "I" out of me?"
The Sufis take as their starting point
the Unity of Allah– 'La ilaha ill Allah' – There is no god
but One God; There is no reality but One Reality. It is not that we
have to acknowledge the Unity of Allah. He does not need our confirmation
of His Oneness. This acknowledgement is for our own benefit. When
one starts with Unity it is easy to integrate all the different "I’s"
which have no function except to confuse and mislead us. For this
reason the practices of the Sufis include the remembrance of Allah
(Dhikr) and His Names, in various forms, to awaken the consciousness
and activate the subtle centres of the heart.
In Sufism there are seven stages of consciousness. (Stages
of the Self) When we progress through them we will reach the Ultimate
Truth and the Ultimate Unity of Realization in Allah. It is hard;
and at the same time it is easy. If we are sincere and if we have
great determination (himma) and really wish to be with Allah
then, as Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, He is closer to us than our
jugular vein. It has been said that there are 70,000 veils between
the seeker and Allah, but there are no veils between Allah and the
seeker. The complications are from our side. We have to put our lives
in order and bring peace and knowledge and proper behaviour to our
existence so that we may be able, gradually, to remove the veils of
personality, conditioning and lower desires (and after that, the higher
desires).
"The Sufis are people who prefer
Allah to everything and Allah prefers them to everything else."
So the first step, as we mentioned, is
the acknowledgment of the supremacy of Allah, and the acknowledgement
which includes the acceptance of 124,000 Prophets and Messengers of
Allah who have been sent to humanity and to all the creations in the
universe, (those creations that we know of and those that have not
been discovered yet).
The last Prophet and Messenger of Allah is the Holy Prophet Muhammad
. If we acknowledge this then the second step is to worship, because
there is no point in acknowledging Allah if we do not fulfill His
commands. As a Sufi poet said: "You disobey Allah and yet you
claim His Love. That is indeed a very strange kind of love!"
If you truly love Allah you will obey Him because the lover is in
a state of total surrender to his Beloved. So – worship you must!
What does is mean to worship? Worship is not just the movements of
the body. (Movement of the Prayer). It
is the orientation of the heart so that the object of your love is
the Supreme Being. It is a state of knowledge, because in the true
sense you cannot worship something that you do not know. So, the Sufis
say: "Worship!" Worship in the Arabic traditions is called
ibadat. Ibadat should take us to 'ubudiyya meaning
slavehood. You are slave to none but the One. If worship does not
produce this result then it has not been done properly. The highest
state of consciousness is to be completely and totally submitted to
your Beloved, Allah, the Supreme Being and the Creator of all things
and the sustainer of all things, because we all remember when we arrived
to planet Earth, we arrived without any luggage, Ipods, computers,
or any of the other gadgets that we depend on in our daily lives.
We think that if we don't have them, our lives will be disastrous.
The Holy Prophet
has said, "What I say is the Law, what I do is the Way and my
inner state is Reality". There are three stages of practice and
understanding in Sufism:
Islam (submission)
Iman (belief)
Ihsan (perfection) or, you could say:
Shariah (The Law)
Tariqah (The mystical Path)
Haqiqah (Reality)
Each is built upon the stages that go before.When we combine this
knowledge based on the Holy Qur'an, we will come face to face with
each of the seven stages of consciousness.
Islam (submission)
Iman (belief)
Ihsan (perfection)
'Ilm al Yaqin (knowledge of certainty)
'Ain al Yaqin (the eye of certainty)
Haqq al Yaqin (the Reality of Certainty)
The seventh stage is the Complete Self,
known also as Hayat as-Sha'ur, the Life of the Senses.
To start this process, you must take the
necessary steps. It is highly recommended to observe the month of
fasting every year (the Holy month of Ramadhan) in order to experience
something of hunger, to tame the animal self and to become conscsious
of the suffering of the human being who has nothing to sustain them.
The Murshid, or Teacher of a Sufi order or school to whom one attaches
oneself, may recommend other fasts if they are required.
There is also zakat, or charity, which deals with material
wealth. The Holy Prophet
never kept anything more than what he needed for the day and he is
our example to follow. When we practise zakat, which requires
a percentage of wealth to be given to the needy, then, according to
the esoteric Teaching, we are learning detachment, generosity and
many other qualities. We must know that the best gift one can give
to others is a heart full of love and respect for all the creations
of Allah.
Additionally there is the Hajj or pilgrimage. The Holy Prophet
said: "Whoever dies without the intention to go on the Pilgrimage,
may die on a different faith than that of the religion that I brought".
One must strive to perform pilgrimage to the House of Allah once in
a lifetime. However, the real pilgrimage is to travel to one’s heart
because it is the Real House of Allah. Allah says in a Hadith Qudsi
(Holy saying) "Neither My heavens nor My earth contain Me,
but the heart of My true believer contains Me". This 'containment'
is of knowledge and realisation and illumination.
The Holy Prophet
has said "die before you die" and he also said "whosoever
knows himself, knows his Lord". So the Sufis use all of these
methods and more to transform the self. It is common knowledge that
the ego-self cannot surrender to itself. From the very beginning of
our lives we are learning from our parents, our peers, schoolteachers,
our university lecturers, and the masters of whatever trade we undertake.
There is always someone at the beginning who must show us how to learn
and Tasawwuf is no exception. However, there is something unique to
Islam and to Tasawwuf in particular, called bay'at, which was
performed by the Holy Prophet÷
and this practice still continues right to our time. In some parts
of the world it is called mukaffaf – taking of the hand. That
is, you must take the hand of the one nearest to you to link you to
the chain which goes back to the First Teacher who brought this Teaching
to us, the Holy Prophet Muhammad
who links us to Allah Himself. It is like a very powerful magnetic
circle. The one who attaches himself becomes like a magnet, receiving
the barakah, spiritual blessings , and participating in the Universal
Remembrance of Allah, because this Teaching is for all of humanity.
It is Universal. It is fresh and unadulterated and it gives you access
to everything that your heart desires and unlocks the mysteries of
everything you want to know, but were afraid to ask. I beseech my
Beloved Allah to fill the hearts of those who seek the Truth and nothing
but the Truth, with the Truth, so that they may become free, inward
and outward. The 21st Century, the end of the cycle is a wonderful
time if the eye of the heart is open, but it is a dangerous time for
those who are in a comatose state of forgetfulness. Their only worries
and concerns deal iwth the material world, the enslavement to their
work and their bodily needs and desires and the weekly rituals of
pushing the tripod trolley through the supermarket, which has become
our 'home away from Home'.
Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre was established many
years ago in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It provides all those who
want to know – and who really want to know – with a large range of
books on Sufi traditions and their original sources and other traditions
as well. So, I hope this introduction helps to give you some idea,
but if you want more than the menu - the kitchen and the Cook are
here on the Web. May your search bring you success in this life and
the next.
And may Allah fill our hearts and yours with Peace, Love and Knowledge
and Guide us all to Him, by Him. Ameen.
Sufism is but a name; when it is finished,
only Allah remains.
Written by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi-
Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre
Go to: Almiraj Sufi
Books
Almiraj Sufi and Islamic
Study Centre Inc.
Incorporated in the State of Tasmania, Australia
Page last updated
29-Jan-2012
