Jihad vs. Terrorism

Category: SOUND

Hirabah versus Jihad

by Dr. Robert D. Crane

Dr. Crane grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and graduated with a B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Northwestern University in 1956 and a J.D. (Doctor of Laws) from Harvard Law School in 1959. From 1963 to 1968 he was personal adviser to Richard M. Nixon, who appointed him in January 1969, to be Deputy Director for Planning in the National Security Council. In 1981, President Reagan appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Previously a hidden Muslim, he openly embraced Islam in 1981, left government service, and since then has worked as a full-time Islamic scholar and activist. He has authored or co-authored a dozen books and more than a hundred professional articles on long-range global forecasting, comparative legal systems, and the role of religion in society. As an advisor to the Center for Understanding Islam, he continues his research on Islam as part of the effort of American Muslims to present the true message of enlightened Islam.

What is Hirabah?
The term hirabah refers to public terrorism in a war against society and civilization. In legal terminology it is defined as “spreading mischief in the land,” but its precise meaning, as defined by Professor Khalid Abou el Fadl, is “killing by stealth and targeting a defenseless victim in a way intended to cause terror in society.” This is the Islamic definition of terrorism. It is the very opposite of jihad.

The term hirabah comes from the root hariba, a verb that means to become angry and enraged. By derivation the nown harb (pl. hurub) means variously “war” and “enemy.” Over the centuries, and especially during the Crusades, the hurub al salibiya, extremists have extended the meaning of this term, harb, to demonize all non-Muslims. They came to designate the entire world not controlled by Muslim rulers as the dar al harb, the House of the Enemy or the House of War, as distinct from the dar al islam, the House of Islam.

The modern extremist, Sayyid Qutb, perverted the teachings of his mentor, Hassan al Banna, by proclaiming: “There is only one place on earth that can be called the House of Islam, and it is that place where an Islamic state is established and the shari’ah is the authority and God’s laws are observed. … The rest of the world is the House of War.“

Over the centuries, there have always been scholars, particularly those politically funded, who have designated the fundamental dichotomy as the realm of Islam, dar al islam, versus the dar al zulm, the realm of evil (resembling Mordor in The Lord of the Rings), or versus dar al kufr, the land of those who are going to hell because they deliberately reject the truth. This type of extremism, found in all civilizations, is the psychological origin of both personal and state-sponsored hirabah.

The majority of Muslim scholars have always welcomed the diversity inherent in the unity or tawhid of the universe, including its different races and religions, in accordance with the clear teachings throughout the Qur’an. They speak of the dar al ijaba, the land of those who have accepted Islam, in contrast to dar al da’wa, the land of those who still need to be educated about Islam; or dar al taqwa, the land of those who stand in loving awe of Allah, in contrast to dar al ahd, the land of those with whom one has treaties of friendship and cooperation.

What is Jihad?
Western polemicists in recent years have latched on to the phraseology of Muslim extremists to distort the mainstream teachings of Islam. They translate jihad as Holy War, when, in fact, only fringe elements among Muslims consider that war, even a carefully circumscribed just war, can be holy.

The Qur’an refers to jihad only in terms of intellectual effort to apply divine revelation in promoting peace through justice: Wa jihidhum bihi jihadan kabiran, “Strive with it in a great jihad” (Surah al Furqan, 25:52); and Wa tammat kalimatu rabika sidqan wa ‘adlan, “The Message of your Lord is perfected in truth and justice” (Surah al An’am 6:115).

Two other forms of jihad were identified by the Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam, namely, the jihad al akbar or greatest jihad to purify oneself, and the jihad al saghrir or lesser jihad to defend the human rights of oneself and others. Some Muslims today refer to various other kinds of jihad or effort, such as jihad al tajdid or effort to renew, revive, or “modernize” Islam.

Countering Muslim Terrorism
There is no such thing as Islamic terrorism, but there have always been Muslim terrorists. Today there are many alienated extremists who rely on their own resort to violence in protest against perceived injustice, rather than relying on the jihads of akbar, saghrir, and kabir, with the help of Allah and ecumenical cooperation in peacefully building a better world. In effect, these extremists rely on and worship themselves. They are exhibiting the most serious crime condemned in the Qur’an, which is the root of almost all the other crimes, namely, arrogance. They are committing the crime of hirabah, which is the attack on the very roots of civilization, and justifying it in the name of Islam. There can be no greater evil and no greater sin. If there is to be a clash of civilizations, a major cause will be the muharibun, those who commit inter-civilizational hirabah.

There is only one effective cure for such hirabah. This is cooperation by the heretofore silent majority of both Muslims and those of other faiths in a jihad to marginalize extremism by putting their own houses in order through the pursuit of peace through justice.

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PS: hirabah and it's punishment/prosecution is completely encoded into Shariah (Islamic Law) already. it can also be used to encompass other things such as rapes/murders/etc. anything that qualifies under the basic definition of war on people.

From Wikipedia:

The punishments of those who wage war against Allah and His Prophet and strive to spread disorder in the land are to execute them in an exemplary way or to crucify them or to amputate their hands and feet from opposite sides or to banish them from the land. Such is their disgrace in this world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom save those who repent before you overpower them; you should know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Ever Merciful. „
—Qur'an, 5:33-34

According to these verses, the punishment for spreading disorder in land is:

Taqtil (execution that serves a severe warning to others i.e. stoning)
Taslib (Crucifixion)
Amputating limbs from opposite sides
Nafi (Exile)

A Judge can give any of these punishments depending on the severity of the crime and condition of the criminal. These punishments can be prescribed for any crime that can threaten the society at large. Examples of these crimes are robbery (unlike theft which has a different punishment), rape, and terrorism.

Rumi on Friendship

Category: SOUND

Once on the bank of a river there lived a mouse and a frog. A very close friendship developed between the two of them. This friendship grew until it became a love relationship. By mutual arrangement they used to meet each other daily in the mornings and would converse with each other for a very long time. These meetings made both of them very happy. They used to tell stories to each other and listened to each other's tales. They even told each other their secrets and considered each other alone as holders of their secrets. When they met they even remembered and related happenings of more than five years ago, to each other.

Moulana Rumi (RA.) says:
"The excitement of eloquence and conversation from the heart is a . . sign of love
And when there is a termination of eloquence, it is a sign of lack of love.
How can that heart which had seen its loved one ever remain stern and cross?
And when the nightingale has seen a flower, how can it ever remain silent?
When a lover sits in the company of a lover,
Thousands of stories are remembered by the heart.
The Lowhul-Mahfooz -preserved tablet is the forehead of a Beloved
Which exposes the secrets of the worlds to the Lover."
"The guide to the path of guidance - Sayedina Mustafa Muhammad had said:
'My companions are like the stars in providing guidance.'

One day the mouse told the frog: "You are swimming around in
the water while I am here on the dry earth. I suffer the pangs of sorrow
over being parted from you. I come to the edge of the water to call you,
but while you are in the water, even the voice of a lover cannot be
heard. I am not happy with just meeting and talking to you for a short while". Salaah has only been
made obligatory five times a day,
but the true lovers of Allah Ta'ala permanently enjoy communion
with Allah through "Nafl" Salaahs.
"To be called from time to time for meeting a beloved is not for lovers,
The souls of true lovers remain thirsty at all times.
To be called for a meeting with a beloved is not for the fish,
For they will find no rest without the water. .
The heart of the lover is nothing without the Beloved,
There is between them no remover or removed."

EXPLANATION:
Moulana's object in mentioning these couplets }s a reference to the Hadith which says that meeting each other with intervals of a day, increases the love for each other. However, true lovers are exempted from this statement as Hazrat Abu Hurayrah (RA.) reports: "I used to make obligatory upon myself the company of Rasulullah at all times". Rasulullah did not prohibit it; which meant that he considered it permissible. Hence the first statement is a general one, while the latter one, is for special friends. The first statement was made by the Prophet at a time when Rasulullah asked Abu Hurayrah (RA.): "O Abu Hurayrah, where were you yesterday?" He replied: "Yesterday, I went to visit some relatives". Then Rasulullah said: "Meeting after a days break in between will increase love". There seems to be a contradiction between the two statements. However, this is not so. Reconciliation between the two statements is this: To make someone's company compulsory at all times, as Abu Hurayrah (RA.) did, refers to those situations where the contact and love is very strong. The other situation of meeting at specific times refers to those situations where the contact of love is not that strong.

"For a lover, the parting for even a moment is like a year's parting And the meeting lasting a whole year
is mere imagination."

Moulana Rumi (RA.) further explains that the people of this world have a good understanding of worldly
love, but as regards to Divine Love, which is granted to the Prophets and the Saints of Allah, they do not
understand. That is because they are caught
up behind the curtain of this world's external comforts and are deprived of the grace of Allah's love
which annihilates the needs of the self. Hence, only those who annihilate their selves gain this blessing.
It is not attained through reason alone.
"If through Reason the perception of Allah's love was possible,
Then of what use would spiritual strivings be?
In spite of the great mercy of having Allah ~ The Master of Reason
Why the command: Oppose your self and overpower your desires?"

It is through these strenuous spiritual exercises that the self becomes overpowered and annihilated.
The knowledge of Allah (Marifat) is dependent upon this. Moulana Sayed Sulayman Nadwi (RA.) asked
Hazrat Moulana Thanwy (RA.): "Hazrat what is the meaning of 'faquiri' ?" Hazrat Thanwy (R.A.) replied: "It
means annihilating your 'self'?"

The story continues:
The mouse then said to the frog: "O frog, beloved; without seeing your face at all times, I cannot find
peace. By day, the sight of you is my life, by night the thought of you is my consolation and sleep. It will
be q great favour on your part if you will permit me the pleasure of the opportunity of meeting you at
all times."

"It will be great generosity on your part if you will cause me the delight
Of remembering me at all times with your love.
You are unconcerned with my sorrows. 0, my Ameer!
Kindly grant me thy kindness and please me with your company."

Now Moulana returns to the object of the story, i.e. to return to Allah.
"O Allah, this indigent one without manners is most unsuited,
But Your Grace is all over, more higher and supreme.
O Allah, Your general Grace does not search for credentials or ability
And the sun of Your generosity even has effect on impurities.
The sun has warmed the belly of the earth
Which warmth has pulled impurities into its midst.
Those impurities have become part of the earth and created plants
And in this manner Allah wipes out sins.
If such is the robe of honour given to the evil ones,
How much more honourable will be the gift to righteous ones?
For His special bondsmen Allah prepares what no eye has seen,
And no tongue or language can ever describe.
Who are we? You kindly explain who we are?
O My Beloved, enlighten my day with beautiful morals. "

EXPLANATION:

Moulana describes 'Allah's wonderful actions by saying: "O Allah, when out of Your kindness, the rays of the sun falls upon the earth it enlightens it, when it falls on impurities like dung it dries the solid part and converts it to fuel, which light the furnace. . Another portion (i.e. the liquid part of the dung) sinks into the earth providing fertliser from which plants and fragrant flowers grow. The heat of the sun warms the earth and makes it absorb the liquid impurities. 0 Allah, impurities too are not deprived of Your bounty, what will be Your generosity towards the righteous servants and Lovers of Thee. You will grant such bounties which neither the eyes have seen, nor ears have heard nor has it passed through the minds of men as is said in a Hadith:

"I have prepared for my righteous servants what no eye has seen,
no ear has heard nor has passed through the minds of men. "
Thereafter Moulana says: When someone is inspired with. knowledge from the unseen, it is a sure sign
that from Allah's side there is a special glance of generosity and grace upon him. Moulana describes it in
this way:

"When on the banks of a river 'you notice greenery,
Then from far off you can be certain that there is water in this place."
Allah says: "The faces of my Messenger's companions are covered
With a veneer of Noor from their hearts
And this Noor is an indication of much Ibaadah and IstigJaar."

He then, in another couplet, mentions another example viz.
That the greenery of the meadows denote the fact that rain has fallen in that place.
"If by night rain fell while you were asleep and unaware of it having fallen, .
Then in the morning if you see the garden luxuriant and fresh,
You should understand that last night rain fell. Every beautiful garden's freshness
Is an indication of rain having fallen. "

The story continues:
The mouse told the frog: "Brother, I am a creature living on dry land and you are living in the water. I am unable to enter the water, but you are able to come to the dry land. But how will you be able to know inside the water that I have a desire to meet you?" For quite a time they discussed the problem and consulted each other. Finally, the mouse put forward a suggestion that one end of a piece of string the frog should tie to its leg and the other end to the foot of the mouse. Thus when the mouse had a desire to meet the frog he will pull the string. In the water the frog will feel the pulling of the string and thus come to the bank of the river. In this way they will be able to meet each other.

The frog considered the mouse's suggestion to be a bad one and said to himself: "This evil minded one
wishes to tie me up." ''It is no surprise if a blind one falls into a well,
Surprising when a seeing one falls into it."

In spite of disliking the mouse's suggestion, the' frog found
an inclination within himself to accede to the request. When a person's desire overpowers his reason, it
becomes the beginning of that persons downfall.

Moulana then proceeded to relate the story of the destruction of the frog. The two of them, by pulling the string, were able to enjoy the ecstasy of meeting each other repeatedly. Then one day the result of this bad company became a reality. A vulture came along and carried the mouse off in its claw. As the vulture flew off with the mouse, he also lifted the frog out of the water where up to now he was safe and comfortable, because the other end was tied to the frogs leg. What happened to the mouse also happened to the frog. The vulture killed both of them and ate them up. If the frog had remained in the water and not formed a friendship with the evil mouse, then nothing would have happened to him and he would have remained, safe.

LESSON

In this story Moulana has drawn our attention to the harm of bad company. It is a good story with a powerful moral lesson. In the story we see the soul, the self and the Shaytaan. The "Nafs-e-Ammaarah" is the evil mouse. The soul is the frog which lives in the water of Allah's nearness, which is its proper place. The vulture represents the Shaytaan or devil.

The Nafs - (Self) in order to satisfy its desires tries to engage the soul in evil doings and endeavours to tie it with a string. Where the soul obeys the desires of the Self and makes contact with the Self, then Shaytaan will pull it along wherever it wishes. In this way the soul is also humiliated because of its contact with the 'Self'. Hence, when the Shaytaan will go to hell, the Nafs (Self) which was in its claws will also go to hell accompanied by the soul as well, which had befriended the self in evil.

May Allah grant us the ability to learn a lesson from this story and may He grant us protection against the Self and the Shaytaan in the following manner:

(a) No matter what pleasure from sins the Self places in front of us, do not even turn your attention to those sins. Consider the Nafs as a very big enemy. It is an even bigger enemy than Iblees.

(b) When the whisperings of Shaytaan come to you, continue to recite 'Laa Howla Walaa Qoowata Illa Billaah'. Live in the shadow and company of a Saintly Sheikh and derive benefit from his knowledge and instructions. Remember that Shaytaan's control only comes when our soul makes a mutual agreement with the 'Nafs'. For this reason, it is of the utmost importance for us to oppose the accursed 'Nafs' with the aim of avoiding the mischief of Shaytaan. The one who will conquer his 'Self' will Insha-Allah conquer the Shaytaan. The conquest of the ‘Self' is not an easy task. Unless one forms a close contact with a saintly spiritual guide. Close contact here means ~ relationship of love and respect, choosing the guide in accordance with one's temperament.

The Soul in Islam

Category: SOUND

Each person is a whole entity, a union of mind, body, and soul. Islamic mystics/philosophers recognized this and using the Qur'an as a guideline, tried to map it out.

However, they start from complete scratch. The division isn't simply mind, body, and soul... those things are in there, but they are arranged more according to how they might literally be laid out, rather than simply having the most easiest abstract model to manipulate in your head.

There are three important terms. These are not the different parts, these are three completely different ideas described in the Qur'an. They are the Qalb (heart), the Nafs (Self), and the Ruh (soul).

I'll say it early here, the Ruh, or soul, is the thing encompassing our ideas of mind, body, AND soul... the literal thing. Who we are. And when using that word, it often refers to the highest levels of the Ruh, which has several levels... the lowest of which exist so that we can exist in this reality. So when you look at your hands, you are looking at literally YOU, your soul, in Islam. Perhaps a meaningless part of you, but one nonetheless as long as they are attached to your body.

The Qalb is kind of like the heart of the Ruh. The Ruh is the soul, but I can't use the word soul, because Ruh has a much more extensive definition. Imagine the Ruh as simply a body, and the Qalb as the heart/mind of it. If the Qalb is messed, the Ruh gets sick. We can directly act upon the Qalb which would then have an indirect effect upon the Ruh.

The Sufic goal is to develop a heart that is sincere, loving and compassionate, and to develop the heart's intelligence. This intelligence of the heart is deeper, and more grounded than the rational, abstract intelligence of the mind. It is said that when the 'eyes of the heart' open, one can see beyond the surface appearance of existence, and that when the 'ears of the heart' open, one can hear the reality of the truth behind the words.

-Sheikh Ragip

To do that, read the whole shebang above about Spiritual Intelligence. So while the Qalb concept resembles stuff we already know, it still is not a biological organ. Emotions, Sheikh Ragip says in one article, are not from the Qalb, they are from the Nafs or Self.

The Nafs is the philosophical Self. It can be ruled completely by our base desires or instincts, or be elevated into a really good representation of the deeper truths within (the divine connection of our soul). The Nafs was split into 5 aspects or levels in the Qur'an, but Islamic scholars have expanded those into 7. Going through the levels should be understood as a linear growth.

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Level 1 - The Commanding Self (Nafs Al-Ammara)

The remembrance that is appropriate for its treatment is La Illah Illa Allah (There is no god except God). It is the lowest level of the self and the worst. In it is found extreme desire and lust for immortality and sovereignty. Thus it is attached to the worst of characteristics from which we have been warned by Allah and His Prophet. For example self-admiration, arrogance and pride, hardness of the heart, oppression of creatures, love for exposing the faults of others, lying, gossip, back-biting, envy, jealousy, criticism, undeserved self-praise, bitterness, attachment to what belongs to others even if it possesses what is better, lack of contentment, constant complaining, lack of gratitude, blindness to its blessings, wishing for increase without effort, extreme selfishness, greed and covetousness that knows no limit, love of control, and love of self and its desires, hatred for those who criticize it even if it is for its own good and love for those who praise it even if it is in hypocrisy, rejection of advice and counsel, and only talking about itself.

This Commanding Self is generally divided into two levels:

The Animal Self (Nafs Al Hayawaniyyah); this is the self that runs after sensual desires and material possessions without regard for right or wrong, justice or inequity, lawful or unlawful. It is drowned in the pleasures of possessions, sex, and adornments. It is characterized by lewdness, evil, and lack of humanity. It abhors religion and loves itself selfishly. It knows neither fullness, nor humility, nor thankfulness, nor honor, nor manners.

The Satanic Self (Nafs Al Iblissiyyah); is even lower than the Animal Self because its love for itself has taken it to the stage where it competes with Allah in His divinity and lordship. "I am your lord supreme…" as Pharaoh proclaimed, and "I am better than him…" as Iblis contended.

The Commanding Self is the one with the ill heart. If the heart is not healed, the nafs continues in its ways until the heart is blinded and then it is finally sealed.

The root of this level of the self is that it's convinced that it is perfect and that others are flawed and that everyone will die but it will remain immortal. It got its name because of its constant demands and its numerous calls to satisfy its desires. So it demands a thing and before it attains it, it demands another thing and so on without end. The human in this state is the friend and beloved of Satan and the enemy of the Merciful. "Except those upon whom Allah shows mercy."

Level 2 - The Blaming Self (Nafs Al Lawwama)

Its healing remembrance is Allah (God). This is the self in its original state of birth into the world as Allah says, "By the One who brought the self to equilibrium inspiring it with its transgression and its consciousness." (Shams-7:8)

This is the self that has been touched by Allah's Mercy so that when it commits a sin or falls into disobedience, it blames itself and turns to forgiveness and repents to its Sustainer. Then it holds on to obedience until it slips back into sin then it turns to forgiveness and repentance and so on.

It has grasped what the Prophet said, "All humans are prone to sin and the best sinners are those who repent."

It is a self that is in constant fluctuation between obedience and disobedience. One time it is heedless and falls and another it is aware and resists.

This is the natural station which we start from at birth and from there we descend or ascend. Its sign is the fluctuation between the characteristics of the people of this world and the people of the next world. It is not in the same evil condition as the Commanding Self but the two desires of immortality and sovereignty are still active in it although in a much reduced or weakened condition. This is the first stage of salvation for the self and the first step toward its purification and success.

Level 3 - The Inspired Self (Nafs Al Mulhamah)

Its remembrance is Hu (The Divine Pronoun HE). This is the self that has ascended through effort and commitment to its true way from the station of the Blaming Self to the station of the self that is constantly seeking forgiveness and repentance regardless of its guilt or innocence. This is due to its certainty that the root of its attributes is imperfection, fault, weakness and incompletion.

At this level the self is inspired with the early stages of love for good wholesome deeds (Amal Saleh), and for the Quran and Traditions of the Prophet. It is also inspired with love of remembrance (Zhikr) and to seeking forgiveness (Istighfar) and to correcting its intentions (Niyyah) and renewing its repentance (Tawbah).

This is the last level of danger for the self for it is still vulnerable to descending to the lower stages of Blame and Commanding. At this stage the two desires for immortality and sovereignty are dormant except in passing thoughts.

Level 4 - The Secure Self (Nafs Al Muttma'ina)

Its remembrance is Haqq (Truth). It is the self that has ascended to the first station of development and the ladders of light toward intimacy, contentment and love for Allah. Its refinement is attained through increasing commitment and honest and sincere fulfillment of its obligations with respect to the true way in all its aspects particularly with respect to human relationships and conduct before acts of worship as the Prophet said, "The Way (Deen) is in conduct," and, "The best of you in character is the best in faith."

The Secure Self has entered the pathways, methods and means of protection and healing through self-accounting, resistance, striving, and devotion. These efforts bear the fruit of certainty in the truth that Allah alone is the Actor. He is the cause and motivator of everything for there is no god but Him and no Lord but Him. And that Allah in all of his actions is merciful and generous. He knows the best interests of the self. This certainty leads to confidence in Allah. It leads to confidence in His mercy and generosity. The self becomes confident that what is with Allah is better and more enduring than whatever is in its possession or in the possession of others. In this way it reaches complete confidence in its Lord; He is the one who knows what is best for it and He is the best of Sustainers (Rabb) and the best of Trustees (Wakeel). So the self becomes secure and ceases to occupy itself with anything other than what it has reached confidence in, that is its Lord Allah.

The self in this station expands in its capacity beyond efforts and devotions toward repentance. Once it is secure with Allah it occupies itself with additional stations such as hope (Rajaa') and fear (Khawf) and trust in Him (Tawwakul). In this station the Secure Self is in constant remembrance of Allah both on the tongue and in the heart.

"Is it not through remembrance of Allah that hearts become secure?" (Raad-28)

This is the first level of completion (Kamal) of the self. The heart begins to shine with the light of consciousness. The ego's power begins to shrink so that purity, refinement, clarity, and light dominate the heart so that it becomes the Secure Self. In this station the desires of immortality and sovereignty become completely veiled and they are returned to their true owner who is Allah. Now the self begins to show its true attributes that were previously hidden; these are the attributes of servanthood (Ubudiyyah), helplessness ('Ajz), humility (Zhull), poverty (Faqr), need (Ihtiyaj), and annihilation (Fana').

Level 5 - The Content Self (Nafs Al Radiyah)

"Return to your Lord content…" (Fajr-28)

Its remembrance is Hayy (Living). As the Secure Self ascends to its Lord the lights of the heart increase and fill the entire body transforming the sensual desires of the ego to the desire for what the Prophet brought in the Quran and Traditions. Its desires are now solely for these things and it is totally content with its Lord. Now hardship and ease are the same to it as are harm and benefit, and withholding and giving because it has become certain after becoming secure that every action and deed is from Allah alone; He is its Master, Sovereign, and Creator. He is the one who grants it Mercy and Compassion. He is the one who is Tender and Benevolent toward it. Everything that is from its Beloved is accepted by it and it is content with it. It is content with whatever Allah wishes to do with it.

At this level the self's creed is that if it is tried it is patient, and if it is given it is thankful, and if it is deprived it is accepting, and if it is wronged it is forgiving. It has now become the self with a wholesome and sound heart. It fluctuates in all its states between trust (Tawwakul) and relegation (Tafweed), and contentment (Ridah) and surrender (Tassleem) to Allah. The characteristic of this self is constant cheerfulness, gratitude, and thankfulness no matter what happens.

This is the second stage of the Complete Self (Nafs Al Kamilah), which is the station of servanthood. By ascending to this level the Content Self has entered into the first stage of "…the most beautiful station." This station is connected to the station above it.

Level 6 - The Gratified Self (Nafs Al Mardiyyah)

"Return to your Lord Content and Gratified." (Fajr-28)

Its remembrance is Qayyum (Self-Subsistent). At this stage the self is not only content with its Lord it is also gratified by Him.

"Allah is content with them and they are content with Him." (Bayyinah-8)

The Prophet was asked "When shall we attain Allah's contentment with us?" he replied, "When you are content with your Lord."

At this stage the light of the heart is completed. The heart advances from wholesomeness (Qalb Saleem) to a heart that is in total awe (Khashiyah) of Allah, constantly inclined (Muneeb) toward Him, imbued with modesty (Hayaa') toward Him in every condition.

"Whoever is secretly in awe of the Merciful and comes to Him with a sound heart. Enter it in peace! This is the day of immortality. In it they shall have whatever they wish, and with Us is more." (Qaf-33:35)

The folk of this station are the people of witnessing of the manifestations of the actions of the names of Allah (Mushahadat Tajalliyyat Afa'al Allah). Their witnessing in their hearts to the manifestations of Allah's power results in their awe in the face of Allah's greatness and majesty in all of His actions that are essentially the manifestations of His names. The folk of this station are also gifted with unveiling and miracles to enable them to call people to the love of Allah. These miracles are essentially for those who deny and reject the truth but who are at the same time called to Allah. So He sends to them miracles through the folk of this station so that the egos of these people will submit to these miracles and thus return through Allah back to the path of Allah. For when Allah loves one of His servants He seeks Him and calls him to Him. If once called the servant responds then he is brought near otherwise Allah seeks him through trials, or through miracles. For Allah's command must come to be and is utterly irresistible.

This station is the last of the stations of faith (Iman) and through it the self enters the presence of the station of "…the most beautiful station" (Ihsan) which is the goal and desire of the heart of every servant.

Level 7 - The Complete Self (Nafs Al Kamilah)

Also known as the Self of Light (Nafs Al Nuraniyyah), the Muhammadan Self (Nafs Al Muhammadiyyah), and the Loving Self (Nafs Al Muhibbah).

"Allah will bring folk whom He loves and who love Him; they will be humble towards the faithful and stern toward the deniers. They shall strive in the way of Allah and will not fear any blame from the blamers. This is the favor of Allah that He grants whomever He wishes among His servants. Allah is All-Encompassing and All-Knowing." (Maa'idah-54)

"Then follow me and Allah will love you and forgive your sins. Allah is the Forgiving and Merciful." (Al Imran-31)

Its outer remembrance is Qahhar (Compelling) and its inner remembrance is Wadud (Loving). This is the station of the completeness of servanthood to Allah through the completeness of following the teachings of His beloved, Muhammad, peace be upon him. The one who reaches this station is blessed with knowing the complete love of Allah for him and for His Prophet.

This is the Station of Beauty (Maqam Al Ihsan) and it is above all the stations of faith that preceded it. In this station the servant has completely attained the level of "…the most beautiful station." And so enters into the light of His beloved, the Chosen, in the station of "Two bow's lengths or nearer." in the footsteps of the beloved, Muhammad, peace be upon him.

It is the final level in the stations of the self. This station has no end to its ascension and refinement. The people of this station have nothing in their hearts but the love of Allah and His Messenger and those who are loved by Allah and His Messenger. At this level the Completed Self becomes the mirror of the light of the essential Prophetic Muhammadan self so that it attains the complete attributes of love and servanthood. In this station the self enjoys the lights of manifestation of the Attributes and Essence of Allah (Tajaliyat Al Siffat wa Al Zhat Al Illahiyyah) so that it fluctuates in the lights of bliss in all its stations and states. It is an angelic self of light inside human bodies. The truth is that it is selfless; it has no choice and if given a choice it would chose only what Allah loves and is pleased with. If it is asked whether it is receiving or deprived it would not know because love has overpowered it and so it is totally unoccupied with causes. It is annihilated through love (Hubb), fascination (Walah), and passion (Ishq) into the light of the beauty of the essence of the Lord of causes who is its Beloved and Protector. The people of this station are the people of Divine Love and Passion. They are the people who follow the true footsteps of Muhammad.

They are busy with their love and worship of the Truth and are not distracted by creation except to fulfill their obligations. And since they have become a mirror of the Muhammadan light they are constantly in the Prophetic Presence. All their motions, stillness, words, and deeds are from Allah, through Him, to Him. All of their hearts follow the Beloved and Elect, peace be upon him because they have come to know through Allah that he (the Prophet) is the first beloved, the first light that prostrates, worships, and serves Him. Whoever of the lovers obeys him, and loves him, and models his example in character, deeds, and worship, gains the love of Allah.

The likes of these folk are the servants of Allah who have been brought near (Muqarrabun) and have been selected and have gained certainty that their first obligation, after servanthood, is to love Allah and His Messenger. This is while keeping the Law, and upholding its tenets. They are leaders of religious knowledge and they are lights of gnosis in Truth. Through the lights of their hearts the hearts of those around them are illuminated, and through their remembrance mercy descends. They have all they desire and they only desire love of Allah and His Messenger. They do not seek this world, nor are they occupied by the next world. All their concern is intimacy with Allah, to hear from Him, to be near Him for they regard even a moment of separation as torment greater than Hell.

"Truly, the God-conscious ones are in gardens and rivers, in a place of truth in the presence of an Able Sovereign" (Qamar 54:55)

---

The Ruh is also split into 7 levels. But rather than stages of being like Nafs (our philosophical Self), these are more like stages of actual existence. What really is. Our actual physical/metaphysical self.

The soul or ruh is directly connected with the Divine, even if one is unconscious of that connection. The soul has seven levels or facets of the complete soul. These levels are: mineral, vegetable, animal, personal, human, secret and secret of secret souls. Each level represents the stages of evolution, and the process that it goes through in its growth. The soul is wholistic, and extends to all aspects of the person, ie: the body, the mind and the spirit. Each level of the soul has valuable gifts and strengths, as well as weaknesses. The goal is to develop the strengths and to achieve a balance between these levels, not forgoing the lower ones to focus only on the higher ones.

-Sheikh Ragip

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The Mineral Soul

Basically, our tangible existence. Our atomic (matter) selves. Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, etc.

The Vegetable Soul

This is related to our anatomy and physiology. This is our 'growing' self. Just like plants simply grow. This is us as we just go about the action of any living creature... self-sustainment and growth (although for humans that also implies emotional/intellectual growth too because of our nature). The Western idea of Behavioral Psychology starts here.

The Animal Soul

Our bodies. The 'body' of 'mind, body, and soul'. Desires, passions, fears, emotions, etc. An unbalance here would be like an emotional unbalance. In traditional Sufi orders, this is the first thing they 'fixed' in their students or mureeds. Ya, Sufis were basically some of the first 'psychologists' who recognized the specificity of these problems (emotional), and utilized techniques to 'heal' them. This 'soul' is the same essence as that of Behavioral Psychology (conditioned functioning) and Ego Psychology (all things Freudian).

The Personal Soul

Our minds. The brain and the nervous system. It allows us to come up with complex reactions to the environment through the use of planning and developing complex models of thought. This includes the the ego and the sense of self. This would correspond roughly to Cognitive Psychology.

The Human Soul

This is basically the Qalb described earlier. Humanistic Psychology parallels this.

The Secret Soul

The inner consciousness. The most deep-rooted sentience within us. It remembers our divine origin and it's inside the Qalb.

"And verily, ye know of the first form of creation. Do ye not remember?"
Qur'an, 56:62

This is what remembers that. The first form of creation, another massive topic on its own but it's when all the souls were created and were made to bear witness.

This is the origin of spiritual values, such as spiritual inspiration and creativity.

The Secret of Secrets Soul

I'm not sure if it's Secret of Secrets or Secret of Secret, but whatever. This is our divine connection. God knows.

These last two (if the last one can even qualify) would be grouped under Transpersonal Psychology.

---

Each level, or soul, has positive and negative aspects. Negative being when there is unbalance within that level. There must also be a balance between levels.

I also read that the last 3 souls or levels of Ruh can be damaged by substance abuse. Very seriously so. Maybe even irrevocably (the 'heart' can indeed be sealed and completely signed off after a certain point as described in the Qur'an). This means drugs, alcohol, or other chemical addictions that alter your perception and basically ANYTHING that disconnects you from reality, even mood-altering substances. You have to "keep it real". All things spiritual are synonymous with Truth. If reality is ugly, suffer it and you will undergo spiritual growth. We all know that and have heard it repeated in every human culture, civilization, or religion that ever was. Your body is a part of your soul as outlined above. That outline of Ruh shows WHY Spiritual Intelligence as described in the original thread works as it does. You can 'feed' input up through the souls but it HAS to start at the most BASIC levels (physical).

---

Source: Sheikh Ragip is also known as Dr. Robert Frager, who is a Harvard-trained psychologist and founder of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. The other quotes under Nafs were from a translation of a classic text by Mahmoud Mustafa. Props to Google.

Spiritual Intelligence (Spirituality)

Category: SOUND

(disclaimer: these things are notoriously hard to relate. one thing might make no sense, but one other thing might strike a chord and reveal the entire concept clearly, so its best when relating to offer a variety of approaches. sorry if i can't do that properly here, feel free to ask questions and i'll see if i can't help)

-Spiritual Intelligence

There's IQ, EQ (emotional intelligence), even social intelligence now. But what about Spiritual Intelligence?

First lets mention normal knowledge. There are three sources of knowing:

divine revelation,
rational investigation,
unveiling (percieving through your soul, the Self and all that, knowing from your heart, 'imagination' if you will)

Divine Revelation is the best according to Islamic principle, but we need the other two in order to understand it.

Now, Spiritual Intelligence comprises three things:

1) experience
2) reflection on that experience
3) right practice based on divinely revealed guidelines and inner knowing

The completion of one 'cycle' through these steps results in an increase of spiritually aware perception and even a spiritual knowledge, which then is compounded through the next cycles.

Experience:

It is best to understand this in the literal form. When we say 'life experience' we mean literally having gone through life a bit. Observation is not experience to us. But when you think about this from a spiritual perspective, it can be misleading. It holds true, an observation is not experience, but in the spiritual realm, even the act of reading a book can be a spiritual experience. It's your soul that's doing the experiencing, not your body or life. However, that's a really esoteric interpretation that doesn't really matter initially. For all intents and purposes, this basically means just any experience you go through. People think of big experiences first, and that's fine.

Reflection:

To truly roll the experience around in your head and understand what happened, and why it happened, and that what happened happened and couldn't have happened any other way. Remove the 'if' and the 'doubt'. You might only remove them from your mind and not your 'heart' because you might still be feeling the 'if's and the 'doubt's.

Right Practice:

This is the important part. Think about it. Just as you experience something for the first step, how do you suppose you would act on or upon your own soul freely? You can't put yourself into experiences because you know you're manufacturing them and it's not the same. This is where right actions and practice come in. The 'Right' implies divinely revealed to Prophet Muhammad(saw). So this is a pretty comprehensive step then. You have to investigate what is truly right, and then act upon it. Approach it as... it doesn't matter if you THINK it's right, it HAS to be right. Even if God is Merciful and may forgive you for mistakes, if you count on that, you forfeit it. So don't count on it. Don't be lazy. Learn the Deen. The basics must be upheld. The basics that everyone already knows. Ritual prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimmage (Hajj). And of course, Shahadah, which implies also Aqeedah (doctrine). Your doctrine must be right. The stuff from our world, our existence, can ONLY be translated to our soul in the language of Truth. Anything that is not 'True' will not escape the boundaries of this transient existence and won't make it to your soul. Too much 'untruth' will leave the soul neglected (for which you will be called out eventually). The reason it HAS to be 'right', is because your reflection may be WRONG. But as long as a heartfelt (or brainfelt) attempt at reflection was undertaken, the right practice part will seal the deal. Over time your reflection ability is honed.

These simple principles can be elaborated on in impossibly many different ways. I like the works of Ibn Arabi, who though famous for his really esoteric insights (this dude helped invent the idea of the 'Perfect Man', and fleshed out the ideas of people with 'saint-like' powers, even some principles that we only see today in quantum physics, and a lot of the philosophy that we only saw in Western civilization with Nietzsche and the like so he got into some pretty crazy stuff), wrote perfectly fine and understandable insight on the more 'generally agreed upon' things. Rumi and the other Sufis wrote the same, but Ibn Arabi's language conveys spiritual ideas without having to worry about his language or poetry first. That's why he is so popular in the West for spirituality (whereas Rumi is more reknown in literary circles). Most books on him are written by non-Muslims (mostly Europeans) who incredibly seem to have no problem talking about the Qur'an and Sunnah with such insight that most normal Muslims can't even muster.

I'll use the example of spiritual journeying. Mostly ripping out paragraphs he wrote with some slight interpretations. This stuff can be found on any website or most of the books devoted to him. This is really just the tip of the iceberg.





-Spiritual Journeying

The Hajj aside, the Qur'an uses four words for travel that can be understood in a context of spiritual journey. I once said that you could (and probably would need to) write a book about each single word in there. I wasn't too far off.

1) sara/sayr - God making things move or 'travel'
This is the most general usage. The verses using this root imply the necessity of reflection for have they not "travelled through the Earth?" which is an oft-repeated theme. And observe the patterns of the manifestation of God's Will (punishments in this case) on the people that came before them, which is what you're observing when you travel through the Earth.

Have they not traveled in the Earth, so that they have Hearts
with which they understand or ears with which they hear?!
For it is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts in the
breasts which are blind!
Surah al-Hajj, 22:46


"Travel through the earth and see what was the end of those before (you): Most of them worshipped others besides Allah."
30:42

And here:

"See they not how Allah originates creation, then repeats it: truly that is easy for Allah.
Say: "Travel through the earth and see how Allah did originate creation; so will Allah produce a later creation: for Allah has power over all things."
29:19-20

Again, instructing to 'travel' with the goal of seeing/reflection. In this case, like many verses in the Qur'an that have boundless depth and meaning, that also doubles as a travel of its own. A spiritual journey inwards (or rather, upwards) towards the soul and where one can become aware of a Divine 'background noise' of the non-stop manifestations of God's divine attributes or Names. Otherwise known as the nature of reality.

[SEE FOOTNOTE #1 AT END OF ARTICLE THEN CONTINUE]

2) safara/safar - travelling towards a particular 'goal'

our conscious goals and intentions

3) salaka/suluk - travelling a path (wrong path)

4) saha/siyaha - 'wandering' and 'solitary devotion'

This is it.

It occurs 3 times in the Qur'an.

"Those that turn (to Allah) in repentance; that serve Him, and praise Him; that wander in devotion to the cause of Allah,: that bow down and prostrate themselves in prayer; that enjoin good and forbid evil; and observe the limit set by Allah;- (These do rejoice). So proclaim the glad tidings to the Believers."
9:112

And then specifically to describes the spiritually ideal woman:

"It may be, if he divorced you (all), that Allah will give him in exchange consorts better than you,- who submit (their wills to Allah), who believe, who are devout, who turn to Allah in repentance, who worship (in humility), who travel (for Faith; wander in devotion) and fast,- previously married or virgins."
66:5

"So wander in the earth for four months, and know that you all cannot get away from Allah and that Allah will bring disgrace to the unbelievers."
9:2

This last one could refer to the specific historical context of the revelation of the verse. But could also suggest an imperative for all human beings. The significance of 4 months could indicate that the first part of the spiritual journey is wandering and is the first stage of three? That discussion's not important here.

The essential principle behind spiritual journeying is in this famous saying:

"...If (My) servant comes close to Me by a hand's breadth, I will approach him by an arm's length; and if he approaches Me by an arm's length, I will come nearer to him by a mile; and if he comes to Me walking, I will come to him running."

Says Ibn Arabi:

"... Now since this proximity (to God) is through traveling and voyaging towards Him, that (comes about) through His Attribute of being The Light (al-nur), so that we might be guided along the path. For as He said (6:97): "He placed the stars for you, so that you might be guided by them in the shadows of the earth"--which is the external journey through the actions of the body--"and of the sea"--which is the inner spiritual journeying through the actions of the soul."

When man begins to understand the world, his first thought will be escape. People will mistakenly at first, associate their desire to be closer to God with a desire to be away from other people. This is because they want to free themselves of the rights that other people have over them, even family. These will start to feel like bonds holding them back.

This means a literal wandering. Famously usually into the wilderness so one can be away from everything.

This eventually is realized to be an illusion. The literal travel itself is an illusion. The real travel is through actions with both the soul and the corporeal form. "There is no power except through God", which emphasizes actions.

Says Ibn Arabi:

"For they are called (by God) to this journeying, and therefore they journey both upard ('uluwwan: or 'on the higher, spiritual planes'), by responding to the Call given through divinely revealed prescription (al-da'wa al-mashru'a, which is the divine command to spiritual responsibility or amr taklifi) and downward, through their responding to the (divine) "existentiating Command" (the amr iradi or takwini). And they do so without knowing (their ultimate destiny and station) until after the divine Will has been fulfilled.

Therefore the traveling of every individual person among the jinn and humans ends up at their station known (by God) (37:164) for which that individual was created--both the blessed and the tormented among them (11:105). But every being except for them is already created in its station (and therefore cannot really be said to "journey" to it)...."

And again, he talks about the solitary wanderers:

"Some of them, or indeed most of them, are unable to keep people from meddling and speaking of what does not concern them. So this burden drove them to avoid people, preferring solitude and isolation from people through spiritual retreats--locking their doors against the intrusion of people. Still others (have sought) isolation through wandering in the mountains and gorges, seashores and canyons. There God relieves and comforts them with His Name the All-Compassionate in various ways of intimate communion with Him that are granted to them by this "Breath of the All-Compassionate" (nafas al-Rahman).

So he causes them to hear the spiritual invocations (dhikr) of the rocks and stones, the murmurs of the rippling waters, the whistling of the stormy winds, the conversations of the birds, the praises and glorifications of each community among the creatures, and their greetings and conversations among them. Thus these wanderers do find companionship with (those creatures), instead of their (original) loneliness, and they return to community and other creatures."

He even went on to warn those starting off to avoid even the company of wild animals if God should make them talk to you, and stick to focusing on dhikr in their hearts.

A person has to understand God's rahma (Loving Compassion), not through taqlid (outward belief), but through dhawq (tasting). "Painfully and slowly acquired through life's revealing trials and situations of spiritual testing."

The Revealed Pathway

The Pathway meaning that which helps draw and guide along the believer during the beginning of the quest. It could be literally a path, a path of events, or even a person (i.e, spiritual guide).

"Every soul desires the pilgrimage to God, which is seeing and reflecting on the inner awareness of God that comes from direct witnessing (shuhud). But can the murid, the spiritual seeker, set out on that Pilgrimage by himself? Or can he only set out with the aid of a guide (murshid), which is either a comprehensive intelligence... or knowledge of the revealed Pathway (shar', in its root sense)? The right answer is that this seeker must be either "desired and pulled" (directly by God: murad majdhub), in which case it is the divine Grace and providential Caring ('inaya) that accompanies the seeker, so that he does not need a human guide--which is extraordinarily rare. Or if the seeker is not drawn directly by God, then he must necessarily set out with the help of a guide, which is either his intellect or the revealed Pathway."

He (Ibn Arabi) says that even the most perfect human intellect can only lead a person initially to the first stage which is to recognize the shar', or the Pathway. This recognition is spiritual and an inner confirmation of the truth of it. The shar' leads them then to a confirmation of ithbat al-Haqq, the Truly Real, or basically a broader spiritual awakening.

This is also notable because these passages came out of the chapter where he was addressing the legal question of a woman 'pilgrim' needs a male guardian or family companion. This is notable because nearly all of his writing is in this form. It starts with a discussion of Islamic fiqh (law), in which he was very well versed (probably the level of a major Mufti today), and all of his answers end with spirituality. This principle, this idea of a spiritual side to the Shariah has been lost. It's the reason why Islamic Law or fiqh was so important back in the day. The law is from God, so in it, there is divine wisdom and room to explore. It was the inspiration for spirituality and all the progress in academic/scientific research/exploration by the Muslims of the day. Simply the law. And as he later goes on to say, what motivates the pilgrim to start the journey also affects upon him spiritually until he awakens in the divine Presence. Meaning the loss of Islamic scholarship, especially with regards to fiqh, is not unrelated to the sad spiritual state of the Ummah as a whole. Shariah is a joke nowadays. I'm almost embarassed that we use the same word to describe it today as what it really was back in the time of men like Ibn Arabi.

In another case, when confronting the legal issue of shortening prayers when travelling, he comes up with some stuff about all beings and entities "coming back to God". He mentions that a traveller who is in a state of sin can only be classified as disobedient if he had faith to disobey. And by having this faith, he is in fact, obedient. Ya, that's hard to wrap your head around, but it basically says if you recognize truth it's made easier for you to not slip out of it. A Mercy from God.

Spiritual Knowing

Ibn Arabi does not say that one must become a religious scholar well-versed in fiqh in order to undertake this spiritual journey or to understand the true nature of the Deen, or to 'know' the Deen. Not at all.

"The only thing really required is to "act in accordance with the real meaning and intention of the revelations, which is a 'knowing' of an entirely different order."

For instance, a quote by an older Sufi that has the potential to be misinterpreted goes: "this knowing of ours is limited by the Book and the Sunna!" (al-Junayd). How Ibn Arabi interprets it is that "this saying means that (spiritual knowing) is the result of the divinely prescribed action--by which Junayd meant to distinguish it from what is arrived at by those who rely on their intellects."

I cannot emphasize the importance of that enough. In that is the key to many, many, things. "Inspired knowing flowing directly from the spiritually appropriate actions." Do you know what this is? This is the end of doubt and confusion, the kind that we suffer from deep within.

Before I end off here (this could go on for literally volumes... for such a small collection of words (the Qur'an and Sunnah), these men wrote libraries of insight and experience), he also mentioned that this 'spiritual knowing' defeats doubt and defeats 'chance'. Spiritual knowing implies Spiritual which implies your Spirit. Your soul. Your soul is not of this world, though it is inexorably attached to your corporeal form. It is exposed to the divine Spirit and can be influenced by It. Meaning insights and knowledge can be picked up at ever-increasing paces once the 'Soul' is awakened, and these come to people in the here and now suddenly as insights or through whatever means. God could reveal even to people, the sins they commit, before they commit them. He describes a possible exchange between Allah(swa) and Iblis (Shaitan) whereby Allah(swa) asks him why he refused to bow down. Iblis 'says' because Allah(swa) did not really want him to. Then Allah(swa) 'asks' when was this, before or after you refused? And Iblis says after. And Allah(swa) says that He only punished him because of that. This is a kind of a muse from Ibn Arabi in order to illustrate this principle that he experienced.


FOOTNOTE #1

The world or existence flows from one state to another non-stop, as our existence 'ascends' towards God. And God 'descends' towards our existence in the form of the states which are the 'descending' self-expressions of God. The world is lost and regained at every moment as God self-manifests Himself (His divine attributes or Names) in the form of the Divine archetypes (potentialities for the essences of all things, fixed before time). Imagine it like a kaleidoscope-kind of effect. These archetypes or 'potential states of things' manifest themselves first as infinite possibilities in our existence, which then become actual creation (al-khalq-ul-jadid), which then breaks into the next cycle.

Qadar is God's predestination for things. The time for when things occur, or creation exists or becomes it's archetypal state as described above.

According to the book Sufism and Taoism, by Toshihiko Izutsu (California 1983):

"... Ibn Arabi remarks that 'the mystery of qadar is one of the highest knowledges, which God grants only to (a small number of) men who are privileged with a perfect mystical intuition'. If a man happens to obain the true knowldege of qadar, the knowledge surely brings him a perfect peace of mind and an intolerable pain at the same time.

The unusual peace of mind arises from the consciousness that everything in the world occurs as it has been determined from eternity. ... Instead of struggling in vain for obtaining what is not in his capacity, he will be happy ...

He must be tormented, on the other hand, by an intense pain at the sight of all the so-called 'injustices', 'evils', and 'sufferings' that reign rampant around him, being keenly conscious that it is not in his 'preparedness' to remove them from the world. ...".

So, from the Divine to us it's 'wujudiya', or an ontological cycle of Divine self-manifestations:

God (Ultimate Unity, ahadiya) -> His Oneness (wahidya, His Divine Names or Attributes) -> fixed archetypes (thabita) ->

[ (all possible things (mumkinat) correlates with all the universes in the Multiverse or the worlds of the Many-Worlds idea in quantum mechanics/physics... basically the infinite, and the border of our reality...) -> in this mess, God's qada or judgements, corresponding to the fixed archetypes are 'made', which corresponds to a quantum decoherence of a superposition of possibilities or which world of the many-worlds comes about (multiple states existing at once resolving itself into one state) -> qadar (the outcome of the judgement, the new creation) ]

<-> al-khalq-ul-jadid (the new existence created at the occurrence of any event, a.k.a. branching of the Worlds from the Many-Worlds theory... the constantly moving/shifting reality which we inhabit)


FOOTNOTE #2 (Misc quotes)

"a spiritual 'knower' ... (arif) ... Perfect man ... can, if he likes, affect any object by ... concentrating all his spiritual energy upon it; he can even bring into existence a thing which is not actually existent ... This extraordinary power is known as himmah, meaning a concentrated spiritual energy ... [an] object ... created by himmah continues to exist only so long as the himmah maintains it ... In brief, a 'knower' is ... endowed with the power of taskhir ...[Ibn Arabi says]... A true "knowledge" does not allow himmah to be freely exercised. And the higher the knowledge, the less possibility there is for a free exercise of himmah ...
... even the most perfect of all Apostles (akmal al-rusul), Muhammad(saw), did not exercise himmah ... For, being the highest 'knower', he knew better than anybody else that 'miracles' were, in truth, ineffective ..."

"I shall answer your question, O noble friend and intimate companion,
concerning the Journey to the Lord of Power (may He be exalted) and
the arrival in His presence and the return, through Him, from Him
to His Creation, without separation."


FOOTNOTE #3 (love and Satan-consciousness)

I'm throwing this in, because it is related fundamentally to everything else which is related to everything else. And I'm saying this, because if it appears that it is not, you aren't getting it quite yet. This is something everyone can easily understand talking about.

I'll forego with an intellectual definition of it (though it exists). Love and Will are divine things that we have lousy images of. God's Love, and God's Will > *.

Love and will move together and not against one another. You can't love against will, because your will will refuse to fight it. Love makes your will betray you. If you can will against love, then that's a strike on that love's 'trueness' although that only ultimately applies when talking about love for God. Love for worldy things takes priority, will motivated by God that strikes against your love for um... junk food... is fine. Will motivated even by a parent that might strike against your love for a person is also 'fine'. (That makes the parents and the whole context of their decision a factor too).

Ok, so. Love is almost like surrendering will. When Sufis say they LOVE God, they are basically saying they are Muslims (who submit their wills), but they are so God-conscious they had no choice but to submit their wills which makes it essentially... "surrendering" your will. This is suggesting that God took away their Free Will (freedom to err) like as some sort of personal help to them. Thus, they call God their 'Beloved' and other things, and this usage becomes applicable because they are still talking on a basic doctrinal sense (i.e, submitting of the will).

The 'little love' is made of the same stuff, and modelled on the same structure. You all know how it is, when you 'love' something, you have trouble pulling away. Your willpower's sapped, etc. etc. But here's where it can help to understand the little love in order to master the larger, and vice-versa. For instance, take negative emotions like anger, bitterness, whatever. And say these things are pulling you away from a 'pure' feeling of love. Now this is common here as basically self-defense. Looking out for #1. If someone is slighted, they'll get angry. But really, where is this emotion from? It sure as hell isn't from love. Love for self? That's useless. Pure love, all of it, comes from God and back to Him. Basically, you can think of it as a doubt or whisper from... ya. None other than the devil (Satan).

This might be weird. But think about it. There are 3 entities you MUST be conscious of. Your Self, God, and Satan. Satan can get into your head. From my quotes:

With intelligence comes the need for not just responsibility [as a power], but also personal vigilance [as a vulnerability]. Vigilance against the exploitation of Satan, whose whispers are in the language of logic and rationalization.

"Satan circulates in the human mind as blood circulates in it"
-prophet(saw)

You have to 'clean' out your feelings in order to get a good look at what it (love) really is. Then you can apply it better and focus in on it better, especially when it comes to God. Anger, for instance, is a selfish act. Not selfless. Selfless = spiritual growth. Selfish = nothing, maybe even stunting your spiritual growth. And there is no limit to these within the context of divinely revealed prescription. When you get angry, your brain's doing it for YOU. When you recognize this, you should learn to drop the emotion suddenly because hey... that's not from anything good, not from you. Other things like bitterness, doubt, confusion, whatever are also similar.

So that's unadulterated love. But how does love get going and keep going? Like I said earlier, love takes over and employs will in its service. A spiritually conscious will can be the most powerful progenitor of a purified love. Your character is the shadow of your soul in your corporeal form. Character is sticking to worthy decisions even after the emotions of making them have passed. Basically, it's Free Will. By using all the spiritual intelligence stuff above, your Will is empowered and enlightened and can be a powerful tool to sustain Love. Really, unless you have control of your soul, you don't know how to love. And if you don't know how to love, you just can't do it right. Loving then, becomes an unconscious action of a conscious Soul. Ugh, I don't want to reduce this into the 'little' love again (anything not for God), but take an Islamic marriage (an ideal marriage in an ideal society in an ideal time). The bride and groom have had zero contact. Sure, they can choose to fuck it up (even unconsciously choose, if they were corrupted by a society). But they won't. You can go through the scenario in your head and figure out how the emotions play out and how Will is a factor. That 'but they won't' holds in it, the secret of Qadar (predestination) and how it plays out with Free Will. It also holds in it, the power of the arif, the perfect man, or 'super'man (Prophet Muhammad(saw) being the highest station). The same Ibn Sina who wrote the first medical textbook used for centuries in the Islamic and Western world believed in saints with the same conviction. These 'phenomena' would natural precipitate out of the correct atmosphere, of which Shariah/Fiqh/etc. was a huge part (basically the Sunnah).

As Allama Iqbal used to philosophize... change who you are, and your destiny (the written 'unchangeable' thing) also changes. Because it never really 'changed' at all. It was always the destiny for THAT person. (This also means time is removed as a factor, since you need 'time' for something to actually change and God is timeless).

To summarize this entire thing into ONE line... meaning if you took this ONE line, you could then deduce EVERYTHING above and much more... turn your hearts towards the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Testimony of Women in Islam

Category: SOUND

"O ye who believe! When you acquire a loan for a fixed period, record it in writing, and let a scribe write it down between you with fairness; the scribe should not refuse to write, and just as Allah has taught him to write, he should also write for others; the one who has incurred the debt should have [the document] written and fearing Allah his Lord, he should not make any reduction in it. If the debtor is indiscreet or feeble or unable to have it written, let his guardian do so with justice. And call in two male witnesses from among your men, but if two men cannot be found, then one man and two women from among your likable people so that if one of them gets confused, the other reminds her. And witnesses must not refuse when they are summoned. And whether the loan is big or small, be not negligent in documenting the deal up to its period." (2:282)

this verse literally says you should ask 2 men or 1 man and 2 women to be witnesses.

"ask"... meaning the majority of this verse is not talking about court. its talking about the BUSINESS DEAL happening OUTSIDE of court. and is saying to have those sets of witnesses in case it ever DOES go to court so a fair set of witnesses can be provided to the court/judge. the judge can call whomever he or she wants to testify. this way there's a standard the judge can reasonably expect.

the verse really doesn't have much to do with law or court. its social behaviour.

by the way... technically that also means there's 1 female "witness", the second woman just backs up her account. so to say it means 2 women = 1 man even in testimony is kinda off the mark. if you have 2 male witnesses, they could interact again and talk about what they witnessed and remind each other. what if you had 1 man and 1 woman as witnesses? it might even force the woman to interact alone with a strange guy. this would be unusual in an islamic society and very unlikely. if she had a woman backing her up, she's not alone. on top of that, its not out of the question the woman may marry the male witness... in which case she'd have an emotional attachment (and cultural/societal) and could be influenced by her husband's decisions. that's not fair so another witness is needed to break the 1 man/1 woman possible tie. which would be another woman so as not to require the first woman to have to interact again with a non-mahram man too much. so the preference is for 2 male witnesses, since in islamic society they would interact more. and if only one male witness is found, 2 women can substitute for the second. if a male witness 'forgets', his testimony is rejected, the other can't substitute or remind.

it has nothing to do with the worth of one or the other. its based on environmental factors more than anything. "if one of them gets confused, the other reminds her" is attributed to things like PMS more by guys who haven't been around women too often. PMS is not the concern here. That comes around once a month and the odds she'd be called in to testify that day are not great... especially considering if she's exempt from praying/fastying while menstruating, then it stands to reason she can have the court appearance delayed for personal reasons too. the real reason is environmental. in a perfect islamic society, women aren't used to going out of the house for much of anything since they have no responsibilities there and most likely even have servants for the menial daily affairs... let alone being called up to testify in court.

its an experience thing. it wouldn't matter if most women were working outside of the house and could ably participate in court, the law itself has to account for giving the women the right to NOT have to go outside of the house. to give women and men completely equal treatment would give them equal responsibilities which would then rob them of the right which Islam considers they should have... that is to say, they can stay out of the public eye if they so choose. men do not have this priviledge. some women would appreciate that kinda thing.

and again, that is for WITNESSES. i.e, women NOT INVOLVED in the deal. a woman can run a business, in which case, she can't be witness to her own loans now can she? that makes no sense. but if she were called to testify in court as a party involved in the transaction itself, she alone would suffice. not only that, women can be judges. which defeats the entire idea of 'a woman is worth half a man'.

people tend to think that the 1 man/2 women rule applies to circumstantial evidence as well. this is only for business.

and lastly, this verse doesn't indicate a propensity to forget on the part of women. men and women are equally likely to remember or forget something. adam and eve both forgot equally. had either been better people, they would have reminded the other. one person being better than one another comes down to raw heart and soul, always.

Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) said in his last address that nobody is better than anybody else on the account of race or anything else (including gender) except through "piety and good action".

Tasawuf (Islamic Mysticism)

Category: SOUND

Islamic Mysticism

by Maulana Manzoor Numani


A very special branch of the Faith, through which it is carried to perfection, is Ehsan, as the Prophet's (Peace be upon him) Tradition describe it, or Tasawwuf, as it is known in common parlance. In plain words, It means the creation of a real, living consciousness of God a consciousness so strong and vivid as if one had actually seen him, sweeping aside every trace of doubt and uncertainty. When this consciousness becomes complete, it forges a bond of loyalty with God that fills the heart with his remembrance, his love and an intense awareness of his night ; it becomes the essence, the ruling spirit, of one's existence, of all one's thought and action, in prayer, in morality, in social behaviour, in monetary dealings, and, so forth. All that one does then is inspired, governed and regulated by this all embracing faith and overpowering realization. One's external life gets completely pervaded by this internal feeling.

Ehsan or Tasawwuf, thus, represents the very pinnacle of faith. It is the supreme standard of one's spiritual state. One is perfect in his faith. or not according to the measure with which he is blessed with this wealth. The famous Tradition of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) consisting of the dialogue between him and angel, Gabriel, is a pointer in this direction. The manner in which the term Ehsan occurs in it after Imam and Islam testifies to the truth of the assertion that Ehsan marks the ultimate stage in the evolution of faith.

Briefly, the Tradition says that one day the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was sitting with some of the Companions that Gabriel came in disguised as a traveler from a far-off place. He took his seat close to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and began to ask him some questions. The first was, "What is Islam (Faith)?" And, the second, "What is Islam?. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) gave suitable replies to his questions. Then he asked, "What is Ehsan" The Prophet (Peace be upon him) answered, "Ehsan means to worship God as if one is actually seeing him or is being seen by him."(In other words, the stage of Ehsan is reached when the awareness of God becomes the greatest reality of one's life and one's every act is performed under a constant sense of his presence for although man cannot see God it is just not possible in this material world God does see him all the time).

This state of sublimity can exist only when faith has worked itself out to the highest degree and become one's life-breath. It was for the attainment of this state that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) would beg fervently to God. "O God! he would say, "Let such be my state that I may fear Thee and revere Thee as if I was seeing Thee constantly till (at last) my time came and I went up to join Thee."

This condition is known among the sufis(Muslim mystics) as Huzoori (presence) and Yad-Dasht (remembrance) and Nisbat (affinity), and when anyone is described by them as Saheb-i-Nisbat, it denotes that he has arrived at it in a considerable way. When this state of spiritulity is reached, a person gets permanently attuned to God and becomes immune to all kinds of doubts and misgivings concerning his being. Setting forth his own experience in one of his letters, Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-Sani says: "Acting on the postulate: 'Acknowledge publicity the boons conferred by God,'a Dervish of his (Naqshbandi) school narrates about himself that all doubts and fears have totally disappeared from his heart, so much so that even if he lives for a thousand years like the (Hebrew). Prophet, Nooh (Alai-hi-Salam), not a single doubp or temptation can creep into it may, it cannot creep into it even if he himself strives for it for many a long year".

As a natural outcome of this all-pervading effulgence of faith, this all-engulfing sense of Divine presence, all other ties and attachments are merged and lose their identity in the one great allegiance to Almighty, and all internal and external acts, such as, love, friendship, enmity and social and business intercourse begin to be gone through and carried out for his sake alone. A Tradition of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) on the subject of Ehsan tells that " A person whose state may be that when he loves, he loves for the sake of God and when he hates, he hates for the sake of God, and when he gives, he gives for the sake of God and when he withholds his hand from giving, he withholds it for the sake of God he has attained perfection in his faith.

The most exalted position in this respect was that of the Prophet (Peace be upon him). He operated on the highest level to which a man can evolve his destiny from the point of view of faith and Ehsan. In his life there was contained the most ideal blending of knowledge and awareness, and piety and the fear of God. He used often to say of himself, "No one among you fears God more than me, no none reverse him more intensely than me, and no one possesses a greater knowledge and a more complete awareness of him than me."

From the Prophet (Peace be upon him) his Companions had received their share aptitude and circumstances, and the possess-
ion of this very commodity has remained throughout the high merit of the sufi-saints of Islam. All their special spiritual exertions remembrance, meditation and acts of self-purgation have had no other aim than the acquirement of it. As Hazrat Gangohi, a Sufi-saint of the Current century, writes, "This is the ultimate goal of all systems (of Sfism)......... Why had the holy Companions sacrificed all that they had life, family, property and everything? What had they seen? It was simply because of the fact that they had acquired absolute faith in God through their association with the Prophet (Peace be upon him). This was, with them, the measure of all things. How did Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, Moinuddin Chishti and Bahauddin Bukhari climb to greatness? Through this very faith". A few lines later, the great Sufi goes on to observe: " This forging of link (with God) is called Ehsan. The raising up of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was for its sake alone and all the Holy Companions were endowed with it in different degrees. The saints of the Ummat than produced it through another way."

The real thing, therefore, is the acquirement of the light of faith and the inner feeling of Ehsan. The holy Companions had realized this state through the fullness of their love for and devotion to the Prophet (Peace be upon him), through the intimateness of their association with him, and through dedicating themselves to life of virtue under his advice and direction, and the making of utmost sacrifices in the case of God. After the death of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), the Companions, both individually and as a body, functioned as his successors and representatives in the line, and as long as they remained in the world the exalted state of Ehsan could be gained by sitting at their feet.

When the Companions, too, were gone and symptoms of moral and spiritual degradation began to make themselves manifest in the Muslim society with the laps of time, a stage came when the high should men in the Ummat, who still cherished in their hearts the heritage of Ehsan and occupied the same elevated position in their branch as the Mujahids in Figh, stirred themselves into activity. Seeing that the inspiring society of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and the Companions was available no more and the Muslim Millet was moving down steadily from the ideal of righteous-doing to corruption, they evolved certain methods for the kindling of the flame of faith in the hearts and the generation of that feeling of God realisation which is the essence of Ehsan. These methodes included excessive remembrance of God, meditation, and the control and discipline of the desires and impulses of the self. Their utility is selfevident and their is a clear proof also of their correctness and effectiveness in the original sanctions of the Faith and Shariat. The bulk of the Ummat has consistently reposed its trust in the soundneee of these methods and in the integrity of the holy men who had worked them out, and they have, further, received the greatest of sanctions the sanction of time. These last two factors, more than anything else, place the worth and merit of the practices indicated above beyond therealm of controversy.

For a thousand years and more, the finest elements in the community, from the point of view of faith, have affirmed that the system in vogue among the Sufis for spiritual self-evolution and the creation and strengthening of God-consciousness is fundamentally correct and efficacious in practice. Who can deny that hundreds and thousands of men have derived an immense benefit as a result of their spiritual association with each of the leading Sufi-saints like Khwaja Maroof Karkhi, Bishar Hafi. Siri Saqati, Shafiq Balakhi, Bayazeed Bustami, Junaid Baghdadi, Abu Bakr Shibi, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, Sheikh Shahabuddin Suhrawardi, Sheikh Amed Rifai, Sheikh Abul Hasan Shazli, Khwaja Osman Harooni, Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti, and Khawaja Bahauddin Naqshband, and the saints of the last three centuries of the present Millennium of the class of Khwaja Baqi Billah, Imam Rabbani, Mujaddid Alf-Sani Sheikh Ahmed Sarhindi and their deputies, and Shah Waliullah Dehlavi and syed Ahmed Shaheed, and countless of other devoted men of God, who like them, were adorned with the virtue of Ehsan and functioned as the leaders of this feild during their time? Anyone who possesses the briefest acquaintance with these luminous links in the chain of Sufistic achievement will agree that what they had attained had come to them through no other channel. How, then, can it be possible to doubt the soundness and efficacy of a system that has produced such exuisite specimens of religious perfection, so many splendid men of faith and conviction, who may justly be described as the spiritual blossom and glory of Islam?

Of course, some sections of the Ummat have been guilty of error and folly in varying measures and both of a conceptual and a practical nature in the feild of Tasawwuf, as in the other fields of the Faith. But just as the process of the caution and correction has been kept in operation steadily in the other fields through the Ulema and the Mujahids, in this field, too, it has been the same way with Sufis of deep learning and penetrating vision coming up from time to time from God to straighten its curves and to remove its impurities. Furthermore, it does not become any one to reject a whole structure of belief and practice simply because some sections of its followers have some mistakes.

such in brief, is the meaning of Ehsan and the place it holds in Islam. The path by which it is reached is known popularly as Sulook or Tareeq. It is an accepted fact that to undertake a journey along this path one must place oneself in the hands of an expert guide who can show the way and furnish lead at each step in the correct direction. One cannot start treating oneself (or others) for physical ailments by reading books of medicine. The same is true of the feild of spiritual well-being. For spiritual treatment it is necessary to go to spiritual physician, i.e., to a man who has attained the goal by going all the way himself and knows all its ups and downs, and follow his directions faithfully. The first duty of the pilgrim should, therefore. be to seek out a guide and a leader who in addition to his religious and spiritual accomplishments. must also be suited to his natural disposition and to commit himself to his charge ungrudgingly. This is called Iradat.

Tragically true, as it is, that such accomplished men of God are becoming scarce day by day, the world is not quite empty of them. There do exist men about whom it can be said, subject to the limitations of human judgement and understanding, of course, that to their lot has fallen the heritage of God-consciousness which is the goal and destination of Ehsan and under their guidance and with requisite enthusiasm and perseverance one can successfully traverse the path of Sulook.

It is, surely, not that any one who flourishes himself as a peer is worthy of being taken as a guide and a mentor. The world knows that there are both fake and genuine among religious teachers and spiritual masters, as among political leaders and physicians, and so forth. We admit that the proportion of imposters in the religious, and so forth. We admit that the proportion of imposters in the religious and spiritual sphere is far greater than elsewhere. But, as elsewhere, the true can be distinguished from the false here as well without much difficulty. The experts who are blessed also with a keen understanding of the Shariat, like Shah Waliullah and Kazi Sanaullah of recent times, have laid down in the light of the Quran and Sunnah and their own knowledge and experience, certain suggestions for recognizing men with an awakened heart and an evolved soul who can be looked up to for spiritual guidance. the elementary test is that besides piety and a strict observance of the Shariat their state should be such that in their company people may be remineded of God. The hold of material aspirations may weaken, and the love of God, and the solicitude for the Hereafter may grow stronger as a result of associating with them, and these qualities may also be clearly manifest in their adherents and disciples.

The seek after Ehsan should, therefore, provide himself first of all with a guide of the above calibre, and if he cannot do so on his own, he may take the advice of those who are expected to be helpful in the making of the choice. If after listening to their advice he finds himself drawn to a saint and this feeling increases further when he comes to know him personally, he ought to turn towards him with faith and confidence, seek guidance from him and carry out his instructions loyally as a wise patient does the instructions of his physician. In such a case there will arise no occasion for disappointment and God will surely reward him in some degree or another with the radiance of faith and the feeling of Ehsan by means of which one's religious state is brought to perfection, faith in the unseen becomes as clear and firm as faith in the visible phenomena, and obtaining full riddance from all manner of spiritual doubts and misgivings, one's existence truly becomes a saga of undivided love and devotion to God.

But, the path of Tasawwuf is a hard path. One who treads it has to pay dearly in terms of suffering and sacrifice. Only a devotee who can make it the sole object and mission of his life and is ready to forgo his desires, his comfort and even his life for the sake of it can hope to do it successfully. No wonder, therefore, that the travelers along this path have always been few.

There is however, a lesser grade of Ehsan which lies in the endeavour that on conjunction with loyalty to the fundamental articles of faith, one's worship and remembrance of God may attain a standard so no impart a real heavenly joy to the heart, the moral and practical spheres of one's life may become reasonably clean at the least, and repugmamce to evil and the longing for good deeds may come to one almost habitually. They yearning for these ends is present in a fair amount in our religious circles and most of the devotees now a days go to spiritual masters with the promotion of these ideals as their object.

The present writer is not at all competent to tender advice towards the realisation of the higher ideal embodying the true concept of Ehsan. For that one will have to go to an enlightened teacher, and a real saint. There, however, seems no harmand taking the liberty here of advancing some suggestions regarding the lesser grade of that spiritual state, specially when they do not contain anything apart from what he has learnt from the masters and are representative solely of the general principles of the Divine faith and the holy law. The writer is further persuaded by the hope that should the reader be encouraged to put the suggestions to his advantage by acting on them, he will become entitled to as much share in the Divine reward as the latter for it is a merciful law with the providence that " A person who guides another to virtue will be recompensed equally with him". It is in this hope and in this spirit alone that the following suggestions being offered.

(1) The most important thing is the soundness and integrity of faith. If there is a defect in the basic structure of a person's faith, for example, if there is a trace of polytheism in his spiritual outlook, all his endeavors will come to nothing. Even if he fasted during the day devoted his nights to prayer throughout the year, it would avail him nothing. Hence, the initial condition is doctrinal purity and wholesomeness. What has been said in this connection in the preceding chapters of the book should be enough by way of general guidance.

(2) Care should be taken to learn the teachings and postulates of the religion, whether they appertain to matters like Namaz and Roza, which are obligatory for every one, or to the general conduct of life. The course that may be best suited to one's peculiar needs and circumstances should be adopted for this purpose.

(3) It is necessary to offer earnest repentance for sins of omission and commission committed in the way of God and for the life spent thus far in neglect and folly. It should also be resolved with all one's heart and the strength of will to carry out in future the Divine Commands scrupulously and lead a life of loyalty and devotion to God.

It should be remembered that God demands of his servants only what lies within them to do, and that, too, without involving themselves in any great difficulty. He never calls upon man to do a thing that may be beyond his capacity or endurance. There is, in fact, so much regard for convenience in religion that if it may be hard for a person to stand up for prayer due to illness, he is permited to offer it up in the sitting posture or even while lying in bed. In the same way, he is allowed to forego the fasts Ramzan if he be ill or in a journey. The same is the case with the other duties of religion also.........It is, as such, totally wrong to suppose that to live upto the requirements of the faith is a highly taxing business. This belief is due wholly to lack of will and absence of habit. If a person makes up his mind and lets the observance of religious postulates sink into himself as a settled tendency, he will soon see that there will be no peace for him otherwise.

(4) Mere mortals that we are, we are a prey to numerous weaknesses. There is the Devil, always on the look out to lure us into sin, and there is our own sensual self. It is, therefore not inconceivable that in spite of our sincere desire to observe the Divine ordinances and refrain from civil deeds, we may fail into error in a situation like this our attitude should be to seek the forgiveness of God as soon as we become morally aware of the infringement and resolve not to be guilty of it again Repentance at the commission of a sin. Provided that it is genuine, not only erases its efects altogather but also wins for one the love and pleasure of God. As the Quran says. "God loves those who seek forgiveness after committing a sin."

If the infringement be of a nature as to involve a sin against man also, like cruelty; injustice, back-biting. violation of or encroachment upon the rights of others it will be necessary to make appropriate amends to the aggrieved for the misdeed in addition to seeking the forgiveness of God. We have already referred in the chapter on Monetary dealings and social conduct, to the Prophet's (Peace be upon him) Tradition that on the last day there will be people with a huge stock of Namaz, Roza, Zakat, and Haj to their credit, but, side by side with it, they will also be carrying heavy load of wrongs perpetrated on their fellowmen. The good acts of such people will then be allotted to those against whom they had transgressed, and, if the claims of the latter will still remain unsatisfied, the transgressors will be thrown into the Hell, all their praying and worshipping notwithstanding.

(5) The significance good morals command in faith and the crucial role they play in the spiritual evolution of man have been amply discussed in a previous chepter It should be a primary concern with all the votaries of God and religion to adorn themselves with the best of morals. But since moral behaviour is closely related to one's innat disposition and personality, its cleansing and reformation is more difficult than that of the other sphers of our activity. As a general rule, one is to exert oneself to the utmost and assume deliberately even though one might not be actually in possession of them the moral virtues, such as, humility, mildness, affability, love, compassion, patience, contentment, generosity, selfnegation and sicerity and good will towards others, and avoide the opposite qualities like vanity, passion, stinginess, greed, jealousy, rejoicing at the misfortunes of others, and selfishness. Insha Allah, in due course. one's personality will get cast into the new mould. A Tradition of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) assures that, "He who will assume chastity an effort. God will make him contented; he who will assume forbearance with an effort. God will make him forbearing." It is said that once a Companion complained to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) of his own hard-heartedness upon which the Prophet (Peace be upon him) advised him to make a habit of stroking gently the heads of the orphans. It was a remedial measure of identical style. Other moral healers have also attested to the efficacy of this method.

(6) Care should be taken to observe the prescribed modes of worship, specially the Namaz, in as ideal a way as possible, and also to keep up the Nafl Prayers. Among the supererogatory prayers the Tahajjud is the most valuable. Worship, whether it takes the physical or the financial form or be it a mixed one and whether it is compulsory or super erogatory, is definitely the greatest source of spiritual progress and access to God.

(7) The next thing is to make the recitation of the Quran and Zikr a part of one's daily routine.

It is suggested that the confession, Subhan Allah wa Alhamd-o-Lillah wa La-Ilah-a-Ilallah wa Allah-o-Akbar, and the Istighfar and Durood Shareef be recited a hundred times each, morning and evening. During the recitation, attention should be focussed on the meanings of the words and phrases occurring in them, and the heart should also be made to participate in the task. It should also be confidently hoped during the act that, a part from the Divine recompense and reward that would accrue from the deed, one's soul might as well permeated with the radiance of God's name as a result of the auspiciousness of the phrases recited.

Moreover, what is popularly known as Tasbeeh-i-Fatima (Subhan Allah, 33 times; Al-Hamd-o-Lillah, 33 times; Allah-o-Akbar, 34 times) may be recited, as for as possible, regularly after each Namaz. It does not take more than two minutes, and with a little care, every one can it. On retiring to bed for the night the above Tasbeeh may be said out once again, and three times the Kalima-i-Istighfar,viz., Astaghfirullah-il-Lazi La-Ilaha-Illa Hual Hayul Qaiyum wa Atoob-o-Ilaih.

Asuitable time may be fixed for the daily recitation of the Quran. The length of the recitation is not important; it may only be a section or two. What really matters is the regularity and the correctness of the recitation and the feelings of earnestness and reverence with it is done.

The aspirants are further advised to cultivate the habit of bringing the name of God on their tongues, in one from or another, at brief intervals during their hours of occupation, as for instance, by uttering Ya Allah, La Ilah-a-Illallah, or the full Kalima or Istighfar every little while. After the period of conscious finding a place in the select circle of those who have been spoken of in the Quran in these words: Men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from the remembrance of God. (Nur , 5)

(8) After the Isha prayers in the night or at any other convenient hour, four or five minutes may be reserved for what among the Sufis is called 'meditation of death' . During these moments, a person should contemplate on what will occur to him when death will strike him down, which is an absolute certainly ; then what will his condition be when he will be buried in the grave after the necessary rituals of bathing and shrouding have been gone through and the funeral service has been said; what will he do in that dark, lonely call of the grave? How is he to pass the long period of suspense and agony intervening between his death and the day of final judgement if he does not prove worthy of Divine favour and forgiveness? And, finally, on the Last Day, what will his state be when the balance sheet of his conduct on the earth will be presented to God and He will pass His judgement? (These events should be visualized mentally as if one was actually going through them at the time.) Afterwards, he should pray to God with urgent solicitation for forgiveness, for death in a state of faith, and mercy in the life beyond.

(9) In worship, in Zikr and in all other acts of virtue, the eye should be solely on Divine approbation and recompense, in the earning of which full trust should be reposed. This, in religious terminology, is called, Iman-o-Ehtisab (i.e.Faith and Censorship). Two Rakats of Namaz offered up in this spirit are more precious than a hundred without it. With this as the permanent attitude of the mind, even the minutest trifles of life, like eating and drinking and the carrying out of the every day social and family obligations, get elevated to an act of prayer.

(10) The making of sulemn entreaties to God for one's spiritual as well as legitimate woldly needs and aspirations is not only an effective means to their realization, but also a high act of worship by itself. A Tradition reads "Dua is the essence and marrow of worship. And another says." Upon whom the doors of Dua have opened. upon him the doors of mercy have opened. A votary should make it a point to supplicate to God with special care and ardency after each Namaz and at other suitable times believing in it to be a most efficacious means of earning Divine pleasure and gaining access unto him. Among the innumerable bounties conferred upon the Prophet (Peace be upon him) by God, a most exclusive was the endowment of his prayers with unique depth and fevor. Hundreds of his prayers are preserved in the books of Traditions and they are imbued with an extraordinary effulgence and auspiciousness . These Prayers have been assembled togather by the scholars to make a separate volume. The volumes compiled by Mulla Ali Qari, called Al-Hizbul Azam, and Hazrat Thanvi,under the title of Maqbool, have the special advantage of containing the Urdu Translation of the prayers and can be obtained casily. Both of them have been divided into seven sections to provide one section for each day of the week. A section from one of these volumes may be read every day.

These ten suggestions will. Insha Allah, suffice for the seekers of religious and spiritual correction and reform, subject, of course, to the condition that they are acted upon diligently and honestly. But there are people who are temperamentally incapable of being profited by the mere reading of a book. For them the advice, again, is to give themselves the benefit of the company of a living guide.