#conevert to islam

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 32

Dhikr (Recitation of God’s Names)

Literally meaning mentioning, remembrance, and recollection, in the speech of the Sufis dhikr denotes regular recitation of one or some of God’s Names in the same recitation session. Some spiritual or Sufi orders prefer to recite: Allah (the proper Name of the Divine Being); others recite: There is no god but God, the declaration of Divine Unity; and others recite one or a few of the other Names according to the choice of the order’s master. Like thankfulness, such recitation is a duty of servanthood to be performed both verbally and actively, and also with one’s heart and other faculties of conscience. Verbal recitation ranges from mentioning God Almighty with all His Beautiful Names and sacred Attributes; praising, exalting, and glorifying Him; proclaiming one’s helplessness and destitution before Him in prayer and supplication; reciting and following His Book (the Qur'an); and voicing His signs in nature and the seal special to Him on each thing and event.

Recitation by the faculties of conscience, primarily the heart, consists of reflecting on the proofs of His Existence and Unity, and His Names and Attributes radiating in the book of creation (the universe); meditating on His orders and prohibitions, His promises and threats, and the reward and punishment issuing from His Lordship to design or order our lives; and trying to penetrate the mysteries behind the veil of visible existence by studying creation and following certain spiritual disciplines. In addition, one repeatedly observes the heavenly beauties manifested as a result of such instances of penetration; and thinks that whatever exists in the universe pulses with messages from the high empyrean world, manifesting the meaning of the invisible world and functioning as a window upon the Truth of Truths.

Those who feel this constant pulsing existence, hear the invisible world speaking eloquently, and observe the manifestations of Grace and Majesty through those windows are so enraptured with such unimaginable spiritual pleasure that one hour spent with such pleasure is equal to hundreds of years spent without it. As a result, they advance along their way to eternity lost in Divine gifts and spiritual delight. When the one reciting feels the light of His Glorified Face surrounding all existence, he or she is rewarded with the sight of indescribable scenes and, becoming aware of all other beings reciting God’s Names in its own tongue, begins to mention Him with many of His Names.

Reciting God’s Names sometimes causes the reciter to enter a trance-like state in which one’s self is lost. Those who enter this entranced state or ecstatic contemplation utter such phrases as: There is no existent save He, There is nothing seen save He, and There is no god but God. There are others who, meaning and keeping in mind all Divine Names according to the inclusiveness of their consciousness, pronounce only save God and continue to declare His Unity. These seconds spent in this atmosphere of nearness to God and His company, the seconds of light and radiance, are much happier and more rewarding with respect to eternal life (in the Hereafter) than years spent with no light. This is what is referred to in a saying attributed to the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings: I have a time with my God when neither any angel nearest to God nor any Prophet sent as Messenger can compete with me. [1]

Active or bodily recitation consists in practicing religion with utmost care, enthusiastically performing all obligations, and consciously refraining from all prohibitions. Verbal profundity and awareness largely depend on active recitation, which also means knocking on the door of Divinity, searching for admittance, proclaiming one’s helplessness and destitution, and taking refuge in Divine Power and Wealth.

One who regularly and intensively mentions God or recites one or some of His Names is taken under His protection and supported by Him, as if having made a contract with Him. The verse: Remember and mention Me, and I will remember and mention you (2:152) expresses this degree of recitation, by which one’s innate destitution becomes the source of wealth, and helplessness the source of power. This verse also means that one’s regular remembrance and worship of God will result in His bestowal of favors and bounties.

Invoking and calling upon Him bring forth His favors. One who remembers Him even while going about his or her daily affairs and preoccupations will find all obstacles removed in both this world and the next. His company will always be felt, and He will befriend one left alone and in need of friendship. If one remembers and mentions Him during times of ease and comfort, His Mercy will reach one during times of trouble and pain. Those who struggle in His way to spread His Name will be saved from humiliation in both this world and the Hereafter. Such sincere endeavors will be rewarded with special favors and ranks that one cannot now imagine.

The desire to mention Him and recite His Names will be rewarded with Divine help, so that such activities can continue and guidance can be increased. The continuation of the second part of the above verse (2:152), that is: Give thanks to Me and do not show ingratitude to Me, suggests a virtuous circle in which a believer passes from recitation to thankfulness, and from thankfulness to recitation.

Recitation is the essence of all types or acts of worship, and the origin of this essence is the Qur'an. Then come the luminous, celebrated words of the Prophet, to whom the Islamic Shari'a was sent. All recitation, whether audible or silent, attracts and embodies the manifestations of the light of God’s Glorified “Face.” It also denotes proclaiming God to all human beings and jinn, and spreading His Name throughout the world in order to show one’s thankfulness for His manifest and hidden favors. When there is almost no one left to proclaim His Name, existence will be meaningless. According to the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, the universe’s total destruction will take place when there exist almost no people to proclaim His Name. [2]

Recitation, irrespective of its style, is the safest and soundest way leading to God. Without it, it is difficult to reach God. When the traveler remembers Him in his or her conscience and puts this remembrance into words with his or her tongue and other faculties, an inexhaustible source of support and (spiritual) provision is tapped.

Recitation signifies a journey toward Him. When one starts to mention Him or recites His Names both verbally and through feelings and actions, as well as in one’s heart as a chorus, one enters a mysterious lift ascending to the realm where spirits fly. Through the slightly opened doors of the heavens, indescribable scenes are beheld.

There is not a specific time for reciting God’s Names. Although the five prescribed daily prayers, the chief act of worship, are performed at the five appointed times and cannot be performed at certain times (e.g., during sunrise and sunset, and when the Sun is at zenith at noon), a believer can mention God and recite His Names whenever he or she wishes: They mention God standing, sitting, and lying down (3:190). There is no restriction of time or manner on reciting God’s Names.

It is hard to find in the Qur'an, the Sunna, and the books of the early righteous scholars anything more strongly recommended than the recitation God’s Names. From daily prayers to holy struggle in His way, it is like the soul or blood of all worship. The profundity of recitation is proportional to the depth of feeling for God. Sufis call this “peace of heart” or" witnessing.“

Some mention God Almighty and reach Him in their hearts by a mysterious way; others know Him by their conscience and feel His constant company by means of the point of reliance upon Him and seeking His help in their inner worlds. Since they remember Him uninterruptedly, always mention Him with their heart and conscience, always feel Him in their being, and live fully aware of His constant Presence, they regard mentioning Him (verbally) as heedlessness and ignorance of Him. One who has reached this degree of dhikr says: God knows that I do not remember Him to mention Him just now. How should I remember and mention Him now, seeing that I have never forgotten Him?

[1] Al-‘Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa’, 2:173. [2] Muslim, “Iman,” 234.

[riyad-as-salihin]

Riyad as-Salihin, The Book of Virtues, Book 8, Hadith 157

Chapter: The Excellence of Friday Prayer

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday. On that day Adam was created, he was admitted to Jannah, and he was expelled therefrom." [Muslim].

[basicsofislam]

BASICS OF ISLAM : Allah ( God Almighty ) : The Essential Attributes. Part2

3. Qidam (Having No Beginning)

God Almighty exists free of time; He has no beginning and His existence does not rest on a cause previous to Him.

His Attribute of Having No Beginning is a blessed title of His being eternal in the past in connection with His Name the First, and is the basis of the celebrated Name al-Muqaddim (the One Who causes to advance).

▪All Muslim scholars, to whichever school of thought they belong, are in agreement that Having No Beginning is one of the Essential Attributes of the Divine Being. Interpreting this in the meaning of God Almighty being absolutely free from and independent of any causes previous to Him, they have used the following statement concerning this Attribute of the All-Sacred One:

“He is the First, Eternal in the past, without having a beginning.”

Both the Attribute of Qidam (Having No Beginning) and the celebrated Name al-Qadim (One with no beginning) mark the Divinity of God Almighty.

They denote that God’s Existence has no beginning and that non-existence is not applicable to the All-Holy Existence. The opposite of Having No Beginning is being existent in time, from which God, exalted is His Majesty, is absolutely free.

4. Baqa’ (Eternal Permanence)

Eternal Permanence with no discontinuity at all is one of God’s Essential Attributes and is related to the Name the Last, similar to the relationship of the Attribute of Having No Beginning and the Name the First.

▪The Qur’an and the Sunna indicate this Attribute sometimes explicitly and sometimes allusively, and refer to God’s eternal permanence either through the Name the Last singly or the Names the First and the Last together. In addition to frequently reminding us that everything is perishable except Him, the Qur’an makes references to His Eternal Permanence by mentioning Him with His Names the First and the Last.

▪Our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, also reminds us of God’s Attributes of Having No Beginning and Eternal Permanence in some of his sayings or prayers, such as:

“O God! You are the First, there is nothing preceding You. You are the Last; there is nothing to succeed You.”

The Attributes of Having No Beginning and Eternal Permanence have approximate meanings and implications. It is this relationship or approximation which has led scholars to establish the undeniable, logical argument:

“The non-existence of one who exists eternally is inconceivable.”

▪In addition, it is also important that in demonstrating the relationship between these two Attributes verifying scholars usually mention them together.

Scholars have expressed the Attribute of Eternal Permanence sometimes with the phrase “the Undecaying,” sometimes with the phrase “the Undying,” and sometimes with the phrase “the Imperish- able.” All of these words have almost the same meaning.

▪In addition to the scholars who have seen the Attribute of Eternal Permanence as one of the Essential Attributes like (the All-Holy Self-)Existence, there have been some who have regarded It as being among the Positive or Affirmative Attributes, Which are the Attributes that describe Who God is, such as Life, Knowledge, and Power; they say:

“God is eternally permanent with a permanence that is particular to His Essence.”

There have also been some who have considered It to be among the Attributes of Exemption and have used Eternal Permanence in the meaning of God being absolutely exempt or free from cessation or becoming non-existent.

▪Another point to mention concerning Divine Eternal Permanence is that creatures will be favored with eternity in the eternal realm. God is Eternally Permanent, so some creatures will be favored with eternity in the other, eternal realm. However, God’s Eternal Permanence is by Himself and inseparable from Him, while the eternality of others is a relative permanence that is absolutely dependent on God’s Permanence. The eternality of Paradise and Hell is also due to God’s Eternal Permanence, like the eternality with which creatures such as human beings, jinn, spirit beings, and angels will be favored.

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 227

Irada, Murid, and Murad (Will, the Willing One, and the Willed One)

Irada (will) is both a verb and a noun. As a verb, it means to choose between two things, to desire. As a noun, it means the mental power by which a person can direct his or her thoughts and actions. Will has been defined by those living a spiritual life as overcoming carnal desires, resisting animal appetites, and always preferring, in complete submission to His Will, God’s wish and pleasure over one’s own. A willing disciple (murid) never relies on his or her own power, and is absolutely submitted to the Will of the All-Powerful, Who holds all of creation in His Grasp. As for the one willed (murad), he or she overflows with love of God and never considers or aspires to anything other than obtaining His pleasure. Such a person has become a favorite of God.

According to the verse: They desire only to gain His favor (6:52), will is the first station on the path to God and the first harbor from which one sets sail for eternity. [1] Almost everyone who sets sail for the infinite first comes to this harbor, from where an impetus to reach the ultimate destination is gained. Journeying toward this destination is proportional to the traveler’s purity of intention, the degree and quality of his or her relationship with the world and material things, and the power of the driving force derived from this harbor and from the inner desire to undertake this voyage. In proportion to the help of God and the strength of the disciple’s willpower, some traverse the distance between the harbor and the destination at walking speed, others at the speed of a spaceship or light, and still others at a speed that cannot be measured. The Ascension of the Prophet, the spiral ascents of a saint, and the journeying of a dervish are good examples of what can be achieved by the will, the willing one, and the willed one when supported by the help of God, the Truth.

There is a derivative relation between will and the willing one (disciple). Just as material or natural causes are veils between superficial views and Divine Grandeur and Dignity, so that those who cannot understand the reality behind things and events should not blame God Almighty for what appears to them as disagreeable, so too a person’s willpower is only a shadow of the shadow of the One Who does whatever He wills in whatever way He wills (85:16). Just as a shadow is dependent on the original, any will created is dependent on the Creator. Similarly, the liveliness and attraction observed in a mirror do not belong to the objects’ reflections, but to the objects themselves. Nevertheless, it is difficult to understand this and distinguish between a shadow and the original.

Until the traveler perceives that one’s personal will is a dim reflection of the Absolute Will (of the All-Willing One) and advances as far as, or rises as high as, the station of being the one willed or desired, one freed from the captivity of the body and thoughts to become a person of pure spirituality and conscience, a disciple will always regard his or her will as having a separate, independent existence. Indeed, a traveler is willing at the beginning of the way and willed at the end of it; one willing while exerting efforts to make servanthood second nature, and one willed at the point where his or her relation with God is an indispensable dimension of his or her being; one willing while searching the ways to be loved and desired, and willed when seeing an imprint of Him on everything and weaving a lacework of spiritual pleasure with the threads of knowledge and love of God.

There are many stations between the beginning of certainty coming from knowledge and the final point of certainty coming from experience. Every station is both an end and a beginning: an end of the way extending as far as it, and a beginning of the way extending from it. For example, according to many: Open and expand my breast for me (20:25) is an end, while it is a beginning compared with: Have We not expanded your breast for you? (94:1). Also, for many: My Lord! Show me Yourself, so that I may gaze upon You (7:143) is a final station, while it is the beginning of the way extending to the station expressed in: His sight swerved not, nor did it go wrong (53:17). Again: Assuredly, my Lord is with me. He will guide me (26:62) means awareness of God’s company, while it is not comparable with the exalted truth or reality mentioned in: Do not be grieved, for God is with us (9:40).

In the beginning, loyalty, faithfulness, and resolution are of fundamental importance, while solemnity, self-possession, and mannerliness are the most important at the end of the journey. Those who have erred in the beginning cannot advance far enough, while those who have erred in the end are reproved.

One important source from which willpower is fed is the traveler’s care and sensitivity in fulfilling his or her responsibilities and constant supplication to God. Moreover, it depends on the traveler’s perseverance in supererogatory acts or duties of worship so that God Almighty may become his or her eyes with which to see, ears with which to hear, and hands with which to grasp. [2]

[1] Eternity, in addition to meaning eternal life in the Hereafter, is also used to describe the expansion of feelings, emotions, and reflections that one feels inwardly. An individual has infinite, eternal desires and ambitions, and he or she can experience in his or her heart the (eternal) pleasures of Paradise and of being loved by God and loving Him. [2] Al-Bukhari, “Riqaq,” 38; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 6:256.

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 127

Irada, Murid, and Murad (Will, the Willing One, and the Willed One)

Irada (will) is both a verb and a noun. As a verb, it means to choose between two things, to desire. As a noun, it means the mental power by which a person can direct his or her thoughts and actions. Will has been defined by those living a spiritual life as overcoming carnal desires, resisting animal appetites, and always preferring, in complete submission to His Will, God’s wish and pleasure over one’s own. A willing disciple (murid) never relies on his or her own power, and is absolutely submitted to the Will of the All-Powerful, Who holds all of creation in His Grasp. As for the one willed (murad), he or she overflows with love of God and never considers or aspires to anything other than obtaining His pleasure. Such a person has become a favorite of God.

According to the verse: They desire only to gain His favor (6:52), will is the first station on the path to God and the first harbor from which one sets sail for eternity. [1] Almost everyone who sets sail for the infinite first comes to this harbor, from where an impetus to reach the ultimate destination is gained. Journeying toward this destination is proportional to the traveler’s purity of intention, the degree and quality of his or her relationship with the world and material things, and the power of the driving force derived from this harbor and from the inner desire to undertake this voyage. In proportion to the help of God and the strength of the disciple’s willpower, some traverse the distance between the harbor and the destination at walking speed, others at the speed of a spaceship or light, and still others at a speed that cannot be measured. The Ascension of the Prophet, the spiral ascents of a saint, and the journeying of a dervish are good examples of what can be achieved by the will, the willing one, and the willed one when supported by the help of God, the Truth.

There is a derivative relation between will and the willing one (disciple). Just as material or natural causes are veils between superficial views and Divine Grandeur and Dignity, so that those who cannot understand the reality behind things and events should not blame God Almighty for what appears to them as disagreeable, so too a person’s willpower is only a shadow of the shadow of the One Who does whatever He wills in whatever way He wills (85:16). Just as a shadow is dependent on the original, any will created is dependent on the Creator. Similarly, the liveliness and attraction observed in a mirror do not belong to the objects’ reflections, but to the objects themselves. Nevertheless, it is difficult to understand this and distinguish between a shadow and the original.

Until the traveler perceives that one’s personal will is a dim reflection of the Absolute Will (of the All-Willing One) and advances as far as, or rises as high as, the station of being the one willed or desired, one freed from the captivity of the body and thoughts to become a person of pure spirituality and conscience, a disciple will always regard his or her will as having a separate, independent existence. Indeed, a traveler is willing at the beginning of the way and willed at the end of it; one willing while exerting efforts to make servanthood second nature, and one willed at the point where his or her relation with God is an indispensable dimension of his or her being; one willing while searching the ways to be loved and desired, and willed when seeing an imprint of Him on everything and weaving a lacework of spiritual pleasure with the threads of knowledge and love of God.

There are many stations between the beginning of certainty coming from knowledge and the final point of certainty coming from experience. Every station is both an end and a beginning: an end of the way extending as far as it, and a beginning of the way extending from it. For example, according to many: Open and expand my breast for me (20:25) is an end, while it is a beginning compared with: Have We not expanded your breast for you? (94:1). Also, for many: My Lord! Show me Yourself, so that I may gaze upon You (7:143) is a final station, while it is the beginning of the way extending to the station expressed in: His sight swerved not, nor did it go wrong (53:17). Again: Assuredly, my Lord is with me. He will guide me (26:62) means awareness of God’s company, while it is not comparable with the exalted truth or reality mentioned in: Do not be grieved, for God is with us (9:40).

In the beginning, loyalty, faithfulness, and resolution are of fundamental importance, while solemnity, self-possession, and mannerliness are the most important at the end of the journey. Those who have erred in the beginning cannot advance far enough, while those who have erred in the end are reproved.

One important source from which willpower is fed is the traveler’s care and sensitivity in fulfilling his or her responsibilities and constant supplication to God. Moreover, it depends on the traveler’s perseverance in supererogatory acts or duties of worship so that God Almighty may become his or her eyes with which to see, ears with which to hear, and hands with which to grasp. [2]

[1] Eternity, in addition to meaning eternal life in the Hereafter, is also used to describe the expansion of feelings, emotions, and reflections that one feels inwardly. An individual has infinite, eternal desires and ambitions, and he or she can experience in his or her heart the (eternal) pleasures of Paradise and of being loved by God and loving Him. [2] Al-Bukhari, “Riqaq,” 38; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 6:

[tawakkull]

HADITHS ON SPIRITUALITY: 

5. The Admissibility of Miracles at the Hands of Saints

Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Hafidh apprised us that Ahmad ibn Abd al-Warith ibn Jarir al-Assal told us in Egypt that al-Harith ibn Miskeen apprised us that Ibn Wahb apprised us that Yahya ibn Ayyub apprised me, on the authority of Ibn Ajlan, on the authority of Nafi’, on the authority of Ibn Umar:

Umar dispatched an army and put in charge of it a man known as “Sariya” . Later, while delivering a sermon, Umar began to shout, “O Sariya, the mountain! O Sariya, the mountain!” Then an emissary from the army arrived and said, “O Commander of the Faithful, we faced our enemy and they defeated us when, all of a sudden, a voice cried out, ‘O Sariya, the mountain!’, so we backed ourselves against the mountain and Allah the Exalted defeated them.” We said to Umar, “You were yelling it.”

Ibn Ajlan said, “Iyas ibn Mu’awiyah ibn Qurra [also] told me [this].”1

______________________

1 Al-Bayhaqi also narrated it in Dala’il al-Nubuwwa. Al-Sakhawi said, “This is a good chain of narrators.”

[tawakkull]

SPIRITUALITY IN ISLAM: PART 69: JADHB AND INJIDHAB (ATTRACTION AND THE FEELING OF BEING ATTRACTED TOWARD GOD) 

In the language of Sufism, jadhba (attraction) means that a servant is attracted toward God by God Himself, purified thereby of human imperfection in spiritual elevation, and equipped with Divine Attributes or exalted morals as specified in the Qur'an.

It also means feeling and observing clearly the manifestations of Divine Majesty and Unity. A purified soul capable of receiving such manifestations abandons itself to the tides originating from the realms beyond and, like a competent swimmer, swims in ecstasy, in deep submission to God and without fear and anxiety.

If attraction means that one is drawn by a sacred power linked with his or her essence toward the purpose of his or her creation and to the point indicated by his or her true, primordial nature, injidhab means the willing acceptance of this invitation sent to one’s spirit.

Attraction is so great a Divine favor that it cannot be obtained through ordinary means or causes. It is God Himself Who grants to His pure-hearted servant both the attraction and the ability to receive it:

That is the grace of God: He bestows it on whom He wills (57:21).

This bestowal includes in a single, passing moment many portions of time filled with events; gives a single step toward Him the potential to reach the gardens of Paradise; and equips a glance with the capacity to turn a piece of coal into a diamond. Great distances that seem impossible for one’s own will and power to cover are covered in a moment by God’s attracting, and high summits are reached by His uplifting, as stated in:

A single instance of the All-Merciful’s attracting equals to the nearness to God acquired through the good actions of both humanity and jinn.

Those whose spirits feel the mysteries of faith, who practice Islam and perfect goodness and devotion through God’s attracting, are called “those who follow the way of Uways,” for they are taught directly by God or the Prophet. In other words, they do not need a human teacher or guide. Since they feel continuously attracted toward God by God Himself, they live in incessant ecstasy and amazement at what they observe of Divine truths and manifestations.

At times, there is a virtuous circle between attraction and regular worship and austerity. A traveler on the way to God is favored with attraction in proportion to the degree of his or her worship and austerity, and is devoted to worship and austerity to the extent of the attraction felt toward God. So long as such people act in accordance with the Shari'a, this virtuous circle continues. If they break away from the light of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, displays of free and easy behavior in their relationship with God begin to appear, and religious obligations might begin to be neglected.

Attraction is, first of all, a capability and a Divine gift given in advance. Without this gift, a traveler on the way cannot feel attracted through austerity, worship, and self-purification; nor can he or she discern the waves of attraction and being attracted on the face of the universe caused by the light coming from the Divine Name the All-Loving. Such an undiscerning person has no knowledge of true spirituality:

Why should my guide be concerned with me

Unless I have the attraction of love?

Why should he be concerned with me

Unless I receive inspiration from God?

It sometimes happens that a believer attracted in this way is overwhelmed by the gifts coming from God, so that whatever is other than His manifestations disappears, and all cares with the world or the Hereafter are forgotten. In a mood expressed by the following couplet:

I am, by nature, so attracted to the roaring rise of the sea

That I feel as if engulfed in the bounteous gifts of God,

One’s self and all other parts of creation are seen as being intoxicated with the attraction of the Holy, Attractive Being:

Everything is intoxicated with the wine of love of God and the attraction of this love. Celestial objects and angels are intoxicated; the heavens and Earth are intoxicated; elements and plants are intoxicated; and animals, human beings, and all other beings (are intoxicated).

There are two kinds of attraction. One is felt inwardly and is not manifested outwardly by its possessor. Such a person loves God, feels great contentment with and pleasure in fulfilling His commandments, and feels incessantly attracted to the source of a deeper delight. The second kind of attraction is that which is manifested. One who feels such attraction cannot help but manifest it as ecstasy. Feeling attracted by God with a continuously increasing force, he or she lives as an ecstatic, in excessive joy and with great happiness.

Those who are unaware of such degrees of spiritual elevation think the person is crazy. To express this degree of ecstasy, the following couplet of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Majdi Effendi is quite meaningful:

There is a kind of madness called attraction, which is a true triumph.

By means of it madness reaches mysteries lofty and great.

Attraction may look like madness in some respects; in reality, it is quite different. For example, an ecstatic who revolves in waves of attraction may lose some perception and show signs of madness by behaving in ways incompatible with sound reasoning and the Shari'a. In most cases, an ecstatic exceeds normal human standards in all senses or powers of perception to the extent that, in the light of Sunna, he or she travels in realms that cannot be reached by the reason, other faculties, and senses of ordinary people. Therefore, those who see such a person think that he or she is crazy.

However, traveling (in spiritual realms) beyond the reach and power of normal standards of intellect or reason, by using that power and other senses along with the help of God, is completely different from the type of madness resulting from mental illness, which is characterized by less-than-normal standards of intellect or reason.

[tawakkull]

SPIRITUALITY IN ISLAM: PART 31: INBISAT (EXPANSION)

Literally meaning growing larger and deeper, spreading and expanding, Sufis use inbisat to signify the relaxing of one’s heart, to the extent allowed by the Shari'a, so that it can embrace everybody and make them pleased or contented with one’s gentle words and pleasant manners. In the context of one’s relationship with God Almighty, it denotes a spiritual state that combines fear and hope. Those who have attained this state are awed by being in the Presence of God, and feel exhilarated by the breezes of delight and joy blowing in His Presence. They are awed while inhaling, and feel delight when exhaling.

As pointed out in the brief description above, expansion can be dealt with in two categories: our relationship with the created, and our relationship with the Creator.

With respect to our relationship with the created, expansion means that we are careful of our connection with God and the Truth; that we live in our communities as one of its inhabitants, being open with and showing respect to everyone; and that we treat people according to their level of understanding.

The noble Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, was sincere and frank with those around him, and avoided ceremony or formality. He spoke according to his listeners’ level of understanding, and sometimes made wise and meaningful jokes. Although he suffered inwardly from the unbelief, injustice, and sins he witnessed, and was anxious about everyone’s end and afterlife, he always smiled and behaved pleasantly. As said in the Minhaj: A heart is like a mirror: too much and too frequent solemnity may cause it to steam up, and the only way to remove that steam is to tell pleasant jokes.

With respect to our relationship with God Almighty, expansion signifies the simultaneous experiencing of fear and hope in our souls. Being states of the soul, fear and hope are usually found in those who have just started to advance on the path to God. Expansion, on the other hand, is a state of those with knowledge of God and, moreover, is a dimension of the heart’s life. The state resembling the expansion of those still striving to reach this level of expansion is an exhilaration coming from knowledge of God. This may lead them to become relaxed in their relationship with God, and thus lose their self-control and self-possession.

Expansion appears when a traveler on the path of God is completely freed from carnal desire and passion, and becomes a bright “mirror” to reflect God’s Names and Attributes. This station, whether called the Station of Combination (where the traveler experiences God’s Existence and Unity) or Annihilation (where the traveler’s annihilation of self causes forgetfulness of self when in the throes of ecstatic love of God and perception of God’s Existence and Unity), is a mysterious point where the traveler directs himself or herself according to the Divine inspirations received and assumes “colors” unknown to everybody else. It is impossible for such people to conceal their expansion, while it is insolent of those who have not attained it to talk about it. How aptly Rumi expresses it:

If the king’s courtier behaves in an affected manner to attract the king’s attention, you must not attempt to do so, for you do not have the document (to justify your doing so). O one who cannot be freed from the restrictions of this transient life, how can you know what (the stations of) annihilation, drunkenness, and expansion mean?

Indeed, servants of the body cannot be aware of the states of the spirit. It is impossible for those imprisoned in the body to be aware of spirituality. We should ask those souls who have burned and been “roasted” many times in the fire of the love of God about the pains of a heart that has been cleft open, and their expansion and contraction.