Enlightenment: In this part of a “walk through the Shareefiya Garden part 3”, we introduce some of the common teachings in Tasawaff such as “Sharia,” “Tarika,” “Marifa” and “Haquika“. We also briefly look into concepts such as “Nafs e ammara” etc.
As opposed to a static, formal, ritualistic religion, Islam is a dynamic, living religion which has to be lived and experienced. How you dress, how many times you bow your head or how long your beard is, is not as important as to what we experience, how we behave or how we, as people develop internally or spiritually. Everything in Islam is designed so that it develops a person spiritually.
With the name of Allah most Beneficient ever Merciful
There is something to be learnt and something to be experienced from the formal ritualistic aspects of our religion and until and unless we do not experience them we will not grow internally and we would never really progress. From a carnal soul we must develop into a self searching, questioning soul and from this we must finally develop into a soul that is at peace.
The Holy Quran refers to the carnal soul in verse 12:53 as “Nafs e amara” and “the self accusing soul…” as “nafs e lawama” Al Quran 75:2 and the “soul that is at rest…” as “Nafs e Mutmina” AL Quran 89:27.
In the note to this last verse Yusuf Ali writes: “In Muslim theology, this state of the soul is the final stage of bliss.”
The Prophet ﷺ has said: “Verily the most High Allah created the angels and set reason in them, and then he created the beasts and set lust in them, and then he created the sons of Adam (AS) and set in them reason and lust: and he whose reason prevails over his lust is higher than the angels, and he whose lust prevails over his reason is lower than the beast.” Matnawi.
“We have created man in the best of moulds, then do We abase him to be the lowest of the low except such as believe and do righteous deeds:….” Al Quran 95:5
The Sharia aspect of the teachings of Muhammad ﷺ is the external aspect which is all about being good and praying etc. By following this external aspect of Islam, an internal path opens up, and if we follow this path then we would eventually arrive at the ultimate truth.
In Sufi terminology, Sharia is the law from which we must find the way or manner (or “Tarika”) to gain enlightenment (or “Marifa”) which would ultimately lead to the Truth (which is “Haqika”).
In other words: “Sharia” sheds light onto a path and this path is called “Tarika”. By following this path the “arif” or spiritual traveler gains enlightenment which is called “Marifa” and when he reaches the end of his long journey he realises the ultimate Truth which is called “Haqika”.
To understand this better, let’s look at a few examples to briefly show how Sharia leads us to Tarika, Marifa and Haqika. In Sharia, it is compulsory to pray five times a day and if we leave it at this then we have reduced our religion to a mere formality and a ritual.
However if we had to analyze our prayer and take it a step further, then there is something more to it. It gives us clues and directions. Now, in our prayer, we are asked to read sura Fatihah in every rakaat of every prayer, it has to have the most important message.
In this sura we actually make a prayer: “Guide us on the straight path, the path of those on whom Thou has bestowed Thy Grace…,” Sura Fatihah.
These verses are encouraging us to search and seek guidance. If we pray with humility and beg for guidance then: “Allah does increase in guidance those who seek guidance…” Al Quran 19:76.
The next stage would be to find this guidance which, as this sura teaches, is contained in that person that has Allah’s Grace. In other words we must search for a true spiritual master or a pir o murshid and become apprenticed to him.
And when we have done this we have found the way (Tarika). Thus “tarika” refers to as Fazl-ur-Rahman Ansari puts it in his book, The Quranic foundation & structure of Muslim Society page 152: “the method for pursuing Islam: for traveling on the path of Islam meaningfully and purposefully rather than formalistically and ritualistically.”
The spiritual guide would add meaning to our lives and make us aware of all that is within us. If we sincerely follow the spiritual guide or pir o murshid’s teachings with good intentions then we would gain “marifa” which is enlightenment or as Fazl-ur-Rahman Ansari puts it: a gradual “realisation as opposed to the possession of formal knowledge” and this gradual enlightenment would eventually help us to arrive at the ultimate Truth—”Haqika”.
This knowledge is within us and all we have to do to tap into this knowledge is to strengthen our souls by controlling our baser desires. “By the Soul, and the order and proportion given to it, and its inspiration as to its wrong and its right: Truly he succeeds that purifies it and he fails that corrupts it.” Al Quran 91:7
This inspiration is within us all and by changing the condition of our nafs we would be able to tap into it.
“What is the soul? It is consciousness of good and evil, rejoicing in account of kindness, weeping on account of injury. Since consciousness is the inmost nature and essence of the soul, the more aware one is, the more spiritual is he–Awareness is the effect of the spirit: anyone who has this in excess is a man of God.” Matnawi Vol 6:148
Just as prayer is the second most important pillar of Islam, the spiritual benefits from it are higher than the pillars that follow it. Similarly, every pillar of sharia when transformed by tasawwuf, brings enlightenment to our souls.
Our other acts of worship are all geared towards us controlling our baser desires, which if we practice will strengthen our souls. Fasting is not just about abstaining from food and water but it is about learning to control our desires and anger which becomes acute when we are hungry.
We must know these urges and master them, not only in Ramadan but throughout the year. By fasting we learn to control our baser desires and if we practice this further and apply it to all aspects of our daily lives then we become the masters of our bodies as opposed to our baser desires being our masters.
“The Prophet ﷺ has said: Whoever does not give up false talk and action according to it, there is no need of Allah that he should give up his food and drink.” Al Hadis 3:35:4:37.
When we give zakaath then we feel the pinch of parting with our wealth. We all have this greed within us and when we realise it and know what it feels like then we must take steps to eradicate this greed from us totally and when we have done this then we would not place our trust in money but instead depend on Allah Subhanatallah for He is ultimately the Provider and the Sustainer.
Although Hajj is a physical journey it is more importantly a spiritual journey. By the time we get to the plains of Araffaath we are stripped of all the tapings of our worldly life and made equal to everyone around us. We are left with no shelter, little food and only the basic clothing.
This is the great opportunity for us to reflect as to where our life is going, and if there is anything to be learnt from this experience, it is that all our worldly possessions and the recognition we seek by our ‘airs and graces’ will all soon amount to nothing. Being in a similar state will be our ultimate reality. We will die and we will meet our Lord under similar circumstances.
What will give us success under such circumstances and what is it that will matter? What have we brought for Him? On the plains of Arafaath, Allah forgives our sins and gives us a second chance.
The first lesson that He gives us thereafter is to be learnt from pelting the “jamaraath”. If we want to be like His “Khalil” then we must be prepared to sacrifice everything for Him and we must be ever weary of our greatest enemy, shaitaan.
Thus we see that the Sharia aspects of Islam are actually exercises that help us to purify and refine our conduct which in turn purifies and develops our souls and this is what Islam is all about.
“Verily, that person who purifies himself truly will succeed (both in this life and in the Hereafter),… Al Quran 97:14
The Prophet ﷺ has also stressed this by saying: “O Abu Zarr! There is no wisdom like effort, no piety like self denial and no goodness like good conduct.” AI Hadith 1:4:7:127 also 1:4:2:96w.
He ﷺ also said: “The most excellent Jihad is the conquest of the self” Bukhari. When we have control over our passions then it does not cloud our vision and we would be able to see the Reality.
This entire process can be compared to putting a puzzle together and only when we have fitted the pieces together will we be able to see the entire picture. “Haqika” is like that point when you have completed the puzzle.
“Because Allah would never change The Grace which He bestowed on a people until they change what is in their (own) soul.” Sura Anfal 8:52
When a person has reached Haqika then all branches of knowledge are opened to him and he possesses all power. He can choose to use whatever he wishes to. People that have reached such a stage would not use their insight for personal material gain or fame but would rather use it for the betterment of humanity.
Published by Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi 2013:
Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi was foundered by Dr Hakim Hazrath Khwaja Sayed Shareef Ahmed Ali Shah RA (lovingly known as Hazrath Poona Wale Shah Saib RA)
Author: Mohammad Hassan Gaffoor. WhatsApp: +27 84 910 1486