The story of today’s man is that he has fallen
from the ideal of love and holiness. Purity and goodness is
lacking. He is exhibiting a character more animal-like than
divine and often is like a wolf in a sheep’s clothing. He
has deviated and degraded from his essential spiritual nature
(Self) and alienated himself from the Almighty Allah Tala
(God). This fall and degradation of man has caused God sorrow.
God is our divine guide and humanity His followers. We have
to remove God’s sorrow by becoming a good human being!
This is the path shown by Sufi Saints. His Holiness Hazrat
Nizamuddin Aulia (R.A.) says, "God gives insights to His Lovers,
so that they understand the reality of the whole Universe."
The real question of a true seeker is
not "What is Sufism"?, rather, "What can be of benefit to
him from Sufism"? The reason for putting it in this way is
that it is more important to know the state of the seeker
and tell him what will be useful to him than anything else.
Hence Prophet Muhmmad (P.B.U.H.) has said:
"Speak to each in accordance with his understanding!"
You can harm the seeker by giving him even
factual information about Sufism, if his capacity of understanding
is faulty or not much.
Sufism is not an "ism". It is self
- purification fulfilled by divine love. A Sufi is a person
whose heart is purified from the pollution and evils of this
world. Sufism is total love to Allah Tala (God). Religious
traditions informs of the miraculous cleansing of his heart
as a child, and of his ascension to heaven (miraj) by night
when, through prayer, he experienced the mystery of Allah
Tala (God) all-embracing unity.
The Sufi path is like a ladder. Each rung
is a stage (Muqam) of spiritual striving which is a must for
the next stage. Sufi orders have their distinct ways. Basically
all of them involves repentance, renunciation trust, gratitude,
poverty, patience and love. Each stage requires ceaseless
human striving as a means of approaching Allah Tala (God).
Every stage of spiritual striving requires a special grace
of Allah Tala (God) on the heart of the Mutasawwif (i.e. person
who tries to be a Sufi). This is called a State (hal)! It
is understood that the spiritual qualities of the heart descend
from Allah Tala (God) and are known in the Sufi orders as
satisfaction, intimacy, separation, love, union and knowledge.
Thus the goal of this path is love with God - through the
heart!
All great Saints of India – (of Buddhists,
Jains, Hindus, Sikh, Christains and Muslims) have come to
one great conclusion that the heart is the dwelling place
of the Almighty. All our efforts to have divine enlightenment
will go waste if the heart is not thoroughly prepared to receive
the great spiritual power. Union with God is possible only
through a regular drill of prayers and fasts. The heart is
the only medium which could set the finite in tune with the
Infinite. The entire mystic journey in all its stages has
to be undertaken with the help of the heart and it was through
prayers and penitences that it could be made responsive to
divine messages.
The great duty of human Soul is the quest
of Almighty Allah Tala (God). It begins with service,
then it rises to love, next to seclusion, in
which he thinks only of God; the fourth attainment
is knowledge; the fifth is ecstasy; the sixth
is truth; the seventh is union with God; and
the last is extinction.
It is necessary to remember that according
to Sufi doctrine, mysticism does not merely consist of acquired
knowledge but includes power and illumination obtained from
the living Saint or at the Shrine of a Saint. The Sufi creed
in other words believes in the "Communion of all
Saints".
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Quran
13.11
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