Page 19 - Chapter
Two: "In general, the Sufis have looked upon themselves as those Muslims who
take seriously God’s call to perceive His presence both in the world and in the self.
They stress inwardness over outwardness, contemplation over action, spiritual development
over legalism, and cultivation of the soul over social interaction. On the theological
level, Sufis speak of God’s mercy, gentleness, and beauty far more than they discuss
His wrath, severity, and majesty."
Commentary: Many
Muslims, and not just those who have set foot on the Sufi Path, "take seriously
God’s call to perceive His presence both in the world and the self." Earlier in
his book, the author, himself, cited the "Hadith of Gabriel" in which the
condition of ‘ihsan’ is given prominence.
In that Hadith, the
Prophet characterized ‘ihsan’ as a function of worshiping God as if one saw Him
but that even if one could not achieve such awareness, nevertheless, the individual should
know that God sees her or him. The Prophet, subsequently, told the Companions with him
that Gabriel (Peace be to him) had come that day to teach them their Deen.
Deen is not just for
those who are inclined to the Sufi Path. Since everyone comes into being with a primordial
spiritual potential which may be activated and realized, Deen is there for everyone.
People engage Deen
according to their capacity, condition, and circumstances in conjunction with guidance. In
fact, one of the differences between Sufis and Muslims not on the Sufi Path revolves about
this issue of guidance , including the quality and depth of that guidance.
The Sufi teacher, shaykh,
or guide is a living manifestation of Divine guidance. That is, Divinity works through the
locus of manifestation known as a guide or shaykh in order to assist initiates or people
of the Path to work toward realizing their primordial spiritual nature or
‘fitra’.
For those who are
skeptical of the foregoing contention, then, they might reflect on the revealed account of
Moses (peace be upon him) and the burning bush (28:30) on Mount Sinai. As this account -
which exists in both the Old Testament and the Qur’an, clearly indicates, God can
speak, and give guidance, through whatever vehicle Divinity chooses to do so.
Just as God honored one
particular bush with the task of serving as a locus of manifestation for Divine guidance,
so, too, some individuals are honored by God to serve as loci of manifestation of Divine
Guidance. Indeed, humankind which, as the Qur’an indicates, was created with the
highest of spiritual potential, is better endowed than a bush to serve in such a capacity
- although, unfortunately, the bush in question attained a spiritual status, however
fleeting, which is higher than a lot of people will ever know or even suspect is possible.
The Sufi shaykh is one
through whom the ‘kernels’ of spiritual knowledge, which are spoken of in the
Qur’an (39:9), are brought to light and constructively applied to a seeker’s
life situation so that the latter can realize, God willing, her or his essential spiritual
identity and unique spiritual capacity. The Sufi shaykh is the field of taqwa which God
promised in the Qur’an to cultivate, develop and bring to fruition with an
understanding which none but Allah possesses - so Allah is the only One Who can teach and
dispense such knowledge, and the Sufi shaykh is the one charged with the responsibility
of, among other things, working with people to help make, God willing, the application of
this knowledge and understanding accessible to seekers in a practical, heuristic form.
Who is the real Guide of
the Sufi Path? God, of course, but as Allah points out in the Qur’an, He does not
speak to people except through revelation or a veil, and authentic Sufi shaykhs are
exemplars of the latter - that is, special veils through whom guidance is transmitted to
those who are receptive to what is being offered - taqwa speaking to taqwa by Divine
permission.
Contrary to what the
author of Sufism - A Short Introduction attempts to suggest in the quote
which gives rise to the present Commentary , the difference between Muslims
on the Sufi Path and Muslims who are not on that Path is not that the former
take seriously God’s call to realizing the Divine Presence around and within them,
whereas the latter do not take this call seriously. Rather, a fundamental difference
between the two is that those on the Sufi Path have availed themselves of the Divine
guidance which God has made available through the locus of manifestation known as a
shaykh, whereas Muslims who are not on the Sufi Path have ignored or failed to take
advantage of this opportunity.
Whether these latter
individuals understand it or not, they are committing the same mistake as did Iblis when
he failed to acknowledge the system which Divinity has set in place for the realization of
spiritual potential. More specifically, Iblis rejected the idea that the ‘Way’
to his essential nature could only be found through the one whom God had authorized to
serve this purpose.
Iblis was not being asked
to bow down to man, per se. He was being asked to acquiesce to the way in which Deen
operated - that is, Divine guidance, or the spirit which was blown into the
‘authorized one’, is transmitted through a locus of manifestation that is
selected for the purpose of helping individuals work toward realization of essential
identity and unique, spiritual capacity in the light of such guidance.
The irony of the
foregoing is that Iblis was quite in synch with the nature of this Deen when he was the
one authorized by God to serve as a locus of manifestation for the transmission of Divine
guidance to the angels and jinn. When the situation changed, and God said to Iblis that
you are in need of the spiritual help of My authorized agent, Iblis balked, and the
‘way of Deen’ was no longer attractive to him.
As pointed out in a
previous Commentary, Iblis’ essential error was not pride but
ignorance. Among other things, he really didn’t understand the nature of Deen.
He didn’t understand
that Divine guidance is transmitted through selected loci of manifestation or veils, and,
as a result, he considered the spiritual understanding which he dispensed to the angels
and jinn was his knowledge and understanding - when, in truth, it belonged to God, came
from God, and was merely being transmitted through Iblis. He didn’t understand that
there were dimensions of his own spiritual potential that only could be unlocked through
those special veils which were Divinely authorized to assist Iblis in a way somewhat
similar to the way in which God had taught angels and jinn through Iblis prior to the
latter’s fall from Grace.
All sin is committed in a
state of forgetfulness. When we forget who we are, when we forget Who Allah is, when we
forget what our relationship with Allah is, when we forget the nature of the ‘way of
Deen’ through which God guides us, then, we are vulnerable to having our lives
darkened by the currents of ignorance which lead us into the commission of acts which are
transgressions against our own souls.
The sin of pride was
committed by Iblis. But, first, he forgot, and it was this forgetting which was the
beginning of the end for him - "They forgot God, and He forgot them." (9:68)
All of the Prophets of
God, including the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon each of them), accepted the ‘way
of Deen’ in which Divinity guides humankind through selected veils. Archangel Jibril
or Gabriel was, and is, the locus of manifestation for the deliverance of Divine
Revelation to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and, then, in turn, through the
locus of manifestation of the Prophet, the Divine message was transmitted to all of
humanity.
When asked by someone
about the nature of the Prophet, ‘Aisha, wife of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased
with her), once said that he was like the Qur’an. Indeed, when God had taken all of
the ‘kernels’ of the Qur’an and dyed the Prophet - who is the highest
expression of what is meant by taqwa and, therefore, the very sort of individual whom God
had promised to teach - with the spectrum of Quranic colors, how could the Prophet be
other than a locus of manifestation of the guidance being transmitted through the
Qur’an.
He and the Qur’an
were one. Each is an appointed veil - albeit of different, but complementary kinds -
through which God guides humanity.
Shaykhs are not Prophets,
nor are they bearers of revelation. Yet, nonetheless, they are loci of manifestation of a
mode of Divine guidance which is rooted in the being of the Prophetic tradition and the
Books of Revelation, and, like the Qur’an and the Prophet, they are veils through
which Divine guidance operates.
Divine generosity is
poured into books of Revelation which, in turn, are poured into the spiritual capacity of
the Prophets by means of the appointed guardian of the Divine Wine, archangel Jibril. The
Prophets, in turn, pour the same vintage stock into the cups of the shaykhs who, then,
dispense it, God willing, to the bowls of the seekers - "A Spring (Tasnim) where
those brought near to Allah drink." (84:28)
The Wine is God’s
knowledge, love, mercy, compassion, and support. The loci of manifestation through which
the wine is dispensed are the ones authorized at every level of Being to serve as
God’s appointed veils, and each veil - from Revelation to seeker - has its own
Divinely sanctioned spiritual capacity and station through which to engage the Wine -
"None of us there is but has a known station." (37:164)
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