Page 23 - Chapter
Two: "The master’s fundamental concern - as in other forms of Islamic
learning - is to shape the character (khuluq) of the disciple so that it conforms to the
prophetic model.
"If modeling the
character of students and disciples was a universal concern of Islamic learning, the Sufis
developed a science of human nature that had no parallels in jurisprudence or Kalam,
though the philosophers knew something similar. So central was shaping character to the
Sufi path that Ibn Arabi could define Sufism as ‘assuming the character traits of
God’. God created human beings in His own image, and they accepted to carry the
Trust, so it is their duty to actualize the divine character traits that are latent in
their souls. They cannot do so without the help of teachers who know exactly what these
traits are and how to bring them into the open."
Commentary:
Contrary to the contention of the author of Sufism - A Short Introduction, a
Sufi shaykh’s primary concern is not "to shape the character
(khuluq) of the disciple so that it conforms to the prophetic model". This is so for
several reasons.
First of all, in a very
important sense, no one but a Prophet can conform to the Prophetic model. The task of an
individual who steps onto the Sufi path is not to become a Prophet. Instead, the spiritual
challenge facing a seeker is to become what, in essence, he or she has the capacity to be.
One does this by
following the guidance which is given through the teachings of the Qur’an and the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).For the Sufis, the fullest, as well as most accurate
and intimate manner of coming to understand the true nature of the guidance transmitted
through the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is through those who
have a proper nisbath of taqwa or piety with the Qur’an and the Prophet.
The Qur’an enjoins
believers to chose those people to lead worship who are best in taqwa or piety. On one
level this refers to ritual, obligatory prayers, but, in truth, it extends to every level
of life, for the Prophet is reported to have said: "Pray without ceasing", and
one needs someone who is capable of leading one to this continuous way of worship, both
within and beyond obligatory prayers, until it embraces every facet of existence.
For Sufis, the shaykh is
a paradigm of taqwa because, by the Grace of Allah, she or he, gives expression to an
engaging blend of love, sincerity, respect, reverence, gratitude, commitment, knowledge,
and integrity with respect to Allah, the Qur’an, and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) which serves as a perfect modality of transmission for, God willing, instilling
in others the same kind of taqwa. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to
have said: "No person has believed perfectly until one wishes for others what one
wishes for oneself," and a Sufi shaykh is someone who wishes for others to be brought
into intimacy with the Qur’an, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and Divinity
in either the same way the shaykh has, or, if God wishes, in even a better manner.
A second reason why the
primary concern of a shaykh is not "to shape the character of the disciple" is
because a shaykh approaches the teacher-seeker relationship much like a sculpturer has
once been said to approach the process of producing a sculpture - namely, one sees a form
beneath the surface and proceeds to take away everything which doesn’t belong. In
other words, the shaykh does not so much shape character as much as he or she works, God
willing, toward helping to remove those features that are preventing the underlying Divine
form from shining through in an unencumbered way.
The author cites Ibn
al-‘Arabi as saying that the Sufi Path is a matter of "assuming the character
traits of God". This is not accomplished by changing and shaping human qualities so
that they become Divine ones, but by creating conditions capable of giving expression to
the Presence of the Divine character traits whenever, and in whatever manner, the latter
are chosen by Allah to be manifested through the fitra, or primordial spiritual capacity,
of the individual.
Fitra will always be what
it is. The job of a Sufi is to get out of the way so that fitra can give, God willing,
actualized expression to its potential.
In the Qur’an, one
finds: "The Real has come and the unreal has vanished away. Lo! falsehood is ever
bound to vanish."(17:81) One also finds: "Everything is perishing away except
His Face."(28:88)
When the false self
becomes absent, then, the potential of fitra, which constitutes the Presence of the Real,
can become manifest. Furthermore, realized fitra is one facet of the Face of the Hidden
Treasure through which Divinity desires to be known.
According to the author
of Sufism - A Short Introduction, the duty of Sufis is "to actualize
the divine character traits that are latent in their souls." Strictly speaking,
actualizing "divine character traits" is not within the power of a human being.
Only Divinity can actualize such traits.
The duty of a Sufi - and
it is a duty which requires a great deal of assistance from the shaykh in order for it to
be fulfilled - is to struggle toward a willingness to sacrifice the inessential for the
sake of the essential. As long as the false self remains on the premises, the essential
Self will not take up occupancy, so the former must leave - permanently, if the latter
tenant is to move in and become manifest.
Purification of the soul
is not about changing the soul or shaping it. Rather, on the one hand, purification is
about removing that which interferes with the proper functioning of the soul, and, on the
other hand, purification is about redirecting the focus of niyat away from the false self
and toward the essential Self.
In fact, when, by the
Grace of God, the focus of niyat is redeployed or re-calibrated so that it serves the
essential Self rather than the false self, then, himma, or spiritual aspiration, begins to
arise in a form which, God willing, is capable of, among other things, jettisoning
whatever is considered to be an obstruction to the emergence of the essential Self.
However, this process of redeploying niyat is not equivalent to Ibn al -‘Arabi’s
"assuming the character traits of God".
The redeployment or
re-calibration of niyat is a necessary pre-condition for "assuming the character
traits of God." The former process is sort of like sweeping off the front stoop and
putting out a welcome mat before vacating the premises.
When bay’at , or the
oath of allegiance, is sincere, the individual is pledging to struggle to change the Qibla,
or direction of worship, with respect to niyat - that is, the ‘object’ of
one’s affection. We live in our niyat, or intentionality, and when, by the Grace of
Allah (which is being transmitted to the individual through the silsilah in the form of
the shaykh), the direction of worship is changed away from the false self and toward the
essential Self, then, the dimension of our being, to which expression is given, changes as
well.
When the himma, or
spiritual aspiration, of the nisbath of our intention with respect to Divinity reaches a
point where we prefer the Presence of Divinity to the presence of the false self and the
world, then, a threshold has been reached for "assuming the character traits of
God". This is when, God willing, the deepest, most essential dimension of fitra, or
primordial spiritual potential, begins to emerge - not because we have actualized this
potential, but because we no longer have an adversarial relationship with that which is
Divine within us, and, therefore, do not constitute an obstacle to the manifestation of
the Divine Treasure via the unveiled capacity of fitra.
The author of Sufism
- A Short Introduction maintains that "the Sufis developed a science of human
nature that had no parallels in jurisprudence or Kalam, though the philosophers knew
something similar." He does not say what this "something similar" is which
allegedly was known by the philosophers, and, furthermore, one has difficulty
understanding how the "science [my emphasis] of human nature"
that, supposedly, was developed by the Sufis is somehow ‘similar’ to the purely philosophical.
In any event, the Sufis
did not ‘develop’ a science of human nature. This science is
inherent in the teachings of the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The nature of this
science - both in terms of knowledge and realization, is only transmitted from heart to
heart via the umbilical cord of a nisbath which, through the process of purification, is
capable of resonating in harmony with the essence of what is being taught. To learn this
science, one must become the science.
The author does add that
Sufis cannot actualize the character traits of God "without the help of teachers who
know exactly what these traits are and how to bring them into the open." Once again,
however, what the author is asserting is not quite correct.
The character traits of
Divinity are infinite in nature. Consequently, one cannot say, as the author does, that
teachers "know exactly [my emphasis] what these traits are".
A teacher knows the
character traits of God in accordance with the spiritual capacity of the individual’s
fitra, and, as well, by virtue of what the Divine generosity permits with respect to
unveiling. We cannot know that which we do not have the capacity to know, and we cannot
know that which is not disclosed to us by Divinity even if we were to have the requisite
capacity for knowing such things.
Moreover, a Sufi guide
doesn’t necessarily so much know how to bring the Divine character traits into the
open, as much as the teacher knows how to assist the individual to struggle with all the
things which are getting in the way of the character traits being unveiled. The teacher
helps the individual to establish conditions which are conducive to unveiling, but the
unveiling itself comes through Divine discretion - even though this discretion, if and
when it is exercised, may be manifested through the ‘gaze’ of the shaykh in
relation to the one being unveiled.
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