| 44 - Character Traits - Part Two |
The author of Sufism
- A Short Introduction indicates that "assuming the character traits of
God" is central to the Sufi Path, but one never gets a clear sense from his book of
why this is important. Undoubtedly, the righteousness, good conduct, and proper adab which
is made possible through "assuming the character traits of God" is of value,
both to the individual and the surrounding community, but this realm of activity is
derivative and, therefore, secondary to the primary purpose underlying why Sufi shaykhs,
such as ibn al-‘Arabi, give emphasis to the process of "assuming the character
traits of God".
In the Qur’an, one
finds the following verses: "What is there after the Real, save error?" (10:32).
"What is with you comes to an end, but what is with God remains." (16:96)
"I have not created human beings nor jinn except that they may worship Me."
(51:-56-57) "With Him are the keys to the Unseen; none knows them but He."
(6:59) "Only those who possess the kernels remember." (39:9)
The Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) is reported to have said: "Whoever knows Allah curbs one’s
tongue from speaking about Allah, since this kind of knowledge cannot be contained in
speech." The Prophet is also reported to have said: "Only God’s Attributes
are fit to praise His Essence."
Humankind, along with
jinn, and, indeed, all of creation, have been given manifested being in order to worship
Divinity. That worship is best which gives expression to the deepest, most intimate
knowledge of God, for not only is the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) reported to
have said: "Should the day come when I increase not in knowledge wherewith to draw
nearer to God, then, let the dawn of that day be accursed", but, as previously
indicated, a Hadith Qudsi states: "I [i.e., God] was a Hidden Treasure and desired to
be known, so I brought forth creation."
For God to be worshiped
purely, all sources of distortion must be removed, and this condition is realized when the
Attributes of God are present to manifest the Real without interference from that which
constitutes ‘error’. Moreover, that form of worship which is lasting and
"remains" is what is with God, as opposed to that which is with us but
"comes to an end" - and what ‘remains’ abides by means of the Divine
Attributes.
Furthermore, the
knowledge of God that is ineffable - and to which the aforementioned Hadith of the
Prophet, concerning the curbing of one’s tongue, alluded - is rooted in the
Attributes of Divinity. In addition, the ‘kernels’ of true remembrance mentioned
in the Quranic ayat cited earlier, are contained in the Attributes of Divinity.
As well, the keys to the
Unseen, which gives expression to the Hidden Treasure, and which none knows but God, are
inherent in the Attributes of Divinity. Finally, as a Hadith given above noted, the most
fitting praise - and, therefore, worship - of Allah only can take place by means of the
Attributes of Divinity.
If we are to fulfill the
purpose of our coming into created being - not only with respect to knowing the Hidden
Treasure, but, also, by putting this knowledge into action in the form of worship that is
God’s right, then, we must strive toward "assuming the character traits of
God", for these encompass the essential kernels of knowledge which are given
expression through a sincere, pure worship of God. The potential for realizing these
Divine character traits within us is inherent in fitra - our primordial spiritual
capacity, and it was to this realized potential within Adam (peace be upon him) - a
realization which occurred when Allah blew of His Spirit into the essential being of Adam
(peace be upon him) - that the angels and Iblis were commanded to fall prostrate.
The author of Sufism
- A Short Introduction asserts that one of the primary tasks of a Sufi shaykh is
"to shape the character (khuluq) of the disciple so that it conforms to the prophetic
model." However, he never specifies what the nature of that model is.
There are many Hadiths of
the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) concerning the importance of ‘character
traits’. For example, the Prophet is reported to have said: "I have been given
all the Names and have been sent to perfect good character." In another tradition,
the Prophet was asked which part of faith is most excellent, and he is reported to have
responded: "A beautiful character." In, yet, another Hadith, the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) was reported to have said: "The best thing in the Scale
on the Day of Judgement will be a beautiful character."
The juxtaposition of
"Names" and "good character" in the first Hadith noted above is not
coincidental. The perfection of "good character" - for which the Prophet was
sent by God - is the ‘beautiful character’ about which the Prophet spoke in a
number of traditions, such as those cited previously.
Moreover, ‘beautiful
character’ is a reflection of the Divine Names that had been given to the Prophet and
which were to be both the means through which the perfection of ‘good character’
to ‘beautiful character’ took place, as well as the goal of the perfection process.
When ‘good character’ has been purified and polished through association with
the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), it becomes a mirror capable of reflecting the
beautiful Names of God.
The Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) is reported to have said: "Allah has 300 attributes, and the
individual who acquires just one of these will inherit paradise." If the acquisition
of just one Divine attribute results in paradise, then, what would be the result of
acquiring, God willing, more than one?
In fact, the goal of the
Sufi Path is to acquire as many of these attributes as God allows and spiritual capacity
permits. For, through the acquisition of these attributes, one is opened up to witnessing
- and, thereby, knowing - the Hidden Treasure, and this was the niyat of the Divine Himma
or aspiration for creation.
One ‘acquires’
a character trait of God when one’s being is a proper surface for reflecting that
trait. One ‘acquires’ a Divine character trait when one becomes a locus of
manifestation for that trait, and, this only is possible when all that stands in the way
of proper reflection or manifestation has been removed by virtue of the process of
purification which was at the heart of the mission for which the Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) had been sent and for which he had been given all the Names.
The author of Sufism
- A Short Introduction follows up on his discussion of the importance of character
traits by claiming: "This concern to bring out the soul’s innate divine
qualities helps explain the great attention that Sufi teachers devote to the
‘stations’ (maqamat) of ascent on the path to God and the
‘states’ (ahwal) or psychological and spiritual transformations that
travelers undergo in their attempt to pass through the stations."While, from time to
time, Sufi shaykhs do speak of ‘states’ and ‘stations’, nevertheless,
to maintain, as the author does in the above quote, that they give "great
attention" to such topics is quite misleading, and there are a variety of reasons for
this.
Before exploring some of
these reasons, however, there are several qualifications which need to be pointed out in
conjunction with the author’s foregoing quote. For instance, although terms such as
‘path’, ‘journey’, ‘way’, ‘ascent’,
‘traveling’, and so on, are used, on a regular basis, to describe the process
which an initiated seeker undertakes in order to fulfill the purpose of life, this is not
really a "path to [my emphasis] God".
Divinity is always, and
everywhere, present. One does not ‘journey to’ that which already is present,
and, consequently, one needs to keep in mind that this manner of talking about things is
really just a figure of speech.
In truth, the spiritual
or mystical journey is one of an ever-deepening awareness and realization of God’s
nearness. At any given time, we may be distant from such a realization, and, therefore, it
may seem as if we are traveling to some location which is removed from us in space and
time, but this illusion merely gives expression to the veils which blind us to the Divine
Presence.
At various junctures in
the Qur’an, one finds verses like: "He is with you wherever you are."
(57:4) "We are closer to him than his jugular vein." (50:16) "... and know
that Allah comes between a man and his heart." (8:24) "Wheresoever you turn,
there is the Face of God." (2:115)
All of the foregoing
Quranic verses are quite clear that God is ‘here’, not ‘there’. Even
transcendent attributes of Divinity are here, rather than there, but they are
inaccessible to us.
A second, preliminary
point which needs to be made in relation to the author’s previous quote is that
"states" are not "psychological and spiritual transformations
that travelers undergo in their attempt to pass through the stations." This disavowal
has several aspects.
Although all states are
experiential in nature, these states are spiritual conditions and not psychological ones.
A spiritual condition is not a function of, nor does it give expression to: biology,
brain-states, anomalous synaptic processes, fluctuations in the levels of
neurotransmitters or neuropeptides, cognition, and so on - although any, or all, of the
latter may be correlated with, and, possibly, ensue from, an on-going spiritual condition.
In addition, a spiritual
state is not a transformation. It is a transitory condition which marks a certain kind of
ephemeral unveiling - such as an insight, flash of intuition, vision, or some other kind
of phenomenological event which takes up temporary lodging in the consciousness of the
individual.
Such states could have a
modulating effect on intention, aspiration, understanding, or conduct, but the state is
more like a visit from a friend which leaves its mark on us than it is like a
transformation. Whatever ramifications arise as a result of this sort of visit, the
visitor - that is, the state - eventually leaves ... and, usually, sooner rather than
later.
Furthermore, a seeker
does not necessarily traverse "states" while attempting "to pass through
the stations". States are Divine gifts which, often, are quite independent of issues
involving spiritual ‘stations’.
In fact, an individual
might ‘travel’ from station to station without ever experiencing a mystical
state. Thus, states are not way-stations which mark stages that, ultimately, culminate in
one sort of spiritual station or another.
Frequently, spiritual
states serve as signs which lend support to the individual in various ways. For
example, they may give expression to Divine consolations that help render the difficulties
of the quest somewhat easier to bear. Or, states may be God’s way of letting the
individual know that spiritual progress is being made and not to despair of God’s
Mercy. Or, states may be a form of Divine guidance. Or, states may be intended to help
inspire the individual to struggle more persistently and rigorously.
Notwithstanding the
foregoing comments, the Sufi Path is not about states. Indeed, shaykhs warn seekers about
getting caught up with, longing for, wishing for, or having expectations concerning,
spiritual states.
Fulfillment of fitra, or
one’s primordial spiritual capacity, involves realization of, and abiding in, the
Divine Presence. This is not a state, and no sequence or series of states can lead to such
a realization.
In the Qur’an one
finds: "There are varying grades with Allah, and Allah sees what they do."
(3:163) Some shaykhs have attempted to state what some of these grades are, and some of
these same shaykhs have differed, somewhat, with one another, in relation to the order of
these grades and/or how such grades are to be characterized.
However, these
descriptions and characterizations are not necessarily meant to be cast in stone as
universals of the Path. Like explorers in the physical world, some spiritual explorers
have set down conceptual maps which reflect, to varying degrees, certain aspects of their
own travel experience.
Descriptions are given in
a spirit of helpfulness so that others may gain a few points of reference which could help
to demarcate the lay of the spiritual ‘landscape’ through which subsequent
spiritual explorers might venture. Of course, not all travelers may journey through
precisely the same ‘landscape’ as a predecessor has described, and, as a result,
the experiences of later ‘explorers’ may be different which, in turn, could give
rise to another kind of characterization of the spiritual journey.
In truth, spirituality is
not a linear process. It is highly non-linear.
Experience is a function
of personal history, circumstances, personality, temperament, capacity, needs, strengths,
and weaknesses. All of these factors can vary from one individual to another and,
consequently, there are many facets of the spiritual journey which are unique to the
individual seeker.
To be sure, since we all
have bodies, minds, nafs, hearts, spirits, and so on, there will be areas of similarity
and overlap from one seeker to the next. Moreover, spiritual themes such as repentance,
longing, gratitude, fear, dependence, and love are common to travelers of the Sufi Path.
Nonetheless, the
foregoing commonalities of the journey frequently are engaged in ways which - to borrow a
term from Wittgenstein - bear a ‘family resemblance’ to one another, but one
still would have considerable difficulty in reducing down this ‘resemblance’ to
a consistent set of universal factors. The experience which one person has while engaging,
and being engaged by, various facets of the Path may be quite different from the
experiences that give expression to another individual’s spiritual journey - despite
the presence of any number of commonalities.
Consequently, in light of
the foregoing considerations, most shaykhs probably would not devote a great deal of
attention to describing spiritual stations. There are just too many exceptions,
variations, and unique features to make the sort of expenditure of time, to which the
author is alluding, worthwhile.
Just as importantly, no
shaykh would presume to say how any spiritual journey must go. The Path is established by
God, and each individual has a God-given, unique potential for traversing that Path.
In conjunction with the
issue of spiritual stations, a shaykh might give suggestions, possibilities, or
considerations on which to reflect or which give expression to the experiences of a
certain number of travelers of the Path. Ultimately, however, God is the one who lays out
the precise, unique character of the Path that is to be encountered by any given
individual.
If one becomes too
insistent on, or rigid with, one’s description of the sequence and nature of
spiritual stations, this can create difficulties for a seeker. Instead, on the Sufi Path,
one should become, as has been suggested by a number of shaykhs, like the body which is
being cleaned in a ritual manner as it is readied for burial - namely, one should go in
whatever direction the One cleansing the body moves one.
Sufi shaykhs, of course,
do devote some time to talking about spiritual stations, but they tend to spend much more
time on matters which are pertinent to what is going on here and now, as opposed to what
might occur, if God wishes, somewhere down the spiritual road. Therefore, discussions
involving: niyat, purification, nisbath, remembrance, adab, observance, service, and
submission are of much more immediate concern to a shaykh than is talk of spiritual
stations.
Unlike spiritual states,
the realization of spiritual stations requires constant effort. Consequently, given that
shaykhs are inclined to emphasize matters of priority and practicality, the teachings of
the shaykhs constantly remind seekers about the need to struggle and leave the rest to
Allah.
If the seeker is sincere
and persistent in her or his struggles toward realization, God will look after the states
and stations. Becoming preoccupied with future possibilities - whether in the form of
states or stations, is counterproductive to the spiritual needs and requirements of the
present.
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