Page 35 - Chapter
Three: "In the frequent discussions of the relative virtues of sobriety and
drunkenness, teachers often speak of three stages on the path. Before entering the path
itself, most people appear to be sober but are actually drunk. This is blameworthy
sobriety, because it grows up from being drunk and deluded by the illusory standards of
social reality, the trappings and goals of ordinary life. Such sobriety is a mortal danger
for the soul, because it is built on forgetfulness of God and heedlessness of the human
situation. When people enter the Path, they reach true sobriety by turning away from the
follies of this world and coming to their senses.
"After long struggle
on the path of discipline and self-purification, the seekers may be opened up to the
effusions of divine love, mercy and knowledge. This can be so overwhelming that they lose
their powers of rational discernment and tend to express themselves in ecstatic and
paradoxical language. This is the stage of true intoxication, but it is not the final
stage of the path. Neither the Prophet nor the vast majority of the great Muslims who
followed in his footsteps were drunk. They had reached the still-further stage,
‘sobriety after drunkenness’, which is the return to the world after the journey
to God. In traveling to God, the seekers undergo total transformation, but now they come
back with helping hands."
Commentary: By
the Grace of God, I have been permitted to attend the communal gatherings of Sufis for
nearly thirty years. During this time, I have had the good fortune to be in the presence
of different shaykhs, from various Orders and countries, and, quite frankly, the topic of
"the relative virtues of sobriety and drunkenness" almost never came up -
although there were a few occasions when, in passing, the issue of sobriety or
intoxication may have arisen.
Consequently, I would
question the author’s use of the adjective "frequent" with respect to
discussion of this topic. Furthermore, while the observance of the etiquette of sobriety
is a virtue, spiritual intoxication is not a virtue even though it does give expression to
the manifestation of Divine Grace.
In order for something to
be considered a virtue, one must be capable of doing other than what is virtuous. Thus, an
individual who is observing the etiquette of sobriety either has had an experience of
spiritual intoxication, or is currently experiencing such a condition, or both, and,
therefore, is in a position to transgress the boundaries of propriety with respect to the
secrets of an intoxicated condition.
This individual might do
other than comply with the requirements of sobriety, but, as long as the person acts in
accordance with the adab of sobriety, then, such on-going observance is, by the Grace of
Allah, virtuous in nature. However, the condition of spiritual intoxication differs from
the foregoing situation in a number of ways.
To begin with,
intoxication is a condition or state of Divine bestowal. One can neither initiate it, nor
terminate it, of one’s own volition.
Because the issue of
choice has been removed from the equation, one is not in a position to do other than be
spiritually intoxicated. Since one cannot do other than this, one cannot speak of the
condition, in and of itself, as entailing virtue - albeit, the person undergoing the
experience may, by the Grace of God, be a virtuous individual in other aspects of her or
his life.
Secondly, the author of Sufism
- A Short Introduction has characterized the matter in a misleading manner. More
specifically, the issue is not about the "relative virtues of sobriety and
drunkenness". The observance of sobriety’s etiquette, as well as the condition
of spiritual intoxication, are both, in and of themselves, expressions of God’s
Grace, and, indeed, the former encompasses the latter because there can be no sobriety
where there is an absence of an associated condition of intoxication - either in the
present or at some point in the past.
The problem which, on
occasion, arises in conjunction with the condition of spiritual intoxication lies with
giving verbalization to the nature of this condition. In other words, the issue is not the
condition, per se, but, rather, the problem revolves around speaking about that condition
in a manner which discloses secrets of Truth being unveiled through such a condition.
The author’s current
way of characterizing the issue is to set sobriety in opposition to intoxication and, as
outlined above, this is incorrect. Moreover, while there have been a few isolated
sentences in his book which suggest that he knows this is not the correct way to engage
the matter, nonetheless, more often than not, he has given readers the impression that
there is a problem with the spiritual condition of intoxication, or that those who are in
such a condition are alleged to be at odds with the people of sobriety, when the only
problem involves voicing ‘certain’ secrets which may arise during
the condition of spiritual intoxication.
The word
‘certain’ has been highlighted in the preceding paragraph in order to draw
attention to a distinction which is implicit in the foregoing - namely, between those
aspects of Truth which are, for a variety of different reasons, secretive in nature, and
those dimensions of Truth which may be inspired, insightful, and profound, but are not
necessarily a secret. This distinction is important to make because Sufi shaykhs sometimes
speak to their mureeds, or students, from the perspective of spiritual intoxication, but
this instructional discourse is filtered through the etiquette of sobriety, so that
inspired teaching may take place in a context of propriety.
The author of Sufism
- A Short Introduction claims that "teachers often speak of three stages on
the path. Before entering the path itself, most people appear to be sober. This is
blameworthy sobriety, because it grows up from being drunk and deluded by the illusory
standards of social reality, the trappings and goals of ordinary life. Such sobriety is a
mortal danger for the soul, because it is built on forgetfulness of God and heedlessness
of the human situation. When people enter the Path, they reach true sobriety by turning
away from the follies of this world and coming to their senses."
Aside from manifesting
another instance of the author’s penchant for using terms like "often"(or
"frequently"and "many") in the absence of any substantiating evidence
that would warrant the presence of such terms, his foregoing quote contains a variety of
problematic features. For example, he says that "before entering the path itself,
most people appear to be sober but are actually drunk."
In doing this, his
statement alters the original referential meanings of ‘sober’ and
‘drunk’ Sobriety no longer refers to those individuals who are inwardly
experiencing a condition of spiritual intoxication, while outwardly observing a
concomitant etiquette, and ‘drunk’ no longer refers to a condition of spiritual
intoxication.
Switching referential
frameworks like this seems to lend itself, all too easily, to creating unnecessary
confusion in the minds of readers. Although the author does say that this sort of sobriety
is only apparent and is, in reality, a state of drunkenness induced by attachment to the
material world and social norms, and although he does say that this kind of sobriety is,
supposedly, known as "blameworthy sobriety", nonetheless, there is a degree of
adulteration in meanings that has been introduced which is problematic.
According to the author,
the reason why the ‘apparent’ sobriety is really a matter of drunkenness is
because the individual who is in this condition of "blameworthy sobriety" is
someone who is "deluded by the illusory standards of social reality, the trappings
and goals of ordinary life." Now, the author doesn’t specify what "illusory
standards of social reality" he is talking about, nor does he indicate what he means
by the phrase: "trappings and goals of ordinary life," but whatever he might
mean, what he is saying is misleading, if not incorrect.
Someone may comply with
various standards of social reality or participate, in limited ways, with the
"trappings and goals of ordinary life" without necessarily buying into the
associated belief systems or without becoming excessively entangled in trappings and
goals. If an individual does not want to create social, political, or legal difficulties
for herself or himself, a person tends to learn, from an early age, that one has to
comply, in some minimal fashion, with the standards, trappings, and goals of a given
culture.
An individual might be
ignorant of spiritual possibilities without necessarily being drunk with the world.
Furthermore, a person might be very dissatisfied with the "standards of social
reality" of a given society, or fed-up with the "trappings and goals" of
that culture, and, yet, not know what else to do, or where else to go, or what else to try
- and this state of affairs does not, at all, reflect the author’s characterization
of the sort of "blameworthy sobriety" which actually is drunkenness.
In fact, although there
are exceptions to the following ‘rule-of-thumb’, those individuals who are
‘drunk’ - in the author’s foregoing, altered sense - often are not likely
candidates for the Sufi Path. Unless some anomalous event or soul-wrenching experience
occurs in the life of a person who is thoroughly entangled in illusory standards as well
as the trappings and goals of ordinary life, then, generally speaking, they have no reason
or motivation to look for anything else.
The Qur’an informs
us: "And whoever is blind in this world, will be blind in the Hereafter, and even
further from the path." (17:72) The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported
to have said: "People die in the state in which they live, and they are raised up in
the state in which they die."
Thus, those who live in a
condition of worldly inebriation, tend to die in that condition and, subsequently, will be
raised up in that condition. Unless God intervenes, these people tend to be both
spiritually blind in this world, as well as being even more blind in the Hereafter.
The Qur’an
indicates: "Have you seen him who has taken his caprice to be his god, and Allah
sends that person astray purposely, and seals up that individual’s hearing and heart,
and sets a covering on his sight." (45:23) These are the people who are inebriated by
their own nafs, or the whisperings of Satan, or the overtures of those who have no faith,
or the pastimes of ‘ordinary life’, and, consequently, they are unlikely, under
‘normal’ circumstances, to have any inclination toward seeking a life of
spirituality - but, if God wishes, this could change.
Although, like Omar (may
Allah be pleased with him), there are instances in which an individual may not be actively
looking for God, but, God, nonetheless, is actively courting that person, many people,
prior to setting foot on the Sufi Path, may be quite disillusioned with, or uninterested
in, the standards, trappings and goals of ‘ordinary life’. These people tend to
be restless - even if they are not quite sure what they are looking for or what will
assuage their restlessness - but they are seeking something beyond the standards,
trappings, and goals of ‘ordinary life’.
Quite frequently, seekers
are people who would agree with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when he is
reported to have said: "Every person who rises in the morning either does that which
will be the means of one’s redemption or one’s spiritual ruin." Yet, they
aren’t sure what will lead to redemption and what will lead to spiritual ruin.
Such people are not so
much "blameworthy", as much as they are in need of guidance. They have a
seriousness of purpose, but their purpose, as well as the means to realize that purpose,
are only very diffusely, if at all, defined.
In short, a spiritual
seeker, who has not stepped onto the mystical path in any formal way, is not necessarily
‘drunk’ in the manner in which the author of Sufism - A Short Introduction
maintains is the case. To be sure, there may be some who are in this latter condition of
worldly addiction but, by the Grace of God, nevertheless, find their way to an authentic
spiritual guide (or vice versa), but these individuals do not necessarily constitute the
‘norm’ of people who, eventually, step onto the Sufi Path.
Furthermore, there are
many individuals who may eventually step onto the Sufi mystical Path who are not only are
un-enamored with the standards, trappings and goals of ordinary life, but they also may be
very serious about pursuing a life of exoteric spirituality. In other words, these people
try to live their lives in accordance with their understanding of the requirements of
Islam, and this understanding may exclude, for any number of reasons, the esoteric, or
mystical dimension of Islam.
Later on, these
individuals may meet a Sufi shaykh, or read a book about the Sufi Path, or have some sort
of spiritual experience, and, as a result of one, or another, of such possibilities, these
people become, by the Grace of God, more receptive to, and interested in, the Sufi Path.
Whereas, previously, these sorts of individual may have been opposed to the Sufi Path, or
wary of it, or merely uninformed, they begin to see that the esoteric dimension of Deen is
not antagonistic to the exoteric facet of Deen, but complementary to it.
These sorts of people do
not reflect the description which the author of Sufism - A Short Introduction
gives in the previous quote. More specifically, they are not ‘drunk’ with the
world, nor is their life "built on forgetfulness of God and heedlessness of the human
situation" - although they may be ignorant of, or misinformed about, the actual
nature of the Sufi Path.
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