KERNEL OF THE KERNEL

SUNY Series in Islam

Seyyed Hossein Nasr, editor

 Kernel of the Kernel
Concerning the Wayfaring and Spiritual
Journey of the People of Intellect
(Ris¯ala-yi Lubb al-Lub¯ab dar Sayr wa Sul¯uk-i Ulu’l Alb¯ab)

A Sh̄ı ⁄̄ı Approach to Sufism

From the Teachings of

SAYYID MUÒHAMMAD H
Ò USAYN Ò TABAÒ ¯ ¯I
¯ TABA‹

Compiled, Edited, and Expanded by

SAYYID MUÒHAMMAD H Ò USAYN¯ I TIHR AN
Ò USAYN H ¯ ¯I

Translated by
MOHAMMAD H. FAGHFOORY

Foreword by
Seyyed Hossein Nasr

State University of New York Press

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

H
Ò usayn¯ ı Tihr¯ an¯ ı, Muhammad Husayn.
[Ris¯ alah-'i Lubb al-lub¯ ab. English]
Kernel of the kernel : Ris¯ ala-yi Lubb al-lub¯ ab dar sayr wa sul¯uk-i ulu'l alb¯ ab [sic] /
[based on lectures] by Sayyid MuÓhammad H Ò usayn Tab¯ atab¯ a'¯ ı ; compiled, expanded, and
edited by Sayyid Muhammad H Ò usayn H
Ò usayn¯ ı Tihr¯ an¯ ı ; translated by Mohammad H.
Faghfoory ; preface by Seyyed Hossein Nasr.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
 0–7914–5237–9 (alk. paper)—  0–7914–5238–7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Religious life—Islam—Koranic teaching. 2. Religious life—Sh¯ ı‹ah. 3. God
(Islam)—Koranic teaching. 4. lslam—Essence, genius, nature. 5. Sufism. I. Title: Ris¯ ala-yi
Lubb al-lub¯ ab dar sayr wa sul¯uk-i ulu'l alb¯ ab [sic]. II. Tab¯ atab¯ a'¯ ı, MuÓhammad H
Ò usayn.
III. Faghfoory, Mohammad Hassan. IV. Title.
 . 
297.4—dc 21 2002021109
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Humbly dedicated in gratitude to the blessed memories
of ⁄All̄amah Sayyid MuÓhammad H Ò usayn Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı and
⁄All̄amah Sayyid MuÓhammad H Ò usayn H
Ò usayn¯ ı Tihr¯ an¯ ı
May God’s Mercy be upon their immaculate souls
and to
Shaykh al-Sayyid al-ÒHusayn al-Sh¯ adhil̄ı
who awakens hearts to His call
with Silent Music
 CONTENTS

Foreword by Seyyed Hossein Nasr / xiii

Translator’s Introduction / xxi

 
 ’   ⁄ 

1. Attraction to the invisible world is in man’s primordial nature

2. The Straight Path means a combination of exoterism and
esoterism
3. The Holy Qur‹¯ an calls for purification along with intellection
4. Mull¯ a ÓSadr¯ a’s recommendation for humility of the heart and
acquiring intellectual sciences
5. The chain of gnostics during the last hundred years
6. Reasons and motivations for compilation of this treatise

  
    ⁄ 

7. The human being in the darkness of materialism

8. Wayfaring and spiritual journey according to the gnostics
9. Difficulties in passing through the intermediate world and
the realm of multiplicity of the soul

vii
viii Contents
10. The spiritual traveler entering the realm of spirit
11. The goal of the traveler is companionship with
God and His Image
12. Mur¯aqabah, its stages, and effects
13. The meaning of wine (mey) according to gnostics
14. The traveler observes his own soul
15. The traveler observes Divine Names and Attributes
16. Immersion in the Divine Essence of the Lord and
subsistence in the Worshiped
17. The station of being present in the world of multiplicity
while simultaneously witnessing and experiencing
the realms of Divine Lordship
18. Reasons why not everyone can reach the station
of human perfection
19. The inability of words to describe the realities of the lights
of catharsis and the Realms of Divine Lordship
20. The world of sincerity (khul¯uÓs ) and its hierarchy
21. Peculiarities and manifestations of
sincerity of essence (khul¯uÓs-i dh¯at¯ ı)
22. Freedom from the world of multiplicity is one of the
first and most essential necessities of spiritual journey
23. One’s detachment from one’s essence
24. The need for Divine Grace for total victory in
the struggle against the carnal soul
25. The necessity of observing all religious duties
throughout spiritual journey
26. Observing religious duties by the Perfect Man is by virtue of
perfection, and not for finding proximity to God
27. Brief description of the realms preceding
the realm of sincerity (khul¯uÓs ) according to Qur‹¯ an
 Contents ix
 
   
¯ SÓ ⁄ 
    K H U LU

28. The Greater Isl¯ am (Isl¯am-i Akbar)

29. The Greater Faith (¯Im¯an-i Akbar)
30. The Greater Migration (Hijrat-i Kubr¯a)
31. The Greater Spiritual Struggle (Jih¯ad-i Akbar)
32. The Greatest Submission (Isl¯am-i a⁄aÔzam)
33. The Greatest Faith (¯Im¯an-i a⁄aÔzam)
34. The Greatest Migration (Hijr¯at-i ⁄uÔzm¯a) and
the Greatest Spiritual Struggle (Jih¯ad-i a⁄aÔzam)
35. Choosing to Die
36. Explanation: Special privileges granted to
Muslim spiritual travelers over travelers of of previous religions
37. The Station of Righteousness (ÒSul¯uhÓ )
38. Different kinds of righteousness (ÒSal¯aÓh)

 
    
      ⁄ 

39. The necessity to seek reason to prove the truth of religion

40. The effects of lamentation and pleading to God
with humility to find faith in the World of Meaning
41. Conversation between the prophet H Ò aÓdrat-i Idr̄ıs
with ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓ tab¯ a‹¯ ı in a dream
42. God will guide those who search guidance from Him
with sincerity and purity of heart
x Contents
43. Knowledge and action complement each other
44. The necessity of having bodily organs share the joy of faith
45. The absence of sadness and fear for the selfless traveler
46. Wayfaring in the Angelical Kingdom is not in contradiction
with being in this world
47. Prayers and supplications of the Sh¯ ı⁄ite Im¯ ams
were not merely for guiding and teaching purposes

 
     
     ⁄ 

48. The necessary conditions for spiritual journey

49. Abandoning conventionalism, habitual practices, and formalities
50. Steadfastness
51. Tolerance and forbearance
52. Loyalty
53. Stability and perseverance
54. Constant attention
55. One’s accounting one’s inward state
56. Self-condemnation
57. Expeditious action
58. Devotion
59. Observing proper manners
60. Intention
61. Silence
62. Abstaining from indulgence in food consumption
63. Spiritual retreat
 Contents xi
64. Morning wakefulness
65. Perpetual ritual cleanliness
66. Constant expression of humility
67. Avoiding appetite and worldly pleasure
68. Guarding and protecting the secrets and mysteries of the path
69. Spiritual teacher and master
70. Litany and supplication
71. Control of mind, thoughts, and other mental preoccupations
72. Invocation
73. Meditation
74. Methods for control of mind and thoughts in the treatise
¯
attributed to Ayatull¯ ah Sayyid Mahd¯ ı (ibn MurtaÓd¯a ibn Muhammad)
BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um
75. Methods used by the late
¯ und Mull¯ a H
Akh¯ Ò usayn-Qul¯ ı Hamad¯ an¯ ı
76. Stages of mur¯aqabah
77. On the chain of the author’s spiritual teachers
and masters in Divine sciences
78. The opening of the fourfold realms of tawÓh¯ ıd before one’s soul as a
result of mur¯aqabah and concentration on the soul
79. What do the gnostics mean by Griffin (⁄Anq¯a) and (S¯ ımurgh)
80. Poems by HÒ ¯afiz alluding to the station
¯
of the Essence of the Invisible of all invisibles

Index of Qur‹¯anic Verses ⁄ 

Index of AÓh¯ad¯ ıth ⁄ 
Index of Quotations of the Sayings of the Sh̄ı ⁄ite Im¯ams ⁄ 
Notes on Saints, Scholars, and Authors Cited in the Text ⁄ 
General Index ⁄ 
 FOREWORD
Seyyed Hossein Nasr

The work of ⁄All¯ amah ÓTihr¯ an¯ ı translated here represents a genre of Islamic
gnostic and esoteric writings that has been rarely studied in the West until
now. This book is in fact perhaps the first of its kind to appear in the Eng-
lish language. In order to understand what intellectual strand this work rep-
resents, it is necessary to delve in a general way into the different manifesta-
tions of Islamic esoteric teachings. The first and best-known crystallization
of the inner or esoteric teachings of the Islamic revelation is of course Su-
fism, which has produced a vast treasury of writings ranging from practical
advice to the lives of saints, from ethical treatises to poetry and from short
aphorism and letters to didactic works dealing with Islamic metaphysics,
cosmology, psychology, and eschatology along with a number of other sub-
jects. This latter category of writings is associated especially with the intel-
lectual teachings of Sufism, dealing as it does with unitive knowledge
known as gnosis or ⁄irf¯an/ma⁄rifah. Its greatest expositor was Ibn ⁄Arab¯ ı
many of whose works as well as those belonging to his school have now
been translated and studied in many European languages, especially Eng-
lish and French.
A second crystallization of Islamic esoteric teachings is to be found in
Ism¯ a⁄¯ ıl̄ı philosophical and theological writings which, despite their special
color associated with a particular branch of Sh¯ ı⁄ism, contain many teach-
ings drawn also from the universal sources of Islamic esoterism. In fact his-
torically Ism¯ a⁄¯ ılism was close to Sufism both in its origin and during its later
history after the Mongol invasion when at least in Persia Ism¯ a⁄¯ ılism ap-
peared often in the dress of Sufism and there appeared Ism¯ a⁄¯ ıl̄ı commen-
taries to well known Sufi works. During the Q¯ aj¯ ar period some of the
Ism¯ a⁄¯ ıl̄ı Im¯ ams even received Sufi initiation. This category of writings is
also known in the West and many translations and studies of Ism¯ a⁄¯ ıl̄ı doc-
trinal works have appeared in various European languages over the years.

xiii
xiv Foreword
A third category is Twelve-Im¯ am¯ ı Sh¯ ı⁄ite gnosis ( ⁄irf¯an-i sh¯ ı ⁄¯ ı),
which has produced a vast body of works many, but not exclusively, in
Persian, by such figures as Sayyid H ¯
Ò aydar Amul̄ı, Ibn Turkah, FayÓd
K¯ ash¯ an¯ ı, and Q¯ aÓd¯ ı Sa⁄¯ ıd Qumm¯ ı, not to speak of mystical philosophers
and theosophers who combined philosophy and gnosis, such as Mull¯ a
ÓSadr¯ a and his followers during the past few centuries and down to our
day, including H Ò ¯ ajj¯ ı Mull¯ a H¯ ad¯ ı Sabzaw¯ ar̄ı, who lived in the Q¯ aj¯ ar pe-
riod, as well as many of the philosopher-gnostics of the present century.
In fact, as far as Persia is concerned, the School of Tehran founded at the
end of the eighteenth century, with the advent of the Q¯ aj¯ ars, possessed
two branches from the beginning: one devoted to philosophy especially of
the School of Mull¯ a ÓSadr¯ a and the second to pure Islamic esoterism in the
form of gnosis. This latter school was founded by Sayyid RaÓd¯ ı L¯ ar̄ıj¯ an¯ ı
who was given the title M¯ alik al-B¯ aÓtin, the “Possessor of the Esoteric,”
and was the teacher of the most famous gnostic of the thirteenth/nine-
teenth century in Persia, MuÓhammad RiÓd¯a Qumsha‹¯ ı, called the Ibn
⁄Arab¯ ı of his day, who was followed by figures distinguished by their mas-
tery of Ibn ⁄Arabian gnosis, and Islamic esoteric teaching in general, such
as M¯ ırz¯ a NaÓ s¯ ır G¯ ıl¯ an¯ ı, M¯ ır Sayyid Shih¯ ab al-D¯ ın Nayr̄ız¯ ı, M¯ ırz¯ a AÓhmad
¯
Ashtiy¯ an¯ ı, and three of my own most eminent teachers in the traditional
sciences, Sayyid Muhammad K¯ azim ⁄AÓ sÓs¯ ar, MuÓhyi al-D¯ ın Mahd¯ ı Il¯ ah¯ ı
¯
Qumsha‹¯ ı, and Sayyid Muhammad H Ò usayn Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı. The teachings of
the latter figure constitutes the original material for this present work. To
this list must also be added a number of figures well versed in ⁄irf¯an but
celebrated more in other domains, such as jurisprudence and politics, in-
cluding Ayatoll¯ ah Khumayn¯ ı whose commentaries on the works of Ibn
⁄Arab¯ ı are well known in Persia and have now gained some fame in the
West.
The writings of the figures in the field of gnosis cited here are not,
for the most part, known in the West although they are now gaining some
attention in the outside world, thanks to the efforts of Henry Corbin and
a number of other scholars. In Persia, at least as a result of religio-political
tensions between the later ÓSafavid religious scholars and the established
Sufi orders, especially the Ni ⁄matall¯ ah¯ ı, the term “Sufi” became anathema
in Sh¯ ı⁄ite religious circles and the term “gnosis” or ⁄irf¯an, came to replace
taÓ sawwuf in many contexts. While during earlier periods as leading a
Sh¯ ı⁄ite scholar as Sayyid H ¯
Ò aydar Amul̄ ı identified himself openly with Su-
fism, from the latter part of the eleventh/seventeenth century onward the
 Foreword xv
Sh¯ ı⁄ite ⁄ulam¯a’ distanced themselves for the most part from ordinary Su-
fism, which they referred to as taÓ sawwuf-i kh¯anaq¯ah̄ı (literary Sufism asso-
ciated with Sufi centers). Moreover, this parting of ways did not include
only those exoteric ⁄ulam¯a’ who were opposed to the esoteric as such but
also those who were attracted to the esoteric and who were in fact in-
wardly totally immersed in the world of Sufi gnosis, associating them-
selves with the works of the great Sufi masters such as Ibn ⁄Arab¯ ı, R¯um¯ ı,
and J¯ am¯ ı.
The question arises concerning the source of esoteric knowledge of
these men all of whom were pious and many of whom were saintly. Did
their knowledge involve only theoretical learning? Were they led by the
Hidden Im¯ am and/or the mysterious Prophet KhaÓdir? Did they have a
human master and receive initiation and spiritual guidance as is the case
with Sufism? These question have been debated a great deal concerning
such famous figures as Mull¯ a ÓSadr¯ a, as well as others. I remember dis-
cussing this issue for years with Corbin concerning Mull¯ a ÓSadr¯ a. Corbin
believed that he had no human teacher whereas I believed and still believe
that he had a human teacher who initiated him into the knowledge of the
Divine Mysteries (asr¯ar-i il¯ah̄ı).
In any case, most scholars dealing with the Sh¯ ı⁄ite world believe that
in addition to the Sufi orders, such as the Dhahab¯ ı and Ni⁄matall¯ ah¯ ı which
are kh¯anaq¯ah̄ı and similar to the great Sufi orders in the Sunni world with
their regular initiatic chain (silsilah) linking master to disciple over the cen-
turies and reaching back to the origin of the Qur‹¯ anic revelation, there is
also the general esoteric aspect of Sh¯ ı⁄ism that bestows a gnostic character
on certain Sh¯ ı⁄ite works as well as the presence of spiritual guidance by the
Im¯ ams, especially the Twelfth in the case of at least a number of figures
possessing esoteric knowledge of the highest order.
What has not been studied seriously until now is the presence within
Twelve-Im¯ am¯ ı Sh¯ ı⁄ism of a fourth category, which includes those who be-
long to an initiatic chain linking master to disciple but without the formal
organization that characterizes the well-known Sufi orders. This chain may
be called a Sufi silsilah, without the name Sufi, but involving regular trans-
mission of initiatic power, spiritual direction, spiritual practices and the
like all resembling Sufism. Such lines of transmission were preserved in se-
cret mostly among the class of Sh¯ ı⁄ite ⁄ulam¯a’ and are the reason for the ap-
pearance of a number of eminent gnostics and saints belonging to the
⁄ulam¯a’ class. A somewhat similar situation may be said to exist in the Sunni
xvi Foreword
world, for example, at al-Azhar University where there is a very secret
branch of the Naqshbandiyyah Order tailored especially for the ⁄ulam¯a’ of
that eminent Sunni center of learning.
This regular chain of transmission in Sh¯ ı⁄ism was and remains very
hidden. Its methods and disciplines are taught only orally and those who
are its masters select a few among their usually large number of religious
students to initiate them into this path of spiritual perfection parallel with
teaching them the major texts of theoretical ⁄irf¯an. In the various religious
schools (Óhawzahs) of the Sh¯ ı⁄ite world, whether it be in Persia, Iraq, Pak-
istan, India, or elsewhere a number of students advance enough to be ac-
cepted in classes in which the works of Ibn ⁄Arab¯ ı, ÓSadr al-D¯ ın Qunaw¯ ı,
and others are taught. But not all students who reach these levels; even
those who study the most advanced texts, such as the MiÓ sb¯aÓh al-uns of al-
Fan¯ ar¯ ı, are permitted into the inner circle of initiates. In order to receive
initiation there is also the necessity of the presence in the being of the dis-
ciple of spiritual virtue, spiritual will (himmah), a deep yearning for the
Divine and thirst for the realization of metaphysical knowledge.
The book of ⁄All¯ amah T Ó ihr¯ an¯ ı is a fruit of this hidden tree of Islamic
esoterism. Being itself a recension of the oral teachings of his master
⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, the work is a fine example of the kind of writing
which, in the context of Sh¯ ı⁄ite traditions and commentaries upon the
Qur‹¯ an, discuss the stages of the spiritual path and reveal glimpses of that
unitive knowledge that lies at the end of that path. An earlier example of
such a work is the Sayr wa sul¯uk (“Spiritual Wayfaring”) by the eminent
Q¯ aj¯ ar religious scholar and authority on esoteric knowledge BaÓhr al-⁄ul¯um,
who was also a master of this secret and hidden esoteric chain. ⁄All¯ amah
T Ó ihr¯ an¯ ı himself mentions his esoteric teachers whose chain can be summa-
rized as in the chart that follows.
All these figures were eminent teachers in Persia and Iraq and re-
spected highly as not only religious scholars, but also as saintly men to
some of whom miracles were attributed. But only those who were initiated
and guided inwardly by them became aware of their inner reality and were
able to gain access to the treasury of Divine Mysteries whose keys they held.
I studied for some twenty years with ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı and became aware
through him of the rigorous spiritual discipline that “their path” required
and also of the inner reality of at least one of the masters of this “hidden
tÓ ar¯ ıqah.” He once told me that he had studied the FuÓ s¯uÓs of Ibn ⁄Arab¯ ı for
years in Persia and thought that he knew this central work of Sufi gnosis
 Foreword xvii

Mull¯ a H
Ò usayn Qul¯ ı Hamad¯ an¯ ı

Ó
Sayyid Ahmad Karbal¯ a¤ı¯

M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al¯ ı Q¯ aÓd¯ ı Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a¤¯ ı Tabrız

¯ ¯ı

⁄All¯ amah Sayyid MuÓhammad H

Ò usayn Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a¤¯ ı

H
Ò ajj Sayyid H¯ ashim H
Ò add¯ ad MuÓhammad Jaw¯ ad AnÓ s¯ar¯ ı

⁄All¯ amah ÓTihr¯ an¯ ı

well before he set out to continue his studies in Najaf. Once in that city he
decided to attend the private lessons being given by M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı Q¯ ad Ó ¯ ı on the
FuÓ s¯uÓs. The venerable and saintly ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı told me that during
the first hour of the course his whole state (Óh¯al) began to change and he
heard the walls of the room echoing Shaykh al-Akbar’s words. He realized
that until then he had only known the outward meaning of the words of
the text and was only now beginning to understand what they really
meant. The master later initiated the young ⁄All¯ amah, who began to un-
dergo, parallel with his formal studies, rigorous spiritual discipline with
long fasts of silence that affected his presence for the rest of his life. One
could not be in his presence, even when he was teaching, without experi-
encing something of the holy silence from which all words worthy of the
name proceed and to which they all return.
While teaching at Qum for over thirty years, ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı
taught regular courses on Ibn S¯ ın¯ a’s Shif¯a‹ and Mull¯ a ÓSadr¯ a’s Asf¯ar. On
weekends he taught a smaller number of students in a private gathering
texts of ⁄irf¯an, such as the works of Ibn ⁄Arab¯ ı and Ibn Turkah. Then he
had an even more select circle of students who were initiated into the mys-
teries of gnosis and spiritual wayfaring. The book translated here is the re-
cession of the teachings of ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı in those most intimate
gatherings compiled by ⁄All¯ amah T Ó ihr¯ an¯ ı, who as a student in the 1940s
xviii Foreword
and 1950s attended those sessions. The work represents therefore the more
esoteric aspect of the teachings of ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı whose other works
on the Qur‹¯ an, Sh¯ ı⁄ism, and Islamic philosophy are well known, some al-
ready translated into English. This work in fact reveals the inner aspect of
the teachings of one of the greatest Islamic scholars of the twentieth century
and is also the first specimen of this kind of writing, belonging to the hid-
den initiatic line already mentioned, that has been rendered into English.
For historical reasons a word must also be said about MurtaÓd¯a
MuÓ tahhar̄ı, for whom ⁄All¯ amah T Ó ihr¯ an¯ ı wrote the introduction to this
work. MuÓ tahhar̄ı was one of the most gifted students of ⁄All¯ amah
Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, and a close friend of mine with whom I participated in many
intellectual and religious endeavors. He possessed a keen philosophical
mind but was also an activist. ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı wanted him to be less
active outwardly and devote more time to serious philosophical studies
and contemplation. MuÓ tahhar̄ı had written a commentary on the first
three books of ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı’s UÓ s¯ul-i falsafa-yi ri‹¯alizm (“The Prin-
ciples of the Philosophy of Realism”) but years had passed and he had not
succeeded in finishing the commentary claiming always that he was too
busy. One day when both of us were in his presence, ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı
turned to me without looking at MuÓ tahhar̄ı and said, “Please tell Aq¯ ¯ a
MurtaÓd¯a [i.e., MuÓ tahhar̄ı] to make fewer speeches and devote more time to
introspection and to finish the commentary.” But the word of the master
was to no avail and despite his closeness to his teacher, MuÓ tahhar̄ı showed
little interest in a more contemplative life and in the master’s esoteric
teachings.
Early in the 1960s, however, he was arrested and imprisoned for a
couple of months. Prisoners were allowed to ask for books and the first
work that he asked his family to bring to him was the Mathnaw¯ ı of R¯um¯ ı.
Once out of prison, he told me how fruitful and calming that period had
been and that an opening had been created in his soul for philosophical
contemplation and particularly ⁄irf¯an in both its aspect of theory (naÔzar)
and practice (⁄amal). Outwardly he continued to have an active life, which
was to lead to direct political participation in the tumultuous events of
1978 and finally to his tragic assassination in 1979. But inwardly he contin-
ued to be drawn ever more to the esoteric tradition and the inner teachings
of ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, summarized in this short but pithy work, the Lubb
al-lub¯ab, which is truly the kernel of the kernel of the fruit of revelation
and which is given a title that is also used by Ibn ⁄Arab¯ ı in one of his well-
 Foreword xix
known works. Something of the inner transformation of the late MurtaÓd¯a
MuÓ tahhar̄ı is also present in this work and his spirit seems to have inspired
his old friend ⁄All¯ amah ÓTihr¯ an¯ ı to compile the work in its present form.
Something also needs to be said in this preface about ⁄All¯ amah
T
Ó ihr¯ an¯ ı himself. The publication of his complete works in recent years re-
veals his astonishing output in both quantity and diversity. His works
range from those dealing with the Qur‹¯ an, Im¯ amology, eschatology, and
other theological issues to those concerned with the esoteric and mystical
dimensions of Islam. In contrast to his teacher ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, who
refused to write on current events and politics in the ordinary sense of the
term, ⁄All¯ amah T Ó ihr¯ an¯ ı also wrote on contingent problems posed in the
early years of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, resulting in certain assertions
that were to be challenged and opposed later by other religious authorities
in Persia itself. This aspect of his work belongs precisely to the realm of
contingency and is quite dated but it should not in any way cast a shadow
on the vast body of traditional studies that he has left behind and that rep-
resents one of the most imposing bodies of scholarly works produced by a
single author in the Islamic world during this century. Also the fact that
⁄All¯ amah T Ó ihr¯ an¯ ı was so encyclopedic in the scope of his knowledge did
not in any way detract from the depth of his scholarship and understand-
ing. He exemplifies a case of a whole category of Islamic writers going back
to F¯ ar¯ ab¯ ı, Ibn S¯ ın¯ a, and NaÓ s¯ ır al-D¯ ın Ò Tu¯ s¯ ı, for whom extension of
breadth did not mean in any sense the loss of depth.
Aside from its historical and theological significance, the Lubb al-
lub¯ab or Kernel of the Kernel stands by itself as a masterpiece in the field of
spirituality and gnosis. While naturally couched in the language and ter-
minology of the Qur‹¯ an and ÒHad¯ ıth, it conveys a message of a universal
order meant for all human beings. It is a significant work not only because
it makes known in the English language a hitherto unknown current of Is-
lamic esoterism and gnosis. It is significant most of all because it deals with
the deepest metaphysical and spiritual realities, which should attract all
those persons, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, who are in quest of the
spiritual treasures hidden within the inner teachings of revelation that also
lie deep within that primordial human nature which, although now hid-
den and difficult of access to most men, still constitutes the very center of
our being.
—Seyyed Hossein Nasr
 TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION

The text that is presented in the following pages is one of the most impor-
tant books written on Sufism from an Iranian-Sh¯ ı⁄ite point of view in the
twentieth century. In a profound yet simple manner, the Lubb al-Lub¯ab
dar sayr wa sul¯uk-i ulu‹l-alb¯ab (Kernel of the Kernel Concerning the Wayfar-
ing and Spiritual Journey of the People of Intellect) discusses the stages and
processes that an aspiring wayfarer must go through in order to attain spir-
itual realization. In addition, it illustrates the Qur‹¯ anic origins of ⁄irf¯an
(gnosis) as well as its relationship with Sh¯ ı⁄ism. Finally, the book demon-
strates the meaning of the concept of wal¯ayat (Arabic Wal¯ayah) and the
role of the Sh¯ ı⁄ite Im¯ ams in transmitting esoteric knowledge and truths
about tawÓh̄ıd (Divine Unity), their part in the Sh¯ ı⁄ites’ spiritual life, and
the place of the Ahl al-Bayt (Household) of the Blessed Prophet of Islam in
the spiritual journey toward God.
The Lubb al-Lub¯ab is in fact a product of love and the labor of two
¯
scholars. Ayatull¯ ah ⁄All¯ amah Sayyid Muhammad H Ò usayn Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı was
one of the most prominent Iranian ⁄ulam¯a of the twentieth century and a
professor of Islamic philosophy, jurisprudence, ethics, and gnosis in the
madrasahs or seminaries of Qum for over thirty-seven years. He was an
eminent religious scholar, an original thinker, a philosopher, a theosopher,
a poet, a prolific writer, a commentator of the Qur‹¯ an, and an exalted
gnostic of great spiritual realization. His spiritual life as well as his schol-
arly achievements have been studied extensively in Persian and English in
recent years and need no further introduction.1
The Lubb al-Lub¯ab was originally a series of lectures that the
⁄All¯ amah delivered to a select group of his students and disciples in Qum
between 1368 ../1949 and 1369/1950. Ayatull¯ ¯ ah Sayyid Muhammad
HÒ usayn Tihr¯ an¯ ı, who was then twenty-five years old and one of ⁄All¯ amah
Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı’s most brilliant students, took extensive notes while he lec-
tured. A few years before his own death, Tihr¯ an¯ ı, who had also earned the
honorific title of ⁄All¯amah (most learned), compiled, edited, and expanded

xxi
xxii Translator’s Introduction
the series and published it in its present form in Mashhad. The translation
presented here is based on the seventh edition of the book that was pub-
lished in 1417 ../1996 (1375 solar).2
Despite numerous contributions to the field of Islamic studies and
considerable recognition and respect in the scholarly community in Qum
and Mashhad, ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı has remained unknown outside Iran. As
yet, no scholarly account of his life and thought has been produced in any
language, including Persian. Therefore, it is appropriate to present a short
biographical sketch of his life and briefly examine his religious thought
and intellectual orientation.
¯Ayatull¯ ah ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı is related to many prominent Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı-Iran-
ian ⁄ulam¯a of previous centuries by birth and/or marriage, including such
notable scholars as Muhammad B¯ aqir Majl̄ıs¯ ı, Ayatull¯ ¯ ahs M¯ ırz¯ a Muham-
mad Tihr¯ an¯ ı, the author of Mustadrik al-BiÓh¯ar, Muhammad ÓSaliÓh
Kh¯ at¯un¯ ab¯ ad¯ ı, and Sayyid Mahd¯ ı BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um.
According to available biographical information, ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı
was born in Tehran in 1345 ../1925 (1303 solar) and passed away in
Mashhad in 1416 ../1995 (1374 solar). His grandfather, Ayatull¯ ¯ ah HÒ ¯ ajj
¯
Sayyid Ibr¯ ahim had studied in Najaf with Ayatull¯ ah M¯ ırz¯ a H Ò assan Sh¯ ır¯ az¯ ı
(among the ⁄ulam¯a known as M¯ ırz¯a-yi awwal/first M¯ ırz¯ a, d. 1312/1894).
¯
The ⁄All¯ amah’s father, Ayatull¯ ah Sayyid Muhammad ÓS¯ adiq, was a student
of M¯ ırz¯ a Muhammad Taq¯ ı Sh¯ ır¯ az¯ ı (known as M¯ ırz¯a-yi duwwum/second
M¯ ırz¯ a, d. 1339/1920). After completing his education in Samarra, Muham-
mad ÓS¯ adiq returned to Iran and settled in Tehran. Little is written about
Muhammad ÓS¯ adiq’s life and career during the reign of RiÓd¯a Sh¯ ah
(1925–1941). There is much evidence, however, which points to his active
involvement in open oppositional activity against RiÓd¯a Sh¯ ah’s govern-
ment. Several observers, including ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı himself, testify that
like many other members of the clergy, Ayatull¯ ¯ ah Muhammad ÓS¯ adiq
strongly opposed secularization and Westernization of Iran. He was par-
ticularly active in organizing and leading the government’s opponents in
Tehran against the law for unifiormity of dress introduced in December
1928/1307 (solar), and the law for the abolition of women’s veil promul-
gated in 1935/1314 (solar). As a result of these activities Muhammad ÓS¯ adiq
was arrested and imprisoned several times. Despite the government’s at-
tempt to discredit him, he survived and remained one of the top-ranking
and most respected mujtahids of Tehran in the early and middle decades
of the twentieth century.3
 Translator’s Introduction xxiii
Unlike his father, the young Muhammad H Ò usayn did not receive his
early religious education in the theological schools of Qum or Tehran. He
studied with his father at home until he became well versed in the Islamic
sciences. He also received a modern education during the 1930s and 1940s
in Tehran. After completing elementary school and three years of second-
ary school he entered the German Technical School in Tehran, and in
1942, graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. It was only then
in  .. ⁄  (solar 1322) that Muhammad H Ò usayn entered the
ÓHawzah ⁄Ilm¯ ıyah of Qum and joined the circle of students of ⁄All¯ amah
Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı. For the next seven years, the young Muhammad H Ò usayn
studied in Qum receiving instruction from Shaykh MurtaÓd¯a H¯ a‹ir̄ı Yazd¯ ı,
and Sayyid Muhammad D¯ am¯ ad, in addition to ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı.
After seven years of studying with the ⁄All¯ amah, Tihr¯ an¯ ı reached the rank
of mujtahid and decided to go to Najaf to continue his education. Tihr¯ an¯ ı
stayed in Najaf for seven years, during which time he studied with
¯
Ayatull¯ ahs Aq¯¯ a Buzurg Tihr¯ an¯ ı, Sayyid MaÓhm¯ud Sh¯ ahr¯ud¯ ı, Sayyid Abul-
Q¯ asim Khu‹¯ ı, Shaykh H Ò usayn H
Ò ill̄ı, and several other scholars.4
Several scholars and gnostics played important roles in ⁄All¯ amah
Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s spiritual life. As Tihr¯ an¯ ı himself has stated, his first teacher and
spiritual guide was ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, who initiated Tihr¯ an¯ ı into gnosis
(⁄irf¯an), took him under his spiritual guidance, and closely supervised his
wayfaring and spiritual advancement while he was studying in Qum. Until
the end of his life, Tihr¯ an¯ ı constantly admired Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı and acknowl-
edged his role in his intellectual and spiritual achievements. Thus, when
Tihr¯ an¯ ı left Qum for Najaf, he had already started wayfaring and pursuing
an active spiritual life.5
During the years in Najaf, as ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı had instructed
him, Tihr¯ an¯ ı was to seek guidance in spiritual matters only from Ayatull¯ ¯ ah
⁄Abb¯ as Q¯uch¯ an¯ ı and whomever he deemed appropriate. Ayatull¯ ah ¯
Q¯uch¯ an¯ ı taught Tihr¯ an¯ ı further details and theoretical principles (zaw¯ahir)
¯
of the doctrine. In 1376 ../1957 (solar 1336) Tihr¯ an¯ ı met the most emi-
nent spiritual master in Karbal¯ a‹, namely, H Ò ¯ ajj Sayyid H¯ ashim H Ò add¯ ad (d.
1984), an incident that changed Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s soul and destiny.
⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı states that he had heard H Ò ¯ ajj Sayyid H¯ ashim
H
Ò add¯ ad’s name from ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı who always spoke of him with
respect and admiration. When he went to Najaf and visited Ayatull¯ ¯ ah
Shaykh ⁄Abb¯ as Q¯uch¯ an¯ ı, Tihr¯ an¯ ı inquired about H Ò ¯ ajj Sayyid H¯ ashim and
found out that he lived in Karbal¯ a‹. A mysterious yearning to meet Sayyid
xxiv Translator’s Introduction
H¯ ashim finally led Tihr¯ an¯ ı to make a pilgrimage to Karbal¯ a‹. In that same
year he met the great master. The young Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s soul was totally captured
by the spiritual eminence and charisma of Sayyid H¯ ashim H Ò add¯ ad.6
Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s acquaintance with Sayyid H¯ ashim H
Ò add¯ ad had a profound
impact on his scholarly and spiritual life. From his first meeting with
H
Ò add¯ ad, the young Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s soul was greatly transformed. In H Ò add¯ ad,
Tihr¯ an¯ ı found a sincere Muslim, and a great spiritual master and guide
who had passed from the realm of multiplicity and was completely annihi-
lated in Divine Unity (tawÓh̄ıd):

. . . Sayyid H¯ ashim HÒ add¯ ad was so absorbed in Divine Unity

(tawÓh̄ıd) that words cannot describe his station and his personal-
ity. He was beyond description and comprehension. He was one
of the most powerful figures in spiritual journeying who had
passed beyond the realm of angels (malak¯ut), had reached the
realm of Divine Names (l¯ah¯ut) and Divine Invincibility (jabar¯ut)
and had been totally annihilated in the Divine Essence.7

One can hardly exaggerate the impact that H Ò add¯ ad had on Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s
spiritual life. In R¯uÓh-i mujarrad, Tihr¯ an¯ ı has described in detail HÒ add¯ ad’s
spiritual station and the way he trained his disciples in spiritual matters.
Suffice it to mention that after acquaintance with H Ò add¯ ad until the mas-
ter’s death, Tihr¯ an¯ ı made considerable advancement on the path, to such
an extent that H Ò add¯ ad honored Tihr¯ an¯ ı by granting him the title of
“Sayyid al-ÒTa¯ i‹fatayn,” Master of two peoples (i.e., scholars and gnostics).8
After seven years studying in Najaf and benefiting from Sayyid
H¯ ashim H Ò add¯ ad’s presence and instructions, the master advised him to go
back to Tehran. Despite his own desire, Tihr¯ an¯ ı reluctantly returned to
Iran and began his career as teacher, prayer leader, and orator in the Q¯ a‹im
mosque in Tehran. In the meantime, by H Ò add¯ ad’s recommendation,
Tihr¯ an¯ ı took spiritual guidance from Shaykh Muhammad Jaw¯ ad AnÓ s¯ar̄ı,
another prominent master who lived in the city of Hamad¯ an in western
Iran.9 For the next twenty-two years, Tihr¯ an¯ ı visited Najaf and other shrine
cities in Iraq regularly and greatly benefited from association with H Ò ¯ ajj
Sayyid H¯ ashim H Ò add¯ ad. At the same time, he devoted most of his time and
effort to preaching and spreading the principles of traditional Isl¯ am as well
as teaching and training students who came to him from different parts of
the country. In his public sermons, which were very popular, Tihr¯ an¯ ı dealt
 Translator’s Introduction xxv
with purely religious issues as well as sociopolitical questions. Some of
these speeches were published later in Tehran or Mashhad.9
Sayyid Muhammad H Ò usayn H
Ò usayn¯ ı was a traditional scholar in the
true sense of the term, and highly respected in scholarly and religious cir-
cles in Tehran, Qum and Mashhad. Like his teacher and mentor, ⁄All¯ amah
Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, Tihr¯ an¯ ı can be considered a student of the school of MuÓhy¯ ı al-
D¯ ın ibn al-⁄Arab¯ ı, while at the same time being greatly influenced and in-
spired by the ideas and writings of ÓSadr al-D¯ ın Sh¯ ır¯ az¯ ı (Mull¯ a ÓSadr¯ a). He
admired and respected Iranian philosophers of previous centuries, partic-
ularly such thinkers as Ab¯u RayÓh¯ an B¯ ır¯un¯ ı, Ibn S¯ ın¯ a, NaÓ s¯ ır al-D¯ ın Ò Tu¯ s¯ ı,
and Mull¯ a MuÓhsin FayÓd K¯ ash¯ an¯ ı. Frequently in his writings, Tihr¯ an¯ ı re-
ferred to these thinkers and philosophers. In addition, he used verses from
the Qur‹¯ an extensively. Like ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, he uses the same tech-
nique of commenting on and interpreting each verse with the help of
other verses. As Thir¯ an¯ ı states, this approach is based on certain aÓh¯ad¯ ıth of
the Prophet and raw¯ay¯at (narrations) of the Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı Im¯ ams, as well as on the
Nahj al-Bal¯aghah of Im¯ am ⁄Al̄ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib:
Ò
' É°†
k r©nH o¬°†
o r©nH oô°ùns Øoj n¿BGrôo≤rdG s¿GE '
“Verily, some verses of the Qur‹¯ an interpret and comment on
some others.”
and,
¬o °† o p£ær jn hn ,p¬pH n¿ƒ©o ªn °ùnr Jhn p¬pH n¿ƒo≤p£ær nJhn ,p¬pH n¿hôo °ü
o ©r Hn ≥ p Ñr oJ p¬q∏dG Ü
o Éàn pc'
o pdÉî
∞ n jo ’hn ,¬q∏dG »pa ∞
o p∏àn î
r jn ’ ;m ¢†©r Hn ≈n∏Yn ¬o °†
o ©r Hn óo ¡n °ûr jn ,m ¢†©r Ñn pH
' .p¬q∏dGp ønY p¬pÑpMÉ°üp
n H
The Book of All¯ ah is the one by which you can see the Truth, say
the Truth and hear the Truth. Some of its verses interpret other
verses, some are witness and reason for others. The Qur‹¯ an con-
tains no contradictions in the affairs of All¯ ah and does not sepa-
rate from All¯ ah whoever adheres to its injunctions.10
Another feature of Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s writings is his dealing with social, politi-
cal, historical, moral, and philosophical issues, in addition to purely reli-
gious and metaphysical ones. In his writings, he addresses many questions
xxvi Translator’s Introduction
facing contemporary Muslim society and provides appropriate Islamic
solutions.11
¯
Like ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, Ayatull¯ ah Tihr¯ an¯ ı devoted his life to schol-
arship as well as spiritual journeying and wayfaring. He wrote on meta-
physics and a variety of Islamic subjects and expanded greatly our scope of
understanding the relationship between Sh¯ ı⁄ism and Sufism. His writings
are characterized by their lucidity, originality and depth, and are indicative
of his mastery of the Qur‹¯ an, Sh¯ ı⁄ism, Sufism, and Persian and Arabıc lit-
erature. His spiritual orientation and his esoteric ideas were particularly in-
fluenced by teachings and instructions given to him by H¯ ashim H Ò add¯ ad,
as well as ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı and Muhammad Jaw¯ ad AnÓ s¯ar̄ı. Like them,
he admired MuÓhȳı al-D¯ ın Ibn al-⁄Arab̄ı, Shaykh MaÓhm¯ud Shabastar̄ı,
Mawl¯ an¯ a Jal¯ al al-D¯ ın R¯um¯ ı, HÒ ¯ afiÔz, and Ibn al-F¯ ariÓd. His devotion to these
Sufi poets and thinkers is well reflected in his writings where he frequently
presents relevant examples from their works. However, he was more out-
spoken than his teachers in criticizing the opponents of Sufism.
¯Ayatull¯ ah H Ò usayn¯ ı Tihr¯ an¯ ı was a teacher, eloquent speaker, and pro-
lific writer. He wrote, edited, and translated numerous works on different
aspects of Isl¯ am, Sh¯ ı⁄ism, Sufism, eschatology and other related subjects.
Like his teacher, Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s contributions to Islamic studies and gnosis
earned him the honorable title of ⁄All¯amah while he was still alive. Not
only do these writings reflect the depth of his knowledge and mastery of
philosophy, jurisprudence, theosophy, Sh¯ ı⁄ism and the holy Qur‹¯ an, they
are also indicative of the purity of his heart, faith, sincerity and genuine
yearning for knowledge and truth.
Another aspect of ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s life that has not been examined
to this day is his interest in politics and his participation in political activ-
ity during the two decades that preceded the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
The nature and details of Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s political activities before, during, and
after the Islamic Revolution are important issues that cannot be dealt with
here and must be studied separately. The available information suggests
that despite his preoccupation with preaching, teaching and writing,
Tihr¯ an¯ ı had turned his mosque into an active center of opposition against
the Sh¯ ah’s government before the revolution; and a center for mass mobi-
lization and political education after the establishment of the Islamic Re-
public. In one of his publications, Tihr¯ an¯ ı reports how he organized cer-
tain members of the clergy into small groups and defied the Sh¯ ah’s
government and its reforms in the early 1960s, how he urged Ayatull¯ ¯ ah
 Translator’s Introduction xxvii
R¯uÓhull¯ ah Khomein¯ ı to issue declarations against the government and
formed networks for their distribution, and how he met or communicated
¯
with Ayatull¯ ah Khomein¯ ı and advised him on taking positions on different
occasions. Of particular interest is Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s discussion of the events of 15
Khordad, 1342/June 5, 1963 and his activities in support of Khomein¯ ı.
When Khomein¯ ı was arrested by government forces and the rumors of his
upcoming execution spread, Tihr¯ an¯ ı maintains that he met many promi-
nent ⁄ulam¯a of Qum and wrote to others in cities throughout Iran asking
them to declare that Khomein¯ ı was an Ayatull¯ ¯ ah and one of the country’s
sources of emulation (marja⁄-i taql¯ ıd), and therefore, his execution was not
permissible according to the Constitution of 1905. As a result, instead of
execution, Ayatull¯¯ ah Khomein¯ ı was sent to exile first to Turkey and then to
Iraq. After the victory of the revolution, Tihr¯ an¯ ı states, he met with Ayat- ¯
ull¯ ah Khomein¯ ı several times and presented the outline of a twenty-point
program for consolidation of the new regime including the establishment
of a new military force and suggestions to modify the new constitution.12
Despite his interest in politics, before the revolution Tihr¯ an¯ ı concen-
trated most of his time and energy on an extensive cultural campaign for
purification of Isl¯ am and Sh¯ ı⁄ism from beliefs and practices he considered
corrupt and non-Islamic. Concomitantly, he devoted himself to teaching,
studying and practicing ⁄irf¯an in a serious but quiet manner. We know that
in the late 1960s and the 1970s, when ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı conducted a
class for a select group of his students in Tehran, the young Tihr¯ an¯ ı, along
with the late Ayatull¯¯ ah MurtaÓd¯a MuÓ tahhar̄ı and professors Henry Corbin
and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, attended those sessions and benefited from
⁄All¯ amah’s knowledge and presence. During those sessions, important reli-
gious and intellectual questions on Islam in general, and Sh¯ ı⁄ism and Su-
fism in particular, were discussed, and Professor Nasr acted as the main
translator and interpreter.13 After the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the
establishment of the Islamic Republic, Tihr¯ an¯ ı settled in Mashhad where
he devoted his time to teaching, writing and spiritual wayfaring. Many
more students and aspirants of ⁄irf¯an gathered around Tihr¯ an¯ ı, benefited
from his scholarship and received spiritual guidance from him until he
passed away in 1416 .. /1995.14
As was mentioned before, ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı was initiated into the Di-
vine mysteries while he was still fairly young. In Lubb al-Lub¯ ab, ⁄All¯ amah
Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı discusses the doctrine and the method of the tÓ ar¯ ıqah (order)
they both followed. In this order equal emphasis is placed on exoteric and
xxviii Translator’s Introduction
esoteric aspects of Isl¯ am as well as on love and devotion to the Ahl al-Bayt
of the Blessed Prophet (may peace and blessing be upon them). In Lubb al-
Lub¯ab, Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı details these ideas and goes so far as to say that the sta-
tion of the Universal Man (al-ins¯an al-k¯amil) can be fully attained only by
the Im¯am, the status of the Im¯am in Sh¯ ı⁄ism being identical to that of the
QuÓ tb or Spiritual Pole in Sufism, whose existence in the world is always
necessary and indispensable.
⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı was a man of great piety and noble character. His
presence is still felt strongly in the intellectual and spiritual circles in
Mashhad several years after his departure from this world. Three years be-
fore his death in 1995 and with the support of his students and disciples,
the ⁄All¯ amah established in Mashhad the Foundation for Translation and
Publication of the Collection on Islamic Sciences and Culture (mu’assasa-
yi tarjumah wa nashr-i dawra-yi ⁄ul¯um wa ma⁄¯arif-i isl¯am). He appointed
some of his trusted students to manage and supervise the publication of
his writings and the translation of some of those works into other lan-
guages. Most of the writings of the ⁄All¯ amah had been published by H Ò ik-
mat Publication Company while he was still alive. When he passed away,
the Foundation took over this arduous task. To this date, the Foundation
has published most of the writings of the ⁄All¯ amah in Persian. Many of his
works have also been translated into Arabıc and published by D¯ar al-
muÓhajjah al-bayÓd¯a in Beirut, Lebanon.15 The Lubb al-Lub¯ab is the first in
the series to be translated in its entirety into English. The comprehensive
list of Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s publications will be presented in the coming pages. How-
ever, three of his publications, which he wrote on the Nature of God,
Imamology and Eschatology are of particular interest and deserve special at-
tention here.
¯
All¯ah Shin¯as̄ı is a collection of speeches that the Ayatull¯ ah gave in
Mashhad. It starts with a commentary on the verses thirty-five through
sixty-four of chapter twenty-four of the Qur‹¯ an (s¯urat al-N¯ur). In this col-
lection, he discusses some of the most profound metaphysical issues such as
the Unity (tawÓh̄ıd) of the Divine Names, the Attributes, and the Essence;
the descent of Divine Light in the manifestations of existence (wuj¯ud), the
reality of wal¯ayat, the question of unity with the Divine, the meaning of l¯a
huwa ill¯a huwa (there is no he but He), and other related questions.
Im¯am Shin¯as̄ı is an encyclopedic work in eighteen volumes based on
the Qur‹¯ an and the ÒHad¯ ıth that addresses the question of the Im¯amate
from historical, social, philosophical, and esoteric points of view, and the
 Translator’s Introduction xxix
im¯amate of Im¯ am ⁄Al̄ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib in particular. Important and often
controversial issues such as the necessity for the presence of an infallible
and living Im¯am, Prophetic traditions concerning the question of wal¯ayat,
the Ghad¯ ır-i Khumm incident and the Farewell Pilgrimage of the Prophet
(Óhajjat al-wid¯a ⁄), the development of Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı sciences and the role of Im¯ am
ÓS¯ adiq (may peace be upon him) and other issues of similar nature are dis-
cussed in this collection.
Ma⁄¯ad Shin¯as̄ı is another comprehensive work in ten volumes deal-
ing with eschatology from the point of view of the Sh¯ ı⁄ites. In this collec-
tion, ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı deals with such questions as the intermediate world
(⁄¯alam-i barzakh), the creation of Angels and their duties, life after death,
and finally, resurrection and the day of judgment. Like his other works,
this collection is also predominantly based on the Holy Qur‹¯ an, ÒHad¯ ıth,
and raw¯ay¯at of the Sh¯ ı⁄ite Im¯ ams.
¯
Other important books that Ayatull¯ ah HÒ usayni Tihr¯ an¯ ı wrote and
have been published by the Foundation include the following:

1. Had¯ ıya-yi Ghad¯ ır¯ ıyah (The Ghad¯ ır¯ ıyah Present)
2. Lama⁄¯at al-ÒHusayn (Divine Flashes of [Im¯ am] H Ò usayn)
3. Lubb al-Lub¯ab dar sayr wa sul¯uk-i ulu‹l-alb¯ab (Kernel of the Kernel
Concerning the Wayfaring and Spiritual Journey of the People of
Intellect)
4. Mihr-i T¯ab¯an (Shining Sun: A Biography of ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı)
5. N¯ami-yi p¯ ısh niw¯ ıs-i q¯an¯un-i as¯as̄ı (Introduction to the First Draft of
the Constitution [of Iran])
6. Nigarish¯ ı bar maq¯ala-yi basÓt wa qabÓd-i tur¯ ık-i shar¯ ı ⁄at bih qalam-i
ductur ⁄Abd al-Kar¯ ım Sur¯ush (An Examination of the Essay by Dr.
⁄Abdulkarim Surush on the Theoretical Expansion and Contraction
in the Shar̄ı⁄ah)
7. N¯ur-i malak¯ut-i Qur‹¯an (The Angelic Light of the Qur‹¯ an) [in 4 vol-
umes]
8. Ris¯ala-yi bad¯ ı ⁄ah (The Original Treatise) [in Arabic]
9. Ris¯alah hÓ awl-i mas‹ala-yi ru‹yat-i hil¯al (Treatise on Seeing the Moon)
10. Ris¯ala-yi nik¯aÓh̄ıyah (Treatise on Marriage)
11. Ris¯ala-yi nuw¯ ın (The New Treatise)
12. Ris¯ala-yi sayr wa sul¯uk (Treatise on Wayfaring and Spiritual Journey
Attributed to Sayyid Mahd¯ ı BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um) [edited with an intro-
duction and comments]
xxx Translator’s Introduction
13. R¯uÓh-i Mujarrad (The Detached Soul)
14. TawÓh̄ıd-i ⁄ilm¯ ı wa ⁄ayn¯ ı (Objective and Intellectual TawÓh¯ıd)
15. Wal¯ayat-i faq¯ ıh dar Óhuk¯umat-i isl¯am (The Rule of Juristconsult in the
Islamic Government)
16. Wa z¯ ıfa-yi fard-i musalm¯an dar iÓhy¯a‹-i Óhuk¯umat-i isl¯am (The Duty of
¯
Individual Muslims in Reviving Islamic Government)

Sections of Lubb al-Lub¯ab, as well as selected parts of R¯uÓh-i Mujar-

rad, were previously rendered into English by Mr. ⁄Al̄ı Qul̄ı Qar¯ a‹¯ ı and
appeared in TawÓh̄ıd, a quarterly journal that was once published in the
city of Qum, though its publication has ceased for some time. I consulted
Mr. Qar¯ a‹¯ ı’s translation from time to time. I would like to express my sin-
cere appreciation to him for sharing his wisdom with me. The present
translation is the first scholarly and complete translation of Lubb al-
Lub¯ab with explanatory notes for specialist and non-specialist readers
alike.
The present translation owes its completion to several scholars and
friends. To Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr I am eternally indebted for his
friendship and guidance that spans over many years. I am especially grate-
ful to him for suggesting this book for translation and generously provid-
ing perceptive comments and advice and kindly writing a preface, despite
his extremely busy schedule. Special thanks are due to three anonymous
scholars who evaluated the manuscript for the State University of New
York Press and recommended its publication. I am indebted to them for
their perceptive comments and suggestions, which greatly improved the
quality of the final translation. I would like also to thank several friends,
including Arin McNamara, Joseph Lumbard, David Dakake, and Law-
rence Meehan, who read an earlier version of the manuscript and provided
excellent editorial comments and suggestions; and to Ms. Nancy Ellegate
and Mrs. Dana Foote of SUNY Press for their patience, support and hard
work in the process of publication of this book. I am very grateful to the
Foundation for Translation and Publication of the Collection on Islamic
Sciences and Civilization (mu‹assasa-yi tarjumah wa nashr-i dawrah-i
⁄ul¯um wa ma ⁄¯arif-i isl¯am) in Mashhad, Iran, for granting permission to me
to translate this book into English.
Last but not least, I am particularly indebted to my children Parand
and Am¯ ırpooy¯ an, and to my wife Sarah for creating an island of stability
at home, enabling and always encouraging me to pursue my scholarly
 Translator’s Introduction xxxi
work despite her own professional commitments and other responsibili-
ties. Words cannot describe my appreciation of her angelic qualities of
purity, sincerity, dedication, and patience throughout the last thirty-two
years of our life together, and in the process of preparation of this work.
It is to her, to my mother, and to the memory of my father who was a
pure-hearted wayfarer in the path of ⁄irf¯an for over seventy years that this
work is dedicated.
In the process of preparing this manuscript, it was proved time and
again that the saving grace of the wil¯ayat of the Ahl al-Bayt of the Blessed
Prophet has no limits and knows no boundaries or distance. Ever since I
started this project, I have been showered with special blessings from the
sacred grace and barakah of Im¯ am ⁄Al̄ı ibn M¯u s¯ a al-RiÓd¯a, may peace be
upon him, despite being some ten thousand miles away from his sacred
precinct in Mashhad.16
In translating technical terms and phrases I have benefited greatly
from previous works on Sufism, particularly books by R. A. Nicholson,
A. J. Arberry, T. Izutsu, A. M. Schimmel, F. Schuon, T. Burckhardt,
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Martin Lings, Mehdi H¯ a’iri, William Chittick,
Sachiko Murata, and many other scholars. I have also supplied explanatory
notes and references for technical terms taken from the Qur‹¯ an and
Óhad¯ ıth. Qur‹¯ anic verses have been translated in consultation with the
translation of the Holy Book by Marmaduke Pickthall. For AÓh¯ad¯ ıth and
raw¯ay¯at, I have supplied translation after consultation and exchange of
ideas with other colleagues and friends. Needless to say, none of the above
individuals are responsible for any errors or shortcomings in the transla-
tion of the text and technical terms. The responsibility for any such mis-
takes is solely my own. It is sincerely hoped that this humble contribution
will open new doors and help our readers to understand the relationship
between Isl¯ am, Sh¯ ı⁄ism and Sufism, particularly at a time when both are
greatly misrepresented by pseudo-Sufis and pseudo-Sh¯ ı⁄ites and misunder-
stood by so many lay readers in the Muslim world and in the West. bi
mannih̄ı wa karamih̄ı.

Notes
¯
1. For a brief description of Ayatull¯ ah Muhammad ÓS¯ adiq Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s activ-
ities against RiÓd¯a Sh¯ ah’s government, see ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı, Wa z¯ ıfa-yi
¯
xxxii Translator’s Introduction
fard-i musalm¯an dar iÓhy¯a-‹yi Óhuk¯umat-i isl¯am, compiled and edited by
MuÓhsin Sa¯ ı⁄¯ ıdi¯ an (Tihran), 1410 .. /1989. For an account of the
⁄ulam¯ a’s reaction to RiÓd¯a Shah’s government and his policies, see
Mohammad H. Faghfoory, “Ulama-State Relations in Iran: 1921–
1941,” in International Journal of Middle East Studies, 19 (November
1987):413–432; and “The Impact of Modernization on the Ulama in
Iran: 1925–1941,” in Journal of Iranian Studies, 26:3–4 (Summer–Fall
1993):277–312.
2. For a short biography of ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı in English, see Seyyed
Hossein Nasr’s introduction to Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı’s Sh¯ ı ⁄ite Isl¯am, translated
from the Persian (Albany: State University of New York Press), 1975.
For his biography in Persian, see ⁄All¯ amah Muhammad H Ò usayn
Ò usayni Tihr¯ an¯ ı, Mihr-i T¯ab¯an (Mashhad, Iran: University of Mash-
H
had Press), .. 1417/1996.
3. Mu’assasa-yi Tarjumah wa Nashr, “Notes on the Life and Career of
⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı.’’
4. Ibid.
5. See Mihr-i T¯ab¯an, pp. 23 and 45–48.
6. For a comprehensive biography of H Ò ¯ ajj Sayyid H¯ ashim H Ò add¯ ad
and his role in the ⁄All¯ amah’s spiritual life, see R¯uÓh-i Mujarrad
(Tehran: Intish¯ ar¯ at-i H Ò ikmat), 1414 .. /1995. This book contains
useful information on important contemporary ⁄ulam¯a of Qum and
¯
Najaf, including Ayatull¯ ahs H ¯ a Q¯ aÓd¯ ı, Muhammad
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı Aq¯
Jaw¯ ad AnÓ s¯ar̄ı, and many others with whom the ⁄All¯ amah had studied
or associated.
7. R¯uÓh-i Mujarrad, pp. 22. See also Mu’assasa-yi Tarjumah wa Nashr, op.
cit.
8. R¯uÓh-i Mujarrad, p. 23, and 33–37. Also see Mu’assasa-yi Tarjumah wa
Nashr.
9. See, for example, N¯ur-i malak¯ut-i Qur‹¯an (Tehran, 1410–1417 .. /
1990–1996; Ris¯ala-yi bad¯ ı ⁄ah (Mashhad, 1418 .. /1997), K¯ahish-i
Jam⁄¯ ıyat: ÒDarba-yi sahmg¯ ın bar Paykar-i Muslim¯ ın (Tehran, 1415 ..
/1994), and Nigarish̄ı bar maq¯ala-yi basÓt wa qabÓd-i tur¯ ık-i shar¯ ı ⁄at bih
qalam-i ductur ⁄Abd al-Kar¯ ım Sur¯ush (Tehran, 1415 .. /1994).
10. Im¯ am ⁄Al̄ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib, Nahj al-Bal¯aghah, discourse #133, p. 414
(Tehran, 1351, Lunar/1972).
11. See, in particular, N¯ur-i malak¯ut-i Qur‹¯an, Ris¯ala-yi bad¯ ı ⁄ah, Nigarish̄ı
bar maq¯alah . . . , Wa z¯ ıfa-yi fard-i musalm¯an. op. cit.
¯
 Translator’s Introduction xxxiii
13. See Mihr-i T¯ab¯an, pp. 61–78; and Nasr, “Introduction,” op. cit. p. 24.
14. Mu’assasa-yi Tarjumah wa Nashr, op. cit.
15. Ibid.
16. Of all the Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı Im¯ ams, only the shrine of the eighth Im¯ am, ⁄Al̄ı ibn
M¯u s¯ a al-RiÓd¯a, is located in Iran in the city of Mashhad. The holy
shrine of the first Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı Im¯ am, ⁄Al̄ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib, is in Najaf, and that
of the third Im¯ am, H Ò usayn ibn ⁄Al̄ı, is located in the city of Karbal¯ a‹ in
Iraq.
 1

Editor’s Introduction
The Straight Path Is One Which Combines
the Exoteric and the Esoteric

In the Name of All¯ah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

May All¯ ah’s most exalted blessings be upon the immaculate spirit of the
Seal of prophets, Muhammad al-MuÓ sÓtaf¯ a, and his noble deputy and spiri-
tual heir (waÓ s̄ı) and possessor of the greatest sanctity (wil¯ayah), ⁄Al̄ı al-
MurtaÓd¯a, and his glorious descendants, the Pure Im¯ ams—especially the
Pole of the contingent realm, the baqiyyat ‹all¯ah, and His Proof (Óhujjah),
son of al-ÒHasan al-⁄Askar̄ı—may our souls be sacrificed for him.
The love of religion, the attraction toward the realm of the Invisible
(ghayb), and the yearning to discover the mysteries of the world beyond
matter are part of man’s instinct and inherent in his nature. This yearning
emanates from the power of Divine Attraction of the Lord that pulls the
contingent world, especially the noblest of human beings, toward His
boundless and Infinite station. The magnet that draws the soul is that very
Soul of souls, which is interpreted in various terms as the Beloved (j¯an¯an),
the Reality of all realities (Óhaq¯ ıqat al-haq¯a‹iq), the Eternal Principle (aÓ sl-i
qad¯ ım), the Source of Beauty (manba⁄-i jam¯al), the Beginning of Being
(mabda’ al-wuj¯ud), and the Ultimate of Perfection (gh¯ayat al-kam¯al).
j g y

l pWÉæn r¨en p܃o∏o≤r∏pd ƒn go ø

¢ù« n rfCGhn lIQn ÉÑn pY π
r en Éjn ≈æn ©r ªn rdG â t oµdG
The universe is expression and Thou art its meaning,
O, Thou! Who art the magnet of the hearts.1

1
2 Editor’s Introduction
This magnetic attraction to the Truth, which results in tearing apart
natural boundaries and limitations of the soul and traversing toward the
realm of catharsis and boundlessness and, ultimately, annihilation in the
Act, Names, Attributes, and Sacred Essence of [All¯ ah who is] the Origin of
all origins, the Ultimate Goal of all goals, and the Worshiped One in
whose Subsistence all being subsists; is more exalted and more magnificent
than any act that can come to imagination.

p ø«r n∏n≤sãdG nIOn ÉÑn pY …pRGƒon Jp øªn M

r ôs dG päÉHn nòL r pe láHn ròL
n ø n
A single attraction from God, the Most Compassionate, out-
balances the worship of all men and jinn.

In the center of his innate nature and essence, man finds a desire to
move toward this cynosure of all quests and the pivot (qiblah) of worship.
With the God-given power of instinct and primordial nature, man sets out
on a journey and with all his being goes toward that direction. Therefore,
in the course of the journey all his bodily organs and his total being must
be put to work to perform their functions. The physical world and corpo-
real faculties, which constitute his physical nature (Ótab⁄), the imaginal and
archetypal world that constitute his intermediate world (barzakh), and the
realm of intellect and spirit that constitute his reality, all must participate
in this journey and collaborate with each other.
The body should turn toward the Ka⁄bah, and set itself to stand [be-
fore God], bowing and prostrating, and performing the daily prayer
(Ósal¯at), the mind must keep itself immune from distracting memories and
turn to [and concentrate on] the Lote Tree (sidrat al-muntah¯a).2 The soul
must be immersed in the light of the abode of Divine Sanctuary, and be-
come intoxicated and annihilated in the Sacred Precinct of the One.
It becomes clear from the above discussion how cut off from the Real
Goal and how far away from witnessing His Beauty are those people who
preoccupy themselves solely with the outward, are satisfied with the crust
rather than with the kernel and the essence, and from among all prayers
and good deeds confine themselves to bodily movements. By the same
token, those who are solely in search of inner meaning and evade observ-
ing the blessed rituals and rites of worship as prescribed by the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah,
are far from the reality. They [are the ones who] have been content with
 Editor’s Introduction 3
derivatives and metaphors (maj¯az) instead of the truth, and with imagina-
tion and illusion rather than reality.
Is it not true that the light of God is immanent in all His manifesta-
tions in the realm of contingency? If so, why should we exclude the body
from worship, close this microcosm to the theophany of Divine Light, and
preoccupy ourselves and be content with such terms as “union” (wuÓ s¯ul),
“kernel” (lubb), “essence” (dh¯at), and “inward prayer”? Would that not be
a one-dimensional and one-sided worship?
As to the middle position (al-namaÓt al-awsaÓt ) and the median com-
munity (ummatan wasaÓtan)3 they are those groups of people who have
combined the outward (z¯ahir) and the inward (b¯atÓ in) within themselves,
¯
have made all levels and planes of their being worship the Beloved and
submit to Him, and have prepared themselves adequately for this heavenly
journey. They have made the outward a reflection of the inward, and the
inward the soul and the reality of the outward, and have blended the two
together as milk and sugar. They consider the outward as a means to reach
the inward and regard the inward devoid of the outward as scattered motes
(haba’an manth¯ur¯a).4 (Holy Qur‹¯ an, 25:23).

,n∂pànapôr©nªpH »pÑr∏nbhn ,n∂pàsÑnënªpH »pæpWÉnHhn ,n∂pànYÉ n£pH …ôpgÉ nX rQƒnu f sºo¡s∏dnG

,
GnP Énj ,n∂pJnô°†r nM p ∫É°üun JG p ∫nÓr≤pà°SÉp
r H …uô°Shn ,n∂pJnóngÉ°ûn oªpH »pMhoQhn
E Ghn p ∫nÓé
.p ΩGôn rc’ n rd
O God, illuminate my outward with [the light of ] obedience
to Thee and my inner being with Thy Love, my heart with
knowledge of Thee, my spirit with Thy vision, and my inmost
consciousness (sirr) with the independence of attachment to
Thy Threshold, O Lord of Majesty and Munificence.5

The above discussion makes it abundantly clear that in order to

guide the soul toward spiritual perfection and traverse through the phases
and stages of human perfection, reliance on acquiring intellectual and con-
templative sacred sciences, such as teaching and/or learning philosophy,
will not be sufficient at all. Although syllogism (qiy¯as) and rational reason-
ing (burh¯an) based on valid premises and sound logic can offer the mind
4 Editor’s Introduction
convincing conclusions, nonetheless, they do not satisfy the heart and the
soul, and cannot quench the spirit’s thirst for attaining the truths and wit-
nessing the intuitive subtleties.
It is true that the sciences of theosophy and philosophy are genuine
and indubitable sciences, constitute the noblest of all intellectual and con-
templative sciences, and have established the idea of the Divine Unity
(tawÓh̄ıd) on the basis of reason and have closed the door to any kind of
doubt or uncertainty. It is also true that the Glorious Qur‹¯ an as well as
many traditions of the Immaculate Sh¯ ı⁄ite Im¯ ams—who are guardians and
protectors of Revelation and prophethood, and steadfast in knowledge and
religion (r¯asikh¯un fi‹l ⁄ilm)—emphasized and prescribed contemplation,
intellection, logic, reason, and rational argumentation.6 However, it is a fu-
tile attempt to rely solely on the rational and philosophical [approach to]
tawÓh̄ıd, as followers of the rationalist school do, without submission of the
heart, the inmost consciousness (wijd¯an-i Ódam¯ ır), and to inward witness-
ing (shuh¯ud-i b¯atÓ in).
To deprive the heart and the inward of spiritual nourishment ema-
nating from the Invisible World, and of Divine rays of Heavenly Beauty
and Majesty, and to content oneself to cruise through books, libraries,
schools, and courses of study or teaching even at the highest level amounts
to satisfying the needs of only one faculty and leaving higher faculties un-
nurtured. The Distinguished Religion, which is based on the straight path,
observes both aspects, brings perfection to all faculties, and actualizes the
hidden potentials and capabilities of the human being in both directions.
On the one hand, it encourages intellection and contemplation, and on
the other hand, commands one to cleanse and purify the heart from con-
tamination of carnal desires, so that one can find peace, serenity, and tran-
quillity in one’s heart. As the Holy Qur‹¯ an declares after reciting eleven
majestic oaths:

É¡n «°Ss On ø
r en Ü n ór nbhn É¡n «scnR ø
n ÉN r en í
n n∏raCG ób

Whoever purifies it finds deliverance,

whoever corrupts it loses. (91:9–10)

These Qur‹¯ anic verses, which address the human soul and speak to
man’s inner self, summon individuals from among thinkers, scholars,
 Editor’s Introduction 5
teachers of philosophy, and masters of intellectual reasoning to servitude
(ta⁄abbud), attentive regard (mur¯aqabah), and accounting of one’s inward
state (muÓh¯asabah); so that, by sincere acts exclusively for God’s pleasure,
the springs of Divine Knowledge may spout forth from the depth of their
hearts and flow out to their tongues; and eventually the thundering flow of
thoughts, inspirations, and Merciful Divine intuition will gush forth from
the center of their being, as the Prophet stated:
g
≈ndEG p¬pÑr∏nb ø
r pe páªn rµpërdG ™o «pHÉæn jn ä
r ôn ¡n nX kÉMÉÑn °U n p©Hn Qr CG ¬s∏pd ¢ün
n Ú n ∏Nr CG ø
r en
.p¬pfÉ°ùn pd

Whoever sincerely purifies his heart for God for forty days will
find springs of wisdom gush forth from his heart and flow to-
ward his tongue.7

SÓ adr al-Mut‹alliÓh¯ın Sh¯ ır¯ az¯ ı, the pride of the philosophers of the East,
or rather of the world, spent a lifetime on [studying and teaching] tran-
scendental theosophy (al-Óhikmat al-muta⁄¯al̄ıyah), but finally was so im-
mersed in the worship of God and servitude to Him and in purification of
the inmost consciousness that he wrote eloquently in the introduction to
his Asf¯ar-i arba⁄ah:

pAGQBG p ™tÑnànJ ‘ …ôrªoY øpe kGô r£°Tn oâ©s«°V

n Ésªpe nÒpãnc ¬q∏dG oôpبnà°SCr ’ »ufEGhn

o p ºt∏©n nJh ºp¡pJÉ≤Ñb ónJh p ΩÓnµdG p πgr CG ø

‘ ºp¡JõHo ôr L r pe Ú
n dpOÉé
n oŸG páØ°ùr∏nØàn oŸG
ó«pjCÉJh p¿ÉÁE’G QƒoæpH pôreC’G nôpNBG »pd nøs«nÑnJ ≈sàM pårënÑdG ‘ ºp¡pætænØnJh p ∫ƒn≤dG

ÉfpôreCG ΩÉnenR Éæ«n≤rdCÉa ;m º«p≤nà°ùr oe ôr«nZ ºo¡ nWGô°Uh

p º«p≤nY rºo¡°SÉ«
n pb q¿GE p¿ÉqænŸG ¬q∏dG

n ¬pH ÉsæneBG o¬ræpe Énæn¨n∏nH Ée qπoµa ,pQpòræoŸG ôjpòsædG p¬pdƒ°So nQ ¤EGh ¬r«dEG
r⁄h o√Éæbsó°Uh

Éær«n¡nàrfGh o√Góo¡pH ÉnærjnóàrbG rπH kÉq«pãrënH kɵn∏°ùr neh kÉq«p∏r≤nY kÉ¡rLhn o¬d πqÑnîof ¿CG rπnàëf
6 Editor’s Introduction

o¬rænY rºocÉn¡nf Énehn o√hoòoîna o∫ƒ°So sôdG oºocÉnJCG Éne{ :≈ndÉn©nJ p¬dƒn≤pd ’ÉnãpàreEG p¬p«r¡næpH

.nínérfCGh ¬àn©nHÉnàoe páncnônÑpH nín∏raCÉa nínàna Éne ÉnæpÑr∏nb ≈n∏Y o¬q∏dG nínàna ≈sàM ,zGƒ¡nàrfÉna

Indeed, I seek profuse forgiveness from God for having wasted a

part of my life studying the opinions of the pseudo-philosophers
and the polemicists from among the theologians and the intrica-
cies of their discussions, learning their clever tactics of speech
and their arts of debate, until at last with the light of faith and
the assistance of God, the Munificent, it became clear to me that
their syllogisms were sterile and their path not straight. There-
after, I surrendered my affair to Him and His Messenger, the
Warner and the Warned, believed earnestly in all that had
reached us from him, accepting it without making any attempt
to find some rational justification or scholarly interpretation for
it. Rather, I followed His Prophet’s guidance, refrained from
what was forbidden, and submitted to his injunction—as God,
the Exalted has said: “Take and follow whatever injunctions the
Messenger brings you and refrain from what he forbids you”
(Qur‹¯ an, 59:7)—until God opened my heart to what He
willed, and by the grace of following His Prophet, I was deliv-
ered and saved. (al-Asf¯ar al-arba⁄ah, Introduction)8

It is appropriate here to remember the most celebrated, the eternal

jurist, Lordly sage, and Divinely inspired gnostic who lived at the begin-
ning of the last century, namely, the Sign of the Truth (¯ayat al-H Ò aqq)
¯Akh¯und Mawl¯ a H Ò usayn Qul̄ı Hamad¯ an¯ ı. This great jurist, unrivaled
thinker, and exalted philosopher incorporated all true sciences in light of
the science of gnosis and purification of the soul; and combined all of
them in the lights of the Divine Image, assigned to every science its ap-
propriate place and status, and considered attainment to the Divine Sanc-
tuary as the ultimate goal. He trained many students and presented them
to the world of gnosis. Each one of them became a shining star in the fir-
mament of virtues and tawÓh̄ıd, and illuminated the world with the rays of
his insight and wisdom. Among them one can mention Aq¯ ¯ a Sayyid AÓhmad
Karbal¯ a‹¯ ı who was a saintly gnostic, and his student H ¯ a
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı Aq¯
 Editor’s Introduction 7
Q¯ aÓd¯ ı, the pride of the jurists and the pearl of the gnostics, may God ele-
vate their noble stations.
The pride of all commentators and the guide of seekers of the Truth,
our revered teacher, His Holiness Ayatull¯ ¯ ah ⁄All¯ amah Sayyid MuÓhammad
H
Ò usayn Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, may God prolong his ennobling presence, had from
the first days of life been flying on the two wings of knowledge and action,
and had traveled on the path of philosophy as well as gnosis under the
¯
tutelage of the late Ayatull¯ ah Q¯ aÓd¯ ı. He spent his entire life mastering syl-
logism, reason and oratory, and devoted himself to advancing the intellec-
tual sciences and activities [e.g., working on] the Ish¯ar¯at [Ish¯ar¯at wa Tan-
bih¯at], and the Shif¯a‹ [of Ibn S¯ ın¯ a] and the Asf¯ar [Asf¯ar-i arba⁄ah of Mull¯ a
ÓSadr¯ a], and writing commentaries on them. At the same time he was to-
tally preoccupied with inward retreat and Divine mysteries and constant
attention (mur¯aqabah), until finally he landed at the sacred threshold of
the Qur‹¯ an. He became so immersed in the praiseworthy verses of the
Qur‹¯ an that recitation and interpretation of those verses, contemplation,
and symbolic interpretation (ta‹w¯ ıl) and commenting upon them became
a more important preoccupation for him than any other contemplative
activity. For him contemplation on the verses of the Qur‹¯ an was a more
exalted and more pleasing activity than any discursive reasoning as though
he had given up everything but total submission and servitude to the Mas-
ter of the majestic Shar¯ ı ⁄ah and his honored deputies and spiritual heirs
(awÓ s iy¯a‹).
Our honored friend and eminent master, kinder than any brother,
¯
the late Ayatull¯ ah Shaykh MurtaÓd¯a MuÓ tahhar̄ı9 with whom my friendship
extended over thirty-five years, may God bestow His pleasure upon him,
had a brilliant mind and critical vision. He spent a lifetime studying,
teaching, writing, preaching, and investigating and seeking the truth on
issues related to philosophy. However, thanks to his alert mind and criti-
cal soul, in the last few years of his life he fully realized that one cannot
find inner peace without reaching the inward and without connecting
with the Munificent Lord. He learned that without quenching one’s
thirsty heart at the wellspring of Divine effusion, one cannot attain seren-
ity and inner peace and will never be able to enter the sacred sanctuary of
God, or circumambulate around it and reach the Ka⁄bah that one yearns
for. So MuÓ tahhar̄ı entered the path like a candle that burns constantly and
dissolves, or like a moth that flings itself into the fire. Like a passionate
and committed believer overwhelmed by fervor and annihilated in the
8 Editor’s Introduction
shoreless ocean of the Names, Attributes, and the Essence of the Wor-
shiped One, and whose whole being grew infinitely drawing on the infini-
tude of the Divine Being, MuÓ tahhar̄ı stepped into the center of this vast
arena. His wayfaring was characterized by frequent night vigils, lamenta-
tion, and invocation in the solitude of the dawn, immersion in contem-
plation and invocation, persistent devotion to learning lessons of the
Qur‹¯ an, withdrawal from world-loving people and slaves of desire, and
association with God-fearing people and friends (awliy¯a’) of God. May
God’s endless mercy be upon him:

¿ƒo∏peÉn©dG πnªr©n«r∏na Gòng πrãpŸ

And for the like of this let the workers toil! (Qur‹¯ an, 37:61)

¿ƒoæ°ùp rëoe ºog nøjpòsdGh Gƒ≤sJCG øjòqdG n™ne ¬q∏dG s¿GE

h h k h d d
Indeed God is with those who keep their duty unto Him and
those who are doers of good. (Qur‹¯ an, 16:128)

Some time ago they asked this humble being to write something on
¯
the occasion of the commemoration of Ayatull¯ ah MuÓ tahhar̄ı’s martyrdom.
Poor being that I am, I considered myself unqualified for the task and re-
fused to accept such an assignment due also to my preoccupation with and
involvement in other responsibilities. More recently, when that request
was brought up again the spirit of that honored friend came to my assis-
tance; therefore, I wrote down these short passages and attached them as
an introduction to a treatise that I had compiled on wayfaring and spiri-
tual journey, and made it available, for the pleasure of the exalted soul of
my departed friend, to the seekers of the Truth and the wayfarers on the
path of Truth and Peace.

o p©àn °SCr G p¬pHhn pQƒeo o’G oáes pRCG p√pó«n pH

.Ú

In His hands are the reins of all affairs and it is His help that I
seek.
 Editor’s Introduction 9
As to its origin, the seeds of this treatise in essence were the first
round of lessons on ethics and gnosis delivered to a selected group of stu-
dents in the theological school (Hawza-yi Ó ‘ilm¯ ıyah) in Qum in ..
1368/1949–1369/1950 by our revered master and teacher, Ayatull¯ ¯ ah
⁄All¯ amah MuÓhammad H Ò usayn Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, may my soul be ransomed for
him. This humble being had taken notes during those sessions and often
referred to them. I always found them a source of spiritual illumination
and comfort for my soul during times of distress, contraction, and tedium.
The present book is, indeed, the revised and greatly expanded version of
those class notes with some elaboration and additions. Whatever spiritual
rewards there may be in this undertaking is dedicated to the spirit of that
¯
honorable friend, the late Ayatull¯ ah MurtaÓd¯a MuÓ tahhar̄ı, may God elevate
his noble station.

n jpôpHÉn¨rdG »pa p¬pÑp≤Yn ≈∏Yn ∞

,ø r o∏N
r Ghn ,Ú n FpÉ«n pdhCr G ™n en √o ôr °ûo M
n pHôs n≤ªo rdG ∂ r G ºs ¡o s∏dG

Énj n∂pànªrMnôpH ÉnfÉsjpGhn o¬rªnMrQGhn ,nøjpôpgÉ s£dG p¬pdBGhn mósªnëoe pAÉn≤naoQ røpe o¬r∏n©rLGhn

n pªpMGôs dG ºn M
.Ú©à°ùf ¬Hh QƒeC’G áeRCG √ó«H ,Ú n Qr CG
O God, gather him with Your intimate friends (awliy¯a’) and be
protector of his descendants in the future, and place him
among the companions of Muhammad and his immaculate
Household, and be merciful to him, and to us, for the sake of
Your Mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful.

Notes

1. Sabzaw¯ ar̄ı, Mull¯ a Muhammad H¯ ad¯ ı, Manz¯uma-yi Il¯ah¯ ıy¯at fi af ⁄¯alih̄ı

¯
ta⁄¯al¯a ghurar fi anÓh¯a‹taqs̄ım¯at li fi⁄l All¯ah Ta⁄¯al¯a, N¯ aÓ siri ed., p. 183.
2. Sidrat al muntah¯a is considered the highest grade of existence of the
outermost region of the cosmos. Higher than that is the immediate
proximity to God described as q¯ab al-qawsayn or the distance of two
bows where the Prophet was taken on the night of his ascension to
10 Editor’s Introduction
Heaven, or laylat al-mi⁄r¯aj. See Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Muhammad:
Man of God (London: Muhammadi Trust, 1982) p. 14. See also Martin
Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources 2nd ed.
(Cambridge: Islamic Text Society, 1991), (Rochester, Vermont: Inner
Traditions International, 1983), pp. 102–103.
3. On several occasions the holy Qur‹¯ an calls Muslims the median com-
munity. See for instance 2: 143.
We have appointed you a middle nation that you may be witness
against mankind, and the messenger may be a witness against you.

o ƒ°So ôn dG n¿ƒoµjn h p ¢SÉæn dG ≈n∏Yn An Gó¡n °To Gƒofƒoµàn pd É k£°Sn hn káeoG ºocÉæn r∏©n L
∫ n pdnònchn
n ∂
.kGó«p¡°Tn ºoµr«n∏nY
4. And We shall turn what act they commited and make it scattered motes.
Holy Qur‹¯ an, 25:23
5. This prayer is cited from a supplication attributed to Am¯ ır al-
Mu‹min¯ ın ‹Im¯ am ⁄Al̄ı, may peace be upon him, expounded by H Ò ¯ ajj
Mawl¯ a Kab¯utar-¯Ahang¯ ı and has been published in a pocket-size edi-
tion. In his book, Kalam¯at-i makn¯unah, Mull¯ a MuÓhsin FayÓd K¯ ash¯ an¯ ı
says that this prayer has been mentioned in the supplications of the
Im¯ ams, may peace be upon them. For a short biography of Kab¯utar-
¯Ahang¯ ı, see Mas⁄¯uod Hom¯ ay¯un¯ ı, T¯ar¯ ıkh-i silsilahh¯a-yi tÓ ar¯ ıqah-yi
ni⁄matull¯ah̄ıyah dar ir¯an (Tehran, 1358–1979), pp. 92–94.
6. Holy Qur‹¯ an, 3:7, and 4:162.
7. This sacred tradition has been narrated from the Messenger of God
through several chains of authority with different wordings but with
the same meaning. It is cited in IÓhya’ ⁄ul¯um al-D¯ ın [of Im¯ am¯ a
Muhammad Ghazz¯ al¯ ı], vol. 4, pp. 322; and its glossary on p. 191. It is
also cited in ⁄Aw¯arif al-ma⁄¯arif published on the margins of IÓhy¯a al-
⁄ul¯um, ii, 265. Among other Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı sources, it is cited in ⁄Uy⁄¯un akhb¯ar
al-riÓd¯a (by ⁄Al̄ı ibn M¯u s¯ a al-riÓd¯a, the eighth Im¯ am), p. 258, ⁄Uddat al-
d¯a ⁄¯ ı, p. 170, and UÓ s¯ul al-K¯af¯ ı (Muhammad ibn Ya⁄qub al-Kulayn̄ı),
vol. II, pp. 16. The tradition is cited in the ⁄Uy¯un al-Akhb¯ar, along
with the chain of authorities from ÓhaÓdrat Im¯am al-RiÓd¯a, may peace be
upon him, from his father, from his grandfather, from ÓhaÓdrat
Muhammad ibn ⁄Al̄ı al-B¯ aqir, from his father, ÓhaÓdrat Sajj¯ ad, from
 Editor’s Introduction 11
J¯ abir ibn ⁄Abd All¯ ah al-AnÓ s¯ar̄ı, and finally from Am¯ ır al-Mu‹min¯ ın,
may peace be upon him.
¯
In his book entitled R¯uÓh-i Mujarrad, Ayatull¯ ah Sayyid Muhammad
H
Ò usayni Tihr¯ an¯ ı quotes the following explanation from his spiritual
master, Sayyid H¯ ashim H Ò add¯ ad, concerning different kinds of
thoughts: “Thoughts are of four categories. First, those which are sa-
cred and these are thoughts that turn one’s attention away from one-
self and toward God and call one to Him. Second, satanic thoughts
that make one oblivious to God, and cause anger, enmity, greed, and
envy to grow in one’s heart. Third, the Heavenly (malak¯ut¯ ı) thoughts
are those that lead human beings toward the worship of God and fear
of Him. Fourth, the psychic (nafs¯an¯ ı) thoughts which allure one to-
ward the world’s adornments and desires. Human beings have a sub-
lime faculty which can turn all satanic and psychic thoughts into
virtues, and employ all of them in the way of God so that the earning
of wealth, fulfillment of desires, and the cultivation of adornments all
are done for the sake of God, and not for the self. He also has a faculty
that is higher and can transform all those thoughts, including spiritual
thoughts, into Divine thoughts; leading one to regard them as ensuing
from God, and encountering nothing save God.’’
8. SÓ adr al-D¯ ın Sh¯ ır¯ az¯ ı, known as Mull¯ a ÓSadr¯ a (979–1050/1571–1640).
9. ¯Ayatull¯ ah Shaykh MurtaÓd¯a MuÓ tahhar̄ı (d. 1358/1979) an Islamic
scholar and activist who studied with ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı in Qum
and received modern education at the University of Tehran. He was a
major intellectual force and theoretician of the Islamic revolution who
was assassinated in 1979. Among his writings are, NahÓdath¯a-yi Esl¯am¯ ı
dar ÓSad S¯al-i Akh¯ ır (Tehran, 1978); P¯ ır¯ammon-i Enqil¯ab-i Esl¯am¯ ı
(Tehran, 1892), Isl¯am wa muqtaÓd¯ ıy¯at-i zam¯an (Tehran, 1983), and nu-
merous other works.
 2

He Is the Almighty
Ris¯ala-yi Lubb al-Lub¯ab dar Sayr wa Sul¯uk-i Ulu’l Alb¯ab
Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
Concerning the Wayfaring and Spiritual Journey
of the People of Intellect

º«pMsôdG p¿ÉnªrMsôdG p¬s∏dGp º°ùpr H

ºr p¡pFGón Yr CG ≈n∏Yn p¬s∏dG oáæn ©r ndhn ,ø

n jpôpgÉ s£dG p¬pdBGhn móªs ë
n eo ≈n∏Yn ¬o s∏dG ≈s∏°U
n hn

:oº«p¶n©dG t»p∏n©dG ¬q∏dG n∫Énb oór©nHhn .nÚp©nªrLCG

In the Name of All¯ ah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
May God’s greeting be upon Muhammad and his immaculate Household
and may God’s curse be upon all their enemies.

rºnd hCG t≥n◊G o¬qfCG rºo¡nd øs«nÑnànj ≈sànM rºp¡°ùop ØrfCG »pahn p¥ÉnaB’G »pa ÉnæpJÉnjBG rºo¡jpôoæ°Sn

rº¡uHnQ pAÉn≤pd røpe mápjrôpe »pa rºo¡qfCG n’CG ó«p¡°Tn Am »°Tn uπoc ≈n∏nY o¬qfCG n∂uHnôpH p∞rµnj

.l§«pëeo Am »°Tn π
u oµpH ¬o qfCG ’CG
God, Exalted and Almighty, has said:

13
14 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and within
themselves, until it will become clear to them that He is the
Truth. Doth not thy Lord suffice, since He is Witness over all
things? Behold! Are they still in doubt about the meeting with
their Lord? Lo! Is not He surrounding all things? (Qur‹¯ an,
41:53–54)

≈Ñ°T √óæNôa ¬¸h OƒH iôë°S ∑QÉÑe ¬¸

ófOGO ”GôH √RÉJ øjG ¬c Qób Ö°T ¿BG

ófOôc ”GPƒJô> ¬l ©°û©°T RG OƒN ≈H

ófOGO ”ÉØ°U ≈
q q∏Œ ΩÉLRG √OÉH
What a blessed dawn! What an auspicious night!
Night of Power, when they granted me this New Transference,
By the rays of the lights of His Essence, they made me selfless
And offered me the wine of theophany of His Attributes. (ÒH¯afiÔz)

The profane human being lives in the dark wilderness of materialism, and
dwells helplessly in the midst of the shoreless ocean of lusts and multiplic-
ities. Every moment he is tossed by the waves of material attachments. Be-
fore he can recover from the injuries of one stroke and pull himself to-
gether, he is knocked down by another, a more frightening and terrorizing
wave that arises from his attachment to possessions and wealth, and wife
and children. The waves of these attachments constantly slap him in the
face and draw him into the depth of the dark and terrifying ocean to the
extent that his wailing and appeal fade away in the uproar of the waves.
Regardless of which direction he turns, he realizes that anguish and re-
morse, which are indispensable characteristics of perishable matter,
frighten and threaten him. In the midst of all this, occasionally he is ca-
ressed by the life-giving and refreshing breeze of Divine Attraction (jadh-
bah). He feels that this loving breeze pulls him in a direction and toward an
unknown destination. However, the breeze of Divine Attraction is not per-
manent and only blows every once in a while.
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 15

.Én¡rænY Gƒ°Vp o sôn©nàna n’CG mäÉnënØnf rºocpôrgnOp ΩÉsjBG »pa rºoµuHnônd s¿pGhn
o ôr©oJ n’hn Én¡nd Gƒ°V
Verily, in the days of your life there will come to you wafts of
Divine breaths from your Lord. Be aware [when they blow];
turn to them and do not turn [your face] away from them.

During such moments the traveler on the path of God feels new
blood in his veins, and under the effect of that very Divine attraction, de-
cides to go beyond the realms of multiplicity, and by all possible means,
prepares provisions and starts a journey to free himself of this tormented
and perilous tumult. In the terminology of the gnostics (‘uraf¯a) this jour-
ney is called wayfaring and spiritual journeying (sayr wa sul¯uk). Sul¯uk
means traveling along the path, while sayr means observing particularities
and marvels of stages and phases encountered on the way. The provisions
(z¯ad) required for this spiritual journey consist of spiritual and ascetic
practices (riy¯aÓdat) to discipline the soul. Since relinquishing material at-
tachments is very difficult, the traveler (s¯alik) begins to cut the binding
chains of attachments to the realm of multiplicity little by little and leaves
the world of physical nature (⁄¯alam-i tÓ ab⁄) behind.
Hardly before the traveler recovers from the exhaustion of this jour-
ney, he enters the intermediate world (barzakh), which is the world of psy-
chic multiplicity (kathrat-i anfus̄ıyah). Here, he clearly realizes how precious
are the treasures that material and external multiplicities have stored within
his corporeal nature. These are the same imaginal psychic beings that come
into being as a result of the traveler’s encounter with and interest in external
multiplicities and are considered its outcome and by-products.
These thoughts and preoccupations hinder the traveler’s wayfaring
and take away his serenity and peace of mind. When he wants to take re-
pose in the remembrance of God for a short while, they besiege him like a
deluge and threaten his whole being.

∫É«N ܃c ónµd RGRhQ ¬ªg ¿ÉL

∫GhR º«HRG h Oƒ°S h ¿ÉjR Rh

16 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel

ôq a h ∞£d ≈f ¢TófÉe ≈e ÉØ°U ≈f

ôØ°S √GQ ¿Éª°SBG iƒ°S ¬H ≈f

A soul trampled by fancy imaginations every day,

on profit and loss, and the fear of downfall,
It shall retain neither purity, nor subtlety, nor light
Nor shall there remain a path for its ascension toward heaven.

It is obvious that the pain and distress caused by psychic multiplici-

ties are more powerful than multiplicities of the physical world. For one
can willingly and deliberately retreat and isolate oneself and be saved from
disturbance of and encounter with external multiplicities. But one cer-
tainly cannot free oneself from the disturbance of temptations and imagi-
nations of the carnal soul, for those enticements always accompany one
closely and intimately.
The traveler on the path of the Truth and the wayfarer on the way of
sincerity and servanthood to God is not frightened by these enemies. He
makes up his mind and, with the help of that Holy Melody,1 takes the road
toward his destination and is determined to leave behind the realm of
temptations that is usually called the intermediate world (barzakh). How-
ever, the traveler must be very alert and careful lest there remain any of
those tempting thoughts in the corners of his heart. Because it is a charac-
teristic of these imaginal [psychic] elements to hide in the most obscured
corners of the heart in such a way that the traveler is deceived when he
wants to cast them out. He may be fooled to believe that he has freed him-
self of their evil presence and has been relieved of all remnants of the realm
of barzakh. But when the traveler reaches the spring of life and wants to
quench his thirst from the fountains of wisdom, suddenly they attack him
and finish him off with the sword of severity and indignation (qahr).
The example of such a traveler is like that of a person who has filled a
pool in his house with water but has not touched it for some time. There-
fore, all the dirt and impurities of the water have settled down at the bot-
tom of the pool and the water seems clean and clear to him. He assumes
that the clarity and purity of the water is permanent. However, as soon he
wants to enter the pool or wishes to wash something in it, suddenly all that
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 17
dirt and sediment contaminates the clear water again and spots of dirt reap-
pear on the surface. Therefore, through persistent spiritual combat and as-
cetic practices the traveler must acquire such a degree of certitude and in-
ward peace that imaginal psychic elements are subjugated and cannot
disturb his mind when he turns his attention to the Beloved Lord.
When the traveler passes through the realm of physical nature (Ótab⁄)
and the intermediate world (barzakh), he enters the world of spirit (r¯uÓh).
Then he passes through some other stages. God willing, we shall describe
those stages in detail in the coming pages. Suffice to mention that at this
stage the traveler shall witness his own soul (nafs) as well as Divine Names
and Attributes; and gradually shall reach the station of total annihilation
(fan¯a‹-yi kull¯ ı) [in God]. Subsequently, he shall find subsistence (baq¯a‹) in
God where eternal life shall be established for him.

≥°ûY ¬H ó°T √ófR ¢ûdO ¬µfBG OÒ‰ õncôg

Ée ΩGhO ⁄ÉY √l ójôL QO â°SG âÑK

One whose heart is revived by love never shall die,

inscribed is our immortality on the tablet of the Universe. (ÒH
Ò ¯ afiÔz)

If one reflects and contemplates on the Qur‹¯ anic verses; one would
realize that this principle has been clearly spelled out on several occasions,
as God witnesses that those wayfarers martyred on His path are immortal
beings:

ºr p¡: Hu Qn ón ær pY Al É«n M r Hn ÉkJGƒn er CG p¬s∏dG p π«pÑ°Sn »pa Gƒo∏pàob ø

r CG π n jòsdG ø
s Ñn °ùn ë
r nJ ’
n hn

.n¿ƒobnRôjo

consider not dead those who were killed in the path of God,
nay, they are alive and have their sustenance with their Lord. (3:169)

Elsewhere he states that:

.o¬n¡rLhn s’EG l∂pdÉng mAr»°Tn tπoc

18 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
everything is destined to perish save His Image. (28:88)

ÆÔtÓNÚłÓË ]ô≈ ÏpUÓ¼ Ì¡ÚwÓý ^qÔ

and,

.p¥ÉnH p¬s∏dG nóræpY Énehn oònØrænj rºocnóræpY Éne

That which you have shall disappear, and that which is with All¯ ah
remains. (16:96)
If one relates the meaning of these verses, it will become clear that
“those who are alive and have their sustenance with their Lord” are the Image
of God (wajh All¯ah), which is, as the Holy Qur‹¯ an indicates, eternal and
free of degeneration and decadence. In addition, these and other similar
verses of the Exalted Qur‹¯ an make it abundantly clear that what is meant
by the eternal and imperishable Image of God are, in fact, the Divine
Names (asm¯a’-i il¯ah̄ıyah). This conclusion is substantiated by exposition in
another verse of the Qur‹¯ an where God refers to His Imperishable Image
as His Names, which possess attributes of majesty and glory:

E Ghn p ∫nÓn÷G hoP ∂Hq Q ¬o L

.p ΩGôn rc’ r hn ≈n≤Ñr jn hn ¿Éna É¡n «r n∏Yn ø
r en π
t oc
Everyone which is thereon shall pass away, there shall remain but
the Majestic and Glorious Image of your Lord. (55:26–27)

All commentators [of the Holy Qur‹¯ an] unanimously agree that in
the verse mentioned above the word possessor (dh¯u) stands as the adjective
for Image (wajh) and means that only the Image of God, which possesses
Majesty and Glory, is eternal. Since we know that the image of every pos-
sible thing (shay‹) is that which one encounters, therefore, the image of
each possible thing is the locus of its manifestation (mazhar). By the same
¯
token, the loci of manifestation (maÔza¯ hir) of God’s Image are through His
Names whereby all creatures encounter Him. It follows that all creatures
are subject to annihilation and dissolution except Divine Names, which
manifest His Majesty and Beauty. Therefore, it becomes clear that those
travelers on the path of God who are honored and blessed to attain the
noble station of “living before their Lord and having their sustenance from
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 19
Him,” in fact, are manifestations of the Names of Majesty and Beauty of
the Lord, Almighty and Exalted is He.
It is in this context that we can understand what the Immaculate
Im¯ ams, may God’s greetings be upon them, meant when they said, “We
are the Names of God/naÓhnu asm¯a‹ All¯ah.” ( ). Obviously, out-
ward authority over the community by virtue of providing guidance in
exoteric affairs or representing the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah was not such an important
function that the Im¯ ams would describe it in such a manner. Rather,
such a description depicts the very same station of annihilation in the
Unicity of Divine Essence, which is a prerequisite for the Im¯ am to be the
Image of God and the most perfect manifestation of His Attributes of
Majesty and Beauty; a station that is not comparable with any other func-
tion and station.
One of the most important elements of and requirements in the
path of wayfaring and spiritual journey is constant attention
(mur¯aqabah). From the first step that the traveler takes on the Path until
the last step, he should never be negligent in observing mur¯aqabah. This
is one of the absolute necessities for the traveler. It should be known that
mur¯aqabah consists of various stages and levels. In the early phases of
wayfaring, the traveler practices a different kind of mur¯aqabah than at
later stages. The higher the stages and levels one traverses and the more
one advances toward perfection, the more intense and more profound
one’s mur¯aqabah becomes—so much so that if it were to be imposed on a
novice in the initial stages of wayfaring, he would not be able to bear it
and would abandon wayfaring entirely; or he would be burnt out and
consumed by it and perish. However, gradually and as a result of persist-
ence and passing through preliminary stages, the traveler will be strength-
ened and prepared to enter into higher levels of mur¯aqabah. At these
stages, many things that were permissible and lawful for him in the early
stages become unlawful and forbidden.
As a result of persistent mur¯aqabah, gradually signs of affection and
love appear in the inmost consciousness of the traveler. Because love for
nondelimited [Divine] beauty and perfection (jam¯al wa kam¯al ⁄ala‹l iÓtl¯aq)
is primordial to man’s nature. It is a treasure that is deposited in man’s na-
ture and engraved in his essence. But interest in material possessions and
love for multiplicities become a veil for this primordial love and prevents
this eternal light from manifesting itself. Through mur¯aqabah the veils
gradually turn thinner and eventually disappear, and that primordial love
20 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
manifests itself in one’s heart and guides him to that Source of Beauty and
Perfection. In the terminology of the gnostics, mur¯aqabah is referred to as
wine (mey):

äÉ‚ √GQ â°ù«¸ ¬c ºàØnc √óµ«e Ò> ¬H

¿ó«°Tƒ> RGQ âØnch z≈e{ ΩÉL â°SGƒîH

I asked the old man of the tavern the path to deliverance,
he called for a cup of wine and said,
“guarding the secrets of [Divine] mysteries”! (ÒH¯afiÔz)

and,

øjRG ¢ù> ÉJ ɪæH º°UÉN

n ¬nµJƒ∏N √GQ
ΩQƒîf É«fO ºZ ônµjOh ƒJ ÉH ΩQƒN z≈e{

Guide me into that special retreat so that from now on

with Thee I may drink sweet wine,
and think no more of the world’s bitter woes. (ÒH¯afiÔz)

When the traveler carefully persists in his mur¯aqabah, God, Exalted

is He, out of His love and grace, makes certain lights shine upon him as
the first glimmers of gnosis. In the beginning, these lights appear like
flashes of lightning and disappear as suddenly as they shine. However,
gradually they become stronger, first like a small shining star that grows in
brilliance and then turns into the shining Moon and then to the Sun.
Sometimes these lights appear like a candle or lantern. In the terminology
of gnostics this state and these lights are called gnostic nap (nawm-i
⁄irf¯an̄ı). These lights are from the category of beings that belong to the in-
termediary world (barzakh).
When the traveler observes the intricacies of mur¯aqabah in a consis-
tent and intense manner, and becomes spiritually stronger, these lights also
become stronger in such a way that he sees the entire Earth and Heaven,
from East to West, totally illuminated. This light is the light of the soul,
which appears while passing through the intermediate world (barzakh). In
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 21
the early phases of this stage, when the traveler goes through the interme-
diate world and the self-disclosure of his soul begins (tajall¯ ıy¯at-i nafs), he
sees his soul in a physical material form. In other words, often he might see
himself standing before himself. This stage is the beginning of the process
of disentanglement of the soul (tajarrud-i nafs).
Our teacher and master, the late H ¯ a Q¯ aÓd¯ ı, may God be
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a Aq¯
pleased with him, once said, ‘‘One day I left my room and went into the
verandah, I saw myself standing silently in a corner. I looked very carefully
at my face and observed a mole on it. Upon returning to my room, I
looked into the mirror and saw a mole on my face that I had not noticed
until then.’’
At times, the traveler feels that he has lost himself and no matter how
hard he may seek he does not find himself. As it was mentioned, these vi-
sions occur in the preliminary stages of the disentanglement of the soul
and are subject to time and space. But later on, with the help of God’s
grace, the traveler can witness the entire reality of his soul in its totally de-
tached and cathartic state.
An episode has been reported by H ¯ a Malik¯ ı
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a Jaw¯ ad Aq¯
Tabr̄ız¯ ı who, for fourteen years, was the student and close companion of
the late ¯Akh¯und H
Ò usayn Qul̄ı Hamad¯ an¯ ı, the master of gnosis and tawÓh̄ıd,
may God be pleased with him. He said that “One day my master assigned
the task of training one of his students to me. The student was of high
spiritual aspirations and was very determined in his learning. For six years
he struggled in constant attention (mur¯aqabah) and spiritual combat
(muj¯ahadah) until he reached a station which was the station of total capa-
bility for understanding and disentangling the soul. I wished that this trav-
eler of the path of salvation receive the grace of initiation at the hands of
the Master and be dressed by him in this sacred garb. I took him to the
house of our Master and brought up my request. The Master said, ‘This is
very simple.’ Then he made a gesture with his hand and said: ‘Disentangle-
ment of the soul is like this.’ That student later told me that ‘Suddenly, I
saw that I had separated from my body and there was someone like myself
standing on my side.’”
It should be mentioned that witnessing the beings from the interme-
diate world (barzakh) is not a noble experience or such an honor by itself.
Rather, the nobility of that experience is witnessing the soul in its state of
complete detachment and perfect catharsis. Because it is at this state that
the soul appears in its total detached reality, it can be seen as a being that is
22 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
not bound by time and space and contains the East and the West in itself.
In contrast to earlier visions, this vision is no longer particular, but is in the
category of the perception of universal meanings.
Another episode is related by the late Aq¯ ¯ a Sayyid AÓhmad Karbal¯ a‹¯ ı,
may God be pleased with him. He was one of the most prominent and
well-known pupils of the late ¯Akh¯und H Ò usayn Qul̄ı Hamad¯ an¯ ı. He said:
⁄⁄One day I was resting in a certain place when somebody woke me up and
asked me if I would like to see the Divine Light (N¯ur-i isfahbud¯ıyah).2
When I opened my eyes, I saw an endless light that covered the East and
the West of the universe.” May God nurture our soul by this light. This
phase is the same stage as the self-disclosure of the soul (tajall¯ ı-yi nafs),
which is seen in this form and in the quality of endless light.
After putting this phase behind and as a result of persistence in
mur¯aqabah, in accordance with requisites of higher spiritual planes and re-
quirements of those stations, the blessed traveler succeeds in having au-
thentic visions of the Attributes of God, Exalted is He, and understanding
the Names of Divine Essence in their totality. At this stage, it may happen
that the traveler suddenly realizes that all creatures of the world, in fact,
constitute a single body of knowledge. In other words, he may understand
that there is no other power, but a Single Power. This occurs at the stage of
witnessing Divine Attributes (shuh¯ud-i Ó sif¯at). But in the stage of witness-
ing Divine Names (shuh¯ud-i asm¯a‹), which is still a higher plane than this,
the wayfarer realizes that in the entire universe there is but one Knower,
one Powerful, and one Living Being. This realization, which takes place at
the plane of the heart, is the most noble and most perfect station because
the traveler attains a station where he does not see any power, knower, and
living being except God, Exalted is He.

(≈ndÉ©n nJ ¬s∏dG iƒn °Sp É«v M

n n’hn ɪk pdÉYn n’hn GQk pOÉnb iôn jn n’hn í
o pÑ°ü n pdÉ°ùdG
r jo ∂ s s¿C’

Because the wayfarer becomes and does not see any powerful,
knowing, and living being except God, Exalted is He.

This realization often takes place during the recitation of the Holy
Qur‹¯ an. More often than not, the reciter perceives that someone else, and
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 23
not he is the reciter. Sometimes he may realize that even the listener has
been somebody else and not he.
It should be known that recitation of the Qur‹¯ an plays a great part in
reaching this station. It is appropriate for the traveler to recite the chapters
(suwar-i ⁄az¯a‹im)* while performing the night prayer. Because from the
standing position going into prostration before God is not without grace.
Experience has shown that the recitation of the blessed S¯urah ÓS¯ad (chapter
38) in the one-rak ⁄ah [Persian rak ⁄at]prayer (wat¯ ırah) on Friday night is
very efficacious. The special grace of this chapter is clear from the tradi-
tions narrated concerning the blessings associated with its recitation.
When the traveler completes these stages with the help of Divine
grace and experiences these visions, Divine attractions (jadhab¯at-i
ill¯ah̄ıyah) surround him, and at every moment take him closer to real anni-
hilation until Divine attractions totally take him over and his attention is
fixed on nondelimited and Absolute Divine Beauty and Perfection. He for-
gets [sets on fire] his own existence and all other beings, and will not see
anything else before his eyes but the splendid Face of the Beloved; as it has
been said:

lA»°Tn o¬n©ne røoµnj rºndhn o¬s∏dG n¿Énc

God was, and there was nothing else besides Him.

In this state the wayfarer leaves the realm of separation and is immersed in
the infinite ocean of witnessing the Lordly Essence of God.3
It must be born in mind that wayfaring and spiritual journey is not
in contradiction with the traveler’s existence in and interaction with the
material world. The multiplicity in the external world always remains as it
is, and the traveler finds unity within that multiplicity. A prominent [gnos-
tic] once said that “I lived among the people for thirty years. They thought
that I was in their company and had constant association with them,
whereas throughout this period I did not see or know anybody except
God.’’ This is a very important and exalted state (Óh¯al), for in the initial
stages of wayfaring it may appear occasionally and for a short time, but
gradually it becomes more intense, extending for ten minutes or more and
then one hour or more, and eventually, with Divine grace, it might pass
24 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
beyond a state and become a station (maq¯am). In the tradition and termi-
nology of the people of eminence (buzurg¯an) and people of good deed
(Akhy¯ar [Qur‹¯ an, 38: 47–48]) this state is referred to as subsistence in the
Worshiped One (baq¯a‹ bi ma⁄b¯ud). One cannot reach this station except
after total annihilation of his contingent being in the Sacred Essence of the
One. In this station the traveler sees nothing except the Sacred Divine
Essence.
It has been reported that once there was a certain sage [in Tabr̄ız]
named B¯ ab¯ a Farajull¯ ah who was totally immersed in Divine attraction,
hence his title majdh¯ub. When he was asked to describe the worldly life, he
replied that “Since I was born [lit. opened my eyes] I have not seen the
world so that I can describe it now.”4
In the early stages of wayfaring, when this kind of vision is not very
powerful yet and is independent of the traveler’s will, it is called a state
(Óh¯al). However, as a result of persistence in mur¯aqabah and with Divine
help it passes from a state and becomes a station (maq¯am). At this point it
comes under his control and will. Obviously, a [spiritually] strong traveler
is the one who is conscious of his own state while at the same time is cog-
nizant of the world of multiplicities and conducts the affairs of both with
utmost care. This is an exalted and sublime station and is attainable only
with great difficulty. Perhaps it is attained only by prophets and Friends of
God (awliy¯a‹ All¯ah) and whomever God wills. The Prophet’s description
of his states can be noticed in such wayfarers when he said:

lÜsôn≤oe l∂n∏ne Én¡o©°ùn nj n’ län’ÉnM p¬s∏dG n™ne »pd

Inwardly I have such exalted states with God which no angel

brought nigh encompasses,

while outwardly, those states are the example of my human state, as men-
tioned in the Qur‹¯ an:

ºr oµo∏rãpe ôl °ûn Hn ÉnfCG

I am only a mortal human being like you. (18:110)

 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 25
One may argue that these stations are exclusive and attainment to
this level of Divine knowledge is solely confined to exalted prophets and
infallible Im¯ams—may God’s greeting and peace be upon them all—and
that others have absolutely no access to it. In response we say that positions
of prophethood and imamate are exclusive, but reaching the station of ab-
solute tawÓh̄ıd and annihilation in the Divine Essence; which is considered
the same as wil¯ayat is not exclusive at all. In fact it is to this plane of per-
fection that prophets and Im¯ams, may Peace be upon them, have called the
community of believers. The Noble Messenger, may God bless him and
his progeny, called the community of believers (ummah) to set their feet on
his footstep and reach the plane where he himself stands. This is indicative
of the possibility of wayfaring toward that destination; otherwise, the call
would have been pointless.

nΩƒr n«rdGhn n¬s∏dG GƒoLrônj n¿Énc rønªpd lánæ°ùn nM lIƒn °Sor G p¬s∏dG p ∫ƒ°So nQ »pa rºoµnd n¿Énc rón≤nd

kGÒpãnc n¬s∏dG nôncnPhn nôpNB’G

Verily, in the Messenger of All¯ ah you have a good example, for

him who looketh unto All¯ ah and the Last Day, and remember
All¯ ah much. (33:21)

It has been narrated by Sunni authorities that [the Prophet, may peace be
upon him] said:

,inQCG ɢne rº˘oà˘rjCGnô˘nd rº˘oµ˘pHƒ˘o∏˘ob »˘pa lè˘jpô˘rª˘nJhn ,rº˘oµ˘ penÓ˘ nc »˘˘pa lÒ˘ pã˘ rµ˘ nJ n’ƒ˘r ˘nd

.™o ªn °SCr G Éen ºr ào ©r pª°ùnn dhn

Were it not for loquacity of your sayings and temptation and
anxiety in your hearts, you would indeed see what I see and
hear what I hear.

This statement of the Noble Messenger, may God bless him and his
family, indicates clearly that the causes of one’s failure to attain human
26 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
perfection are delusional and satanic thoughts and futile acts. Moreover, it
has been reported by Sh¯ ı⁄ite authorities that the Prophet said,

n ƒoµn∏en GhCr Gôn nd Ωn On BG »pæHn p܃o∏ob ∫

ä n ƒr M
n ¿n ƒeo ƒë n pWÉ«n °ûdG
o jn Ú s s¿CG ’
n ƒnr d

.p ¢VQr C’Ghn päGhÉn ªn °ùdG

s
Were it not for the devils surrounding the hearts of the chil-
dren of Adam, they would witness the Kingdom (malak¯ut) of
Heavens and Earth.

One of the signs of this exalted human station is reaching a general

comprehension of the Divine realms in accordance with one’s talent and
preparedness. The result of this comprehension is the knowledge of the
past and the future, and control and command over subliminary creatures.
Because that which is all-inclusive has total domination over that which it
includes. It accompanies everyone and is present everywhere.
Shaykh ⁄Abd al-Kar̄ım J¯ ıl̄ı, one of the famous gnostics, writes in his
book al-Ins¯an al-K¯amil 5 that: “I remember that once for a moment I expe-
rienced a state wherein I found myself united with all existents so that they
were all directly present before my eyes, but this state did not last for more
than a moment.’’ Of course, what prevents the persistence of this state is
man’s preoccupation with his bodily needs. The complete attainment of
this station is possible only after [the soul] abandons its preoccupation
with the needs of the body. One of the gnostics of India by the name of
Shaykh Wal̄ıull¯ ah of Delhi in his book entitled Hama⁄¯at 6 says: “I was
given the knowledge that freedom from the effects of material life takes
place five hundred years after death and departing the world of matter.”
And this period corresponds to one half of a day before the Lord, as the
Almighty has said:

.n¿hót ©o nJ ɪs pe máæn °Sn p∞rdCÉnc ∂

n Hu Qn ón ær pY kÉeƒr jn s¿GE hn

And verily a day with thy Lord is like a thousand years in accor-
dance with what you reckon. (The Holy Qur‹¯ an, 22:47)
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 27
Of course, it is obvious that other levels and effusions of the Divine
Realm are unlimited and unbounded. Since human need is the basis of
verbal expression and the scope of verbal expression expands with the
growth of his material needs, therefore, description of the realities of the
absolute disengaged lights of the Divine realms in ordinary human lan-
guage is impossible. Whatever can be said about those realms are only in-
dications and allusions and cannot bring the Supreme Reality down to the
level of human understanding.
The corporeal human being lives in the world of matter, which is
the darkest of all the Divine abodes, as this plain text of tradition clearly
indicates:

p ºpdGƒn ©n dGp ºn∏ rXCG »pa â

n rfCG

You are in the darkest of the [Divine] realms.

He invents names and phrases for anything he sees with his eyes and
touches with his hands to meet his needs for daily communication. How-
ever, he has no knowledge of the other realms of [Divine] light and spirit,
nor of their peculiarities, so that he can invent words for them as well.
Among all languages of the world there is not a language that can describe
those supreme realities and meanings. Therefore, how can one express
those realities and describe them in ordinary human language?

â°SÉe ¢ûfGO ¬∏°UƒM QO ¬f ≥°ûY πµ°ûe

Oôc ¿Gƒàf É£N ôµa øjóH ¬àµf øHG πM

The dilemma of love is not within the reach of our knowledge

By these misguided thoughts one cannot solve this puzzle.

Two groups of people have spoken about these realities. The first
group is the noble prophets, may peace be upon them. It is obvious that
they had ties with the realms beyond the material world. However, in con-
sideration with the dictum:
28 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
We, [the prophets], have been commanded to speak to the peo-
ple in accordance with the level of their intellects,

.ºr p¡pdƒo≤Yo pQór nb ≈n∏Yn ¢SÉ

n æs dG ºn u∏nµof r¿CG Énfôr peoG pAÉ«n pÑrfC’G ôn °TÉ
p ©n en ø
o ë
r nf

they had to explain these realities in a manner understandable for common

people. For this reason, they refrained from describing the luminous reali-
ties and the extent of their brilliance, and abstained from describing issues
that never entered the heart of ordinary human beings. For instance, they
interpreted those realities that

No eye had seen, no ear had heard, and had not occurred to
any heart

mô°ûn nH pÖr∏nb ≈n∏nY nô n£nN n’hn rân©pª°Sn l¿oPoG n’hn räCGnQ lør«nY ’ Éne

in such terms as paradise, beautiful angels, magnificent palaces, and so on.

Ultimately, however, they had to confess that reflection of the realities of
those realms cannot be confined in human terms and description.
The second group is a number of individuals who, by following the
path of the prophets are blessed and honored with a perception of these re-
alities and Divine effusion in accordance with the degree of their intellect
and preparedness. They too have spoken about these realities in analogical
and metaphorical terms.

The Realms of Khul¯uÓs and Ikhl¯aÓs (Sincerity and Purity)

It should be known that these stages and stations cannot be achieved with-
out sincerity on the path of God. Unless the traveler reaches the station of
the Sincere people (mukhlaÓ s̄ın), the Truth will not be discovered and re-
vealed to him as properly as it should be.
Know that ikhl¯aÓs and khul¯uÓs are of two categories. The first is the sin-
cerity in the worship of and faith in God, the Almighty. The second is sin-
cerity and purity for its own sake. The first is referred to in the following
noble verse:
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 29

p p∏rîoe n¬s∏dG GhoóoÑr©n«pd s’EG GhoôpeoG Énehn

nøjuódG o¬nd nÚ°ü
And they are not ordained but to serve God, they are sincere
before Him. (98:5)

The second point is referred to in the noble verses:

p ∏rîoŸG p¬s∏dG nOÉnÑpY s’GE

Ú°ün
. . . except the sincere slaves of God. (37:40, 74, 128, 160)

In addition, the famous tradition (Óhad¯ ıth) of the Prophet alludes to

the second category of sincerity:

.p¬pfÉ°ùd
n ≈ndEG p¬pÑr∏nb ø
r pe páªn rµpërdG ™o «pHÉæn jn ä
r ôn ¡n nX kÉMÉÑn °U n p©Hn Qr CG ¬s∏pd ¢ün
n Ú n ∏Nr CG ø
r en

Whoever purifies his soul and his acts for God for forty days,
springs of wisdom will flow from his heart toward his tongue.

In other words, only the person who purifies his soul for God, the
Exalted, can reach this station.
An explanation to clarify this brief statement is in order. In some
verses of the Qur‹¯ an, God, the Exalted, has identified righteousness (Ósal¯aÓh)
with action, as He says:

.ÉkëpdÉ°U
n nπpªnY røne (16-: 97)

Whoever acts righteously . . .

.kÉëpdÉ°U n pªYn
n kÓªn Yn π
or, Whoever does righteous deeds. . .

and
30 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel

.päÉë
n pdÉ°üdG
s Gƒo∏pªYn hn Gƒæo en BG ø
n jòsdG
Those who believe and do righteous deeds . . . (2:25)

And in some other verses God attributes righteousness to human essence,

as He says in the following verses:

n pëpdÉ°üdG
.Ú s ø n pe ¬o sfEG

Verily, he is one of the righteous people. (75:21)

.nÚpæpeƒrD oŸG oípdÉ°U

n hn

and “the righteous of believers . . .” (66:4)

Similarly, purity (ikhl¯aÓs) and sincerity (khul¯uÓs) have been at times at-
tributed to deeds, and at times to human essence. Obviously, realization of
purity at the plane of essence is contingent upon its attainment at the
plane of action. In other words, unless one reaches the state of total sincer-
ity and purity in his deeds and words, as well as in activity and passivity, he
would not attain the stage of purity of essence (ikhl¯aÓ s-i dh¯at¯ ı). God, Ex-
alted is He, has said:

.o¬o©narônj oípdÉ°ür
s dG oπnªn©rdGhn oÖu« s£dG oºp∏nµrdG oón©°ü
r nj p¬r«ndEG

Unto Him ascend good words, and the righteous act He exalts
it. (35:10)

By reference of the pronoun to the subject of the act—“He exalts (yarfa⁄a)

to the righteous act”—the verse actually reads:

.nÖu« s£dG nºp∏nµrdG o™narônj oípdÉ°ür

s dG oπnªn©rdG
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 31
Verily the righteous deed exalts good words.

It must be borne in mind that when one reaches this exalted station
and attains purity of essence, one will acquire certain traits and character-
istics that others lack. First of all, the devil (shayÓt¯an) no longer has author-
ity and control over him, as the Noble Qur‹¯ anic ordinance affirms:

.Ú p ∏î
n °ün r ªo rdG ºo ¡o ær pe ∑
n On ÉÑn pY s’EG Ú
n p©ªn L n pJõs p©pÑna
r CG ºr ¡o æs jn pƒrZo’ ∂

By thy might, I surely will deceive them all, save Thy sincere
and pure slaves. (38:83)

It is evident that this exception is not a privilege ordained by the

Shar¯ ı ⁄ah. Rather, it is a prerogative emanating from the essential authority
of the sincere ones (mukhlaÓ s̄ın) earned in the station of unity with God
(tawÓh̄ıd) where the devil has no power and cannot reach because of his in-
capability and weakness.
Since the sincere ones have purified themselves for God, they see
God in everything they behold. In whatever manner or form that Satan
may appear to them, they see it with Divine eye and treat him with Divine
blessing. As a result, Satan admits his helplessness and submits to them.
Otherwise, Satan inherently strives to deceive mankind and has no mercy
toward anyone, and does not stop seducing and misleading him.
Second, this group will be exempted from reckoning on the day of
Resurrection and from attending the scene of judgment. It is mentioned in
the Noble Qur‹¯ an:

røne s’EG p ¢VrQC’G »pa røneh päGhÉn nª°ùdG

s »pa røne n≥p©°ün t »pa nïpØofhn
n a pQƒ°üdG

.¬o s∏dG An É°Tn

And the Trumpet shall be blown, and all those who are in the
heavens and the earth shall swoon, save whom God wills. (39:68)

It is safe to conclude with certainty from this verse that there is a group of
people who will be immune from fear and horror (faza⁄ wa Ósa⁄aqah) on the
32 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
day of Resurrection.7 When one reads that verse in conjunction with the
next verse:

.Ú p ∏î
n °ün r ªo rdG p¬s∏dG On ÉÑn pY s’EG n¿hôo °† r ªo nd º¡o qfpÉa
n ë
So they will surely be present, save the sincere slaves of God.
(37: 127- 28)

It will be clear that the group which will be exempted from the fear
of the day of judgment includes all sincere slaves of God (mukhlaÓ s̄ın). For
the sincere slaves of God, in fact, never commit any act for which they
must reckon on the day of judgment. On the contrary, through persistent
mur¯aqabah and ascetic practices in the struggle against the carnal soul
(jih¯ad-i anfus̄ıyah), they have died and attained eternal life, and have thus
transcended the Greater Resurrection of the soul. Their account has been
scrutinized in the course of their spiritual combat (muj¯ahadah). Since they
have died in the path of God, they have been dressed in the robe of eternal
life before God and enjoy special sustenance from the Divine Treasure. As
God, the Exalted has said:

ºr p¡Hu Qn ón ær pY Al É«n M r Hn ÉkJGƒn er CG p¬s∏dG p π«pÑ°Sn »pa Gƒo∏pàob ø

r CG π n jòsdG ø
s Ñn °ùn ë
r nJ n’hn
.n¿ƒobnRrôoj

Consider not dead those who were killed in the path of God;
Nay, they are alive and have their sustenance with their
Lord. (3:169)

Moreover, calling one (iÓhÓd¯ar) [to the presence of God on the day of
judgment] implies one’s absence [before God]; whereas this group of peo-
ple (mukhlaÓ s̄ın) has always been present [before Him], long before the
dawn of the day of resurrection, and have been conscious of all states; as
God, Exalted is He, has said:

.n¿ƒobnRrôoj rºp¡uHnQ nóræpY

they have sustenance with their Lord.

 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 33
Third, whatever rewards one may be entitled to and enjoy on the
Day of Judgment will be in consideration of one’s deeds, save this class of
His slaves for whom Divine munificence is far beyond the ordinary reward
for acts. As He says:

p ∏rîoªrdG p¬s∏dG nOÉnÑpY s’EG n¿ƒo∏nªr©nJ rºoàræoc Éne s’EG n¿hr nõréoJ Énehn
.nÚ°ün

You will be rewarded nothing save for what you did, except
the sincere slaves of God. (37:39–40)

If it is argued that this verse addresses only those tormented and

chastised souls (mu⁄adhdhab̄ın) who will be rewarded [or punished] in ac-
cordance with their acts, and not God’s virtuous servants whose reward is
not in accordance with their deeds but is based on God’s generosity and
munificence; we shall say that the meaning of this verse is absolute and is
not particularly addressed to the group of the chastised (mu⁄adhdhab̄ın).
Moreover, God’s rewarding His creatures in accordance with His grace and
generosity does not preclude [His] rewarding them for their deeds. For the
quality of generosity (faÓdl) implies that the Generous Lord will grant a dis-
proportionately large reward in return for insignificant deeds. In other
words, He will consider minor deeds as very important indeed. Neverthe-
less, rewards will still be in return for one’s deeds, whereas the meaning of
the noble verse cited above is something else. It means that the sincere ser-
vants of God are not at all recompensed in return for their deeds. Also it is
stated in another verse that:

.lójpõne Énærjnóndhn Én¡«pa n¿oDhÉ°ûn nj Éne rºo¡nd

There they shall have all they desire, and there is more [for
them] with Us. (50:35)

As this verse points out, not only shall they [the sincere slaves of
God] receive what they desire, there will also be additional rewards for
them before God. Hence, it is obvious that they shall receive such gifts of
Divine generosity more than what they will or desire and far beyond their
imagination or expectation. This is a profound issue that deserves special
attention and must always be borne in mind.
34 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
Fourth, the sincere (mukhlaÓ s̄ın) have such a high status and sublime
station that permits them to praise God and be grateful to the Supreme
Being in a manner that befits Him (kam¯a huwa Óhaqquh¯u). God, Exalted is
He, has said:

p ∏rîoŸG p¬s∏dG nOÉnÑpY s’EG n¿ƒoØ°ü

nÚ°ün p nj ÉsªnY p¬s∏dG n¿ÉnërÑ°So

Glorified is God from that which they attribute unto Him,

save what the sincere slaves of God [attribute]. (37:159–160)

This is the ultimate perfection of a creature and the highest possible sta-
tion one can achieve.
We can conclude from what was discussed thus far the types of priv-
ileges and effusions associated with the last station of spiritual journey,
which is the station of the mukhlaÓ s̄ın. However, it should be clear that at-
tainment of these attributes and perfections, and actualization of these re-
alities will not be possible unless the wayfarer dies in the process of spiri-
tual combat (muj¯ahadah) in the path of God. He will become intoxicated
by those Divine effusions only when he drinks from the cup of martyr-
dom. What we mean by death and martyrdom in this context is, of course,
disentanglement of one’s soul and its detachment from one’s corporeal
being and the severance of one’s love for bodily attachments and anything
associated with it. In the same manner that in the middle of the battlefield
a martyr uses his sword to liberate his soul from bodily concerns, the way-
farer too uses his inward sword in the battle against his carnal soul; and
with the help of the power of the All-Merciful liberates his spirit from its
attachment to his corporeal being.
In the beginning of the spiritual journey, by resorting to asceticism
(zuhd), contemplation on and awareness of the heedless and transient na-
ture of the world and the futility of attachment to it, the traveler in the
path of God should sever the chain of attachment to the world of multi-
plicity. Since asceticism results in detesting worldly affairs, the wayfarer
would not rejoice in occurrences that result in his outward and material
gains; neither would he grieve for those events that bring him material loss.

o ôn rØnJ n’hn ºr oµnJÉna Éen ≈n∏Yn Gƒr °SCn ÉnJ nÓ«r nµpd
.ºr oµ«n JBG ɪn pH GƒM
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 35
. . . that you grieve not for the sake of what escapes you, nor
rejoice over what you are given. (57:23)

This resignation and lack of longing [for the world] is not in contra-
diction with feelings of happiness and/or sadness in God. Because this
kind of happiness does not derive from the love of wealth, or fame and
other contingent affairs; it emanates from one’s finding himself immersed
in the ocean of Divine munificence and generosity.
After passing through this stage, the traveler will find out that he has
a strong interest in and attachment to his own soul and likes himself to the
point of extreme love (⁄ishq). He will realize that all his efforts and spiritual
combat (muj¯ahadah), in effect, emanate from his excessive love for his own
soul. Since a human being is selfish and egocentric by nature; he loves him-
self and sacrifices everything for the love of his own soul, and does not
avoid destroying anything for his own survival. Struggle against self-
centeredness and elimination of this natural instinct is the most difficult of
all difficult tasks. Unless this passion is totally eliminated and this instinct
killed, the light of God will not manifest itself in one’s heart. In other words,
so long as the traveler does not free himself of himself, he will not join God.
By pleading for Divine Grace and continuous help and mercy of the
Most Merciful, the traveler must gradually weaken the ties of self-love and
self-centeredness, and eventually sever them all. He must recant this inner
idol, which is the source of all vices; and consign it to oblivion once and
for all so that all his deeds would be definitely for the sake of Sacred Divine
Essence only, and his love for himself would be transformed into the love
of God. This can only be attained through spiritual combat.
After traversing this phase and having severed all his ties, the traveler
no longer has any attachment to his corporeal being and its needs, even to
the bondage of his soul. Now, whatever he does is for God’s sake. If he
earns a living and obtains means of livelihood to meet his needs to a rea-
sonable extent, it is because his Eternal Beloved wills him to live. Other-
wise, he would not take a single step for maintaining this earthly life. Of
course, the traveler’s desire to live is in verticality with God’s Will, and not
horizontal and parallel to it. Therefore, he should not expect unveiling (of
the Truth) or miracles and take steps to actualize them, nor pray and in-
voke with the intention to discover invisible things or read minds and mys-
teries, or acquire such powers as the ability to walk around the earth (Ótay
36 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
al-arÓd). He should not undertake ascetic practices to strengthen and/or
display special mental and psychic power in any way and form, because
such a person no longer worships God or travels on the path of the
Beloved and cannot be sincere. On the contrary, it is his own soul that he
worships and whose needs he meets and whose powers he actualizes, al-
though he never confesses with his tongue to this evil act and claims that
all his prayers are for God’s sake. Such a person is the one who turns his
own soul into an object of his worship. He, in fact, worships his whims
and desires as the following noble verse of the Qur‹¯ an indicates:

.o√Gƒn ng o¬n¡ndEG nònîsJG røne nârjCGnônaCG

Have you seen him who has made his desire his god? (25:43).

The wayfarer must pass beyond this phase and leave it behind, and aban-
don his soul which always claims “I-ness” (an¯an̄ıyah). God willing, we shall
discuss this issue later.
Ultimately, when the traveler passes beyond this station, he gradually
forgets that he once loved himself for the sake of God, the Exalted. He no
longer sees his own self or any other face except the Infinite and Eternal
Beauty of the Beloved. Gradually he will be drawn into that endless ocean
without leaving any sign or trace of himself.
It must be borne in mind that the traveler should be alert in the bat-
tle against the carnal soul to assure that he defeats the army of Satan com-
pletely, wipes out the temptations of the carnal soul (¯ath¯ar-i nafs¯an¯ ıyah),
and removes their roots from the hidden corners of his heart. For if an iota
of love for wealth, glory, and status, or for pride, ambition, and self-love
remains in his heart, he will never attain perfection.
Often, it has been noticed that many aspirants from among the
“perfect men” (kumm¯al¯ ın) fail in the battle against the carnal soul and do
not reach the station of perfection even after years of ascetic practices
(riy¯aÓdat) and spiritual combat. The reason for their failure is that the
roots of certain traits survive in their hearts, while they imagine that they
have completely wiped them out. Consequently, when they face God’s
trial and are confronted with temptations of the carnal soul and its effects,
those roots suddenly bloom and grow, and finally defeat the wayfarer.
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 37
Success in overcoming the carnal soul and its forces is contingent
upon Divine solicitude and special Grace of the Lord of lords (Rabb al-
arb¯ab); for it is not possible to traverse this stage without His special grace
and assistance.
It has been reported that one day some pupils found the late Sayyid
BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um,8 may God be pleased with him, smiling and in a joyous
mood. When they asked him about the reason for his happiness, he
replied: “After twenty-five years of spiritual combat, now when I look into
my soul I realize that my deeds are no longer ostentatious (riy¯a‹¯ ı), and that
I have at last succeeded in purifying my deeds.” One must reflect deeply on
this statement.
It should be reiterated that from the beginning of wayfaring and
spiritual journeying up to its final stage, the traveler must observe all pre-
cepts of the glorious Shar¯ ı ⁄ah, and must not violate an iota of the exoteric
aspects of Divine Law. Hence, should you come across a person who
claims to be a spiritual traveler but who does not observe all rituals and du-
ties set by the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah, or is not committed to piety and abstention from
sin, or deviates even slightly from the straight path of the true Shar¯ ı ⁄ah; be
aware that such a person is a hypocrite (mun¯afiq), unless it is proved that
he commits unintended errors or is forgetful.
It has been heard from some people who say that after the wayfarer
reaches advanced stations and enjoys Lordly effusions and blessings, he is
free from all obligations [to observe the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah]. This is a prevarication
and a false assertion. For even the Prophet, who was the most perfect and
noblest of all creation observed all sacred precepts [of the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah] until
the last moments of his life. Therefore, exemption from religious obliga-
tions in this sense is false and an inaccurate assertion. But one can interpret
this statement in a different manner, which those who make such an asser-
tion do not understand. That is, performing rites and rituals of worship is
a means for the human soul to grow to perfection. Man’s faculties and ca-
pabilities are transformed from potentiality to actuality through his com-
mitment to prayers and observation of rites of worship. Therefore, for those
who have not yet actualized all their potentials in every respect, rites and
prayers are necessary in their quest for perfection. But for those who have
already achieved complete actualization of all their potentials, performance
of rites for the sake of perfection and proximity [to God] is no longer rele-
vant. Rather, for this group of people, observing the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah and performing
38 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
the rites are required precisely because of the very station they have attained.
¯
Hence, when ⁄A‹ishah asked the Blessed Messenger [Peace be upon him]
why he bothered to pray so much when God had declared to him:

.nôsNCÉnJ Énehn n∂pÑrfnP røpe Ωsón≤nJ Éne o¬s∏dG n∂nd nôpØr¨n«pd

. . . that God may forgive thee of thy sins that which is past and
that which is to come (48:2),

the Prophet (Peace be upon him) replied, “Do you want me not to be a
grateful servant for God?’’ This statement makes it abundantly clear that
performance of the rites of worship for some human souls is not for attain-
ing spiritual perfection, but is purely for the sake of expressing gratitude
and appreciation to Almighty God.
The states that the wayfarer experiences as a result of constant atten-
tion and spiritual struggle, and which occasionally reveal their luminosity
and signs to him, are just the beginning of the process to turn those states
into [his] second nature (malakah). For the mere occurrence of such expe-
riences and changes of states are not sufficient in themselves. Through per-
sistence in spiritual struggle, the traveler must try to completely eliminate
all traces of the lower world that are concealed and hidden within his
being. Unless he can identify with the pure souls of the world, attainment
to such pure souls’ stations will be impossible for him. In fact, the slightest
relapse in wayfaring and spiritual struggle would bring the aspirant down
again to the lower world. It is to this subtle point that the following noble
verse refers:

nπpàob hCr G näÉne r¿ÉE naCG oπ°So tôdG p¬p∏rÑnb øpe rân∏nN rónb l∫ƒ°So nQ ’EG oósªëoe Éneh''
' .ºoµpHÉn≤Yr CG ≈∏Yn ºr ào Ñr n∏n≤rfG
And Muhammad is but a Messenger (the like of whom) have
passed away before him. So, should he die or be slain, will
you turn back on your heels? (3:144)

Therefore, the traveler must purify his being outwardly and inwardly
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 39
and cleanse all impurities from the niches and corners of his heart, so that
he may enjoy the companionship of the immaculate souls and the associa-
tion of pure beings of the higher plenum; as the Holy Qur‹¯ an says:

.o¬næpWÉnHhn p ºrKE’G nôpgÉ nX GhoQnPhn

And renounce the outwardness of sin and the inwardness

thereof. (6:120)

Accordingly, the wayfarer should traverse and leave behind all the realms
that precede the realm of sincerity (khul¯uÓs ), as God, Almighty and Exalted
is He, has stated in this blessed verse in an undifferentiated manner:

ºr p¡°ùop ØrfCGhn ºr p¡pdGƒn er CÉpH p¬s∏dG p π«pÑ°Sn »pa Ghóo gn ÉL

n hn Ghôo L
n Égn hn Gƒæo en BG ø
n jòsdG

mánªrMnôpH rºo¡tHnQ rºogoô°ûu nÑoj n¿hoõpFÉnØrdG oºog n∂pÄndhoGhn p¬s∏dG nóræpY kánLnQnO oº n¶rYCG

¬n s∏dG s¿EG kGóHn CG É¡n «pa ø

n jpópdÉN
n ºl «p≤eo ºl «p©nf É¡n «pa ºr ¡o nd mäÉæs L
n hn m¿Gƒn °Vp
r Qhn ¬o ær pe

.lº«p¶nY lôrLCG o√nóræpY

Those who believe, and have migrated from their homes and
struggled in the path of God with their wealth and their
lives are of much greater station before God. These are the
triumphant; their Lord gives them good tidings of mercy
from Him and acceptance, and Gardens where enduring
pleasure will be theirs. There, they will abide forever. Lo!
with God there is immense reward. (9:20–22)

According to this verse, there exist four realms that precede the realm
of sincerity (khul¯uÓs). They are (1) Isl¯am, that is to say, submission [to the
Will of God]; (2) ¯ ım¯an or faith [in God, His messenger, and the day of
judgment] (3) migration (hijrat) [in defense of religion and in protest to
injustice], and (4) struggle (jih¯ad) in the path of God. Since the wayfaring
40 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel
of a traveler on the path of God is the Greater Struggle (jih¯ad al-akbar) (as
the Prophet said, “We have now turned from the lesser struggle [jih¯ad al-
aÓsghar] toward the Greater Struggle”). The precondition, therefore, for his
wayfaring is that his isl¯am and ¯ ım¯an should, in fact, be the Greater Isl¯am
and the Greater ¯ ım¯an. Only then is he expected to muster his resolution,
and with the help of his inner and outer prophets (faculties), set out on
this journey and enter the battlefield of spiritual struggle (muj¯ahadah) so
that he can achieve the honor of martyrdom on the path of God.
The traveler must be aware of the fact that from the beginning of his
journey up to this stage of jih¯ad there are many obstacles created by the
devil as well as his fellow human beings. But when he attains the honor of
martyrdom and passes beyond the realm of Greater Isl¯am and Greater ¯ ım¯an,
and becomes triumphant in the struggle and achieves martyrdom, he stands
at the gate of the realms of the Greatest Isl¯am, the Greatest ¯ ım¯an, the Great-
est Hijrah, and the Greatest jih¯ad, the impediments of which are the Great-
est Heresy (kufr-i a⁄a zam) and the Greatest Hypocrisy (nif¯aq-i a⁄a zam). The
¯ ¯
army of Satan no longer has access to this realm and no power over it.
Rather, Satan, who is the chief of all devils will personally block the way-
farer’s path. Therefore, the traveler must never assume that just because he
has passed those realms, he is immune from the perils of the path and has
reached his destination. On the contrary, he must be aware that after cross-
ing the preceding realms, if he fails to traverse the Greatest of those realms,
he will become a prey of Satan who will prevent him from reaching his ulti-
mate destination. Therefore, the traveler must have high aspirations and
spiritual resolve and determination, and should not permit Satan to afflict
him with the Greatest Heresy (kufr-i a⁄a zam) or the Greatest Hypocrisy
¯
(nif¯aq-i a⁄a zam). Rather, after traversing the stages of the Greatest Isl¯am and
¯
Greatest ¯ ım¯an, he must undertake the Greatest Migration (hijrat-i ⁄uzm¯a).
¯
By resorting to the Greatest spiritual struggle (muj¯ahadah-yi a⁄a zam), he
¯
should pass through the plain of the Greatest Resurrection of the soul
(q¯ ıy¯amat-i ⁄uzm¯a-yi anfus̄ıyah) to enter the realm of the sincere (mukhlaÓs̄ın).
¯
May God, Exalted is He, grant us this blessing, God willing!

Notes

1. This Divine Melody (Naghmah-yi Quds̄ıyah) refers to the Covenant

that was made between God and man before God brought him into
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 41
this world. God asked man “alastu bi rabbikum, q¯al¯u bal¯a. Am I not
your Lord, They said Yea, verily You Are.” See, the Holy Qur‹¯ an, 7:172.
See also Jal¯ al al-D¯ ın R¯um¯ ı, Mathnaw¯ ı, III:

â°ùg ô°ûM ÉJ ≈æeDƒe ƒg ∫O QO â°ùdG `µfÉH ¿BG ¥hP ¬µfÉæ˝ªg

â°ùe äÉYÉW √Q QO ó°TÉH â°ùe â°ùdG RhQ RG ójO ≈HGƒN ¬c ôg

As the taste of that call of Alast,

present it is in the heart of every believing man,
whoever had a dream of the Day of alast,
drunken he will be on the path of obedience and prayers.

2. N¯ur-i Isfahbud¯ ıyah: The Light of lights that is present in the center of
man’s being. Suhraward¯ ı identifies it with Muhammad¯ an Spirit (r¯uÓh-i
muÓhammad¯ ı ) or the Holy Spirit (r¯uÓh al-Qudus). N¯ur-i isfahbud¯ ı illu-
minates everything and makes visions possible. Everything that exists
in the corporeal existence of the human being is a shadow from that
which exists in the n¯ur-i isfahbud. On Suhraward¯ ı and his school see
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Three Muslim Sages (New York, 1969); Mahd¯ ı
Am¯ ın Razavi, Suhraward¯ ı and the School of Illumination (New York,
1997), Hossein Z¯ ıa‹¯ ı‹, “Shih¯ ab al-D¯ ın Suhraward¯ ı: founder of the Il-
luminationist school” in Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Oliver Leaman
(eds.), History of Islamic Philosophy (London, 1996), vol. 1, chaps. 28
and 29. See also Suhraward¯ ı, Óhikmat ul-ishr¯aq, edited with an intro-
duction and comments by S. J. Sajj¯ ad¯ ı (Tehran, 1377/1998), 6th ed.,
and G. I. D¯ ın¯ an¯ ı, Shu⁄¯a ⁄-i and¯ ıshah va shuh¯ud-i suhraward¯ ı (Tehran,
1376/1997).
Suwar-i az¯ a‹im are those chapters which require the reciter to pros-
trate at the end of certain verses. They include chapters 13, 16, 17, 19,
22, 25, 27, 32, 38, 41, 53, 84, and 96.
3. To this Óhad¯ ıth Sufi’s usually add, Now it is as it has always been (al‹¯an
kam¯a k¯an.) Quoted from Seyyed Hossein Nasr.
4. The biographical account of B¯ab¯a Faraj Majdh¯ub is available in
T¯ar¯ ıkh-i ÒHashr¯ ı, written on accounts of sages and gnostics of Tabr̄ız.
His sayings, including this one, have been cited in the form of poetry
in that book:
42 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel

â°SOÉ°ûnµH √ójO ¬c ÉJ êôa ¬c

â°S OÉàØ«f ¿É¡L ôH hG º°û¸

Since the day Faraj was born into this world (lit. opened his eyes),
his eyes have never seen the world.

H
Ò ¯ afiÔz also has written a similar poem:

¿ójRQh ≥°ûY ¬H Ωô¡°T √l ô¡°T ¬c ºæe

¿ójO óH ¬H ΩG √OƒdÉ«f √ójO ¬c ºæe

I am the one who is famed in town for philandering, yet

I am the one who never tainted eyes by seeing wretchedness

Ibn al-F¯ ariÓd has said:

p π«pªé s páHn ôr oJhn ∂

n rdG pôÑr °üdG n «r ndEG »pbGƒn °TCr G pIÉ«n M
n hn
p π«p∏nN ≈ndEG oäƒr nÑ°U
n n’hn n∑Gƒn °Sp »pær«nY rânæ°ùn rënà°SG
r Éne
My life: my longing for thee,
and my grave: my patience fair,
Beyond thee, my eyes found no charm,
my heart any repose in a friend.

Ibn al-F¯ ariÓd is reported to have said that he composed this couplet in
a dream.
5. ⁄Abd al-Kar̄ım J¯ ıl̄ı, al-Ins¯an al-K¯amil, Cairo, 1304/1884. Sections of this
treatise were translated into English by Arnold Nicholson and pub-
lished in Studies in Islamic Mysticism, Cambridge, 1919. Other parts are
available in French translation by Titus Burckhardt, De l’homme uni-
versal, Lyon, 1952. See Martin Lings, What Is Sufism, 2d. ed., 1995.
6. Shaykh Wal̄ıull¯ ah of Dihl̄ı was born in 1114/1703 in Delh¯ ı and died
there in 1176/1762. He was the most prominent Sufi scholar of India
and wrote on a variety of subjects including Islamic law, philosophy,
 Treatise on the Kernel of the Kernel 43
and theology. His biographer states that more than fifty of his works
have been published. His most important contributions include Kit¯ab
al-Hama⁄¯at, AlÓt¯af al-quds, ÒHujjat All¯ah al-B¯alighah, Lama⁄¯at, and
Shif¯a‹ al-Qul¯ub. See H
Ò ¯ afiÔz A. Ghaff¯ ar Kh¯ an, “Islamic Philosophy in
the Modern Islamic World: India,” in Nasr and Leaman (eds.), History
of Islamic Philosophy, Part II, pp. 1051–1075.
7. Holy Qur‹¯ an, 21:103.
8. Sayyid Mahd¯ ı ibn HÒ asan ibn Muhammad (1155–1212/1742–1797), one of
the most eminent Sh¯ ı⁄ite scholars and the author of al-ijtih¯ad: uÓsu¯ luh¯u
wa aÓhk¯amuh¯u, Beirut, 1977, and Bulghat al-faq¯ ıh, Tehran, 1984.
 3

Description of the Realms Preceding

the Realm of Khul¯uÓs

As we stated before, the traveler on the path of God, Exalted is He, must
traverse twelve realms before entering the realm of khul¯uÓs. These include:
the realms of the Lesser, the Greater, and the Greatest submission (isl¯am-i
aÓ sghar, isl¯am-i akbar, and isl¯am-i a⁄azam); the worlds of the Lesser, the
¯
Greater, and the Greatest faith (¯ ım¯an-i aÓ sghar, ¯ ım¯an-i akbar, and ¯ ım¯an-i
a⁄azam); the worlds of the Lesser, the Greater, and the Greatest migration
¯
(hijrat-i Ósughr¯a, hijrat-i kubr¯a, and hijrat-i ⁄uzm¯a); and finally, the realms of
¯
the Lesser, the Greater, and the Greatest spiritual struggle (jih¯ad-i aÓ sghar,
jih¯ad-i akbar, and jih¯ad-i a⁄azam). Therefore, one must know the peculiar-
¯
ities of these realms and their qualities and effects, characteristics, and
signs; and be aware of the impediments and obstacles on the road toward
them. Here we shall describe these stages briefly and in an undifferentiated
manner, because they have been described in a differentiated manner in
the celebrated book attributed to the late Sayyid Mahd¯ ı BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um, the
pride of all jurists and friends of God, may He place him in His Paradise.1
Those who seek to learn about it in detail should refer to the work itself.
However, for the sake of clarification of the issues, we shall describe them
briefly in the coming pages.

The Greater Isl¯am (Isl¯am-i Akbar)

Isl¯am-i akbar consists of total submission and absolute surrender before

God, that is to say, renunciation of all complaints and objections before
Him, Almighty and Glorious is He. It [also] connotes the recognition of
the fact that anything that exists, or any event that takes place, is destined

45
46 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs
[by God] and, therefore, good; and that which does not occur is not in
one’s best interest. In short, Isl¯am-i akbar calls for total abstinence from
questioning and complaining in regard to the Almighty Lord. Am¯ ır al-
Mu‹min¯ ın ⁄Al¯ ı, the Master of all monotheists (mawl¯a al-muwaÓhÓhid¯ ın),
may peace be upon him, described this station in the famous Óhad¯ ıth nar-
rated by Marf¯u ⁄ah Barq̄ı 2 in his collection (MaÓh¯asin) in the following
terms:

o p≤«n rdG ƒn go ºo «p∏°ùr às rdGhn ,ºo «p∏°ùr às dG ƒn go Ωn nÓ°SEr ’G s¿GE

.Ú

Verily, Isl¯am means submission (tasl¯ ım), and submission means

certainty (yaq̄ın).

In addition, there should not be any kind of grudge or ill feeling left
in the wayfarer’s heart toward God’s injunctions, whether they pertain to
Shar¯ ı ⁄ah or to God’s engendering Command, as indicated in this state-
ment of God, Exalted is He:

Ghóo péjn ’ ºs oK ºr ¡o æn «r Hn ôn é
n °Tn ɪn «pa ∑
n ƒªo uµë n n¿ƒæo peƒDr jo ’ ∂
n jo ≈às M n Hq Qn hn nÓna
.kɪ«p∏°ùnr J Gƒoªu∏°ùn ojhn nâr«°†n
n b Ésªpe kÉLnônM rºp¡°ùop ØrfCG »pa
Nay, by thy Lord, they shall not believe (in truth) until they
make you judge of what is in dispute between them and find in
their hearts no dislike or ill feeling about that which you de-
cide, and submit with full submission. (4:65)

This station is the same as the station of ¯ ım¯an-i akbar, wherein isl¯am-i
akbar has penetrated into the wayfarer’s soul and has truly taken over his
heart and spirit.

The Greatest Faith (¯Im¯an-i Akbar)

When the heart of the traveler is illuminated with the light of isl¯am-i
akbar, occasionally a state descends upon him and enables him to witness—
in addition to perceiving God’s presence intuitively and intellectually—that
 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 47
all that exists is Divinely ordained and supported, Exalted is He. In other
words, he finds that God is present and witnessing all things in all circum-
stances. This is the same as the station of direct vision and the Greater
Isl¯ am. However, since this state has not yet reached its utmost perfection
to take over the wayfarer’s total being and take charge of his entire corpo-
real existence, material obstacles such as natural and ordinary physical pre-
occupations may distract him from that state. As a result of involvement
with these affairs, he may lose [the state of ] direct witnessing and vision,
and may be taken over by forgetfulness and negligence (ghaflat, Arabic
ghaflah). Therefore, the traveler must remain steadfast and determined
and transform that state into a second nature (malakah) to attain perfec-
tion so that outward preoccupations could not capture him and distract
him from the course of vision (shuh¯ud). In other words, he must extend
this state (Isl¯am-i akbar) from the plane of the heart to that of the spirit
until that transient and undifferentiated (ijm¯al) state is transformed into a
differentiated (tafÓ s̄ıl) one and, under the command of the spirit, expand
and take over all his manifest and nonmanifest faculties, changing from a
passing state and becoming a second nature to him. This is the same sta-
tion that gnostics/⁄uraf¯a‹ call iÓhs¯an, as God, the Munificent, states in the
Glorious Qur‹¯ an:

Énæn∏oÑ°So rºo¡sænjpór¡nænd Énæ«pa GhoóngÉnL nøjòsdGhn

And those who struggle in Us, We surely guide them to Our

paths. (29: 69)

He does not stop here but adds:

n pæ°ùp ë
Ú r oŸG ™n ªn nd ¬n s∏dG s¿GE hn
And verily God is with those who do good deeds (muÓhsin¯ ın).

Therefore, as long as the struggler in the path of God (muj¯ahid f¯ ı sab̄ıl

All¯ah) does not attain the station of iÓhs¯an, he will not be able to reach the
path of Divine guidance. When the Prophet of All¯ ah was asked about the
meaning of iÓhs¯an, He replied:
48 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs

n∑Gnônj o¬sfpÉna o√GnônJ røoµnJ rºnd r¿GE hn ,o√GnônJ n∂sfnCÉnc n¬s∏dG nóoÑr©nJ r¿CG o¿É°ùME
n ’G
IÓhs¯an is to adore All¯ ah as though thou didst see Him, and if
thou dost not see Him, He nonetheless seeth thee.3

In other words, one should worship God as though one sees Him. If one is
not able to worship Him in this manner, at least he should worship God as
if He sees him.
As long as the station of isl¯am-i akbar of the traveler does not reach
the plane of ¯ ım¯an-i akbar, only occasionally does he experience the state of
iÓhs¯an wherein he performs rites of worship eagerly and with utmost fervor.
But when he reaches the realm of ¯ ım¯an-i akbar, his state of iÓhs¯an is trans-
formed into a second nature and he attains the station of the people of
good deeds (muÓhsin¯ ın). At this point, every conduct and act of the traveler,
whether major and significant or minor and insignificant, emanates from
his spiritual yearning (shawq) and longing (raghbat, Arabic raghbah), and is
carried out with certainty and serenity. Because at this stage faith has taken
over the wayfarer’s spirit, and since the spirit is the sovereign ruler and
commander of all parts and organs of his corporeal being, it employs all of
them for its own purpose and facilitates their functions. They all become
submissive and obedient to the spirit and do not rebel against it even for a
short moment. Concerning people at this station, God, Blessed and Ex-
alted is He, says:

ø
r Yn ºr go ø p N
n jòsdGhn ¿ƒ©o °TÉn ºr p¡pJƒn∏°U
n »pa ºr go ø
n jòsdG n¿ƒæo peƒDr ªo rdG í
n n∏raCG ór nb
.n¿ƒ°Vp
o ôr©oe pƒr¨s∏dG

Prospered indeed are the believers. Those who are humble in

their prayers, and who turn away from vain conversation.
(23:1–3)

Since preoccupation with illusory and worthless things is derived

from a natural inclination and attraction toward them, the traveler who
has faith in ¯ ım¯an-i akbar and has reached the station of iÓhs¯an has no attrac-
tion or inclination toward such things. Moreover, he knows that two loves
 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 49
cannot exist in one heart, in accordance with the statement of God, Ex-
alted is He:

.p¬paƒr L
n »pap ø«r Ñn r∏nb ø
r pem πL
o ôn pd ¬o s∏dG π
n ©n L
n Éen

God has not placed two hearts in a man’s breast. (33:4)

If there is still any inclination in the traveler’s heart toward vain mat-
ters, we can easily and immediately find out that his heart is devoid of yearn-
ing for the Divine, as causes are inferred from their effects. Such a heart
would be a hypocritical one, because, on the one hand, it expresses eagerness
in matters relating to God, Exalted is He, and on the other hand, it is still
preoccupied with vanities and frivolities. This kind of hypocrisy is the
Greater Hypocrisy (nif¯aq-i akbar), which stands in sharp contrast to ¯ ım¯an-i
akbar. Submission and obedience in the heart of such a wayfarer does not
emanate from inward yearning and eagerness for God; rather, it is based on
fear, caution, and intellectual considerations intuitive to human beings. It is
to this hypocrisy (nif¯aq) that this statement of God Almighty refers:

.≈ndÉ°ùon c Gƒeo Énb pIƒn∏°üdG

s ≈ndEG Gƒeo Énb GnPEGhn

And when they stand for prayer they perform it lackadaisically.

(4:142)

The traveler attains the station of ¯ ım¯an-i akbar only after he is totally
freed from all degrees of hypocrisy (nif¯aq) and when his actions are purely
inspired and motivated by love and yearning [for God] and are not based
on fear or inspired by prudence, mere intellectual perception, or caution.

The Greater Migration (Hijrat-i Kubr¯a)

When the traveler arrives at the station of ¯ ım¯an-i akbar, he must prepare to
make the Greatest Migration (hijrat-i kubr¯a). The Greatest Migration is
one’s distancing of oneself physically from people who rebel against God,
avoiding the company of people who are disobedient to Him (ahl-i baghy
wa tÓ ughy¯an), and people who are preoccupied with the treacherous world.4
50 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs
It is also distancing one’s heart from love and attraction toward those peo-
ple. This migration is as much physical as it is spiritual; it is carried out by
one’s corporeal being as well as one’s soul. It is one’s migration and distanc-
ing oneself from conventional habits and customs, contingent affairs,
rules, and practices that stand in the traveler’s path to God and prevent
him from advancing. For habits and customs are among the most impor-
tant elements of the realm of heresy and disbelief.
In a materialistic society, man is delimited by habits and customs
based on imagination and sensory intuition (wahm¯ ı), which the people of
the world are accustomed to and upon which they base their gain and loss,
as well as their relationships, transactions, and communication with oth-
ers. For instance, [in such a society] it is usually assumed that someone
who sits silently in a scholarly gathering or debate, is ignorant. Or, it has
become a habit that people show incoherence in where they sit in a gather-
ing; and in an assembly one’s rank and status is determined by where one
sits. The same holds true of one’s walking ahead of others while entering or
leaving a gathering. Adulation and fawning are considered evidence of cor-
diality, courtesy, and beauty of character, while the opposite of them are
regarded as signs of low character, triviality, and ill-naturedness or as the
absence of nobility of character and eminence. The traveler must abandon
all these illusive habits and with Divine succor migrate from this realm of
imagination and sensory intuition, and divorce this old hag once and for
all.5 In the course of this dissociation, the wayfarer must have no concern
or fear, nor should he be afraid of the people’s adverse opinion, or pay at-
tention to the blame of those who claim knowledge and wisdom. As a
Óhad¯ ıth of the Blessed Prophet narrated by Im¯am ÓS¯adiq and quoted in
[Muhammad ibn Ya⁄q¯ub] al-Kulayn¯ ı’s6 compendium on the authority of
[Ism¯ a⁄¯ ıl ibn Zayd] al-Suk¯un¯ ı7 clearly states:

.oÖ°†n
n ¨rdGhn o§rî°ùrt dGhn oánÑrgsôrdGhn oánÑrZsôrdG :lán©nHrQCG pôrØoµrdG o¿ÉncrQCG

The pillars of heresy (kufr) are four: desire, fear, anger, and rage.

Fear in this context has been interpreted as fearing the people for op-
posing and violating their customs and norms based on sensory intuition.
In short, the traveler must abandon and free himself of all conventional
social customs, manners, and contingent affairs that create obstacles [for
 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 51
his journey] on the path of God. The gnostics refer to this attitude as mad-
ness (jun¯un) because an insane person is not acquainted with people’s cus-
toms and habits, nor does he observe or attach any significance to them.
He is indifferent to their praise and blame and has no fear of their hostile
reaction against him, nor does he try to mend his ways and manners.

≈°TÉH ¿ƒµ∏nc ≈eRG ÜGôN ¬c ¬H ¿BG ∫O iG

≈°TÉH ¿hQÉb ⪰ûM ó°U ¬H èænc h QR ≈H
óæ°ûîH ¿GÒ≤a ¬H äGQó°U ¬c ≈eÉ≤e QO
≈°TÉH ¿hõaG ¬ªgRG √ÉL ¬H ¬c ΩQGO º°û¸
ɪæH ≈JGP ôgƒnc ≈Ñ∏W ≈gÉ°T êÉJ
≈°TÉH ¿hójôah ó«°ûªL ôgƒnc RG ƒNQG
¢û«>QO ¿ÉHÉ«Hh ÜGƒNQO ƒJ h âaQ ¿GhQÉc

≈°TÉH ¿ƒ¸ ≈浸 ≈°Sô> ¬cR √Q ihQ ≈c

øµeƒ¡°S ¿ÉgƒJ ¬H ΩOƒ‰ ≥°ûY ¬l £≤f
≈°TÉH ¿hÒH √ôFGO RG iônµæH ¿ƒ¸ ¬fQh
¿É°ûf ∑ÓaGôH ¬YôL h øc ¢Tƒf iôZÉ°S
? ≈°TÉH ¿ƒN ônµL ΩÉjq G ºZ RG óæ¸ ¬H ÉJ

O my heart, better that

you be ruined by rosy wine
And have a glory a hundred times that of Korah,
without his gold and treasure.
In the station where they grant
to the people of poverty the position of a king,
I expect that you will find a majesty
52 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs
superior to all.
If you wish the royal crown,
show the jewel of your essence,
If your jewel is of the same essence as
Farayd¯un’s and Jamsh¯ ıd’s.
The caravan has departed
and you are asleep,
Ahead lies the desert, When will you set out?
Whom will you ask the way?
What will you do? How will you be?
I have shown you the center of love
so do not falter,
An outsider to the circle you will be
before you shall notice.
Take a cup, and spurt out a sip at the heavens,
How long will you grieve for the world’s sorrows.

The Greater Spiritual Struggle (Jih¯ad-i Akbar)

When the traveler, with the help of Lordly providence, succeeds in com-
pleting the migration and liberates himself from society’s customs and
habits, he enters the station of the Greater Spiritual Struggle (jih¯ad-i
akbar). This is the station of battle against the armies of Satan, because at
this stage the wayfarer becomes a captive in the realm of his nature and his
sensory intuition, wrath, and lust. He will be captured by conflicting pas-
sions, will be surrounded by the darkness of expectations and desires, will
be taken over by anxieties and sorrows and anguished by contradictory
thoughts and conflicting desires, and constantly expects frightening
events. From every corner of his chest a fire attacks him; he constantly
worries about poverty and need. His inward being is crushed by conflict-
ing pains and vengeance. At times he is torn apart in the tussles of family
and children, while at other times he is fearful of losing wealth and belong-
ings. At times he seeks status but fails to attain it, or pursues power that he
fails to earn. The thorns of jealousy, anger, pride, and desires torment him.
He becomes a despicable and contemptible victim in the claws of the scor-
pions and predators of the material and natural world. The abode of his
 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 53
heart becomes tainted by the dark and countless shadows of delusions.
Wherever he turns, he is battered by the fist of fate, and wherever he steps
thorns will injure his feet.
These pains and illnesses accumulate in the traveler’s chest and after
much contemplation and consideration, he realizes that they are multifari-
ous. With God’s help and grace, the traveler must defeat the armies of sen-
sory intuition, indignation, and lust, and achieve triumph in this greatest
spiritual combat (muj¯ahada-yi kubr¯a). Only after gaining victory in this
struggle and freeing himself from the claws of mundane attachments and
removing the hurdles from his way, will the wayfarer finally leave the realm
of nature behind and bid farewell to it.

The Greatest Submission (Isl¯am-i A⁄aÔzam)

In such a state the traveler enters the realm of isl¯am-i a⁄a zam. Here, he sees
¯
himself like a unique jewel and an unrivaled treasure, encompassing the
world of nature, immune from death and annihilation, and free from quar-
reling with contradictories. He observes within himself a purity, a glory,
and an illuminating light that is beyond the perception of the natural
world. That is because in this state the traveler has died to the natural world
and has found a new life. Although outwardly he lives in the realm of the
terrestrial and visible kingdom (⁄¯alam-i mulk wa n¯as¯ut), he beholds terres-
trial (n¯as¯ut¯ ı) beings in their Heavenly (malak¯ut¯ ı) forms. Everything from
the material world that he may encounter, he will see in their Heavenly
forms; and therefore, they do not disturb him. For he has reached the sta-
tion of Intermediate Resurrection of the Soul (qiy¯amat-i anfus¯ ıya-yi wusÓta¯ ),
where veils are removed [before his eyes] and many mysteries are revealed to
him, and he experiences many wondrous states. This is the very same sta-
tion of isl¯am-i a⁄azam mentioned clearly in the verses of the Qur‹¯ an:
¯

r ªn nc p ¢SÉæs rdG »pa p¬pH ≈°ûp ªr jn kGQƒof ¬o nd Éæn r∏©n L

¬o o∏nãen ø n hn √o Éæn «r «n M
r CÉna kÉà«r en n¿Énc ø
r en hCn G

GƒofÉnc Éne nøjpôpaÉnµr∏pd nøujoR n∂pdnònc É¡ræpe m êpQÉnîpH ¢ù

n r«nd päÉnªo∏ t¶dG »pa

.n¿ƒo∏ªn ©r jn
54 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs
Why is he who was dead, and We have raised him unto life,
and set for him a light to walk by among the people, as one who
is in darkness whence he can never emerge? So is their conduct
made to appear pleasant and fair to the disbelievers. (6:122)

And similarly in the following statement God, the Exalted, has said:

káÑn «u nW kIƒ«n M
n ¬o æs «n p«ë o peƒDr eo ƒn go hn ≈nãrfoG hCr G môncnP ø
r æo r∏na ø r pe kÉëpdÉ°U n pªYn ø
n π r en

.n¿ƒo∏nªr©nj GƒofÉnc Énep ø°ùn rMCÉpH rºognôrLCG rºo¡sænjpõrénædhn

Whosoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, and

is a believer, verily We shall revive them with good life, and We
shall reward them a recompense in proportion to the best of
what they did. (16: 97)

It should be made clear that at this juncture and as a result of what

the traveler witnesses in his soul, he may be taken over by pride and I-ness
(an¯an¯ ıyah). He may encounter his biggest and staunchest enemy, which is
nothing but his own carnal soul (nafs), as it has been pointed out in this
tradition:

.n∂r«nÑrænL nør«nH »pàsdG n∂°ùro Ønf n∑hu oónY inórYCG

Your most ardent enemy is your carnal soul, which dwells be-
tween your two sides.

If the Lordly grace (⁄in¯ay¯at-i rabb¯an¯ ıyah) does not save him at this stage,
he will be afflicted with the greatest heresy (kufr-i a⁄azam). It is this heresy
¯
which is referred to in the famous saying:

s n»pg ¢ùr
.oônÑrcC’G oºnæ°üdG o ØsærdG
The carnal soul is the biggest idol.
 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 55
Abraham (may peace be upon him) took refuge in God from this
kind of heresy and begged Him deliverance from it:

r ’G nóoÑr©nf r¿CG s»pænHhn »pærÑoærLGhn

.nΩÉnæ°UC
And turn me and my sons away from serving idols. (14:35)

It is quite obvious that heresy in the ordinary sense of the term, that is to
say worshiping man-made idols, is inconceivable for a prophet like Abra-
ham who is honored with the glorious title of the Friend of the All-Benef-
icent (Khal¯ ıl al-RaÓhm¯an). It was this polytheism from which the Noble
Prophet of Isl¯ am, may God’s blessing and peace be with him, sought
refuge in God with this prayer:

u pØî
.» n rdG p∑ôr °ûru dG ø
n e∂
n pH oPƒYo CG »ufEG ºs ¡o s∏dnG
O God, I seek Thy refuge from hidden polytheism (shirk al-khafy).

In short, the traveler should affirm, with Divine help, his nothing-
ness, admit his helplessness, weakness, lowliness, and slavehood and cast
away egotism so that he will not fall victim to the Greatest heresy (kufr-i
a⁄a zam), and can attain the station of the Greatest Isl¯ am (isl¯am-i a⁄a zam).
¯ ¯
Some of the most celebrated sages among the gnostics would never utter
the words ‘‘I’’ and ‘‘we’’ throughout their lives. Instead, they would say, for
instance, ‘‘This servant (bandah) came’’ and ‘‘This servant (bandah) left.’’
Some others, in describing their actions, would attribute to God that
which was good and derived from Divine Essence, and attribute to them-
selves that which could not be attributed to Divine Being. And in cases
where some deeds could be related to themselves as well as to God they
would say ‘‘we.’’ They based this practice on the episode of KhiÓdir and
Moses, may Peace be upon them, where KhiÓdir says:

.Én¡nÑ«YCG r¿CG oärOnQCÉna pôrënÑrdG »pa n¿ƒo∏nªr©nj nÚpcÉ°ùn nªpd rânfÉnµna oánæ«pØ°ùdG
s ÉseCG
56 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs
As for the ship, it belonged to certain poor men, who toiled
upon the sea; and I desired to mar it. (18:79)

Since inflicting damage may not be attributed to the Divine Essence,

KhiÓdir attributes that to himself and, hence, uses the proper singular pro-
noun. However, because the killing [of the lad] could be attributed to
KhiÓdir and to God, he describes it in the plural.

GôrØochn kÉfÉn«r¨ oW Énªo¡n≤pgrôoj r¿CG Énæ«°ûp nînap ør«næperDƒoe o√Gƒn nHCG n¿Énµna oΩnÓo¨rdG ÉseCGhn

.kɪrMoQ nÜnôrbCGhn kIƒncnR o¬ræpe kGôr«nN Énªo¡tHnQ Énªo¡ndpórÑoj r¿CG ÉnfrOnQCÉna

As for the lad, his parents were believers; and we were afraid lest
he would oppress them by rebellion and disbelief. And we de-
sired that their Lord should change him for them for one better
in purity and nearer to mercy. (18:80–81)

On the other hand, since concern for the good, perfection, and use-
fulness depends on the support of God’s Essence, he attributes that to
God, the Sustainer:

r nJ n¿Énchn áp æn jpóªn rdG »pa p ø«r ªn «pàjn p ø«r en nÓo¨pd n¿Énµna Qo Gón pérdG Ées CGhn
ɪn ¡o nd õl ær nc ¬o àn ë

.Énªognõrænc ÉnLpôrînà°ùr njhn Énªogsó°TCn G Én¨o∏rÑnj r¿CG n∂tHnQ nOGnQCÉna kÉëpdÉ°U

n ÉnªogƒoHCG n¿Énchn

And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan lads in the city,
and there was beneath it a treasure which belonged to them.
Their father was a righteous man, and thy Lord intended that
they should come to their full maturity and should bring forth
their treasure as a mercy from their Lord. . . . (18:82)

The same manner of speech can be observed in the words of Abraham,

may peace be upon him, when he said:
 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 57

â r ôen GnPEGhn p Úp≤°ùr jn hn »pæªo p© r£jo ƒn go …pòsdGh p øjpó¡r jn ƒn ¡o na »pæn≤n∏N

o °Vp n …pòsdG

.pÚpØ°ûr nj ƒn o¡na

. . .[He]Who created me and Himself guides me; who Himself

feeds me and waters me, and, whenever I am sick heals me.
(26:78–80)

Here he attributes sickness to himself and healing to God.

Achieving the station of isl¯am-i a⁄a zam and deserting the I-ness of
¯
the soul (rafÓd-i an¯an¯ ıyat-i nafs) whence Satan resides is possible only with
God’s grace and providence. H Ò ¯ ajj Im¯ am-Qul̄ı Nakhjaw¯ an¯ ı, who taught es-
oteric sciences to the late Aq¯ ¯ a Sayyid H ¯ a Q¯ aÓd¯ ı, the father of Aq¯
Ò assan Aq¯ ¯ a
H ¯ a Q¯ ad
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı Aq¯ Ó ¯ ı, may God be pleased with them—studied ethics
and theology under the tutelage of the late Aq¯ ¯ a Sayyid Quraysh Qazw¯ ın¯ ı,
may God be pleased with him. H 8 Ò ¯ ajj Im¯ am Qul̄ı traversed stations of per-
fection in ethics and esoteric sciences and once said: ‘‘When I reached old
age and was debilitated, I saw myself and Satan as the two of us stood at
the peak of a mountain. I pointed to my beard and told him that I am old
and dilapidated and asked him to spare me and leave me alone. Satan
asked me to look over where he was pointing. When I looked around, I
saw a very deep valley so frightening that it could petrify any man’s intel-
lect. Satan said, ‘There is no mercy or compassion placed in my heart. If I
can ever get my hands on you, your place will be at the bottom of this val-
ley that you see!’ ’’

The Greatest Faith (¯Im¯an-i A⁄azam)

¯
The station above the Greatest Isl¯ am (isl¯am-i a⁄a zam) is that of the Great-
¯
est Faith (¯ ım¯an-i a⁄a zam). It is the most intense and exalted expression and
¯
manifestation of isl¯am-i a⁄a zam when the traveler goes beyond the planes
¯
of knowledge and faith and enters the realm of unveiling and direct wit-
nessing (mush¯ahadah). At this station the wayfarer leaves the realm of the
Angelic Kingdom (malak¯ut), the Greater Resurrection of the Soul
(qiy¯amat-i kubr¯a-yi anfus̄ıyah) descends upon him, and he enters the realm
58 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs
of Divine Power and Invincibility (jabar¯ut). Thus, after experiencing the
vision of the Angelic Kingdom (malak¯ut), he attains the vision of Divine
Might and Invincibility (mu⁄¯ayin¯at-i jabar¯ut¯ ıyah).

The Greatest Migration (Hijrat-i ⁄Uzma)

¯
After completing the stages mentioned above, the traveler must mi-
grate from his own being, and renounce and abandon it once and for all.
This is the journey to the world of Absolute Being (wuj¯ud-i muÓtlaq). The
following statement attributed to a prominent sage points to this stage:

.n∫Én©nJhn n∂°ùrn Ønf r´nO

Say farewell to your self and come.9

Also God, Exalted is He, refers to this stage in the following verse:

g g
.»pàsænL ≈∏oNrOGh …pOÉnÑpY »pa ≈∏oNrOÉna

. . . And Enter among My servants and enter My Garden.10

(89: 29–30)

As it is clear, one enters the Divine Garden only after one has already en-
tered the circle of God’s servants. The statement:

.oáæs pĪn r£oŸG ¢ùr

o Øæs rdG É¡n ào js CG Éjn

O thou soul at peace! (89:29)

addresses a soul that has successfully completed the Greater Struggle and
has entered the abode of victory and triumph that is the world of tranquil-
lity and peace. However, since such a soul has not yet gone through the
Greatest Spiritual combat (muj¯ahada-yi ⁄uzm¯a), traces of his existence still
¯
 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 59
remain; and their ultimate elimination depends on actualization of the
Greatest Spiritual Combat (jih¯ad-i a⁄a zam). Hence, the soul is not yet
¯
freed of its own domination and control, and still resides in the expanse of
the King (mal¯ ık) and the Mighty (muqtadir), which are two of the Names
of God Almighty:

.mQpónàr≤oe m∂«p∏ne nóræpY m¥ró°U

p pón©r≤ne »pa

Firmly established in the favor of a Mighty King. (54:55)

After this phase, the traveler must challenge and fight against the re-
maining weak aspects of his being that still lay hidden in his soul and elimi-
nate them once and for all so that he can enter into the plane of Absolute
Unity (tawÓh̄ıd-i muÓtlaq). This station is the abode of victory. It is in this
manner that the twelvefold abodes are traversed. Such a traveler who has
completed the Greatest Migration (hijrat-i ⁄uzm¯a) and the Greatest Struggle
¯
(jih¯ad-i a⁄a zam) triumphantly, will enter the abode of sincerity (khul¯uÓs ).
¯
The Greatest Resurrection of the Soul (qiy¯amat-i ⁄uzm¯a-yi anfus̄ıyah) will
¯
descend upon him and, as the Qur‹¯ an mentions, he shall enter the realm of
sincerity and purity (khul¯uÓs ) and shall step into the expanse of:

.n¿ƒo©pLGnQ p¬r«ndEG ÉsfEGh p¬s∏pd ÉsfEG

Verily, we are from God, and, verily, unto Him

we shall return. (2:156)

Such a wayfarer has passed beyond the realms of corporeal and psy-
chic existence, and all other entifications (ta⁄ayyun¯at), and has died to
them all. He has thus left behind the abode where

.päƒr nªrdG oán≤pFGnPm ¢ùrØnf tπoc

every soul shall taste death (3:18)

60 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs
and entered the realm of Divine Names (L¯ah¯ut). Such a person will die a
voluntary death. The Prophet of All¯ ah called Im¯ am ⁄Al̄ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib the
archetype of such a wayfarer as he said:

.mÖpdÉ nW »pHCGp ørH u»p∏nY ≈ndEG rô o¶ræn«r∏na »°ûp rªnj mâu«ne ≈ndEG ô o¶rænj r¿CG nOGnQCG røne
Whoever wishes to see a walking dead man, he should look at
⁄Al̄ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib.

Elaboration and Explanation

The stations of perfection that have been mentioned and whose character-
istics and qualities have been described briefly thus far are effusions ema-
nating from the Almighty Lord that are exclusive to the ummah of the Seal
of the Prophets and Apostles, Muhammad ibn ‘Abdull¯ ah, may All¯ ah bless
him and his progeny. Perfections attained by wayfarers of previous nations
(umam-i s¯alifah) and past religions (shar¯ay¯ ı ⁄-i m¯aÓdiyah) were, in fact, very
limited. After attaining the station of annihilation, they were only able to
witness God’s Names and Attributes but could not think of a higher sta-
tion. The mystery to this limitation was that the ultimate achievement of
their gnosis (ma⁄rifah) was realization of the Truth contained in “l¯a il¯aha
ill‹all¯ah” (There is no god but All¯ah),

.¬o s∏dG s’EG ¬n ndEG n’

the effects of which leads one to witness the Divine Essence that encom-
passes only all Attributes of His Perfection and Beauty. But wayfarers of the
ummah of the Noblest Messenger have gone far beyond this station and
have realized subsequent stations that cannot be described or defined. The
reason is that all injunctions and precepts of Isl¯ am point to the fact that

n oj r¿CG røpe oônÑrcCG o¬s∏dG

.n∞°Uƒ

All¯ ah is greater than that which can be described.

 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 61
Based on this fact, stations traversed by a Muslim traveler inevitably
lead to a point that cannot be explained or contained in ordinary descrip-
tion and expository expression. This is in effect due to the relationship that
exists between spiritual traveling in Isl¯ am and the profound and blessed
Word that “All¯ah is greater than that by which He can be described”:

.∞
n °Uƒ r pe ôo Ñn rcCG ¬o s∏dG
n jo r¿CG ø
For this reason, the earlier prophets themselves did not think of a sta-
tion beyond that of witnessing Divine Names and Attributes so that they
could set out on the wings of determination and fly toward that designated
nest. Hence, whenever they were afflicted with various kinds of trials in the
world, they would appeal to and find deliverance in the spiritual and super-
sensory initiatic power (wal¯ayat-i ma⁄naw¯ ı) of the Noblest Messenger,
Im¯ am Am¯ ır al-Mu‹min¯ ın ⁄Al̄ı, al-ÓS¯ ad¯ ıqat al-Kubr¯ a F¯ aÓtimah Zahr¯ a‹ and her
pure offsprings. It was this very station of the Greatest Spiritual and Super-
sensory Initiatic authority (wal¯ayat-i kubr¯a-yi ma⁄naw¯ ıyah) which delivered
those prophets from their afflictions and ordeals.
Although undifferentiated characteristics of wil¯ayah were perceived
(mudrak) by prophets of earlier times and on the basis of that they ap-
pealed to the exalted stations of the Pure Ones [Immaculate Im¯ ams];
nonetheless, its qualities and specific details were unknown to them and
remained so until the end of their lives. It is only from some verses of the
Noble Qur‹¯ an that one can find out that once or twice Abraham (peace be
upon him) experienced a transient state—and not a perpetual station—
that enabled him to witness higher realities and perfect Divine effusions.
However, [as was mentioned before] that was a passing state and not a per-
manent station. The real nature and quality of wil¯ayah, in fact, will be ac-
tualized for him in the hereafter.
Before we refer to the verses of the Qur‹¯ an to elaborate and explain
this issue, we should mention that the station of sincerity possesses levels
and gradations. According to the explicit injunction of the Qur‹¯ an, some
prophets did indeed attain the station of sincerity. Nevertheless, there is a
more superior and more exalted station than that of sincerity, which they
did not attain, and prayed and hoped to reach in the Hereafter. For in-
stance, although according to the Qur‹¯ anic ordinance, Joseph—may peace
62 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs
be upon him and upon our Prophet and his Family—was among those
who were Sincere,

.Ú p ∏î
n °ün r oŸG ÉnfpOÉÑn pY ø
r pe ¬o qfEG

Verily, he is one of Our sincere servants (12:24),

in his prayers he would beseech God to join him with the Righteous ones
in their station, and he would supplicate saying:

.nÚpëpdÉ°üdÉp
s H »pær≤përdCGhn kɪp∏°ùr oe »æaƒnn J pInôpNB’Ghn Én«rftórdG »pa »u«pdhn nârfCG

Thou art my Protecting Friend (Wal¯ ı) in the world and the

Hereafter, make me die a Muslim and join me to the Righteous
ones. (12:10)

As is clear, he did not attain the station of righteousness in this world and
prayed that this station may be granted to him after death and in the Here-
after. However, whether his prayers were answered and he attained the sta-
tion of sincerity in the Hereafter cannot be inferred from the Qur‹¯ anic
verses. Similarly, though Abraham (peace be upon him) did possess a high
rank in the station of sincerity, in his supplication he would say:

.nÚpëpdÉ°üdÉp
s H »pær≤përdCGhn kɪrµoM »pd rÖng uÜnQ

My Lord, grant me wisdom and unite me with the Righteous.

(26:83)

Hence, the status of the station of righteousness is higher than that

of the station of sincerity; and Abraham begged his Lord to connect him
to those who had attained this station. God did not fulfill his prayer in this
world, but promised it to him in the Hereafter, saying:

.nÚpëpdÉ°ür
s dG nøpªnd pInôpNB’G »pa o¬sfEGhn Én«ftódG »pa o√Énær«nØ n£°UG
r pón≤ndhn
 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 63
Verily we chose him in the world, and certainly in the Here-
after he is among the Righteous. (2:130)

It should be known that this level of righteousness which, according

to the Qur‹¯ an earlier prophets aspired to, is different from that which was
granted to Abraham and his descendants, as we read in the statement of
God, Exalted is He:

.nÚpëpdÉ°U
n Énær∏n©nL vÓochn kán∏paÉnf n܃o≤r©njhn n¥Énë°SG
r o¬nd ÉnærÑnghn hn

And We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob as a gift,

all of them We made Righteous. (21:72)

For all of them, including Abraham, possessed such an epithet. Neverthe-

less, Abraham prayed for the attainment of righteousness. Hence this sta-
tion of righteousness is a more exalted and superior station.
The fact that the Prophet of All¯ ah (Muhammad) and some of his
contemporaries had reached this same rank of righteousness is substanti-
ated by the noble verse of the Qur‹¯ an, which speaks on behalf of the
Prophet himself:

n pëpdÉ°üdG
.Ú n Éàn pµrdG ∫
s ≈sdƒn àn jn ƒn go hn Ü n õs nf …pòsdG ¬o s∏dG »«u pdhn s¿GE

Verily, my Protecting Friend (Wal¯ ı) is All¯ ah, Who has sent

down the Scripture and He befriendeth the Righteous
(Ós¯aliÓh¯ ın). (7:196)

First of all, in this verse the Prophet affirms the absolute wal¯ayah of
the One over himself and says that, ‘‘my Protecting Friend (Wal¯ ı) is He
Who is the caretaker of the affairs of the righteous.’’ Second, it becomes
clear that at the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) there lived some
individuals from among the sincere ones who had reached the station of
righteousness, and God, the Sustainer was the caretaker of their affairs.
From what has been said, the mystery of the prayers of earlier prophets and
their appeal to the Five Members of the Household of Purity (Khamsah-yi
64 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs
¯
Al-i ÒTah¯arat), or to the Pure Im¯ ams becomes clear; and the exalted status of
the Im¯ ams’ station of righteousness becomes more evident; a status so ex-
alted that Abraham beseeched God to be connected to them. That the
great prophets of God had reached the station of sincerity can be inferred
in several ways and spelled out in the noble verses of the Qur‹¯ an.
First, through their praise (Óhamd) of God, as mentioned in the Glo-
rious Qur‹¯ an according to which no one but the sincere servants of God
can invoke and praise the One as He deserves, God Almighty says:

p ∏rîoŸG p¬s∏dG nOÉnÑpY s’EG n¿ƒoØ°ü

.nÚ°ün p nj ÉsªnY p¬s∏dG ¿nÉnërÑ°So

Glorified is God from that which they attribute unto Him,

except the sincere servants of All¯ ah. (37:160)

And God, the Exalted, commands His Prophet to praise Him, where He
says:

r nø˘jò˘sdG p√pOɢnÑ˘ pY ≈˘˘n∏˘ nY lΩnÓ˘ °Sn hn p¬˘ s∏˘ pd oó˘ rª˘ në˘ rdG p π˘˘ob
ɢseCG lô˘r«˘nN o¬˘s∏˘dG ≈˘nØ˘ n£˘°UG

.n¿ƒocpô°ûr jo

Say (O Muhammad) praise belongs to God and Peace be

upon His slaves whom He has chosen. Is God best, or what
they ascribe as partners unto Him? (27:59)

And He describes the praise of Abraham may peace be upon him:

»Hu Q s¿GE ¥
n Éë
n °SG n «pYɪn °SG
r hn π r pôÑn pµrdG ≈n∏Yn »pd Ö
n gn hn …pòsdG p¬s∏pd óo ªr ë
n rdG

.pAÉYn ót dG ™o «pª°ùnn d

All Praise to All¯ ah, Who gave me Ishmael and Isaac in my old
age, and surely my Lord (rabb̄ı) is the Hearer of
supplication. (14:39)
 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 65
Or where God commands Noah, may Peace be upon him and our Prophet
and his Family, to praise Him, saying:

nÚpªpdÉ q¶dGp Ωƒnr ≤rdG nøpe ÉnfÉsénf …pòsdG p¬q∏pd oórªnërdGp πo≤na

Say: All Praise be to God, who hath saved us from the

wrongdoing people. (23:28)

Second, there are explicit statements in the Noble Qur‹¯ an concerning the
station of sincerity that some of the great prophets attained. For example,
concerning Joseph He says:

p ∏rîoªrdG ÉnfpOÉnÑpY røpe o¬sfEG

.nÚ°ün

Verily he is among Our sincere servants. (12:24)

And concerning Moses He declares:

.kÉ«q pÑnf k’ƒ°So Qn n¿Énchn kÉ°ün∏î n eo pÜÉàn pµrdG »pa ôr ocrPGhn

r eo n¿Énc ¬o sfEG ≈°Sƒ

And mention in the Book of Moses. Verily, he was sincere and

a prophet and an apostle. (19:51)

And about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob He states:

n rHC’Ghn …pórjC’G ¤hoG n܃o≤r©njhn n¥Énë°SG

pQÉ°ü r hn nº«pgGnôrHG ÉnfnOÉnÑpY rôocrPGhn
.pQGós dG iôn rcpP má°ü
n pdÉî
n pH ºr go Éæn °ün
r ∏N
r CG ÉsfEG

And mention also our servants Abraham and Isaac and Jacob,
men of might and vision. Verily, We purified them with
66 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs
pure thought and with perpetual remembrance of the
abode of the Hereafter. (38:45–46)

Third, through their benediction and gratitude toward God, Exalted

is He. Because, on the one hand, in accordance with the noble verse of the
Qur‹¯ an, Satan has no access to the hearts of certain slaves of God who are
among the sincere ones:

p ∏rîoªrdG oºo¡ræpe n∑nOÉnÑpY s’EG nÚp©nªrLCG rºo¡sænjpƒrZo’ n∂pJsõp©pÑna

.nÚ°ün

By Your honor I will surely deceive them all, save thy servants
who are among the sincere ones. (38:83)

And on the other hand, according to another noble verse, those servants of
God deceived by Satan will not be among the grateful:

r ˘Yn hn ºr ˘p¡˘pfɢªn ˘jr CG ø

ø r ˘Yn hn ºr ˘p¡˘pØ˘r∏˘N r ˘pehn ºr ˘p¡˘jpó˘jr CG p ø˘«r ˘Hn ø
n ø r ˘pe ºr ˘¡o ˘æs ˘«n ˘pJB’ ºs ˘oK

.nøjpôpcÉ°Tn rºognônãrcCG oópénJ n’hn rºp¡p∏pFÉnª°Tn

Then I shall come upon them from before them and, from
behind them, and from their right and left, and You will
not find most of them grateful. (7:17)

Thus, we may conclude from these verses that the grateful, who are
beyond the reach of Satan, are the same as the sincere servants. Therefore,
if we come across people whom God, the Exalted, identifies in the Glori-
ous Qur‹¯ an with such traits as gratitude (shukr) and grateful (sh¯akir), we
understand that they are among the righteous ones. For example, one such
person is Noah about whom God says:

.kGQƒoµ°Tn kGórÑnY n¿Énc o¬sfEGm ìƒof n™ne Énær∏nªnM røne násjuQoP

 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 67
(They were) the seed of those whom We carried with Noah
(in the ark). Verily he was a grateful servant. (17:3)

And about the prophet Lot He says:

røpe kánªr©pf mônë°ùpn H rºogÉnær«sénf m•ƒod n∫BG s’EG kÉÑ°UÉ

p nM rºp¡r«n∏nY Énær∏°Sn rQCG ÉsfEG

.ôn nµ°Tn ø
r en …õé n pdnònc Énfpóær pY
r nf ∂
We sent a storm of stones upon them all, except the family of
Lot, whom We rescued at dawn. As a grace from Us, thus
We reward whoever gives thanks. (54:34–35)

And, finally, about Abraham God states:

kGôpcÉ°Tn nÚpcpô°ûr oªrdG nøpe o∂j rºndhn kÉØ«pænM p¬s∏pd kÉàpfÉnb káseoG n¿Énc nº«pgGnôrHG s¿GE

.p¬pª©o rfC’

Indeed Abraham was a nation obedient to God, upright by

nature (Óhan¯ ıf ), and he was not of the idolators; [he was]
thankful for His bounties. (16:120–121)

In short, other prophets who have been identified with the quality of
gratitude have all been among the sincere ones.
Fourth, is the epithet the chosen one (ijtib¯a‹), which God, the
Almighty and Majestic, has used in the Glorious Qur‹¯ an to identify some
prophets where He says:

o oP røpehn oπrÑnb røpe Énærjnóng kÉMƒofhn Énærjnóng vÓoc n܃o≤r©njhn n¥Énë°SG

r o¬nd ÉnærÑnghn hn

n∂˘pdnò˘nchn n¿hoQɢnghn ≈˘°Sƒ˘ o ojhn n܃˘tjCGhn n¿É˘nª˘ r«˘ n∏˘ °So hn nOhGo nO p¬˘ pà˘ sjuQ
n oehn n∞˘°Sƒ˘

p pdÉ°ür v pYh ≈«ëjh ÉjpôncnRh Úpæ°ùp ëoŸG …põénf

Ú
n ë n pe π
s dG ø w oc ¢SÉ
n «n rdEGhn ≈°ù«
n n nr n n s n n r r
B
68 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs

B BG røpehn nÚpªndÉn©rdG ≈n∏nY Énær∏°†n n fƒojhn n™°ùn n«rdGhn nπ«pYÉnª°SG

s a vÓochn kÉWƒodhn ¢ùo r hn

m•Gnô˘°U
p ≈˘ndEG rº˘ogɢnæ˘rjnó˘nghn rº˘ogɢnæ˘r«˘nÑ˘nà˘rLGhn rº˘p¡˘pfGƒ˘n ˘rNGhn rº˘ p¡˘ pJɢ˘sjuQoPhn rº˘ p¡˘ pFɢ˘nH

.m º«p≤nà°ùr oe

And We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob—each of them

We guided; and Noah did We guide before; and of his seed
(We guided) David and Solomon, Jacob and Joseph, Moses,
and Aaron. Thus, We reward the good ones (muÓhsin¯ ın). And
Zachary and John, Jesus and Elias; each one of them was of the
righteous ones. And Ishmael and Elisha, Jonah and Lot—each
one We chose above all creatures; and of their fathers, and of
their offsprings and of their brethren; and We chose them and
We guided them unto the straight path. (6:84–87)

In contrast to previous arguments whereby only those prophets mentioned

by name were among the sincere ones, we can conclude from this noble
verse that the station of sincerity, in fact, belonged to all prophets, may
Peace be upon them. Our conclusion is based upon two premises.
First is the epithet ijtib¯a‹. The word ijtib¯a‹ means ‘selecting’ or
‘choosing’ something from among many things that are from the same cat-
egory and resemble one another. For instance, if someone picks up an
apple for himself from a crate full of apples, his action is called ijtiba’. As
God says in the above-mentioned noble verse “And We selected them (“wa
ijtabayn¯ahum”) it means that He chose them from among all His creation
and human beings for Himself and set them apart in an exclusive station.
Therefore, their judgment is different from that of all other mortals. They
are persons who have been selected and set aside, and in the true sense of
the word exist solely for God and enjoy His special grace. It is obvious that
this selection by God was based on the very same trait of sincerity; for the
sincere ones on their part are those who exist solely for God and have com-
pletely severed all their ties to other creatures and have attached themselves
to His Sacred Precinct.
 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs 69
Second, the term ijtib¯a‹ in this noble verse is not exclusive to a certain
category of individuals. Although after mentioning Noah and Abraham
and sixteen other prophets and their forefathers, descendants and brothers,
God says, “We have chosen them”; nonetheless, it is obvious that by
‘brethren’ God meant those who belong to their fraternity in matters of
spirituality and ethics and are their comrades and fellow travelers in the
pursuit of Divine Knowledge. Therefore, the verse can be interpreted in a
nondelimited, or rather, universal sense, and one can infer from it the sta-
tion of sincerity of all prophets.

Notes

1. ⁄All¯ amah Sayyid Mahd¯ ı ibn Sayyid MurtaÓd¯a al-Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı al-Najaf¯ ı
known as BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um, Ris¯ala-yi Sayr wa Sul¯uk, edited and com-
mented upon by ⁄All¯ amah Sayyid Muhammad H Ò usayn HÒ usayni
Tihr¯ an¯ ı, Mashhad: Iran, 1996/1417 ..
2. Marf¯u⁄ah Barq¯ ı, Kit¯ab al-MaÓh¯asin, 1:222, #135. This Óhad¯ ıth is quoted
from Im¯ am ⁄Al̄ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib by Im¯ am Ja⁄afar ÓS¯ adiq. See Muhammad
ibn Ya⁄q¯ub al-Kulayn¯ ı, UÓs¯ul-i K¯af¯ ı, 2:45.
3. Translation is borrowed from Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Sufi Essays (2d.
ed.) Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991.
4. The term baghy has been mentioned in the Qur‹¯ an on several occa-
sions. See, 4:107, 10:23, and 42:42.
5. The term ‘sih tÓ al¯aqah’ literally means one divorcing one’s wife three
times. There is a provision in Islamic divorce law whereby a man, out of
frustration announces three times his decision to divorce his wife. The
divorce will be permanent without the possibility of reunion of the
parties involved. If the couple decides to reunite, they have to marry
and divorce a third person before they can marry each other again. It
has been reported that B¯ ayaz¯ ıd BasÓ t¯am¯ ı said that “Once I prayed to His
Threshhold and asked ‘how can I reach You (kayf al-wuÓs¯ul ilayka)?” I
heard a voice addressing me that ‘divorce yourself three times and then
invoke Our Name (Ótalaq nafsaka thal¯atha thumma qul All¯ah).” See Far̄ıd
al-D¯ ın ⁄AÓ tÓ t¯ ar, TaÓdkirat al-Awliy¯a‹, 1: 149.
6. Kulayn¯ ı, UÓ s¯ul al-K¯af¯ ı, 2:289. (ed. H Ò ¯ ajj Sayyid Jav¯ ad MuÓ sÓtafaw¯ ı,
Tehran n.d.)
7. Ism¯ a⁄¯ ıl ibn Zayd Suk¯un¯ ı was a student and companion of Im¯ am Ja⁄afar
70 Description of the Realms Preceding the Realm of Khul¯uÓs
ÓS¯ adiq and collected traditions narrated from the Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı Im¯ ams. For in-
formation on his life and career see, Muhammad ibn H Ò asan al-Ò Tu¯ s¯ ı
known as Shaykh al-Ò Tay‹fah, Ikhtiy¯ar Ma⁄rifat al-Rij¯al, Masshad,
1970, p. 147.
8. This statement is attributed to B¯ ayaz¯ ıd BasÓ t¯ am¯ ı (d. 260–874). “As I
reached the station of nearness (qurb) [to God], they told me to ‘wish
something.’ I said I have no wish, but you whish on my behalf. Again
they said ‘wish something,’ and I said ‘I only want you.’ They answered
‘as long as an iota of particle of B¯ayaz¯ ıd’s existence exists, this is an impos-
sible wish, say farewell to your self and come,’ See, Far̄ıd al-D¯ ın ⁄AÓ tÓ t¯ ar,
Tadhkirat al-awliy¯a‹, 2:149.
9. Sayyid H Ò asan Aq¯ ¯ a Q¯ aÓd¯ ı was the father of H ¯ a Q¯ aÓd¯ ı.
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı Aq¯
H
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı taught jurisprudence, theology, and H Ò ad¯ ıth in Najaf.
10. It is only after a wayfarer says farewell to his self that he is addressed as
the “soul at peace, return to your Lord pleased, well-pleasing, enter among
My servants, enter My Garden.” (Qur‹¯ an, 89: 27–30.) Many commenta-
tors translate the part of this verse that says “fadkhul¯ ı f¯ ı ⁄ib¯ad¯ ı ” as
“enter among my servants.” Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı commentators translate this verse as
“enter into the heart of my special servants (i.e., Im¯ ams) [so that] you
would enter my paradise” fadkhul¯ ı jannat¯ ı.
 4

Undifferentiated Description
of the Path and Methods
of Wayfaring Toward God

Now that the details of the twelve realms of the wayfaring are known, we
must proceed to discuss the method and manner of [spiritual] journeying
and wayfaring. Two kinds of exposition will be presented here. The first is
an undifferentiated and brief discussion, while the second will be a differ-
entiated examination of wayfaring and spiritual journey.

Undifferentiated Description of the Path

The first essential task before the wayfarer is to undertake an investigation

into different religions and creeds, and in consideration with his ability, try
to discover the station of Divine Unity and the reality of His guidance,
even by way of conjecture and mere preference. After affirmation of Di-
vine Unity on the basis of knowledge or even by way of speculation, he
should depart from the state of disbelief and heresy (kufr) and enter the
realms of the Lesser Submission (isl¯am-i aÓ sghar) and the Lesser Faith
(¯ ım¯an-i aÓ sghar). This undertaking is unanimously considered as the duty
of every individual who reaches the age of adolescence (mukallaf ) and be-
comes mature and responsible. After much effort and search, if such a per-
son [the mukallaf ] fails to find preference [in a particular religion] and
reach some degree of certainty, he must make a firm determination and per-
sist in lamentation, weeping, and humility, and should not hesitate to resort
to beseeching (ibtih¯al) and pleading (taÓdarru⁄) until ultimately a path is
opened for him as it was opened for the Prophet H Ò aÓdrat Idr̄ıs and his disci-
ples; may Peace be upon him and upon our Prophet and his Progeny.

71
72 Undifferentiated Description of the Path Toward God
The objective of beseeching and pleading is to have the wayfarer re-
alize his helplessness and weakness, and ask for [Divine] guidance with a
sincere heart. Obviously, God, Exalted is He, would not ever abandon
His desperate and helpless servant who is in search of the Truth and the
Reality.

.Éæn n∏Ño °So ºr ¡o æs jn pó¡r æn nd Éæn «pa Ghóo gn ÉL

n ø
n jòsdGhn

And those who struggle in Us, We shall assuredly guide them

to Our ways. (29:69)

I remember that during the time that I was in Najaf Ashraf under the
moral and spiritual guidance of the late H Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı Q¯ ad
Ó ¯ ı, may God be
pleased with him, one day at dawn while I was sitting on the prayer mat on
the veranda, I fell asleep for a short time and had a vision. I dreamt of two
men sitting in front of me. One of them was the Prophet H Ò aÓdrat Idr̄ıs—
may peace be upon him and upon our Prophet and his Progeny—and the
other was my dear and honorable brother H Ò ¯ ajj Sayyid Muhammad H Ò asan
Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı1 who resides in Tabr¯ ı z at the present time. H Ò aÓdrat Idr̄ıs began a
conversation with me in such a manner that he would converse and com-
municate his speech, but his utterances I heard from the tongue of my
brother. H Ò aÓdrat Idr̄ıs said that “terrible events and accidents occurred in
my life and resolving them seemed impossible to me by natural course of
events and ordinary means. But they were all resolved unexpectedly. It be-
came clear to me that a hand from the Invisible World and superior to or-
dinary means and causes was solving these problems and removing diffi-
culties.” This was the first transformation that connected the material
world of nature to the supernatural realm for me. Our ties of connection
[with Heaven] began from that point.
At that time it seemed to me that what H Ò aÓdrat Idr̄ıs meant by these
tribulations were the hardships and afflictions of the days of his infancy
and childhood. What I mean to emphasize is that if one pleads before his
Sustainer in the matter of guidance with sincerity and truthfulness, He
would certainly help and assist him. In those circumstances seeking the
help of Qur‹¯ anic verses that befit one’s state would prove very useful and
efficacious. God, Blessed and Exalted is He, has said:
 Undifferentiated Description of the Path Toward God 73

.o܃o∏o≤dG tøpÄnª r£nJ p¬s∏dG pôrcpòpH n’BG

Lo! In the remembrance of God do hearts find certainty and

serenity. (13:28)

Also invoking such Divine Names as:

.ø
n jpô«u ë n «pdOn Éjn ,ì
n àn ªo rdG π o Éàs na Éjn

O Opener! O Guide of the perplexed!

and the like, will prove to be effective. Of course, one must bear in mind
that one must recite these prayers and verses with heart-felt sincerity and
with utmost attention and presence.
Once one of our friends related this story to us. He said, “Once I
took a bus to go to Karbal¯ a‹ and had the honor of making a pilgrimage to
the shrine of Im¯ am HÒ usayn, may God’s greetings be upon him. My jour-
ney was from Iran. Next to my seat there sat a clean shaven and Western-
ized-looking young man. We did not engage in much conversation for
some time. Suddenly, the young man began weeping. I was very surprised
and asked him the reason for his crying. The young man said, ‘If I do not
trust to share [my story] with you, I can trust no one to share it with. I am
a civil engineer. Since the time of my childhood years, I was raised in such
a manner that I had no faith in religion. I was a materialist and did not be-
lieve in God or in creation and resurrection. But in my heart I felt strong
love and affection for pious and religious people, whether they were Mus-
lims, Christians, or Jews. One night I attended a party arranged by my
friends, most of whom were of Bah¯ āı‹ faith. For several hours we were busy
dancing and having fun and so on. After some time I felt ashamed of my-
self and felt disgusted with my behavior. I left the room and went upstairs.
There, alone, I cried for some time; a prayer arose from within me as if de-
scending from Heaven: O God! You are the only God that there is! Help
me! Then after a while I came downstairs. The night party came to an end,
and we dispersed. The next day I set out for a technical assignment along
with the railway chief and some senior officials. Suddenly, I saw a Sayyid (a
74 Undifferentiated Description of the Path Toward God
descendant of the Prophet, peace be upon him) with a luminous face at a
distance coming toward us. He approached me and greeted me. Then he
said that he needs to see me and talk to me about a business. I promised to
visit him the next day in the afternoon. Incidentally, after he left, one of
my companions told me that the Sayyid was a saintly man and criticized
me for returning his greeting so indifferently. I said it was because when
the Sayyid greeted me, I thought that he was a begger and needed some-
thing and came to see me for that purpose. In the meantime, without ad-
vance notice, the railway chief ordered me to go to a certain place the next
afternoon and assigned me to carry out a duty as he instructed, exactly at
the same time that I had promised to meet the Sayyid. I concluded that I
would not be able to visit the old man.
The next day when the time of my assignment was approaching, I
began to feel sick. Gradually I was struck with such a high fever that I had
to be hospitalized. They brought a physician to examine me. Naturally I
had to excuse myself from the assignment given to me by the railway chief.
Soon afterward when the man who was sent to me by the railway
chief had left, I realized that my fever subsided and my condition returned
to normal. I found myself perfectly healthy once again. I concluded that
there must be a mystery to this strange event. Therefore, I got up and went
to the residence of that Sayyid. As soon as I sat down with him, he gave me
an eloquent speech on the principal doctrine of the faith and with con-
vincing reasons and proofs. His talk was so convincing that in no time he
turned me into a believer. Then he gave me some instructions and asked
me to return the next day. For several days I continued to meet him regu-
larly. One day when I was in his presence, he described all the events of my
day to me precisely as they had occurred. He also reflected in detail on all
my acts and intentions that I never shared with anyone before and nobody
was aware of except myself. At any rate, some time passed in this manner
until one day I was compelled to attend a party with some friends. There,
I was pushed to join them in gambling. The next day when I visited the
Sayyid I found him furious. Without any introduction he turned to me
and said that I must be terribly ashamed to have committed that mortal
and capital sin again. I began to cry out of regret, admitted that my act was
wrong, and promised to repent once and for all. He told me to go and
make the Greater ablution, repent, and never commit that sin again. He
also gave me some more instructions. In short, he changed the very course
of my life. This incident occurred in Zanj¯ an. Later, when I wanted to go to
 Undifferentiated Description of the Path Toward God 75
Tehran he told me to go and visit certain ⁄ulam¯a in Tehran. Finally, I was
told to make a pilgrimage to the holy shrines of Karbal¯ a‹ and Najaf. This is
the journey that I am making at the behest of that Sayyid.’2
Our friend said: “In the vicinity of the border of Iraq, once again I
noticed that the young man suddenly burst into tears. Again I asked him
why he was crying. He told me that ‘just as we entered the territory of Iraq,
H
Ò aÓdrat Ab¯ a ‘Abd All¯ ah al-ÒHusayn, may peace be upon him, welcomed me
and extended his greeting to me.’”
My objective in narrating this episode is that if someone truly
searches for God and the Truth with sincerity and pure intention, and
seeks guidance from God wholeheartedly, he would certainly receive guid-
ance even if he doubts the very existence of God.
At any rate, when the wayfarer succeeds at this stage, he should then
set himself to find the Greater Submission (isl¯am-i akbar) and the Greater
Faith (¯ ım¯an-i akbar). The first and most fundamental step at this point is
to acquire the knowledge of the rules and injunctions of the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah,
which he must learn from a jurist (faq̄ıh). When he has acquired such
knowledge, he should put it into practice. In practice, too, he must be per-
sistent until his certainty in and knowledge of God (ma⁄rifat) expands step
by step. For knowledge is an heir to action, and action in turn is the inher-
itor of knowledge. If a person seriously has knowledge about and faith in
something, he will, of necessity, try to make his actions conform to his
knowledge and that which he perceives. The absence of action—in accor-
dance with the law of cause and effect—indicates that one’s knowledge is
uncertain and his conviction is not total. Rather, the knowledge and faith
he thought he possessed was merely reflection of illusion engraved in his
ingenious faculty of imagination.
If one ever possesses true knowledge that the One God is the Ab-
solute Sustainer and Provider, one should not exhaust his energy and en-
danger his life to accumulate wealth through every possible means.
Rather, he should be content with making as much effort as has been en-
joined by the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah, and with utmost serenity and peace of mind, do
his best to provide livelihood for his family and himself. But if one strug-
gles excessively in search of livelihood or is overwhelmed by apprehension
and anxiety, it is an indication that he knows God as a delimited rather
than the Absolute Sustainer. He may believe that, for instance, God is the
Provider only if he works hard and suffers hardships; as though God were
his Provider only if He gave him money or monthly allowance, and so on.
76 Undifferentiated Description of the Path Toward God
Therefore, inward or outward anxiety is indicative of the lack of aware-
ness that God is the Absolute Sustainer, or out of conviction that He is
only a delimited Sustainer. In other words, this is an indication that one
knows God to be a provider only under certain circumstances and con-
ditions. This is what we mean when we say that action is the outcome of
and heir to knowledge. An example that action is the result of knowl-
edge is when one observes and admits his abasement before God when
one recites:

.p√póªr ë
n pHhn ≈n∏Yr C’G »Hu Qn n¿Éë
n Ñr °So

Glory belongs to my Lord, Exalted is He, and Him do I

praise.3

It is obvious that humility and lowliness cannot exist without exalta-

tion. The humble will always stand in contrast to one who is exalted and
majestic. Therefore, he will inevitably come to perceive the station of Ab-
solute Majesty and then he will understand that Majesty is accompanied
by knowledge and power. Hence, from a seemingly simple action, such as
this prayer recited in prostration [in daily prayer], one becomes aware of
the Absolute Majesty and the Absolute Power and Knowledge of God,
Blessed and Exalted is He. This is the meaning of action being the product
of knowledge. God Almighty refers to this fact in the following verse:
g
.o¬o©narônj oípdÉ°üdG
s oπnªn©rdGhn

And the pious deed does He Exalt. (35:10)

One must make utmost effort to observe obligatory duties and ab-
stain from the forbidden (muÓharram¯at). Because abandoning obligatory du-
ties and committing the unlawful is in sharp conflict with traveling toward
God. All the efforts of the traveler will be fruitful only when these two prin-
ciples are observed together. Otherwise, in the same manner that golden
adornment and ornaments are useless on a filthy body, so are the perform-
ance of supererogatory and ascetic acts prescribed by the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah of no
 Undifferentiated Description of the Path Toward God 77
benefit for an impure heart and soul. Moreover, one must be conscientious
to abstain from reprehensible acts (makr¯uh¯at) and to fulfil the supereroga-
tory ones, for attaining the stations of isl¯am-i akbar and ¯ ım¯an-i akbar is
contingent upon fulfilling these acts, because every act has a special prop-
erty and efficacy which is peculiar to that particular act and leads one to-
ward perfecting one’s faith. The tradition narrated by Muhammad ibn
Muslim points to this fact:

.p πnªn©rdÉpH s’EG o¿ÉnÁE’G oâoÑrãnj n’hn ,o¬ræpe oπnªn©rdGhn ,p πnªn©rdÉpH s’EG n¿ƒoµnj n’ o¿ÉnÁ’G

Faith cannot be [actualized] without action, and action is a

part of it. Faith will not be established except with action.

The spiritual traveler must therefore carry out every supererogatory

act at least once so that he may benefit from its spiritual joy and efficacy.
Hence it has been mentioned in the sermons of Am¯ ır al-Mu‹min¯ ın ⁄Al̄ı,
may peace be upon him, that, ‘‘Perfect faith is the offspring of [perfect] ac-
tion.’’ Hence the traveler on the path of God must not be negligent of
supererogatory acts in his journey toward the station of the Greater Faith
(¯ ım¯an-i akbar). Obviously, his faith will remain imperfect to the same ex-
tent that he remains careless and negligent of performing these acts. For
example, if a traveler purifies his tongue and all his bodily organs and
makes them observant of the sacred manner and etiquette in the full sense
of the term, but is not generous in spending his wealth [on the path of
God], he would not advance beyond a certain stage and his faith would re-
main incomplete and imperfect. The very same imperfection would pre-
vent his advancement to a higher station. Accordingly, he must have every
bodily organ enjoy its share of faith until it achieves the degree of faith it
deserves and is entitled to. For instance, the heart, which is the sovereign of
the body, must be kept engaged in contemplation (fikr) and invocation
(dhikr). Dhikr means the heart’s remembrance of the Names and Attrib-
utes of the Supreme Creator. Contemplation consists of deliberation and
concentration of the heart on ‘‘God’s signs on the horizons and in their
souls’’ 4 and reflection over craftsmanship and scrutiny of the realm and
process of creation. Through these acts, man’s heart is nourished from the
mainspring of faith:
78 Undifferentiated Description of the Path Toward God

.o܃o∏o≤dG tøpÄnª r£nJ p¬s∏dG pôrcpòpH n’BG

Lo! Verily in the remembrance of God do hearts find certainty

and serenity. (13:28)

When every part of the traveler’s corporeal being has received its
share of the joy and efficacy of faith, he must begin spiritual combat
(muj¯ahadah) whereby he can remove the imperfections of [his] isl¯am-i
akbar and ¯ ım¯an-i akbar, free himself from the bondage of doubt and spec-
ulation, and reach utmost certainty.

rºoghn oøreC’G rºo¡nd n∂pÄndoG m º∏ o¶pH rºo¡nfÉnÁEG Gƒ°ùpo Ñr∏nj rºndh GƒoæneBG nøjòsdG

.n¿hoónàr¡oe

Those Who believe and do not vitiate their faith with

wrongdoing, for them is safety and they are the rightly
guided. (6:82)

The result of spiritual combat is that not only does it guide the wayfarer to
the straight path, it also provides safety and immunity before the on-
slaught of Satans.

.n¿ƒofõn ë
r jn ºr go n’hn ºr p¡«r n∏Yn ± n n’ p¬s∏dG An É«n pdhCr G s¿EG n’BG
l ƒr N
Lo! Verily, friends of God are those on whom fear does not
come, nor do they grieve. (10:62)

Fear (khawf ) is being terrified by an occurrence that has not yet

taken place, but is expected to take place sometime, and the thought of
that causes agitation and anxiety. Grief (Óhuzn) is a feeling of sadness
brought about by an undesirable and unpleasant event that has already
taken place. These two states have no access to the heart of the traveler
on God’s path, for he has settled his matter with God once and for all,
and has no objective and destination other than God. Neither will he
 Undifferentiated Description of the Path Toward God 79
grieve for an unawaited loss, nor shall he fear an unexpected event. This
abode is the station of certainty (yaq̄ın) and God has called those who at-
tain it His friends (awliy¯a‹). The statement made by Am¯ ır al-Mu‹min¯ ın
⁄Al̄ı (may God’s greetings be upon him) points to the station attained by
such traveler :

p Úp≤«n rdG ø
n pe ƒn ¡o na ,√o Qn ɪn pZ ™n n£nbhn ,√o Qn Éæn en ±
n ôn Yn hn ,¬o n∏«pÑ°Sn ∂
n n∏°Sn hn ,¬o n≤jpô nW ôn °ü
n Hr CG

s pAƒr °V
.p ¢ùrª°ûdG n p πrãpe ≈n∏nY
. . . who has seen his way, has traversed his path, has recognized
its minaret, and has removed its veils. He has attained a degree
of certainty which is like the certainty of the rays of the sun.5

And in another statement he has described such a wayfarer in the following

terms:

,pÚ˘p≤˘n«˘rdG nìhoQ Ghoô˘°Tɢ

n nHhn ,pInÒ˘°ü˘
p nÑ˘rdG pá˘n≤˘ «˘ p≤˘ nM ≈˘˘n∏˘ nY oº˘ r∏˘ p©˘ rdG p º˘˘p¡˘ pH nº˘ né˘ ng

o¬˘ræ˘pe ¢û˘
n nMƒ˘r nà˘°SG o ˘pfCGhn ,n¿ƒ˘˘oanô˘ rà˘ oª˘ rdG o√nô˘ nYƒ˘r ˘nà˘ °SG
r ɢ˘nª˘ pH Gƒ˘˘°ù˘ r ɢ˘ne Gƒ˘˘ofnÓ˘ nà˘ °SG
r hn
,pÚ˘p≤˘n«˘rdG nìhoQ Ghoô˘°Tɢ
n nHhn ,pInÒ˘°ü˘
p nÑ˘rdG pá˘n≤˘ «˘ p≤˘ nM ≈˘˘n∏˘ nY oº˘ r∏˘ p©˘ rdG p º˘˘p¡˘ pH nº˘ né˘ ng

The truth of the Knowledge of discernment descends upon

them from all directions, and the spirit of certainty becomes
their companion. That which seems harsh and difficult to the
spoiled souls, becomes smooth and easy to them. They become
intimate with what the ignorant is afraid of. They are confined
in bodies in this world while their spirits dwell on the highest
realms of the Kingdom [of God].6

It is at this stage that the gates of unveiling and vision (kashf wa shuh¯ud)
shall be opened to the wayfarer.
It is obvious that traversing in this station is not in conflict with the
traveler’s [physical] presence in the world and his involvement in ordinary
80 Undifferentiated Description of the Path Toward God
daily preoccupations. Inspirations descended upon his heart (w¯arid¯at-i
qalb̄ıyah)7 have no relevance to his outward conditions and preoccupa-
tions, such as marriage, profession, trade, farming, and the like. While he
lives among the ordinary people and fulfills his worldly duties, his spirit
travels in the realm of the Angelic Kingdom (malak¯ut) in the company of
angels and heavenly beings. The example of such a traveler is like the ex-
ample of a man who has been afflicted with a trauma, or has lost a beloved
one. Although he lives amid the people, walks around, talks, eats, and
sleeps like ordinary people, there is a storm in his heart that is caused by
memories of his lost beloved, so much so, in fact, that whoever looks at
him realizes that he is overwhelmed by sadness and grief.
While the traveler on the path of God is involved in normal activi-
ties, he has certain links and connections with God. Endless waves of
yearning flow in his heart, and flames of love consume his inner being.
The pain and suffering of separation melt his heart. No one except God is
aware of his inner ferment. Yet, whoever looks at his countenance will re-
alize that love of God, longing for the Truth, and quest for His Sacred
Being has turned him into such a state.
This description makes it quite clear that lamentation, supplication,
and invocation of the Immaculate [Sh¯ ı⁄ite] Im¯ ams, as reflected in the
prayers narrated from them, were neither pretentious acts nor were they
intended for teaching and guiding the people. Such misconceptions arise
from ignorance and the lack of perception of realities on our part. Their
stations are more exalted and their status much more noble than to let
them make statements devoid of substance and truth, or to invite people
toward God through a series of unpropitious supplications and meaning-
less prayers. Is it correct that we say that all those fiery and heart-warming
invocations, weeping and lamentation of the Master of all masters, H Ò aÓdrat
Am¯ ır al-Mu‹min¯ ın ⁄Al̄ı, and those of H ¯
Ò aÓdrat [Zayn al- ⁄Abid¯ ın] Sajj¯ ad,
may God’s greetings be upon them, were not genuine but were spurious
and merely composed for educating others? Never! And by all means
never! Those religious leaders and spiritual guides, may God’s greetings be
upon them all, had passed beyond the stages of wayfaring toward God,
had entered into His sanctuary, and subsequently, had attained the station
of subsistence after annihilation (baq¯a‹ ba⁄d al-fan¯a‹), which is in fact, sub-
sistence in the Beloved Worshiped One (baq¯a‹ bil-ma⁄b¯ud). Theirs are the
states that contain the two realms of Unity and multiplicity (waÓhdat wa
 Undifferentiated Description of the Path Toward God 81
kathrat). They see the light of Divine Unicity constantly in the manifesta-
tions of the world of contingency and in the multiplicity of God’s King-
dom and Earth. Therefore, in accordance with the exalted degree of per-
fection they have achieved, they always observe the fundamentals of the
realms of God’s Kingdom and of the Earth. In other words, they do not
withhold themselves from observing the most minute commands of the
Divine Law, or manner, and/or any other conditions appropriate for their
stations. At the same time, they keep their attention focused on the higher
realms. That is the reason they are called the luminous creatures
(mawj¯ud¯at-i n¯ur¯ ıyah).
In any case, when the traveler successfully traverses these realms and
overcomes Satan, he will enter the realm of triumph, whence it is time for
him to proceed through the subsequent realms. By then the wayfarer has
passed beyond the world of matter and entered the world of spirit where his
greatest journey—that is, departure from the dominion of soul (nafs) and
spirit (r¯uÓh) and transition from the abode of God’s Kingdom to the abode
of of Divine Majesty (jabar¯ut) and Divine Names (l¯ah¯ut)—will start.

Notes

1. ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı reveals the identity of this Sayyid in another book as
¯
Ayatull¯ ah HÒ ¯ ajj Sayyid MaÓhm¯ud Zanj¯ an¯ ı, the Im¯ am Jum⁄ah of Zanj¯ an.
See Mihr-i T¯ab¯an, p. 325.
2. ¯Ayatull¯ ah HÒ ¯ ajj Sayyid Muhammad H Ò asan was the younger brother of
⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı. Educated in Najaf, he taught philosophy and
ethics in Tabr¯ ı z seminary until his death in 1967.
3. This formula is recited two times in each part (rak⁄ah) of the daily
prayers when one’s forehead touches the ground in prostration, each
time followed by All¯ah¯u Akbar (God is Great).
4. This is in reference to the Qur‹¯ anic verse, “And We shall show them our
signs on the horizons and within themselves, until it will become clear to
them that He Is the Truth.” (41:53)
5. ⁄Al̄ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib, Nahj al-Bal¯aghah, sermon #86, p. 210 (ed. with
commentary by S. ⁄Al̄ınaq¯ ı FayÓd al-Isl¯ am), Tehran, 1365h/1944.
6. Ibid, sermon #139, pp. 1157–1158.
7. This term is in reference and allusion to ÓSadr al-D¯ ın Sh¯ ır¯ az¯ ı (Mull¯ a
82 Undifferentiated Description of the Path Toward God
ÓSadr¯ a) and his well-known work, al-w¯arid¯at al-qalb̄ıyah f¯ ı ma⁄rifat al-
rub¯ub̄ıyah (The Inspirations of the Hearts Concerning Knowledge of the
Divinity [Tehran: Imperial Academy of Philosophy, 1978]).
The famous poem by Sa⁄ad¯ ı of Sh¯ ır¯ az eloquently describes this
state:
hargiz Óhad¯ ıth-i Óh¯adÓ ir-o gh¯ai‹b shan¯ ıdehi‹e?
man dar miy¯an-i jam⁄-o dilam j¯a-yi d¯ ıgar ast

Have you ever heard of the story of the one who is

present and absent at the same time?
I am in the middle of the crowd
and my heart is somewhere else.
 5

Differentiated Description of the Path

and Methods of Wayfaring Toward God

The method of wayfaring on the path of God consists of none other than
invocation, contemplation, lamentation, and beseeching at the threshold
of the Divine Throne who is, in fact, the only Fulfiller of our needs. This
is possible only after one has made a covenant with and taken the oath of
allegiance (bay⁄ah) to an enlightened spiritual master (shaykh) and a friend
of God (wal¯ ı )—one who has traversed beyond annihilation and reached
the station of subsistence in God (baq¯a‹-i bi‹ll¯ah). The shaykh is a guide
who is knowledgeable about that which is beneficial or harmful to the
novice disciple in [the spiritual] life, and knows the means that lead to de-
liverance and salvation or damnation and perdition. He can take charge of
the traveler’s guidance and direct him toward the desired destination.
However, one’s journey through these stages is contingent upon several
conditions that must be observed in the best possible and most perfect
manner.

Abandoning Conventionalism, Habitual Practices, and Customs

The first step for the spiritual traveler to take is to abandon the contingent
affairs (um¯ur-i i⁄tib¯ar¯ ıyah); those illusory and fictitious values, and con-
ventional habits and practices that prevent him from traveling on the path.
What we mean is that he should live in moderation among the people.
Some people are constantly preoccupied with the rules and customs of so-
ciety, and all their thoughts and efforts are centered on pleasing others and
cultivating friendship. Such people are obsessed with formalities and wel-
come all kinds of interaction with various people, whether meaningful or

83
84 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
useless, for the sake of maintaining their social status. They habitually sub-
ject themselves to these formalities in order to maintain their actual or
imagined prestige, often exposing themselves to obligations and severe
hardships. In order to preserve that which is peripheral, they set aside the
very substance of life. They take common people’s admiration and/or dis-
approval as criteria and waste their lives conforming to those standards.
The vessel of their being is besieged with the tides of social habits and cus-
toms, swept hither and thither by the waves of social decorums and values
of the society. Not knowing themselves, this group of people have no will
power of their own, but are totally submissive to the will of society and fol-
low that.
In sharp contrast to this group, there is another group of people who
withdraw from society and people, renounce all kinds of social customs
and norms, and free themselves from all societal obligations and privileges.
They do not associate with or frequent the company of people, but live in
their peaceful seclusion to the extent that their very seclusion brings them
notoriety and recognition.
In order to attain his desired goal, the traveler must always observe
moderation, adopt a middle position, refrain from either extreme, and
walk on the straight path. This objective will not be achieved unless a rea-
sonable degree of interaction is maintained with society. In such a situa-
tion, should a discord inevitably arise between the spiritual traveler and or-
dinary people as a result of the frequency and/or quality of their
association, it would not be very harmful to the wayfarer. Of course, such
a conflict will rarely arise because, while social intercourse is necessary and
essential to a certain extent, the traveler would not under any circum-
stances submit himself [to follow] the manners and practices of the com-
mon people:

.m ºpFn’ náneƒnr d ]p¬s∏dG »pa[ n¿ƒoaÉnînj n’hn

And they do not fear the blame of any blamer [in matters
relating to God]. (5:54)

This verse in effect points to the traveler’s steadfastness in his pur-

suit of the straight path and his fortitude in his beliefs and practices. On
the whole, one can say that the wayfarer must examine every social issue,
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 85
evaluate its advantages and disadvantages, and never submit to the moral
values and modalities of the masses of the people.

Steadfastness (⁄Azm)

When the traveler enters the arena of spiritual struggle, he will experience
difficulties with and unpleasant behavior from ordinary people and ac-
quaintances who are driven solely by their own whims and social ambi-
tions. They blame him and disapprove of him with their words and deeds
in order to dissuade him from his path and goal. They are particularly dis-
turbed with the divergence and gap that appear between them and the
wayfarer’s lifestyle. They blame him and resort to various means to dis-
courage the novice and stop him from pursuing the path. Of course, the
traveler will encounter new problems at every stage of his journey that
seem impossible to overcome without patience and determination. By re-
sorting to the power and blessing of God, the traveler must have such
strong will power that he can withstand all these difficulties, and with the
weapons of patience and trust in God (tawakkul) annihilate them all. In
consideration of the magnitude of his objective and goal, he should never
be frightened by those terrible storms that are impediments and obstacles
on his path toward God. In short, he should never let fear find its way into
his heart, as the Holy Qur‹¯ an says:

¿ƒæo peƒrD oªrdGp πscƒn nàn«r∏na p¬s∏dG ≈n∏nYhn

And in God let the believers put their trust. (3:160)

.n¿ƒo∏ucƒn nàoªrdGp πscƒn nàn«r∏na p¬s∏dG ≈n∏nYhn

And in God let the trusting put their trust. (14:12)

Compassion and Forbearance (Rifq wa Mud¯ar¯a)

These are among the most important qualities that a traveler must cherish
and possess. Not only will the slightest negligence in this regard hinder his
advancement, it may even cause his permanent expulsion from wayfaring.
86 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
During the initial stages of his spiritual journey, the traveler may find an
extraordinary degree of ferver and longing (shoor va shawq) in his heart, or
may experience exceptional love and yearning when theophanies of Divine
forms of Beauty (tajall¯ ıy¯at-i Ós¯ur¯ ıya-yi jam¯al¯ ıyah) manifest themselves. As a
result, he may resort to excessive prayer and invocation. He may spend a
great deal of time in praying and wailing, doing every spiritual act and
learning words from whoever he can and nurturing his soul with all kinds
of spiritual nourishment. Not only is this kind of practice ineffective, it
can also be harmful. Because as a result of imposing a heavy burden on his
soul, the wayfarer’s soul will react in a negative way and will hold back.
Hence he will achieve no positive result and will eventually lose interest in
performing even the most minor supererogatory prayers.
The mystery behind this exaggeration and the subsequent disap-
pointment and withdrawal is that the wayfarer takes a temporary intellec-
tual intuition and transient spiritual yearning as his criteria and motiva-
tion to perform those supererogatory rites and prayers, and places a heavy
burden on the soul before preparing it. As soon as this transient longing
disappears and the flame cools down, the soul feels exhausted and frus-
trated. Consequently, it drops the load and abandons the path in the be-
ginning or the middle of the journey. It becomes alienated and develops
an aversion to continue the journey and bear its numerous requirements
and difficulties. Therefore, the traveler should never be deceived and mis-
led by transient spiritual yearning. Quite the contrary, he should take into
consideration his personal and professional condition, and realize his lim-
itations and capacity with utmost care and foresight and undertake only
what he can fulfil. To be sure, the traveler should even engage himself in
acts somewhat lighter than his capacity but be persistent, so that he can
fully benefit from the efficacies associated with them.
In consideration of this conclusion [we can say that] when the trav-
eler is engaged in prayer, he should stop while he is still willing to con-
tinue so that a desire to and thirst for prayer always remains in his heart.
The example of the traveler in relation to prayer is like that of a hungry
man in relation to food. He must select the kind of food that would suit
his taste and stop consuming food before he eats to his fill, so that the ap-
petite and desire for food always remains with him. The advice that
H
Ò aÓdrat ÓS¯ adiq, may peace be upon him, gave to one of his disciples, a cer-
tain ‘Abd al-⁄Az¯ ız Qar¯ aÓt̄ıs¯ ı, addresses this issue and emphasizes modera-
tion in prayers:
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 87

kIÉnbrôpe o¬ræpe oón©°ü t pándpõrænªpH mäÉnLnQnO nô°ûr nY p¿ÉnÁEÓpd s¿GE põjpõn©rdG nórÑnY Énj
r oj p ºs∏°ùdG

n∂ræpe oπnØ°SCr G ƒn og røne nârjCGnQ GnPEGhn ΩÓ°ùdG ¬«∏Y ∫Énb r¿CG ≈ndEG mäÉnbrôpe nór©nH

.o√nô°ùrp µnàna o≥«£oj n’ Éne p¬r«n∏nY søn∏pªrënJ n’hn ,m ≥rapôpH n∂r«ndEG o¬r©narQÉna mánLnQnópH

O ‘Abd al-‘Az¯ ı z, verily there are ten levels for faith and it is like
a ladder which must be climbed one step at a time. When you
see someone who is a step lower than you are, lift him up gen-
tly to yourself, and do not impose a burden upon him which he
cannot stand and that will break him.1

In short, from the forgoing discussion we can conclude that the most
effective kind of prayer in the path of spiritual wayfaring and traveling is
the one based on propensity and proclivity, as the statement of the Im¯ am
(Peace be upon him) indicates:

.nIOn ÉÑn p©rdG ºo oµ°ùop ØrfCG ≈n∏Yn Gƒgo pôrµoJ n’hn

Do not impose worship upon your soul with reluctance.

Loyalty (Waf¯a‹)

Loyalty (waf¯a) consists of one’s faithfulness to his repentance and absti-

nence from committing the same sin or wrongdoing once one repents. It is
also fulfilling the commitments that he makes, and remaining loyal to the
end to the covenant he makes with an enlightened spiritual guide and
shaykh on the path of the Truth.

Stability and Perseverance (Thub¯at wa Daw¯am)

Before we proceed to explain these concepts, a few introductory remarks

are in order. What can be inferred from the Qur‹¯ anic verses and sacred
88 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
traditions indicate that the external entities perceived by our senses, or the
acts we commit in the external world and are actualized in the material
world, all contain truths that are beyond their external, material, and phys-
ical manifestations. In other words, beyond the outward and sensible
realms there exist realities of a higher order that are independent of matter,
time, space, and other accidents. When those realities descend from their
actual states, in the external world they become corporialized in those ma-
terial and sensible forms as we know them. The following verse of the
Noble Qur‹¯ an points to this question:

.m Ωƒo∏©r en mQón n≤pH s’EG ¬o odõu æn of Éen hn ¬o æo pFGõn N

n Énfón ær pY s’EG mA» r pe r¿GE hn
r °Tn ø

And there is not a thing but with Us, and We do not send it
down except in an appointed measure. (15:21)

A brief interpretation of this verse tells us that, in general, everything

has a different reality beyond measures and limitations prior to its actual-
ization in the material world. However, with Knowledge and Will of the
Supreme Creator, it is defined and confined in specific dimensions when it
descends:

r pe mÜÉàn pc »pa s’EG ºr oµ°ùop ØrfCG »pa n’hn p ¢VQr C’G »pa máÑn «°ü
p πÑr nb ø p eo ø
r pe Ü
n É°UC
n G Éen

l °ùp jn p¬s∏dG ≈n∏Yn ∂

.Ò n pdnP s¿EG Égn CGôn Ñr nf r¿CG

No affliction befalls the earth or in your souls, but it is in a

book before We bring it into being. Verily that is easy for God.
(57:22)

Since form in the manifested world is confined, limited, and subject to

material accidents such as engendering, and corruption, it is, therefore,
destined to decadence, deterioration, and perishing, as the Qur‹¯ an says:

.óo nØær jn ºr ocón ær pY Éen

 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 89
That which is with you will perish. (16:96)

However, those sublime and purified realities which are, in fact, Divine
Treasures and whose nature is of the disengaged Angelic Kingdom are not
subject to anything except, permanence, totality, and eternity, according to
the Qur‹¯ an:

.m¥ÉnH p¬s∏dG nóræpY Énehn

And that which is with God will remain. (16:96)

The following tradition, which is accepted unanimously by the Sh¯ ı⁄ites

and Sunnis alike refers to this reality:

.rºp¡pdƒo≤oY pQrónb ≈n∏nY ¢SÉ

n sædG nºu∏nµof r¿CG ÉnfrôpeoG pAÉn«pÑrfC’G nô°TÉ
p n©ne oørënf

We the prophets have been commanded to speak to the people

in accordance with the degree of their intellects.

This tradition addresses the qualitative, and not quantitative, aspects

of revealing the truth. It indicates that God’s prophets always brought the
higher truths down to a lower cerebral plane appropriate to the intellectual
capability and understanding of their audience, because human intellect is
tainted by its attraction to illusive desires and worldly distractions, and
cannot understand and appreciate or digest those truths in their original
and pure states. Therefore, like a teacher who wants to describe the truth
to simpleminded children in a manner compatible with their capacity to
perceive the sensible things, the exalted prophets of God, by virtue of their
status as protectors of the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah, always brought those truths down to
the level of human intellectual capacity and understanding. As promulga-
tors and guardians of the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah, the noble prophets sometimes ex-
plained those living truths in such a simple manner that gave the impres-
sion that they lack more profound meaning and sense. Whereas every
external aspect and exoteric dimension of the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah, such as daily
prayers, fasting, pilgrimage to Mecca (ÒH¯ajj), Holy War (jih¯ad), payment
of alms and charities, fulfillment of one’s obligations toward one’s kin,
90 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
commanding the good and forbidding the reprehensible (amr bil-ma⁄r¯uf
wa nahy ⁄an al-munkar), all are living truths with profound intellectual,
spiritual, and esoteric qualities and meanings.
The traveler is the one who, with God’s help and blessing and in the
course of wayfaring and spiritual combat, wants to remove all contamina-
tions and impurities from his soul by resorting to humility, pleading, and
beseeching; and with the help of pure intellect and enlightened soul, wit-
ness those exalted truths in this very darkened and material world. It is
even possible that the wayfarer might witness the very simple rites of ablu-
tion and daily prayers in their actual celestial states and realize that they are
thousands of times more exalted than their external corporeal and exoteric
forms in terms of meaning and reflection. As we know, traditions narrated
by the Immaculate Im¯ ams, may God’s peace and benediction be upon
them, contain sublime and precious descriptions of the archetypal forms
(Ósuwar-i mith¯al¯ ı) of rites of worship in the realm of the intermediate world
and on the day of Resurrection when man [in effect] speaks to them.
There is also a verse in the Glorious Qur‹¯ an, according to which bodily or-
gans possess the faculties of speech and hearing. Therefore, one must not
think that, for example, a mosque is merely composed of mud and brick,
but also has a living, intelligible, and perceptible reality. According to tra-
ditions, the Qur‹¯ an and the mosque will complain [of man] before the
Lord on the day of ressurrection.
It is reported that one day a traveler on the path of God was resting
in his bed. As he wanted to turn from one side to the other, he suddenly
heard the ground moan. When he searched for the cause, he perceived or
was told that the ground was moaning because of separation from him!2
Now that these preliminary remarks are made, we may say that,
through perseverance in observing pertinent rites, the traveler must stabi-
lize that pure angelic state in his soul so that he can transform his state into
the station of second nature (maq¯am-i malakah). Through persistence in
every single spiritual act, he must be able to derive utmost spiritual joy
from that particular act and should not give up until he achieves this. The
permanent angelic station of every spiritual act can be attained only when
the traveler, steadily and persistently, is engaged in [performing] every spir-
itual act until the permanent effects of transient outward actions penetrate
into the depth of his soul and are engraved in his soul in a manner that can
no longer be removed.
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 91
Hence the traveler must try to choose only those spiritual acts and
rites that are compatible with his capacity and chemistry; and if he is not
determined to continue, he should not choose any act at all. Because when
one abandons a spiritual act before completion, the [celestial] reality of
that act will confront him and deprive him of its efficacy and positive ef-
fects. Consequently, there will emerge in the soul modes that are in con-
flict with the desired effects of that particular spiritual act. May God be
our refuge [from such state].
The meaning of confrontation (mukh¯aÓ samah) [in this context] is
that when a traveler abandons a spiritual practice, in reaction the reality of
that practice abandons him and takes away its efficacy and grace. Since a
spiritual act is in essence good and luminous, when the soul is emptied of
its effects, the void created in the soul of the wayfarer will be filled with
darkness and evil. The fact is that “Nothing but good is found in God. As
to the evil, ugliness, and darkness, they come solely from our own souls.”

n pg ɪn sfEG ä
» o pFÉÑn n≤rdGh Qo hôo °ûdG
o ɪn o∏ t¶dGh í t Ées CGh ôo «r nÿG s’EG p¬q∏dG ón æpY óo L
n ƒjo ’

.Éæ°ùop ØfCG øpe

Accordingly, every evil and ugliness that may arise is derived

from our own souls and cannot be attributed to God.

.n∂r«ndEG ¢ù
n r«nd tô°ûdG
s hn

And evil is not from You.

As this statement indicates it becomes clear that Divine emanations

are not exclusive to certain people; rather, because of His kind Lordship
and infinite mercy, they are extended to all human beings whether Mus-
lims, Jews, Christians, or Zoroastrians, and even the worshipers of fire and
idols. However, the qualities present in the recipients may lead them to
make ill-advised choices. As a result His infinite mercy may produce de-
light, happiness and bliss in some people and anguish and grief in some
others.
92 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
Constant Attention (Mur¯aqabah)

Mur¯aqabah means that the traveler must be attentive and alert under all
circumstances so that he would not fail to observe his duties or stray from
what he is assigned to do.
Mur¯aqabah is a universal concept whose meaning varies according to
difference in station, rank, and status of the traveler. At the early stages of
wayfaring, mur¯aqabah means avoiding the frivolous and abstaining from
anything that is of no benefit either to one’s religion or one’s worldly life. It
also means refraining from deeds and words that are in conflict with God’s
Will and His Pleasure. Gradually, however, mur¯aqabah becomes more in-
tense and exalted step by step. At times mur¯aqabah aims only at one’s con-
centration on one’s silence; at other times on one’s soul, and still at other
times, on a higher plane; that is, on the reality of the Divine Names and
Attributes. God willing, its details and stages will be explained in the com-
ing pages.
It should be known that mur¯aqabah is one of the most important re-
quirements of spiritual traveling, and all prominent masters have placed
considerable emphasis on it. Most of these masters consider mur¯aqabah as
one of the most important and necessary elements of wayfaring and trav-
eling, for it is like the foundation stone upon which meditation (fikr), in-
vocation (dhikr) and other requirements are constructed. Therefore, as
long as mur¯aqabah is not undertaken, meditation and invocation will re-
main ineffective. Mur¯aqabah in relation to wayfaring, is like the necessity
for a sick man to observe a healthy diet very strictly and refrain from inap-
propriate foods; whereas meditation and invocation are like medicines. As
long as the sick person does not purify his body and refrain from consum-
ing foods that do not suit his condition, medicine will remain ineffective,
or may even produce adverse effects. Hence, prominent sages and masters
of the path inhibit the wayfarer from meditation and invocation without
mur¯aqabah, and prescribe them only in consideration with the rank and
station of the wayfarer.

Self-Accounting (MuÓh¯asabah)

MuÓh¯asabah consists of one’s scrutiny of one’s own actions. It requires as-

signing certain amount of time during the day and night to examine
one’s daily acts and deeds. HÒ aÓdrat M¯u s¯ a ibn Ja⁄far [the seventh Im¯ am]
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 93
may peace be upon him, pointed to this undertaking in the following
statement:

.kIôs en m Ωƒr jn π
s oc ¬o °ùrn Ønf Ö p ë
r °SÉ r en Éæs pe ¢ù
n jo ºr nd ø n «r nd

He who does not scrutinize the account of his own soul once
every day is not one of us.3

In the course of self-scrutiny, if the traveler realizes that he has vio-

lated his duties, he must resort to istighf¯ar, that is to say, ask God for for-
giveness. Otherwise, he must express his gratitude to God, the Exalted for
enabling him to perform his duties [toward God].

Self-Condemnation (Mu‹¯akhadhah)

When the traveler realizes that his carnal soul betrays him, he should set
himself to discipline his soul and direct it in any manner he sees appropriate.

Expeditious Action (Mus¯ara⁄at)

Mus¯ara⁄at (Arabıc mus¯ara⁄ah) means that the wayfarer must take immedi-
ate and expeditious action to carry out whatever he decides [in the process
of and in relation to wayfaring]. Because there are many calamities and
tribulations on this path and many obstacles may emerge on the traveler’s
path in accordance with his station, he must be very alert and judicious,
and carry out his duties before an obstacle emerges on his way and preoc-
cupies him. He must not leave any stone unturned in achieving his objec-
tives and reaching his destination.

Devotion (Ir¯adat)

Ir¯adat means devotion and love for the Master of religion (Ó s¯aÓhib al-
Shar¯ ı ⁄ah) [i.e., the Prophet] and his legitimate successors [the Im¯ ams]. The
wayfarer must be sincere and pure in his devotion to the extent that no
doubt would remain [in his heart]. He must achieve utmost perfection in
this station. Because devotion plays a major part in the effectiveness and
94 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
impact of spiritual practices upon the soul. The more sincere and intense
the devotion, the deeper and firmer the impact of rituals will be upon the
wayfarer’s soul.
Since all existents are God’s creatures, the traveler must love them all
and respect them in accordance with their ranks and status. Compassion
and kindness toward God’s creatures in accordance with their station and
rank, whether human beings or animals, is indeed a sign of love for God.
As it has been stated in traditions, the most important aspect of faith is
love and compassion toward God’s creation.

n Ñt pëjo ø
∂ r en Ö
s M
o hn ∂
n Ñs M
o ∂
n odCÉ°SCr G »p¡ndEG

O my God, I beseech You to grant me Your love and the love of

those who love You.

Égn Gƒn gn n’ƒnr d É¡n pH »pØn¨°Tn Éen hn móé

r nf päÉ©n n∏nJ É¡n Ñu ë t pMoG
o pH Ö
GnQÉnÑpµrdGhn nôpZÉ°UC
n ’G oπpªnàrMCGhn ÉngGƒn ng »pa ≈n∏r«ndp ∫B’ t∫pPCG

Because of loving her, I love the sand dues of Najd

And I would not be infatuated with them, if not for her longing.
In longing for Layla, I humble myself to her folks,
And bear the humble and the noble among them.4

Proper Manner (Adab)

Adab means proper manner and reverence before God, the Lord of
Majesty and His vicegerents. It is different from the love and devotion
mentioned above. For reverence means being careful of and attentive to
one’s behavior and acts lest one trespass one’s limits and commit acts con-
trary to the essentials of servanthood. That is because there are limits and
bounds for the contingent being in relation to the Necessary Being. The
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 95
necessity of keeping proper manner [in relation to God] is observing the
requirements of the world of multiplicity. Whereas love and devotion is an
attraction toward the Sacred Precinct and necessitates attention to and
focus on Divine Unity.
The relation between ir¯adat and adab is like the relationship that ex-
ists between obligatory rites (w¯ajib) and the forbidden ones (Óhar¯am) in the
Shar¯ ı ⁄ah; for in fulfilling the obligatory rites, the traveler’s attention is fo-
cused on the Beloved, whereas in refraining from the Óhar¯am he concen-
trates on his own boundaries lest he trespass the bounds of contingency
and violate the requirements of servanthood. In fact, observing adab is like
taking a middle ground between fear and hope (khawf wa raj¯a‹), and the
outcome of its absence is immensity of expansion (inbis¯atÓ ), which would
not be desirable if it exceeds a reasonable extent.
The late H Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı Q¯ ad
Ó ¯ ı, may God be pleased with him, was in
a station in which expansion and devotion dominated over his fear. The
state of the late H Ò ¯ ajj Shaykh Muhammad Bah¯ ar̄ı, may God’s mercy be
upon him, was also similar to this. In contrast, in the case of H Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a
¯ a Malik¯ ı Tabr̄ız¯ ı, may God be pleased with him, the station of
Jav¯ ad Aq¯
fear dominated over that of hope and expansion, as can be understood
from allusions and hints in his discourses.5 The one [in whose soul] the
station of expansion is dominant is called khar¯ab¯at¯ ı (lit.) “tavern haunter”;
and one whose fear is greater is named mun¯aj¯at¯ ı (supplicator). But perfec-
tion lies in the observance of moderation, and that consists of possessing
utmost expansion along with utmost fear. This station is enjoyed exclu-
sively by the Immaculate Im¯ ams, may God’s benediction and peace be
upon them all.
Let us now return to the main point of our discussion. We can con-
clude that proper manner requires that the contingent being never forgets
his boundaries and limitations of contingency. That is why whenever one
made a statement in the presence of H Ò aÓdrat ÓS¯ adiq—may God’s greetings
be upon him—that had a slight nature of exaggeration (ghuluw), he would
immediately throw himself down in a posture of adoration, submission,
and prostration.
The perfect degree of adab is that in all conditions and under all cir-
cumstances the traveler must see himself in the presence of God, the Glo-
rious and the Exalted, and observe the rules of etiquette in his speech and
silence, in eating and sleeping, while moving about or resting, and in
96 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
short, in all states and conditions, movements and pauses. If the traveler’s
attention is constantly focused on the Names and Attributes of God,
proper manner and humility will inevitably become evident in him.

Intention (Niyyat)

Niyyat (Arabic Niyyah) means that the traveler should not have any other
objective in his spiritual journey except mere wayfaring and annihilation in
the Divine Essence. Therefore, the traveler’s quest must be sincere and pure:

p p∏rîoe n¬s∏dG GƒoYrOÉna

.nøjuódG o¬nd nÚ°ü

So [O believer] pray unto All¯ ah purifying religion for Him.

(40:14)

It is mentioned in many traditions that intention has three levels. Accord-

ing to one tradition attributed to Im¯ am ÓS¯ adiq, may God’s greetings be
upon him:

Ghóo Ñn Yn Ωl ƒnr bhn ,pó«pÑ©n rdG oIOn ÉÑn pY ∂

n r∏pàna kÉaƒr N
n ¬n s∏dG Ghóo Ñn Yn Ωl ƒnr b :lánKnÓnK Oo ÉÑs ©o dG

n∂r∏pàna kÉqÑoM n¬s∏dG GhoónÑnY lΩƒnr bhn ,pAGnônLo’G oInOÉnÑpY n∂r∏pàna kÉ©rª nW n¬s∏dG

r C’G oIOn ÉÑn pY

.pQGôn M

Worshipers are of three categories: Those who worship God

out of fear; that is the worship of slaves and bondsmen.
Those who worship Him out of greed; that is the worship of
merchants. And finally, those who worship Him out of love;
and this is the worship of free-spirited men [i.e., gnostics
(⁄uraf¯a’)].

If one can contemplate and meditate on this statement, one will real-
ize that the worship of the first two groups of people is not—in effect—
correct because they do not worship God for the sake of God. Rather, they
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 97
are motivated by self-interest and self-love. In fact, they worship them-
selves, not God, Exalted is He, because their point of reference and the
motives behind their worship are self-interest and appetites of the carnal
soul. Since self-worship is not congruent with worshiping God according
to the first argument, this group of people deny God and are therefore not
true believers. But the Noble Qur‹¯ an explicitly describes the worshiping
God as primordial human state and rejects any kind of change and alter-
ation in creation:

n æs dG ôn n£na »pàsdG p¬s∏dG pIôn r£pa kÉØ«pæM

n’ É¡n «r n∏Yn ¢SÉ n p øjóu ∏d ∂ r hn ºr pbCÉna
n ¡n L

.n¿ƒoªn∏r©nj n’ p ¢SÉsædG nônãrcCG søpµndhn oºu«n≤rdG oøjuódG n∂pdnP p¬s∏dG p ≥r∏nînd nπjpórÑnJ

So set your purpose for religion as a primordial believer

upright by nature, the innate nature of All¯ ah in which He
has created man. There is no altering in God’s creation.
That is the right religion, but most people do not know.
(30:30)

Accordingly, man’s deviation is not from the path of worshiping

God, but from the path of Divine Unity. As a result, man does not see
unity in God’s acts and attributes, but assigns partners to Him. That is the
reason the Holy Qur‹¯ an frequently affirms the Unity of God and rejects
partnership in relation to Him. On this basis, the first two groups regard
God as an associate and a partner in their own personal objectives; while
they worship God, they do not stop worshiping themselves. They carry
out their acts of worship with two objectives in mind, and this is mere
polytheism (shirk). In fact, these two groups are polytheist (mushrik¯ ın) in
relation to God, Exalted is He, which according to the explicit text of the
Qur‹¯ an is an unforgivable act:

.oAÉ°ûn nj rønªpd n∂pdnP n¿hoO Éne oôpØr¨jhn p¬pH n∑nô°ûr oj r¿CG oôpØr¨nj n’ n¬s∏dG s¿GE

Verily, God does not forgive that a partner should be ascribed

to Him, other than that He forgives whom He wills. (4:47)
98 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
Accordingly, the worship of this group of people will never be fruitful, nor
will it bring them closer to God, Exalted is He.
As to the third group of people who worship God out of love for
Him, theirs is the worship of free-spirited men as is emphasized in many
traditions:

.p ΩGnôpµrdG oInOÉnÑpY n∂r∏pJ

That is the worship of the noble ones.

This is the genuine and proper kind of worship, which is not attainable by
everyone, except the pure ones of the Divine Threshold:

.n¿hoôs¡ n£oŸG s’EG o¬°ùt nªnj n’ l¿ƒoærµne lΩÉn≤ne Gnòn¡na

This is the hidden station, untouched by anyone except the

pure ones.

Love is defined as an attraction, that is, one’s being pulled in a direc-

tion or toward a truth. The third group of worshipers are those who base
their worship [of God] on the foundation of love and attraction toward
Him. They have no objective in mind except being drawn toward God and
finding proximity to Him. Only the mere attraction that they feel in their
hearts toward the Beloved is the motive that drives them toward the
Beloved and is the cause of their journey toward His sacred sanctuary.
It is mentioned in some traditions that we should worship God, the
Exalted, because He is worthy of worship. It is obvious that God’s worthi-
ness to be worshiped does not emanate from His Attributes but from His
Divine Essence, glorious is His Majesty and great is His State. In short, it
means that we must worship God because He is God.

n∂oJrónLhn rπnH ,n∂pàsænL »pa kÉ©nª nW n’hn n∑pQÉnf røpe kÉaƒr nN n∂oJrónÑnY Éne »¡ndEG

.n∂oJrónÑn©na pInOÉnÑp©r∏d kÓrgCG

 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 99

.â
n rfCG Éen pQOr CG ºr nd â n «r ndEG »pænJƒr Yn On hn ,∂
n rfCG n’ƒnr dhn ,∂ n «r n∏Yn »pæàn r∏ndOn â
n rfCG
O my Lord, I did not worship Thee out of fear of the fire of Your
hell, nor for the greed of Your paradise. But because I found only
Thee worthy of worship, so I worshiped Thee. You have guided
me unto Yourself and have called me to Thyself, and were it not
for Thee I could never have known Thee as Thee art.

The traveler on the path of God begins the first step of his journey
with love. However, after traversing certain stations and attaining some de-
gree of perfection, he feels that love and the Beloved are two distinct and
separate entities. Therefore, he tries to set aside love that had thus far been
a necessary provision for his journey and spiritual advancement toward
God. He realizes that love, which was an effective means up to this point,
is becoming harmful and an obstacle to his advancement on the path. As a
result, from then on the traveler has only the Beloved in mind and only
worships Him as the sole Beloved.
Still, when the traveler advances further on the path and passes some
other stations, he understands that even this kind of worship is not free
from the tarnish of polytheism, for in this type of worship he sees himself
as the lover and God as the Beloved. Being conscious of one’s selfhood and
seeing the lover independent of the Beloved implies otherness and duality
and is in contradiction with loving the Beloved. Therefore, having the
Beloved in mind while one carries the title of lover is in contradiction with
worshiping the Sacred Essence of God. Consequently, from this point on
the traveler tries to discount love and the beloved as two so that he can
overcome otherness and pass beyond the realm of multiplicity and enter the
world of Unity. At this time even intention (niyyat) disappears from the
heart of the wayfarer because there is no longer a personal identity and
selfhood from which intention would originate.
Until the beginning of this station, the traveler had sought Gnostic
vision (shuh¯ud), unveiling (kashf ), and disclosure (muk¯ashafah). At this
point he becomes oblivious to them all, for he no longer possesses inde-
pendent will to have any goal or objective in mind other than the Beloved.
The wayfarer’s eyes and heart renounce the presence and/or absence of vi-
sions, reaching or not reaching the goal, knowledge or ignorance, and ac-
ceptance or rejection. As HÒ ¯ afiÔz of Sh¯ ır¯ az says:
100 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God

±Óe äÉeGôcR ¿Éæ«°ûf äÉHGôN ÉH

OQGO ≈eÉ≤e ¬àµfôgh ≈FÉL øî°Sôg

Do not brag of miraculous wonders before the tavern haunters,

Every saying fits a certain occasion and each point a proper
place.

It is related that B¯ ayaz¯ ıd BasÓ t¯ am¯ ı once said, ‘‘I renounced the world on the
first day, and the Hereafter on the second; the third day I renounced every-
thing other than God, and on the fourth I was asked,

? oójpôoJ Éne

“What do you want?” and I said:

.ón jpQoG n’ r¿CG óo jpQoG

“I want not to want!’’6

The above quotation alludes to the fourfold stations that have been
discussed by some sages. The first station is the renunciation of the world;
the second is the renunciation of the Hereafter, the third is the renuncia-
tion of the Master (mawl¯a); and the fourth is the renunciation of renunci-
ation. Reflect deeply upon this statement.
Among the spiritual travelers the term “renunciation of greed” (qaÓt⁄-i
tÓ ama⁄) alludes to this station, which is a very important and arduous stage,
and like a rugged valley, passing through it is a formidable task. For after so
much soul-searching and self-questioning, the traveler finds out that in all
stages of his wayfaring he was never free of personal intention and objec-
tive. On the contrary, he always carried certain ambitions and expectations
in the depth of his heart, even though those ambitions might have been
about overcoming weaknesses and imperfections from his soul and attain-
ing spiritual excellence and perfection. If the traveler struggles to disen-
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 101
gage his mind and thought, and forces himself to go through this narrow
passage and free and detach himself from those objectives and goals, he
will achieve no results. Because the very same struggle to attain detach-
ment and catharsis (tajr¯ ıd) implies the presence of attachment and is an
indication of the wayfarer’s struggle for a special [personal] purpose. The
existence of this purpose by itself is a sign of the absence of detachment of
the soul.
One day I discussed this mystery with my teacher and mentor, the
¯
late Aq¯ a H ¯ a Q¯ aÓd¯ ı, may God be pleased with him, and
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı Aq¯
pleaded for [his help] to find a solution. He said: ‘‘This problem can be
solved by resorting to purification through incineration (iÓhr¯aq). The trav-
eler must understand and accept the fact that God, Exalted is He, has cre-
ated him a covetous being. No matter how much he struggles to overcome
his greed, he will not succeed, for greed is part of his innate nature. A de-
sire to eliminate greed from the soul implies the presence of a greed of a
higher nature for which he abandoned the lower one. Therefore, when he
finds himself helpless and unable to free himself of greed, he will have to
entrust his affair to God and set aside any thought of eradicating greed
from his soul by himself. The admission of helplessness and weakness
burns down the very root of greed and purifies him.’’
One should realize, of course, that experiencing this state is not pos-
sible through discursive speculation. Rather, true understanding of this
notion requires experiencing a special state and intellectual intuition
(dhawq). If one can experience this state through intellectual intuition
once in life, one would realize that all pleasures of the world could not
match the joy of experiencing this truth.
The reason for calling this method incineration is that it destroys
and burns down the very roots of one’s identities, intentions, anxieties,
and problems, and does not let an iota of their trace remain in the trav-
eler’s being.
There are references to iÓhr¯aq in the Noble Qur‹¯ an on several occa-
sions. If one uses this method to attain the goal and move on the path, in a
short time one can traverse stations that would otherwise take several years
to pass. One of the cases of reference to iÓhr¯aq in the Glorious Qur‹¯ an is the
utterance of rememberance of return to God (istirj¯a ⁄):

.n¿ƒ©o pLGQn p¬«r ndEG ÉsfEGhn p¬s∏pd ÉsfEG

102 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
Verily we belong to God and unto Him we shall return. (2:156)

At times of adversity, difficulties, and affliction, man can console

himself in several ways. For instance, he may remind himself that every
man is bound to experience misfortune or die; and in doing so, he can
gradually comfort himself. By means of iÓhr¯aq̄ıyah and istirj¯a ⁄, however,
God shortens the way and solves the problem once and for all. For if man
reminds himself that his existence and whatever he possesses belong to
God who granted them to him when He willed and will take them away
whenever He wills and no one else has any authority to interfere; if man
realizes that he, in fact, did not own anything from the beginning and his
ownership of his wealth was metaphorical, he would not be distressed and
saddened by its loss. This realization will pave the way for him and will
comfort his soul and help him to bear his loss and deprivation.
Realizing that God created man covetous from the beginning is like
perceiving that God, the nondelimited Possessor of wealth (ghan¯ ı-ye al¯a‹l
iÓtl¯aq), created His servant poor from the very beginning, and placed
poverty in his nature. Therefore, there is no need for reason to prove
man’s inherent poverty and his need to beg, which poverty necessitates.
One cannot blame the begger when he begs, because poverty calls for beg-
ging. Therefore, if the wayfarer on the path of God realizes his greed, he
must understand that God has created his being with this attribute and
under no circumstances can he free himself from it. On the other hand,
since annihilation in the Divine Essence, which is founded on the basis of
the prayer of the free-spirited men (aÓhr¯ar) [sing. Óhurr], is not in harmony
with covetousness, the wayfarer feels totally helpless and anguished. Iron-
ically, this very same feeling helps him go beyond the boundaries of his
selfhood, which is accompanied by greed. After passing through this stage
there is no longer I-ness (enn¯ ıyat) and selfhood left to associate with greed
and desire. [It is important] that one contemplates this point and under-
stands it properly.

Silence (ÓSamt)

There are two categories of silence: (1) silence in general is called muÓd¯af,
and (2) absolute and particular silence is known as muÓtlaq. General silence
is to withhold the tongue from superfluous speech with ordinary people.
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 103
In other words, the traveler must limit his conversation as much as possi-
ble to what is absolutely necessary. General silence is essential and even
commendable at all times throughout the course of wayfaring. The state-
ment of the Im¯ am, may God’s greetings be upon him, refers to this silence:

.¢S o rdG Éæn àn ©n «°Tp s¿GE

o ôr î

Surely, our followers are the mute ones.7

Also the tradition attributed to H Ò aÓdrat ÓS¯ adiq may peace be upon him in
the MiÓsb¯aÓh al-Shar¯ ı ⁄ah alludes to silence in general:

pAÉ«n pÑrfC’G p¥nÓN r pe ƒn go hn ,Ü

r CG ø n Q p¬«pahn ,Ú
u ôs dG É°Vp n Ñu pëªo rdG Qo É©n °Tp â
o ªr °üdG
s
.pAÉn«pØ°UC
r ’G pQÉn©°Tp hn

Silence is the motto of the lovers [of God], and in it lies the
Lord’s pleasure. It is the virtue of the prophets and the motto of
the pure ones.8

In the tradition attributed to H Ò aÓdrat RiÓd¯a (peace be upon him) and nar-
rated by BaznaÓ t̄ı, it is mentioned that:

.mô«r N
n π l «pdOn ¬o sfEGhn ,páªn rµpërdG pÜGƒn Hr CG ø
u oc ≈n∏Yn π r pe Ü
l ÉHn â
o ªr °üdG
s

Silence is a gate from among the gates of wisdom, and it is in-

deed the guide to every good.9

The second is the absolute and particular silence and is defined as

withholding the tongue from conversation with all people while one is en-
gaged in invocations (adhk¯ar), whose number, timing, and length are pre-
scribed [by the shaykh]. Otherwise, it is not commendable to observe ab-
solute silence in other situations.
104 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
Abstaining from Indulgence in Food Consumption (Ja¯u⁄)

Ja¯u⁄ or abstaining from indulgence in food consumption is permissible and

recommended to the extent that it would not lead to starvation and weak-
ness or alteration of one’s mental state. Im¯ am ÓS¯ adiq may peace be upon
him said:

.pÖr∏n≤rdG Ωo É©n nWhn ,p ìhôt dG Ao GnòpZhn ,p øpeƒDr ªo rdG Ωo GOn EG ´

o Ď
o rdG
Hunger is the believer’s condiment, the spirit’s nourishment,
and the heart’s food.10

Abstaining from indulgence in food consumption results in purifica-

tion and illumination of the soul, and imaginal power and thought can fly
high in hunger. Indulgence in food consumption, in contrast, results in ex-
haustion and heaviness of the soul and prevents it from flying high in the
sky of gnosis. Fasting is one of the most commendable rites of worship.
There are fascinating descriptions of fasting and its effects in wayfaring
and spiritual journey in the account of the Prophet’s nocturnal ascent
(mi⁄r¯aj). It is described in detail in [Ab¯u al-ÒHasan Muhammad] Daylam¯ ı’s
book, Irsh¯ad al-qul¯ub and volume seventeen of [Muhammad B¯ aqir]
Majlis¯ ı’s BiÓh¯ar al-anw¯ar, wherein God addresses His beloved Messenger
(Peace be upon him) with the title of O! AÓhmad—the Praised One.11 Our
¯
master and teacher, the late Ayatull¯ ah Q¯ aÓd¯ ı, may God be pleased with
him, once related a fascinating story on the issue of fasting and hunger.
“It has been said that during the time of the earlier prophets there
were three friends [traveling] who entered a town where they were
strangers. At nightfall they dispersed in different directions to provide food
for themselves. They decided to meet each other at the same place and at a
certain time the next day. One of them received an invitation and the
other invited himself to someone’s home. The third one who had no place
to go said to himself, ‘I will go to the mosque and be God’s guest.’ He went
to the mosque where he stayed overnight but remained hungry until the
next morning. The next day the three men met at the designated place and
began to describe what had befallen them. A revelation from God, Exalted
is He, came to His prophet of the time whereby He ordered him to ‘Tell
the guest of Ours that We accepted to host this dear guest. We desired to
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 105
offer him the best of foods, but We searched Our Invisible Treasures and
did not find any food for him better than fasting and hunger.’”

Spiritual Retreat (Khalwat)

Like silence, spiritual retreat (khalwat, Arabic khalwah) is also of two cate-
gories: general and particular.
General spiritual retreat (khalwat-i ⁄¯am) consists of seclusion and
withdrawal from association with profane people and those who are not
people of God (ahl All¯ah), and in particular [maintaining] as little con-
junction as needed with the weak-minded among the common people.

n rdG ºo ¡o rJôs nZhn kGƒ¡r ndhn kÉÑp©nd ºr ¡o æn jpO Ghoòî

.É«n rfót dG oIƒ«n ë n sJG ø
n jòsdG QnPhn
And forsake those who take their religion for a pastime and a
jest, and whom the life of the world deceives. (6:70)

As to the particular spiritual retreat (khalwat-i kh¯aÓsÓs ), it is distancing

oneself from all people. Although particular retreat is spiritually beneficial
at all times and during all kinds of prayer and invocation, it is especially re-
quired during certain types of verbal invocations (adhk¯ar-i kal¯am¯ ıyah) and
possibly in all of them, and is considered essential by the masters of the
path. There are several prerequisites that must be observed in this regard.
These include withdrawal from the crowd and noisy places and avoidance
from hearing any kind of disturbing voice and sound. In addition, the
place of particular retreat must be legally sanctioned by the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah to use
for that purpose, and must be of ritual purity (Ótah¯arah) from the walls to
the roof. It should also be large enough to room only one person; and must
have nothing of worldly embellishments in it, because the small size of the
prayer room and the absence of furnishings in it contributes to one’s con-
centration and serenity.
A man asked Salm¯ an F¯ ars¯ ı12 may God be pleased with him, for permis-
sion to build a house for him, as he had not built a house for himself until
that time. Salm¯ an would not permit him to do so. The man said, ‘‘I know
the reason you do not permit me.’’ Salm¯ an said, ‘‘Tell me what could the rea-
son be?’’ The man replied, ‘‘The reason is that you would like me to build a
house whose length and width are about the size of your body, and such a
106 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
house is not feasible to build.’’ Salm¯ an said, ‘‘Yes, you are right.’’ Then that
man received the permission to build such a house for him, and he built it.

Morning Wakefulness (Sahar)

Sahar means being awake at dawn to the extent permitted by the traveler’s
constitution. About the reprehensibility of sleeping at daybreak and the
praiseworthiness of being awake during that time, God, the Exalted says:

.n¿hoôpØr¨nà°ùr nj rºog pQÉnë°SCr ’ÉpHhn n¿ƒo©nér¡nj Énep πr«s∏dG nøpe kÓ«p∏nb GƒofÉnc

Little of the night they would slumber, and at dawn they

would seek forgiveness. (6:70)

Constant Observance of Ritual Cleanliness (ÒTah¯arah)

Ritual cleanliness (Ótah¯arat, Arabıc tÓ ah¯arah) is being in the state of the Lesser
ablution (wuÓd¯u‹) at all times, and performing the obligatory Greater ablu-
tions (aghs¯al-i w¯ajibah) (sing. ghusl ), and the Greater ablution on Fridays
and other supererogatory (mustaÓhabb) ablutions to the extent possible.

Extreme Humility (TaÓdarru⁄)

TaÓdarru⁄ means constant expression of humility to the point of exaggera-

tion and one’s recognition of one’s nothingness at all times, and resorting
to lamentation [before God].

Curbing Desires for Worldly Pleasures

This virtue includes refraining from pleasures and appetites to the extent
that one’s capacity and constitution permits, and confining oneself to what
is necessary for maintenance of one’s health and subsistence.

Guarding the Mysteries [of the Path] (Kitm¯an-i sirr)

This virtue is one of the most important conditions of spiritual journey-

ing. Prominent sages devoted much effort to it and strongly recommended
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 107
that their disciples observe this principle. They insisted upon it to the
point of exaggeration whether in practical matters related to prayers, lita-
nies, and formulae for invocation (awr¯ad wa adhk¯ar), or in matters related
to inspirations, spiritual states, and disclosures. Even on occasions when
expedient dissimulation (taq̄ıyah)13 is impossible and the disclosure of se-
crets becomes unavoidable or imperative, they have regarded keeping the
secrets of the path as part of the essential elements and binding instruc-
tions. Even if concealing the secrets of the path calls for abandoning a rit-
ual or a prayer, the traveler must comply with that.

.p¿Éªn àr pµrdÉpH ºr oµpépFGƒn M

n ≈n∏Yn Gƒæo «p©àn °SG
r hn
Seek help concerning your needs through concealment and
secrecy.

By resorting to expedient dissimulation (taq̄ıyah) and secrecy, many

ordeals and difficulties can be reduced or even avoided; whereas disregard-
ing it can cause the traveler to face many tribulations and afflictions. In
any case, when difficulties do arise one must advance on the path with pa-
tience and forbearance so that one can become triumphant.

.nÚp©°TÉ
p nîrdG ≈n∏nY s’EG lInÒpÑnµnd Én¡sfEGh pIƒn∏°üdG s H Gƒoæ«p©nà°SG
s hn pôrÑ°üdÉp r hn
Seek help in patience and prayer (Ósal¯at), and truly it is hard ex-
cept for the humble. (2:45)

Prayer in the context of this blessed verse is used in its literal mean-
ing and denotes focusing attention on the Supreme Creator. Thus, pa-
tience, forbearance, and tolerating hardships with remembrance of God
can ease difficulties and afflictions and are—in effect—important factors
for triumph and salvation. Accordingly, it has been observed that those
people who in daily life may cry from a simple wound to their hand, in the
battlefield of struggle and fight against enemies of religion, are never afraid
to loose an arm or a leg and never feel any fear or weakness in their heart. It
is with this consideration in mind that the Immaculate Im¯ ams, may God’s
peace and blessing be upon them all, have made frequent recommendations
108 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
and astonishing exhortations concerning expedient dissimulation to the
extent that they have considered its abandonment under certain circum-
stances as one of the capital sins.
One day Ab¯u BaÓ s¯ ır asked H Ò aÓdrat-i ÓS¯ adiq, “Can one see God on the
day of Resurrection?” (That is because the Ash⁄arites believe that in the
Hereafter on the day of Resurrection all people will see God physically [by
way of imagination and visualization, of course]). Exalted is God’s Glory
regardless of what the wrongdoers say! The Im¯ am answered: “One can see
Him in this world too, in the same way that you yourself saw God in this
gathering.” Ab¯u BaÓ s¯ ır said: “O son of the Messenger of All¯ ah do you allow
me to narrate this for other people?” H Ò aÓdrat ÓS¯ adiq said: “Do not narrate
this saying because the [common] people cannot understand its meaning
and therefore will be misled.”

Spiritual Master and Teacher (The Shaykh)

There are two categories of spiritual teacher and master. One is the teacher
in its ordinary and universal term (ust¯ad-i ⁄¯amm); the other is the particu-
lar teacher (ust¯ad-i kh¯aÓsÓs ). In the first context, a teacher is someone who is
not especially chosen or appointed to guide others [in spiritual matters].
Seeking the advice of such a teacher falls in the broader context of
Qur‹¯ anic injunction to consult those who are people of knowledge, as is un-
derstood in accordance with the general meaning of the following verse:

.n¿ƒoªn∏r©nJ n’ rºoàræoc r¿GE pôrcuòdG nπrgCG Gƒo∏nÄ°SÉn

r a
Ask the people of the Remembrance if you do not know. (16:43)

The need to refer to an ordinary teacher is only at the initial stages of

spiritual journey. However, when the traveler is honored by authentic vi-
sions and the theophany of Divine Attributes and Essence (mush¯ahad¯at wa
tajall¯ ıy¯at-i Ó sif¯at¯ ıyah wa dh¯at̄ıyah), association with such a teacher is no
longer necessary. As to the particular spiritual teacher and master, he is the
one who is specifically designated to guide people in spiritual matters.
They are the Prophet of All¯ ah [Muhammad], and his true and legitimate
successors [i.e., the Sh¯ ı⁄ite Im¯ ams] and vicegerents. The wayfarer cannot
dispense with the companionship of and attachment to the particular
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 109
teacher under any circumstances even if he reaches his desired spiritual
destination. Obviously, what is meant by attachment and companionship
(mur¯afaqat)14 is inward attachment and companionship of the Im¯ am with
the traveler, and not necessarily outward and physical association. Because
the reality of the Im¯ am is none other than the station of his luminosity
that dominates over the world and its inhabitants. As to the Im¯ am’s corpo-
real being, even though it has its own nobility and grace in relation to
other human beings, nonetheless, it is not the source of any consequence
or particular efficacy or dispensation in the affairs of the universe.
To further clarify this point, it is important to mention that the
source of all that which finds concrete existence and manifestation in the
world of creation is the Divine Names and Attributes, and the reality of
the Im¯ am is the same as the Names and Attributes of God. Therefore, it is
on the basis of this fact that the Im¯ ams have said: “The wheel of the world
of being, the heavens, and the entire universe turns by our hands and
everything takes place with our sanction and permission”:

o¬s∏dG nópÑoY ÉnæpH ,o¬s∏dG n±pôoY ÉnæpH

It is through us that God is known and it is through us that

God is worshiped.

Accordingly, in the process of wayfaring, the traveler traverses within

the planes of the Im¯ am’s luminosity. Any spiritual station he may ascend or
status he may attain, the Im¯ am already possesses and accompanies the
wayfarer in that plane and station.
By the same token, the Im¯ am’s companionship and friendship is nec-
essary even after the attainment of the desired spiritual goal of union
(wuÓ s¯ul) with the Beloved, for it is he who must teach the traveler the rules
and manners of the abode of Divine Names (l¯ah¯ut). Therefore, compan-
ionship of the Im¯ am in every situation is an important, and perhaps the
most important condition and requirement of spiritual journey. There are
profound mysteries to this fact that cannot be confined in words and de-
scription, but the traveler must discover them through discernment and
intellectual intuition.
One day, MuÓhy¯ ı al-D¯ ın [ibn al-]⁄Arab¯ ı went to a spiritual master and
complained about the spread of injustice and sin [on earth]. The teacher
110 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
advised him to ‘‘Pay attention to your God.’’ After some time, he went to
another master and again complained about the increasing spread of sins
and injustice. This time the teacher instructed him to ‘‘Pay attention to
your own soul.’’ Thereupon Ibn al-⁄Arab¯ ı began to weep and asked the
master the reasons for different replies he had received to the same ques-
tion. The teacher answered: ‘‘O the apple of my eye! Both answers are the
same. He invited you to the Friend (raf¯ ıq), and I am inviting you to the
Way (Ótar¯ ıq).’’
We relate this story to demonstrate that wayfaring in the path of
God and toward God is not in contradiction with wayfaring in the Divine
Names and Attributes, which are essentially the same as the station of the
Im¯ am. They are very close to one another and are indeed identical. In that
realm, there is no duality to be found; rather, whatever exists there is a sin-
gle light, which is the Divine Light. Ultimately, that light is described in
different terms at different times; sometimes as Divine Names and Attrib-
utes, and at other times as the reality or luminosity of the Im¯ am.

o °ûp jo p ∫ɪn é
Ò n rdG ∑
n GnP ≈ndEG π
w ochn ól pMGhn ∂ o hn ≈às °Tn Éæn oJGQn ÉÑn pY
n æo °ùr M
Our descriptions are various,
but Thy Beauty is one,
it is to Thy Beauty
that all of them allude.

It is not possible to know the ordinary teacher and recognize his

qualities except through one’s association and companionship with him
in public and private until his truthfulness and total certainty (yaq̄ın) are
unequivocally proven to the traveler. One cannot find out whether a
teacher has reached the station of union (wuÓ s¯ul) with the Beloved on the
basis of such abilities as performing extraordinary and miraculous acts,
possessing the knowledge of the hidden mysteries, mind reading, walking
on fire and water, miraculous journeying over land and in the air (Ótayy al-
arÓd wa al-haw¯a‹), knowledge of the future and the past, and similar won-
drous and eccentric acts, because all these faculties are acquired at the
stage of unveiling of the spirit (muk¯ashafa-yi r¯uh¯ ıyah). But there is a very
long distance between this point and the stations of union and perfection
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 111
(kam¯al). Such a teacher cannot become a spiritual master so long as the
theophanies of Lordly Essence (tajall¯ ıy¯at-i dh¯at¯ ıyah-i rabb¯an¯ ıyah) are not
manifested in him. One cannot rely merely on the theophanies of Divine
Names and Attributes (tajall¯ ıyyat-i Ó sif¯at¯ ıyah wa asm¯a‹¯ ıyah) in a teacher
and regard them as indications of his perfection and union [with the
Beloved].
The meaning of the theophany of Divine Attributes (tajall¯ ı-yi Ósif¯at¯ ı)
is that the traveler observes Divine Attributes in himself and regards his
own knowledge, power, or life, as those of God. Thus, if he hears some-
thing he would perceive that it is God who hears it because He is the All-
Hearing (Sam¯ ı ⁄); when he sees something, he would understand that God
sees it because He is the All-Seeing (BaÓs̄ır); he would consider all knowledge
of the world as God’s, and would realize that the knowledge of all existence
is derived from or is the same as God’s knowledge.
The theophany of Divine Names (tajall¯ ı-yi asm¯a‹¯ ı) means that the
wayfarer would observe in himself those Attributes of God that are sup-
ported by His Divine Essence, such as the Standing (Q¯a‹im), the All-
Knowing (⁄Al¯ ım), the All-Hearing (Sam¯ ı ⁄), the All-Seeing (BaÓ s̄ır), the
Omnipotent (Q¯adir), and the like. For instance, he would come to realize
that there is only One Knower in the world and that is God, Exalted is He;
and that he would no longer consider himself as a knower before Him;
rather, he would realize that his knowledge is in fact God’s knowledge. Or
he should understand that the Living One is one and that it is God, and
that he himself is essentially not living, except in God. In the final analysis,
the wayfarer should understand that There is no powerful, knower, and
living being except God, Exalted and Holy is He.

.¢S
n ós n≤nJhn ≈ndÉ©n nJ ƒn go s’EG » n rdGhn ºo «p∏©n rdGhn ôo jpón≤rdG ¢ù
t ë n «r nd

The Almighty, the All-knowing and the Living One is none

but He, Exalted, the Sacred.

Of course, it is possible that the theophany of Divine Names would

be manifested in one’s being in relation to certain Divine Names only. But
manifestation of one Divine Name or two in a traveler does not necessar-
ily mean that other Names would also be reflected in his being.
112 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
The theophany of Divine Essence (tajall¯ ı-i dh¯at¯ ı) is when God’s
Essence manifests Itself in the wayfarer’s being; and that is attained only
when he transcends all names and identities. In other words, this is possi-
ble only when he loses his selfhood totally and entirely and finds no trace of
his self in the world of being, forgets self and selfhood (khud wa khud¯ ıyat)
once and for all; and finally, experiences that

There is none there other than All¯ ah.

¬o s∏dG s’EG ∑
n Éæn go ¢ù
n «r ndhn
At this point deviation and aberration is no longer possible for such
a traveler. So long as an iota of selfhood remains in the traveler’s heart,
Satan is not disappointed and still hopes to deceive him and lead him
astray. But when, with the power of Divine Grace, Exalted and Blessed is
He, the wayfarer obliterates his identity and wipes out his selfhood, he en-
ters into the realm of Divine Names (l¯ah¯ut) and into God’s sanctuary
(Óharam), wears the attire of intimacy, and is honored and blessed with the
theophanies of Divine Essence, only then will Satan go away and leave him
alone. An ordinary teacher must attain this station of perfection [to be-
come qualified as a master and guide a wayfarer]; otherwise, a wayfarer
cannot surrender himself to just anyone [who claims spiritual authority]
and be obedient to him.

â°SG ¿ÉHÉ«H øjG ΩÉncôg ¬H ΩGO QGõg

óæ¡‚ ¿BG RG ≈µj ¿GQGõg QGõg RG ¬c

A thousand traps lie concealed in every step in this wilderness,

Of thousands and thousands [of passers by],
hardly one will be saved from them and find deliverance.

Therefore, one must not surrender oneself to any person who dis-
plays his [spiritual] commodities and makes claims to disclosure and wit-
nessing. Of course, in cases where it is impossible or difficult to investigate
the qualifications of a teacher or a shaykh; one must trust in God, examine
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 113
whatever the teacher prescribes or instructs in light of the Book of God
and the tradition of the Messenger of All¯ ah and the practices of the Im-
maculate Im¯ ams, may God’s benedictions and peace be upon them; and if
he finds them in agreement, put them into practice. Otherwise, he should
disregard them. Obviously, since such a traveler takes every step with re-
liance on and trust in God, Satan will not be able to dominate over him.

¬o ofÉ n£r∏°So ɪn sfEG n¿ƒo∏scƒn àn jn ºr p¡Hu Qn ≈n∏Yn hn Gƒæo en BG ø

n jòsdG ≈n∏Yn l¿É n£r∏°So ¬o nd ¢ù
n «r nd ¬o sfEG

.n¿ƒocpô°ûr oe p¬pH rºog nøjòsdGhn o¬nfƒsr dƒn nànj nøjòsdG ≈n∏nY

Verily, he [Satan] has no power over those who believe and put
their trust in their Lord; for his [Satan’s] power is only over
those who take him [Satan] for their friend and who ascribe
partners unto Him [All¯ ah]. (16:99–100)

Litany (Wird)

Wird consists of verbal invocations (adhk¯ar) and litanies (awr¯ad) (sing.

dhikr and wird ) the type and frequency of which are determined by the
spiritual guide. For prayers and litanies are like medicines that are bene-
ficial to some patients and harmful to some others. Sometimes it hap-
pens that a traveler engages in two kinds of invocations, one of which di-
rects his attention to multiplicity and the other toward Unity. When
they are recited together, they usually neutralize one another’s effect and
produce no result. Of course, the spiritual master’s special permission is
required for recitation of those litanies that require special sanction.
However, recitation of generally sanctioned litanies does not need special
permission.
There are four categories of litanies. [They include] manifested rec-
ollection with tongue often concentrating on the invocation without at-
tention to its meaning (dhikr-i jal¯ ı or q¯alib̄ı); and, silent or hidden invoca-
tion where attention is focused on the meaning (dhikr-i khaf¯ ı or qalb̄ı).
Each of these two categories is either specific in number (ÓhaÓsr¯ ı) or nonde-
limited (iÓtl¯aq̄ı). The outward invocation is not very important in the eye of
the people of the wayfaring, for it consists of verbal chanting often without
particular attention to meaning. It is indeed the movement of the tongue
114 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
(laqlaqah-yi lis¯an). Since the traveler’s quest is for nothing other than the
inner meaning (ma⁄n¯a), invocation with the tongue will be of no special
efficacy and benefit for him.

Control of Incoming Thoughts (Naf-yi khaw¯atÓ ir), Meditation (Fikr), and

Invocation (Dhikr)

These three elements constitute important phases in reaching one’s ulti-

mate spiritual goal. Most people who fail to reach their spiritual destina-
tion stop in one of these three stages where they quit wayfaring perma-
nently or become prone to going astray. There are many dangers in these
phases, such as [turning toward] idolatry; worshiping stars, fire, and at
times to atheism, pharaohism, claims of incarnation (Óhul¯ul), and unifica-
tion (ittiÓh¯ad) [with God]; renouncing obligatory rites; arbitrarily deciding
what is permissible and what is forbidden by the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah (Óhal¯al wa
Óhar¯am); and other similar practices. Of course, we shall discuss all these
dangers in due course. For the time being, however, we will examine two of
the most important of those dangers, namely, incarnation (Óhul¯ul) and uni-
fication (ittiÓh¯ad); dangers that the traveler will face as a result of purifying
his mind through control and rejection of other incoming thoughts (nafy-
i khaw¯atÓ ir).
Since the traveler has not yet transcended the realm of selfhood and
personal identity when Divine Names and Attributes manifest themselves
in him, he may fall into the trap of illusions and imagine that God has
reached unity with him and his self—may God be our refuge. This mean-
ing of incarnation and unification is indeed identical with heresey (kufr)
and polytheism (shirk); whereas the meaning of the concept of Unity of
Being (waÓhdat al-wuj¯ud) essentially and totally negates multiplicity, other-
ness and distinctiveness, and regards all conceivable existents before God
as passing shadows and illusions. When the traveler realizes the station of
Unity of Being, he loses all his being, is denuded of his selfhood and is to-
tally annihilated in God. As a result, he cannot intuitively sense any other
existent in the world of existence except His Sacred Essence:

.Ql Éjs On √o ôo «r nZ pQGós dG »pa ¢ù

n «r ndhn

There is no one in the house save Him [who is] the Landlord.
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 115
The difference and distance between this state and incarnation and union
is from the earth to heaven.
The concept of control of the mind and rejecting incoming thoughts
(nafy-i khaw¯atÓ ir) denotes conquering the heart and governing over it so
that it may not say something or commit an act, or be preoccupied with
thoughts and memories except by the permission and will of its master.
Achieving this state is an extremely difficult task, as it is said that thought
control is one of the greatest purifiers of the inmost consciousness (a⁄¯azim-
¯
i muÓtahhar¯at-i sirr). When the traveler sets out to practice controlling his
thought, he realizes that a shattering flood of memories, thoughts, fan-
tasies, and dreams overwhelms him. Even memories that he never imag-
ined would come to his mind, such as past events or unreal thoughts, and
imaginations enter his mind and totally capture and preoccupy him. In a
situation like this, the wayfarer must remain firm like a majestic mountain,
and with the sword of invocation cut off every thought that comes to his
mind and causes distraction. In situations like this, invocation consists of
none other than Divine Names, upon one of which the wayfarer must
turn and focus his attention whenever his mind is distracted by those
memories. He must meditate upon a particular Divine Name ceaselessly
and focus upon it outwardly and inwardly (with his heart and his eye)
until those memories are forced out of the abode of his heart. This is a very
sound method to keep out thoughts solely with the help of dhikr, which is
none other than remembrance of one of the Divine Names. God, Exalted
is He, has said:

p rÑoe rºog GnPEÉna GhoôscnònJ p¿É n£r«°ûdG

.n¿hoô°ü s nøpe l∞pFÉ nW rºo¡°ùs ne GnPEG Gƒnr ≤sJG nøjòsdG s¿GE

Verily, those who fear God, when a visitation from Satan trou-
bles them, they do but remember All¯ ah and behold them seers.
(7:201)

In a treatise attributed to the late [¯Ayatull¯ ah Sayyid Mahd¯ ı ibn

H
Ò asan] BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um15 this practice has not been permitted. In that book,
he strongly insists that control and rejection of incoming thoughts must
be exercised without resorting to invocation. According to him, only when
control is achieved over mind and thought, may one then start invocation
116 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
of the Divine Names; for control and rejection of thoughts with the sword
of invocation is an extremely dangerous enterprise. We shall briefly present
his argumentation in the coming pages and then provide our own explana-
tion and reason for its refutation. According to BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um:

Many spiritual masters teach [their disciples] that the process

of thought control should be carried out with the help of invo-
cation (dhikr). Obviously, what is meant by invocation is med-
itation and concentration on the heart, and not verbal invoca-
tion for which the term litany (wird) is used. This is very
dangerous. For the reality of the invocation consists of atten-
tion to the Beloved and concentration on His Beauty from a
distance. The vision of the Beloved is permissible only when
the eye is completely blind to anything other than Him; for the
Beloved is jealous (ghay¯ur) and His jealousy (ghayrat, Arabıc
ghayrah) implies that it is not proper for the eye that sees Him
to see anything other than Him. He will inflict with blindness
any eye that turns away from Him to view someone or some-
thing else. Beholding Him while viewing other than Him is in
conflict with His ghayrah. If seeing other than Him is repeated,
it will amount to His contempt. The Beloved will respond by
delivering such a strong blow on one’s neck that he would lose
both his hat and head.

r u«n≤of p¿ÉnªrMsôdG pôrcpP rønY ¢û

.løjpônb o¬nd ƒn o¡na kÉfÉ n£r«°Tn o¬nd ¢† o r©nj rønehn

And he who is blind to the remembrance of the Beneficent, We

assign unto him a Satan for companionship. (43:36)

BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um nevertheless states that:

only one kind of invocation is permissible in the process of

practicing thought control; and that is the type of invocation
whose objective is not to see the Beloved’s Beauty, but to
drive away the Satan, like a person who wants to expel an in-
truder from the meeting place with his beloved. In this case,
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 117
the purpose is to alarm and frighten the stranger. In such a case,
the method used is that if a thought distracts the mind from
concentration in such a manner that it becomes difficult to dis-
pel it by other means, only then may one invoke Divine Names
in order to expel those thoughts. However, the method used by
those who have actualized their potentials on the Way and
those conscious wayfarers who have attained the ultimate
union [with the Beloved] is that in the process of teaching and
guiding the novice, the spiritual guide should first instruct him
to exercise mind control and then proceed to invocation. To
teach mind control, such masters instruct the traveler to con-
centrate on a tangible object such as a stone or a piece of wood
with one’s inward and outward faculties and refrain as much as
possible from blinking the eye. It is better that one practice this
method continuously for forty days after the obligatory morn-
ing and night prayers and recite the threefold litanies of asking
God for refuge (isti⁄¯adhah), asking God for forgiveness
(istighf¯ar), and the formula, O Active (Y¯a Fa⁄¯al) during that pe-
riod. After this, the novice must focus on his heart and con-
tinue this practice for some time, concentrating on it fully and
not allowing any other thought into his mind. Should any
thought still distract his mind during the course of this prac-
tice, he should take recourse in the Divine Name (All¯ah) and
the formula “There is no existence except God” (l¯a mawj¯uda
ill‹all¯ah). The traveler must be persistent in this exercise until
there emerges in his mind a quality of selflessness (b̄ıkhud¯ ı).

BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um further recommends that

the appropriate prayer during this process is continuous recita-

tion of the istighf¯ar and y¯a Fa⁄¯al formulae and the Divine Name
O Expander (y¯a Bas̄ıÓt). When the wayfarer reaches this stage, he
is then permitted to complete the remaining phases of thought
control by imaginative silent invocation upon his soul (dhikr-i
nafs̄ı-yi khay¯al¯ ı) until his mind is totally cleansed and purified.
BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um concludes that, God willing, preoccupation with
memories and thoughts will gradually disappear as one advances
further in the process of contemplation and invocation.
118 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
It should be known that this method of mind control that BaÓhr al-
⁄Ul¯um has mentioned here is adopted from the practice in the Naqshband¯ ı
order. The Naqshband¯ ıs are a group of Sufis who are scattered in Turkey
and some other places. The founder and spiritual guide (murshid) of the
order was Khaw¯ ajah Muhammad Naqshband, hence the name of the
order, the Naqshband¯ ıyyah.16
The approach of the late ¯Akh¯und Mull¯ a H Ò usayn-Qul̄ı Hamad¯ an¯ ı,
may God be pleased with him, was different. He and his disciples did not
prescribe mind control without the practice of invocation. Rather, their
method was based on constant attention and seriousness and attentiveness
in different phases of it. Earlier we referred to this practice briefly. Here we
shall discuss it in more detail.
The primary requirement of mur¯aqabah for the traveler is to abstain
from that which is forbidden by the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah (muÓharram¯at), and observe
all obligatory religious duties (w¯ajib¯at), and never procrastinate in these
matters. The second step is the intensification of mur¯aqabah, wherein the
traveler makes every effort to assure that his acts are for God’s pleasure
only, and to refrain from matters that are considered vain and frivolous.
When he completes this stage; it will become a possibility for him and
whereafter he will not be captured by anxiety or panic, and self-control will
become his second nature (malakah).
The third phase of mur¯aqabah is that the wayfarer constantly sees
God with himself and watchful over him, and gradually realizes that God,
the Almighty, is present and watchful everywhere and concerned about all
creatures. This aspect of mur¯aqabah must be observed in all states and at
all times.
The fourth and final stage is a higher and more exalted one than the
third stage. In this stage the traveler sees God’s presence and in an undiffer-
entiated manner observes Divine Beauty. These two latter stages of
mur¯aqabah are referred to in the advice of the Noble Prophet, may God’s
greetings and peace be upon him, to Ab¯u Dhar Ghaff¯ ar¯ ı, may God be
pleased with him:

.n∑Gnônj o¬sfEÉna o√GnônJ røoµnJ rºnd r¿ÉE na ,o√GnônJ n∂sfCÉnc n¬s∏dG póoÑrYoG

Worship God as though you see Him, and if you do not see
Him, He, nonetheless, sees you.
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 119
Accordingly, the merit of worship where God sees the wayfarer is less
exalted than when he sees God.
When the traveler reaches this stage, in order to be able to expel
everything other than God from his mind, thought control must be prac-
ticed when he is performing one of the rites of worship. For it is not per-
missible in the sacred Shar¯ ı ⁄ah to concentrate on a stone or a piece of
wood. If death were to descend to one in those moments, what kind of ex-
planation would one have before God? However, control of incoming
thoughts in the course of dhikr and with the weapon of invocation is an
act of worship and is commended by the Shar¯ ı ⁄ah. The best method of
thought control is to focus on the soul, which is the fastest way to reach
the intended goal. Because concentration on the soul is praised and ac-
cepted by the luminous Shar¯ ı ⁄ah, as the noble verse indicates:

.rºoàrjnónàrgG GnPEG sπ°V

n røne rºoctô°†
o nj n’ rºoµ°ùon ØrfCG rºoµr«n∏nY GƒoæneBG nøjòsdG Én¡tjCG Énj

O you who believe, you have charge of your own souls. He

who erred cannot harm you if you are rightly guided. (5:105)

The method of concentration on the soul was utilized and recom-

mended by the late ¯Akh¯und Mull¯ a H Ò usayn-Qul̄ı. All his disciples followed
this approach to gain knowledge of their souls (ma⁄rifat al-nafs), which is a
prerequisite to acquiring knowledge of the Lord.
The reality of gnosis (⁄irf¯an) originates from Am¯ ır al-Mu‹min¯ ın ⁄Al̄ı
ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib, may God’s greetings be upon him. The number of orders
that have accepted and spread this reality [his wil¯ayah] generation after
generation and from masters to disciples exceeds more than one hundred.
But the principal branches of taÓ sawwuf do not exceed twenty-five. All of
these orders trace their origin to H Ò aÓdrat ⁄Al̄ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib, may God’s
greetings be upon him. Among these twenty-five orders, two or three be-
long to the kh¯aÓ sÓ sah (i.e., Sh¯ ı⁄ites) and all the rest belong to ‘Āmmah (i.e.,
Sunnis). Some of these orders also trace their origin to Im¯ am RiÓd¯a, may
God’s greetings be upon him, through Ma⁄r¯uf al-Karkh¯ ı. However, our
order, which is the same as that of the late ¯Akh¯und (Mull¯ a H Ò usayn Qul̄ı),
does not originate from and is not related to any of these chains (silsilahs).
Let us now turn to a brief discussion of our order. Over a hundred
years ago there was an eminent scholar in the city of Sh¯ushtar [in southern
120 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
Iran] named Aq¯¯ a Sayyid ⁄Al̄ı Sh¯u shtar̄ı who held the function of the judge
and religious authority for the people of Sh¯u shtar. Like other prominent
religious scholars of the time, he performed ordinary functions like teach-
ing, judging, and settling disputes between people, and acting as a source
of emulation (marja⁄¯ ıyat-i taql¯ ıd) in religious matters. It has been reported
that one day someone knocked at his door. When asked who it was, the
visitor told him to open the door as he had business to conduct with him.
When the late Aq¯ ¯ a Sayyid ⁄Al̄ı opened the door, he saw a man whose ap-
pearance revealed that he was a weaver. When asked what he wanted, the
weaver told him: “Such and such judgment that you had issued in favor of
a person concerning the ownership of such and such property on the basis
of the testimony of witnesses was not correct; and that the said property—
in fact—belonged to a minor, an orphan.” He then added that the deed of
that property was buried in such and such location.
The weaver also told Sayyid ⁄Al̄ı Aq¯ ¯ a that: “The path that you have
¯
adopted is not the right one; this path is not for you.” Ayatull¯ ah Sh¯u shtar̄ı
asked the man whether he had committed any wrongdoing or followed
the wrong way. The weaver replied: “I have already given my answer.”
Having said this the weaver went away. The Ayatull¯ ¯ ah was immersed in
his thought and wondered who that man was and what he had meant.
After some investigation, it turned out that documents pertaining to the
said property and proving the orphan’s ownership of that were indeed
buried in the same place as the weaver had indicated; and that the wit-
nesses who had testified in favor of the other party had lied under duress
and out of fear.
¯ a ⁄Al̄ı became dismayed and wondered whether many of
Sayyid Aq¯
the judgments he had issued had been of this sort. He was overwhelmed
by fear and anguish. The following night the weaver again knocked at his
door and told him: “The true path is not the one on which you are travel-
ing.” The third night the same episode was repeated in precisely the same
manner. This time the weaver also told him to sell his house and all his
belongings as soon as possible, and go to the city of Najaf in Iraq and
carry on the tasks that he will assign to him. Then he added that, “After
six months, wait for me in the W¯ ad¯ ı al-Sal¯ am cemetery in Najaf Ashraf.”
Reportedly, the late Sh¯u shtar̄ı immediately began to carry out the
weaver’s instructions. He sold his house and gathered his belongings and
made arrangements to depart for Najaf Ashraf. As soon as he arrived in
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 121
Najaf, at sunrise he saw the weaver in W¯ad¯ ı al-Sal¯am cemetery standing in
front of him as though he had come out of the ground. The weaver gave
him some more instructions and disappeared. The late Ayatull¯ ¯ ah took res-
idence in Najaf Ashraf and carried out the weaver’s instructions until he
reached a station that words cannot describe. May God be pleased with
him and may His peace be upon him.
In Najaf Ashraf, out of reverence for Shaykh MurtaÓd¯a AnÓ s¯ar̄ı,17 Ayat- ¯
ull¯ ah Sh¯u shtar̄ı attended the Shaykh’s lectures on jurisprudence (fiqh) and
Principles (uÓs¯ul). In return, Shaykh AnÓ s¯ar̄ı also went to Sh¯u shtar̄ı’s class on
ethics. When Shaykh AnÓ s¯ar̄ı, may God have mercy on him, passed away,
Sh¯u shtar̄ı, may God have mercy on him, took charge of the Shaykh’s chair
and continued the lectures where the Shaykh had left. However, he did not
live for very long and after six months departed toward God’s eternal
mercy. Once during that period, the late Sh¯ushtar̄ı sent a message to one of
the most outstanding pupils of Shaykh AnÓ s¯ar̄ı, named ¯Akh¯und Mull¯ a
H
Ò usayn-Qul̄ı Dargaz¯ ın¯ ı Hamad¯ an¯ ı. Hamad¯ an¯ ı knew Sh¯u shtar̄ı while
Shaykh AnÓ s¯ar̄ı was still alive and had benefited from his courses in ethics
and gnosis. He planned to continue teaching the same subjects that
Shaykh AnÓ s¯ar̄ı had taught, and had compiled the Shaykh’s lectures and dis-
courses. In that message Ayatull¯¯ ah Sh¯ushtar̄ı reminded Hamad¯ an¯ ı that that
position (teaching) was not a perfect one for him, and that he should aim
at attaining higher stations. This message transformed Hamad¯ an¯ ı and
guided him to the abode of the truth.
At any rate, the late ¯Akh¯und Hamad¯ an¯ ı, who had studied sacred sci-
ences under the late Aq¯ ¯ a Sayyid ⁄Al̄ı several years before the death of the
late Shaykh AnÓ s¯ar̄ı became one of the wonders of his time and superior to
his contemporaries in the fields of ethics, spiritual struggle, and sacred sci-
ences. Moreover, he trained several outstanding disciples, each of whom
was considered a citadel of gnosis and a manifestation of Divine Unity.
Among his most eminent pupils one can mention the late H Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a
Jaw¯ ad Aq¯¯ a Malik¯ ı Tabr̄ız¯ ı, the late Aq¯
¯ a Sayyid AÓhmad Karbal¯ a‹¯ ı Tihr¯ an¯ ı,
the late Aq¯¯ a Sayyid Muhammad Sa⁄¯ ıd H Ò ubb¯ub¯ ı, and the late H
Ò ¯ ajj Shaykh
Muhammad Bah¯ ar̄ı.
Our revered teacher and master, the unrivaled gnostic, the late H Ò ¯ ajj
¯ a Q¯ aÓd¯ ı Tabr̄ız¯ ı, may God be pleased with him, belonged to
M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı Aq¯
the circle of pupils of the late Aq¯ ¯ a Sayyid AÓhmad Karbal¯ a‹¯ ı. This is the
chain (silsilah) of our masters and teachers that goes back to the late Aq¯ ¯ a
122 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
⁄Al̄ı Sh¯u shtar̄ı and ultimately to that weaver. As to the identity of the
weaver and his connections or the source of his knowledge and instruc-
tions, nothing is known.18
Like our grand master and teacher ¯Akh¯und Mull¯ a H Ò usayn-Qul̄ı, the
¯
approach of our master and teacher the late Aq¯ a Q¯ aÓd¯ ı Tabr̄ız¯ ı, was based
on awareness and knowledge of the self (ma⁄rifat al-nafs). In the initial
stages, he always prescribed concentration on one’s soul in order to gain
control over mind and thought. According to his instruction, every day a
novice traveler must devote a certain amount of time, half an hour or
more, just to concentrate on his soul and practice to control his mind and
thought. As a result of this concentration, slowly he would gain [spiritual]
strength and thoughts and other mental preoccupations will disappear.
Gradually, he would attain knowledge of his soul, and God willing, would
ultimately reach his desired spiritual destination.
Most aspirants who have succeeded in liberating their mind and
cleaning and purifying it from memories and ordinary preoccupations to
prepare it for the rise of the Kingdom of Gnosis (sulÓt¯an-i ma⁄rifat), have
done so in one of the two following states. The first is during recitation of
the Glorious Qur‹¯ an, contemplating and wondering who the actual reciter
of the Qur‹¯ an is, and ultimately feeling [being revealed to] that the reciter
is none other than God Himself, Majestic is His Glory.
Second is by pleading to (tawassul) and seeking the intercession of
H
Ò aÓdrat Ab¯ a ‘Abd All¯ ah al-ÒHusayn, may God’s blessing and peace be upon
him, because he is graciously instrumental in lifting the veil and removing
the obstacles on the path of God for the wayfarer.
As was mentioned in our discussion in previous pages, two factors
play important parts in the theophany of the Kingdom of Gnosis. The
first is constant attention (mur¯aqabah) in its various forms and degrees of
intensity; and second is concentration on the soul. When the traveler
makes every effort to focus his attention on these two principles, gradually
he will realize that the multiplicities of this world originate from and are
nurtured by one wellspring, and anything that finds existence in the world
derives its existence from one source. Any degree of light, beauty, glory,
and perfection that may be present in any existing thing is derived from
that single source that gives it the light of life, beauty, and majesty in ac-
cordance with its inherent capability (q¯abil¯ ıyat-i m¯ahuw¯ ı). In other words,
absolute and boundless grace emanates unconditionally from the Absolute
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 123
Source and every existent receives its share in accordance with its qualifica-
tions and quiddity (m¯ah̄ıyat).
In any case, as a result of constant attention and persistent effort,
gradually four [spiritual] realms will be revealed to the traveler.
The first realm is the world of Unity in deeds (tawÓh̄ıd-i af ⁄¯al). That is,
at first the traveler realizes that whatever his eyes see, his tongue says, his
ears hear, his feet, hands, and other bodily organs perform are all supported
by his own soul, and the soul does what it wills. Then he realizes that what-
ever actions that take place in the external world derive from and are sup-
ported by himself. In other words, his soul is the source of all his [external]
acts. Soon, however, he realizes that his soul subsists in the Divine Being
and is only a gate for emanation of Divine Mercy and Grace; and therefore,
all acts in the external world are supported by His Sacred Being.
The second realm is the world of Unity of Attributes (TawÓh̄ıd-i ÓSif¯at)
and is revealed after the first realm. In this realm when the traveler hears,
he does not regard the reality of hearing to belong to himself, but to God.
Similarly, whatever he sees with his eyes, he perceives the reality of his sight
as belonging to God. In short, he realizes that every kind of knowledge,
power, life, hearing, sight, and everything else that he notices in the exis-
tent things in the external world all emanate from and subsist in God, Ex-
alted is He.
The third realm is the world of Unity of Names (TawÓh̄ıd-i Asm¯a‹) and
it emerges after the second world. In this realm, the traveler understands
that [Divine] Attributes subsist in His Essence. For example, he realizes
that only God, Exalted is He, is the [real] Knower (⁄Ālim), the Powerful
(Q¯adir), and the Living (H Ò ayy). In other words, he realizes that his own
knowledge is, in fact, God’s knowledge; and believes that his power, hear-
ing, and sight all belong to God and are in God. In general, he understands
that in the entire universe there is only One who is Powerful, Knowing,
Seeing, and Living and that is God, Glorious is He; and that every existent
thing, in proportion to its own existential reality, alludes to and reflects a
certain degree of the reality of the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful, the All-
Hearing, the All-Seeing, and the Living.
The fourth realm is the world of Unity of Essence (TawÓh̄ıd dar Dh¯at),
which is higher than the third realm and is revealed to the wayfarer through
the theophany of the Divine Essence. That is to say, the traveler realizes that
the Essence by which all acts, attributes, and names are supported is One
124 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
Essence and One Reality in which they all subsist. At this point, the way-
farer is no longer concerned about Attributes and Names but solely with
the Essence. This is realized only when he bids farewell to and leaves be-
hind his derivative existence (wuj¯ud-i ⁄¯ariyah wa maj¯az¯ ı) and loses his
identity and selfhood once and for all and annihilates them in the Sacred
Essence of God, Exalted is He. This is the point of the theophany of the
Essence. Of course, to name this station as the station of the Essence
(maq¯am-i dh¯at), the reality of the Essence (Óhaq̄ıqat-i dh¯at), or Unicity
(aÓhad¯ ıyat) or any other name is a waste of time and a meaningless and fu-
tile effort. For whatever can be expressed by the tongue or written by the
pen is not beyond definition. Whereas the Sacred Divine Essence is above
all definitions. One cannot find a proper name or description for It, nor
can It be conceived in terms of states and stations. In fact, it is even beyond
the boundaries of inability, for while inability implies negation, it still sets
a limit for Him, and God the Almighty is above all limitations. When the
traveler enters this realm, he loses his own identity and selfhood. He will not
know himself, nor will he recognize any other person. In short, he will not
know anyone except God, because ultimately only God can know Himself.
In the process of his journey in each of the fourfold realms, the trav-
eler loses a part of his identity and selfhood—ultimately losing his total
being and existence. In the first abode where he reaches the station of an-
nihilation in the Act, he realizes that it is not he, but God, who acts. He
loses all signs of his effects pertaining to action. In the second realm,
thanks to the theophany of Divine Attributes, the traveler understands
that knowledge, power, and all other qualities are exclusive to the Divine
Essence, Glorious and Exalted. At this point he loses his own attributes
and no longer sees any trace of them in himself. In the third realm, as a re-
sult of the theophany of the Divine Names, the traveler understands that
it is God, the Glorious, who is the Knower and the Powerful. Here he loses
his names and no longer finds them in himself. Finally, in the fourth
abode, which is the realm of the theophany of Essence, the wayfarer loses
his own existence and dispossesses his essence. He no longer sees himself,
for the only essence that he sees is the Sacred Essence of God.
This phase of witnessing, that is, the theophany of the Essence, is re-
ferred to by gnostics as the Griffin (⁄Anq¯a) or (S¯ ımurgh), a mythical bird
that no hunter can trap. The S¯ ımurgh is that Pure Essence and Absolute
Being, which is called variously the world of Non-Being (⁄¯alam-i ⁄am¯a‹),
the Hidden Treasure (kanz-i makhf¯ ı), the Invisible of all invisibles (ghayb
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 125
al-ghuy¯ub), and the Essence that has no name and no identity (dh¯at m¯a l¯a
isma lah¯u wa l¯a rasma lah¯u).

¬fôncO ÆôeôH ΩGO øjGhôH

¬fÉ«°TBG â°SG óæ∏HGQ É≤æY ¬c

For another bird, go and set this snare,

for the Griffin has a nest on inaccessible heights.

It is interesting to see how well H

Ò ¯ afiÔz, may God’s mercy be upon him, de-
scribed this profound [metaphysical] truth in his poetry and explained it
in such a powerful metaphorical fashion in the following mathnaw¯ ı:

≈jÉéc ≈°ûMh iƒgBG ’G

≈jÉæ°TBG øjóæ¸ â°SƒJ ÉH Gôe
¢ùc ≈HhO ,¿GOôncô°S hO h É¡æJhO

¢ù>RG h ¢û«>RG Úªc âeGO h OO

º«fGóH ônµjóµj ∫ÉM ÉJ É«H
º«fGƒJQG º«jƒéH ºg OGôe
ÉfGO Ò>RG OÉj â°ùg ºæ«æ¸
Éfɪg õncôg ó°ûf º°TƒeGôa
≈æ«eRô°S QO ihôgQ iRhQ ¬c
≈æ«°ûf √Q iófQ âØnc ¢ûØ£d ¬H
iQGO ¬fÉÑfG QO ¬¸ ∂dÉ°S iG ¬c
iQGO ¬fGO ônc ¬æH ≈eGO É«H
126 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God

ΩQGO ΩGO iQBÉc OGO ¢ûHGƒL

ΩQɵ°T ójÉH ≈e Æôª«°S ¤h
â°SG ∫Éfi iôeG øjG ¬¸ônc ÉàØnµH
â°SG ∫ÉH h ºg ió«eG Éf øµ«dh
GQGóe øjôjO Ωóªg ¿BG Oôµf
GQ GóN ¿Éfɪ∏°ùe ¿Éfɪ∏°ùe
ófGƒJ ≈> ∑QÉÑe ô°†N ônµe
ófÉ°SQ É¡æJ ¿GóH É¡æJ øjG ¬c

Lo! Wild gazelle, tell me where you are?

I have had with you much intimacy.
Two lonely and friendless wanderers in wilderness
Wild beasts and snares lying in ambush up and down the way.
Come, let us learn each other’s plight,
And if we can, fulfill each other’s dreams and wishes
So do I remember the old sage’s words,
Which I have never forgotten:
That once a traveler in a certain land,
Was told in a subtle way by a wandering begger,
‘O traveler what is it that thou carriest in thy bag,
Come and set a snare if thou hast any grain.’
He replied, ‘Yes I do have a net,
But I must the Griffin hunt.’
He said, ‘How shall you find its trace,
For it is traceless and traceless is its nest.’
He said, ‘Though it should be an impossible task,
But despair too is a calamity.’
That old companion did not tolerate,
For God’s sake! O Muslims! O Muslims!
Perhaps the KhiÓdr, the blessed one will help,
For he alone can guide this lonely one to the Lonely One.
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 127
Obviously, when the Griffin’s nest is traceless one cannot hope to hunt the
Griffin itself, unless when His Grace becomes the guide and leads the wan-
derers of the abode of love and the lovers of His eternal Beauty into the
realm of Unity and annihilation (w¯ad¯ ı-yi tawÓh̄ıd wa fan¯a‹). For the sake of
the precursors of the abode of love, the standard bearers on the path of
praise and Divine Knowledge (Óhamd wa ma⁄rifah), Muhammad al-
MuÓ sÓtaf¯ a and ⁄Al̄ı al-MurtaÓd¯a and his eleven glorious sons in the descent of
the Pure, F¯ aÓtimah al-Zahr¯ a‹—may the peace of All¯ ah, the Exalted Sover-
eign, be upon them—O God, grant success to all your lovers and to us, to
attain everything which pleases You and to join us with the Righteous
Ones (Ósa¯ liÓh̄ın).
Praise be to God for his generosity, this noble treatise, which has
been named Kernel of the Kernel Concerning the Wayfaring and Spiritual
Journey of the People of Intellects (Ris¯ala-yi lubb al-lub¯ab dar sayr wa
sul¯uk-i ulu‹l-alb¯ab) and which was completed by the pen of this nonde-
script and poor being on the eighth night of the month of fasting in the
year 1369 of Hijrah (June 24, 1950).

uÜnQ p¬s∏pd oórªnërdG p¿CG ÉnfGƒn rYnO oôpNBGhn ,pInôpNB’Ghn ≈ndho’G »pa oórªnërdG o¬ndhn

n pªndÉ©n rdG
.Ú
And to Him belongs all Praise, in the World and the Hereafter.
May our last call be alhamduli’llah rabb al-⁄¯alam¯ ın (All Praise
belongs to God, the Lord of this world and the next).

This nondescript and poor being is Sayyid Muhammad H

Ò usayn H
Ò usayn¯ ı
Tihr¯ an¯ ı, at the holy city of Qum.

Notes

1. This narration is reported in Kulayn¯ ı, UÓs¯ul al-K¯af¯ ı, 2: 45.

2. This is perhaps an allusion to the story about the Prophet’s mosque
where he used to lean on a column and deliver the sermons before
daily prayers. It is narrated that when a pulpit was built for the
Prophet (peace be upon him) and he began to use that for delivering
128 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
his sermons, he heard someone crying and mourning in the back-
ground in utmost sadness. When he looked around, he noticed that it
was that column which was mourning and crying because of separa-
tion from him. In his Mathnaw¯ ı, Jal¯ al al-D¯ ın R¯um¯ ı narrates this story
in the following poem:

∫ƒ≤Y ÜÉHQG ƒ˝ªg Oõ«e ¬dÉf ∫ƒ°SQ ôég RG ¬fÉæM Ï°SG

¿GƒL hÒ> ºg â°ûnc ¬ncBG ih õc ¿Éæ˝fBG ßYh ¢ù∏› ¿É«e QO
∫ƒWh ¢VôY ÉH ¿ƒà°S ódÉæ«e ¬¸ õc ∫ƒ°SQ ÜÉë°UG √ófÉe Ò– QO
¿ƒN â°ûc âZGôa RG ÂÉL âØnc ¿ƒà°S iG »gGƒN ¬¸ Ȫث> âØnc
¿É¡L ¿ÉL iG ƒJ ≈H ⁄Éæf ¿ƒ¸ ¿ÉL âNƒ°S ¿ƒ¸ Gôe ƒJ ¥Gôa RG
≈àNÉ°S óæ°ùe ƒJ Èæe ô°S ôH ≈àNÉJ øe RG ΩhOhO øe äóæ°ùe

The column crying from the pain of separation

from the Messenger,
cried like people of intellect,
In the middle of the Prophet’s Sermon,
so bitterly that the young and the old noticed.
Puzzled were the Messenger’s companions wondering why,
was the column crying with all its being?
O column, “What do you want?” said the Prophet,

“My soul is drowned in the blood of sadness

because of separation from you,”
answered the column.
“Being separated and far away from you
How can I not cry, O! soul of the universe,
When my soul is burning from the pain of your separation,”
“I was your seat, you went away from me,
and made your sitting place on the pulpit. . . .”

See Jal¯ al al-D¯ ın R¯um¯ ı, Mathnaw¯ ı-yi ma⁄naw¯ ı, edited with an intro-
duction and commentary by H Ò ¯ ajj Muhammad RamaÓd¯an̄ı, 6th ed.,
Tehran, 1366/1997, Book I, pp. 43–44.
3. Kulayn¯ ı, UÓsu¯ l al-K¯af¯ ı, 2:453
 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God 129
4. This poem is attributed to majn¯un al-⁄¯Amir̄ı and is available in, J¯am¯ ı ⁄
al-shaw¯ahid (Tehran, 1270h/1850, lithograph ed.)
5. H ¯ a Malik¯ ı Tabr̄ız¯ ı, Ris¯ala-yi laq¯a‹ All¯ah (n.d.)
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a Jaw¯ ad Aq¯
6. Some consider these the fourfold veils that seprate the wayfarer from
the Beloved, hence the fourfold stations. Renouncing the world, the
hereafter, anything other than God, and renouncing renunciation
(tark-i duny¯a, tark-i ⁄uqb¯a‹, tark-i mawl¯a‹, tark-i tark.)
7. Kulayn¯ ı, UÓs¯ul al-K¯af¯ ı, 2:113. See also Muhammad B¯ aqir Majlis¯ ı, BiÓh¯ar
al-Anw¯ar, 15:186.
8. BiÓh¯ar al-Anw¯ar, 15:186.
9. Ibid., 15:184.
10. Narrated in Shaykh Ja⁄afar Kashf¯ ı, TuÓhfat al-mul¯uk.
11. God, exalted is He, addressed the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the
following terms: “O AÓhmad, have only one concern, a single [invok-
ing] tongue, keep your being conscious, and do not be negligent of
me.” See Majlis¯ ı, BiÓh¯ar al-Anw¯ar, 17:8–9.
12. Salm¯ an F¯ ars¯ ı was the first Persian to accept Isl¯ am and one of the clos-
est companions of the Prophet.
13. Taq̄ıyah means expedient dissimulation. It literally means one protect-
ing oneself in face of danger. Some scholars translated it as “counsel of
caution” on the part of a persecuted minority. See H Ò am¯ ıd ⁄En¯ ayat,
Modern Islamic Political Thought (Austin: University of Texas Press),
1982, p. 175.
14. At every age, there may exist numerous Friends of God (Awliy¯a‹
All¯ah) who have attained perfection and are qualified to provide spir-
itual guidance to aspiring wayfarers. However, at any given age, there
is only one Pole/Im¯ am under whose spiritual authority (wil¯ayah) are
all friends of God and in whose name they provide guidance. It is
necessary for the wayfarer to focus on him and feel his presence. This
is what is meant by companionship (mur¯afaqat). The term “Particu-
lar Teacher” (ust¯ad-i kh¯aÓ sÓ s) refers to this authority. In Sh¯ ı⁄ism, during
the period of Greater Occultation this authority belongs exclusively
to the twelfth Im¯ am (May God’s greetings be upon him). See
⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı’s comments on BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um’s ÒRis¯ala-yi Sayr wa
Sul¯uk, pp. 166–167, n. 137.
15. Sayyid Mahd¯ ı ibn Sayyid MurtaÓd¯a al-Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı al-Najaf¯ ı known as
BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um, Ris¯ala-yi Sayr wa Sul¯uk (Treatise on Wayfaring and
Spiritual Journey), edited with an introduction and commentary by
130 Differentiated Description of the Path Toward God
¯
Ayatull¯ ah Sayyid Muhammad H Ò usayn H Ò usayn¯ ı Tihr¯ an¯ ı, 3d. ed.
(Mashhad: 1417/1995).
16. On Naqshband¯ ı order see K. A. Ni z¯ am¯ ı, “The Nashband¯ ıyah Order”
¯
in Seyyed Hossein Nasr (ed.) (Islamic Spirituality: Manifestation, New
York, 1991), pp. 162–193.
17. Shaykh MurtaÓd¯a AnÓ s¯ar̄ı (d. 1281/1864) was the most prominent Sh¯ ı⁄ite
scholar and the marja⁄i taql¯ ıd (Supreme Source of Emulation) in the
nineteenth century (d. 1281 ../1864). Among his many works one
can cite Far¯a‹iÓd al-uÓ s¯ul (Qum,1987), al-Mak¯asib (Tabriz: 1955), and
ÓSir¯atÓ al-naj¯at (Tehran: lithograph edition, 1290/1873).
18. This is an allusion to the initiatic authority of the Hidden (twelfth)
Im¯ am, ÒHaÓdrat ÒHujjat ibn ÒHasan al-⁄Asgar¯ ı (May God’s greetings be
upon him). It is believed that He appears from time to time to initiate
certain individuals of exceptional spiritual realization, without reveal-
ing his true identity.
 ¯
INDEX OF QUR‹ANIC VERSES

91:9–10 16:97 4:48

37:6 14:35 6:70
16:128 18:79 51:17–18
41:53–54 18:80–81 2:45
3:169 18:82 16:43
28:88 26:78–80 16:99–100
16:96 89:29–30 7:201
55:26–27 54:55 43:36
18:110 2:156 5:105
22:47 3:185 6:120
98:5 12:24 9:20–22
37:40 12:101 10:62
16:97 26:83 5:54
25:70 2:130 4:65
13:29 21:72 3:160
21:75 7:196 29:69
66:4 27:59 14:12
35:10 14:39 23:1–3
38:83 23:28 15:21
39:68 19:51 33:4
37:127–128 38:45–46 57:22
37:39–40 7:17 4:142
50:35 17:3 40:14
37:160 54:34–35 6:122
57:23 16:120–121 30:30
45:23 6:84–87
48:2 13:28
3:144 6:82

131
 ¯ ¯ ITH
INDEX OF AÒHAD

p ø«r n∏n≤sãdG nIOn ÉÑn pY …pRGƒon Jp øªn M

r ôs dG päÉHn nòL r pe láHn ròL
n ø n
1. A single attraction from God, the Most Compassionate, outbalances the worship of
all men and jinn.

≈ndEG p¬pÑr∏nb ø
r pe páªn rµpërdG ™o «pHÉæn jn ä
r ôn ¡n nX kÉMÉÑn °U n p©Hn Qr CG ¬s∏pd ¢ün
n Ú n ∏Nr CG ø
r en

.p¬pfÉ°ùn pd
2. Whoever sincerely purifies his heart for God for forty days will find springs of wisdom
gush forth from his heart and flow toward his tongue.

lA»°Tn o¬n©ne røoµnj rºndhn o¬s∏dG n¿Énc

3. God was, and there was nothing else besides Him.

lÜsôn≤oe l∂n∏ne Én¡o©°ùn nj n’ län’ÉnM p¬s∏dG n™ne »pd

4. Inwardly I have such exalted states with God which no angel brought nigh encom-
passes.

ºr oµo∏rãpe ôl °ûn Hn ÉnfCG

5. I am only a mortal human being like you.

,inQCG ɢne rº˘oà˘rjCGnô˘nd rº˘oµ˘pHƒ˘o∏˘ob »˘pa lè˘jpô˘rª˘nJhn ,rº˘oµ˘ penÓ˘ nc »˘˘pa lÒ˘ pã˘ rµ˘ nJ n’ƒ˘r ˘nd

.™o ªn °SCr G Éen ºr ào ©r pª°ùnn dhn

6. Were it not for loquacity of your sayings and temptations and anxiety in your hearts,
you would indeed see what I see and hear what I hear.

133
134 Index of AÓh¯ad̄ıth

näƒoµn∏ne GhCr Gnônd nΩnOBG »pænH p܃o∏ob n∫ƒr nM n¿ƒoeƒoënj nÚpWÉn«°ûdG

s s¿CG n’ƒnr d

.p ¢VQr C’Ghn päGhÉn ªn °ùdG

s
7. Were it not for the devils surrounding the hearts of the children of Adam, they would
witness the Kingdom (malak¯ut) of the Heavens and the Earth.

p ºpdGƒn ©n dGp ºn∏ rXCG »pa â

n rfCG
8. You are in the darkest of the [Divine] realms.

.ºr p¡pdƒo≤Yo pQór nb ≈n∏Yn ¢SÉ

n æs dG ºn u∏nµof r¿CG Énfôr peoG pAÉ«n pÑrfC’G ôn °TÉ
p ©n en ø
o ë
r nf
9. We [the prophets] have been commanded to speak to the people in accordance with
the level of their intellects.

n∑Gnônj o¬sfpÉna o√GnônJ røoµnJ rºnd r¿GE hn ,o√GnônJ n∂sfnCÉnc n¬s∏dG nóoÑr©nJ r¿CG o¿É°ùME
n ’G
10. IÓhs¯ an is to adore All¯ ah as though thou didst see Him, and if thou dost not see Him,
He nonetheless seeth you.

.n∂r«nÑrænL nør«nH »pàsdG n∂°ùro Ønf n∑hu oónY inórYCG

11. Your most ardent enemy is your carnal soul, which dwells between your two sides.

.u»pØnîrdG p∑rô°ûru dG nøe n∂pH oPƒoYCG »ufEG sºo¡s∏dnG

12. O God, I seek Thy refuge from hidden polytheism (shirk al-khafy).

.mÖpdÉ nW »pHCGp ørH u»p∏nY ≈ndEG rô o¶ræn«r∏na »°ûp rªnj mâu«ne ≈ndEG ô o¶rænj r¿CG nOGnQCG røne
13. Whoever wishes to see a walking dead man, he should look at ⁄Al¯ ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib.

s’EG o¿ÉnÁE’G oâoÑrãnj n’hn ,o¬ræpe oπnªn©rdGhn ,p πnªn©rdÉpH s’EG n¿ƒoµnj n’ o¿ÉnÁ’G

.p πªn ©n rdÉpH
14. Faith cannot be [actualized] without action, and action is a part of faith. Faith will not
be established except with action.
 Index of AÓh¯ad̄ıth 135

n∂tÑpëoj røne sÖoMhn n∂sÑoM n∂odCÉ°SCr G »p¡ndEG

15. O my God, I beseech you to grant me Your love and the love of those who love you.
 INDEX OF QUOTATIONS OF THE SAYINGS
OF THE SH¯I⁄ITE IMAMS
¯

,n∂pànapôr©nªpH »pÑr∏nbhn ,n∂pàsÑnënªpH »pæpWÉnHhn ,n∂pànYÉ n£pH …ôpgÉ nX rQƒnu f sºo¡s∏dnG

p ∫nÓé n pJôn °†
n rd GnP Éjn ,∂ n p ∫É°üu
r M n JG p ∫nÓr≤pà°SÉp n pJón gn É°ûn ªo pH »pMhQo hn
r H …ôu °Shn ,∂

.p ΩGnôrc’
E Ghn
O God, illuminate my outward with [the light] of obedience to Thee and my inner being
with Thy love, my heart with the knowledge of Thee, my spirit with thy vision, and my in-
most consciousness (sirr) with the independence of attachment to Thy Threshold, O Lord
of Majesty and Munificence. (Im¯ am ⁄Al¯ ı, Nahj al Bal¯ aghah)

.¬q∏dG Ao ɪn °SCr G ø

o ënf
We are the Names of God.

.oÚp≤n«rdG ƒn og oº«p∏°ùr sàrdGhn ,oº«p∏°ùr sàdG ƒn og nΩnÓ°SEr ’G s¿GE

Verily Isl¯ am means submission, and submission means certainty. (Im¯ am ⁄Al¯ ı)

.oÖ°†n
n ¨rdGhn o§rî°ùrt dGhn oánÑrgsôrdGhn oánÑrZsôrdG :lán©nHrQCG pôrØoµrdG o¿ÉncrQCG
The pillars of heresy are four: desire, fear, anger, and rage. (Im¯ am ÓS¯ adiq)

n pe ƒn ¡o na ,√o Qn ɪn pZ ™n n£nbhn ,√o Qn Éæn en ±

ø n ôn Yn hn ,¬o n∏«pÑ°Sn ∂
n n∏°Sn hn ,¬o n≤jpô nW ôn °ü
n Hr CG

s pAƒr °V
.p ¢ùrª°ûdG n p πrãpe ≈n∏nYp Úp≤n«rdG

137
138 Index of Sayings of the Sh¯ ı ⁄ite Im¯ams
. . . who has seen his way, has traversed his path, has recognized its minaret,
has removed its veils. He has attained a degree of certainty which is like the certainty of the
rays of the sun. (Nahj al-Bal¯ aghah)

,pÚ˘p≤˘n«˘rdG nìhoQ Ghoô˘°Tɢ

n nHhn ,pInÒ˘°ü˘
p nÑ˘rdG pá˘n≤˘ «˘ p≤˘ nM ≈˘˘n∏˘ nY oº˘ r∏˘ p©˘ rdG p º˘˘p¡˘ pH nº˘ né˘ ng

¬o ˘ær ˘pe ¢û˘

n Mn ƒ˘r àn ˘°SG o ˘pfCGhn ,n¿ƒ˘˘oaôn ˘ àr ˘ ªo ˘ rdG √o ôn ˘ Yn ƒ˘r ˘àn ˘ °SG
r ɢ˘ªn ˘ pH Gƒ˘˘°ù˘ r ɢ˘en Gƒ˘˘ofnÓ˘ àn ˘ °SG
r hn

.≈n∏rYC’G uπnënªrdÉpH lán≤s∏n©oe Én¡oMGhn rQCG m¿GnórHCÉpH Én«rftódG GƒoÑpë°U

n hn ,n¿ƒo∏pgÉnérdG
. . . Knowledge of the truth of discernment descends upon them from all directions, and
the spirit of certainty becomes their companion. That which seems harsh and difficult to
the spoiled souls, becomes smooth and easy to them. They become intimate with what the
ignorant is afraid of. They are confined in bodies in this world while their spirits dwell on
highest realms of the Kingdom [of God]. (Nahj al-Bal¯ aghah)

nór©nH kIÉnbrôpe o¬ræpe oón©°ü t pándpõrænªpH mäÉnLnQnO nô°ûr nY p¿ÉnÁEÓpd s¿GE põjpõn©rdG nórÑnY Énj
r ojp ºs∏°ùdG
máL n ær pe π
n Qn ón pH ∂ o nØ°SCr G ƒn go ø n jr CGQn GnPEGhn ΩÓ°ùdG ¬«∏Y ∫Énb r¿CG ≈ndEG mäÉnbôr pe
r en â

.o√nô°ùrp µnàna o≥«£oj n’ Éne p¬r«n∏nY søn∏pªrënJ n’hn ,m ≥rapôpH n∂r«ndEG o¬r©narQÉna

Verily there are ten levels for faith and it is like a ladder which must be climbed one step at
a time. When you see someone who is a step lower than you are, lift him up gently to your-
self, and do not impose a burden upon him which he cannot stand and that will break him.
(Im¯ am ÓS¯ adiq)

.nIOn ÉÑn p©rdG ºo oµ°ùop ØrfCG ≈n∏Yn Gƒgo pôrµoJ n’hn

Do not impose worship upon your soul with reluctance. (Im¯ am ÓS¯ adiq)

.kIôs en m Ωƒr jn π
s oc ¬o °ùrn Ønf Ö p ë
r °SÉ r en Éæs pe ¢ù
n jo ºr nd ø n «r nd

He who does not scrutinize the account of his own soul once every day is not one of us.
(Im¯ am M¯u s¯ a K¯ azim)
¯
 Index of Sayings of the Sh¯ ı ⁄ite Im¯ams 139

¬n s∏dG Ghóo Ñn Yn Ωl ƒnr bhn ,pó«pÑ©n rdG oIOn ÉÑn pY ∂

n r∏pàna kÉaƒr N
n ¬n s∏dG Ghóo Ñn Yn Ωl ƒnr b :lánKnÓnK Oo ÉÑs ©o dG

.pQGnôrMC’G oInOÉnÑpY n∂r∏pàna kÉqÑoM n¬s∏dG GhoónÑnY lΩƒnr bhn ,pAGnônLo’G oInOÉnÑpY n∂r∏pàna kÉ©rª nW

Worshipers are of three categories: Those who worship God out of Fear (that is the worship
of slaves and bondsmen); those who worship Him out of greed (that is the worship of mer-
chants); and finally, those who worship Him out of love, and this is the worship of free-
spirited men [i.e., gnostics (⁄uraf¯a‹)]. (Im¯ am ÓS¯ adiq)

o rôoîrdG Énænàn©«°Tp s¿GE

.¢S
Surely, our followers are the mute ones. (Im¯ am ÓS¯ adiq)

pAÉn«pÑrfC’G p¥nÓrNCG røpe ƒn oghn ,uÜsôdG É°Vp

n Q p¬«pahn ,nÚuÑpëoªrdG oQÉn©°Tp oârª°üdG
s

.pAÉ«n pØ°UC
r ’G pQÉ©n °Tp hn

Silence is the motto of lovers [of God], and in it lies the Lord’s pleasure. It is the virtue of
the prophets and the motto of the pure ones. (Im¯ am ÓS¯ adiq)

pAÉ«n pÑrfC’G p¥nÓN r pe ƒn go hn ,Ü

r CG ø n Q p¬«pahn ,Ú
u ôs dG É°Vp n Ñu pëªo rdG Qo É©n °Tp â
o ªr °üdG
s

.pAÉn«pØ°UC
r ’G pQÉn©°Tp hn
Silence is a gate from among the gates of wisdom, and it is indeed the guide to every good.
(Im¯ am RiÓd¯a)

.pÖr∏n≤rdG oΩÉn© nWhn ,p ìhtôdG oAGnòpZhn ,p øpeƒrD oªrdG oΩGnOEG o´ƒoérdG

Hunger is the believer’s condiment, the spirit’s nourishment, and the heart’s food. (Im¯ am
ÓS¯ adiq)

n p©°TÉ
.Ú p î n pÑnµdn É¡n sfEGh pIƒn∏°üdG
n rdG ≈n∏Yn s’EG lIÒ s H Gƒæo «p©àn °SG
s hn pôÑr °üdÉp r hn
140 Index of Sayings of the Sh¯ ı ⁄ite Im¯ams
Seek help in patience and prayer (Ósal¯at), and truly it is hard except for the
humble. (2:45)

One day I (Ab¯u BaÓ s¯ ır) asked ÒHaÓdrat ÓS¯adiq, may peace be upon him, ‘‘Can one see God on
the day of Resurrection?’’ (That is because the Ash‘arites believe that in the Hereafter on the
Day of Resurrection all people will see God physically [metaphorically of course]. Exalted
is God’s Glory despite what the wrongdoers say). The Im¯ am answered, ‘‘Yes. One can see
Him even before the Day of Judgment in this world too.” I said how? He said “When God
told them ‘Am I not your Lord’ and they said yes.” The Im¯ am was silent for a moment and
then said: “Verily the faithful believers will see Him in this world before the Day of Judg-
ment in the same way that you yourself are seeing God in this gathering.’’ Ab¯u BaÓ s¯ ır said I
said to him O son of the Messenger of All¯ ah, do you permit me to narrate this for other
people? HÒ aÓdrat ÓS¯ adiq said, ‘‘Do not narrate this saying because the [ordinary] people can-
not understand the meaning of what is said and therefore they will be misled and then will
think that this statement is heretical. Of course seeing by heart is not like seeing by eye. Ex-
alted is God from whatever He is compared to by unbelievers.’’
The above narration is mentioned by [Ab¯u Ja⁄far Muhammad ibn B¯ ab¯uyah, known
as] al-Shaykh ÓSad¯uq in the Book of Unity (Kit¯ah al-TawÓh¯ ıd) on the question of one’s ability
to see God (raw‹yat). The chain of transmission goes back to Ab¯u BaÓ s¯ ır himself who had
taken this question to Im¯ am ÓS¯ adiq, may God’s greetings be upon him.

o¬s∏dG nópÑoY ÉnæpH ,o¬s∏dG n±pôoY ÉnæpH

It is through us that God is known and it is through us that God is worshiped. (Im¯ am
SÓ ¯ adiq)
 NOTES ON SAINTS, SCHOLARS, AND
AUTHORS CITED IN THE TEXT

1. ⁄A l̄ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib (578 ..–40 .. /598–661): The cousin and son-in-
law of the Prophet, the first Im¯ am of the Sh¯ ı⁄ites, and the fourth Caliph.
2. ⁄Al̄ı ibn M¯u s¯ a al-RiÓd¯a: The eighth Im¯ am of the Sh¯ ı⁄ites who was cho-
sen by al-Ma’m¯un as his heir-apparent and is considered as the Im¯ am
of Initiation.
3. AnÓ s¯ar̄ı, Muhammad Jaw¯ ad (d. 1379 .. /1961): One of the most out-
standing Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı religious scholars who studied and taught in Najaf.
Later in life, he settled in Hamad¯ an at the age of fifty-nine. He taught
⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı the doctrinal foundations of gnosis and had an im-
portant role in his spiritual life.
4. B¯ ab¯ a Faraj¯ull¯ ah Majdh¯ub: A prominent Sufi master from Adharbaij¯ an
who lived in the early part of the twentieth century.
5. BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um, Sayyid Mahd¯ ı: (1155–1212 ../1742–1797): Born in
Karbal¯ a‹, he was one of the most important Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı ⁄ulam¯ a of Iraq and
was widely recognized as the most knowledgeable scholar of his time,
hence the title BaÓhr al-⁄Ul¯um (Ocean of knowledge).
6. al-Ghazz¯ al¯ ı, Muhammad (d. 505 ../1111): Muslim theologian,
philosopher, and thinker who is particularly famous for writing such
monumental works as IÓhy¯a‹ ⁄Ul¯um al-D¯ ın, Tuh¯afat al-fal¯asafah, and,
Kimiy¯a-yi Sa⁄¯adat (in Persian).
7. HÒ add¯ ad, HÒ ¯ ajj Sayyid H¯ ashim (d. 1404 ../1983): The most distin-
guished gnostic in Najaf and the spiritual master and guide of
⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı. He passed away in Mashhad in 1983.
Ò ¯ afiÔz, Shams al-D¯ ın Muhammad (726–792/1317–1392): also called lis¯an
8. H
al-ghayb. Persian scholar, thinker, and the greatest Persian Sufi poet who
has reflected the most profound Divine mysteries in his poetry.
9. Hamad¯ an¯ ı, Akh¯ ¯ und Mull¯ a H Ò usaynqul̄ı: Islamic scholar and Sufi mas-
ter who taught in Najaf and trained more than 300 students including

141
142 Notes on Saints, Scholars, and Authors
such outstanding scholars and mystics as Sayyid AÓhmad Karbal¯ a‹¯ ı,
H ¯ a Malik¯ ı Tabr̄ız¯ ı, Shaykh Muhammad Bah¯ ar̄ı,
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a Jav¯ ad Aq¯
and Sayyid Muhammad H Ò ubb¯ub¯ ı.
10. HÒ usayn ibn ⁄Al̄ı: The third Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı Im¯ am who was martyred in Karbal¯ a‹
in 61 ../680 in a battle against the Umayyid Caliph Yaz¯ ıd ibn
Mu⁄¯ awiyah.
11. H
Ò usayn¯ ı Tihr¯ an¯ ı, H Ò ¯ ajj Sayyid Ibr¯ ahim: Grandfather of ⁄All¯ amah
Tihr¯ an¯ ı.
12. Ibn F¯ariÓd, ⁄Umar: (d. 632 ../1235). One of the most eminent Arab
Sufi-poets whose Poems of the Path (na zm al-sul¯uk) is widely read and
¯
taught in religious schools in Qum and Mashhad.
13. Ibn S¯ ın¯ a (Avicenna 428–79/980–1037): One of the most prominent
Muslim philosophers who was also a well-known physician. Among
his many works are Shif¯a‹, Q¯an¯un, and Ris¯alah fi mabda‹ wa al-ma⁄¯ad.
14. Ja⁄ afar ibn ÓS¯ adiq: (d. 148 ../765) The sixth Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı Im¯ am and the
founder of the Ja⁄afar̄ı school of law who is widely recognized as an au-
thority on Islamic law and sciences by Sunnis and Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ıs alike.
15. J¯ ıl̄ı, Shaykh ⁄Abd al-Kar̄ım: the eminent Sufi master, student of the
school of ibn al-⁄Arab¯ ı, and the author of al-Ins¯an al-k¯amil. Translated
by Titus Burckhardt as De l’ homme universal, Lyons, 1953.
16. Karbal¯ a‹¯ ı, Sayyid AÓhmad: A student of Mull¯ a H Ò usaynqul¯ ı Hamad¯ an¯ ı
and the spiritual guide and master of H Ò ¯ ajj Sayyid ⁄Al̄ı Q¯ ad
Ó ¯ı
17. ¯ ad¯ ı, Sayyid Muhammad ÓS¯ aliÓh: The author of waq¯ai‹y⁄ al-
Kh¯ at¯un Ab¯
san¯ ın wa al-ayy¯am.
18. KhiÓdr: The prophet who is believed to be immortal and can initiate
sincere aspirants into the Divine mysteries. In the context of Sh¯ ı⁄ism,
he is believed to correspond to the Hidden Im¯ am who is the QuÓ tb
(Pole) of the Universe.
19. Khu‹¯ ı, HÒ ¯ ajj Abu‹l-Q¯ asim: One of the most outstanding Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı -Iranian
scholars and religious leaders of the twentieth century who was a
Supreme Source of Emulation (marja⁄-i taql¯ ıd). He spent most of his
life in the shrine cities of Iraq where he taught and guided people until
his death in 1995. He was particularly known for establishing and over-
seeing an extensive network of charity organization with branches in
the Muslim world and Europe.
20. M¯ ır D¯ am¯ ad, Sayyid Muhammad: (d. 1040/1630) Prominent theoso-
pher, religious scholar, logician, and mystic of the Safavid period who
founded the School of Isfahan. He created a harmony between the
 Notes on Saints, Scholars, and Authors 143
cosmology of Avicenna and Sh¯ ı⁄ite imamology, and trained many out-
standing students including ÓSadr al-D¯ ın Sh¯ ır¯ az¯ ı, known as Mull¯ a
SÓ adr¯ a.
21. M¯u s¯ a al-K¯ azim (d. 179 ../795): The seventh Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı Im¯ am who was
¯
imprisoned by the ⁄Abb¯ asid Caliph H¯ ar¯un al-Rash¯ ıd for about thirteen
years.
22. MuÓ tahhar̄ı, Ayatull¯ ¯ ah MurtaÓd¯a (d. 1358 “Lunar”/1979): Professor of
theology and philosophy at the University of Tehran and the Hawzah
⁄Ilm¯ ıyah of Qum who published extensively on a variety of issues re-
lated to Isl¯ am. He was a student of ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓ tab¯ a‹¯ ı and a close
friend of ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı. He was assassinated in Tehran in 1978.
23. Q¯ aÓd¯ ı, H ¯ a: (1285–1366 ../1867–1948) Scholar and
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı Aq¯
professor of jurisprudence, ethics and ÒHad¯ ıth in Najaf and a promi-
nent Sufi master who trained many outstanding students, including
⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓ tab¯ a‹¯ ı and ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı.
24. Q¯ aÓd¯ ı, HÒ ¯ ajj Sayyid H Ò usayn Aq¯ ¯ a: Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı scholar who studied and taught
in Najaf. He is the father of H ¯ a Q¯ ad
Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al̄ı Aq¯ Ó ¯ ı.
25. Q¯uch¯ an¯ ı, Shaykh ⁄Abb¯ as: A teacher of ⁄All¯ amah Tihr¯ an¯ ı in Najaf who
introduced him to H Ò ¯ ajj Sayyid H¯ ashim H Ò add¯ ad.
26. R¯um¯ ı, Jal¯ al al-D¯ ın (604/672 ../1205/1273): The most important Per-
sian Sufi thinker, metaphysician, and poet of all times. His Diw¯ an of
Shams-i Tabr̄ız¯ ı, and the Mathnaw¯ ı have been translated into many
languages and are widely known in the West.
27. Sa⁄d¯ ı, Shaykh MuÓ sliÓh al-D¯ ın: 610(15)–691/1213(19)–1292: Persian Sufi
poet who wrote B¯ust¯an (Orchard, in prose) and Gulist¯an (Rose Gar-
den, in poetry), and is one of the most eloquent and widely read Per-
sian poets.
28. Salm¯ an F¯ ars¯ ı: The Persian sage who left his homeland in search of the
Blessed Prophet. He was captured and sold as a slave, but after much
hardship met the Prophet, entered Isl¯ am, and became one of his close
companions.
29. Shabastar̄ı, Shaykh MaÓhm¯ud (d. 842/1340): Educated in Tabr̄ız, he is
considered one of the most eminent Sufi masters of Persia who was es-
pecially well-versed in Sufi symbolism. His Garden of Mysteries (Gul-
shan-i R¯az) has been widely read, commented upon, and translated
into several languages including English.
30. Sh¯ ır¯ az¯ ı, HÒ ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a H Ò asan: Known as m¯ ırz¯a-yi awwal, he was the
Supreme Source of Emulation (marja⁄-i taql¯ ıd) during the nineteenth
144 Notes on Saints, Scholars, and Authors
century and resided in Najaf. During the national protest movement in
1891–92 against granting a tobacco concession to the British, he issued
the famous ruling (fatw¯a) prohibiting the consumption of tobacco.
31. Sh¯ ır¯ az¯ ı, M¯ ırz¯ a Muhammad Taq¯ ı (d. 1339 ../): Known as m¯ ırz¯a-
yi duwwum and the author of Dhakhirat al-⁄Ib¯ad who proclaimed
jih¯ad in Iraq against the British dominance and played an important
role in the independence movement of Iraq.
32. Sh¯ ır¯ az¯ ı, ÓSadr al-D¯ ın (Mull¯ a ÓSadr¯ a, 979–1050 ../1571–1641): The
greatest philosopher of the Safavid period and the author of Asf¯ar-i
Arba⁄ah, Ris¯ala-yi sih aÓ sl, Shaw¯ahid al-Rub¯ub̄ıyah fi man¯ah̄ıj al-
sul¯uk¯ ıyah, and more than fifty other books.
33. Sh¯u shtar̄ı, Sayyid ⁄Al̄ı: Prominent ⁄¯ alim and the teacher of Shaykh
MurtaÓd¯a AnÓ s¯ar̄ı in ethics, who in turn taught Sh¯ushtar̄ı jurisprudence.
34. Tab¯ aÓ tab¯ a‹¯ ı, Muhammad H Ò asan: (1330–1391(?)/1906–1967). The
younger brother of ⁄All¯ amah Ò Tab¯ aÓ tab¯ a‹¯ ı, who received his education
in Najaf and reached the rank of mujtahid a few years before his
brother. He taught philosophy and ethics in Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı learning centers in
Tabr¯ ı z until his death.
35. Tihr¯ an¯ ı, Aq¯¯ a Buzurg: The author of al-Dhar¯ ı ⁄ah, the most authorita-
tive biographical dictionary of the Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı ⁄ulam¯ a.
36. T¯u s¯ ı, Khw¯ ajah NaÓ s¯ ır al-D¯ ın Muhammad (598–672 ../1201–1274):
Persian-Muslim philosopher, theologian, astronomer, and mathemati-
cian who was an adviser and minister to the ¯ Ilkh¯ anid ruler Hul¯ ag¯u,
and played an important role in the spread of Sh¯ ı⁄ism in Iran.
37. Zayn al-⁄¯Abid¯ ın Sajj¯ ad, ⁄Al̄ı ibn H Ò usayn: (d. 95 ../713) The grandson
of Im¯ am ⁄Al̄ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib and the son of H Ò usayn ibn ⁄Al̄ı, he is the
fourth Sh¯ ı⁄¯ ı Im¯ am and is particularly known for compiling a collec-
tion of prayers known as the Scroll of Sajj¯ ad (ÓSaÓh̄ıfah Sajj¯ad¯ ıyah). The
book is also called the Psalms of the family of the Prophet (zab¯ur-i ¯ al-i
Muhammad).
 INDEX

¯ an 16
Ast¯ Anw¯ ar (sing. N¯ur) 22, 41
¯ at (sing. ¯ ayah):, 6
Ay¯ ¯
⁄Arif (pl. ⁄Urafa) 15, 47, 96, 139
Ab¯ a ⁄Abdull¯ ah (see H Ò usayn ibn ⁄Al¯ ı) 75, 122 Asf¯ ar-i Arba⁄ah xvii, 5, 6, 7
⁄Abd al-⁄Az¯ ı z 86 Ash¯ a⁄irah/Ash⁄arites 108, 140
Ab¯u Dhar Ghaff¯ ar¯ ı 188 Asm¯ a‹-i il¯ ah¯ ı 17
¯ ab (sing. adab) 94, 95
Ad¯ Asm¯ a‹-i jal¯ al¯ ıyah 18
Ahl-i baghy 49, 69 Asr¯ ar (sing. Sirr) xv
AÓhr¯ ar (sing. H Ò urr) 102 Athn¯ an¯ ıyat 110
A‹immah-i Ó t¯ ahir¯ ın 4 ⁄Aw¯ alim-i rub¯ub¯ ı 27
⁄Alam-i ¯ dhihn 2
⁄Alam-i ¯ jabar¯ut 58
⁄Alam-i ¯ jism (see also Tab⁄) 15 B¯ ab¯ a Farajull¯ ah Majdh¯ub 24, 41, 42
⁄Alam-i ¯ khay¯ al 50 Bah¯ ari, HÒ ¯ ajj Shaykh Muhammad 95, 121
⁄Alam-i ¯ l¯ ah
Ó iqah 81 BaÓhr ul-⁄Ul¯um, Sayyid Mahd¯ ı xi, xxii, xxix, 37,
⁄Alam-i ¯ malak¯ut 58 43, 45, 69, 115, 116, 117, 118, 129
¯
⁄Alam-i mith¯ al 2 Baq¯ a‹ bi‹l ma⁄b¯ud 24, 80
⁄Alam-i¯ mulk 53 Barzakh xxix, 2, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21
⁄Alam-i ¯ sufl¯ a‹ 38 BaÓ s¯ ır 111
⁄Alam-i ¯ tajarrud 21 B¯ asiÓ t 117
⁄Alam-i ¯ ⁄ulw¯ a‹ 22 BasÓ t xxix, xxxii
¯⁄Alam-i wahm 50 B¯ aÓ tin 3
⁄Al¯ ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib (Im¯ am, see also Am¯ ır al- B¯ a Yaz¯ ıd BasÓ t¯ am¯ ı 69, 70, 100
Mu‹min¯ ın) xxv, xxix, xxxii, xxxiii, 1, 10, 60, BiÓh¯ar al-Anw¯ ar 104, 129
69, 81, 127, 134, 137 Burh¯ an 3
⁄Al¯ ı ibn M¯u s¯ a al-RiÓd¯a (see also Im¯ am RiÓd¯a) xxxi,
xxxiii, 10, 103, 119, 139
⁄Al¯¯ ım 111 Corbin, H. xxvii
All¯ ah xxv, 1, 2, 18, 19, 24, 25, 47, 60, 61, 64, 69, 96,
97, 105, 108, 112, 113, 115, 117, 127, 128, 134, 140
Am¯ ır al-Mu‹min¯ ın (also see ⁄Al¯ ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib) Dal¯ ıl al-mutaÓhayy¯ ır¯ ın 73
10, 11, 45, 61, 77, 79, 80, 119 D¯ aw u¯ d (David) 68
⁄¯Ammah (see also Sunnis) 119 Daylam¯ ı 104
An¯ an¯ ıyat 36, 53 Dhawq 101
Anfus¯ ıyah 15, 32 Dhikr 77, 92, 114, 115, 116, 119
⁄Anq¯ a (see also S¯ ımurgh) xi, 124 Dhu‹l jal¯ al wa‹l ikr¯ am 18
AnÓ s¯ar¯ ı, Jabir ibn ⁄Abdull¯ ah 10 Dihlav¯ ı, Shaykh Wal¯ ıull¯ ah 26, 42
AnÓ s¯ar¯ ı, Shaykh MurtaÓd¯a 121, 130 Du‹¯ ıyyat 110

145
146 Index
Fa⁄¯ aal 117 H
Ò uzn 78
Fan¯ a‹ dar Dh¯ at 19
Fan¯ a‹ dar Fi⁄l 2
Fan¯ a‹ dar Ism 2 Ibl¯ ıs (see also ShayÓ tan) 31, 41
Fan¯ a‹ dar SÓ if¯ at 2 Ibn al-⁄Arab¯ ı, MuÓhy al-D¯ ın xiii, xvi, xvii, xviii,
Fan¯ a‹-i kull¯ ı 17 xxv, xxvi, 109, 110
Faq¯ ıh 75 Ibn B¯ ab¯uyah (see also Shaykh ÓSad¯uq) 140
Faqr 102 Ibn F¯ ariÓd xxvi, 42
F¯ aÓ timah al-Zahr¯ a‹ 61, 127 Ibn S¯ ın¯ a; xvii, xix, xxv
Fatt˘ah Ó 73 Ibr¯ ahim 55, 56, 62, 63, 67
FayÓd (pl. fuy¯ud Ó ¯ at) 18 Ibtih¯ al 71
Fikr 77, 114 Idr¯ ak 21
Idr¯ ıs ix, 72
IÓhr¯ aq 101
Ghar¯ ı zah 2, 35 IÓhr¯ aq¯ ıyah 102
Gh¯ ayat al-kam¯ al 1 IÓhs¯ an 47, 48, 134
Ghayrat 116 Ijtib¯ a‹ 67, 68, 69
Ghay¯ur 116 Ikhl¯ aÓ s 28, 30
al-Ghazz¯ al¯ ı, Muhammad 10 Il¯ ah¯ ıyah 23
Ilh¯ am (pl. Ilh¯ am¯ at) 5
Iltij¯ a‹ 55
H Ò ad¯ ıth (pl. AÓh¯ad¯ ıth) xi, xix, xxv, xxviii, xxix, Im¯ am xi, xxi, xxv, xxviii, xxix, xxxii, 4, 10, 25,
xxxi, 29, 41, 45, 50, 69, 70, 133 69, 92, 103, 104, 108, 109, 129, 130, 140
H Ò aÓdrat ix, 71, 72, 86, 92, 95, 103, 108, 122, 130 Im¯ am ⁄ÒHusayn (see also H Ò usayn ibn ⁄Al¯ ı) 73, 75,
H Ò aÓdrat-i Baq¯ ıyat All¯ ah (see also H Ò ujjat ibn 122
H
Ò assan al-⁄Asgar¯ ı) 1, 130 Im¯ am Mahd¯ ı (see also ÓhaÓdrat-i Baq¯ ıyat All¯ ah
H Ò ¯ afiÔz of Sh¯ ıra¯z xi, xxvi, 13, 17, 20, 42, 99, 125 and H Ò ujjat ibn H
Ò assan al-⁄Asgar¯ ı) 1, 130
Hama⁄¯ at, Kit¯ ab al- 26, 43 Im¯ am RiÓd¯a (see also ⁄Al¯ ı ibn M¯u s¯ a al-RiÓd¯a) xxxi,
Hamad¯ an xxiv xxxiii, 10, 103, 119, 139
Hamad¯ an¯ ı, Mull¯ a H Ò usaynqul¯ ı xi, xvii, 6, 21, 22, Im¯ am Sajj¯ ad (see also Zayn al-⁄Abid¯ ın Sajj¯ ad)
118, 119, 121 10, 80
H Ò aq¯ ıqat 1 ¯Im¯ an 39, 40, 45, 46, 48, 57, 71, 75, 77, 78
H Ò aq¯ ıqat al-Haq¯ ai‹q 1 Inbis¯ aÓ t (see also basÓ t) xxix, xxxii, 95
H Ò aqq 6, 7, 13 Injidh¯ ab 5, 14, 98, 121
H Ò aram-i muÓ tahhar 7 Inqib¯ aÓd (see qabÓd)
H¯ ar¯un 68 al-Ins¯ an al-K¯ amil 26, 42
H Ò assan al-⁄Asgar¯ ı (Im¯ am) 1 Inziw¯ a (see also ⁄Uzlat) 105
H Ò ayy 123 Ir¯ adat 93, 95
Hijrat 39, 40, 45, 49, 58, 59, 127 Ir¯ aq xxxiii, 120
Hijrat-i Kubr¯ a ix, 49 ⁄Irf¯ an xiii, xiv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xxi, xxiii, xxvii,
H Ò ikmat 5 xxxi, 119
H Ò ubb 19 IsÓh¯aq (Isaac) 63, 64, 65, 68
H Ò ubb¯ub¯ ı, ¯Aq¯ a Sayyid Muhammad 121 Ish¯ ar¯ at-wa Tanb¯ ıh¯ at (see also Ibn S¯ ın¯ a) 7
H Ò ujjat ibn H Ò assan al-⁄Asgar¯ ı (see also HÒ aÓdrat-i Ism (pl. asm¯ a) 124
Baq¯ ıyat All¯ ah) 1, 130 Ism¯ a⁄¯ ıl xiii, 64, 68
H Ò ul¯ul 114 Isti⁄¯ adhah 117
HÒ urr (pl. AÓhr¯ ar) 102 Istighf¯ ar 93, 117
H
Ò usayn ibn ⁄Al¯ ı (see also Ab¯ a ⁄Abdull¯ ah) xxxiii Istikm¯ al 38
 Index 147
Istirj¯ a⁄ 101, 102 MaÓhb¯ub 116
⁄IÓ sy¯ an 49, 109 MaÓhshar ¯Af¯ aq¯ ı 31
Malak¯ut xxiv, xxix, xxxii, 26, 53, 57, 58, 80, 134
Malak¯ut¯ ıyah 4
Jadhbah 5, 14 Ò ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a Jaw¯ ad ¯Aq¯ a 95, 121,
Malik¯ ı Tabr¯ ı z¯ ı, H
Ja⁄far al-ÓS¯ adiq (Im¯ am) 50, 69, 95, 96, 103, 104, 129
108, 118, 137, 138, 139, 140 Ma⁄naw¯ ıyat 4
Jal¯ al 4 Manz¯umah (see also H Ò ¯ ajj Mull¯ a H¯ ad¯ ı Sabzaw¯ ar¯ ı)
Jal¯ ı 113 9¯
Jam¯ al 19, 118 Ma⁄rifat, Ma⁄rifah xiii, 60, 75, 119, 122, 127
J¯ an¯ an 1 Ma⁄rifat-i Nafs 110, 122
J¯ an-i J¯ an¯ an 1 Ma⁄r¯uf Karkh¯ ı 119
Jannat 28 Mayyit 60
Ja¯u⁄ 104 Maut-i Ir¯ ad¯ ı 60
Jawhar 2 Mawj¯ud¯ at-i Barzakh¯ ıyah 20, 21
J¯ ıl¯ ı, Shaykh ⁄Abdulkar¯ ım 26, 42 Mawj¯ud¯ at-i N¯ur¯ ıyah 81
J¯ul¯ a‹ 120, 122 Mawl¯ a al-MuwaÓhh Ó id¯ ın (see ⁄Al¯ ı ibn Ab¯ ı Ò T¯ alib)
Jun¯un 51 46
Mey 20
Mu⁄adhdhab¯ ın 33
Ka⁄abah 2, 7 Mudrik¯ at-i ⁄Āl¯ ıyah 49
Kam¯ al (pl. Kam¯ al¯ at) 19, 111 MuÓhabbat 94, 98
Kar¯ amat (pl. Kar¯ am¯ at) 100 Muhammad (the Prophet) xxi, 1, 5, 6, 9, 13, 26,
Karbal¯ a‹ xxiii, xiv, xxxiii, 73, 75 28, 38, 47, 50, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 93, 108, 127,
Kashf 79, 99 128
Khaf¯ ı 113 Muhammad B¯ aqir (Im¯ am) 10
Khalwat, Khalwah 105 MuÓhammad ibn Muslim 77
Khamsa-yi ¯Al-i Ò Tah¯ arat 63, 64 m¯uÓh¯asabah 92
Khar¯ ab¯ at 100 MuÓhsin¯ ın 47, 48, 68
Khar¯ ab¯ at¯ ı 95 Muj¯ ahadah 21, 32, 34, 35, 40, 53, 58, 78
Kh¯ aÓ sÓ sah (see also Sh¯ ı⁄ites) 119 Muj¯ alasat 49
Khawf 78, 95 MukhlaÓ s (pl. MukhlaÓ s¯ ın) 28, 31, 32, 34, 40
KhiÓdr/KhiÓdir xv, 55, 56, 126 Mull¯ a SÓ adr¯ a (see also ÓSadr al-D¯ ın Sh¯ ır¯ az¯ ı) viii,
Kit¯ ab al-Irsh¯ adÓ 104 xv, xvii, xxv, 5, 7, 10, 81
Kit¯ ab al-TawÓh¯ıd (Sahykh ÓSad¯uq) 140 Mun¯ aj¯ at 95
Kulayn¯ ı, Ab¯u Ja⁄afar Muhammad ibn Ya⁄q¯ub 50, Mun¯ aj¯ at¯ ı 95
69, 127, 128 mur¯ aqabah viii, xi, 5, 7, 19, 20, 21, 22, 32, 92,
Kumm¯ al¯ ın 36 118, 122
M¯u s¯ a ibn ⁄Imr¯an 55, 65, 68
Mush¯ ahadah 5, 57
L¯ ah¯ut xxiv, 60, 81, 109, 112 MustaÓhabb 106
L¯ a il¯ aha ill‹ All¯ ah 60 MuÓ tahhar¯ ı, MurtaÓd¯a xviii, xix, xxvii, 7, 8, 9, 10
LamÓhah 26 Mutashayyikh¯ ın 116
Lubb 3 MuÓ tlaq 25, 102
L¯ut 67, 68

Nafy-i Khaw¯ aÓ tir 114, 115

Mabda‹ al-Wuj¯ud 1 Nahj al-Bal¯ aghah xxv, 81, 137, 138
148 Index
Najaf al-Ashraf xxiii, xxiv, xxxii, xxxiii, 70, 72, Sabzaw¯ ar¯ ı, Mull¯ a H¯ ad¯ ı (see also Manz¯umah) 9
¯
75, 81, 120, 121 Sahar ix, 106
Nakhjaw¯ an¯ ı, H Ò ¯ ajj Im¯ amqul¯ ı 57 ÓS¯ ahib al-Zam¯ an (see also H Ò ujjat ibn H
Ò assan al-
NamaÓ t al-AwsaÓ t 3 ⁄Asgar¯ ı) 1, 130
Naqshband, Khw¯ ajah Muhammad 118 Suk¯un¯ ı 50, 69
Naqshband¯ ı Order xvi, 118, 130 SÓ al¯ ahÓ 29
NaÓ sr, Seyyed H Ò ossein ii, iii, iv, vii, viii, xiii, xix, ÓS¯ aliÓh (pl. SÓ ¯ aliÓh¯ın) 63, 127
xxvii, xxx, xxxi, xxxii, xxxiii, 41, 42, 43, 69, 130 S¯ alik 15
NaÓ sÓ s 27 Salm¯ an F¯ ars¯ ı 105, 106, 129
N¯ as¯ut 53 SÓ amt 101
Naum-i ⁄Irf¯ an¯ ı 20 SÓ anam 35, 114
Nu⁄¯ as 72 Sayr-i ila‹All¯ ah 110
N¯ur-i ⁄Irfan¯ ı yi Isfahbudd¯ ıyah 22, 41 Sayr wa Sul¯uk xvi, xxi, xxix, 13, 15, 69
Shaf¯ a‹ (see also Ibn S¯ ın¯ a) xvii, 7
Sh¯ akir̄ın 66
P¯ asd¯ ar¯ an-i WaÓhy va Nubuwwat 4 Shar¯ ı⁄at, Shari⁄ah 2, 7, 19, 31, 37, 46, 75, 76, 89,
93, 95, 105, 114, 118, 119
Shawq 48, 86
QabÓd xxix, xxxii Shaykh 83, 87, 103, 108, 112, 121
Q¯ adÓ ¯ ı, ¯Aq¯ a Sayyid H Ò assan 57, 70 Shaykh ÓSad¯uq, Ab¯u ja⁄far Muhammad (known
Q¯ ad
Ó ¯ ı, HÒ ¯ ajj M¯ ırz¯ a ⁄Al¯ ı xvii, xxxii, 7, 21, 57, 70, as Ibn B¯ ab¯uyah) 140
72, 95, 101, 104, 121, 122 ShayÓ t¯ an (see also Ibl¯ ıs) 31, 36, 40
Q¯ adir 111, 123 Sh¯ ı⁄ites xvi, xxi, xxxi, 4, 26, 43, 80, 89, 108, 119, 137
Qalb¯ ı 113 Sh¯ ır¯ az 99
Q¯ alib¯ ı 113 Shuh¯ud 47, 79, 99
Qar¯ aÓ t¯ ıs¯ ı, ⁄Abd al-⁄Az¯ ı z 86 Shuh¯ud-i Asm¯ a‹ 22
Qazw¯ ın¯ ı, ¯Aq¯ a Sayyid Quraysh 57 Shuh¯ud-i B¯ aÓ tin 4
Qiy¯ amat 53 Shuh¯ud-i SÓ if¯ at 22
Qiy¯ am¯ at-i Anfus¯ ıyah-i WusÓ t¯ a 53 Sidrat al-Muntah¯ a‹ 2, 9
Qiy¯ am¯ at-i ⁄Uzm¯ a-i Anfus¯ ıyah 40, 59 Silsilah xv, 119, 121
¯
Qiy¯ as 3 Sam¯ ı⁄ 111
Quds¯ ı 16 S¯ ımurgh (see also ⁄Anq¯ a) xi, 124
Qum xxi, xxiii, xxv, xxvii, xxxii, 9, 10, 127, 130 SÓ ir¯ aÓ t-i Mustaq¯ ım 4
Qur‹¯ an viii, xviii, xix, xxi, xxv, xxvi, xxviii, xxix, Sirr (pl. Asr¯ ar) 3, 115, 137
xxxi, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 18, 22, 23, 26, 29, 31, 36, Sulaym¯ an (Solomon) 68
39, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, Sh¯u shtar¯ ı, ¯Aq¯ a Sayyid ⁄Al¯ ı 120, 121, 122
70, 85, 88, 89, 90, 101, 122 SÓ uf¯ ıyah 118
SÓ ul¯uÓh ix
Sunni (see also ⁄¯Ammah) 89, 119
Rabb al-Arb¯ ab 37 SÓ uwar-i M¯ add¯ ıya-yi Mudrakah 86
Raghbat 48 SÓ uwar-i Mith¯ al¯ ı 90
Raw¯ ayat (pl. Raw¯ ay¯ at) xxv, xxix, 137
Raw¯ ayat-i Mi⁄r¯ aj¯ ıyah 104
Rij¯ a‹ 95 Ta⁄abbud 5
Riy¯ adÓ at 15, 36 Tab⁄ (see also ⁄¯Alam-i Jism) 2, 15, 17
R¯uÓh 10, 17, 41, 81 Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, Sayyid Muhammad H Ò usayn 72, 81
Ò Tab¯ aÓtab¯ a‹¯ ı, Sayyid Muhammad H Ò assan iii, iv, v,
ix, xiv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, xxi, xxiii, xxv, xxvi,
SÓ a⁄aqah 31 xxvii, xxviii, xxix, xxxii, 7, 9, 10, 81
 Index 149
TaÓdarru⁄ 71, 106 ⁄Ub¯ud¯ ıyat 5
Ò Tah¯ arat 105, 106 ⁄Ul¯um-i Il¯ ah¯ ıya-yi D¯ ın¯ ıya-yi Tafk¯ ır¯ ıyah 3
Tahdh¯ ıb 6 Ummat-i WasaÓ t 3
TaÓhshiyah 7 Um¯ur-i I⁄tib¯ ar¯ ıyah 83
Tajall¯ ı 22 ⁄Uraf¯ a‹ (sing. ⁄¯Arif ) 15, 47, 96, 139
Tajall¯ ı-i Asm¯ a‹ 111 Ust¯ ad 108, 129
Tajall¯ ı-i Dh¯ at 112 ⁄Uzlat (see also Inziw¯ a) 105
Tajall¯ ı-i SÓ if¯ at 111
Tajall¯ ıy¯ at-i SÓ ur¯ ıya-yi Jam¯ al¯ ıyah 86
Tajarrud 21 W¯ ad¯ ı al-Sal¯ am (cemetery) 120, 121
Tajarrud-i Nafs 21 WaÓhdat 80, 114
Ò Talabah (pl. Ò Tull¯ ab) 9 W¯ ah
Ó id 22
Taq¯ ıyyah 107, 129 Wajh 18
T¯ arikh-i H Ò ashr¯ ı 41 W¯ ajib 95
Ò Tar¯ ıq, Ò Tar¯ ıqat, Ò Tar¯ ıqah xvi, xxvii, 110 Wal¯ ayat, Wal¯ ayah xxi, xxviii, xxix, xxx
TaÓ sawwuf 119 Wal¯ ı 62, 63, 83
TaÓ th¯ ır 4, 5 WaÓ s¯ ı 1
Ta‹v¯ ıl 7 Wil¯ ayat, Wil¯ ayah 1, 25, 61, 119, 129
TawÓh¯ıd xi, xxi, xxiv, xxviii, xxx, 4, 6, 25, 31, 59, Wil¯ ayat-i Ma⁄naw¯ ı 61
127 Wil¯ ayat-i MuÓ tlaq 63
TawÓh¯ıd dar Af ⁄¯ al 123 Wuj¯ud-i MuÓ tlaq 58
TawÓh¯ıd dar Asm¯ a‹ 123, 124
TawÓh¯ıd dar Dh¯ at 123, 124
TawÓh¯ıd dar SÓ if¯ at 123, 124
TawÓ s¯ ıf 28 Ya⁄q¯ub (Jacob) 63, 65, 68
Tawwakul 85 Yasa⁄ 68
Ò Tay al-ArÓd 35, 36, 110 Y¯unis 68
Tihr¯ an xxii, xxiii, xxxiii Y¯u sif (Joseph) 61, 65, 68
Tihr¯ an¯ ı iii, iv, v, xiii, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, xxi,
xxii, xxiii, xxiv, xxv, xxvi, xxvii, xxix, xxxiii, 11,
69, 81, 127 Z¯ ahir 3
¯
Tihr¯ an¯ ı Karbal¯ a‹ie, ¯Aq¯ a Sayyid AÓhmad 121 Zanj˘an 74
Turk¯ ıyah (Turkey) 118 Zayn al-⁄Abid¯ ın Sajj¯ ad (Im¯ am) 10, 80