A STUDY OF THE TERM SIRR (SECRET) IN SUFI LATA'IF THEORIES

A STUDY OF THE TERM SIRR (SECRET)

IN SUFI LATA'IF THEORIES

SHIGERU KAMADA*

(I) Introduction

Mystics are, in general, those who seek the Supreme Being and find their

spiritual satisfaction in the personal experience of union with It. Sufis are not

an exception to this rule. They do not find their spiritual satisfaction in merely

following the Divine Law (Shari'ah) in a formal way; they further their aim to

acquire a personal experience with God, the verbal expressions of which differ

very widely from an ecstatic utterance of Hallaj: 'Ana al-Haqq' to Muhammad

al-Ghazali's moderate treatises. Since they attach importance to a personal

and interior experience of God, they examine closely their own interior as the

organ through which they reach the presence of God. As a result of their

self-examination, they have produced a kind of psychology, a science of inner

subtleties (lata'if).

According to their understanding, the human interior has a multistratal

structure, each level of which may be said to correspond to one of the experiences

brought forth by their spiritual encounter with God. The ways and principles

of division of this interior being are diversified among Sufis, while the technical

terms marking the levels are also different. The same term in the works of

different Sufis does not always refer to one and the same experience. Some of the

key terms are based on the Qur'anic terminology and others on various sources.(1)

The following are the most popular Sufi technical terms concerning the

lata'if which appear in mystical treatises: soul (nafs), reason ('aql), heart (qalb,

P. dil), spirit (ruh, P. jan), secret (sirr), hidden (khafi), most hidden (akhfa),

and secret of the secret (sirr al-sirr).

Before starting my examination of some Sufi texts I would like to attempt

a rapid survey(2) of the above mentioned key terms, though it is difficult to

understand them in a general way because each individual Sufi uses them in,

* Research Assistant, Faculty of Letters, University of Tokyo.

Vol. XIX 1983 7

more or less, different connotations.

In the Sufi world view man consists of two dimensions: gross matter (kathif)

and subtle matter (latif). The former is expressed by the term 'nature' (tab'

or tabi'ah) meaning the material or corporeal dimension. The latter, expressed

by the various terms mentioned above, refers to the human interior or the

spiritual organs, whose analysis is the main theme of the present paper.

The word nafs in Sufi usage has a variety of meanings. First, it means

'ego' or 'self', that is to say, the reality (haqiqah) or the substance (dhat) of man.

From its comprehensiveness the idea of nafs often includes heart, spirit and body.

However, in most cases nafs is 'ego' as the seat of instinctive drive, that of the

force which drives a Sufi to evil, the origin of evil and the foundation of his

pleasure-seeking tendency.Therefore in a spiritual meaning a Sufi must fight against his soul (nafs) or

himself, namely, his worst enemy until he destroys it. Sufis have developed their

notion of nafs by conceiving the several stages of the nafs, starting from that of the

lowest nafs as the enemy opposing to their spiritual perfection, passing through

intermediate stages and ending with spiritual perfection immune from any impu-

rity or evil. In many cases to classify several stages of nafs, Sufis use the Qur'anic

phrases: 'the soul inciting to evil' (al-nafs al-ammarah), 'the censorious soul' (al-nafsal-lawwamah) and 'the tranquil soul' (al-nafs al-mutma'innah) as well as others such

as 'the seducing soul' (al-nafs al-musawwilah) and 'the satisfied soul' (al-nafs al-

mardiyah).(3)

Heart (qalb, P. dil) is explained by Sufis in such an etymological way that

it is so named because of its changeableness (taqallub). It inclines sometimes

to good and sometimes to evil. Another traditional explanation is that the

heart is a 'centre', 'medium' (qalb) or the medium of the physical and the spiritual

in man. Since the heart is a mirror in which God reveals himself to mystics,

it is an important task for them to purify and keep it clean. Further we find

the idea that the heart is an abode of God and that the inner part of the heart

is a divine sanctuary.

After the heart comes the spirit in most cases. The spirit (ruh) is classi-

fied by Ghazali into two: the material spirit in a form of vapour which directs

the whole body, and the subtle spirit which is the locus of knowledge and in-

spiration. Many Sufis think that the spirit is the essence of man, and again that

it belongs to God, because the Qur'an says: "The spirit is of the order of my

Lord" (al-ruh min amr rabbi) (17: 85).

8 ORIENT

A STUDY OF THE TERM SIRR (SECRET) IN SUFI LATA'IF THEORIES

Although there are different opinions concerning the place of sirr, as will

be shown in the following pages, it comes after the spirit in many cases. Many

Sufis see in sirr the organ of contemplation (mushahadah), while they see

in the heart and the spirit respectively the organs of gnosis (ma'rifah) and of

love (mahabbah)(4).

In addition to the basic lata'if such as nafs, qalb, ruh, and sirr which I have

mentioned, some Sufis mention other lata'if which they think are more subtle

than the sirr. Under this category come the hidden (khafi), the most hidden

(akhfa) and the secret of the secret (sirr al-sirr).

By combining the above mentioned technical terms, Sufis form their theories

of lata'if. One of the earliest lata'if theories was formed by a Baghdadi Sufi

'Amr b. 'Uthman al-Makki (d. 291/903-4).(5) His theory of interiorization

consists of four levels: body (tan), heart (dil), spirit (jan) and secret (sirr), in the

order from grosser to more subtle. His scheme of lata'if may be influenced by

a kind of emanatist philosophy,(6) since he mentions that God created hearts

seven thousand years before bodies; He created spirits seven thousand years

before hearts; and He created secrets seven thousand years before spirits.

The order of interiorization corresponds to that of creation. Each organ has

its own faculty such as prayer (namaz) of the body, love (mahabbat) of the heart,

nearness (qurbat) of the spirit and union (wuslat) of the secret. In this scheme

the secret points out the deepest place in the human interior where a mystic

enjoys the union with God.

A post-classical Sufi Simnani (d. 736/1336) gives a different scheme,(7)

which divides the lata'if into five: soul (nafs), heart (dil), secret (sirr), spirit

(ruh) and the hidden (khafi). He locates the secret at an intermediate stage in

the process of interiorization, where a mystic realizes the absolute difference

between 'I' as totally ignorant and 'Thou' as the omniscient.(8)

As the above two examples show, different Sufis give different impli-

cations to the secret (sirr). Therefore taking into account the system of lata'if

given by each Sufi, I would like to examine the significances of the term sirror the secret, in the texts of Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (d. 412/1062),

al-Qushayri (d. 465/1074), al-Hujwiri (d. 465-9/1072-77) and Abu Hafs al-

Suhrawardi (d. 632/1234).

(II) Sulami

Sulami discusses the lata'if in two sections of his Risalat al-malamatiyah.(9)

Vol. XIX 1983 9

Besides nature (tab') he divides the lata'if into four: soul (nafs), heart (qalb),

secret (sirr), and spirit (ruh) in the order from grosser to subtler. Each of them

has its own particular area of experience; for instance, if a mystical state cor-

responding to the state of spirit comes down to the state of secret, it will be

hypocrisy (riya') in relation to secret. Again, if man is raised up to the state

of spirit from that of secret, the heart cannot recognize this experience. In

this way each of the lata'if has its own particular area of experience distinct

from its both higher and lower lata'if. He writes as follows:

When a mystic receives illumination (mukashaf ), he sees with his eye

('ayn) anything which he wants, that is, he witnesses (yushahid) it as it

really is, and he sees in his heart (qalb) and knows throughly the situa-

tions of the Unseen (mawadi' al-ghayb). The spirit (ruh) and the secret

(sirr) are there in contemplation (mushahadah), and both never depend

on the heart and the soul at all.

As this shows, the physical eyes refer to the real existent world [physical world];

the heart refers to the situations of the Unseen [probably such as the vision of

Paradise and Hell]; and both spirit and secret refer to contemplation in which

a mystic may contemplate God. Since Sulami does not discuss here difference

between sirr and ruh, we cannot distinguish the contemplation in sirr and

that in ruh, though ruh occupies a higher status than sirr. All we can under-

stand from his exposition is that both sirr and ruh are very subtle and indepen-

dent from the lower lata'if such as qalb and nafs and equally refer to contem-

plation of God (mushahadah).In another section(10) of the treatise, he again discusses the lata'if in terms

of dhikr. He mentions four kinds of dhikr: dhikr of spirit (ruh), of secret (sirr),

of heart (qalb), and of tongue (lisan).(11) The place of the secret is same as in

Sulami's above mentioned division. Dhikr takes place only in one of the four

at a time. That is, the secret and the heart pass over dhikr in silence when

the dhikr of spirit is true, and in the same way the heart and the spirit cease

their dhikr when the secret is in dhikr. Here only the spirit refers to contempla-

tion (mushahadah) while the secret refers to awe (haybah). The dhikr of heart

is characterized as the dhikr of benefits and favour (ala' wa na'ma'); the dhikr

of tongue is as the dhikr of custom ('adah).

Here Sulami clearly distinguishes the characteristic of the spirit from that

10 ORIENT


of the secret, but he states as a harmful consequence of the dhikr of spirit that

the secret is cognizant of the spirit (afah dhikr al-ruh ittila' al-sirr 'alay-hi). As

well as the view that both sirr and ruh refer to mushahadah in the first section,

this description leads us to think that sirr is something very close to ruh though

its place is second in the order of his lata'if. It is important to notice that the

place of secret is second in order and that a characteristic of mushahadah as thehighest and most subtle mystical experience is not assigned to the secret but

to the spirit in one case, yet is assigned to both in another case.

(III) Qushayri

Qushayri discusses the problem of lata'if in his well-known Sufi treatise,the Risalah al-Qushayriyah as well as in his small work named the Tartib al-suluk

ft tariq Allah. First I would like to examine the Tartib al-suluk in which hedeals with the deepening process of the dhikr experience. This work is more

interesting than his Risalah in the point that he explains his personal experience

in more detail. It is not clear whether this work was composed before the

Risalah which was written in 437/1045 or after, and F. Meier, the editor and

translator, thinks that it is the lecture notes of Qushayri's oral teaching written

down by a disciple.(12)

When Qushayri explains a psychological process of deepening of dhikr

experience, he mentions the key terms in question. His deepening process of

dhikr may be divided into four stages.(13)

(I) He (a Sufi) engages in this dhikr until he loses consciousness of

everything through dhikr with the help of God according to the power

of his will, then he loses consciousness of himself (nafs) through dhikr, and

then he loses consciousness of dhikr through dhikr, going and coming

for a long time between his absence from dhikr through dhikr and his

presence in dhikr. Sometimes he loses consciousness of dhikr, and some-times he has consciousness of dhikr. Then passing several times through

absence and presence of dhikr he continues to ascend to another stage.

During his stay at the first stage he concentrates on dhikr and at the end of this

stage loses consciousness of the external world and of himself through dhikr

performed by his tongue.

Vol. XIX 1983 11

(II) Then another experience (wurud), higher than the previous one,

comes to him. Man ('abd) loses consciousness of dhikr and the states con-

cerning it. When man returned to the state of continuance (baqa')

after this absence (ghaybah), his speech, hearing, and sight are taken

away from him, except for the sensuous world of the heart (shahadat

al-qalb), and he is not able to speak by the tongue but speaks from the

heart in articulated language (nutq) not in form of knowledge ('ilm) or

contemplation (mushahadah). However, as he spoke by the tongue

before, now he performs dhikr from the heart.

At this stage he, who has already ceased to perform the verbal dhikr by losing

the function of his sense organs, performs dhikr in his heart. However, here

remains the impression of the verbal dhikr. His dhikr does not advance to such

a high degree as knowledge or contemplation, which is much more abstract

than articulated verbal images in the heart. Therefore this can be marked

as an early stage of the dhikr of heart.

(III) After that another experience comes to him after some time, if

God wills. It is higher than that [i.e., stage II] with respect to awe (haybah).

The experience of awe comes to man who believes that he is near to God

(al-Haqq); he is totally absorbed in Him. At this point he fluctuates

between annihilation (fana') and continuance (baqa'), and whenever

he returns to continuance, the expressions of his heart increase until

he reaches, at last, the adhkar (pl. of dhikr), which he finds in his heart

with various speeches and expressions which he has not heard before

and that have not occurred in his mind (bal) before. He finds all of

this in his heart so that he imagines that the whole of nature (jumlat al-

kawn) performs dhikr of God with various expressions from time to time,

and he comes not to distinguish his dhikr which comes from his heart

from that of nature because of dhikr's overwhelming him. He hears all

of these adhkar.

At this third stage, he experiences the presence of God in the state of con-

tinuance. Here, the whole of nature transforms itself qualitatively and becomes

a kind of living being which praises God just as he does. Further, overwhelmed

by dhikr he loses consciousness of the difference between him and nature. This

12 ORIENT


state in the heart may be understood as a state of union with the whole of nature,

not with God. There still remains God as the sole object of dhikr. According

to Qushayri, this cosmic quasi-unitive state occurs in the heart (qalb) like the

experience of the former stage. Although the experience at stage II and that

at stage III are clearly different in their quality, he thinks that both take place

in the heart. Again, the description of the third stage is very similar to that

which Qushayri describes as the dhikr al-qalb in another section.(14) Therefore,

both stages II and III can be characterized as the dhikr of heart.

(IV) Then after that, another experience appears, where if man who

does not follow this way (i.e., Sufism) suddenly tasted this experience,

he would die from awe of God. This man passes away and nothing

of him remains; then he is brought to the state of continuance. The states

of the heart concerning the sensuous world and others are taken away

from him, and the secret of the Unseen (sirr al-ghayb) appears to him.

Nothing remains of him, and there is nothing but God. He appears like

an ocean, and all the streams in it flow with His order (hukm). No one

but God has the order, and man loses movement after this. Before

this state he had moved in an experience which occurred to him. But

now he moves only if the ocean which appears to him moves, and he

stands still only if it stands still. He hears, sees and witnesses through

that which appears to him. His man-ness (bashariyah) does not have

controlling power (sultan) neither over the dhikr nor over the spiritual

states. Only the Creator (al-Bari'), or God, has the controlling power.

Then during these states(15) before he reaches the station which is

the end, he sees the whole of nature through the light which he has so

that nothing of nature was hidden from him. He sees the whole of nature

such as the heaven and the earth by direct intuition (ru'yat al-'iyan)

[not through his eye] but in his heart, because he sees nothing at thistime by the eye of his head. But the problem is not the intuition of

knowledge (ru'yat 'ilm), rather [it is that] if an atom or an ant moved in

nature, he would see it.

Man has already experienced fana' and baqa' not only at the second stage where

his external senses such as speaking, hearing, and seeing are taken away from him

and his internal cognitive faculty, that is, heart (qalb), is present to God but also

Vol. XIX 1983 13

at the third stage where he comes and goes between fana' and baqa' for the sake

of the divine awe. At the last stage he experiences fana' and baqa' as the deepest

inner experience. He is raised up to the final state by repeatedly experiencing

fana' and baqa'. Like a spiral, passing through the pair experience of fana' andbaqa' several times, he gradually proceeds to a deeper experience.

In the description of the last stage, it is worth noticing that he does not

use the word qalb as such(16) any more, but he uses the word sirr al-ghayb as

pointing out the final, deepest mystical experience. In another section of thistreatise,(17) Qushayri divides the process of dhikr into three: the dhikr of tongue

(dhikr al-lisan), the dhikr of heart (dhikr al-qalb) and the dhikr of secret (dhikr

al-sirr). Therefore the fourth stage in this section can be marked as the stage

of the dhikr al-sirr. In contrast to the previous third stage where man has a

quasi-unitive state with the whole of nature, in which God remains as the objectof dhikr, here at the the fourth stage man is a stream in the vast ocean of God.

He totally annihilates himself and unites with God.

From the above description, we can understand that mystical experience

like dhikr is divided into several stages, each of which contains an experience

of a different quality. In Qushayri's case mystical experience is divided into

four: (I) dhikr by the tongue until he loses consciousness of the external world

and himself; (II) dhikr in the heart in articulated language; (III) the union with

the whole nature; and (IV) the union with God. Based on this mystical experience

he classifies dhikr under three categories: dhikr of tongue, dhikr of heart, and

dhikr of secret. The first corresponds to stage (I); the second corresponds to

stages (II) and (III); and the third corresponds to stage (IV).

In another section of the same treatise Qushayri mentions an experience

which falls upon sirr. He starts this discussion by stating that this is dis-

closed to people who attain the supreme state (ahl al-nihayah).(18) He writes

as follows:

An address falls upon their sirr, and they do not doubt that it comes from

God (al-Haqq). He addresses sirr with grace and intimate conversation

(munajat). And sirr answers Him, and man hears from sirr the answer

and from God the address. Sometimes it [i.e., the address] causes

the feeling of awe (haybah) to come to him, then sirr becomes silent.

Sometimes he finds speech (kalam). This speech in itself is not only

an address but also an answer with which man has nothing to do. Man

14 ORIENT


knows through his gnosis (ma'rifah), as if he found himself in dream,

that he is not God and does not doubt that this is the speech of God.

If the subtle gnosis is absent from him, the difference [between God

and him] will disappear. This is the jam' al-jam'. Because of this, a

man [i.e., Hallaj] said, "I am God" (ana al-Haqq) and Abu Yazid [al-

Bastami] said, "Glory to Me" (subhani). Nobody except God spoke in

effacement of the personalities (mahw al-ashkhas).

From this quotation, we notice that sirr is the place of intimate conversa-

tion (munajat) with God, and furthermore, it is more interesting, that a mystic

finds between his sirr and God the speech which is simultaneously an address

and an answer. The answer expected in response to the divine address is be-

yond human ability, as he mentions: "this speech…with which man has

nothing to do" (dhalika al-kalam…laysa li'l-'abd fi-hi shay'). The one who

answers is not man, because he is already absorbed in God. The speech in

which an address and its answer are one is unthinkable except in the case that

the subject-object relationship in rational thinking ceases. The experience

in sirr is nothing but that of union with God, in which everything loses its

own being and is absorbed into the infinite divine Being. Therefore it is

natural that the opposition between subject and object is dissolved in the sirr

experience.

In this way at the stage of the dhikr al-sirr man encounters God in realityand merges into Him by losing his man-ness. However Qushayri seems toregard man's complete annihilation in God as a lower stage(19) when he des-cribes it as the experience of the union of union (jam' al-jam') in which the Sufiecstatic utterances (shathiyat) formulated by Hallaj and Bastami are to be under-stood. In this section he states that a mystic does not imagine himself as Godas long as he has this 'subtle gnosis' (al-ma'rifah al-latifah). From this statementI would think that, though the jam' al-jam' is a very high experience, he has inmind a still higher experience than the jam' al jam', which is implied by his

phrase 'subtle gnosis'. If I were to use a technical term used in his Risalah, itmay be the second separation (al-farq al-thani).(20) Since he mentions no stagebeyond the dhikr al-sirr in the passages which I have quoted above, the ex-

perience of the farq thani may be placed as a higher subdivision of the sirrexperience, whose lower subdivision is that of the jam' al-jam'. There is a

passage in the Tartib al-suluk as follows:(21)Vol. XIX 1983 15

At the beginning of the states of dhikr, I reached a place where I saw

all of the creatures through penetration of the spiritual sight, and then

at the end when God appeared and the dhikr reached the [realm of]

sirr, the spiritual sight returned to the same states as the common peo-

ple's.

After passing through extraordinary experiences of the union with God, mystics

regain an ordinary condition. But this is not an ordinary condition in the

usual sense, rather a completely new ordinary condition which is transcendent

beyond that in any usual sense. In contrast to qalb where God manifests

Himself only in an indirect way such as various speeches and expressions (al-

sinah, 'ibarat), sirr in the Tartib al-suluk is the place where man realizes the

highest mystical experience such as the direct union with God, and further,

the second separation.

He presents the structure of lata'if in a more systematic way in his Risalah.

He divides human interior into four; soul (nafs), heart (qalb), spirit (ruh) and

secret (sirr).

By the soul he means undesirable qualities of man and his blameworthy

characteristics and actions (ma kana ma'lul min awsaf al-'abd wa madhmum min

akhlaqi-hi wa of 'ali-hi).(22) Based on this, there arise various kinds of bad

qualities such as arrogance, anger, hatred, envy, ill-mannered-ness (su' al-khulq) and intolerance. In this way the soul is the centre of evil qualities,

which is located in the body (qalab). In contrast to the soul he considers the

spirit as the centre of good qualities equally located in the body. In the chapter

concerning the soul, he states that the heart (qalb) has the same good functionsas the spirit without giving further explanations.

Apart from the negative side of the human interior represented by

nafs, he mentions three lata'if, namely, heart (qalb), spirit (ruh), and secret

(sirr). The secret is the place of contemplation (mushahadah), the spirit

is the place of love (mahabbah), and the heart (qalb) is the place of gnoses (ma-

'arif ). Sirr is more subtle than ruh, and ruh is more precious than qalb.(23)

Therefore the order from grosser to subtler is qalb-ruh-sirr.(24) Here

sirr is regarded to be the most subtle, in the same manner as in the Tartib

al-suluk.

Next I would like to examine the notion of sirr given by the author in the

Risalah. As I have mentioned above, the secret is the place of contemplation

16 ORIENT


(mushahadah). It is also the place where the unification of God (tawhid) is

realized.(25) What Qushayri insists upon is the transcendental characteristic

of sirr beyond any impurity and contamination caused by created-ness.

The secrets (asrar) are free from any bondage with creatures (aghyar)

of traces (athar) and remains (atlal) [of man-ness].(26)

The word sirr is applied to that which is preserved and hidden between

man ('abd) and God in his mystical states (ahwal).(27)

Our secrets are a virgin whom no imagination has deflowered.(28)

If my bone of the heart (zirr) knew my secret (sirr), I would throw it

away.(29)

Sirr is a paradoxical existence which subsists in man as a creation, and

at the same time, refuses its created-ness. The quotations above show this

characteristic of sirr. It implies the ultimate limit where man loses his man-

ness.

According to Qushayri, contemplation (mushahadah) is the highest form

among three kinds of meditation: muhadarah, mukashafah, and mushahadah.(30)

Although one should not expect him always to use the word mushahadah in one

and the same meaning throughout his work, the mushahadah by which he quali-

fies sirr can be understood to have the same meaning that he used in his

explanation as the highest form of meditation, because he uses the word sirr

in the explanation. He writes as follows:

Then (after muhadarah and mukashafah) comes the contemplation

(mushahadah): it is the presence of God without any remains of sus-

picion. When the sky of the secret (sirr) became clear from clouds of theveil, the sun of witness rose from the palace of the spiritual nobility.

I understand this passage in the following way. At the level of mushahadah, God

reveals Himself directly without any intermediary such as proof or evidence,

to such a degree that there is no room for suspicion about the reality of theo-

phany. By man's annihilation from his own man-ness [as the veil], he cansee God who has concealed Himself behind his man-ness.

The saying of Junayd which he quotes as implying the truth of mushahadah

can be understood in the same manner. That is: "God is found when you

Vol. XIX 1983 17

annihilate yourself" (wujud al-Haqq ma'a fuqdani-ka).(31) This can be inter-

preted as follows: our finite and determined being cannot grasp God who, asan infinite and undetermined Being, penetrates and comprehends all things, just

as a part cannot comprehend the whole. A part is 'a part' of the whole. A

part cannot establish the whole as its object. If it did, the subject of the partwould be separate from the whole which it established as an object. The

whole which lacks its one part is not the whole, but only another part. There-

fore in order to realize the whole, a part must annihilate itself. Only by an-

nihilating itself, a part realizes the whole. Man is a determined being (i.e.,

a part) of undetermined (divine) Being (i.e., the whole). If he establishes

God as an object, 'God' in this case does not comprehend him, because he (man)

as a subject is separated from 'God' as an object. 'God' in this case, therefore,

is not God as comprehending the whole. This is not the God that he really

wishes to know. There is no way for man to know God except by annihilating

himself as an subject of cognition. As long as he continues to be a subject,

he can never know God in His reality. To know God in His reality is not to

know God as an object, but to realize God in him by annihilating himself as

a subject. This is the meaning of the saying of Junayd, "wujud al-Haqq ma'a

fuqdani-ka". Sirr is the place where man annihilates himself as a subject.Sirr in this sense is theoretically the most subtle latifah of the human interior,

because there is no humanity beyond this state. Nothing remains beyond

sirr except God.

(IV) Hujwiri

Hujwiri deals with the lata'if in his discussion on the realities of the soul

(nafs). According to him man (insan) is composed of three elements: spirit

(ruh), soul (nafs), and body (jasad). The structure of man reflects that of the

universe. Man (mardom) is a type (namuna) of the whole universe (kull'alam).(32)

That is, man is a microcosm of the whole universe. Both soul and spirit belong

to the subtlities (lata'if) in the body (qalab), just as devils (shayatin) and angels

(mala'ika), and Paradise and Hell are in the universe ('alam). But one is the

seat of evil while the other is that of good. In this way, besides the corporeal

dimension of man (jasad, qalab), the human lata'if are divided into two: soul

(nafs) as representing the evil tendency in man, and spirit (ruh) as representing

the good tendency in man.(33)

18 ORIENT


Based on his understanding of the soul as a negative aspect of the human

interior, he interprets the well-known hadith: "He who knows his soul knows his

Lord" (man 'arafa nafsa-hu 'arafa rabba-hu).(34) Since a man who is ignorant

of himself (khud) is more ignorant of others, he must know himself in as much

as he is obliged to know God (Khudawand). Therefore Hujwiri interprets this

hadith in the following way:

He who knows his soul as perishable (fana') has already known his Lord

as Everlasting (baqa'). Again he who knows his soul as humble (dhull)

knows his Lord as Almighty ('izz). Again he who knows his soul in its

servitude ('ubudiyah) knows his Lord as Lordship (rububiyah). Thus

one who does not know his soul is veiled from knowledge of all.

In contrast to an interpretation of this hadith given by a number of Sufis that

nafs in this context is explained as something divine hidden in man, Hujwiri

interprets it as a negative thing in man.

While in this section he presents the tripartition of the human being [i.e.,

ruh, nafs, and jasad], he offers another type of division in the section on

audition (sama'). It is not from his own words, but a quotation from a group

(guruhi) of which he seems to favour.

Audition is a faculty appertaining to presence [with God]. Since love

demands all (kulliyat), until all of the lover is absorbed in the Beloved,

he is deficient concerning love. Therefore in case of union (wasl) [This

means probably performance of sama'], the heart (dil) has a share of

love (mahabbat), and the secret has contemplation (mushahadat), and the

spirit (ruh) has union with God (wuslat), and the body (tan) has service

(khidmat). Just like these the ear must have such a share as vision of

the eye.(35)

Just before this quotation, Hujwiri quotes an opinion of another group thataudition is applicable only to beginners as a means of concentration on God.

On the contrary, from the opinion quoted here, we understand that audition

is applicable not only to beginners but also to advanced mystics, and that the

audition by advanced mystics is to be carried out with their all inner dimensions.

Since they have realized their spiritual comprehensiveness (kulliyat), they can

Vol. XIX 1983 19

worship God even at the most interior level such as sirr and ruh, together with

the worship at the level of the body.

Since he mentions nothing particular concerning the order of these four

dimensions, it may be unwarranted to arrange them in a particular order.

However, it is also untenable that he would list them totally at random.

Therefore I would like to guess the order in his description of the four terms.

Keeping in mind the qualification attached to each latifah, I believe that he has

arranged the lata'if in an order from grosser to more subtle, except for the last

dimension, the body which does not belong to the lata'if. That is, the order is

from heart (dil), secret (sirr) to spirit (ruh), plus body (tan) as corporeal sub-

stance.(36) In any case, it is certain that the secret is qualified by contemplation

(mushahadah),(37) though the details are not clear since he has mentioned no-

thing except my quotation above.

In this context I would like to examine what he discusses concerning con-

templation (mushahadah). According to Hujwiri, contemplation in its Sufi

meaning is a vision of the heart (didar-i dil), to see God in the heart in private

and in public.(38) Although Hujwiri uses the term dil to signify the place where

contemplation occurs, in another passage in the same section he also mentions

that contemplation is an attribute of the secret (sirr).(39) This may indicate

that in this particular section he uses both these technical terms to signify the

same phenomenon.(40)

He mentions two kinds of mushahadah:(41) one coming from perfect cer-

tainty (sihhat-i yaqin), the other coming from overwhelming love (ghalabat-i

mahabbat). The first type is illustrated by the saying of Muhammad b. Wasi':"I did not see anything without seeing God in it." The second is alluded to

by Shibli's statement: "I did not see anything but God."(42)

[In the first type] one first sees the act of God (fi'i), and then in thevision of the act he sees the Agent (Fa'il) with the eye of secret (sirr) and

the act with the eye of head (sar). [In the second type] one is rapt

by love from all things else, so that he sees only the Agent. The method

of the first is demonstrative (istidlali), and that of the second is ecstatic

(jadhbi). Because the first one is a demonstration in order to makeclear the establishment of the evidences of its realities on him. In the

second case, he is enraptured and seized; evidences and realities are a veil

to him.(43)

20 ORIENT


In the first demonstrative method of contemplation through perfect certainty,

man knows first the acts of God, not God Himself, and after knowing the acts

of God, he reaches God. This method can be marked as an indirect type of

contemplation. On the contrary, in the second case man knows God directly

in ecstasy. Therefore, evidences and realities of God, which have their place

between God and man for the purpose of intermediation in the first case, are

nothing but a veil to keep him away from vision of God. This can be marked

as a direct type of contemplation.(44)

Again in another section he discusses the two types of meditation, muhadarah

and mukashafah.(45) He relates each of them, respectively, to the heart (dil) and

the secret (sirr). We find distinct implications between muhadarah and muka-

shafah as follows.

Muhadarah

(1) Muhadarah takes place in the presence of the heart (dil) in the subtleties

of demonstration (lata'if-i bayan).

(2) Muhadarah refers to evidences of the signs of God (shawahid-i ayat).

(3) The mark of muhadarah is continual meditation (tafakkur) on a vision of

the signs of God.

(4) Muhadarah refers to meditation on the acts of God (af'al).

(5) The man of muhadarah is a follower of friendship (radif-i khullat).

(6) A story of Abraham: When he looked on the kingdom of the heavens and

meditated on the reality of its existence, his heart (dil) was made present to

it. He became a seeker of the Agent (Fa'il) through the vision of His act,

so that his presence made God's act a proof of the Agent.

Mukashafah

(1) Mukashafah takes place in the presence of bewilderment of the secret

(sirr) in the domain of actual vision of God (hazira-i 'iyan).

(2) Mukashafah refers to the evidences of the contemplations of God (shawahid-

i mushahadat).

(3) The mark of mukashafah is continual bewilderment (tahayyur) at His

extreme greatness.

(4) Mukashafah refers to amazement at God's loftiness.

(5) The man of mukashafah is a companion of love (qarin-i mahabbat).

(6) A story of the Prophet: When God carried him to the Kingdom, he shut

Vol. XIX 1983 21

his eyes from the sight of all things. He did not see God's act nor creature

nor himself, so that the Agent was disclosed to him.

From the above list we understand that the muhadarah which takes place at

the level of heart refers to the acts or signs of God, not God Himself in a direct

way. As the differences between friendship and love and between the story of

Abraham and that of the Prophet show, the man of muhadarah has access to

God only through His acts. On the other hand, the man of mukashafah directly

plunges into the presence of God and loses himself in the bewilderment at His

greatness.Hujwiri further discusses a qualitative difference between muhadarah

(characterized by friendship) and mukashafah (characterized by love).

Where friendship was, bewilderment seemed infidelity (kufr); where

love was, union (wuslat) was polytheism (shirk), and bewilderment became

the sole source (sarmaya). Because in friendship bewilderment was

concerned with [His] Being (hasti), and this is polytheism, but in love

it was concerned with [His] Mode (chigunagi), and this is divine unifi-

cation (tawhid).

The two types of meditation, muhadarah and mukashafah, have different objects

of meditation; the object of the former is God's existence, (i. e., a gnosis that God

exists) while the object of the latter is God's mode of existence (i. e., a gnosis

how God is). Thus, the mukashafah is concerned with a more real and deeper

aspect of God. Therefore, the bewilderment at the level of muhadarah (friend-

ship) must be kufr or shirk, because it is nothing but a doubt of God's exis-

tence. At the level of mukashafah where the object of mystical experience is the

true mode of God, namely, His infinite and indefinite reality, therefore, to define(

i. e., limit) the Absolute as the object of mystic's union (wuslat) inevitably leads

to polytheism, for he worships a particular 'God', not God in His absoluteness.

Thus, it is impossible at this level to show the real mode of God except by way

of the bewilderment at His infinite greatness. Therefore, the bewilderment,

which is shirk at the level of muhadarah, is the true gnosis of the divine reality

at that of mukashafah.(48)

The distinction between muhadarah and mukashafah corresponds to that

between the two kinds of mushahadah which have been mentioned above. One

22 ORIENT


is the indirect way to approach God, while the other is the direct way, and the

former, that is, muhadarah or the mushahadah of perfect certainty, takes place

in the heart (dil) while the latter, that is, mukashafah or the mushahadah of over-

whelming love, occurs in the secret (sirr). Thus according to Hujwiri, the

secret (sirr) is the place where man realizes meditation of the highest degree

though the names given to it are not one and the same.

(V) Abu Hafs al-Suhrawardi

Abu Hafs al-Suhrawardi presents in his 'Awarif al-ma'arif a dynamic system

of the lata'if. Like many Sufis, he divides the lata'if into three: soul (nafs),

heart (qalb), and spirit (ruh). The soul is a latifah in the body (qalab) and is

concerned with blameworthy qualities and attributes (al-akhlaq wa'l-sifat al-

madhmumah), while the spirit is a latifah in the heart (qalb) and is concerned

with praiseworthy qualities and attributes.(47) The heart occupies an interme-

diate position between the soul as the principle of evil and the spirit as that

of good. It is sometimes controlled by the motivation of the spirit and some-

times by that of the soul, as the result of mutual conflict between the spirit

and the soul.(48)

Based on the Qur'an,(49) he further counts three kinds of soul: 'the tranquil

soul' (al-nafs al-mutma'innah), 'the censorious soul' (al-nafs al-lawwamah), and 'the

soul inciting to evil' (al-nafs al-ammarah bi'l-su'). When the heart is filled with

the peace of mind inspired by God (sakinah), the robes of tranquility (tuma'ninah)

is granted to the soul, for the peace of mind is an increase of belief (mazid al-iman).

In this process the heart rises to the station of the spirit (ruh) because of the

share of certainty (yaqin) which it was granted. At the same time, when the

heart ascends to the place of the spirit, the soul also rises to the place of the

heart. This soul which has been raised to the level of the heart is the tranquil

soul (al-nafs al-mutma'innah). And when the soul aspires to reach the place of

tranquility, though stirred up by its natural dispositions and the propaganda of

its nature, it is called the censorious soul (al-nafs al-lawwamah). Then, when

the soul is in a place where temptation and insinuation to evil thrive without

receiving the visit of the light of knowledge ('ilm) and gnosis (ma'rifah), it is

called 'the soul inciting to evil' (al-nafs al-ammarah bi'l-su'). In this way, his

fundamental scheme is based on a tripartition of nafs-qalb-ruh.

He discusses the place of the secret (sirr)(50) though he does not explicitly

Vol. XIX 1983 23

place it in his fundamental scheme. He begins his discussion by introducing twoopinions among Sufis concerning the place of the secret. Some Sufis assert

that the secret is located between the heart and the spirit, while others hold

that it is located after the spirit, that is, in the highest and most subtle position.

According to the latter group, the secret is a place of contemplation (mushahadah),

the spirit is that of love (mahabbah) and the heart is that of gnosis (ma'rifah).(51)

Suhrawardi himself follows neither of the two opinions and presents a kind of

compromising theory. He explains the secret as follows: When the soul be-

comes pure, the spirit is set free from its tie to the darkness of the soul and begins

to rise to the side of nearness of God (qurb). At the same time the heart, aspiring

for the spirit, leaves its original place and acquires an additional characteristic

(wasf za'id). This newly acquired characteristic is unintelligible to mystics

(wajidun) since they see it purer than the heart. Therefore it is called a sirr.

That which they locate between the heart and the spirit and call sirr is a mode

of the heart which is qualified with an additional characteristic they do not

know. In the same manner as this, upon its ascending towards God, the spirit

acquires an additional characteristic which is unintelligible to them. That

which some Sufis locate in the highest position and call sirr is a mode of the

spirit which is qualified with an unintelligible characteristic.

His theory of lata'if is based on the tripartition of nafs-qalb-ruh and

penetrated by the idea that each of them can have a higher spirituality. Thename of sirr which is regarded not to have an independent substance like nafs,

qalb, and ruh, is assigned to a higher and more subtle spiritual position of qalb

or of ruh. It may be understood from his orthodox tendency that he gives

the secret (sirr) only a subordinate status, probably because the Qur'an does not

mention the secret (sirr) in this sense.(52) His theory is illustrated below:

ruh→sirr

qalb→sirr …… al-nafs al-mutma'innah

al-nafs al-lawwamah

nafs (al-naft al-ammarah)

Thus, in his theory, sirr is a more subtle mode of ruh or qalb and does not always

occupy the highest position.

24 ORIENT


(VI) Conclusion

From my examination of these four Sufis in the previous pages, I have

drawn the following conclusions. The location of the secret (sirr) differs among

them. In the Malamatiyah, according to Sulami, the place of secret is the second

subtlest in the human interior which is divided into four parts: soul (nafs),

heart (qalb), secret, and spirit (ruh) [apart from body which does not belong

to the lata'if]. But its qualification (mushahadah or haybah) is very close to that

of the most subtle latifah spirit. Both secert and spirit form a pair which is

clearly distinct from the other lata'if. In Suhrawardi's scheme of lata'if which

consists of three: soul, heart, and spirit, the secret is not given full status as an in-

dependent latifah. The secret signifies only a special mode of heart or spirit

which has obtained a higher spirituality than its original mode.

Qushayri gives the most subtle locus for the secret in his Risalah where hedivides lata'if into four: soul, heart, spirit, and secret, as well as in his treatise

named the Tartib al-suluk where he divides the deepening process of dhikr ex-

perience into three: tongue (lisan), heart, and secret. The secret accordingto the Tartib al-suluk is the place where a mystic experiences the union with God

in which the subject-object relationship disappears. Further the secret includes

an aspect of the second separation (al farq al-thani) as well as that of the total

absorption in God (jam' al-jam').

In the Risalah of Qushayri, the secret is regarded as the place of contem-

plation of God (mushahadah) which is the highest form of meditation and ofunification (tawhid). Although it is located in the human interior, the secret

transcends all man-ness and created-ness. It is the place and state when man

realizes God within him by annihilating himself as a subject. The final and

highest human interior is attained at the moment when man loses his man-

ness. Essentially, it is of a paradoxical nature.

Hujiwiri introduces some different schemes of lata'if. In one, he divides

the human interior into two: soul, which is the centre of evil qualities, and

spirit, which is the centre of good qualities, without mentioning the secret.

In another case, he divides the human interior into three: heart (dil), secret,

and spirit, and the secret is qualified by contemplation (mushahadat). Medita-

tion of God is divided into two: the indirect way which is indicated by con-

templation of perfect certainty (mushahadat-i sihhat-i yaqin) or muhadarat and the

Vol. XIX 1983 25

direct way which is indicated by contemplation of overwhelming love (mushaha-

dat-i ghalabat-i mahabbat) or mukashafat. The way of the higher degree of medi-

tation of God, that is, the direct way, corresponds to the secret, and the other

to the heart.

The secret, or the most subtle part of the human interior as Qushayri

and Hujwiri understand it, is the ultimate limit where man losing his man-

ness enters the domain of God. It may be human as far as it is a man's

latifah, but it may also be divine as far as it is realization of God's Unity.

Notes

(1) According to Abu Hafs al-Suhrawardi, Kitab 'Awarif al-ma'arif, al-Qahirah, 1358/1937,p. 316, terms such as ruh, nafs, qalb, fu'ad, and 'aql are mentioned in the Qur'an, but sirr in theSufi sense is not. In reality, however, the term 'aql besides the sirr is not found in the Qur'an,either. Concerning the inventory of the Sufi technical terms, see L. Massignon, Essai sur lesorigins du lexique technique de la mystique musulmane, Paris, 1968, pp. 45-52.

(2) The description of these terms in this section is mainly based on R. Gramlich, Dieschiitischen Derwischorden Persiens, Zweiter Teil: Glaube and Lehre, Wiesbaden, 1976, pp. 63-84.

(3) The first three expressions are found respectively in the Qur'an, 12: 53, 75: 2, and 89:27. The exactly same forms of the last two expressions are not found in the Qur'an, but theyare formed from the Qur'anic phrases respectively in 12: 18 etc. and in 89: 28 etc.

(4) See p. 16 and note 37 of the present paper.(5) Hujwiri, Kashf al-mahjub, Ed. by V. A. Zhukovski, Tihran, 1336s/1975, pp. 399-400.

This saying of al-Makki is also found in 'Attar, Tadhkirat al-awliya', Ed. by R. A. Nicholson, Lon-don-Leiden, 1905-07, II, p. 38, although I think that the text in 'Attar is confused, and the orderof four lata'if is contradictory in the text. Also see the section of variants in the same volumep. 63.

(6) H. Landolt, "Deux opuscules de Semnani sur le moi theophanique," Melanges offerts aHenry Corbin, Teheran, 1977, p. 292.

(7) Ibid., p. 290.(8) Ibid., p. 298. The traditional mode of lata'if has influenced even further the later

period. As an example, Sadr al-Din al-Shirazi (commonly known as Mulla Sadra) (d. 1050/1641), the master of the hikmat philosophy in Iran, has presented in his smaller epistle entitledthe Iksir al-'arifin a seven division lata'if theory which consists of tabi'ah, nafs, 'aql, rub, sirr, khafiand akhfa. Rasa'il Mulla Sadra, Tihran, 1302/1884-85, p. 295.

(9) al-Sulami, Risalat al-Malamatiyah, in A. 'A. 'Afifi (ed.), al-Malamatiyah wa'l-sufiyah waahl al-futuwah, al-Qahirah, 1364/1945, p. 100.

(10) Ibid., p. 104.(11) He mentions the dhikr of soul (nafs) in the place where he enumerates the harm (ahah)

of dhikr (Ibid., p. 104). Its harm is that by seeing his own dhikr, the mystic thinks himself greator seeks the reward of attaining one of the stations (maqamat) through it. This kind of dhikr maybe equally classified under the dhikr of tongue, because in most cases the evil purposes mentioned as the harm of the dhikr of nafs can be carried out by means of that of tongue.

(12) F. Meier, "Qusayri's Tartib al-suluk," Oriens, XVI (1963), pp. 5 and 10.(13) Qushayri, Tartib al-suluk (in F. Meier, op, cit.), pp. 16-17. An analytical study of dhikr

experience in Sufism in a more general framework is done by L. Gardet in G. -C. Anawati andL. Gardet, Mystique musulmane, Aspects et tendances, experiences et techniques, 2e ed., Paris, 1968,

26 ORIENT


pp. 185-258 (especially pp. 213-234).(14) Qushayri, Tartib al-suluk p. 18. Here Qushayri states as follows:

When the heart invokes [God], to him in the invocation (dhikr) come down states where hefinds not from his soul (nafs), but rather hears from his heart (qalb), the Names of God andtheir invocations which he has never heard at all nor read in a book, with various expressionsand different words which neither angel nor man has heard.

(15) I think that he again refers to stage III here. (16) Although he uses the word qalb once in his description, it is described as being negated

at this last stage. Therefore, this may support my identifying the fourth stage as the dhikr al-sirr.(17) Qushayri, Tartib al-suluk, p. 18. Here he does not explain what and how each dhikr

is, though he mentions three kinds of dhikr. He asserts that man should hold on to his effort butnot observe these experiences (lam yulahiz al-waridat) for the purpose of proceeding to the stageof dhikr al-sirr from that of dhikr al-qalb. I think that the dhikr al-sirr may correspond to unionwith God, and therefore, there must be nothing as object of dhikr at this stage where even Godcannot be an object of dhikr, but must be the very subject of dhikr. To try to observe the ex-

perience is nothing but to try to establish something as an object of dhikr. As long as this kindof effort remains in him, he can never establish God as subject of himself nor realize the dhikral-sirr.

(18) Qushayri, Tartib al-suluk, pp. 21-22.(19) F. Meier's introduction to the Tartib al-suluk, pp. 11-12.(20) Qushayri, al-Risalah al-Qushayriyah, al-Qahirah, 1379/1959, p. 39.(21) Qushayri, Tartib al-suluk, p. 27.(22) Qushayri, Risalah, p. 48.(23) Ibid., p. 48.(24) This order is found again in a section of the Risalah (p. 46) where he discusses refresh-

ment (nafas). After he has mentioned the order of the three kinds of refreshment by the sub-tleties of the unseen world (lata'if al-ghuyub): anfas, ahwal, and awqat (from higher to lower),he adds that awqat is to people of heart (qulub), ahwal to people of spirit (arwah), andanfas to people of secret (sara'ir). Sara'ir is a plural form of sarirah, but is often used as that of sirr. E. W. Lane, An Arabic English Lexicon, London, 1863-93, IV, p. 1338.

(25) He quotes in his Risalah, p. 46 as follows:

They (Sufis) said, "God created the hearts and made them the mines of gnosis (ma'rifah).He created the secrets (asrar) beyond them [i.e., hearts] and made them the place of theunification of God (tawhid)."

(26) Ibid., pp. 48-49.(27) Ibid., p. 49.(28) Ibid., p. 49. This saying is attributed to Hallaj by al-Sarraj in his Kitab al-luma' fi'l-

tasawwuf, Ed. by R. A. Nicholson, London, 1963, p. 231.(29) Qushayri, Risalah, p. 49. Also in Sarraj, op, cit., p. 232.(30) Qushayri, Risalah, p. 43.

(31) Ibid., p. 43.(32) Hujwiri, op. cit., pp. 249-50.

(33) Ibid., p. 246.(34) Ibid., pp. 247-48.(35) Ibid., p. 529.

(36) If my assumption is correct, this order is the same as that given by Sulami. See sec-tion (II) of the present paper.

Vol. XIX 1983 27

(37) Other Sufis assign different technical terms to the sirr in order to qualify its function.For example, al-Nuri (d. 295/907) assigns mukashafah to the qalb, and mushahadah to the sirr (in'Izz al-Din Mahmud al-Kashani, Kitab Misbah al-hidayah wa miftah al-kifayah, Ed. by Jalal al-DinHuma'i, Tihran: Sana'i, n. d., p. 430), while Abu 'Ali al-Rudhabari links mushahadah to theqalb, mukashafah to the sirr, and mu'ayanah to the insight (basa'ir) [in Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani,Hilyat al-awliya' wa tabaqat al-asfiya', al-Qahirah, 1351-57/1932-38, X, p. 357].

(38) Hujwiri, op. cit., p. 427.(39) Ibid., p. 431.

(40) To see in the heart (bi-dil didan) is found on p. 427 1.14 and p. 428 11. 14-15, and tosee by the eye of the secret (bi-chashm-i sirr didan) on p. 428 1.4 and p. 429 1.1. There seemsto be no substantial difference between the dil and the sirr in this context. I think that thedifference in usage between them might be only due to aesthetical purposes because the wordsirr provides a parallelism to the eye of the head (chashm-i sar) whenever it is used.

(41) Hujwiri, op. cit., pp. 427-28.(42) In p. 428 note 6, the editor gives an alternative reading. That is: yaki az masha'ikh

guyad, "ma ra'aytu shay'an illa wa ra'aytu Allah qabla-hu" wa in didar buwad az Haqq bi-khalq. Thisreading is the same as that in Kalabadhi, al-Ta'arruf li-madhhab ahl al-tasawwuf, Ed. by 'Abdal-Halim Mahmud and Taha 'Abd al-Baqi Surur, al-Qahirah, 1380/1960, p. 64.

(43) I read this part according to the variant in p. 428 note 23.

(44) I think that the two types of contemplation may correspond to the two kinds of gnosis(ma'rifah) which Junayd tells of in Kalabadhi, op. cit., p. 64. The demonstrative method ofHujwiri may correspond to the ta'rif of Junayd, while the ecstatic method to his ta'arruf, thoughthe ta'arruf also includes the experience of the second separation (al farq al-thani).

(45) Hujwiri, op. cit., pp. 487-88.(46) In his op. cit., p. 353, Hujwiri again discusses two kinds of bewilderment; one is the

bewilderment at [God's] existence (hasti), which is shirk and kufr, and the other is that at [His]mode (chigunagi), which is ma'rifah. The analysis in this paragraph has been largely modifiedby a thoughtful criticism of Professor Hermann Landolt of the Institute of Islamic Studies,McGill University, Montreal given to the original version of the present paper.

(47) Suhrawardi, op. cit., p. 315.(48) Ibid., p. 316.(49) Ibid., p. 316. See note 3 of the present paper.(50) Ibid., pp. 316-7.(51) This attribution of the faculties to the lata'if is the same as that of Qushayri. See

p. 16 of the present paper.(52) See note 1 of the present paper.

28 ORIENT

Documents

A STUDY OF THE TERM SIRR (SECRET) IN SUFI LATA'IF THEORIES