CURZON SUFI SERIES

S6i6 Editr: Io Richdd Ndun

Pto!8d oI Aflhi Studiz\UniMiA of t2eds

The Curzon Sufi Seri6 prcvidd short htroductioG to a Eiety of f@ts ofthe subjct, which de accsible hotfi to the gl:Mal rcadd ud the stu<lertmd 6chol4 i. the field. Each hok wi be eithd a syntheis of existingknowledge or a distinct onhib{tion to, od dt€nsioo ol hwledge of thepartield topic. The two mio.6d6lying principl€s of *E Ssi6 m eund

*holaship md radabiJity

BEYOND FAITH AND INFIDELITYThe Sufi Pct y od Taching of Mahnud Shabistai

Izmrd ln;hn

AL-HALLAJH6b6t W M6n

RUZBIHAN BAQLIMysticim and the Rletoric of Sainthood in Pmian Su6m

Ca W Eftt

A3DULI,AH ANSARI OF HERATAn Edy S!fi ]!{sterA G Rdun Fdddi

THE CONCEPT OF SAINTHOOT' IN EARLY ISLANIIC MYSTICISMBand Ranthc and lohn o Kare

SUHRAWARDI AND THE SCHOOL OF ILLUMINATIONMehni Amin Pwtui

PERSIAN SUFI POTTR)An Introduction to th€ Mystrcal U* of Clsiol Pms

J.T.P dz Btlijr

AZIZ NASA-F'ILI4td Ridgm

SUI 15 AND ANTI SUFISThe Defmce, Rethinling md Rejdtioo of Su6sm in th€ \'lod€.n world

EIAalEth S,ireh

Sflfi RitualThe Parallel ljniverse

Ian Richaril Netton

CURZON

For Sue with much love

The moral ;ght of the auihor La been a*rted

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Othd 8@16 by lan Ri.hard N.,ron

Ados the Medit€noean Frontids (Edito. with D A Agius)

Allah Trm$eod€nt: Studies iD the Structure and &mioticsof lslnic Pb;losophy, Theology ad (losmology

Arabia md the Guli From Tr.ditional Saiety to lvloddn States (Editor)

At Farabi md His s.h@l

Golden R@ds: lflgralion, Pilg.irug€ ud Travel in Mediaevat md \'lodernIslm (Editor)

Hunld of the Edt (Vol. 1) (Edrto,

Middle Eist lvlaterials in United Kiogdon and I;sh Lib.aries:A Dr€tory {Edito4

iddle East Sou.cs (Editor)

)vlusiim Noplationists: An Introduction to the Thoughtof the arethren of Purity

A Populr Dicriona.y of klam

lieek Knowledge: Thoughr dd 1;avel in rhe House of Islah

Text Md Trauma: An Edt'West Prim€r

lsBN 0 7007 1242 t hbkISBN 0 7007 12;4 2pbk

Contents

PreJace ond Acbnmledsen'en*At Ltrexir'tiol:-r

1 Introduction

2 Mapping the Sacred 1: The Ni'matullahi Order2.r Origins2.2 Rituals and Practices2.2.1 Organisation and Hierarchy2.2.2 ldtiarjoi2.2.3 Rule of Life2.2.4 Ljnrrgy2.2.4.1 Dhihr u\d Santa'2.2.4.2 F;hl2.2.4.3 Mwa4aba2.2.4.4 Mul-wba2.2.4.5 Wid

3 Mapping the Sacred 2: The Naqshbandi Order3.1 Orisrns3.2 Rituals and Practices3.2.1 OrganisatioD and Hierechy3.2.2 Initiation3.2.3 Rule of Life3.2.4 Liturgy3.2.4.1 Dhihl3.2.4.2 Sann'3.2.a.3 Mwaqaba ann Rab;ta3.2.+.4 Srhba3.2.4.5 Wird

xi

I

212725253032343539404347

o172?375777979

8586

SOF' RITUAL

4 Unveiling the Sacred 1: The Five Ari.an:1.1 Theotogy1.2 Phenomenology4.3 Aothropology4.4 Seniotics

5 Unveiling the Sacred 2: The Parallel Universe ofS.fi Ritual5.1 Theology5.2 Phenomenology5.3 Anthropology5.4 Semiotics

6 The Alienated Sufi?6.1 Alienation o Ritual Paadox6.1.1 Alienation6.1.2 FaM'6.1.3 Ritual as Shield6.1.4 Ritua.l 6 Alienation6.2 A Paradigm of Slfi Alienation

Bibliosraphy of Worhs CitedIndex

Preface and Acknowledgements

This book attempts to lift the "veil" to which Fitzgerald'sparaphrase of the Rabaiyat of Omar Kho1yam alludes, at leastinsofar as it may be referred to th€ arena of snfi ritual. Itexamines both the sph€r€ of mainstr€am Islamic ritual, asartiorlated prirnarily n the arhnn, and the more arcane andlesser kno*'n 6eld of ritual h ta;awuuf. The book makescomparisons both within Aar al Islon and between thattradition and th€ rituals of other traditions. It neither attemptsro be inclusive and to cover every single aspect of Safism and itsrituals, nor to cover every single Snfi Order. Two Orders havebeen taken as case studies and in the process of examiningthem, I have exarnined their origins, rituals and practices,organisations and hierarchy, initiation pmctices and what maybe termed here their 'Rules of Life'. Particular attention hasbeen paid to liturgy as it is to be found especially in dhihr andsdmz', and the r€lated practices ol fhr, muraqaba, nuhasaba,rnird., rahta, and shba. The word "ritual" itself has beendeployed loosely but not in such a cavalier fashion, I hope, as tooffend the purists among the anthropologists. Four primary lenshave been used, for comparativ€ and analltical purposes: thoseof theology, phenomenology, antbropology and semiotics. It isthe contention of this book that the Factice of snfi ritual leads,paradoxically, to a tundamental alienation which is, nonetheless,devoutly to be wished for, at least by the ardent sufi

As always, I have incurred many debts in the writing of thisvolume. I thanl, firstly, Dr Javad Nurbakhsh, present Master ofthe Ni'matullrhi Order, for his generous hospitality to me ontwo occasions in the N;'rufidlahi Khand"qah ln London. Except

1031031231271:t0

145145

156161

175

t76t79180181

147205

S!Fi RITUAL

where I have quoted from, or referred to, his many works onSufism, he is not responsible for what is *Titten here. I amgrateful to other members of that Klanaqah, and others, whowould rvish to remain nameless, for wise advice and encouragement. The writings of Professor H Algar have proved aninvalr:able guide in walking through the veritable forests ofmaterials dealing with the Naqshbandiy-ya. He is acknowledgedin my footnotes. Finally, I thanl my wife and family for theirindulgence and patience as I completed yet another book; I angrateful to th€m for keeping me earthbound as I explored thearcane highways of snfi ritual.

Abbreviations

Ef buaclopaedia of klan, second editionEIS Shorter Enqclopacdia d Islam.lSS lumi of Sanitic StudiesQ Q*"a"RB Rule of St BenedictSOAS School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ€rcity of

I-ondon

Introduction

There was a Dmr to which I found no Key:Th"ft w a V.il pdst which | ..uld nor se(Some little talk awbne of I{E &d THEEThcre s€@ d md lho no more or THI- t "nd \le

Even after the achievement of the scholar,sufi Abu Hamid alGhazal (1058 1111) in'largely removing th€ tension betweenSuEsm and the "Islamic sciences"'.2 diverse other Muslimscholars have continued to view Sufism with the deepestsuspicion.i The 'dama" have frequently pitt€d themselvesagainst the sufi shaykhs and pirs, each group often seekingreligious conhol, power and authority by virtue of bookish orgnostic learning.a Professor Michael Gilsenan, while doingresearch on the safi mystical brotherhoods in Eg}pt between1964 and 1966 was assured by shaykhs at the Azhar Universityin Cairo 'that these brotherhoods had nothing to do with Islamat all and dnt [he] was not only v/asting lhisl time but giving afalse impression of what the true religion is.'j With others,suspicion has given way to a bemused, and perhaps surface,tolerance. As Ronald Eyre put it in his book On the LongSearch: 'The orthodox N{uslim community, after a great scholararose to allay their more extravagant fears lsurely a reference toal-Ghazali?1, appear to have accep@d the solitary quest, butonly as an extension of commudty worship. Anci they are alertfor signs of morbid inwardness in those who undertake it.'6

The suspicion from mainstrcam Islam comes in manv formsas do the s-nfi orders themselves- In the course of Islamic historygnfts hav€ app€ared in nearly every corner of the globe wherethe message of Islam has been preached; indeed, they were

5[f i r { r rL\LIs*TRODUcTIo\

often responsible for bringing that message to what had beennon-Islamic lands, in the first place.

This book suneys different manifestations of the ritualaspects of Sunsm, taking two major Orders as case studies_While the state of Sufism in contemporary Britain is not itsprimary focus, there will be some references to the British sceneby way of illustration. Arrd since ntual is the principal ropos,sali spiituality in its diverse aspects such as states (ahual) andstations (mdqarnat),7 vhile occasionally touched upon, will notbe explored in great depth or detail. It witt be instructive to notein passing the manifold sources of alienation, catalvsts forcharge and reasons for rhe reinfor.emenr of soiritual iJenritv

The phenomenon of religious chalge ; response to a ne*culture is by no means a new one. Indeed, as George Chryssidesstresses, 'when a religion migrates from one culture to another,quite radical changes often occur. 3 He cites the examole of themove of Buddhism to arers like Ctuna, Tibct and Japan wherethe religion assumed a rather different form from traditionalTheravada Buddhism and he asks: 'Did the tust TibetanBuddhists fail to notice the plethora of deities, esoteric ritualsand supernatura.l beings which were introduced into Bud-dhism's world view?'e Chryssides identifies three potentiallvproblematic areas where odapration may be required oiadherents of an immigrant religion: dependence on the nativepopulation, ritual practice and discrimination.'0 (lt is, of course.the second area that will concern us most in this book). Theoutcome may be apostasy, adaptation or accommodation, or,finally, ar insistence 'on raaining [a] fully distinctive identifu'r1Chryssides characterises the last response as 'renewed vieour'.1:Such remarl. ar-e of inreresr boih when we conside' rhtrole ofIslam within an'alien'society and the role of Su6sm within thesociety of Islam.

The role of Islam in Britain, its impact on British society andthe problems of culture-clash which have sometimes manifestedthemselves, have all been dealt with in a varietv of oublica-r ions 'Such maners wi l l nor be covered here asan in anvdepth. W}lar is worth stressrng, however, is rhai white thepnctice of Snfism in the Islarnic world is a miDorirv activitv

within a cornmunity or communities which still adhere to thesame basic faith syst€m, the practice of Slfrsm in a state likeBritain is a minority activity within a minority religion.ra Notonly can there be a cutture clash b€tween Islam and otherreligions, but there is what I will cal a 'count€r-clash' withinIslam itsell b€tween diverse articulations of that faith, some ofthem mutually hostile.

There is, then, scope for feelings of the profoundestalienationrt and isolation resulting from disparagement by alocal Muslim populace 16 and a largely uncomprehending non,Muslirn milieu. Such feelings have the pot€ntial to bond snficommrmities more closely together but also to pressurise theminto changing, reforming or even diverging from the classicalrituals and structures of their origins.

Srome of the adherents of Islam in Britain in the very lat€twentieth century exhibited attitudes akin to those cited earlierby Gilsenan and Eyre- Reviewing Cyril Glass6's Concisebqclopaedia of klom,17 Dr Hesham El Essauy had this to say:

Like moy conve.ts from the excessively materialistic society inthe West, trtr Glass6 s€€ms Dor€ attracted to the excessivelysp;itual mysticism of Sufism. In fact, the book reads mor€ like altr4o's Wlo of the SuG world thd eything else. I hau aproblen with Slafffi: ffi. can mjor the 6p, tut the higher yt fl1,th. nwe detuhed rot get Jron the yound.l8

Dr El-Essawy goes on to stress that 'the thing is that Islam isreally a political, religious and socio economic system whosebusiness is not just the establishment of physical or spiritualrituals, but .ather worship through living a good life.'le This,indeed, reflects more closely the ideal of Muslims the worldover whos€ path or goal, by and large, is not a sufi quest endingin mystical union with the Divine. And the majority ofMuslims in Britain, as elsewhere, ar:e not srlfis.

Many Muslims settled in the UK, however, ofter\ rcluctantlJshar€ the sense of detachment or alienation characteristic oland beloved by, the snf/o, feelings which are neith€r chosen normjoyed but which arise from a variety of circumstances overwhich the lvluslim may have littl€ or no control. He may 6nd

SUfi RITU L INTRUDUCTION

that in British society he or she is ar1 involuntary practitioner of'solitude in a crowd'.r1 A-rrd while for the s'1fi, as for a Plotinusor a.n Augustine, alienation is a 'state in which contemplationand ecstasy are identical' and one where the 'human soul orspirit is elevated and reaches its goal which is the union with thedivinity'," it is hardly an exaggeration to say that th€ averagealienated Muslim youth in Britaia today does not share in sucha high-flown perception of his state. The sufi may willinglydeviate from minstream Muslim society and glory in theresulting a.lienation, but the youths of a minority religion suchas Islam in the United Kingdom today may rather perceive theiralienation as oppressive-23 Thus he or she may becomewesternised but 6nd that they are not accepted by the cultureto which they aspire and become alienated both from it andfrom their own Muslirn culture.2a

Muslims of all ages find a further alienating factor in thereality that the cultural articulation of Islam in Britain todayvaries according to ethnic origins.rt As Raza neatly puts it: 'Thecultural fabric of the lr.Iuslim comrnunity reveals an intricateweb.'26 There may, indeed, be different perceptions of thenature of Islam itself: '\{any young N{uslims in Britain areconfounding their parents by their attempts to separate theessentials of the faith from cultural or historical additions.Values cherished by parents as part of their cultural andrelieious identity are now coming under attack, not from theexpected directions of the indigenous culture, but from theirchildren who declare them to be unlslamic.'27

Other causes of alienation from either their own Muslimsociety, or non'Muslim British society at large, may includeracism, the British class system:3 and the difficulty of becomingassimilated into it, and sectarian Muslim divisions.re The latterfactor will rarely be appreciated by the native Britishpoptrlation: 'Closed views typically picture Islam as undiffer,entiated, static and monolithic, and as intolerant of internalpluralism and deliberation.'3o

Furthermore, 'closed views see total difference t€tweenIslam on the one hand arrd the non Muslim world, particularlythe so'called West, on the other. Islam is 'other'. with few or no

similarities betwe€n itsel{ and other civilisations and culturesand with few or no shared concepts and moral values. Further,Islam is seen as hermetically sealed off from the rest of theworld, with roo(s and no borro*rng or miring ineither direction.'r1

It is clear. of cours€. that while such diverse factors ofalienation may s€rve to depress and further divide, they mayalm serve as a bond to unite or bring togethd movements orgroups (like the sofi orders) which have common goals andrequire shelter from a climate of frozen alienation. A good

example of a non- suff movement akin to Sofism which provides

exactly this ki:rd of spiritual and emotional hospitality is theTabligh i lawAt or 'Faith N{ovement' founded by Mawla.naMuhammad Ilyas (1885 1944).3'?Philip Lewis st!€sses that'the

striking and innovativ€ featu.e of Tablighi Jama'at33 was itsexpectation that all Muslims should devote time to door todoor revivalist activity tidt r0o d. connibute to creating anIsla'rr.ic enuiroffivnt Its discipline, mutual service, congregational worship, prescribed study and shared activity created themovement's distinctive style of self reformation, u.dthin asLtppoltbe and egalitar;An context. Its minimalist six pointprogramme rcflcts its e$ ethos.'r{ The Tabliqh'i lamaat hasbecome strong in Britain with major centr€s in Bradford andDewsbury.35

Such groups and movemenls go some way iowards counter'ing the confusion of the older generations as they wonder ' howto respond to an emerging Muslim youth culture, a hybrid ofBritish and South Asian forms. expresqed in music. mdgazinesand local media,'36 and soothing worried Muslim Parents whofind thar the'r offspring have no hesiration in questioning. or

even rejecting, 'aspects of their inherited culture which they

took for granted as Islamic.'r7 In all these matters, institutionalSt6sm too. can bond, soothe, sustain and console in much the

sa]n€ way as the'Faith Movement'. In the 1970s and 1980sSttum remained prominent in British Muslim life, eventhough, technically, it was the activity of a minority. However,it was responsible for bringing many converts to the faith,

despire a general lack of acr ive sir f i dr ua.r"

StII RITUAL INTROTJ!:CTION

The final paradox in ajl this, which both alienates andembraces the Muslim community in Brirain, is one of identiryand nationality. lt is perhaps convenient, but false, to speak ofMuslims on the one harrd and British society on the orher, as ifthey were two ent;ely different entities- As Yasmin Ali rightlyreminds us: 'The myth of retum to one's homeland, which manyhrst generation migrants ciung to for comfort has littleaspirational meaning for most oftheir children and grandchildren. . . young South Asians in Britain are B?ir6[. Then identities,however distinctive, are British identities, and the culturai, social,political and economic contributiorx which they mal€ ro societyare fundamentally contributions to Britain and to Europ€.':r'l

We noted earlier that the principal theme of this boot is snfiritual. The theme of alienation will, however, provide a subtext, and we will reved to it especiatly in our conclusion. Avariety ol methodologies wili be employed; not leasr amongthese will be the phenomenological approach, an approachwhich was used to such excellent effect in AnnemarieSchimmel's magisterial work, Deciphering the Signs of God: APhenomenological Approach to /slanr.{o It is worth pausing here,bielly, to survey how this approach *'as used by ProfessorSchimmel although, as I say, a variety of approaches will beused in this present volume of mjne.

In Deciphering the Sigru o/ Godll Annemarie Schimmelannounced her belief that:

the ph€non€nological approach is well suited to a bert€rund€rsta.ding of Islam, especiaily rh€ modet wttrctl FriedrichHeil€rr? developed ... he tries to eDt.r into the he&t ofrel;gionby studying lirst the phenornena Dd then deeper ad deeperlayers of hurnan responses ro the Divhe until he reache thernneimost sacred core of each relig;on, the ceDtre. theNuminous, the &6 dbs.onditus .. Culti. and ritual duties roocould be interpreted beyond thei external rnpurld,c€ as srsnstowards sohetlDng higher.ll

Such an approach is eminently sujted also to th€ mysticaldimension of Islam, Stfism, with all its diverse rituals andpractices. And we do not need a model of concenrric ringsr{ ro

illustrate the truism that, for the sufi as for the non s,:fi, at theheart o{ the 'Sacred Objec.' or 'Sac.ed [ritual] Act' is the DeusAbsconditus who is, nonetheless, for the latter, closer to manthan his own jugular vein (Qur'an 50:16), and who is, for thes[fi, in addition, the desned Divine Focus of mystical union.The surface reality of the object or ritual veils a deeper r€alitywhose articulation will vary according to a Muslim's mysticai orother disposition.

Annemarie Schimmel divides her material in Decipheing theSigns of Cod into seven main areas, each covered in a singleclayxer Chapter On€, entitled 'Sacred Aspects of Nature andCulture', illustrates very well Schimmel's adopted methodologywhich is designed to lead 'ftom the external encounter of thesacred to the innermost core of religion.'at She surveys 'thephenomena of nature' which humanity has observed 'from dayto day'{6 in its working and living environment, and divides hermat€rial, neatly, into three main blocks of'Inanimate Nature',{7'Plants and Animals'{3 and'N{an Made Obiects'.{q

Under the fust heading she concentates on the elementalaspects of Nature, seeking and drawing out the religious andcultic associations and evocations of all that she mentions.References to stones inexorably provoke mention of the BlackStone in the Ka%a and that beneath the Dome of the Rock in

Jerusalem, in which the Prophet Mubammad's footprint isimpressed, as well as the stoning rituals characteristic of the

lujj. Here too, we flrd the traditional Empedoclean elements ofwhich the purincatory asp€cts of water are stress€d: water isused for external puriGcation as well as being a symbol of life,purity and purification. It is used in the ritual ablutions, foundand revered in the Well ol Zarnzatr' at Mecca ard will beenjoyed by the Blessed in Paradise with its four rivers, springsor fountains. Schimmel reminds us that both God and theProphet lvluhammad have b€en characterised as 'oceans'.io Ofcours€, another of the four Empedoclean elements is 6re, andthis is the name in Arabic siven to Hell itself, dl-Nar. In thissection reference is also made to light, arrd the famous Qur'anicimagery of light, as well as to other related ph€nomena like thesun, moon and stars and the symbolism of colour.

soFl t tTulL INTRODUCTION

Under the second heading 'Plants and Animals' Schimmelreminds us that Paradise has its special trees, the l-ote Tree forexample, and that gardens on earth are replicas or mirors ofParadise. She surveys some of the animals mentioned in the

Qur'an and refers to the Prophet Mu[rammad's liking of cats.Finally, her third heading, 'Man-Made Objects', embraces suchtopics as Islamic weaponry and armour, mnrors, pictures andgarments. With regard to the latter, Schimrnel &aws attention,intet alia, to the Prophet's striped cloak, izrda, the patchedgarm€nt of the sufi, the nuraqqa', ard the role of Yusuft shirtin St?d ylsut Schimmel stresses that'God Hirnself appears asthe master weaver and tailor, as He is the suprerne master ofeverything.'s1

The following six chapters of Deciphering the Sisn: of Godcontinue this phenomenological approach but it is nowarticulated at a less elemental level. Chapter ?'uo on 'SacredSpace and Time't2 ranges from the cave of the initial Qur'anicrevelation on Mount Hira' through the idea of rhe mosque tothe mausolea, tombs and shrines of Islam (Space); and surveysthe times of feasts and sacred months (Time), beforeconcluding with a discussion of the symbolism and sacrednessof certain numbers.

However, as Schimmel clearly recognises, Islam is a religionbased on good or right deeds as well as faith.ir There is no roomhere for a prototype Protestant justification by faith alone.Thus Chapier Three is consecrated to 'Sacred Action'.;r After abrief survey of the concept of tribal and Prophetic Sunna,Schimmel moves on to consider the Via PurEttiua, the ViaIll minatilja a'Jd the Vid Unitiva. She defines the hrst as 'thedifferent ways of purifying oneself ir one's attempt to get intouch !,'ith the sacred, the Divine, the Numinous.':i Thesecond is characterised by 'new attempts to become unified, orat least to come close to the object of devotion or the power thatis hidden in it. The simplest way is to touch the sacred objector the saintly person. tahanrhat\ for blessing's sake ... Thebeliever touches sacr€d objects such as stones, tombs or thethreshold and, most impo.tantly, the copy of the Koran . . .'s6Schimmel goes on to remind us that'certarn prachces are

8

restricted to only a segment of the believers, and are disliked byoihers. One of thes€ is the sacred dance . ..' She notes that thesama', the mystical or spiritual concert, 'was institutionaiisedonly in the lvlevleviyya lorder of Dervishes].'57 Finally, thethird and last of thes€ three daz, the Via Unr'tira, is that whichis only fully achieved'in death when the soul is hnally rer:nitedwith God.'i3

lslam as a religion is underpinned by, and founded upon, thesacred text ofthe Holy Qur'an. Thus it is entirely logical thatChapter Four of Srhimmel's book should dwell at length on'The Word and the Script'.5e Here are discussed, not only the

Qur'an and Hadith as is to be expected, but also such topics aspo€try, names, mlths, sagas, blessings and curses, ritual prayers,and the snfi dhihr or litany Of course, unless a pe$on is ahernit, he or she does not live or function solely in a vacuum.Man is part of an mna, a community of believers. Schimmel'sChoptzr Fi,e on 'Individual and Society'r'u acknowledges theintrinsic sanctity' of man's body, and stresses that 'the mostimportant 6gure with religious charisma' is the Prophet.brHowever, prophets are sent to particular groups of people and'the community of the believers is central in normative Muslimthought, hence the aversion of some Muslims to the West€rninterest in exotic figures such as Sufis and the like . . .'62 In thischapter Schimmel also surveys some of the structures andinstitutions of that community such as the four Sumi $chools ofLaw; she concludes with a brief survey of the sectarian branchesof Islam, and the Sufi Orders, noting how some have'attmcteds€veral important Western converts to Islam.'or

ln Chaptet Silr, 'God and His Creation; Eschatology',Schimmel moves her study of religious infused phenomenafrom the sublunary to the supernatural sphere. Where the 6fthchapter concentrat€d on the phenomena of earthly and earthbound institutions the sixth surveys the phenomena of theDivine starting, indeed, with God Himself, both as He isrevealed in the Qur'an and as He is interpreted in poetry andelsewhere by His creation. Reference is made to the anseloiogyof Islam, and the often terrifying details of death, judgement,

Heaven and Hell are outlined.

S.FI RiTUAL I\TROI)UCTIO\

Schimmel's Chapter Snm, the last in her book, is called'How to Approach lslam?'. It is prelixed by a quotation fromStrd 41:53 ofthe Qur'an: And we shall show them Our signsin the horizons and in themselves.'6{ This signals that here sheintends to bring to a climax or close what has flowed anddeveloped from the beginning of the book. ln other words,following Heiler, she has attempted 'to enter into th€ heart ofreligion by studying first the phenomena and then deeper anddeeper layers of human responses to the Divine' until the'innermost sacred core' of Islam is revealed.6s Schimmel's bookfrom start to finish is a masterly illustration of rhismethodology. She began with the raw elemental material ofstones and water, moved through concepts of space and time,Iooked at mar as an individual arrd a creator of institutions andstructurcs before concluding, logically, with the Creator ofmanHimself, God, and the te.rorc of the Eschatological. ForSchimmel, God's sisns have indeed been present in all thephenomena she has surveyed as well as in man himsellSchimmel suggests that it is the city that offers us a lileness ofIslam, which can be symbolized as a house, based on theKoranic expression dar al Isiam.' but she asks 'where is one to6nd the builder and owner of the house? 6', She answers with aquotation from Ruml in which Reason is compared to a mothand the Divine Betoved is like a candle. Go<t is the One whoimmolates the seeker and annihilates him, and no reason cancomprehend Him.'6t Such is, of course, the classic response ofSufism down the ages.

In this book of mine, whose subject matter is snfi dtual andpractice, with some (but by no means exclusive) reference toBritain, and whose inspiration is the volume just surveyed byAnnemarie Schimmel, I have also, like her, atrempted 'to enterinto the heart of religion by studying fust rhe phenom€na.'However, th€ phenomena which I propose to survey are not th€ston€s, water or physical and huma.n institutions which ledAnnemarie Schimmel rneluctably to the Divinity at the heart oflslam but rather those ituals and practices of Snfism whiclmight be described as the outward manifestarions of the innerspirituality of Snlism. Thus, while the Divine Object or Subj€ct

at the end is the same in both cases, the phenomena surveyed,while relat€d in some cases. are different.

In each of the two Orders surveved as case studies in thisvolume we will examine th€ organisation of the Order, itshierarchy and siisild tog€ther with the conduct ofthe snfi house,rbe bLw&qah ot 2auitt Rites arrd ceremonies of initiation willalso be studied, as will the Rul€ by which the snfis of eachOrder live their lives. The most notable aspects of the qnfiliturgy, especially the dhi&r ard sama", will be analysed. We willconclude with an attempt to linl the rituals of Srlfrsm with thetheme of alienation.

Snfi rituals may all be characterised as signsi they are thesigns ofa way of life, a tdnqd, and they are signs ofthe goal ofthat taniqa which is (iod Himsell The rituals are not practisedor undertakm for their own sake but alwavs mirror, or aredirected towards, a deeper Realiry

Thus the human hierarchy ofa sufi Order or house, with theShaykh or Nlaster at the top and the humble mund or novice atthe bottom, mirrors a divine hierarchy whose pinnacle is, ofcourse, God. And while the truly humble s':fi Shaykh wouldnever, under arry circumstances, compare himself to the Deity,nonetheless his presence in the Order or house is a sign of agreater Autho.ity. Obedience to the Shaykh or Master isobedience to God. This is powerfully and evocatively confirmedby one prominent 20th century sifi \4aster ard Shayln whoetates: 'The Master (... lit "the desired one") is a person whoguides travelers on the path of the "passing away of self inGod (fana I'llah) and leads them towards "eternal lifethrough God" lbaqa bi'llah).'63 Because of the difficulties andtemptations of the sufi path, a master is absolttely essential forthe sufi.be Rumr had this to say on the ideal Master'Disciplerelationship: 'Anyone who ob€ys the orders of the master isliberated from darkness, and becomes illuminated.'to

Ifthe human snfi hierarchv in the Order is one rnirror ofthedivine hierarchy, and an ag€ncy of salvation through the Masterofthe Order, then the silsiia, or chain of spiritual authorities, isanother such mirror. Contemporary Shaykhs or Masters todayare lid<ed to the founder(s) of their Orders and, often, to the

i0 l1

INTRODUCTION

great figures of early Islam like 'Ali b.Abi T-alib and others, by a'chain ofspiritual descent.'7r The Shaykh 'is the spiritual heir ofthe founder, whose qualities and powers become inherent inhim upon his succession. He is called shat&h as satddd (masterof the prayer-mat, or skin) .. . since he inherits that oI thefounder as symbol of his authority . . . Succession to the sojjad/lis spiritual and the shaikh was not necessarily a descendant ofthe founder though in time lineal succession tended to becomethe rule.'7']This siisiia of authorities and leaders going back to afounder mirrors, on a spiritual as well as a physical plane, theordinary link between the Creator,God arld created man: forthe snfi, a.rld indeed every \4uslim, the latter owes his veryexistence to the Former by an unbroken chain of createdancestors which began with Adam, whom tb€ Qur'ancharacterises as God's h[al& (2:30). Ofcourse, the $nft \4asteror Shaykh is in no sense a creator but, as has been emphasisedabove, he has a creative responsibility to lead the br€thrcntowards the 'errinction of selllood and worldly desires (/ar,,aland 'subsistence in God' (boqal;3

A third example of the djvine order and reality beingmirrored and articulated in some way in sufi ritual li€s in thegufi dfiibr and sanz'. The Qur'an makes it clear that one of thefunctions of the angels is to praise God unceasingiy day andnight (2:30, 21:19 20). Commenting on Strd 2:30, al-Tabarircminds us that 'all remembrance of God according to theAmbs is praise arrd prayer . . . and it has been said that praise isthe prayer of the angels.'t1

In a very real sense the snfi dirhr may be said to rnirror theperpetual angelic praise ofGod. Indeed. the Qur'an commandsthe believer to remember God often and slorify Him at dawnand dusk (33:a1 42) ir a pbrase nuch beloved by the sufis.;3N1arl has a positive duty of gratitude and prais€ to God (31:12,25 26). And the sufis articulate that sratitude and praise notonly in the dhibr but the sd'na'as well, the iatter being anextension, or extm dimension, of the former.

Marietta Stepaniants reminds us that 'the propriet! ofconsidering dhiLr 'the main means of attaining God s nearness'was upheld by numerous hddiths like l{ubamnadt 'He who

recollects God among the negligent is like a fighter in the midstof thos€ who flee, like a gree.n tree in the midst o{ dry trees.' Thel'rophet was asked what action was most virtuous. Hernswered, 'That you should be dying and your tongue shouldrecollea Allah the Mighty, the Omnipotent.' The Prophet said,'Praising Allah ... in the morning ard in the evening is betterthan erecting mosques in Allah's name or generous sacifice of

In th€ lnfi interpretation of dreams we are told that 'th€bam-owl symbolizes aspnation confined to remembrance ...rnd nightly visil and seclusion' while 'the nightingalerymboliz€s aspiration conined to love, audition (sarr') andmusic.';i Dh[r is 'prescribed by the \{aster of the SpiritualPath, in order to cure his disciples ofthe disease ofthe selfandits desires and fears i3 while sorna' 'is listening with the ear ofthe heart to music in the most profotnd sense poetry,melodies, tunes, and rhythmic harmonies while being in arpecial state so deeply plunged in Love that the.e is no taint ofrelf left within awareness.'7q

From all ofthe above statements whicl we have quoted, it isclear thai the s[fi practices of diiLr and sana' are designed touticulate a sp€cial semiotics of Love which takes its inspirationfrom the Qu'en and broadens and expounds the archetypalv€rses to manifest and expound a dgorous path towards thel)ivine Beloved for the sifi aspirant.

The two Orders whose rituals and practices are discrssed inthis book have not been chosen at random but for th€ Durooseof i l lu"trat ing a rery uiJe Jiversrtv of pro., l "" ,na ,yp".Furthermore, it is certainly not claimed that these a-re the dnbtofi rituats and, though some conclusions will, of course, bedrawn, it is not claimed that these are the onf' conclusionswhich may be drawn from a study of snfi ritual. Finally, while iti! true that the liturgical aspects of both the Ni'matullahi andNaqshbandi Orders discussed in this volume are surveyedund€r five main headings, no artifrcial nrmerical parallelismwith the five arban is intended.

Humility, poverty and asceticism are often key features in theDiritualities and vocabularies of the snfi Orders which a-re

T2 13

SUI'i ITITUAL INT(UL]t LTI!,N

frequently characterised by a lack of ostentation.so This do€snot mean, however, that the Orders have been without inlluencedown the ages. The paradigm of the Sanusiyya Order, forexample, in Libya where on Christmas Eve, 1951 .. the Headof the Sanllsi Order Sayyid Idris, son of al-Mahdi, became an

independent constitutional king of the United Kingdom ofLibya'3r is the ultimat€ proofofthat. ln Britain N€ may not€ thefoundation in 1963 by Pir Maroof Hussain Shah, u'ho arrived inthe UK in 1961, of t\e lani'dt-i Tabhgh al Idan (Association

for the Preaching of Islam). Philip Lewis has emphasised thecommitment of this Association to the spiritualit)' propagated

by leaders of the Qadiri, Chishtr, Naqshbandi and SuhrawardiOrders. 'Pir Maroof's first love,' Lel'is tells us. 'is idrduuutIslamic mysticism.'3r Noteworthy too are the activities in

Britain of the Deobandis whose founders I-ewis characterisesas'reformist suiis'83 and the Barelwis3r with their veneration

for the Prophet l{ubamrnad. and thejr srlfi stress on shrine,shaykh and intercession 3! Their Qadiri {ounder was AhmadRa-za Khan (1E56 1921). 'd

Islam today in countries like llntain manilests a lascinatingfabric of sometimes harmonious and sometimcs conflictingstrands- We note, for example, the mutual anathemaspronounced by the Deobandis and the Barelwis in the earlypart of last century and the consequent legac], of antipathy andhostility between the tu'o groups in contemporary Britain.st

Geaves has rightly drawn attention to the fact that 'the

arrival ofsubcontinent Muslims in Britain has transplanted mtothis country all the divisions and cont.oversies which havehistorically split the community in India and Pakistan.'33Notable among those disputes was that over the character androle of Sufism. The syncretic, rural subcontinental brand oftenemphasised 'popular devotion, the intercession of saints,barobha tsicl. shrines, tombs of holy men. pecular powers

and miracles, singing and dancing and. above all. theimportance of the pirlmurid relationship. -A.sian food, candles,incense, rosewater offerings, holy water and amulets are all usedin religious worship. These may be used to cure the sick. tosecure the birth of a male child. or even to protect the

uorshipper from magical forces such as evil jinn.'3e This styleof Islam has been attacked by others, especially the reformers.eo

The sufi Ordzrs as such often maintain a lower prohle.Furthermore, the extent to which they have been vehicles ofhermony and tolerance'qr rather than conflict will becomerpparent in the course ofthis volume. This may be due, in part

.t least, to the sense of unity of quest which is at the heart of

$0fism. Origins and ethos may differ; the actual a-rticulation ofcommon rituals lile the dhi[r may vary; but such fundamenta.lrituals remain in so many of the Orders, linking and uniting$em in their sacred quest.

Victor Danner puts it like this:

The dAiAr can be manifested ir a vaiety of forms derived fromthe Queic rcvelation, these forms depending on the petspectiv6 of the different Sun sch@ls, the inspirations of particularmasters, and other conditions; but this variegated mmifestationin no way dehacts from the fundmental chracter ofthe dliArConsequendy, the elements of the ranqdA remain the sme afterihe days of the Prophet, to be sure, but their amb;nations and.xprcsim .an wry fron mtlster to m6ter and em uithin theliJetitu ol o e n4srer Indeed, it would seem thai one of theimportmt functions of Sufrsm has ben to furnish theseelements of the path to its seekers in th€ .ight proportions dndin motturce uith the i?e& of ea.h gmerction.',

Notes

| (My italics) Edv&d Frtzse.ald (tns), The Rubabat of Omat(,u)aan, (London: The Folio Striery 1970), v 32. The endnotesto this first version of Fitzgerald's hanslation (on the last,.rnnunbered page) expldn lrlE and THEE' as a reference to the'mystical ddt;ne of Unity qith God.

2 W \.fontgom€ry Watt, M6lia InteUat@l: A Stud! oJ al Ghazdli,(Fninbug.ir Edinburgh Univenity P.ess, 1963), p. 179.

J see John \\blff€, 'Fragmented Univdsality: Islm and lr4uslins' Ln(ierald Paens (ed), 'Ihe Gtutth ol RelisioB Dtuersir*: Biirain JtomI94i: \tohN r, Trajiioro, (London: Routledge in association withthe Open University, 1993), p. 138.

t.l 15

5I]Fi RITlJ,\L INTRoDL(]TION

s Vichael G;lsenan, Recosnizins kLdtu: AnAnthrcpoloEits In6oducti6.(London & Sydney: CrooD Helm, 1982, repr 198.1), p. ll

6 Ronald Eyre, On the Lons Searci, (Londor & clasgow, Collins,Fount I'aperbacks, 1979), p. 1,18

7 For these terms, see the enries l*,wel and '\taqamat in lan RichedNetton, A Popular Dictiotury of Islan, (London: Curzon. 1992),pp. 24,161.

8 G€orge Chryss;des, 'Britajr's Changing Fdths, Adaptat;on in a NewEnvironmdt in Gerald I']arsons (ed), Tie crouri o/ RdlisiouDiaersitt: Britain Jtotu 1915: Valume 2: kslei, (London: Roltledgein aNociation with the Open UD;v€rs;ty, 199.1), p 5t

9 Ibid.10 Ibid., p. 5811 lbid., pp. 58 59.12 lb id. , p. 59l:l Por two rcent surveys, see \lobammad S Raza klan in Bntaia:

P6t, Prdent dnd. rhe Fftwe, (Leicester: Volc o Press. l99l) ddPh;l;p l,eeis, lslatuic Brlldin. R€ltston, Politics ard lrldt;\ dtunsBririrft Mulins Btud.Jod in the 1990s,lLoDdoD & \e\' \brk: L B.Tauris, 1994).

14 See Raza, Iddft itr B'itdin, p li L€wis, lslanic B'ir&fl. p ri15 For a discussion of alienadon in tbe context of Islan. culture-cloh

md W€sternisation, se€ Rua, isidn in Britain. pp ;t E.l !e€.leWoltre, 'Fragnented Univdsalib', pp. 156. 161, 16l. I.rq

16 For intemal divisions in the Bri*h Nfuslim conrmun,t!. *c \blffc,'Fragmented U versal;ty', p 1a2

17 lrndon: Sta.ey Int€rnational, 1989.18 (lvly italics) The Independznt,3rd l\'ta! 198919 Ib;d20 See Javad Nurbaksh, Slt Srnlokn. ilondon & \es \brk:

Khmiqahi Nimatullahi Publications, 1s87r. \i)l I rp 8t 8l21 Se J. Spencer T;m;neham, The Sul Ordzr In iJidn. roxford:

Clarendon Pres, 1971), p.20322 Nathan Rotenstreich, Alienotion: The Con ept dnrl Ik Rec.ptaa,

Philosophy of History md Cultlr€, \irl 3. (l-cidon & New Yorl: E. J.Brill, 1989), pp 3 4

23 lb id. , p. 111.24 See Raza, LLM in Btitair, pp ;7 ;9i se. also K;m Knott & S€wa

Sinsh Kalsi. The Advent ofAsian Relis'ons in .\l;sta; \{N,n (ed),Rdligior in Lee&, (Shoud: Alan Sutton, 199.1r. pp lto 171.

2s Raza, ^lan

in Drndin, pp. 1 s.26 Ibid., p. 1.27 Ron Geaves, Se.tarian Infu.nces uirhin isian in Btnain. uith

ReJetence ta the Corcerts oJ Unnah and Connurtl, . \fonograph

li.ies Comhmity Relieions Project, no s, (Leeds: Depanment ofTheology dd Religlous Stud;es, UniversiR of Le€ds, 1996), p. s9.

.ln lbid.. pp. 66 68.)'t Raza, Islan 1n Bntdin, pp. 6, 10, 11 24.Io Ru.nrn€de -frust Comnission on Brit;sh \luslims and lslmopho

l1;^. Isld^ophobia: A ChLlknse Jar LIs Ali, (London: RunnymedeTtust. 1997). S€e Phil;p I-Nis, Facins down the bogeymu oflslan',(;hlr.h Tines, .l.lth October 1997, p i.

.ll klatuphobid. p. 6.

.l,l Lewis, ^idni.

Britdi', pp. 3E :19 For the life and work of MawlanaIlyu, see lvl Anw&ul Haq, The Faith MaLenflt of MaulanaMuha@nwA Ib6, (Londor: Anen & Unwin, 1e72). Fo Tabligh.iJaMf, se€ also G€aves. Sectdridn Injrdc*, pp. 1i2 131

J.i An alternative tresheration.l{ (Mv italics) Le$is, Islamic Britdifl, p. 39 See also Wolffe,

'Fragmented Univdsality . p. 1.11..f5 trris, lslanic anam, p. 90 Note the activities in Btita;^ of lM'dt,i

Ishni (found€d by Nlawlana \lawdudi ln 1911). See the impo.tantarticle by R A Geave, 'The Reproduction of Jdat i Islmi in B.itaiD',klart nnA Chrctian M6lin Rela,im, !bl.6:: (1995), pp. 187 .210.

.16 t wis, Irlaui. Bnrdm. p. 8.

.U Ibid. See Steve Boggd & Peter Popho, 'The Arragement Tfr.lndapddat: fusdq Retitu', 21st July 1998. p. 1

J8 WollTe Fragm€nted Universality, p 155..r9 \'6nin Al;, 'ldentity and Community: Young Brnish South Asios in

fbe 1990s in David G Bosen (ed), Tn€ Sdtdni. Wra: BrdlJudRespondr, (Ilkley: Brad{ord ad Ilkley Community CoLlege, 1992),pp 6; 66. S€e Geav€s. Se.dndn lnjrmc,s, p 58

rtt Fiinburgh: Ldinburgh University Press, 1994.{l A version o{ the brief critique which follows sas lirst published as a

book .evieu in the Jarnal ot ,lp Roldl Asid,i. So.i.rrr 3 S€r , \bL.6:3i \ovember 1996), pp 418 4:01

12 1892 196;. S.himel ref€rs to his E sch einungsr{rrrun und Wrm derRelieion. (Stuttgdt: Kohihanmer, 1961)

..f \hlnrmel. Daiphcnae th? \,rru ul /1"J. pr r r $rii4 l*e ibid . pp rvi-xvii.15 lbid.. p. xiv{6 lbid., p. 2.17 Ibid. , pp . l 17.18 lb id. , pp. 17 :8.a9 lb id, pp l9 -r l50 lbid., p 85l Ibid., p .10.52 lbid., pp. 47 87.53 See, to. ermpl€, q s;,7

16 1;

5CFI FITLAL

s4 Schimnd, D..ipltdns tl. SisB oJ Gdd, pp 89 111.s5 lbid., P' 90.56 Ibid., pp. 102 103.57 Ibid., p. 104.58 Ibid., p. 106.s9 Ibid. , pp. 113 176.60 Ibid., pp. 177 218.61 lb id. , p. 187.62 Ibid., p. 201.63 lbid., p. 213.64 Ibid., p. 243; she follows the tres. by A. J. Arberry, Ihe Koar

I'ierp'erd (London: Allen & Unwin/New York: M&mille, 1971),Vol. 2, p. 191. &e Ian Richdd Netton, Ailah Trarucrn&trri Stldia irthe Sttrcbtr. a d Snioti's of klni Philosophy. Theolog udCosoloer, (Lndon & Nd Yoik: Routledg€, 1939), p. :121

65 Schmmel. D"ciphmnq ttu SicB of Co,l. p. xii66 lb id. , pp.255-256.67 lbid. p. 2s6.68 Javad Nubaksh, 'Mcta md Disiple in Javad Nurbaksh, tr rtu

Tddn oI Rdn: Sda Esays @.S1iq. (LoDdon: Khaniqahi-Nimatlllahi Publiotio6, 1978), p. 111. N'.B. Dr NurboAhsA's mfiaBqtdatim Jm Arubi. an/J Pdsian arc pr.*tud in ,he qbtat;tulron his m uuhl

69 S€e ib id. , pp. 119-123.70 Trans. in ibid., p 131.71 Trimrghd, The Srj tldes ir Is|Zn, p. 311.72 Ibid., p. 173.73 Se€ arts. 'Fma" md Baqa'' in Netton, Poplldt Di.tiotuD oJ lslr ,

pp.79,51-527,1 J. C@p€r (t^s.), The C@MtoD on the Qtr'an b! Abn la"fN

M&antud B. Jdffi dl-Tahan, (Oxford: Oxford tjniversity Pres,1989), Vol. 1, p. 225. For the Ahbi. text se al Tabut ToIfl 4l-Iabad, ed Mahmod Mu].'allnad Shekir, (Cairo, D,r al Ma',rif1960), Vol . 1, p.472.

75 S€e L. Gardet, dt.'Dhilr', EI', Vol. 2, p. 223.76 Mariefta T. St€paniants, Suj Wisdon, SUNY Series ir lslo, (,Albmy,

NY: State Univebity of New Yorl Press, 1994), p. 6l77 Javad NrbaltBh, Th. Psrcholw oJ SL/.6n, (trndon & New York:

Khaniqahi Nimatulahi Publi.atioG, 1992), p. 6i.78 ldem, 'Sulisn' in iden, In the Toutn ol Rtin. p. 7; se ale idd, In

the Patudiv oJ ile Sds, (London & New York: Khmiqahi-Ninatuliahi Pubiications, 1989), pP 29 ,18

79 ldm, 'SdM' in idd, Jn thz TM oJ Rtin, p. 321 w ate ;den, .SdSynbolim: Ttu NrrbalJsn Etut.lrpeaia of Suf TMiDl,s! (Lndon:Khmiqahi NimtuIani Publiotioc, 1984), Vol. 1,pp.9s 98,188 191.

18

INTRODUCTION

l0 Sce Ja"ad Nurbathsh, Spiritul Pole,ry in S!,€sn, (London:Khoiqahi-Nimatullahi Pubiicetion,, 1984), esp pP' 1 38. See.lsoA J. Arberry (t@s.), Discd's.s oJRrna (Richmond: Curzon Press,1993), p. 1s4. F6 th€ Persiu tat, se Jat.i al,Din Rnmi, Kirab filin Frhi, ed Badr" al Zamam hurnzanfd., 'lehe'r.. e,plh"Da Majl'..1330), p. 1,15.

ff Nicola A. Ziadeh, Sdnanldl: A Sady ol a Raitalkt Motmmt iar'bn, (Liden: E. J. Brill, 1e68), p. 124.

ae kwis, Isbnn lritain, pP. 82, 81.13 lbid-, p. 37, w pp. 89 101; se Ceaves, Seci4ror lqqkn..s,

W 141 152,159 1t-9.14 &e tsis. lslanu &riuia. p a0: S.. Cedv6 \".latua lnflw^ce'.

pp.91 12913 See an 'B&clwis in Nellon, Popub Dictionar! oJ lsldn, pp.52 5316 See tois, /siamt Brnain, p. 40.17 &e ibid-, pp. 40, 84.$ Gav6, sardnd Itrf@ces, p. 6s.tl lbid.l0 rbid.ll Tolaoce is a key fature, for exople, of one of the c6. siudies

which ;s a f€tu.e ot this tek, the Ni(natulldhi Order. md it ispowdftlly strGsed by the ddvishd of that O.de.. Iodeed, Alm A.Godla notes that 'Dr Nurba.khsh puts love ahad of intellect s theley to spiritual advd.ement (dt. 'Ni"matulahr.yah' in John L.EsPslrr (ed), The &f6d En .tclopudia of the Moden lslanic \Vorld,(Odord/New Yo.k: Oxford Unive.,ity Pr€ss, 1995), Vol. 3, p 2s2.

:12 (My italics) Victo. Dun6, The E*ly Dwelopment of Sufisn in&yyed Hcsein Nar (€d), blda; Spi;tdlitJi Foudaiioro, WorldSpi.ituality: An Encyclopaedic History of the Religious Quest, Vol.19, (l,ndon: Roltledge & Kega lraul, 1987), p. 263.

Mapping the Sacred 1The Ni'matulldhn Order

2,1 Origins

And hold fct,All togetha, by the RopeWhich God (stretches outFor you), od be not dividedAmong yourselves;And remembd with gratitudeCod's fauow d ral[nftut AllahltFor ye were oemiesAnd He joined your heartsIn love, so that by His craceYe became bredren;And ye w€re on the brinl(X the Pi of F;e,And He saved you from it.Thus doth God maleHis sig* clear to you:That Ye may be gdded.

(Qu"an 3:103)'

The founder of the Ni'matullahi Order, Nor al Dm ShehNi'rratullah Wali, was born in Aleppo on the 14th of Rabi.al Awwal 731 A.H. (A.D 1331)., His father was Arab and hismother was Persian-r The reasons why his family had movat to$ria are unlnown 'but all the early accounts of Shah,s lifereport his birth in Aleppo'.4

2l

SUFi RITTJAL

ShaI Ni'matullah has been characterised by Trimingham asa 'proli6c writer of Sutr ephemeras, both prose and ftetry,.:Rather more enthusiastica y, Javad Nurba_khsh .ff" irirn ,if,"qutb (axis) of those who realise Oneness, the b€st of thos€perfected' and 'one of the greatest rnaste$ and most renown€dmystrcs of the Sth and 9th centuries A.H. (14th and 15thcenturies A.D)' who 'bestowed fresh radiance upon the light ofSufism in his own time'.6 His eloquence was such that

When Shah Ni.natallel b€se to speakEven the ugels descended to I'sten.;

Hr, .eju611;. ' included rhe . tudv ot 6qh. rheror ic, andscholaslrc.rheosophv and rheoloqy as wel l as worls by lbn Sinaand Ibn al-Hral'r 3

- Two meetings marked the early life of Shai Ni.matullah: the

nrst may be compared in significance to that b€twe€n theyouthtul Prophet Muhammad and the Christian monl Bah[a;,the second may be compared in its huge impact to the famousencounlp, betu een lhe young lbn al Arabr and tbn Rushd inLo'dovd, " or rhdr berween Jatal dl - Drn Rr:rru and Shams al DrnMyha:'.nna9._Jabili in Konya.rrBoth these meetings in theeady life of Shai Ni'matullah wilt be adumbrated here.

^ In the fust, at the age of 6ve, the Shah was taken by his suli

father to^a,sufi meeting. The father recounted an episode at theBattle of Uhd in A.D. 625 in which live of ihe tropherMuhammad's teeth had been broken. The contempoiary hermrt,Uways aJ-Qarari. who lireJ rn rhe yemen. rmmediarety brote aJl

::: t*,1.',r

..ymparhy.. The story ctearty puzzled rhe youngNr'marull;i for there had been no rlirine Lnstru. don for thIhermit's action. However, later, Uways appeared to him thatmght n a dream ard interprcted th€ dream for him: .In love of)ouf ancestor (Muhammad) I broke the thirty teeth ofavarice forthrs^uorld and rhe next . Thus, juql as Bdlur; rdentiGed andconJumed the propherhood of \luhdmmad. so rhe five yea, olddrpamer had his own turure mission emphcised. As pouriavadyanJ wrlson remind us Like KhiJr or the Hidden lmam ofrheShi'ites, Uways is an everJiving spiritual force (atthough untikethem, he did suffer physical death); he appars in visions and

).223

IfAPPINC THE SACREI] ]

ofers initiation or help in spiritual difliculties. Thus this.rpe.ience of the five year old Ni'matullah was mor€ than achildish drearn - it was a mark of his future spiritual rank'.r3

The second major encounter of Sh,-h Ni.matullah,s early lifewas that between himself at the age of twenty four in Mecca andthe srfi 'Abdullah al,Ye6'i (1298-1367).ra Al ya6t. whobclonged both to the Shadhilr Order and the yefit bra.nch ofthe Qadirirya, accept€d Ni'matullah as his disciole,rs and laterlhaly'a.16 The accounr ofsha} Ni marutleh s ttrsi meerbe w,rhlhis Shaylh is borh porgnanr and poerrc He encounreredrl-Yafii in a mosque teaching hadith and he telts us that ,lll atonce perceived myself as a drop. and rhis man as the Oce,r, .Ni'matullah acknowledged the Shalh as his masterl3 and forrcven years he studied rasaruru/ with him.rq

Therea{tea following a tradition shared bv manv collectors of[adrth. slfis and other scholars. of rravel in search of knou tedee$hla ft lalab ol- ilm1.i Shah Ni mamllsh emb"rked on a seriesof favels, visiting, inter a.Iia, Egypt, Persia, Transoxania,Samarqand, Shraz, Kirman and M.han.?] He met, and waslater expelled by, Trmnr-i Lang.22 In Herat he married thegranddaughter of Amir Husay'n Harawi (died c 1320 13291.23The last twenty 6ve years of his life were spent between Mahanlnd Kirrrr.in and the former became the focal point of arrexpanding Order as well as the place ofcomposition ofmany ofhis writings.za While on a visit to Knman. Shah Ni.matullahdied in A.D 1431 having already designated his son Khalilu an(died 1455) as his successor.2s His cof6n was car.ied to Mahan.nd int€rred in the centre of that town_ A mausoleum was.rected over his tombr6 and this became the focus of muchpitgrimage '

By the time of his death, Shah Ni'matullah's posthumousrpiritual fame was assured. The people of Samarqand hadsought him out to such an extent that he had had to escaD€ tothe mountains rn the deprhs or wrnter for some pedce dndsolitude.2s Javad Nurbaksh quotes .Abd al-Razzaq a.l-Kirmaniwriting of him that 'his honour was outstanding among thegreat people of his time in the area of discourse and exceptionalamong the masters of spiritual combat of his dav'.re

t r iF l RrTU,lL

'I'he Ni'matullau- Order spread ro India in the life of Shah\; 'marul ieh rhrough rhe aqency of his grandson, ShahNurulldnri and, unsurprrsingly, became extremety active inIran.31 Today, blancqatu of one branch of the Order are to befound as far afretd as the citi€s and rowns ofthe United States.Western Europe (including England), Australia and Africa. It isthus no €xaggeration to say that the Ni.matullahiwa is now aninternational tdriqd wilh an inrernarional followi;; from manvrutrons.I '

It has already been stress€d earlier that it will not b€ the taskof this volume to survey and evaluate the spintualit! of theOrders under discussion. Our concern wi l t be much more withtheir ritual practices. However, we should not leave this briefsurvey of the life of Shah Ni.matullih without notine. asGraham does. rhar Sh;h Ni malu ;hs or igrnal conrr ibt t ionconsists in his making of Ibn 'Arabi's enunciated doctrine anapplied science. Where Ibn .Arabi was fundamentally athinker and a teacher, Shah Ni.matullah was first and foremosta practrtloner, a master, concerned with the zuidance ofdisciples ot rhe ranqa. Ibn 'Arabr 's reachings provided rhetheoretical background for Shah Ni.rnatullah s piog-n--e oftraining' rr

-. Il J:c9nt times stress has been placed on the openness of

Shah Ni'matullah: 'He did not consider Sufism limited to acertain group of peopl€. In contrast with other Sufi masters ofhis time, who accepted only some seekers of God and reiectedothers as unworrh), he lefr hi. door open to alt se;ke,s.instructing in the way oflove (nahahbat\ all those in whom heperceived a longing for the school of Unity. .Strah Ni.not AIIahregarded all people as beins equally daseroing anl. in need of theschool of 9l4f.srr'. He said, "All those whom the saints haverejecrrd. I willaccepr. and. accordrng io rheir capacity. I witlperiect them. J'These remark" clearly underline r}e Ni,matullaii Order's stress on tolerance, frarerniry and equality aswell as service. The latter is, ofcourse, rnost apparent within rhehhanaqah itself.3s

24 25

N1APPING THE SACRID ]

2.2 Rituals and Practiccs

The 'method' of the Ni'matullahi Order has been characterisedI being symbolically bet,reen the East and the West. The latterb representative of total 'externa.l activity' and the former of'total inward attention'.36 Man's world has an inner and anouter dimension and Slfism seeks a balance between the two.$Ofism itself has a dual dimension: one which has a public facerrtd one which is much deeper and 'res€ffed for the 6lite'.37This section eyplores the rituals and practices of that publicfrce. Before we embark on this erploration, however, it is worthdtessing, with Potrrjavady and Wilson, and against Triming-lnm and Ivanow,33 that the Ni'matulle+f Order is not, andnlver has been, an aristocratic Order, or one dirccted at onlydre class of society. It may however, fairly be characterised asan urban Order.

2.2.1 Organisation an<l Hierarchy

At the heart of Ni'marullahr Sufism, and its hidden andcomplex spiritual hierarchy, is the concept of the Qrrb or Pole.Eheh Ni'matullah, among others, holds this rank.3e His poetrvhre been seen as indicar ine his revelat ion of himself .s; Qutbvhile on earth.ao In this corporeal life the spiritual Qurb ismirrored by a human Qutb and he is the Master of theNi'matullahi Order. Not only is Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh (born1926) considered to be the present Qurb of the Munisiyyabranch of this Order, but h€ is the tust 'modern' Ni'matullahiQtrt6, having gained a medical doctorate, studied at theSorbonne aad been a Professor of Psychiatry at TeheranUniversity aad Head of the Department oi Psyciiatry there. Inhim are fascinatingly reflected the East and the West, theucimt and the modern, the theological and the thmsophical.al

The Order has no doubt about the absolute need for a eoodMaster. ' Thel i teofshah Ni marul lah Wal i himsel l provrJes attcet paradigm in the shape of the young man seekinginstruction in things divine from many shaykhs until finally

STJFI RI'I-UAL

he encounter€d Shaykh .Abdulleh al yaf.i in Mecca, as we

lav1. sgel a!ove,l3 Arrd the N{aster, whose .sayings, states and

qual i r ies .should not be quesrjoned by ;h"-di" . ,pt" . i .

symbol'sed by rhe wjneseller who is a profound irnage of rhenu'shid in r he sufi vocabutary of wine. Shan Ni,matult"ah caltedtumsett (-omrnander of rhe Winesellers _r{

_ In the rr-i'matullaht Order Mastership cannot sirnply beLlaimed:,'Jr musr be anajned rhrough rraining under a perfecrmasrer. I he true masrer imurAd) is tinked ro rne spiritual chainol masrers which extends back to the propher . . the masrermust have travelled the path and come to know the path beforehe can lead orhers on rhe way'.a. paraltet wirh this is Lheposrtron oi rhe novj{e or disciple rnridr 'who witness€s in hishean rhe spLrilual beaur! ot the master and inrmedrarely falls rnlove with thi: beauty'.s Indeed, a whole etiquette or adab ofdi"ciphship' governs rhe rel,rionship between Masrer andNovrce.

'nurdJ and nu/id: and rhe unquestioninq ruture of theobedrence ro be exhibited by the laner towards rhe former isbased on rhe arrherypal Qur,;rJc paradrgm enshrrned rn rheencounter between Moses and al_Klidr.a3

, Thts

.muradtnutid rclarionshjp has been aniculared at gr€arerrength m dn essay ent ir led .Vasrer

and Disciple. by Javad)r ' i lb$ " Here the aurhor surveys rhe un;Uur"s *ru.hshould be po-ssessed bv the Masrer, rhe eur,ani. subsratum orroundalron ior Mastershp. and rhe need for a Master by aseeker or traveller. The laner poinr is elaborared ,rd"; ;A;he-adrngs uhich include reference ro rhe obsracles ainddiflculties of the journey, the disease of self, gUa** tf,r""gispiritual sbres ,nd wirnessmgs and the desrrucrion of the ego.. lne

es$y concludes wrth a survey of the responsibi l i r ies of;heMdsler towards lhe drsciple, lisLed under niner.een poinrs. andrhe^twentv Jour duries of rhe discrple towards his Mashr..

\h.n Nr marullah desigrarrd his successor. his son K}alilullah. before his dearh'0 and the ldfer became rhe second eudol rie Ord:, I While such designarjon p,ovrdes, ds rr were. anroear pdradrgm lor rhe succ€ssion. this was nor always rhe casem rhe hisrory of rhe Order. For example, white Nur ,Ali

Shahrd,ed l7g7)and \4asr AIShahrt ;Sj t8. t7, were d"sisndkd by

26 l t -

I{APPINC TTIE SACRED 1

their predecessors,t2 'Mnnis 'Ali Sh.n U873 19531 neverrctually officially named a successor [aJId so] there was a greatdeal of confusion at his death. According to one source, thirteenFople claimed to be Qutb'.s3

This whole matter of succession blings us n€atly to the siisilaof the Ni'matullahi Order. The close relationship between theNi'matullahi silsila and that of the Shadhiliyya Order has beenooted. It is believed by some that these two Orders are among aminority which have 'spread to the West in recent years in anruthentic and unaduiterated nanner'.sa Shah Ni'matullahWalr traced his silsila back through his own master Shaykh'Abdullah al-Ya6'i and his master, Shaykh Selih Barbad,through such luminaries as Ahmad al-chazali, al Junaydsl-Baghdadi, and al-Hasan al Basri to'Ali b. Abi T:lib andthe Prophet Muhammad himsellss The present head of theMnnisirya branch of the Ni'matullahiyya, Nnr 'Ali Shah 11Dr Javad Nurbalhsh, traces his silsiia back to Shah Ni'matullah Wah56 and thus, through him, also to the ProphetMr.rhammad.

The hhandqah is at the heart of Ni'matullait spirituality anditr mystery That sense of mystery, together with a typical lackof ostentation, was well evoked by Yann Richard, after his visitto a R€nch &frandqah:

For the Ftench, Rosny-sous-Bois, m urban junction in thesuburbs of Paris, is more likely to bring road travel to mind thoShr'ite mvsticism. Neverthel€ss, that is where I have mappointment, in a hor:se that is spacious md modern, thoughnot ccessively luxurior:s, set in flower plmted grounds. Happyto hav€ rea.hed this haven after the labyrinth of freewayintelcheges, I discover the sign written in lalge leiters, in bothFrench md Persia, that intrigles the uninitiated passers,by:Houe of the Su6s, Khaneqah.e Ne'tutollahi.,?

This is a Barthian scenario where place is made sacred byaction. Akin to this is the description of the bhanaqah byPourjavady and Wilson, written in 1978, which lays an equalstress or its spiritis or mystery of place and concomitant lack ofostentation. They characterise Persia as 'the place of the

!LFi RITLAL

secret'se and r€mind rhe curious visitor that if he s€eksdervishes and sufi activity on rhe stre€ts of Teheran. a citv\r i th so many dervrshes. he wi l l f ind none. He js direcr€;instead to a door in a small alley of Old Teheran. One enters agarden, and sees roses, a fountain in a courtyard and ,a newbuildingin an ancient style': the sense ofny*ery presence an.rprofound peace is discernible from the writilq.oo

lf rhe mosque is representarive of the exiernal asoecrs otIslam then he hhanaqah represmts t}|at retiejon s innerdimen'ions which protect rarher rhan oppose rhe enemals olrelrgron.' I Enrrv into rhe Afi,ina4al should be spiritual as well asphvsical.c2 lrq enrire focus is tove in Ni.maruliah rheory,

The hhaniqah is then rhe place of sin@ty, where norhins isdr.cus"ed errepr rhe tteloved tt is rhe House of Low, wrrhourfolly, variety or dceiq where there is no difdence betwe€n ab€ggd and a kns All that .emains rhde is the selflessneas ofthe spiritual srate, the divirc Light in each man. There ev€ryonefollows the rituals ofth€ sharfah, md h6 attained vnious levelsof the tariqal. There are always false &antqarr! wh€,e falsmasters carry out their dseptioN, bur if the method of th€ truebian;qah were ever forgottdr the very hose of the world itslfwould be ruined.6r

The mediaeval and mo dern hhanasa]$ have lllustrious DroDhetic anrecedenr": Joseph s lfiana4al was r-he we : Jonan s was rhebell) ot lhe whale: Vuhammad s was Lhe Ka ba afrer he hadcleansed ir ofits idols. Muhammad then described that Ka$a as'the Academy of Annihilation'.6a There is an ;nteresting sifitypology in operation here akin to rhar in Christianitv whichsees rhe slorv ofJonah

'n rhe belly of rhe whale as a 6pe of

Chri . t in rhe romb for rhree days after rhe cruciGxion.

_ One of the principal practices of the bhanrlsah is dhib, andthe Ni'matullahi dfiiAr will be surveyed in due course. It isworth noting here, however, that life in the ifitndadl is strictlvgoverned and conrrol led. l r is nor r place of spjr i tua|indiscipline and chaos but a place of learning. Javad Nuriatlstrhas surveyed the manners, the adnb, of the Ni.matullahihhanagah in an essay eotitled 'The Rules and Manners of the

29

VAPPINC TIJE SACRED 1

Khaniqah'.6s 'these otab will be surveyed as what might b€tetmed the 'rule of life' of the Ni'matullaru- dervishes after abrief examination of the initiation ite into that Order.Comparisons will also be made between this rule and theclassic Chistian rule laid down by St. Benedict.66 Already,however, we may note interesting resemblances between the1!ff lilarrdqah and the Christian monastery in terms of purpose.nd goal. Our previous characterisatiol of the hhanaqah as aplace of love may be brielly compared with the following fromthe Prologva of the Rule of St. Bmed.ict:

Constituenda est ergo nobis Therefore we intend ro estab-dominici schola servitii. In lish a school lie monasterylforqua iistitutione nibil asp€rum, the Lord's swie. In drawins.ihil grave, Dos constituturos up its regulations, we hope tospeiamus; *d et si quid pau, set doM nothing harsh, noth-lulum restrictius, dictante ing burdosm€. The goo,C ofaequitatis ratione, propter all conccned, howevea mayeme.dationem vitiorun vel prompt us to a litde strictnessconservationem witatis pro in ord€r to m€nd faults and tocesserit ... Prcesu vao con safeguard love . .. But as weversationis et fidei, dilatato progress ir this way of [mon-@rde in€nanabili ditectionis asticl life od in faid! we shalldulcedine curritur via mmda run on the path of cod'stol:le Dei.6t commandments, our hearts

overflow;g with the ine4ressible delight of love.63

The love of God and man, and humility, which should reign inthe hhanasAh should also reign in the Benedictine monastery;the R e oJ St- Benedict reinfo.ces th€ need for these virtues in auariety of places:

Clmt nobis scriptura divina, Brothers, divine Saipture callsfra&6, diens, Omni qui se to us saying: Whoaer enhsetuItat ldnilinb'hlr et ryi se hins?IJ shal be hrnbled, andhmiliat exaltiqtut6e uhodet h|'r.bles hinself shall be

exalted.lo

Calitateh fraternitatis caste To their fellow monks theyimpendmt, amore Deurn time show the pue love ofbrcthen;

S[ 'FL AITU \L

dr. dbbalem er ro Uod lovirshumili caritate diligmt.;!

Initiation into th€ sufi life cin take a variety offorms. The ritesare more elabomte in some areas and some (Jrders than others.They can include being clothed in the lhirqa (suft ga.rment), anoath of allegiance, receiving secret words, the drinling of wateror oil, investiture with garments addit;onal to the hhirqa.al lo.arron ota personal df i ibr and orher prayers.:r

It must be stressed that the tr-i'matullahis are by no meansopposed to the exoteric aspects of Islam_ Thus, before theNi'matullalt initiation ceremony, both the non,I,{ustim andMuslim aspira.nts to the sufi path are obliged to mate a ritualadherence to Islam.;J Pourjavady and Wilson de6ne initiationas 'outwardly ... a ceremony whereby tne aspranr swears toobey the trIaster and is received into the tan-qah'.;5 Prior to theinitiation, the candidate must formulate a correct intention.t6ard then undertake five ritual ablutions as follows: each of theseablutions has an exoteric and an esoteric dimension: fustlvcome\ th? ablution oJ ppc,rdn c wirh which rhe aspiranr reoentsol pasr mi"deeds. Of rhe rhree kind. of repenranie. Lhe bes rsclear ly thar ofthe.ufr who dres ro al l thar is not Cod.: Thencomes the ablfiion of flb'rlission or lslam referred to above. Thisinvolves tota.l outq'ard a.rld inward surrender to the will of cod.Islam too has three dimensions embracing the verbal professionof fajth, 'initiation through the herrt' and firratty, that which isclearly the best, 'the initiarion tbrough the Root of the Root oflslam, which is surrender and resignation and satisfacrion *,ithboth Union and separation'.i3

The third ablution is the a.blution of spi'itl:.l,I pou'rt: in rhisthe outward cleansing mirrors the inner purity. It signifies rhe

l0 3l

NlAPIINC THE SACRED I

need for God.tq Fourth of the five ablutions cones the ablutionof pilgnmage (ie to the Master). Just as one purfies or washesoneself and puts on clean clothes before visiting the dignitari€sof this world, so one should be clearsed outwardly beforevisiting the l\,faster to receive directions for inner purificationand pilgrimage via the snfi path.3o (The Arabic and Persianword ziyArc being translated as 'pilgrimage' here by Dr.Nurbalhsh could equally be rendered as simply 'visitins'.)Finally, the 6{ih ol the five ablutions is terned the ablation offil-ltlrnent. The aspirant prays to be allowed to reach 'the Stationof the Perfect Man' and the joy of eternal life in Paradise.3i

Five gifts, symbolic of spiitual poverty, are then preparedand these are Fesent€d to the Master by the aspirant. Thesegifts comprise a coin, a white shroud, a ring, sweets andnutm€g. Each of these objects has a mystical significance: thecoin symbolises the wealth of this world arrd its presentation tothe Master symbolises acceptance of an inner spirit of poverty;the sbroud rcpresents the se€ker's total surrender to God andacceptance of asceticism; the ring signifes the binding of theaspirant's heart to God; the sweets are a sign of the second birthof the disciple as he enters the realms of spiritua.l povertyi6nally, the nutmeg is symbolic of the discipte's head which ispresented as a mark of devotion to the Master.3?

The initiation qualifies the seeker to enter the hhdna.qah andit is stressed in the literatur€ that this must be both a ohvsicaland a spir i rual entry.3' I hu., before rhe.eeler enters whar istermed 'the circle of Spiritual Poverty',3{ he is required to make6ve commitments to his Master: he must (1) undertake tofollow and obey the Sfidn'd, testifying, if Islam has not beenembraced before, with the traditional terms of tF'e shahad.o. andadding th€ furthef testimony that ''Ali is the Saint ofGod'; (2)make a cornmitment here to being kind to all God's creatures;(3) pledge himself to keep the secrets of the Path; (4) agree to6erve and ob€y the Master unquestioningly; and finally (5)male an inward declaration of sacrifice and prepare a specialmeal from a sheep for distribution among his fellow dervishes.35

TVo points may be stressed here: although, for the sake ofconvenience I have written the above with reference to men. it is

,\CFi RITUAL

clear that women are equally welcome on the Ni.matullfi snfipath. NurbaLhsh specially indicates this when he refers to .he or.he unda the headings The Five Symbols ofspirirual poverrv.ano t he rrve Uornrrutmenrs no Setondjy, rhe fad thar theprocess of initiation involves fle rituat abtutions, fza gifts andJnue commrtments, coupled with the fre major principlesespoused by dervishes of the Ni.matualtahiyya,riiodi.ut"" ihutthe number FIVE is a favourite of the Order. ihe emphasis hereis aI in ro r har placed, for exampte, bv rhe tkhwan al Sala,onrhenumber Four.s The lh-hwan exptained rhat rheir predilecrjonlor the number tour was because rhe Crearor had designed muchof His creation in groups of fours. This arrangement of thenatural phenomena mirored the four main spirilal principles9{ Creltor, Universal Inteltect, Universat Soul and primeMatter.se Some clue to the predilection of the Ni.matuallaluttor groups off?,es is to be found in The Nurbahhsh Enqclopediaof Suf Terninolog where reference is made to ,the five Lyers . .of manifestation which are the 6ve realms ...'. The lowest ofthese, we are told, is the realm of Humaniryeo Thus, for the snfi,the grouping of such things as rituals in 6ves within themrcro, o.rmrr srrucrure oI the hhhnaqah mirrors or parallels thebroader reality of rhe spirirual nranoros,n of rhe coimos.

2.2.3 Rule ofliIe

Once the aspirant or seeker has beerr initiated and gained formaladmrttance to rhe [hand4n[, it is his duty to follow the rule ofthe touse and become proficient in its manners or nlzb. Toguide them in this, modem Nilnatultdhr dervisbes have awritten mle which, though by no means as lensthy as that, forexample, of St. Benedict, does nonetheless nave some rnterest_mg points in common.

The Ni'marullehi Rule is based on the twin pilla$ ofmnsideration of God and consideration tor ones telowdervish.q The bldna4al is defined as both .the p.i te quarters,of the quft and 'a place where those of spiritual states canassemble, the school oftheir innerjourney towards perfection,.e2

32

I"IAPPIN(; THE SACRID I

Nurbalhsh reminds the snfi of the need to observe the manners

GAab) ot the hhnna4ah a\d outlines the secular and spiritualadvantages of visiting it.q3 He surveys those who have authorityin the blrdndsah and their functions; for example, the duties andquali6cations of the Shaykh are outlined. The latter must havebeen chosen by the Qrtb and be a dervish of at least twelve yea-rsstanding.el The duties and qualifications of the dervish whoassisti the Shavkh. the Counsellor. are also covered as are thoseofanother important dervish in the Hr,anaqah, the Tea-Master.ei

The Rule then moves on to survev the servitors: these aresufis of sp€cial merit and capacity for adab who are chosen toserve in the hhanaqah.'fhey merit respect from the otherdewishes whom the servitors must, in turn, serve devotedly.The lalter are not to show favouritism to any dervishes becauseof wealth or social standing.'6

Below the rank ofthe servitors are the 'ordinarv' suirs, all ofwhom also have particular duties to the bldndriah, the offrcers ofthe hhauqah and their fellow dervishes. These sofrs arecounselled, inter alia, to dress neatly, forget secular aflairs onex,te;ng the hhanaqah. attend the $nfi gatherings on Sunday andThursday nights, remain silent and respectful when the Shaykhis present and tell the latter their dreams, obey the orders oftheCounsellor and eschew arrogance, conceit and supedority.qi

Next the position of the travelling dervish in the hhanaqah isconsidered. He should bring a gift, and the gist of theregulations is that he shor.rld behave with the utmost courtesy,consideration and respect within, arrd towards, the &Aandqahwhere he is a guest and not attempt to take unfair advantage ofhis fellow dervishes.e3

The Rule concludes with instructions for the conduct of asufi gathering which is deined as an assembly which takes placewh€n the Qrrb or ShayLh is prcsent. Rules of posture, all ofwhich have a symbolic significance, are adumbrated, and arinsistence is placed on silence and concentration on God.Certain rituals also govern the cloth spread on the foor formeals and the meal which is eaten from it.ee The penultimatechapter of the Rule outlines the qualifications required ol andduties incumbent upon, the Stewards of the bh anaqah. Between

suFI RITU]\L _

:lrT iid selT o,l r.hese may be appointed by rhe Shayhi. t he

1::f:pl" ot all,is verv.shorr and appear" under rhe simptt

ruDlc Lrenerat Advice Here rhe snfr is reminded of Lhe needl::,"p*":*

trld Inendliness ro peopte who belong to allnations and ret,gions (hospirdliry ro one s fellow man;,La rheneeoDtor rhe lover to concenlrare dll fus or her lhoughrs on Godlne beto\ed rhospiral i r \ , ro one.s ( ; . r l r ran

. .'l l"-l:J"Trlu, and irsrructive. 10 (ompare alt Lhis bnefl1wirn anorher Kutp hom anorher radition, rhat of rhe mediaevin€nsirct ot Nursra tc 480 mrd or-h cmt.r Lile rhe modem Ruleor ue \r mdtu_ ahiyva adumbrared above. the Rulc of rheDmeorcrrnes is ruU ot lvildom and sheer mmmon sense for rhesuccessful nrnning and governance ofa monastc hous€ ofprayer:

as we have seen, the pmto&" stresses the p,,p""" Lf immonasrery Ir.is for rhe Lord s .ervrce alld l" .fl"_.r"riJ* f

]11,-, ." rhc comrnmrdroJ nores, .rhe

monastery rs a place

]::^: ii:ff*'Ph reafn how ro serve the Lord and adudlly(ro so.'" I he qudtjties ard duties of Lhe Abbor ur" su*"yoJ inseveral pa.rts of the Rubro2 as are those

"i f*

"*i"t "t", iilDedns ot rhe monateryr,rand the pnor.rtr rc;r.f,*

"-** rr"c.nosen everv $eek and no one is excused fiom service in rhe

i::l: "I:p,^'"j reasons. of sickness or imponanr monastery

Dusmr:ss. I he^Kdp msisrs lhar.such ser!ice incr€a*" ,e*"rd ,rdrosrers..tove.,"' Indeed, all lhe monks of the monasrery arecoumelled in rhe wavs of perfecrJon rhroughour Benedicr,sh";,nkrdlrd. lhey musr & obedientlo rher super;or.ru^ resLrajned inT,"i:p*:l "' atlenr,ve ro the Divrne uf{ice,aa and humbte in

11-lTl*'* rn au rhese areas rhen. we rnay nore very reat

Ili"-t1'.5' between rhe rwo Rulcs of Sr. Benedic, anl rher\rmrtullahis. (lr is nol, ot course, suggesred in any way rhat rhe111"'T'-Td

lrom the former. but simpty rhat rhe two Ruics,or path\ lo Ljod. hare many features in commonl.

2.2.+ Lilrrgy

The-

- \r

marul l ;hr Order, . haracter isr ica y, ,denri f ies jL,epl lncrpres wlxch each dervish should pracr ise.ro Each

"specr34

3i

MAPPING THE SACRED 1

of this frvefold obligation will be surveyed here under thegeneral heading of'Liturgy'. These principles compriser (1)Dhihr (ZeAr)r11 (Remembrance or Recollection) called 'the heartof sufi practice';rr? (2) Fib (Fehr) (Reflection or Contempla-tionl; (3) Mufiqaba (Moraqebeh) (Meditation, Watching,Spiritual Communion with a saint or a guide);r13 (4) Muhasaba(Mohasebeh) (Examination of conscience); (.5) Wird (.Vrd)(lnvocation, 'Office' of an Orderl.tta We should sbess here, inFssing, that this set of 6ve has never been intended to replacethe frve uhan.

22.1.1 Dhihr ond. Sana'

Under this heading we will consider the practice ofthe sdma'aswell as the Ni"matullahi dii[r itsell Waley notes that one of thefeatures of dfrihr 'is that it represents dndmnesis, the 'unforgetting'ofthat which, in our deepest core, we already know. Goddeated us for this purpose'-1l5 And the act of dhih can takemany different forms and styles.lr6 Pourjavady and Wilsonconfirm Waley's remarks about dhiAr: 'Ma.n's present low stateof spiritual sleep stems from forgetfulness; invocation ldhiAr] issimply the act of constant recoll€ction'.rr7 The wise old man inthe story is cit€d as insisting that 'by lep€ating his dfiihy thepupil invokes God so as to acquire God's attributes, so that afterannihilation of self all that remains is God. As the pupil settlesinto the practice ofdhi&r, it begins to 'say itself instead of himsaying it, and the rememberer becomes the Remembered'.r13

Like other rituals and asp€cts of the Ni'matutldhi hhanaqah,dhiir has its o*n rules and manners (adab). An earlier Shaykhofthe Ni'matullahr O.der, Majdhub, 'Ali Shah Hamadam (died1823)r1e specified thirteen conditions in order that the dhiArmight be properly performed.r2o Javad Nurbalhsh sets out r€nwhich he characterises as the dldb of dhihr:121 There is anemphasis on th€ ritual purity which results from the normalablutions the worshipper undertakes before the live-times a dayprayer (1). As an adjunct to this it is necessary to wear cleanclothing which constitut€s, as it were, an outer mirror or symbol

of inner purity of mind and heart (2). A third dirnension of theneed for purity, outer and inn€r, lies in the disciple smellingpleasant (3). The latter should face the qibia in the nomalfashion for prayer (4) and his or her eyes should be closed (s).Paralleling the need for risht intention in so much ofmainstream ritual, the disciple during the dhifrr should mentallyinvoke his Master's aid. The link with, and need for guidancefrom, a sufi l\,Iaster is thus brought rieht into the arena of thednihr itself (6). A specilic posture is to be adopted whichstresses in symbolic form the nothingness of the snfi and thelatter's rejection of the ego. This is powerfully articulated in abody posture wherein the arms and legs form the Arabic word'la' ('no' or'not').r']? Once again we have an outer reflection of aninner attitude of self abnesation (7). During all this the soF isrequired to empty his or her mind o{all worldly pr€occupationsand 611 it sirnply with thoughts of Cod (8) in silence (9) withgratitude and acceptance that any feelings and experiencesencountered during the dfiilr are from Cod Himself (10).

Two types ofdhi&r may be identified: Vocal' (dhitr1ab) and'Silent' (dhilr hiufr. The filst may be performed, often loudly,by snfis in their hhandqah or at a sufi gathering. It is practisedby such Orders as the Qadiri''ya.1r3 And while it is true tha.vocal dhi&r may be undertaken when the Shaykh is presentduring Ni'matullah gatherinss, or on special occasions, thepreferred mode of dhiAr among Ni'rnatullrhis is the silentvaiety.r2a Furthermore, the practice of silent dhilr in themiddle of everyday activities is much comrnended.rzi

In their book, Kings oflove, Navoltah Pourjavady and PeterLambom Wilson describe a typical dhi&r in Old Teheran.Between one hundred arrd fifty and two hundred tale part in a

'naji; on a Thursday evening. The dervishes sit during the

chanting of the snfi poetry and a simple vocal dhihr, based onthe Arabic shaiada, is performed. This is done in absolutedarkness. The dhibr ends with a prayer from the l\'{aster. As thelights go on he prays for God's guidance, help and succourr:r

Beyond tbe dhilar lies the sama', the mystical or spiritualconced. Chant has a.lways b€en permitted in mainstream Islamin the realms of the adJratl and ,4ju,td, but other forms of singing

36

I IAPPING THE SACRED 1

and the use of musical instruments have o{ten incurred the*rath of the theoiogians and rhe law schools.l2i Owen Wrightnotes that the later importance that music acquired in $rlliceremonial 'depended upon its being interpreted symbolically'.r':s Symbolic or not, the sdma'has giv€n rise to massiveconhoversy not only among non-sifts but within s,lfi circlesthemselves.l2e The debate has continued into modern times.Philip Lewis cites a notable Indian Muslim scholar as countingamong the signs of the Day of Judgement 'the abundance ofsinging, dancing and revelries' 130 Many centuries before, theearly sufi al-Hu.iwiri (died c.1075),'r' famous for his work TheDisclosrre of the Concealed (Kash/ al-Mahj ),1rr counselledagainst too much pnctice of the sano' and he laid down anumber of conditions for the pmctice of the sama" to avoidabuse: a Shayhh was to be present, only initiates were to bepresent, the dervishes were io rcmain in a state of absolutesobriety, and wh€n they were spiritually moved during thesamd' they were to avoid disturbing others who wereparticipating in the sona'.131

N{usic and the sama' became a normative part of the sufi way.The rationale for the sona'was that it produced 'a state ofecstasy in the listener who [wasl properly prepared, because itsnon verbal, non categorical meaningfulness prefigureldl theabsolute beauty which [wasl the Suli's q6al'.t:+ Here we a-rereminded of Wright's words, cited above, about the symbolicrnture of sufi music.

As far as the Ni'matullahr Order is concerned, music wasused as early as the majiliis of Shah Ni'matullah Wah but it'accorded, in his opinion, with the Shari'ah', and escheweddancing and whirling. The sarnZ" comprised a simple diribr withclapping and, sometimes, the use of the tambourine and reedflute.l3: Later Nlasters of the Order developed a wholevocabulary of s,[fi symbolism which embraced 'Wine, Music,lr,fystical Audition (Sama'), and Convivial Gatherinss'.r36Sdna'has been denned as'a mysticai state experienced bythe Sufis when affected by sweet singing and enchantedmelodies. In this state of selflessness, Sufis may exhibit cetainmovements which onlookers may suppose to be a kind of

3t '

S.Fi RITI]AL

dance'.r37 For, it is stressed, sdma. means .the realization anddiscovery of mystical states whiclr is necessarily accompaniedby th€ loss of the faculties of retention and judgement in one sintemal consciousness'. r33

ln their sdna' today, the dervishes ofthe Ni.matullall- Orderbd\e a rnajor rrearise on Lhe subject by Javad Nubal}rsh fortheir gurdance.rro Rrght ar the beginnine of tfus ir is suessed tharthe. ecstasy which is the product of the sand. is not somethingwhich is superficial, and that the sdfi dance is not pedormed foimere idle amusement.r'u Rarher. sdr.;. puts man rn roucb wirh' the dngef ic of suprasensble world rrhe Malahur).111

. Following,Shaykh Rnzbihan Baqh Shnazi (1128 1209),14,

three types ofrdnz'are idertified: that which is suitable for theordnary people, that Fop€r to the elect, and that which is forthose vr'ho are classified as.the elect among the €lect,.rr3Followins al cha2eh, tawfut and unlawful kinds of sama. are.ategorised ard rh€ rredrr"e rhen lays down twenty rules olconducl whrch musr golern rhc sd,?Z rr4 These include rheneed for sp-ontaneity, infrequent practice, the presence of a sufiMaste.r or Shaylh, lack of pretence, correct posture and a pureheart focussed solely on God. An explanation ofwhy dnilrs andpoetrv rarher lhan_vers€5 from rhe eur'an are used during rhesana' rs provided, '' and it ,s emphas,sed thrt in anangi;C asdmd 5essron, one musr consider rhe time. the place, and thepeople, takrnq par'rb Wh,iJe the pradice of .dnz, bringsunoour'red benehrs, rhere are certrin situations in which rtshould not be practised.l+7 Spa:ial reference is also rnad€ to rhemusical instruments employed in the sarna..ra3

The trearr.e lhen moves ro d lengthy exposrtion of rhe rh_reestatrons ot idmd' which are identiied as undersranding, ual(which can loosely b€ translat€d here as ecstasyl ano movemenr. ' " The kinds and terels ol wajd ate jdenLi ied andde"cnbed. rhs includes a comparison between rhe uajd ot thebegrnner ard rhe ad!anced dervish. Under rhe rubric ofMorement (Dancing), tt is noted that .sometimes

the mov€mentsof su6s in Wajd are Jike dance movements. This indicares a veryadvanced degree of Wajd'.r50 The dervish may be s&ed withyearning for God and sramp his feet and clap in the .Dance

of

38 39

\IAPPINO THE SACRED ]

Oneness'.rn True sufi dance, according to Nurbakhsh, isalways involuntary-lt2 Finally, the treatise concludes with a briefeurvey of the sami:" practices of Shah Ni'matullah Wali,1s3 atubject to which we have already briefy referred.

Although the rules goveming the sdma'specify that 'thegeneral public, or those not on the path, should not bepres€nt'1sa during the sarna', some flavour of the singing and themusicianship may be gleaned from the occasional publicconc€rts such as those mounted by th€ Nimatullahi Sufi MusicEnsemble at the School of Oriental and African Studies,University o{ London, in the evening of 5th December 1990during the thr€e day int€mational conference on ClassicalPersian Sufism entitled Tlre Legacy of Mediael)al PersianSufvn;rii and that performed by the same Ensemble, directedby Muhammad Reza Lotfi, in th€ Lisner Auditorium of theGeorge Washington University campus in the evening of 11thMay 1992 during another three day international conferencemtitled Persian Suiyn from its Origiru to Rrmi.1s6

2.2.a.2 Fihl

The Ni'matullahi dervish embraces the Divine Beloved bymeans offLr and other sirnilar practices.r5T For him the practiceoffhr leads to that form of contemplation which results inindeed is certitude about things divine.li3 Waley reminds usthat the practice of contemplation was by no means restricted tothe sifisrie and he draws attention to Abu Hamid al Ghazalt'simportant chapter on meditation (Bab al-Tafahhuil in hrsfarnous magnum opus llya" 'IJItLm ai Dm.160 In the latte.a.l-Ghazalr stresses the merits. nature and beneits of con,templative meditation, distinguishing between various types of .introspective thought.l6l He examines the appropriate subjectmatter for such refection and argues, in one place at least, thatft; is more beneficiat than dhibr.t62

As we have already noted, flr is one of the five principalpractices incumbent upon the Ni'matullehi dervish. God is theabsolute snfi focus oftiz, with the mind emptied of all else.r63

SUFi RITUAL

Sufif&r is infused with love and transcends that of the saee orinrellectual r'anf who attempts to reach God rht"ueh th"medium of knowledgerb': 'While "ratronal contemplation iswoven. heart-based conremplaiion is ro be found.rt' Theformer is motivated by reason but the latter is motivated byGod.'66 The Nilnatullahrs identify three distinct kinds of'heart-based' cont€mplation: there is the restless contemplationof rhe seeker who lacks a Master and a par-h bur beeins; rhinlabout the need for a spiritual guide; ther€ is the contemplationof the initiate who has embarked on the spiritual road in whichthat initiate perceives the Master's 'spirirual h"ty';

-rdthirdly, and 6nally, there is the fh', the contemplation of'th€Advanced Su6' in which the soul is 'plunged into the DivineUnity' and contemplation becomes wisdom.r6t From all this itis clear that, for the Ni"marulla{n dervish, the heart ranls abovethe mind, and that love is rnore powerful and more potent thanthe intellect.

2 2.a3 Mtaqaba

Waley translates nurA4aba as 'conremplative vigilance' and'contemplative watchfuiness'.163 He notes that the sufi Abn 'lQasim a.l-Qushayri (died 1072) interpreted a very famoushadtth as a direct reference m mura.qrbLl,e The hadrth is worthsummarising in full for one can then appreciate it context tlrcprofoundly sufi gloss that al,Qushayn gave part ofil in terms ofmuAqaba.

The second Uraiifz 'Umar b. ai Khattib relates how he wassitting one day with the Prophet Muhammad when they wereapproached by a man wearing extremety white dothes andhaving jet-black hair. H€ sat down by the Prophet and proc€ededto ask him about Islam. Muhamrnad then characterised, orsummarised, Islam in terms of the five pittars (artaa) of lslam.The stranger told the Prophet, to the amaz€ment of thosearcund him, that h€ had spoken truly. Then the stranger askedabout -rrnan and was told by Muhammad that this embracedbelief in God, and His ansels, books, messmgers, rhe Day of

fudgenrent and Divine Destiny (oI qa,l.ar). Again the strargerhpressed his approral of what Muhammad had said and th€nded for a definition ol or information about, illsan. He wasbld that this involved worshipping God as if you could see Him,urd even ifyou could not s€e Him, He could s€e yo.u (.n ttL'I duAllah ha amaha tafihu, Ja in lam tahlm tarahu, fa-ivahujaraha). The strdne€r's final question was about the Last Day,chancterised in this batrth as The Hnr (al-Sa"a), and the 'Signsof the Hour'. When the stranger finally leaves, 'Urnar, inresponse to a quetion fiom the Prophet, confesses his completeiSnoranc€ about the questioner and is informed by Muhammadthat it was the angel Jibn1, in disguise, who had come 'to teachyou your religion .r7o

From the p€rspective ol mwaqaba, al-Qushayri's particularinterest was in the Prophet's definition of r'llsan; al-Qushatrr saysthat 'this is an a.llusion to al' mlraqoba, for nuraqaba is therervant's knowledge of his Lord's (be He glorfied) watchfulnessof Him. Such knowledge is extmded tbrough rn'raqaba (watch

ful contemplation) of his Lord'171 Waley stresses that 'in thispessage Qushayd explains muldqabd as a mutual 'keeping watch'between the Creator and the seeker on the Sufi Path'.172

Elsewhere we leam that 'adent love' has five degrees: 'The6nal degree is "contemplation" ... of the Beloved, being thefinest and most intense of stations'.173 This quotation clearlyunderpins the spirituality of the third of the frve principles ofthe Ni'matullahi Order which the dervish should practis€, thatof muaqrbq and so we will turn now directly to theNi'matullair articulation of this principle.

In his book ln ttu Paradie o/tfie Sujs, Dr. Javad Nurbakhshintroduces the subject with the following chaiming phrase:'Mutaqebeh is two p€ople taking care of and protecting eachother The sages of the Path have said about moraqeleh that jirst

as God takes care of and protects man, so man in his heart musttale care of and protect God.'r74 This links up neatly withal-Qusha1,n's exegesis of the Prophetic defrnition of il6an in theHadnh of Gabriel cited above and underlines Nurbakhsh'sinsistence that there are two directions of mutaqaba: 'from Godto the creatioq and from the creation to God'.1ts

MAPPINC TflE SACRED 1

41

SI]FI RITUAI.

In describing the first, 'From cod to the Crcation, under thespecrfiL heading fhe Divine Moraqebeh rowards rhe Whole orCrearion , Nurbakhsh t learly espouses a form of whar is called'atomism' in mediaeval Islamic philosophy. Using thoroughtvAristotelian terminology, he holds that substanc"" only .erin;in existence by virtue of the accidents which sustain them. Thelading of the latter would mean the automatic extinction of theforme., were it not for the fact that the All_Watchful God talesc"re to create a new accident when one fades so that thesubstances are maintained in being. It is suggested that this isthe real sense of the Qur.enic verse At every momenr He ishvolved with creation'. (Q 55,20;.,tuNurbakhsh foliows this sratemenr immediately with ShaykhRuzbihan's defnition that 'moraqebeh is God'";u,"r""""" ;,r".every partjcle of the creation from the Divine Throne to thelowest phenomenon, and His overseeing of all the attributes forthe purpose of granting them qrace,.t;;

Atomism, also called Occasionalism, .was a th€ory inmedieval Islamic theotosy according to which absolutelyeverything (except cod) was made up of atoms and perishableaccldents (a",il). The theory stressed the continuou;interven,tion by God in the affairs of the world and hurnadty. It wasembraced (though interpreted in its derail in different waystby.many medreval rheotogians inctudrng rhe \ lu.razi l i re ALu-r Hudhdvl al 'Al laf tborn berueen ; j2l . t ;48lq, d,edb€tween 8.10,/1 849,/501 and rhe Ash.arite theologianal-Baqilleni ldied 10131'.r'3

The second direcrron of nwasaba tnoruq?beht. .norr. $eLredrion ro Cod. ;s div;ded inro thar of rhe Shar.r , thar orFarth and rhe Divine Voraqebeh. rhe laner being possible ontlfor Cods sainrs. " Dr. Nurbathsh conctudes rhar rhe mosrpefect lorm of conremplation for the sufi is where the lattermoves itom_ a parrJal ro a complere prception of Realiry.r3o Heqoes on to delrneare lhe physical condirrons necessarv for rryingto achieve this.

-the muruqaba should be in aa empry. unfrequenred place.perlormed m a srale of quietude. To avoid all personaldistractions one's body should be clean, comforrable and free

12 .13

\IAPPIN(] THE SACRED 1

hom smells. Stch muraqaba has its own dddb or ritual code: for?rampl€, it should be preceded by the ritual ablution, them€ditator should sit on the ground facing the qi6la, completelyrtill with closed eyes, ard the mind should be focussed entirelyon God. An attempt should be made to lose all sense ofindividuality or desire. Three particular positions are favouredfot nuraqaba and these are iliustrated in ln the Parad(e of theSufs which is both a manua.l for the novice as well as ap€rceptive guid€ for the initiate and advanced sufi. Indeed, allthree may benefit ftom muriutraba.l31 The whole object oftturaqabd, Dr. Nurbalhsh insists, is to become a stranger to thisuorld with its dualism of'l' and 'You'. God makes man die torelf and he is then revived in God.r32

2.2.41 Mthasaba

The Arabic word mlharaba comes fiom a root embracing suchconcepts as's€ttling a.n account', 'calling (someone) to account','getting even (with someone)' and 'holding Gomeone) respon-sible'.r3r lt has thus been variously rendered as 'accounting','bookleeping', and, in theology and $nfism, 'examination ofconscience'.r34 The word clearly has both a profoundly secula-r,materialistic dimension and a profoundly spiritual dimension.Waley renders the term as 'self-examination' and notes its veryimportant association with Herith b. Asad al Mubasibi ofBaghdad (died 857).135 He also reminds us of the oft quotedgdfi saying, which has been attributed io the fourth &i4lrfd "Ali,to the effect that one should call oneself to account b€foresomeone €lse lcod?l called one to accotnt.l36 Som€ years agoMargaret Smith claimed al Muhasibi as 'the real master ofprimitive Islamic mysticism ; she maintained that an examination of his writings revealed hirn to be one of Islam's 'greatestmystic theologians .rsT Al Muhasibi may also be counted as oneof the earliest, and perhaps the foremost, of the apostles ofmthdsdbd. His very name derived from his frequent practice ofexaminaxion of conscience or seli Another explanation givenfor his name, which perhaps parallels rather than replaces the

5[ 'Fi R ITL AL

latter, is 'that he did not prcnounce a single word withouthaving reflected thorougbly on it'-r33

Al Muhasibi believed that rnan's motivations in self-examination were a m;ture of hope and fear and such self-examrnation constituted the basis of godliness or pietvItd4.,{i).r30 lt $as exrremely necessay if one were to espouscthe kind of rigorous ascetical thmlogy which al Muhasiti didand avoid talti-ng inlo serious. or even venial, sin.roo lr was rhekey to the Lind of mortfication proposed by al Hasan al Basn{042 728i in which the worshipper tried ro avoid aI r}ut deh!offend Cod in word or deed by rhe hean or Lhe members oI Lhebody and to refuse all that might incur His disapproval.rqr Al-Muhas'br counselled his brerhren ro examine th" a-*," of rhei,he,rrs and purrfv them from such sins as hdte,

"itr"*"fr""*ard suspicion, dll of which devoured ones eood aclrons.iu:Such ua" al Vuha<ibr's enrhusiasm for mutrrisaba that he

wrote an entire trearise known both as Sirarh aI Ma.rifa waBadht at Nasiha tAn Eatawtnn oI lcnosrrl Knowteaae ina *tGiring of Good Ad.uice) awJ Kinb Muh*abat al Nufrs (T[eBooh of the Souls' Examhation of (bscience).1e3 In this bookthe master asc€tic provides a summary of the way in which tllemortification of self allects the soul of the ascetic, both fmm anexterior and an interior perspective and enables it to undertale aclassical meranoia- I qa

This almost obs€ssive insistence by al-Muhasibi onmuhnsaba, and its pervasive rticulation in both his life andname, has become a paradigm for other softs and sufi Orders.re5The grear scholar snf' Abn Hamid al Gha*tr himself was noexception;r'q6 and Orders tike the Ni'matullahiyya have not onlyfollowed suit but, as we have noted, rnade mrhtsdba one of their

The Ni'matullahis insist that the principle has a dearQur'anic foundation (cf. Q, 59:18) and is supported in hadrth;as we have s€en above, it is sanctioned by many of the greatslFrs in historylei Ttree kinds of muhasaba are identified forthe Ni'matullaru- dervish: that of the Self, that of the path andthat of the Divine. With regard to the fust, the snfr is advised roexamine his conscience for a few minutes every night and go

45

\IAPPING TrlI SACRED I

wer all the negative and positive deeds of the day. If the formeroutweigh the latt€r, he should resolve to make up for this thenext day. Hovever, an excess of positive deeds should not be asource of pride.1e3 Muh*aba of the Path constitutes a muchmore advanced type of self-exa.rnination in which the snfiattempts to break free of the chains of what is chamcteised as'multiplicity' and achieve a more unitive state.re' H€ shouldwalk both in the presence of God and that of the Master of theOrder or hhanaqah, and be truly aware of his promises andcommitments to both.2ft

The highest, and what must clearly be reckoned the mostsublime, form of ndasaba for the Ni'matullahl $nfi is that ofthe Divine. This is directed at the 'shaikh of the Path'. In a kindof Minor fm Princes way, the rubrics here give good and clearadvice about how the Shaykh should comport himself in termsof his differ€nt relationships such as that with God and thosewith his fellow human beings, in terms of the claims which hemakes and the awareness of his responsibilities both to God andto his disciples.

One of the best defnitions of 'fluhdsaba provided for theNi'rnatullahr dervish is that by Shah Ni'matullah himself, citedbv Nurbaksh:

Moha*beh, in the beginning, is a balancing of accountsbetween negative ad positive acts. At the end, it is th€actualization of pure Unity . . .'?01

Thus the types of mrt,asaba parallel the stages on the sufi pathitseli from the lnst hesitant steps of the murtd to the sublimegoals of fanA" and baqA'. It is recognised, of course, that thereare ahrays spiritual dangers on the path and the sufi adept willbe aware of those p€rtaining to nuhtuaba: the attempt tocorect oneself may create a veil between oneself and theDivine because one is concentnting on a being other than GodHimself.2o2 If, however, one practises muhasaba properly, onemay perhaps become one of the 'Servants of God'. For the6ufis, such servants 'rep.esent theophani€s .. . of the Names,as ones who have realised the reality of one of the DivineNames and become adorned with the realitv of that Name bv

S.FI RI l 'U,{L

way of an Attribute'.ro3 Thus the excellent and worth,,pract i l joner o[ muhixoba mav become The Servant of theXecloner I Abd al Hdsibr dnd one ro whom ( iod has grantedcontrol over his nafs, as well as over his own brcath, so"rhat heke€ps account . . . of his own nals and that of each of those whofollow him' 204

At the basis of rhjs whole mysrical nadir ion, ot course. t ies aver) srmple concepr. rhar of mal inq oneself aware ofone,s sin.and larrrngs throuqh a regular inrrosperr ive .examindt ion

otcons\rence the prdcr i .e in i ls ess€nce rs by no means uniqucto Islam although some of the more esoteric urra _ysti.utarticulations of it may be. Christian moral theology, forexample,.at rhe simplesr levels has alwavs insrsred on frequenr

oeiore the sacrament of confession and during daily evenineprayels: 0

! nr i l recenrty in manv tases. rhe Chaprer of Fautrs .at whrch,mino' . rnfr ingemenrs of the Rule. and smal l s ins, werecore\sed pubrrr ly rn monasrer ies and convenLs before rheentre community, was a regular feature of many Christianmonasbc and conventual orders.

_ A similar procedure is enshrined in the Rrle of theBenedictine monks in Chapter +6;

Si quis dm in labore quovrs,in co{luina. in celiario, jnmrnrsterro, in pist l ino, ;nhorto, rn arte aliqua dumlaborat, vel in quocumqueloco, aliquid deliquerit, autfregerit quippim aui pddjderit, vel aliud quid dcessditubiubi, e! non venims continuo dte abbatm vel congregationem ipse ultm satisfeceriiet prodjderit delictum suum

If sommne comnits a faultwhile at my work wh;leworkrng in the kitchen, in thestorercom, rn seruing, in rhebakery in the gaden, in Dyc.aft or anluhere else eith€rby breaking or losing sonething or ftling in my otherway in any other ptace, henust at once come before tbeabbot and olruunit] and ofh,s oq! acco.d admir his faul!ad male satislaction . . _ro;

Both this, and the examination of conscience noted above, arosefrom the same wellspring of desire for the purging and

1i

MAPPING THE SACRlD 1

forgiveness of sin ard striving towards perfection that we haveobserved as a characteistic of Strfrsm. It was universallyr€cognised that a major step on the path to God, whether stfi orotherwise, lay in an awar€ness of self and the capacity of thatielf to sin. Mlrftdsdbd unlocked the dools to that awa-reness.

2.2 4.5 Wid

We saw earlier that uird could be translated both as';nvocation'203 and the 'oflice' of an Order.20e Trirningham'slatter definition brings to mind the Divine Ofiice or Liturgy ofthe Hours of Christian monasticism with such set piecedevotions as Lauds, N{atins, Vespers and Compline, to namea few, timetabled into the monastic routine. However,Trirningham also provides three other defnitions: 'a phrase,pattemed devotion', a 'collect, and 'the order itself'.2lo TheArabic dictionary gives such definitions as 'specilied time of dayor night devoted to private worship (in addition to the Iiveprescribed prayers)' and 'a section of the Koran recited on thisoccasion'.2rr However, u,ird (.plural aurad) may also betranslated simply as 'litany' and, as Waley notes, 'the practiceof.eciting drrrzd, or litanies, can be traced to the teaching of theProphet, who recommended the utterance of particularformulae on different occasions in daily life'.212 Waley stresseshow many Muslims today us€ such phrases as 'Praise be toGod'and'God wi l l ing' automatical ly,2lr ar ld shows thepopularity of aural among such leading figures as Abn Hamidal'Ghazali as Sofism developed.,l{ The shorter litanies of Islamand Islamic Sthsm have much in common with the mantms ofIndian religions and the Jesus Prayer of Christianity as well asthe noranatha prayer pfuase of the latter faith.r1s Of theChristian use of the mantra, John Main has observed:

You need to know only a few things to meditate. You must bestill and in the tust few weeks le&n to str absolur€ly still as thefi.st st€p in bary absolutely still Then starr rc say your man aceaselessll continually. The mantra builds up the power in you

\UFI FITIJ lL

to kep going, aDd it is tbe matra above all that tale yourattention off yourseli that curs through *lf consciousBs ,'6

We may compare this with the advice of Muhammad ibn Suwarto Sahl ibn 'AMullah Tustarl (died 896), his nephew: 'lnvokein your heart. When you are in your nightcloth€s and turningover from side to side, and your tongue is moving, say "God iswith me; God watches me; God witnesses me."'Sahl began todo this several times a night and tells us that a sweetn€ssmanifested itself in my heaft'.rri

It is thus clear that the concept and practice of litany inSulism partakes of a great tradition practised as much by thoseof Indian faiths and Christianity. And John Cassian (c 360,135), who epitomises the meditative tradition ofthe latter faith,has been described as one who 'was admirably suited for therole of rnediator betveen Easten and Western monasticism'.2r3He profoundly influenced the Benedictine monk and apostle oftwentieth century meditation, John Main (died 1982). Thelatter 'rediscovered the Chrisrian tradition of meditation afterhe had become a Benedictine monk. But he fust learnt tomeditate from an lndian monk'.lrq

None of this is to say, of course, thar the great sufis and theirdisciples necessarily learned their tecbdques of meditation andawrdd frorn Christian monasticism, thotgh there must havebeen some cross fertilisation of prayer and other rechniquesbetween suft ard Cbristian mystics. What I am saying, simply,is that the idea of a short prayer or phrase, repeated over andover again as arr aid to self-awareness and awareness of God inmedjtation, has an antique pedigree and that Christians andMuslims participated in a common tradition.

The Ni'matullahis differ€ntiate b€r.njeen rwo disrinct tvDes orlevel. ot wird: rhe word can indicare ones dai ly 3ob and alsoone's daily prayers.'20 At a second, higher level it means therepetition at certain set times of verses from the Quian, hadnhand various phases or \r'oids. Such utd has the doubterequirement before it is undertaken of purity of heart andpermission from dre Mast€r.221 Early sofrs such as al-Junayd/died ql0) c ledr ly belrered rhat u;d was a very ;mporrant pr

48

MAPPINC THE SA(]RED 1

of Sufism, indeed an integral part. The Ni'matullahis cite

Junayd's etymology of the word sufi, which he derivesclassically from the Arabic word stl meaning wool. But it isemphasised that the thee letters which make up the word sd/each have a mystic significance and that the letter uaurepresmts, intet alia, uird, litany.",

Continuous recitation of the litany is designed to focus theentire being ofthe p,ifi on God,r'zr and Ni'matuilahrs see it as a

Qur'an inspired practice of immense sisni6cance.22a It thusranls as the fifth oftheir five major principles in what might b€described as a parallel, or suppiementary, but by no means rival,vt of arhan to the classical five of mainstream lslamic ritualpractice.

Th€ principal ritual handbook of the Ni'matullahis in theU.K., In the Pdradise of the Su,tis, divides roizd into two differenttyp€s or levels: there is, firstly, the ritual prayer of Islam togetherwith other recommended prayers; then there is the trrird of thesufi path which also sub divides into blro categories: litaniesrecited after ea& of the fivefold ritual prayers (for example,Allahu Ahbar recited 34 times), and special litanies which theMaster of the Order prescribes.223 An example which is given ofthe latter is Q 21:88 [v 87 in Yusuf Ali's edition]: 'There is noGod but Thou: Glory to Thee: I was indeed wrongl'226r-i'matullarn-s lnow *Lis DiTd as the ytnusila since its recitationenabled the release of the Prophet Jonah (Ynnus) from the bellyof the whale which represented corporeality and facilitated hisadrnission to the world of the spirit.2zt The phraseology usedhere is akin to that of the lkhw:n al-Safa' who, centuries earliertalked of humanity being 'foreign prisoners in the bond€e ofnature. dro*ned in the sea of matter . . .''?rl

I observed above, briefly, that the five ritual principles of theNi'matulalu- Dhib, Fihr, M raqaba, Mrhhaba and Wirdconstituted, in one sense at least, a kind of parallel, but notrival, set ofarlan. And if we a.e to try and view them like this,as a species of inner spnitual dimension for the more usualexoteric Islamic rituals, it must b€ stressed once again that in nosense does the Ni'matullahr Order regard their five principles as

iOFI RTTUAL

supplantlDg the 6ve mainstream arhAn. They are, rather.spintual supplemenrs, based on rhe eu,,an and desigred ror€dd the belrever rc a deeper appreciation of lslamrc piacriceNowhere In rhe votume tn rhe pamdke o/ the Su/u joes rhr:author urge a casting off of the mainstream ritual practices ofIslam as epitomised in the 6ve ar[an and elsewhere. On themnrrary. he insisrs in one place on rte."g" lr p. . fo.*ar, , * oiIne hve da y prayers'wirhout excuse in accordance \^ i th rheshan'at of lslam'.2i Here is a modern arhculatior of thatclassical Ghazalian paradigm which insisted on tull adher€nceto all

-the prescriptions of the shan.a before one progressecl to

any of the higher myst cal states_.rro\ l har is inrerest ing in r rh i r is rhat the ddd6 of

rmptemenune -each

of these princrples frequently rnvolves "comDrndrron ot menral and phvsical action. or non acrion. lorthe. suti. Lhe bodv adopts a plaroruc subservience to rhe souland, th.ough such transcending asceticism. he believes that hels on the path to union with co{t

Not€s

, ,;Vr 'l{:*,T1a, bv n Muua} yuur .\tt. nw rrot\ t2u.an Tc,t,t ta$bt@ and LmMtarr. rKutrdjr Dhd dt Salrs,t. lsSar, p I4q.ror orhe' rere,m@s jn rbe eur.;n ro nr tu! A at yc al$ e. 2:lr IZJl q58. 12.2/ .Q. la b, t8rr ' . ( - t ro 18.; , .8{ 14.( i2qo;,

Q l l 3t , Q 3r.q, Q 3s.1. o 4J t r,

tlr.\l.l,i,l u6k,:.oI ti. pdh A H6to,)_ a[ the M6ta oJ th"llrrurlrllllsuri orda. (N"* yort Khdqdlu Nrmdtural,i publurlon".,1o80r, p. 10. 5ee al$ T;mrruhJm Thc sul Gd"s in tstan,R

rur aho qtrs hF ddre of b i r rh d, , . {0 t { r0r . Na{o af i:lj.jl:* i j".": L,-Ft,,w,ron Knp. ur r,tu rh" po"t,j:y :,i,'y: ",, ""..r,,.*"Iaht

Sun orda. tmperral traio Aedemlor rn ' r rophy^.pubtrcdlron no J0 rTeherrn tmperial t rnan^cddemv .o(.

phr los,ph!, tarr , . p l { : Tc,D C;aham, .Shjh

, \ rmauudh w. l r iouds of lhe \ rmaru J!_ Suf i Ordd. h

:"-.lI: yl,-q.,:,i i. .rhp bEa, ol Mpdiawr pdsun s/fsn.' .1: : "1 " , ' : * .

Y: :k. Khd,qdbr \hdul la l r Publ ,u, ions. laq/) .p r / r : ,Jddd Nu'bdr} ,sh. ,Th. 1\haru z\ i in SeDed Ho*in \asr

.i. ,l'ml^i4'^l-r', udnte",1ntu ub,rd \p;nruJ,ry seris,i , onoon \L^t t r*s. lool) . p. la, . Atan A Codias, ar t .

50 5l

N1,\I?ING THE 5A(]RED I

'Ni'mtulLhrya!' in John L. Esposito (ed.), T[€ Oxlord EhqcloPaediaoJ the Modur Islanic Wold, Vol. 3, p 252i Hamid Alse, dt'Ni'mat-Allthiyya , EI', Vol. 8, p. 45.

3 Nurbalnsh. Motzrs oJtle Pati, p. 40; Triminghm, The Suf tirletsia Islzm, p 101; Graham, 'Shah Ni"natullah Wali, P. 173.

4 Poujavady & Wilson, Ki^ss of Ltue, p.3I n. 1.5 Tlminehdm. T[r SLh il',.llr' ,n /,lda. p 10 .6 Nu.ba.khsh, Mat's of ihe Path, p. 39.7 Ibid., P. 488 lbid., p 41; s also Pourjavady & Wilson, K;ss ol Ltue, p r4t

Crahm, 'Sheh Ni"matullah Wali', p. 173.9 See Ibn Hisham, 4l-Si'a al Ndbd,i)}d, ed. Mu*afa al'Saqqa d, dl., ('1

vols. in 2, n.p.: \Iu'assasa "Ulnn al-Qur'an, n.d.), !bl. 1,pp. 162 183. \ll Montgoh<y Watt translates this episode in hisMthtnMdat U d,loxford: Claendon Press, 1953,pp.34-38

10 S€e lbn a1 'Arabi, al FrtiLhat ol-Mahhilld, (4 vols., Cairo: Deral'Kuttt, 1329/1911), ir€p.. Beirut; Dar $ddir, !d (1968)1, Vo] 1,p. 153, cited md trans in R.WJ. Austin (trans.), Iba al'Atabi: TheB.zek oJ w$dm, Class;cs of western Spi.ituaLity, (New York:Paulist I'ress, 1980), pp.2 3; for mothe. translation of th€ sm€episode see Doniniqu€ Urvoy, 16' Rushd fA,erroet, ArabicThought dd Cultrre Series, (I-ondon & New York: Routledge,1991), p. 119.

11 See A. Bausmi, a.t. Dialal al Din Rnmi , EI', Vol. 2, p. 394; Aib€rry(hms.), Disc@'s€s o/ Ruzt, p. 6. S€e also, Jalal al-Din Rnmi, ri2tn iShatu i Tatriz, ed. & trds by R.A Nicholsn, (Cmbridee:Cambridee Univcsiry Press, 1898) = R.A. Nicholso\ Selecred Pael6

Jrm rhe Ltuani Sh/mi Tabnz, edrt€d ed trmslated with anintrdiuction, not€s md appendices, (Cambridse: Cambridge Univdsity P.€$, 1898).

12 Porjavady & Wilsn, Ki^Es of Ld., p. 1313 lbid., P' 14. S€e al$ (iraham, 'Shah Ni'matullah wali', p. 173.14 Trininghd, The Sur' (\dzrs h Islan, p. 101; Godlas, 'Ni'hatulle

hiyah', p. 252; Alga, 'Ni'mat-All.hitaa', p. 45.15 Trininghd, Tid Ss-fi G&rs itr Isldn, p. 101; fourjavady & Wilen,

Kinss oJ LM, p.15 S€e also Nurbal:hsh, Mdte$ af th. Pdth, p.411Graha, 'Shah Ni'rutullah wali, p. 173.

16 Triminshan, Tl" Su,{ atdzrs in lslan, p. 101; Nlrbakhsh, M6iers o/tfia Path, p. ,l4i Grahm, 'Shah Ni'natdbn Wali, p. 174.

17 Pourjavady & Wilson,.(ings o/Lore, p. 15; Nurbakhsh, Marters o/*ePdth, p. 42.

18 Ibid.19 Graham, 'Shan Ni'matulleh Walt', p. 174; Nurbakhsh, 'The

){imatullahi, p. 1,16.20 Pourjavady & Wilmn, Kings oJ Lne, p. 16.

S'FI RITUAL

21 lbid., pp. 16 24; crahd, Shen Ni.natuldh \L,ati, pP' 174 ff.,Trihinshm, T[e Slf On]'s i" lsldD, p. t0l; Nurbalhst, M6k s o/'hp Pdrh. pp a1 t f : \ led. Ni mar Al lahind . p. . { r

22 Tr lmrnahm. np ibfrOddsn l , I tn.p. tot iu.S,t ' " t ' V^r- . ,ythe Path, p. 4St idd., The N;matulanr"'. p. 146; poujavady &Wilson, Kinss otlo,e, pp. 19, 22; Crahu, 'Shrh \i.matulah Wati .pp. 181-182.

'J Pour jd!"d\ & Wrl 'on Krae) of Lore p 2t . Cmhd (Sh;h\ i mdrul lah Ual , p l8t q i \6 rhe dare of Heu, s d€rh d.approhhately AD 1370. See als Nubalhsh, M6te6 of the path.p 1.15 whici gives the date 6 A.D. 1329, as d@ the me author'sarticle 'The Nimatullahi', p. 146.

2'l Pourjavady & Wil$n, Kings ol Ltu, p 24.2s Ibid., p. 25; Grahm, 'Shrh Ni.matu r}l Wali, p. 185: Trimnghm.

The Suf Ordets ir Islan, p. 10126 Pourjavady & Wilsn, Kings of Lote, p. 30.27 Nurballsh, 'The Nimatullahi, p 159 n. 3i codla, .\i:marulla

hiyah', p. 252: J. Bu.ton,Pase [part ofj dt. .Ni.nat-Allahiyya , EF.

Vol 8, p. .18.28 Grahm, 'Shan Ni'natu .n WaF, p. 181.29 Nurbalhsh, Mate6 of the Path, v 17.l0 Triminghd, ne.Sz,{ Oid"rs ttr tslan, F 102r Nurba}nsh, ,V6r"r5 o/

'. 1 nminsham. rhe tuJl Gda\ n klan. p t0) \tier *etuqt_d6tnp@ing in l€Fra to' a rh'le, th? Ordn wds

'e'nrrodu.ed rheR n

_- ' ] r ' ldT l8 l !

, m'u\ , \ led N' mar Al tatu\ . ] r ' . pp. 4a. 40lr/ tot d btpt Harou' nd dest'ipridn of rhe EurotEa dxn6\ion at ll

Order, see YaM Richdd, L Isidn Chfita: &otmces et ldabcie;(Pris: Faydd, 1991), pp 69 74= idem., trbs. by Antonia Nev;Shi'ite Islaft: Poib, ldeolos ond Creed, (Odotd/Cambridge, \:Iass.Blekwell, 1995), pp. .19 s3. Se ale Nurbathsh, .Th€ N;;atullehi.pp l . ; l50 Cudls Ni 'hdtul ld lu-yJ, . p 2r l , Atgd. NimdrAl ldhiryd. p ! , . fhe d 'Btrsr brd,hes ut rhe Nituruldlu OrJe,de ;llustrated ;n a diagr@ in M6$ud Honayouni, A'llllm ro.Sa,.rQresrioro on S4Am, 2nd edn., (London: Vawtda C4ntre, 1992), p .] 1s@ also p. 28. Concming thee branche, * the rem&ls oiPourjavady & Wilson (Kinss of Ine, pP- 233 2s4) who insist thar'true s!6s should put aside th* diffeenes - not only the dwishesof the different brmchc of rhe Ni.matullahiD,ah, bor dii su6s of atlo!de6 . Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh dtutv asr6: for h jn the diffeMt snfiordF. drc jhr rhe shd' . of ."" n*

"r ' ; , t ,s rhar of to lh l

kmdness'. Rejection of a rival or orher O.dc constirutes, in effed.reie ' L ion . , one*l fac.ordinq b Ihr , pd'J 'gm { je s M6,m oi r r/2r , r Drel ,m ndD . luoldl ion/ . atrdhm in h6 .nnte Shah \ im.iultah Wali, p. 1781 not6: The faci that the im€diare sp tual

52 5J

MA?PING THE SACRED I

descendots of both Shah Ni"mtulirl ud .Ali Hmadrni turned tothe Shi'ite fold is merely a reflection of th€ fl€xibility ad tolerancesith respect to outw&d torms which they had taughr, where socialand political circumstances w€re encount€red which conpelledconfdmity to a particular nouid for the pupose of protecting tbeesmtial m€thod, th€ pusuit bd observdce of the iartqa, S€e atsoPorjavady & Witson (Kiiss o/ro!e, p. 44)who renind us that sincethe Ni'matullahis &e now more or less a Shi"ite Order th€re is thetmptatio. of *eing Sheh Ni'marullrh s claim in the framewort ofShi'ite ddtrine. tsut the fact is thai Shih was born a.d in a1lprobability di€daSunni. SeeGnalllr codlas,'Ni'matullahiyah', p. 2s2dd Alga, Ni'rEt-Auahiyya', pp.44 45.

33 Cra}lam, 'Shah Ni'hatullah Wali, p. 1883,1 (Nty italics) Nurbalhsh, 'The N;matullahi, p. 14835 lb id. , Pp. 158 159..16 I'ouriavadv & u rl.on K,nEr nr Ld,. p. l80.37 lbid., pp. 186 18738 S€e ibid., pp. 137, 152 !. 2; Trin;nehm, Ths SrJri O'de's tn Islan,

Pp. 101 102.39 Pourjavady & Wilson, Kr'nss o/ Lo!., pp 10 41.40 Ibid , p 27.4l lbid., pp. x, 1, 172; see also Nurbaklsh, 'The Nimatulteni, p. 15742 Se Poujavady & Wilen, Klrgs oJlo,c, pp :lE 1943 S€ ibid., p. 1+.{4 lbid., pp.62, s6 s7 S€e al$ lavad Nu.bakhsh, Sxf Srnbolim, Vol. 1 ,

p. lo : \b i \a i ,b dl Sulu.awdd, Kir4A ;d- ib at Vu,:di i ,diltdahh \lilson, S.hloessi.g€r Memorial S€ri€s, Texts 2, (Je.usalen: Hebrew Univ€rsity of Je.usalen, Insritute of Asid and Af.icanStudies, 1977 [distributed by rhe lrfagnes Presql, pcon.

45 Nurbaklsh, /a the Paradne o/ th€ S!,4s, p. 16.46 lbid., p. 1747 Se ibid, pp 17 18.{8 lie ibid; se ale my articte Theophdy as Pa.adox: tbn al .Arabi s

Account of al'Khadir in His F,srs al Hihan', lountt oJ theMtbiddin lbn'Atabi Soci?t]! Vol. Xl (1992), pp. 11 22

49 \{6t€. ed D6ciple'in Nurba}nsh, 1r t'tu ftldn o/Rzin, pp 110 1l:50 Poujavady & Wilson, K,nes oJ Loa., p. 29.51 lbid., p. 87.52 &r Nribalhsh, M6ters af the Path, pp. 7 ;, u, 1A9.5-l Pourjavady & Wilson, Kines of Ltue, p. 253, see also pp. 249 250.54 IHd. p. xi.55 Nubalhsh, Ma,,'s o/ the I'dth, p 13.56 Se ibjd , endpapdi ke also Chdts 1 & 2 in I,ourjavady & Witson,

Kirss of L@e, pp. 2.16 218 ad 219 251 which explain Chdt 2 S@,t@, Chapter 7 ( How did the Ndnatolani Su6 Orde. ed its vdious

SUFi RITL L

bldchs tum: hro exisrene.. ) of Homayouru. A'eh ro S@quf ioa on f l f tn. pp 18 Jl .6p. the d; ,€rd oo p. Jt , ed,\aErcID rounarddy & pets Lmborn Wilen. ,Th. D6@dut" ol

- :l+ l\j l,:rl al.wat . tstant cuttup. vot {8 I rq74r. pp 4q \;r/

^roaro. rn,''," rslaq, p 4q. idem., L,lr/dn Cli,k. p bs

58 se Lrwrsc Dureti. Spirir nl pI@. M.d maacdn Wnrla8.._

rLondon& Bodon. Faber& Fabs looq. pdpdba,k edn ls8R).p. 1;qo Pounavadv & uJsn Xins,o/ /ea p r ;860 Ibid., pp. 168 169.61 lb id. , p. 177.62 lb id. , 179.63 Ibid , p. 181.64 S€e ibid., pp. 180 18j.ri; Tn hi" b@l( in lh" tdven oJ Rhc. pp. o.{ Soa6 \ce Timorh) F^ .ed ,. RB ru80 th4 R"t" ot St BevdnLin Lannand

LnEIbii.uirr! l\;k". rcnllegev;lle. ]\trnneera The Linuguj I'RS1981) fhdeafte. refened to as RBt.

67 Ibid. , pp. 164, 166.68 Ibid. , p. 165.69 (My itdics) Ibid., p. 190.70 (My iralics) Ib;d., p 191.71 lbid., P' 294.72 Ibid., p. 29s7t see frirMehm. The Suy, O * in /sidn. pf tdl tqJ.4

:::rnalldy E wlqon, K,n3. oJ L@c. pp t;; r,8. jrvad Nurbarhsh,

.l he Rules dd Mffers of lturirrioD ,nro lhe Suh pdrh. h idem., tithe PsadGe ol the S!f!, p. 120

7; Poujavady & W;ten, Kaas ot Ln". o. 1..;s'b \urbdthsh. Rutes dnd \ t t r ;s of tn,rr l ron . p. l ro.77 lbid.. p t20- Pouiaudy & Witrcn K,n8. oi i.@ n 178/d rourF\dd\ & wrtrn, Ktngsof td. pp l : t r l io: \urbalhsh,.Rut6

Md Nlanne6 of l tunabon . p 120.79 NuJbakhsh, 'Rules ed Mamus of Initiation , p. 120; pourjavady &

wilson, ( ss o/ r4?, p. 179.80 Nurbakhsh, 'Rules and \,Ianne.s of In;harjon, pp. tlo 121:

Pou.javady & WileD, K;ss oJ Ine, D. | /-s.c Pd,rdrdd!-& W,t$n. , ( r is" n/Ldr. ; . l :s \u,ba*ish. .Ruts hd

Nranners ut lnrnahon, p L2l8' fouriar"dr & Wilson. Kns" ot Ln". p. t:s. \u,bak}'str, .Rute

dnd\4aMe," o, In i r jar ion. pp j , 121. for ,ur lha dFcsion of lhe. uncepr ol rpilludl porenv w J,vad \urbalhsh. Slinrut ptud, insuJtln. I am ds,urol br d hembo of rhc \i mdtu a.h, Order rhrr rhedllal nlmF fw hd€ ha no Dl{dt s,qnifi@.e Sep, however.\h,mmet Up, iphernS rla Srgb ot Gnd pp ;8 ;a tor th€ nuhbe.frve

54 55

MAPPING THE SACRED I

83 PNjavady & Wilsn, Kinss oJ L@, p. 179.84 Ndbakhsh, Rul€s dd Mamqs of t.itiarion', p. 123.85 tbid., pp. 123 12s.86 Ibid. . pp. 121, 123.87 :i€e Nurbakhsh, in rla Pd'atlise oJ the S!l$, pp. 27 ff.88 See Im Richdd Netton, M6lin N?oplzro6rsj An Inl:odw',oh ro the

Thoueht of th" bethrd oJ PuitJ (hhuan 61-Sdfa1, (London: Allen& Unwin, 1982; rep.. &lhbugh: Edinburgh Univcsity pr€ss, 1991a Islanic S!tu? 19), pp. 10 12

89 lbid., p. 11; se Iklwan al-gafa', R6a.il, (4 vols., Beirlt: D.r Sadir,1957), Vol. 1, pP' 52 53.

90 Nurbalhsh, S!,f S)r'r6olifl, (London & New Yortr Khdiqani-Ninatllifi Publications, 1990), Vol. 4, p. 47

91 See Nurbalhsh, 'Th€ Rules od Mmers of the Ktraniqah, in idm ,In thz Ta@f, oJ Ruin, pp. 63 86.

92 Ibid., p 65.9-3 Ibid , pp 67-69.94 Ibid , pp. 69 72.95 lbid., pp. 72 7s.96 Ibid., pP' 75 76.97 lbid., pp 76 E2.98 lbid., pp. 82-83.99 Ibid., pp. 83-8a.

100 lbid., pP' 85 86.101 RB P 165.102 l ie ib id, pP' 171 1t '9,223 225,281 285.103 lb id. , pp. 217 219.104 lbid., pp 285 287.105 lbid., p 233.106 Ibid., pp. 187 189.107 IHd., p. 191.108 S{! ;bid, p' 211.109 lie ibid., pp. 190 203.110 S€e Nubakhsh, ln the Puadse oJ the Sufs, pp 27fj idem., .The

Nimatulleh/, P' 158.111 Th€ two words under each of these live dividons ar€ hy

tresliterations of the AJabic followed by Dr. Nurbakhsh stmliteratios of rhe Pdsid wo.d6 6 the larter apped in his tnthe Pdnd;.e ol the Safrs

112 Nurba].hsh, It the Paoiise o/ rl. S!,fis, p. 29. For a extendeddiscusion of sucb concepts as dtibr dd ,l' €tc, see Muhammad IsaWaley, 'Cont€hplative Disciplines in Edty Persian Sutisn, inLeonrd Lewi$hn (ed ), Ciascal Pe'lth Sr!.fsnj F m irr Onsra rotuai, (London & Ns Yorl: Khaniqahi Ninatullahi publications,1993), Pp 497 5+8.

SLFI RIT(JAL

113 The fi6t treslatid ;s Nurbalhsh: (/tr th. pafliie oJ th. Sufs,p. 27)j th€ se.ond md thifd de Eibts provided by Trimhghm(Tle Su"il Oid"6 in rstdn, P' 30s).

11.1 Th€ tust truslation is Nurbathshk (L th. piradn oJ the SttB,__-

p-2f)ith€ eond is Trininghm s (Th. S/f OdzE ia tslm, p 313)l l5 wl lpr . ( -on.empt i t€ D,eipln6 p r0;116 lb id. , p. 509.I l7 Pourirvadv & w'len. Kine: oJ I^p p t-,1t l8 lb 'd, p 182.119 For his history, e Nubakhsh, MG,?R ,/ rhe pari, pp. 106 108.120 Poujavady & W;lsoo, K;nss of Low. De. 61-b2.l2l \urbab.h. Iathp Pdtads? olthc Sufis, Do at, J-122 lb id. pp. J6 .17 *e alrc Fis 1. p 82lzl Nubdlhsh. .ln rlrp Pdtadk" oJ th" suh,. p. r,r. 5€e al$ Trmincham.

I ne r,u/1 UtuJers tn lsLam, p 206l,,a \urbdkhsh. la thp Pa dn" ol the sufrs. p J4. iilem .The

Nimatul l th i . p. 15q125 Godld, Ni'matullrhiyah , p 2S2126 Poxrjavady & Wilsn, Kinss oJ Lotu, p l70i See at$ Richdd, Srri.ir"

rsrah, pp 50 51; ideD , L'Islam Chi.ite, pp. 70 /-t.127 &e Owd Wriglt, \tus;c in J@ph S.ha;hl & C.E. Bcwdrh (eds),

- - Tlq.lada oJ Llan, 2nd dr, (Oxford: ()dendon prs, 1974), FL 44

r28 Ibid.l20 Se Waley. Conkmplalrve llis rptres . pp. it l r/b Lew;. tsiahr

tnrara. p. 22.1n. l0130 Lewis, IsldaE Bnran, p. 223 n. 10.I I Se.an. dl .Hui" , r i in Nenon. popl tdr D.ro%rv o/ ktan. p. 106'J l Wale' nol6 Corempht i le Drf lp| ln6. p r , , l / rhar rhis wort h'rhp ediie{ ardr cun mrudl in persh . j-e Re}notd A. Nichots.

The K6hf dr.Mdhjnb: The old6t pain Ttati* on sdltu, b "Ah B.Urhn6 Al l4llabi AI Hujuin, rras. ftom the text of the Lahore edn. ,I lJ . \ \ . Crbb \ lmddlSer '* , Vot t ; rL,ndon L@.. rcpr. la70lror thp peFrb rex'. F I12.h.1. di M,1to6. ed. VA. Zbulovski.

_^^ rknrns'ad nrrdl- l lnh ltuhrdjamihx Shurds SusiyalEn. tqloJ

133 Walqr 'Contenplative D;$iplines', p 523 who cit6 N;choten;strdstahon, pp. 418 419 dd Zhotovski s edn., pp. ;44 :55.

lJr Pour i , lady & \ \dson. Kinst o/Ltu, pp : ; 58lJi Tbrd.. p. i8. sJo Nurbalhsh Se. in hjs rn th. TaM oJ Rtin.

pp.61 62.136 See Nurbakhsh, Ssf Sln otim, Vol. 1. pp x x. 123 214.137 Ibid. , p. 188.138 lbid., P' 189.lJa \urbalhsh .sa in hjs ln rhe raam of Run. pp. | .b2.110 Ib 'd. , p J2.141 Ibid. , p. 33

56 57

\,IAPPINC THE SACRID 1

142 For Shayli Rrzbihdn, w Cdl W Ernst, Rrztrhan Baqli: Mlstiismdnd the Rhetiic oJ Sointhood ii pe'Jan Slrisn, Cu.?on SuIi Senes,(Richmond: Curzon Press, 1996)

143 Nrbalhsh, 'Sama' i. his ln rne ll,m o/ R!i,, p.36.144 Ibid., pp. 39 41.14s lb id. , pp. 11-42.146 lbid., p. 42.'\47 lb;d., w. 42 43.148 Ibid , p. 47.149 Ibid., PP 48 61.150 lbid., pp 57 58.151 lb id. , p s8152 Ibid., p. 58; se also p. 60.1s3 lbid., pP' 61 62154 Ibid , p 39.155 Se Simon€tta Catderhi & Alexadra R;eb (eds.), TIe &sact o/

Me.iidaal Pdsian Sv"fsnr Fitul P'o8rdmtu * Absr'a.tl, (LondonlCmtre of Near md Middle Ectern Stldtes, SOAS ald theNimatullabi Rerch Centre, 1990), p. 6.

156 S€e P6hn .Sr|ntrm irs (riEin to Rrni: Findt Proetm* Absttcts,(Wdhington, DC.: The Ceorge Washinston Uniwtsity and theNihatullahi Res@ch C€nte, 1992), p. 7; Lryisoin (ed.), Ci4$.diPatu, Sufun. tra iL Lhsrro ro Rua, p. xiir

1s7 hwurbaLlsh, S!,ri S]r6ola'n, (1987), Vol.2, p. s3.1s8 ldm, Suj Sp*olivn, (1988), Vol.3, p. 173.159 Waley, 'Contemplative Disciplines', p. 541.160 Ibid. , P 542.161 Ibid.162 lbid., pp 543 s44.163 Nubalhsh, ln tha Para?n€ o/ rhc S,fs, p. ss.164 Ibid., pp. s4-55.165 lbid., p. 62.166 Ibid., Pp. 62 63.167 tbid., pP. 63 66.168 Waley, 'Conimplat;v€ Di$ipl;nes', p. 53s.169 lbid., pp. s35 536.170 For the AraHc, wirh English trm. of this famous hadith, the Hadith

of Gabriel, s€e An Ndtoaui\ Fortr Hadirh, trm9 by Ezzeddinrbrahim & Denys Johnson Davi6, 3rd edn , (Danas.usr The HolyKord Publishing House, 1977), pp 28 J3, no. 2. Sachiko Murata &Willid C Chittick, in their book, T e V;non oJ Istdn: TheFountat;d6 oJ Mslin Faith 4nd P'a.nce, (London & New york: I.B.Taua\. laqb, u.e ! i - had,(h as rheu rdnrng po,rr .

171 Al-Qushalai, 4l-Rsalz zl-Qshd),ntJd, ed. "Abd al Halin Mahnrrd& Malmnd ibn al-Shdil (Cano: Der al,Kutub al Haditha, n d.)

S[ FI RITLAL

VoL-1, pp- 463 464, cirdt in Walela ,Contemplative Diqptines,,

p. 536 ed n_ 88.l7l Wale) Conrempl.nve DejptinA , p sjo.17J Nurbalhsh, suf S)d6olim, Voj 2, ;. 22Ita ld€m, rn d1e Pdrddn? o/ rrr" Sufr, p 7l175 Ibid. , pp. 7J 77.176 tbid., P. 73.177 lbid. Se als Ernst, Rtsbihdn Baqh, p. 33.178 Art. 'AloDish' in Nerloa, populat Dictitul ol Isizn, p {3 j w ate

M. Fakhry, Isldnic O@6itu1;ffi dn IB C;tirye L:t'A1tu@s dnnAqrim, (London: ,{lls & Unwin, t9s8)

l7s Nubal.hsh. ]n th? Paftilsp ol th" SulB, pD ,4 ,,.180 Ib 'd181 ljee ibid., pp. 77 80.182 lb id. , p 81.183 S€e Hes Weh., A D;tioMt! oI Modaa Wntta Adh, ed. J. Milto.

Clowe, 2nd printing, (Wicbaden: Otto H46ewitz/Lndon:Allen & Unwn, 1966), p. 17s s i6dk (w Fom 3); s ateNubalhsh. ln rh. Paralr? ol thc Sufis, D u1

'84 Wehl Dnri@n oJ Modn \yriud Arahl. p t;b $ rurraabd. wal"o Nurballr"h ]n th? t'ndnse ot th! SLJB, p al

18' Waley, Conremplarrve Dre iDtine . o. 5J8l8o Ibidl8r Mneu* sm'rh. An Fa t M\:tn otBalhnad A Stunl oI Lh, L;k ann

te6 htae ut Hanth b. A"ad al .],{uh&}| A D /!lt 857- \Londan5hetdon Presr. ta;7, repr. o i IqJr edn.J. D. vu.

188 Ibid., p. 6; *e ale p 24.189 lb id. , p. 21j se alr p. 112.190 Se esp. ibid., pp. 130 131.191 Ibid. , pp. 167 168.192 Ibid., P 173.193 Ibid. , p. 53.194 Ibid. , p. 176'o c Sec Waley Conremplar i re l ls ip lnc, pp ,J8.)4]196 See ;b'd'47 Sre_\ubdlhsh. ]n the Pdndis" oJ tha S{8. pp et s6le8 lbrd. , pp q6 99,6p. qo 971q9 lbid., p 98200 lbid., p. 98.201 lbid., P' 99.202 ldo, Suf SynSolsrn, Vot. 3, D. 40.203 ldeh, S!_f Slarolim, (1993), Vol. ?. D 97_204 lb id. , p. 113.205 &e J. Dukes (rq.), The Dd;tr MisI atd Litursital Mon@I, trth

edn., (Leds: Laverty & Sons, 1960), pp. 66 67, 60. Se ate

lv{APll\C THE SACRED 1

Catzchin oI the (ntholic Chtch, (LondoD: coffrey Chapman,1994), pp. 327,396 M. 1454, 1779.

206 RB p 246.207 lbid , p. 24t-.208 Nurbakhsh, In the Paradise ol rhe Sxf6, p. 27.209 Tridnsham, Thd Slf Oda$ in Isldtu, p. 313210 Ibid.211 W.ht, Dictiwry ol Modem Wnuq Ardbit, p. 1060 sv Di'd.212 Waley, Contemplative DisciFlines, p 511.213 Ibid. , pp. s11 sl2214 lb id. , pP 512 513.215 Se Joha Main, T?re \l'oy oJ Unlnoui's, (London: Daton, Longmm

& Todd, 1989), pp. ia, 1.216 lbid., p. -13217 Fdid .1 Din 'Attd, lildfihdt' al-ADlia', ed. Muhanmad edwini,

ath edn., (Teh€rd: N{akdi, 1968), Vol. 1, pp. 227 228, trds. A.J.A.berry, Mdlin Sdr'nts and Ml,sti6, (I-ondon: Routledse & KegdPaul, 1966), p. 1s4. I owe these two references ro Waley,'Cdntemplative Disipljnes', P' 513 n. .12.

218 RB P. 57.219 Laurd.e Freena OSB, 'Int oduction D Ma;D, Tl. War o/

Uabnouing, p. x;.220 Nurbakhsh, Ia *z Pardrse otrn. ^S41is, p. 103.221 Ibid.222 ldem, Suf S]'nSoisa, (1991), Vol s, p.31.2X lden, In the Patudi. o/ t}" ^Suis, p. 10s.224 lbid., P' 104.225 Ibid., pp. 106 11,1226 Tres Yusuf Ali, Tie Holr Qlfan, p. 842.227 Nubakhsh, h tie Pa?ad;e o/ tfi. S/.fs, p. 110.228 li€ Ikhwe al-Safe', Raa'il, Vol. 4, p. 16: see also Netton, M6lim

r\eopldrdisrs, p 16.229 Nurbakhsh, /n *e PatuTise oI rhe Stfs, p. 106.230 See al-Ghazali, IIlJa'; W lvlontgomery Watt, M6tih Inte\ectul: A

Studt oJ al Gheah, p. 169.

59

Mapping the Sacred 2The Naqshbandi Order

3.1 Origins

Tbe Naqshbandr Snfi Order is one ofthe most famous in Islam.Its confidence in its o*'n pre-eminence and importance has onlyb€€n matched by its fierce orthodoxy and desire to adhere to thesftan'a as a fundamental of its ethos.r In one of his discoursesth€ cont€mporary Naqshbandr Shaykh Nazim al Qubrusi

The Most Distingdshed Naqshbmdi Order surpaits ability to educte our souls in . . . [the] highest ad very 6rtespectr of Islmic t€aching [sic] ... The Naqshbandi Ordertaches the very highest good mamers, mamers which make its{ollovers lovely to their l-ord md to all good p€ople . . . TheNaqshbandi Order o.isinat€d in tbe heart of the Prophet, mdits authority vro passed dom *rough Abu Balr from on€Mastd to ihe next in m unb{oken chain of succession reachhgnto ou. time. Sine Abu Bakr, among all the Prophet's@npMions, was the oDly on€ to rc€ive the full inner huth ofthe P.ophet's heart, the Naqshbmdi Order inherirs the fullestmd 6nest of tho* Prophetic teachiDgs .. . The 'Naqsh' Id6ign,'tafto'l of the lrcarr is Allah. Whoever wmts that 'Naqsh' onhis hedt will come to the Naqshbmdi wala It is ,he highe* wayi all rclisiottj Th. hidlest of all relici4' is kla''.' and thehishst bwl h Isldn i\ the Na.tshbandi ordet.2

Even its enemies cannot doubt the profound impact which thisearly established order has had in the development of Islamthroughout the wortd,s and not only in its development but in

bl

5.Fi RfTUAI

preserving that faitb from the syncretism into which rhe moreemotionally inclined might have led Istam.{

In view of all this, it is astonishing to note with HamidAlgar that 'no adequate and comprehensive study of theNaqshbandiya has yet been undertaken'and that 'seneralstudies of the Naqshbandrya are extremely few ; Much mon'common are the specialised studies in article form such asthose collected in the magisterial volume edited by \IatuGaborieau and others, which constitute the proceedings of thrSdvres Round Table held between 2nd +th )vlay 198aHamid Aigar, who has himself done so much invaluable lorkin the freld of Naqshbandi studies. stresses that much stillremains to be done.; This includes the establishment anJtranslation of many of the primary sources, especially thoitwritten in Persian.3

The brief study of the Naqshbandiyya whicb follows her(.by way of introduction to an analysis of Naqshbandi ritual in ,rlater chapter, is a survey of arr order in flux in the modcrrrworld, born ofa field of study which is stilt in flux its€ll 'I hLr'.while siving a general word of praise to Trimingham s The .su/rOrders in Isldm.e Algar condemns its rreatment ot itr.Naqshbandis as rsummary, lacking in analFical depth. .rrr,lmarred by factual errors.'r 0 The same author laments the lack ,na'concise biography of Khwaja Bana'ad-Drn Naqshbanda Western language.' He believes that 'this deficiencl coincrl 'witb a relative lack 6f interest on the parr of Naqshban,l,,themselves in the life of their eponym.'rr Despite this lacun,r ,ris possible to put together a very brief biography from ran,,rr.sources for introductory purposes here

Althoush K. A. Nizami relers to him as the'Founder'ot rlrNaqshbandrs,f it is better to describe or characterise Khr,rr,rBaha'al Din Naqshband (1318 1389), with Hamid .\lgar .r"the 'crystalliser' of the Naqshbandiyya in its final li,rrrr 'Trimingham, indeed, stressed: 'n-aqshbandr tradition d(r\ ,,,,rresard Baha' ad din an Naqshba.ndr as the founder oftht r,,,r4which bears his name and the lines of ascription (silsii,rr rrtarbitd) do not begin with him. ra Algar adds: 'It is panicrrlirlvdiflicult to establish why he should have becornc u €ponv,!rr.

figure, the central link in the silsila ofwhich he is a part, insteadol for €xampl€, Ghiljduwant.'ls However, as the eponym ofthe Order, he is clearly a very importa.nt {rgure.

It is possible that we know so little about him because he'forbade his followers to record anlthing of his deeds or sayingsduring his lifetime, and writings cornposed soon after his death. . . concentrate upon matterc of didactic, spiritual and moralinterest.'r6 What is very interesting is the way that Baha' al-Dinestablished his paramount role in the Order witb an insistenceon silent dhtlr and, indeed, withdrawal from those whopractised vocal dirilr. Silent diibr became the norm for theNaqshbandis although there were occasional deviationsthroughout history.lT Bahe'al Din is said to have had a visionof the six Central Asian Masters who preceded him in thedlsiia. One of th€m, Khw.ja'Abd al,Khaliq Ghijduwani (died1220) bade him practise the dlibr silently by contmst with thevocal mode performed by some of his sofi associates, includinghis immediate predecessor arrd teacher, Khwaia Amir Kulal.r3Algar suggests that this silent dir[7, so chamcteristic of Baha'rl"D:n tr-aqshband, rellects the sober character and nature ofthe Order generally. Naqshbandi observmce oegan wnereotlrers left off for th€ Naqshbandi sufi had already tamed hisaorporeality by strictly following the sfran"a.1e Baha' al Drntpnsidered that observing the flnna was 'the highest of &aramat

\ IAIPINC THE SACRED 2

the or y one worthy of the sufi's aspiration-' Sitent dhibra devout orthodoxy and a lack of ostentation.zr)

Khwaia Amir Kulal instructed him in Stfism andKhwaja Baha' al Din Naqshband was born in 1318 near

' al Din later travelled to Samarqand. where he lived for

a seve.n year stint herding animals and a similar periodtime as a road mender.,t He died in the villase of his birth.

-i Hinduwan near tsuLhara, in 1389.r, The tomb built forthere became a major focus for Islamic pilgrimage.rr

Such are the bare bones of what was clearlv an extraordinarvcombining a love for simplicity with the ability to attract the

years, and Ziwartun where his training as a mystic

of such rulers as Timur himself.2r After his death theassumed the epithet 'Naqshbandi' in tribute to the power

63

strr i RTTLAL

of his forceful spirituality. His own name of Naqshband istraditionally explained as reflecting an early crreer as a w€averor embroiderer, or one who worked in rnetal. But Algar believesthat the name has a more spiritual signficance and it was givento mark him out as a master in spirituality: one made animpression (naqsh) of the Divine Name Allah on one's heart andheld it there 6rermarendy and exclusively-25

After the death ofBaha' al Drn Naqshband, th€ Order spreadin an extraordinary fashion; only the Q.dirilya has become morewidespread.r6 As it grew it producrd a galaxy of saints and greatfigures.27 Now it is not the purpose of this book to supply amediaeval and post mediaeval hagiogaphy, so we will rder onlybriefly to the latter. However, we will suwey the spread of theOrder slightly more extensively since this is of considerablereielance to the role and location of the Order today.

Among the lurninaries of the Naqshbandilya was Khwaja'Ubayd Allah Abrar (1403 1490) who has been characterised,by virtue of his wealth and influence as being possibly the mostpowerful of the Order's many saints.23 He appears to have hadan incredible amount of land and money and yet to have woneveryon€'s respect. Evidence for the lafter appears in thecontemporary cbronicles. He even had a spiritual impact on thegreat Babur himseli2e

The interesting combination here of wealth and pietyinevitably brings to mind a later snfi Order, the Tijaniyya,and its founder Abmad al-Tij.m (173718-1815): his attitudetowards asc€ticism (zuhd), while imbued with the in&llectualand spiritual baggage of the past, was not entirely kaditional_Generosity to the poor was laudable but one was to €schew anexcess of chariry The evident luxury of Ahmad al Tijant o*,nlifestyle in Fez is attested by large numbers of Tijani and non-Tijanr sources. The procession in which he travelled to prayerwas a sight to behold.3o

The contrast between Aimad al Tiiarx and Khwaja 'UbaydAll,h Ahrer however, clearly lies in the interior attitude to wealthof each man. That of Ahmad may, perhaps, be deduced from theabove; Nizami suggests that th€ Khwdja's attitudes were shapedby an early poverty which contrasted with his later wealth; the

\ IAPPTNC 1H! SACRED 2

former allowed a developing empathy for those in need which ledhim to adopr a pract ice ofdecl ining unsol ic ired gi frs '

Another notable Naqshbandi luminary who figures promi-

nently in the Order's galaxy of Masters was Shaykh AhmadSihindi (1564 1624); he has been the subject of a majo.monograph by Yohanan Friedmann.32 Sirhindr bears theresounding title of 'Ren€wer [or renovator] of the SecondMillennium' (Musoinid i olf i thani).33 He is credited withhaving helped to a large degee in the revival of mainstreamIslam in India and the restoration of its 'pristine purity' afterthe heterodoxies, not to say hercsies, of the Emperor Akbar(1542-1605).3r One may believe with Collin Davies thatAkbar's religious policy was primarily founded on the twindictates of dynasty and politics.3s That do€s not mean to say,however, that the interest rthich h€ manifested in comparativereligion was false. He held me€tings for the discussion oftheological problems which were attended by religious scholarsfrom all the great religions in India.r6 Perceiving that ther€ wassome good in all of the multifarious religions with which he wassurrounded, Akbar was moved by his syncretic and eclecticinstincts to found a new religion, the dtn-i iiait.:r7 It was fromthe intellectual morass thus engendered that Sirhindi is creditedas having rescued Muslim India. He is also said to have beenthe inspiration behind the reforms of the Mughal EmperorAwrangzeb (1617 170i) whose devotion to the shdri'd wasrath€r grea(er than thdl of his hererodox predece"sor. '3

However, some hagiography has been at work in suci viewsas we shall shortly see.

ShayLh Almad Sirhindi was born in Sirhind, East Punjab,the son of a snfi ShayLh.3e He spent time at Akbar's court inDelhiao and became a Naqshbandr in Delhi in 1599/1600.4'Almad Sirhindi wmt on to b€come a leading Shaykh in thatOrder and a vigorous exponent of its snfi ideals.a2 In 1619, afterbeing summoned to court he was imprisoned by the Emperor

Jahangr (1569 1627) in Gwalior for a year; however, he and theEmperor were later reconciled.a3

Nizami believes that Shaykh Abmad's impact on the Mughalrulers may be judged from the way in which his descendants

65

SLFi RI ' IUAL

ffH:1T#A-"':1.j,1 "Tlft"i*r''*",'Shavkl Ahmadr

r-he Naqshband; , oa",'* ,,',"" :;li;l:i :;T",?"'::*trJ:I he dnirude of Aurangr"S. .' U."""*, lr;eamunn U"tou""lt.]d raorcdr re acsessm.nr of Shavkh {hmad Sirhind,t role dd:1:::.: 'j

requued He does nor rccepr r-har Awrangzeb.po,,oes ndo rhe,r msp,rarion in Sirhindr s works ard. indeed, h.

;i$:"1,::X'f"tTii:f :?,3H::m:;;:fl *r"";,":Ti3i:,::: ",::Jj:"1[il,,*l*-..,n":rut *:*ti:"J":fi ::ii;T:"'.,\i"T:ffil"Ti::1"il1.;*l**:rhe real Sirhindr. rhe sr; i . f iom the imagrned pol i r ical thinler. ,

ffi ";fi: ;.'_,ii1:;:I:,il:n:;; "?;iilil ;,1:: i :- i. l ,. i ],.,:

r ir, idll and neatty uirh rhe concep, or.Jd^

il{if: rri+T"ri' i Jil*ffi i: li,'"";":11'j'T j#:5il",Xlff,ilil';,:,:T,'j;:liio".",o rr'" r';.ro,v -l.

Third olr,he leadrne r'gures w[o may usetu y be consiJerechere, aner Khw4d I bavd Allai Atral dnd Shaykj, AhmaJ)1'f. l :

\hah. Walr 4,Jrah rr;oJ.i ;02r. The latrer was an

$rFl ;:l,i_if .fll,r'i i::,*i );:1H: l":,ti:'i", Tjl i : j : : l ,"

ro faci l ihte unde,dandins of the Lexr ,, rndeed,|r,;ia ,'*1,

him ds .rhe sr,ongesr personatiry, amonsll^i'

.,1::,!-:,Tf,"" of Lhe eighreenrh cenrury. .r F_ Nr;l;:'il#: ; ii:il,[i:. l::il[1 .amonq,he spiri,ua'

. r he gaduat declme of rhe MushalEmr, he, rrse ro rer i gio i","t r*,,"1 r;;;^;;e;" ;,T"ffi i';5: :]Ji"*li::i:T:rst

theoroe'ldn ac(ordine ro ^ziz

Ahmad

...l.t.13J,] Altdh was educared both rn his faLher.s nalrasa,

yll:: i" '"* ran. and in rhe Hiraz.,, He p,oduced;vu,umrnous corpus ot *ririnqs both ,n Arab,c and iersian wirh

6/ '

N1SIPING THE SACRED 2

the goal of rendering anew the whole corpus of the Islamicrimces. Slfi thought did not escape this review.56 One of hisvorks, the Ilrrdi AlLh al Baliglra,i7 has been characterised byAziz Almad as 'th€ most outsranding theological work writtenin India.'53

The Sh.h worked in the mttdrasa founded by his father formore than fifty years. Feeling himself to be the md.4ddtd of hisege,5e he worked there tirelessly, stiving to revitalise theMuslim society in which he moved and precipitating an'intellectual renaissance of the Muslims' in India.60 Hisinvolvement in Naqshbandi activities has frequently beenstress€d, as has his high snfi ra.nk in that Order,6l but it shouldnot be forgotten that, like many of the contemporary ,ulana", hewas an initiate not just of the Naqshbandrl4,a but of three othergreat Indian turuq as well the Chishtiyya, the Qadiriyya ardthe Sufuawardiyya.62

The contribution of his thought, and its role in theintellectual development o{ the Indian sub,continent. has beenn€atly summed up by Marc Gaborieau: 'His synthesis wasinspired by three pdnciples: a return to th€ pristine puritv ofIs lam in rhe l ighr of Hadirh studies; concrt iat ion ot rhe oDo;srreviews of the schools of lau and rheology: a .oncern roi iocialproblems.'63 Arrd although Shah Wali Allah was, at heart, aqufi, Hamid Algar believes that we should not minimise thepolitical asp€cts of his life and writings. Algar also points outthat, although the poiitical philosophy ofthe Shah as articulatedn the Hujjat Allnh dl &aligha does contain many new insights,it was also fumly founded upon classical motifs, such as that ofthe &iiiala, and iliustrated with reference o non-conremDorarvfigures.^'

The fourth and final figure who will be considered here, byway of introduction to the survey of Naqshbandi ritual whichfollows, is )v1a,r'lana Khalid Kurdr (177617 1827). His life andsignifcance have been surveyed in some depth bv AlbertHouranr uho gnes his nr"6u,, al Sh"hr izun, ref lecrrne a binl .in $e Ku,drsh disrr ict of shahnzur." Vd$land Khal; rs alsocounted by Nizami as one of the 'spiritual descendants, ofShayLh Alrmad Sirhindi 66

S.Fi RITLAL

After an early education in his home town of Qaradagh inShahrizur, and Sulaymaniyya, Shaykh K_hatid then taught for awhile in the latter Baban capital before a further period of studyin Damascus and a hajj to Mecca. In Damascus he became aninitiate of the Qadiriyya taiqa. Late\ acti\g on advice from twoseparate quarters, Shaykh Khalid rravelled to Delhi. Here. inthe manner of Shah Walr Allah and many others, the Shaykl,became a member oflour further sufi Orders: the N{ujaddidibranch of the Naqshbaadiyya, rhe Chishriyya, the Suhnwardiyya, and the Kubrawiyya.6T This kind of spiritual snfieclecticism - Adams calls it 'ecumenism'63 - would have sivenhim a profound, ard enviable, insrght inro rhe major sufrOrders of the age and, in particular, those of Muslim India.

However, he was not destined to remain here lons. His stavir Delhi wa. short and he travelled back rhrough trL ard LheGrlf to Kudistan wh€re he recommenced his teachine career iniulalmani,rya. Afrer falling out wirh a teadinq famity rhere.Khalid moved to Damascus where he died; his tomb in that citvbecame an object of pilgrimage.6e

Shaykh Khalid's reputation rests on two points: firstlv. thebranch of r-he Naqshbardiyla called the Knalidiyrya is cailedafter him. Secondly, the continued impact of his teachine wastraceable parLJculalv among rhe Kurds. but also in Baghd;d, inDamascus and evea beyond those counties where he himselfhad lived or visited.To Shaykh Khalild is jusr one exampte ordspect of a \aqshbandism which spread qidely i ; theniDeteenth century. The reasons for its popularity are not hardto find- Apart from some occasionally bizaffe or 'unorthodox,local practices p€rmitted or even encouraged by local Shaykhs.the ()rder's stdct adherence to the shdn.tl must b€ a leadinqone: ' Alberr Houranr purs i r in a nurshel l :

Naqshbmdism offaed the poplexed \.Istirn a faith whichemphasized tlre importance of virruous activiry, and the claimsofthe shart'a to be a guiding rule for iri a ftth which includedall that $'s valuable in those of irs opponents, justfied SunniNfuslims h rejectins other creeds and stlengthened th6 inlesistins attachs from outside. This rejection of all that is not

68

\IAIPTNC TTIE S,AC I{ID 2

SuMi, in the nme of a Sumisn which comprehends thedemots of tNth in what it lejects, linls the Naqshbandiya bothwith the Islmic past dd with certain modeln methods of

After this survey of four of the leading figures in the history ofthe Naqshbandiyya Order, it is useful to survey, in a little moredaail, the geogaphical spread ofthat Order. Three major areasare readily identifiable as key loci in the spread of theNaqshbandi lan1.1- They are Central Asia, Turkey ard India.T:lEach will be examined here briefly before we move to otherIocations. They are particularly important because the spread ofNaqshbandism in these regions constituted a unifying andbinding factor in three major Sunni Islamic areas (the OttomanEmpire, the Indian Mughal Empire and the States of C€ntralAsia) which had become disunited, or at l€ast fenced off fromeach other, under different rulers. Naqshbandi Siifism was akind of cdtural arrd mystica.l giue which bound otherwisedisparate or separate parts of the Islamic Umna.Ta

In view of ihe Order's associations with. and veneration for.Knwaja Baha' al-Dm Naqshband, who was born nea-r Bukhara,it would not be unfair to chamcterise the Order as CentralAsian, if only to distinguish it from those Orders which sprargout ol or grew to fruition in, Arab or Persian lands. As a resultof Ahr-t activities, the Order became th€ dominant onethroughout Inner and Central Asia.75 And not only was theOrder a major spnitual force in Central Asia but it played anotable political role as well. Nizami reminds us that theNaqshbandill'a were historically responsible for wide rangingr€sistance to foreign domination in a variety of places.t6However, much work clearly remains to be done in the studyof the Order in Central Asia. Alsar notes that'the post Ahrarhistory of the order in Central Asia and the roie it played in theUzbek Lhanates have not yet been explored' ard 'in general ...the development of the Naqshbandiya in post Timurid CentralAsia is an almost untouched area.'t7

Sirnilarly, there has been relatively little study of the Order inTurkey,t8 one of the three major areas of spread identiied

69

S'Fi RITUAL

above. The Naqshbandiyrya took root in Western Turkey withina centu,y ofthe dearh of Khwaja Ba}a al Din Naqshband;" rnwhar was clearly fruirfui ,orl: rhe order s rnsisren." borh on ,r,Surrnl identity and rigorous observance of the sfiari.a werecalculated to appeal to the C)ttoman Turks.so It becameparticularly strong in the tol,ns: Trimingham raords 6ft].two Naqshbandi tzhles b tstanbul towards the end of th;nineteenth centurysl David Damrel notes that.when theShalbanids cunai led N,qshbandr pown in Cennal Asia rheorder strrl p'ospered in ()noman tandsi dnd when Sirhindi sclaim. to be the nupd.did i a[ i thdnt convuts€d the Ind;anr\dqshbandr)d. rhe O oman \aqshbandiya were hardlya,re(red. ' t l r . . lear. then. thar the Order rook deep andpowerful root from the time of its nrst implantation in T.urkey.Indeed, the spi.irualiry and institutionalised forms ofthe Orderin Turtey have survived into mod€rn tiles.

. Writing in the early 1990s, Sencer Ayata had this to sayabout the previous decade:

Three salient features of the revitalization of Islm in Turkey inthe 1980s vere rhe inffede in the Dumber of publicationse,peciailv $e monrhJr loural., ,h" em.rqen,e of rehsiousnerw^rk" as"o ared *i,h tocrt power .,enkes dd d

"h; or

emphasis rvithin tbe Istanic movement irself in favour oftradirional Sufi b.otherhoods, for enmpte the Nakqibendi t,,cl s.r

Third of the ma.jor areas to which the C)der spread was India.The arrival of the Naqshbandiyrya tzlrilqa in the sub continent$as ol

.massrve signilicance. represenrins as j, did, ,n Alcar,s

word.. rhe general nan.ter of I imurid cutture and insuturronsfrom Transoxania.'ta But that was by no means all: the Orderiought agarnst innovation and involved itself in polirics.s' An.xample otrhe former. whrch had impl icatron< for ' ih" t"n"r, *r ,the wd) rn which rhe \aqshbandi* led rhe reanion aqainsr rhe'yn. rcr i . beJief. of rhe Mughat Emperor Atbar.s, The;et iberarepoir( y ol lhe Ndqshbandi rrlni?d alone amone the sufi Orders inrnora. nol JU\t to mix s i rh rhe ) \ luqhal rulers bur ro anempr rolnt uence rherr deeds In the belief r har r he ruler" rhemselves h"da profound sway over their subjects, lives, caruror be roo hislilv

IUAP?I\C THE SACRED 2

stressed.si To some ertent it evokes, in a non sifi context, theShi'ites' policy in Iraa prior to the a-rticulation of that stranger,directb interventionist policy beloved by the Ayatollah Khu-mayn of uilatdt al-faqIh iD the twentieth century33 In a snficontext, it also preigures in some respects, the cooperation ofthe Tijaniyrya ran:,qa in North Africa with the French.3e In allthese cases ther€ is an alliance, in one form or another. betweenthe mystical or religious and the secular <lomauls.

Important though they were, however, Central Asia, Turkeyand India are by no means the only areas significant for the riseand spread of the Naqshbandiyya. We must note here thediffusion and impact of the Order in such regions as the MiddleEasteo (especially Persia,er Kurdistan,e2 Egypt and Syriaer andthe Sudan'va), the former Soviet Union,es the former Yusosla-via,'b the Far East (particularly ChinaeT and Indonesiae3) and,of course, Western Europe as well-ee

We have insisted earlier that this volume is rnuch moreconcerned with the ritual practices, rather than the spirituality,of the Orders. Nonetheless, it is of inter€st to note here a fewindividual chancteristics of the spirituality of the Naqshban-diyya before proceeding further. In one article Wiiliam C.Chittick appears to &aw an interesting contrast befd/een theNaqshbandilya and the Ni'matullahilrya who were the subjectmatter of our last chapter. He maintains that with theNaqshbandi Shaykh Nazim al Qubrusi, the emphasis is verymuch on a p€rspective in which love is paramount but within aSu6sm founded upon th€ ShdTt'a. By contrast, the stress withinthe writings of the present leader of the Ni'matuliahis, Dr.Javad Nurbakhsh, is on oneness and union within a p€rspectivewhich Chittick claims 'falls on the side ofintoxication.' Dhilr isstressed more than Slarr'a.1oo

What is also of interest in any reference to or survev ofmodern Naqshbandi thought is the millenarian instinctembraced by some its adherents. These are apparent in theteachings of the Naqshbandr Shaykh Nazim al-Qubrusi (born1922) .eferred to above. His chiliastic uttera-nces prcdict theirnminent arriral of th€ Mahdi who is believed to have beenbom in 1941 in the Hijaz. His appearance, according to Shaykh

71

Nazim, r i l l be srenat led bv rhe ourbreak ot rh€ thi ,d wortJy-- ' ' .1"T:. war wrl l raqe for ninery days producrng hug.

:* l ' "" ' : " un rhe.nin.ry tust day rhe Mahdr wrU appear in

)w,a dnd d new uortd aee ui l t be inaugurared. Late, al-Dal. l

),ru i?pe:J and the ensuing sequence of evenrs as foretotd Ly

5haykh_ NdTrm paral lels much in the t ,adi i ional ls lamr.escharoloqr. ,aJ rradirron: al .Daj jet wi l l b" k j l ted by. i" , . ; ; ; ; ;or pedce\rr ensue bul alter the reappearance of unbelievers Lhe

"c":" . t , .11: .grear.Day of Judqement wr begin ro b.manrte.t . , ' . Now, v,hi le none of rhis is of direct relevance roNaqshb-andi ritual, it does serve to inform the spi'lhk lity olcertain \aq.hbarJr groups ard may isolare. or even alerrate.such groups from rhe mainstream ofmodern lslam which, as wehare obsened before. may irself be an isotared btoc within suchcurures ds Weslern Brrtish sociefu This can equatty be Lrue indn n,ab environmenr. Tatking oI rhe Lebr"on, Hobibi" nor",rhdt .ot rhose who (ame.ro trsren ro hrm lshaykn Nazirnl only amrnor rtv .tdved dnd ofr hose who conrrnue ro a""".;ot" *iLf, lirnan even,smaller minorirl betieve in his prophecie.. Wir} the reeslabrrshment ol peace and rhe taiiure ofrhe Mahdi to arrive atthe stated.time most people drifted away. Although thel:ophe(

ies, inir'ally.ar rracred peopte ro Sheikh Nazim rh"ey alsodrmrnrshed lus credjbi l i ry when rhey fded ro come true.,ror

lhe erhos ofbeing.a minoriry within a minori ty is perfeolyencapsulared in rhe fol lowinq observarions bv f iaphne Habibis

By dxing dreams and visions wirh supersftron ed traditionaltolk dpectations borh Sheik_tj Daghistmi md SheiLI Nuimtpupi l of rhe fornrer l har e terr rhemselves open ro cnu( rsm trom"uh. dd 'uldm dt i le rh"r lhev ae pra. r is ing shrr l rserr ing uppa.tMs before the uniry ofAltah) and ee acrins iresponsibtytowards their followers Jor

SUFI RITTJ,\L

3.2 Rituals and practic€r

Madelain Habib has stressed that ,the Naqshbandi doctrinerests on the premise that the purpose for the creation of mar is

72 73

MAFIINC 1F1T SACKLD 2

to wolship Cod without any intermediaries ... [and] theNaqshbandis claim that their means of worship is the 'nearestand easiest' for th€ follower to achieve the highest level of unionwith Cod-{oi So il is to that worship that we shall now turn.This will be surveyed as previously unde. the four headings ofOrganisation and Hierarchy, Initiation, Rule of Life andLiturgy.

3.2.1 Organisation and Hierarchy

It has already been stressed that the Naqshbandls have aprofound respect for the observances of shan'ia law to whichthey adhere with rigour-106 Of almost equal importance,however, is the perceived need for a good and competentMaster or spiritual guide.t07 Such Shaykhs will have advancedfar along the spiritual path and may be described as 'perfect'(hanil). Those who do not remain'drowned in the "sea ofunification"' have the capacity to lead their novices to perfectionby instruction and 'upbringing.'103 In their emphasis on theabsolute need for a worthy Master, the Naqshbandiyyaresemble the Ni'matull.hiyya. The Naqshbandi ShayUr Nazimal-Qubrusi go€s so far as to say that, without a guide, no-onecan reach the presence of God. The good guide knows whereyou are going.loe The pious novice (m'l?1-d) should 'surrender' tohis ShayLh, that is, leave his own will behind and follow oniythat of the ShayLh. 'Surrerrder must be inward and outward, likea dry leaf in the wind. Even if it gets blown into a fire, nothingwil you hear from it 'r 10 Shaylh Nazim maintains that, once thenovice has found his guide, he should have absolute faith in himand accept that h€ is at least 6fty times as knowledgeable as thenovice. The true spiritual guide is spiritualy linked to theprophets and heir to those prophets.rrr Furthemore, truediscipleship involves testing. The Qur'aric account of al-Khidrand Musarl2 reflects a universal paradigm of which theArthurian quest for the Grail, the labours of Hercules, andthe story ofJason and the Golden Fleece are but a few examples,set within a general framework of questing and testing.

_- In the Qur'an Moses fails his test in a sp€ctacular fashionHowever. Shaykh Nazrrn insrsrs Llur, il d,nurd is eve, ro mo\raronq rhe prth ro ( iod. he must be prepared to be tested ovur

i l:::,"i ic"'l.1, l" T"lfh He hords thar ir is Lhe proph,-

;f# y. b,ds rhe cuide to undenake Lhe restbg oi rh.

, Ju"r as.rhe dixrpte rs lrnled bv such bonds of obedrence r,,tus rhd\rh soroo is the Shalkh ofrhe whote Order, or branch:l

,.i".1 ::1","'

rmred by rhe sitsitd ro rhe founders or epnym.or rne, L,rder and. ohen. ro the earliesr age of tslam. Th.):l'l:ilo,i,,ra*. jheir spirirual rrneaqe from rhe rrophc.il,l,lT"i

hrmqeir, lrom the rrst hharila Abu Bakr, uhnl: i : :" i l" ' I1l ' rstamic communiw f,om or2 614, and froml' l " i?t

r; trb, rhr f iounh hhaltfa i t For rhis amons orherrea$nls. l\aqshbdndrs (onsrder rhar they have a primacy amonernerorner ( rrders rn rerms ot pedrgree anu pres|Ige.,

1 pafl r.utar re',erence is a(corded to rhe person of Abu Bakr:v lle

r\aqsl'bdndilv?. {bu Balrr comes ,mmediarely a_fier rhe:l:fTl ll 'n:, ^,:,lbard,

rrsrra and Aigar ha. emphasiseonow rne t\aq5hbandr invocarion ofn bu Bakr disrrngurshes rhary:::1 '1.-

nea,rr, drl lle orher s,rf, !u,uq. w],ite nodng rha,rnere r^-a secondar) :itsila whose focai point is.Alr b. Ahi T:[bvrarJd rar al iadrq. Algar mamtdins lhar .6ahn ancesrry r.

nrotoundly emDhasr€d. rr iAbu.Bakr, oi mwse, bore the title of al Sr.,tdiq which may be

',ariou.ly rranslaLed as The Riehteous, ,The i jpriqht, , ihe

l.::"1 : Tn" rl" or rhe rrurMur o* ,,"iru"1,,[ n1"iie

sa,1 to. ldve^1 propheric ' pedisee in Istam since ir was alsoDorne-by ytsut rn rhe eur.an,r as well as ldris 1often iderrtiiedwln_ Lnochr.who. in Sr,ra Marram, is r al led both.propher(rkrbi) dnd (lddrg '13_ \lgar rires Aimad S;t rnai,s ,rew rtrai ,rf,e

: : l : i , : ' , 'n: nddiq. is r-he hrehest stat ion or sancrir) , forrmmedralelv dbove i t l ies rhe star ion of prophethood a'

, in, rne orgatusdrron ard hierarchv of rhe Order, rhen, rhe.navkn or fprnluat Leader is pdraffounr. 0 His aur-horiry andpre-\r ree are srounJed. spirirualty. rn rhe srLrta ofalt the Sh;yknswno h"ve preceded him Hr" aurhoriry is absolure for rt issurrender ro the shayk_h r_hat ;s requiJed of rhe nudd.

';4

i1,\?I'ING THE SACRlD 2

The mun:dln themselves may be totally incoryorated in the

,an-qa but there may also be those few who could be classified aseffiliates. akin to oblates of the Roman Catholic BenedictineOrder, or tertiaries (or Secuiar Order) members of theFranciscan or Carmelite friars.]r]

Klalua (seclusion or retreat) might exist aor such purposes asinitiationr22 but there appears to be an historicat prefercnce foravoiding such retreats and prefe(rlng 'the keeping of piouscompany:ui.bat.'rzr Schimmel chancterises sd6a as 'theintimate conversation b€tween master and discipie conductedon a very high spiritual level.'l2r The eremitica.l tradition is thusabsent ftom Naqshbandr uste and pmctice and the modernrnutdtn do not withdraw f.om the world but rather function asgfis within it,1r5 while meeting for a weekly dhiAr and contactwith their Shaykh. Physical hhalua may sometimes be frowneduponr'z6 but the &ialu,a which conslitutes a meritorious state ofmind wins the Order's approval. Shaykh Nazim al-Qubrusi,having given advice on the cure of spiritual disease, goes on torelate how his own 'Grandsheikh' began to build a house in hislocalvillage which he envisaged would be two storeys in height.However, when it had reached one storey, Shaykh Sharafuddininstructed him to roof that storey, and enter the house for ahhalwa of frve years' duration. The moral of the tale is not somuch the physical nature of the intended bhalua as thenecessary state of mind which is ready to give up aU materialand eanhly desires at a moment's notice, as if one weresuddenly in th€ presence of the Angel of Death and ready toreceive that Aneel.r27

3.2.2 Initiation

I do not propose to deal here with some of the famous, andprototypical initiations of the great masters of the Naqshband;Oder, lik€ the initiation of 'Abd al Khaliq Ghijduwani by themystic sage al Khidr.rrs This brief section deals rather with theinitiation of the ordinary mund by the Shaykh. Initiationceremonies will differ of course, not just from one major Order

SUFi RITIJAI-

\1-rlllh."'l l"' wirhin rhe same urder. panicutarly on poins ,,,

l-ilill , "3"")", rhere may be a resr. and rhis may br

Il':.r,": ot the torm"t process of Adr'a loarh oi aJ tegiancel rh,

y::l:, ": lTd seeks ro be initiared inro the oider by rr.

:1"*l ' ,o:t rhe tdner may refuse the suppticanr up ro rhre..nmes. -^n n^jnteresting analog.,, can be clrawn here wjrh rh,

^t l te,ot >t

.u.nedrt ard rhe way ir nears a would_be novi,rmonx,rn Lhrrsrranrry: Chapter 58 of rhe Ruic, enr ir led Th,::oc.?dut:

tot K?cavinc B,othc6 rDe Diseiptina sLsclpi.,1,o.l. nt

i l l"1T, *"9:, no.furrher commenr on rhe serrion quorcJ

oero$ oevond (he observdrion rhar clearlv borh rhe procedunarr iculdted here, and the Naq"hbandi paradrgm above deoesrgn€d 1o tesr and teach humiiiry surerrry ano, mo.roDvrousry, perseverrnce. Tbe Rule reads:

Noviid veniens quis ad con,versationem, non ei facitG t!',buatu ingressus, s€d sicut airapostolus: Probdlr spinha si exDeo slnt. Ergo si veniensp€severavent putsds et illatassibi iDiurias et dimcuttatemingressus post quattuor autquinque dies v isus fuer i rpatientd portale et p€rsistdepetitioni suae, adnuatur eiingressus et sit in ce a hospitum paucis diebus .. . iit sollicitudo sit si levera DeuD

Do nor grat nrycomers ro rhemonastic life an easy entry, butas the Apctle says, I?sr rl?sprn* to s* i[ thel are Jtm 6od(1 John a:1) Therefore. ifsoneone comes and keepskn@kiDs at the dooa and if atthe od of four or 6ve days hehas sho{al hiirEif parienr inbeding his harsh treatmentand difficulq of entla andhas penisted in his r€quest,theo he should be alowed todter and stay in th€ guestquartos for a few days . .. Theconcem must be wheths thenovic€ lruly seks cod 1I

l l- l f: -c,*,.f ' .h: Naq.hband, aspiranr. once the shayth ha.agleed to ddmrl hrm, an_inirrar jon Lrurg) may ra-[ .e place whithcan,m\ otve. rni?r dlrd. claspine of rhe Shar ki,s hand,, recitarion

o.t tn? shahtLd,t .a

lormal staremenl ofrepenlance by the rnztl.staremenls ot, \4ust im t€l ie l a tormal declarar ion bv rhe Shaykhrnal the nu.!d hds been accepred inro rhe Orde..

-d, finritu. ,t,.

;6 7t-

MAPPI\"G THE SACRED :l

giving of instruction n the uartfas (prayer of6ces) of theOrder.133 The semiotics of the plocedures and ceremoniesoutlined here need litde emphasis; it is also clea-r that aspects ofthe initiation rituals have much in common with those for theedmission to other Orders whether thev be Islamic or of.nother religion altogether.l3a

3.2.3 Rule of Life

The nearest that th€ Naqshbandr- taflqd comes to erecting aformal 'rule of life' is then ha.limat-i qudsitya. These constitut€eleven (originally eight) guiding principles or 'principles ofrpiritual conduct'.r3i These principles have been stressed fromclassical rimes onwards and appear in both Naqshbardt as well.s modem orientalist sources-136 Algar translates halimar iqdslrya as 'the sacred precepts' and characterises them as 'anrttempt to define the essence ofthe Naqshbandr path,'137 whileTrimingham, rnore prosaically, observes that the 'elevenprinciples show the exercise-aims of the drtqd.'1r3 (It iscertairiy true that th€ last three principles of the eleven, whichwill shortly be itemised, refer to the practice ofdiilr.).13e K.A.Nizami holds that 'these practices, which are aimed attegulattug the entire inner life of mar, may not have beennew in spirit or content, but they gave clear and categoricalexpression to lleeting moments of spiritual experience andidentified every spiritual state, permanent or transitory'rao

The eleven pinciples, introduced into the tdnqd in thethirteenth and fourteenth centuries A.D,larmay be enumer-rted, and briefly described, as follows:14,

t hash dar dam:r! 'awareness while breathing',1aa 'consciousremembrance of God as one inhales and exhales one'sbreath.{{t This rubric embraces the techniques necessary forbreath control.

t nazar bar qadan:1t6 ' watching one's steps';1a7 each movementof the saliA (pilgrim) should be 'regulated and directedtowards achievement of some divine purpose.'143

SLIFI RTTUAL

. safut dar ua.tan.la, .journeying in one,s homeland,,r.,

mtrospective study of oneself'.rjr This rubric encapsulatc,an attempt to know oneself and move ,from

blameworthy r,,praisewo.thy qualities' I 5.1. bhaluat dar anjunanrrs 'solirude in a crowd,,rra .solitudr

when tn company,.rss The dervish should have the capacit\to be 'alone with God, even while preoccupred with th.mateial world or other E€oDle.ii6

. yadhardlsi 'r-emembrance, or ,making mentron., both oral

and mental', I s3'recollection,. r re This heading cl"_ly ."";;".on the rmportance of dhilr16!

. bazgasht 16l'restraint',r62,restraining on€,s thought, iira-_gd,dr. '6 fhj . involve. rhe effon required ro prevmr on. .thoughls l rom .rralrnq durinq rhe !eperirron oi rhe slara;,rormurae. b ' rnrer"per. ing olher ph,aes ror

. nigah !a:h:r warchfutness . . keeping a wdrch on lhe drt

dnd djrecron ot rhoughr ' . rb Thjs has simi lar i t ies wrr_h rhcprcuo'rs rubr j . and rs also desigred ro prevenr drsrrart ion5durlng the reperjr ion of the shaha.da formulae.rb3

. Jadddshi6e rrecollection',rto .concentration upon the divine

presence, in a.ondir ion o( dhau,r. t - t This cleart) in\olv; ,r lnd ot deep roored medrtat ion or contemplat ionr:

. yni l . i 4 i l t : : . numerrcat pause. checking rhar the henrdnrpr has been repeared rhe requi"rre number of tjmes, ral<insInlo accounr ones wanderine rhouehls. . , . .

. wuqnf t zanaa:t . rempor" i p, ," ; . . Keeping account olnov one rs sp€nd,ng one. r ime. Thi. involves grving rhank.

ror ndvrne don€ good deeds and repenrine of r ime spenr inwrongdolng.i/D

. uuqtt igolkl . forminq a menrdl prcr ure of one.s heaJr wir hrne name ol Liod engrrred rhereon .r :" keeprng rf ie hean in a

state of alertness, responsive ro divin€ communication.,rl

] l : : : " ," ' "" l l i " :qh: 9, .a.red preceprs ha\e deeper

meanlnes"as welt . Tr imingham. referung ro u .qr l i zanr; .n,ano

' ruq4-, ddadr. \ay. thal we ma1 picrure the uzqy'who ha.

: :1se1ro:pek rhroush hd! ing rrdn.cended r i rne and .pace. andpdskd dwa) rua.da qalbiye, in the Sought r3o Cenainlr t rh"

78

\IAPPING TH! SACRI]D 2

whole image of rruqul is a very powerful one, with its overtonesof "Arafat and the hd, rituals.

As we noted above, there seems originally to have been ancighdold set of principles, established by Abd al-KhdliqGhijduwanl and later supplemented by the last threeprinciples outlined above, at the instigation of Baha' a1-DinNaq"hbar'6 "' Regardless oftheir number however, it is clearthat an underlying factor in all the principles is control,control of the self with a view to directing that self towards afurther, divine goal. An extra dimension is knowledge: theroul must know itself before it can attempt extra knowledge ofthe Divine. And while many of the principles may have aprimary ritual orientation towards the pnctice of dhihr, theyprovide, tog€ther, a frame or 'rule of life' in which the dervishlives forever aware of a greater goal than the corporeal or€arthly. Fudhe.more, control over that which is corporeal maymean asceticism, but the eleven principles do not teach aPlatonic rejection of the physical but rather a harnessing of ittowards a Divine soal.

3.2.4 Liturgy

It is possible to consider a wide variety of both major and minorpractices under the general rubic of Liturgy- However in thissection we will r€fer only to some of the main liturgical practicesof the Naqshbandiyya; other, more minor, ones may be noted inpassmg.

i 2.a.1 Dhihr

Of alt the practices for u,hich the Naqshbandis are famous, thesilent, mental dhi&r (dhi[r []rafi) is perhaps the best known. Theuse of dhi[r is at the very heart of Naqshbandi ritual, mediaevaland moden. Shayhh Nazim has made much of this point. Heholds that dhi&7 is important for satisfaction in this life. For himit is a source ofwisdom and a powerful vehicle for the soul to

SCFi RITIJAL

(iod. The Prophet Mutramrnad counselled that al things coullt

f,^',",:,"::,:1 of those who^performed th" ,Ji,r" S".h- p";;i,:dwetled in the prcsenc".f fu;;;; il;;;"

";#:'

^Dfr ihr, rhen, is an easy highroad ro ursdom. t iut of ie, .equa y prohrabte goajs have been idenrihed: for one scholar .rh.

lll^:r lrltl wirhour \ords is contemptarron rnushaha.dal. ntwnrcn subJecr and objecL are, evenrual ly indiscslni l lp, ,a

:TITI ":i''," agrees. hotding rhar ,rhe dhilr brings the tov,or L,od lo rhe hean otrhe believer ro rhe po;nt wte."ll"r" ; no:1".

bll H: . * And The Enqcropaedia o/ /starn snesses rir

i"ij,ioi]r'i,'lirt*"* ordrirr in its commentarv on rhe word

The epithet Nak$bmd l*l is somehme! undestood in

:::T-tl.l -'th th" c,,ft of ernbroidery. . . . More corDmobty,

rc\?ver. .t B talm ro rcfer ro r_he frxirg. in the purified ubter ;frne nearr, ot ihe jm inr of rhF div,ne nne A drr by means ufsreDt and permdent diii, rsj

h i' clarned rhdr Abd BaJu., rhe 6rsr lfidt,/a in tstam, wasrnsr,ucred by l \4uh.mmdd rn rhe use of the "t f""r

af , ;A, * f l ""T," i i , -" :

*ere hidrng in rhe rave on rhe [u.rd ro \ ledina.,&I ne roUowrng slaremenr. by Tii al D:n ibn Va-hdi Zarnen al5-? 111

t010,. dulhor.of rhe brief, unpaginared Episrie onf.,:-.,n.,/ the N.aq,hhan/liwa Ud.et rRi:ata f S;un al::^:!: t.at.

Nacshbandir.ya r, . lCarnbridge, naa. Ms. ro;i1.

fii'j?:;::l.l:i"i, sraphic pcrure of rhe form which rhe

llhe,.nfiJmu"r teep rhe rongue pre.sed aqdmst lhe root oftus.noutrt, hb trpr and teerh Frnrtv shur. od hotd tus breaLhql'h Lhe sord la. he mates ir ascod trom rhe

:-.'-:, '" 1" f,:,, .yh, ,r hds mived ar {hc bnrn he sdys irahzro- 'h€,r 'chl rhoutdd ed l a, dh b ihe teR srde. dr iv ing i ,ro!.eru )_Dro rhe pineat hea.through which ir circutares ro allr4p re.r o|he hodv The phrase Muhdnnad r@rlAl,at is mad€rc^n. rme ,rcm rhe hft ro rhe nehr sjde dd rhs one svs. .\ty, 'od. I hou a!r my qoat od

"at isfy inq ThR i . my am,ra,

808l

IfAPPI:"C THL SACRED l

The early history of the Naqshbandilya is characterised by thedebate over whether the dhihr should be silent and private, orvocal and public. Trimingham insists that strict NaqshbandiFactice adher€s to the private silent dhiAr and reminds us of theNaqshbandi prec€pt about 'solitude in a crowd-'133 Schimmel|g!:ees, seeing the silent dfti&r at the very heart of Naqshbanditraining and comparing it to the vocal dhilr of many of theother Orders which was often accompanying by musicalinstruments, thereby rendering th€ vocal variety more attractiveto the populace.rse However, despite this present emphasis ongilent dhiLr, there is no doubt that both the silent and the vocalforms of the dhibr were in use in the Order before the period ofBaha'al Din Naqshbnd-1eo Algar notes that it was under thelatter that the Order achieved its final form and that it was theimpact made by Baha' al-Din which fnally caused the silentdhilr to become the norm and the vrxal dhi&r to fall into disusewith the Naqshbandiyya.te' This emphasis on silent dhihTpowerftnly distinguished the Naqshbandiyrya from other Orderslile the Yasaviyya, the sound of whose vocal diih was such thatir became characterised as 'dhihr of the saw' because of itsgrating sound.lq?

Yet this emphasis on silent dhilz never seems to have becomeabsolute.ler There are indeed contemporary Naqshbandis whohave no qualms about using modes of diribr which classicalNaqshbandism eschewed.lsa Algar suggests that in Turkey, forexample, perhaps most Naqshbandls now employ the vocaldfiibr, either out of ignorance of what the Order rega.ds as moreappropriate, or a sense of inferiority faced with a norm whichthey regard as beyond their attainment.l'qs

3.2.4.2 Sar.a'

One of the most famous styles of mtsic in India and Pakistar isthat characterised as Qaluuali. Musicologists apply the term tothe musical genre and also to the actual performance of thatgenre as a sufl exercise.rq6 In its former sense, Qawrrali is a songperformed by a group of gatourals or professional musicians who

SUFi RITLAL

may be led by one or two soloists. In irs lafter sense, eav'I'ali ,is

a garhering for .rhe purpose or r€alizine ;aeats if tst.m,,

mvstrcrsm-rhroueh lhe r i rual of , l isrening ro music. orsarni . :ror lhe surr, ea$\,ali is an a. r of worship, an aftempt .to

arou ..my^stical .love, even divine ecstasy, the ....

";;;;-;;su6sm,lq3Yet rherc was and srill is. a massive rhmlogjcal ambivalen.,

Lsllsl:jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjm db?ulth:

:se ot mrsic. ourside rhe prac tice ot tajwllt ',cnanuns or the qur,;'l.1u hite dfiilr could be deten;ed h\dppllrne a snfr inrerprerar ion ro rhe *r"* i" th" err;;;;,, ;

:fl-:i'j: ..,,1,:"i* and. rndeed, m(uurase such a pracr,c.

l i ::]": ' i l . ,h"]d rhar.music. by conrrasr. was.dangerous ar.runrawut ,

t rs wonh noring. however. rhat rhe eur,an docno. orrc(uv torbrd rhe use ofmusicr.r" . The same ambrvaien.. trs ro oe round w_rrtun rhe sufi ( ,rder\ rhemselves ln some ol rF.mdrn\(ream sut, Orders of Lhe Indian Sub_Conrinent, sarnuconstitutes.a vital framework within which .,"jd,

";";;;;;more. l i reral ly f indinc Uod /oo ra_kes pldce. Hence U,ders t iL.l i i

, .n, .nt ,"V" hare.no he:rralon in pracrrsing i r jor Ar rhr: lher, ,extreme

Orders t ike rhe Suhrawardiyya and rhe/\dqsnoandryyd ma) eilher prohib,t rhe performance of rhrsdnd ourright or (ompromise by permitting the performance olmysucal songs-wlhour rhe use of musical instrumenrs./,2 tn hiDrie, surve\ ol the_tita, of Bahd al-Drn Naqshband, protessor

^rgar na\ stressed lhal ea_rlv \aqshbandi prdd,ce, in i,.(-:ncern ror.sobfiety and anonymirl implied by the choice orsrrenl dhrAr toqicallv reiecred such practices as lhe sdnui. ,0.

Ye' alrhough rhere may be rnroterance ot musrcal acdvirrc,amonq some groups of Naqshbandrs, rhere is forbeaance rn therdre or drverse praclrces among orhers. Wh;le rhe \aqshbandrmarnsrream path.may eschew music, members of the Ctrder se€

:: ieJ-son lo con9emn ,ho.e who do ,,vi+ ro make rhe rd'lxi, par,

or rne,r formdt- uorship. J.C.J. Ter Haar ci tes Sirhindr,rl:erer:1ar,ol ot sah;, at fiin Naqshbard.s dicrum ro rhcerrpcr,rhat lhese thjngs run counrer ro our parh and thercforewe. Naqshbdndjs. do nor do lhem: on the orher hand, whcnorne' suhs prd. l rse rhem. we do not disapprove., urThere is nooouDr rnat. ror the dveraqe suf i . Naqshbandr or nor, rhe lure or

82 83

NIAPPI\C TI]E SACRED 2

music was €xtremely powerful, no doubt as a potent aid to the.ttainment of udJd itself. Schimrnel refers to a 'sober' adherentofthe Naqshbandi tdn:qa in Delhi named Mu Dard who wroter work defending music and who, albeit in arl extremelydisciplined way, held musical soir6es for himself aad hisdisciptes zo;

In 1961 1962 Madelain Habib studied as a Fulbriqhtstudent at the American University of Cairo. Teaching thereat the same time was a Naqshbandi named Shayln Sayyid al,Nu*.wa;206 who furnished Habib with an interestinp descriDt ion of a Naqshbardr

"ession. u hi . h i l lusuares r he.,ae of "onq.though without any musical accompaniment.2oT After the

proc€edings opened with the f,ariha, a song (ndshiid) was sungfollowed by a silent dhi&r. Any 'e.rrtranced' siifi was persuadedro come out of his state by the Shaykh clapping his hands. Apoem wa,s then sung followed by a second dhibr. This might befollowed by another song and a third d[i[r. The wholeceremony would close with a prayer'read in unison, in arhrthmical manner' calling cod to bless the Prophet Muhammad, all prophets and messengers, angels and'righteousworshippers' of God ard to be pleased with the frrst fourcaliphs of Islam, the Rdsh;dtn.2o3 It is clear from all this thatthere is an emphasis on sobriety and good order, despite the useof song. From this p€rspective, Habib makes a dramaticcontrast between the Naqshbandilya and the Mawlawiyya or'Whirling Dewishes' as they became popularly known: 'TheMawlawis use proetry, music and dancing to come closer to Godand to bring about the trance, whereas the Naqshbandis evokeit by mere contemplation and concentration.'2{}q Arrd Habibdraws attention to the use by the \{awlawis of the tambourineand the flute.'/ro

Her contrast is an interesting one, albeit of two extremes: onthe one harrd, the Naqshbandiyya pride themselves on the'sobriety' of their dhih; on the other, the Nlawlawiyya glory ingiving themselves up totally to a whirling dance which has beenenthusiastically described as 'arr expression of the cosmic joyexperienced by the simultaneous effect of annihilation andglorification . . . it is the witnessing ofthe state of perceiving the

SUFi RITTjAL

mysteries of God through the heavens of divinity.'rr r Th(.tanguage here is as magniloquent and ecstatic as the dance itsell

The Naqshbandiyya, then, stand at the opposite end of rhiritual pole from the MawiawiD,a, as far as the physicalexpression of their devotions is concerned. But the rwo strt.sof derotron ae nor roral ly in imi, ajr syncrer ism rs possible. h rknown that at leasr one modern Naqshbandr group has .rMawlarvr sub group which performs the sana. on a regul.basis, according to the classical style of the lvtawlawiyya :rr

3.1a3 Munaaba ann Rdbitx

Muraqaba is a techique employed both by the Ni.matullihiyl aand the Naqshbandiyya. lt was noted earlier that the Arabieword could be translated as 'contemplative vigilance, ancl'contemplative watchfulness.'21r Trimingham translates th.word initially as'spiritual .n--,-io.,'ir but later, in his'Glossary of Arabic Terms', he renders it as ,awareness.

watching. Spiritual communion with a saint or spiritual guide(rlrrrsftid).2's In a Naqshbandr context h€ insisrs that the t€rm'contemplation' is an adequate rendition of the tuthod aimura4aba in the sense that one might look as at a picture, burnot of the pro.ess.2r6

Muraqaba can involve meditation on a verse of the eur'an.the image of the Prophet lrluhammad, or one's o\r,n sufi:haykh. I Tr imrngham rnsi .rs rhat i r i , to be disrmguisheJfrom zabita, literally 'bond' or 'tink' with the Shaykh, altboughhe finds the latter translations inadequate rrs (lne author linksthrs concept with rhat offdid':

He must visualis€ interiorly the image of h;s shaikh Heinagines hjs image as though on his right shoulder Thenprcturing from the right shoulder to his heart a line q,hich caact as a passage whereby the spirit of the shaiL}r can ratepossession ofthat organ. This process mainttned conrinuouslyu.ill osure his attaining absrption in the shai].I (dl-faM"fi 1t

84 85

I\IAPPING THE SACRED 2

It is expect€d, or at least hop€d, that this 'annihilation, orabsorption in the Shayhh will eventually lead to the universalstfi goal of 'annihilation' or 'absorption' in God \fana" fi'illah)."o ln view ofthis, it is not surprising that the practice offtbitd, whatever its development down the ages, remainedextremely tnpular in Naqshbandi circles.22' It also had anantique f,€digree, going back to the early concept ol tawajjuhespoused by Ilahe' al Drn Naqshband himself ard one of hisdisciples called 'Ala' al-Drn 'After.222 Rabir.1 encapsulates theidea of a relationship between the sufi novice and snF Masterwhose essence is one of spirituality as well as physicalpresence-223 As a means of spiritual perfection, rabita couldbe more powerful that dfriftr.rra

J.2.a..' Sd6,r

Cfosely allied to the concepr ot rabita. ln the Naqshbanditradition is that ofsuhba. The modern dictionary defines suJrbo as'fr iend"hip. companionshrp. comradeshrp. accompanyins. com-pany, escort; association, intercourse ...'22s In sufi parlance,however, suhlu means 'the intimate conversation between masterand disciple conducted on a very high spiritual level.'rr6 Algarholds that the preference for $fba rather than retreats was acharacte.istic featrne of early Naqshbandi practrce.zz| The mund.who wished to be initiated into the Naqshbandi Order followedthe path of sr.rhba, that is, he would apprentice himself to aShaykh who would teach him the rituals of the Naqshbandrtdtiqa and guide him to the knowledge of God.223 However,although ShayLh Khalid,,e acknowledged the primacy of slhboamong the palis leading ro God, he also introduced a hhalua orretreat of forty days for the initiate. The practice was eschewedby other Naqshbandi Shaykhs but it became ar intesal practiceof the Khalidi Sub Order.230 (This diversity of approach, despitethe general prcference for suhla, is paralleled in the Naqshbandrarticulation of the silent dhihr rule).

A further example of diversity may be cited from South EastAsia. Algar reminds us that a distinctive characteristic of

SUFI RTTUAL

Malay-Indonesian Naqshbandr practice was a ntual calle(tsriub. SuluA was basicalty a retreat which varied ia lengthduring whjrh some fasLinq also rook place. Algar is unabre r,,sd) how rhis pracrice, \,luch is quire conrray to cla.sic INdqshbandr r,adirion. oriqDated. However, he idenrihes ,growng tendency towards a regionalisation of Naqshbandrcrstom since rhe Wahhabr conquesr of rhe Hjaz and treal ,,,rhe links urth Mecca which ensued./rl

^ We noled earlier rhe approval given by Shaylh Na:im al

Qubrusi to a lind of menraj hhaluaz : wlxch can give ainteresting extra dimension ro the idea of suhba qr"

--i"r,ionship. Perhaps Shaykh Nazim foliows the counsel of khwala'Abd al-Khaliq al-chijduwani whose aphorisms becamcluidat ion in the my"t ical prdLt ice dnd rheotosy of rh"Order.r ' One of rhc eleren famous prnciptes which h.enuncrated was hhaluat dar aajunan which Nizami elaboraresas 'solitude when in company, that is carrying on spiritualpractices internally and being alone with God while outwardlvbu.v uith people. " Here Cod replaces the Shaykh and rhr:suhbd rs wirh cod Hirnself. Klaiwa becomes sulba

3.2.1.5 Wnd

Under this heading, in addition to ruird, we wi also considerthe repetitive form of prayer known as jtharrn i Khuajasanemployed at rarious times by the Naqshbanclr tdr-qe. iheaurrdd themselves are diverse in number and trpe_ For example,at the Naqshbandi reltu in the Bosnian town of Visolo (viichl ies abour 40 mi les norrhwesr ot Sara1evor,z, .rhe performarL eol

.the ddwn prayer by rhe dervishes is preceded by rherecitation of a rhyming uird which rs called, Aurad i Faihrlryawhose author was'Ali b. Shihab al Oin Uanaaanr 1a;ea rJiil,a saint ofthe Kubrawiy1,a Order.|6 This litany appears to ha,ebecome extremely popular with the \\aqshbandi; and is to belound nor only in. Bosnia but in tughanistan ard Turkey a.rwel l , dlmosr supplant jng a l i rany cal led aner Baha,ai binNaqshband hirnself.z'

86

MAPPINC THE SACRED 2

In England, while each mund may have his own private uird,there also exists a leafet published in Arabic and English whichlays doum a set formula or menu of au,rZd.233 The Englishversion of Naqshbandi du,rad 'to b€ recited during the day andnight anytime after Fajr, wihin 24 hours'delineates anextraordinarily ambitious prcgrarnm€ of prayerz3e in terms ofconc€ntration, time and z€al. Indeed, it begins to.ecall theacrtions of one of the disciples of Sahl ibn "Abdullah:

Sahl ibn Abddi;n bade one of his disciples end€avour to sayAllahl Allahl' the whole dav wiihour intermission. wtlen hehad acquired the habit ofdoing so, Sahl instructed him ro repeatthe same sords during the night, unril they cme forth from hishps even while he was asleep. 'Noq said he, 'be sil€nt andecupy you*X with recolecting them. At last rhe disciple'swhole b€ing was absorbed by the thought of Allah. One day abs fen on his head, and the words Allah, Allah'were seeDwirten in the blood that trickled from the wound.,ao

The Naqshbandi nundtn cleady take the ararad extremelyseriously.2al The English version of the leaflet of Awrdd. referredto above begins with a.n expanded version of the shahada (ttteetimes) followed by the phrase astaghfiru llah (seventy times).Several sunu from the Qur'an follow including the cp€tition ofSarat al lhhlas (eleven times). Aftet a du"a, which appears asitem 11 on the list ofaurad, item 14 comprises th€ recitation ofthe name Allah 1500 times. ln all the list on the leafet in Englishcomprises a set of 16 a&ral repeated bet,reen one and 1500dmes according to the rubric. These are followed on the list byfive other optional du7ad, each repeated 100 times. It is worthmentioning once again that th€ rubric at the top of the list reads:'To be r€cited during the day and night an)'time after Fajr,within 24 hows'242 Ht:*ever, each wird, in itself, is fairly shorta f€w lines at most and in this one might make comparisonswith the aur,ad ol for example, the Burhaniyya tanq\ abranchof which fiourishes in Cairo and performs its zi&r (dhih) in theMosque of Sayyidna 'l,Husayn. In Cairo this Order rejoices inthe full name ot atTariqa ol BwhaniJta al Ddstgi1'].a al-Shndhil$ya, thereby clearly indicating its origins.2a3 The aurad

of this Order are much longer than the individual aurrad of thcNaqshbandiyya, and they are prinred in a smali but far boollerof 128 pages.2aa This booklet, which is more lile a miniatun,Islamic breviary than a simple collection ofalrrad, besins with aprarer called hhatdm al.salawaL prescribes a numbei of aurti./after the pzbh and "asr prayers like 100 6denalds arrd 30t)repetitions of Ya Dalyim, records a number of ahzab, includinethe very wel l - Inown Hizb al Baf i l ' t amibuted ro Abu I Hasana.l'Shedhih hims€ll and concludes with two taraassuls and t*.osiisila lists. The final entry is a listing of'the appointed [or fixedlIitames (al aurad al narb*a) which are read once after the srblpray€rs and once after the "aw prayers.'ra6 ln short, this Burhantbooklet is yet one more indlcation of the emphasis placed uponararad in many ofthe Orders and the way in which they becamea parallel set of prayers to the fivefold sdiar its€lf.

Another form of communal lita:ry or, better, communal andextended repetitive prayer, espoused by the Naqshbandiyya isthat lnown as Khatm i Khwaja.gan or 'Recitation of theMasters.'24t This comprises, inter alio,, the silent reDetition ofvanous Qur 'anic snras sut h as the Farrh{ seven l;mes, Srrdr alIihlis one thousand and one times, foilowed by a sevenfoldFitila once again and a concluding invocation of blessings onthe Prophet Muhammad.2+3 Tbe prayer is named after .the lineof Central Asian masters of Sulism, kno*rr as the Khwaiaean.oul o[ which the \aqshb di order arose. .." ntq*

"rr";s".that the earliest Naqshbandi ritual manuals do not refer to thebhatm ar,d it was quite a while before this practice of silentlyreciting verses fmm the Qur'an became a regular feature of theNaqshbandi rarrqd every.uvhere.2ro

It is acknowledged that the content of the Kharrn rKhwajasan caJl differ frcm place to place.r5r Table One, whileencapsulating the common principal fearures, also illustratessome of the variations, especially in the number of repetitionsThe Table is based on the descriptions of rhe K,1dr,r iKhuajagan by 'frimrngham, Algar and Habib.

No attempt has been made in this Chapter ro cover evervsirgle Naqshbandr rubrrc. r i rual , prrcr ice and cusrom. l r i "hoped, however, that all th€ most important ones have been

88 u9

lvf^FPl\c TIJE SnCRED 2

Table One

Habibna

IstuhJat (i)

Sn'dr dl l;rii4 (t)

Snrat dl-&hiis (9)Tarl:aa lr)

Istishlat lrs)

Ii?rl,yd (100)Stra, dl IA 6 (1001)

?dlid (100)

Prayd of delegation (l )ktichlat 115)

?irjli]ya (100)Sn'ar 4l l[ as (1001)

Sn'ar dl-Iaitrafr (79)Snrd dI Fatih! (7)T4lila (100)Readings from Qu"a,Srpplications of 'Und

The nmhe. of r€petirions i, in bra&ets

surveyed. Those which have not include such matters as theryrb al fatu'id ('ptoximrty brought by the prescribed religiousduties, connected with prophethood')256 of the lndian Naqsh-bandis, and tasdrzut 'the srpernatural power over other people,disciples and enemies alike, which was ascribed to the Sunsaints.'2r; \!hat should be clear from all this is the generallylow-key nature of most of the rituals of Naqshbandism and thespirit of humility which infuses, or shotrld infuse, theperformance of these rituals. Trimingham rightly identifiedthe Naqshbandiyya with the i\aldmatr sufi tradition whichrej€cted ostentation-rt3

In one of his books, the modern Naqshbandi Shaykh Nazimhas a Chapter entitled Attaining Real Humility in Worship: ToAvoid Being Self-Satisfied with the Amount of One's Devotiorx.'2se We will conclude with some of his words which neatlyencapsulate the classical attitude of the Naqshbandiyya towardsworship; for Shaykh Nazim, lack of pride and ostentation inritual and prayer is the essence of the ada6 of worship:

lfa person is expecting ay reward for his devotions, it meaasthat.he sees his own actions as being good enough md wo.thy of

5.FI RITUAL

a rewdd fron Allah. Whosoever thinks lhat his actions orworship de suitable for the Divine Prmce has no tnowtedgeof absolule trurh (Haqiqa) dd ,ts Eret Inowledges. Thcefore,you may w thern worshipping enthusidtically, pushed on roever nore devotions just becau* they re thinling: 'These regood actions md I shall reap my rewad for them,' but it neverccus to them that those actions aren'r suitable for the Divine

However, the Shaykh does not wish to be misunderstood:

You must be cdetul not to misunderstand me, nor to turD th€intended meDirg upside down; no doubt, as a result ofwhat weare syns here, some people will accuse us of discounsing oEfollowers fron worship far from it, Allah is my witnest Weare neve! d$ouraging anyone from worhip, we are onlyteaching people the highest s@d maaners (Adab) vith thenLord Almighty, md thal adab is: not to be co.rent€d with theahount of your volship while you efiecrively ddtroy irs meritswith your pride md vith your thinling that it wiU be tust-clcsin the Divine Presence; it is bette! ro present your worship toyor.rr Lord, saying, 'Oh my Lord, I m ashmed t send thisbefore your Divine Presence forgive me my shortcomings andinability to worship or tbank You as You desde to b€worshipp€d and thmked '161

A parable illustrates what he means and also underpins theNaqshbandi ideal of the dhilr which is silent:

I heed of one great Saint who, ev€r) rime he coe ro themosqu€ to pray with the conglegation talrEt), woutd wit unrileveryore had entered, and only tben enter the mosque himsellstmding next to the shoe-rack md praying there. Then, a sns the prayer was ,inished, he would run out of the mosque,saying: 'Prai*d be the Lord, for He ha overed for me thebadness of my condition s that no one could derect it. If tho*people were to know what I an really like inside, they wouldchas€ m€ out of the bosque, throwing their shoes at me mdbeathg me with th6.r6':

MAIPINC lHI5ACRED,]

Notes

1 See H. Algd, A B;e{ History of th€ Naqshbandi Order' in MarcGaborieau, Alexmdre Popovic & Thier.y Zarcone (eds.), N4qs[b4fl-dr: Chmi@t et Jjtut;d d.relle .I'u^ onhe nrystique melMn/Hbt6i@l Deelop@ts and Ptesent Situtin o/ d M6/in Mtstt.al(hder, A.tes dz lo Ta.bk Ronae de Seues/Proceed.ings ol the SattesRtund Table, 2 a tui/2.a Ma| 1985, Varia Turcica XVIII, (lstanbul:lnstirut Frdgais d Etudes Anatolienn€s/lstobul & Paris: EditionsIsis, 1990) [hereafter refened to sinply as Cabo.i€au, Naqs]rbadisl,pp 41, 42, 43, .16; se€ also Daphne lIabibis, A Clompatutixe StuAt oJthe Wothincs oJ a Btunch oJ rhe Naqshbmd.i sl,f'. Ordzr in l2bMon anntle LrK U.publish€d PhD Thesis, University of London (L.S.E.),1985, p. 71.

2 (My itali.s) Ndin al'Qubrusi, Mercy Ocearc' Eadl*s Hoizons,lDirourss ddivred Sumer 1401/1981, in London, dd Autuhn1401/1981 in Munich &d Cyprusl, (Konya: S€bat, 1982), pp. 8s, il6,89, 90.

3 S€e H. Alsar/K A Nizami, at Nakshbandiyya', EI', Vol. 7,pp. 934 939; H. Algd, art 'Naqshbandiyah in lohn L Esposito(ed.), The OxJord. Laqclopedla oJ the Motlern Isldic Wdld, Vol 3,pV 22b 229t Habibis, C'mpdtatmd Stud) p. 2E. For a suvey of ahostile appr@h towards the Naqshbudis, see WG. Shellaber, 'ArExposue of Count€d€iters', The Mulen Worll, Vol. XX:4 (October1930), pp. 359 -170

4 See Am€meie S.himel, Mystrdl D@i6 oJ klan, (Chap€l Hill:University of No.th Carolina Press, 1978), p. 402.

5 H Nga, The Prcdt State of Naqshbmdi Studies' in Gaboiieau,Noqsnbandn, p 46.

6 Gabo;eau, NaqsAband;.7 Alg&, 'P.eseni State of Naqshbd& Studies', pp. 45 46.8 Rawd A.G. Fdhadi, 'On Some Edly Naqshband; Major Works' in

Gabonou, N'aahbandis, pp. 63, 67 See als H. Algd, BibliographicllNotes on the s-aqshbandi Triqat in G@rge F. Houmi (al.), tssals onk14^i. Phibepb asd Sciqce, Studi€s in Islmic Philmphy od Scioce,(Albany: State University of Nry York Press, 1975), pP. 254-259.

9 Triminghm, The Su.f. Ord2B in Isldn, (Oxford: Cldendon Pr€s,,

IOl l1,2

1l

197r).Alga.. 'P.e*nt State of Naqshbddi Studies , pp. ,16 47.Ibid , p 47K.A. Nizmi, 'The Naqshbandiyyah Order' in Seryed Hossei! Nasr(ed.), Iddn; Spinruliry Mdni/€sr4ri'ro, p. 164.Hmid Algar, Silmt dd vdal dninr i. the Naqshbandi order' inAlb€rt Dietrich (€d.), Ahdn des ViI KongrsA /tr Arabistih nLl

91

SOFi RITU L

klanuismchaft, Gittingen, 15. bi 22. Atgut 1974, (c6tting€nVedenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1976), P 43.

14 Triminghm, The Srf Odas in Islan, D. 6215 H. Alga, &t'Nakshbdd', Ei'z, Vot.7,;.9J4.16 ldem, The Naqshbadi Order: A pret;minary Suruey of irs Historl.

and Signilicoce , Srudu Islzni@, Vol. XLIV (1976), p 1j4. Sce idm.at. 'Nallhband', p. 931.

17 Algd, 'Silent ed ve.l dht&r', p. 43.18 ld€m, an. 'NaksLbdd, p. 933-19 ldm, 'Silent od vod dhiir', p 43.20 Ibid.21 Nizdi, 'Naqshbddiyyah Ordei, p. 164.22 Ibid. Algd sives the nme of the village o Qor i Hinduvsn (.The

Naqshbandi Order', p 13,1). It wa renhed e6r; .Arifen in hE

honour (SEe Algd art 'Naklbbdd , P' 933).23 Aige, 'The Naqshbddr Order', P. 136. For turther detaits dd

anecdotes ofBaha' al-Din's life, se Alga, AB.ie{History,, pP 9 11See also j&m, dt. 'Nakgbbdd', p 934, ad

^bd al Ral,ma b.

Ahnad Jmi, Ndflhat dl U6, ed. Ma]di Tawbdrpnr, (T€he.m:Kitebfdnshi Sa'di, 19s7), pp. 384.389. (J.mi tived betwm 141.11492 md was thus bom just ovd t*o deod6 a1ler Khwdja B.nr,al-Drn Naqshbmd's dath).

24 Niz4i, 'Naqshbodilyal1 Order', p. 16425 Algd, 'The Naqshbddi Oder', pp. 136 137; @ idem, &t.

'Naksbband', p. 933.26 ldem, an. 'Nake[bmd', p 933.27 See, for exmple, Nizmi, 'Naqshbbdi],)'ah Ordei, pp' 168 fi.28 Nizani, l.'aqshbudilyah Order', p. 16929 lb id. , P 170.30 Janil ]vf Abun N6r, The Tijatiya: A 56 Or.td in rh. Modam

WorA, Middte Eastan Monographs, 7, (bndon/N-ry york/Tor.onto: Oxford Univdsity Pr€ss, 1965), p. 46, see ale p. {7

31 Njzmi, 'NaqshbDdiyyah Order', p. 169. Fo. nore on Khq€ja atAhrar, se€ "Ali al Keshifi [cAl, Fallr al Dtn .AI- S.fi ibn Husaln alWi'iz al-K6hifil, R(hdhat i.AJn dI HLrat tpcs;o tqtl, ed .All-Asghd ltr-rniya4 (2 vols.. Teheran: Buyad-i Nekuk.ri yi Nuoi,19i7).

32 Yohmd Friednon, Shathh Ahnnl Snhind;: Aa Ottlire oJ IIsThouetu ann d.Srud, of Hn IMs" ia the Eles o/ posrenrJ,, \tccilIsloic Studies No 2, (Monrreat & London: \{ccill eueD sUdrrsiry Pre$. lqili. spe ale Sh ttuyatuttafi dr shaykh Ahmdds'rhindi . EI ' \o l I pp 20, /qr one ot rhe mdn $u.6 tor h;thought is his lettds, colle.ted und€r the rirt€ Mdhfibari Innm.iRabbant, ed Nn. Ahmad, (3 vols., Karachi: &iuational p.€$, 1972):they we.€ kdslared into Anbjc by l,Iuhmad \,fu.ed .t \{aMesi,

92 93

\IAPPINci THE S,{CRED 2

M!'dndb al MdLfitat aLShmJa al Mdisnfl bi "l Dwu alMahn tatai Ndtnd, (M6ca, 1316/1898 99).

33 Friedll1lm, S;hind, p XIII; IMyannbh, dt. 'Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi',p 297; E ale Albert Horlm| 'Shailh Klulid ad the Naqshbandi Clrda'in S.NI Stm, Albert Hrumi & Viviu Brm (eds.), IsL' i Phib'opbd,n thz OAidl Tratritin, (Odord: Buo Caid, 1972), p 93.

34 See Friedmam, Si'lindt, p. XIIII Inayatullah, art. Shaykh AhnadS;hindi , p. 297. S€e also Aziz Ahmad, Sndies in lslanic Culture inth. Itulidn Entinnqt, loxford: Cldddon Press, 1969), p. 182.

35 C. Colin Davies, an. 'Albd', Er', Vol. I, p.317.36 lbid.37 Ibid. Sze also Nizei, 'Naqshbandilryah Order', pp. 178 r79.38 F;edlrrlm, Si'lindi, p' XIIL39 Ibid.; Nizdi, 'Naqshbadiyyal O.der', p. 177; Ieyatullah, an.

'Shaykh Ahmad Sirhind,', p. 2e7.40 F.iedmaM, Sirhi'd,, p. XII; Inayatullah, dt. 'Shaykh Ahnad

Sirhindi', p. 297.41 lbid.42 F;ednad, Sirnr:nli, P' XIll.43 lt'id.; s also tnayatuliah, art. 'Shayh AJrmad Sirhindi, P. 297.44 Ntdi, Naqshbandilaah Oider', p. 179.45 Fri€dman, .Si'Iindi, p XIV46 lbid.17 Ibid.48 Se Nizmi, Naqshbadi)yah Order', p. 179; Inayatullah, an.

'Shaylh Ahmad Sirhindi', p. 297.49 lMyatullah, art. 'Shayh Almad Sirhindi', p 297. See also Johm G.J

Ter Haa, The Naqshbmdi Tradition in the Eyes of Ahrud fthindi'in Ga-borieau, Naqshbandr, pp. 83-93.

50 ScHmel, Mtstical Diamio6, p. 372. S€e Rahimlddin Kemal andSalih Keml, Shah waliullth' ; Seyyed Hossein Nasr od oliverkM (eds.), Hirt't af klani. Pfiilosopb, Routledge History ofWorld Philosophies, Volune 1, (2 Parts, kndon & New York:Roudedge, 1996), Pan 1, pp.663 670

i1 Schimnel, Mrsti.dl 'imennoru,

p 372.52 lbid., p. 373.53 Nizmi, 'Naqshbandiryah Order', p. 184.54 Aziz Ahma4 A' Inieu?.ttuI llisror^ oJ lslan in India, lslmic Surveys

7, (&linbursh: E{Inbdgh University Press, 1969), p. 8.ii lbid ; *e also Nizmi, 'Naqshbadilyah Ordd', p. 184 md Marc

Gabo.idu, A Nineteenth C€ntury Indid "Wahhabi' Tract Againstthe Cdt of Muslim Saints: Al Bdldsh al Mfiin i\ ChristiaD W Tioll(ed.), Mldr'n Siri'ss in Indtu: Thei Chatucter, Httor! andSi:niluarce, klam in India: Stldies aDd Conm€ntaries IV (Delhi:Oxford Un;versity Press, 1989), p. 20'l

S[.Pi RITUAL

s6 Gabdeau, 'N;etemrh Cdrury lndim ..Wa}lhabi Tract,, p 20,1.

57 For a bri€f survey of rhjs ed Sheh Wali AI.I,S oth€r w.i;nes, seeAhmaA. Intelb.hal HLttqJ, pp.69 70.

58 Ahmad, Inreliecrul fisro,a D 70.'o SeCabonau._ NinaemrhC€nru^ Indid "Udhlub, Tmcr ' . p. , ,0.160 Nizdi,'NdqlhbddLrryah Order, p. 18.1.ot S€e ihi,l62 Chdles J. Adds, 'The Naqshbudrs of India md the patista

Movehent' in Caborieau, rvdqsnian/r. p 223.

9] ljabo:eT, 'N-ryl31th catury rndia.,wahlDbj Tmd., pp 204 205.

6/ Hdm,d Aed. ?ol i t iu l Asper, ut Ndqshbnd, H; lory n Cdbo,

'eau. \aqrh6andA, pp IIJ I t4

" ' l f f - . - ' sha*]r Khahd. pp dq i0J. bp p q4. For more on

\4awl;nr \halid. *e Hrm Sha6qi A,bd@; md S H. A'M.\4aulav Khdhd Naq(frbdndi 4 pdttu ot SqLn Mautad Khali)\a4-iibdndi drd Htr S&rsoq. pers,a re* by H.S .Arbami *rrhtnsl i ,h i . ' ion Inhoducr ion and Nor6 b! s H. Am,n. Ed,nburshRoyron Publ ,her, . lso. , . e\p pp. ' ro. 100 {LnCtr"h rexr l .

6i:, \izdhi \aqshbodi\1ah Order'. p lbt. S€e ajso Burtus AbuMuneh. 'The \dqshbddryyd VuJdddidryya in rhe chtotu LddsIn rhe Fd' l r Isrh.mru^ Dp Uetr d"s / r td%. Vot. \ \ j t ( la8. l .published 198a), pp 13 1,+

67 Hourai, 'Shailh Khalid, pp. 94 96 Se ato Nizami .Naqshban,dtlrah O!der'. p 187.

b8 S@ Adams, Naqshbdndrs of tndra , p. 221.o! Hourdi Sla; lh Khdl id. pp ob qo Nrzhr. NaqshbmdiE,n

70 Hourai, 'Shaith Khatid, pp 99 j00. S€e also Hatkau Halim'Mawlene Khalid et les pouvoirs'in Gaborieau. t{dqsl6andi!pp.361 370. The latta represnts a summdy of pan of th; author,sd@toral thesis . titled Cnha,i des Naashbandn tu Kwd;star a,XIx" sie.L, (Sorbonn€ Pdis lV, 1983).

71 Hourani, Shaikh Khalid, pp. 100 tot.72 Ib id. , p 101.73 Algd, A llrief History , p. 19.74 Ibid. , p. 16.;5 Ibid i see also Algar, dr. 'Nalsbbad , o 93a.70 N,/@r- Ndq"hbdd'r .yd} urd.r ' . p 18,. se ale Aled. rn

'N;q:hbdd,rah. p 228 dnd Otivd Roy Lp N4+hbz';i}]a m\fqhd fld ;n Cdboledu, Naq.hbandr, pp. rq, r,,r

:7 {lea. Pre"enr \!are of Ndq.hbandi srud;". p 18.7EIbid,P50.79 Alga, dt. 'Nakqhbandiyya', p. 936; se ale Tayfm Aray, \raqshbadi

S,/L ia d l.y^rpft Sarring. I npubtFhpd phI|I heri., Lnivenitr orLondnn /S.)AS, lqo. . pp. ro . jJ .

94 95

N1APPING THE S/\CRED 2

80 Alge, art. 'Nakshbmdilya', p. 936. Se al6o ferif ]r,fddin, 'lheNakeibendi Orda in Turlish History' in Richard Tapper (ed.), Istanin Moadn TurheJ: Re(stm, Palitics and Lite'atwe in n S.dtdr Srate.(rindon & New York Taur;s, 1991)p. 129; dd David \rl Dd.el,'The Sprad of Naqshbmdi Polihcal Thought in rhe Islmic World; Gaborieau, Ndqslbard's, p 269.

8l Triminehdm. Th? suf (rdat" n Lldn, p a582 DJfuel, 'Spr€d of Naqshbodi Politi.al Thought , p. 269.83 lin d A'€ta Tradidonal Suli OrdeB on the Periphery. Kadiri and

Nak$bendi Istm iD Konya a.d Trabzon, in TapFr (ed.), rddn inModzn Tuthey, p 223, *e also p. 224. 5€e also Thierry Zrcone,'Rmaques su le R6le S6io Politique €t la Filiarion Historique des5.Jl N4ljbendi dds la Turquie Contemporaine' in caborieau,Ndernbandn, pp. 407 ,120. Fo! mother study of modern Naqshbandtsin Tukey, se Emin Yar& Dem;ci, Moderni:arion, Retigion anAPoIiIi.s in Twkej: The Cdse ol rhe Ish.ndeeata Connhitr,Unpublished PhD Thesis, Dept. of covermdt, Univcsity ofItdchater. 1996.

8{ Algd. A Brid History', p. 19.85 Nihi, art. Naklbbddiyya: 3. In India', EI'/, Vol. 7, p. 939.86 S@ A]]md, Sti&iia iz Isldnic Cllrtre, p ra4 se also Schilrm€I,

Mrsd@l Dia4io6, pp. 363 364.87 li* K.A. Niz@i, Naqshbmdi Inffuence on Mughal Rulas and

Politics', lslaair Cziture, Vol. 39 (196s), pp. 41 53. Fo. mo.e on theNaqshbadiD,a;n Iodia, s@ S.A.A. Rizvi, 'Sixteenth CenturvNaqshbrdrwa I eadoship 'n lnd.a in Crbofleal Adq"hb,ndr.pP' 153 16sj Simon Digby, 'The Naqshbmdis in the Deccm in theLate Seventeenth and Early Eight€enth C€nrury AD.: BebiPalugposh, Bibi lvlusifir and Their Adherents' in ibid..pp. 167 207; Yohem F.iedItm, 'The Naqshban&'s ald Awranqzeb: A Raonride.at on ,n ,b,d . pp lOa ,, 'O:ahcrle. J Adds Tt"eNaqshba.dis of India and the Pakisth Movement' in ibid..pp- 22r 229j md Fat€h Mohmmad Malik, 'Naqshbandiyya andIdmlogy of lvluslin Nationalish' in ibid., pp. 231 23s.

88 For refeoces. see Ia Ri.hdd Netton, Text aan hatnL An EutW"st PflM, (Richnond: Curzon Press, 1996), p. 110 n. 171.

89 S@ Abs'Nasr, Tl€ ?idairrya, pp. 58 s9.90 See Algd, A Brief History', esp. pp. 28 ff91 See NizMi, 'Naqshbmdiyyah Orde!', pp. 18.1 184.92 Se€ Meiin vd Rruinesd, 'The Naqshbandi Order in 17th-Century

Kudista in Gaboneau, Naqshbdnlis, pp 337 359; Hakim, 'Mawl6nt Khalid et16 Pouvoire'in ibid., pp.361 3?0; Joyce Blau, 'Le R6led6 Cheikhs Naqshbddi des le Mouvehmt National Kurde' inibid., pp. 371 377; Robert W Olen, 'The Internatio.al Conse,quen es of th€ Sheik Sait Rebellion'in ibid., pp. 379-406.

S.Fi RITUAL

93 $- Frede-rickde Jong, 'The Naqshbodiyya n Eg]"t md Sy.iaAspets of its History and Obwations Concerning its presnt-bavCondir,on

'n Gdbontuu Nd4rhhdndts. DD \8q bol.

r)r +e \i, oh Credin. A p,opos des Aei;r? de h Naqshbmd,)ya d.a .lr Fodemenrs de la Kharn'y]'' du $udd r.rrie;ui straiesid d.Pouv& et R.iation Mairre/Disciple in cabo.i6u. NdasrrLnd6Pp b2l orr

95 Se Atexodre Bemigs€n & Chatai lamercid-euetquejay, ,BravesReI]Eque su la Naqshbandiyra en Un;on iiovi6tique in dalo,iear.Nagsl$odn, pp 441 446t ed Heid Alge, .SLykn

ZaFu ahF":b:,.

TF L6t c.eat Naqshbedi Shath of the Vorsa UralsRegion' in Jo-Am crcss, Mulitu ir L>nttdl As@: Ea"^6 .J.Idatitt and Chanse, (Durham & London: Duke Univ*itv p.6sloq2), pp 112 lJ

96 For a geDdal orientado! for Islam in this dea, *e H.T. Nor.is.t.Laa n th. Bdlha\ R?tqion d sdpty bctupa En@e dnd thtAub World.

'Lod"n { . Hur\r , 'os4j .

S€e Js Dzm;t Cehdir'\o. io Polri, al {'De, r" o, rhe \dq,hband, Deruish Order in Bcnirod.He,aqo!,qd dd luqo<tavra i leneral t ) rn Caborrou, Na4{rbd'rda. pp 66J 668. Jdsnd Snic. ta Ndqshbandi de Bosn,e (tlusl 'a ' t ru l 'a,empnt .eur de \ r ,otor er Lcur, Retr t ,ons rv( d,Aur.e-Ordres Sods in ibid., pp. 669 679; Hdid Algd, .Sohe

Nores onthe Naqshbandi Tarrqat in Bostia . Studies ia (hnpantiv Relein,vol- a

. lq;rr . pp os qo. A poput( & c r , ; ; . ren t"ast ] r" .ufdtc\ M\"tqLps ddB I I:Iaa chmt'mcnrf ?r s,h4tro, A(r/.ih.:r:udr:. 1n r.lls'o^ and rhe rFdl S.ienLes. . rpd;s Edirionq d.tLtote des hautcs t rudes en s.rpnce, Sq,ales. laE5\. pp 77 ;0.Darro Tanaskovi., 'La siruation Adu.Ie de forde d; Naqshbodis au Kosvo et en Macedoine in cabori@u. Naasrrbdndi,pp,681-^691; H Poukon & S. Taji Farcuki {eds.), Mslim l.tenft,6nd the Balbnn States, Institure of L{ustim Mino.ity Affa;s, Booiliries Vol. 6, (London: C. Hu6r, i997).

97 See Fcngois Aubin, 'En Idm Chinois: euels Naqshbadis?, inGaboriqu, N'aqs&bdid6, pp. 4gr s?2 od Raphcl I$aeli, .TheNaqshbadiyla md Factionalism in Ch;es tsld in cabo.iau.Nraqsl6andn, pp. 575 s87.

98 See Werne. KJaus, 'Sone Notes on the tnt.oduction of theNaqshbadiea Knalidiyya into lDdonsia' in Galorieu, Ndqsn6and6, pp. 69!706;.ed Deays I,mbrd. ,?dre[ar

et Entrep;se aDumatra: L Exenple de Syeb AMd Wanab Rot"n (c. 1s30 1926),in Gabd@u, Na$hldnds, pp 707 i16.

oq see A!d). ^Jd9rh!,rdr SuIs rr a We,ron Sernng. I K B. Dmpa, A c&

I/" ,J , !q ord?, ia Bntan. L npubtished MA ThesFDQ,rtmenr of Th"olo$. Utuvosir\ ot Birlmqham. l,)S5: Habibr,Loqpa,4hrp | rnd\ . \umi 'Ndq,hbandiwah Order, p. t88

\ ' IA?PINC TH! SACRED:

100 Willid Cl. Chitdck, dt Sufism: $iti Thousht and P.actice'in JohnL. Esx$|ro, The Oxfod. ErctcLoped.ia oJ the Modlm lsbni Wul,l,Vol. 4, p. 108.

101 Daphe Habibis, Mahdisn in a Brdch of a ContemporaryNaqshbadr Order in kbdon' in Gaborieau, Naqsftbdndn, p. 605;se€ atso Habibis, Cmpurdtiv Stutlt, p. 2.

102 Habibis, 'Mahdism , pp. 605 608. S€e also Ata]. Naqshbanrli Sr,fis iaa Wdrt"n Serting, pp. 199 200.

103 Habibis, 'Mahdis, p. 611.104 lbid., p 619, S€€ also ide , C@rya'dtile StuA!, p. 41r.105 Madelain Habib, 'Som€ Notes on th€ Naqshbandi Ordei, Muiin

W@ld, Vol .59 (1969), pp.41 42.106 Johd G.J. td Hd, The Importdce of th€ Spi.itual Guid€ in the

Naqshbddr Ordd' ir Lewisohn \ed.), The l*euy of Me,tidaalPsian S/Eq, p.311.

107 See ibid., p 318.108 lbid , pp 318 319. S€e also Habibis, Conpdrdtite StwJ!, pp. 241,

340.loe Nazin al Qlbtusi [Mev]m Sheikh Nuim Adil El-Quhus; En

Naqshbandil, M.r9 Oceaa, Booi Too, (Konva: Sebat, 1980), p. 20.110 lb id. , p. 82.111 Naim al-Qubrusi, Mercy Oceare' Hiddet TrcuurA, (Konya: Sebat,

1981), Pt 1, pp.83 84.112 Se Q 18:60 82: see also Ian Richdd Netton, 'Theophuy s

Paadox: Ibn al'Arabi's Acount of al-Khadir in his Fru alHihan ,ltundl oJ the Muhl,iddif, Ib4 A'd6t so.iety, \bl XI (1992),

113 Naim al-Qubrusi, Ma.r OaM's Hinnd Tr€dlres, p. 84, s€e alsop lJ{r

114 See Homi, 'Shaiur Khalid , pp. 90 91. See also Trininghan, 7lEStf (r,lds i^ Islan, pp.92 96.

11s Alge, 'B.ief History of the Naqshbadi Order' in Gaborieau,Nagslbandn, p s. se also p. 4.

116 See art Al-$iddiq' in Netton, Pop!/dr,idiondry oJ lsbn, p.233.117 S€€ Q 12,46.118 See Q, 19.s6.119 Ahmd Snhindi, Ma&nba., (Am.jtsa, n.d., r+r. Kdachi 1392/1972,

Vol. 1, P' 109, cit€d and trans. by Algd, 'Brief History of theNaqshbadl Order' in Gaborieau, Naqsnbandt, p. 1 esp. n. 6. Formore on the Naqshbodr rilstld, s@ S. Moinul Haq, 'Ris of theNaqshbadi ad Qadiri Silsild i! the Subconiinent', lowndl af rhePd&irdn llisto*d/ Sd.ry, Vol. 25 (1977), pp. 1 33, esp p. 3; Algd,&.. 'N*shbad , p. 933r Nizoi, 'Naqshbmdiyyah Order', €sp.pp. 162 168; Atay, Naqshbardi S!,l[.! in d W?si.n Setting, p. 315iHabibis, C6rutatire Studu p. 236.

97

SOFI RTTUAL

] i l }e lor.:aTeter Hrbrbi,. (.oryu,an,? s.dr, pp.241,4oi.lz, E rrn K,ched Nehon. .The

Brarh of Feticiiv Adab. AhualMlqa@r-dd Ab,r Najib al_s,r,,"*_ai ;" r-"_i r.*;".r,- t"a ,.(-L&ial P6un Su/in j j,@ irs On&a ,o Rm,. pp. o;z ,S/. t1i,,jl:_i1:l:,,.-*oT,"d.h JT tut4d Nenon. strr K@/pdspt noLEnt ud.rtltct..i! Lh, H@ ot tskh. rRnhmond. Cuzini:l"llt.*j f*

hdbba, c-mpdrzriv sid)l p. .,6q. Trminshd.t ne iu/t urde6 tn tstam, D t76,

l12 sae 8. \bu.Mbne}l Kidl@a Md Ralik,n lhe Khjrd Suboder.rnuaeh@u,

^aqshbaid6, pp 290_291

lz l S* ib 'd. md Ajqa,, d N"j , t* ,a, , o v.H124 s(Nmmel Mrrr,Ldl D'?rmrdrc o., tsidn. p. loo.rz) ne flabrbr3, LompdratD? Srrd! D t00126 See Abu,Mameh Khatu

^d itabik, p 2sl

j ,.1 :"T i v"9:". vd.t oedE. Booh ruo. pp. 87 88j f x:- 1_

,The thporheof *e sp;,uJi;uide.. p. Jr5.'zr

ubper, La. Sfud]130 lbid., p. 63.131 (My italics) RB p.266.132 (My italics) RB p. 262.lll Se€.

.tor exnple. Draper. L@ Srrlr. p. bJ. Compde Ata)._ .. _

NdqJbdnd' Su,L q a tve.pq S"ding, w /a ajtor e\sple Rn pp 2ba ) , -1, 452 n.

rr5 ,1tg&, et. 'Nats,hband. o.9la'ro \ee ibid.- se Js Tar dl.Din ibn Mafid, Zmm at-Rumr-. Rilaia /irt@q at_t.attu ot N4g:hbLntrwa. Cmbrrdse. Add. Nts. lo/J. ilm grdrerut to Urmbndge Unrvdnry L,brarv tor supplvi"e me *r*

a mr(rchrm o, thrs manus, r ip, l : AIed, .pot iu.al Aspeds orNaqshbandi H6rorv . D l2J.

'u Alcd Pol,riul_.A"p", is of Naq.hbodr Hisrory. p. t24I J6 | rrmnglum. Thc Sufi Ud"r a ktan, D tuJ1re Alq&. a'r 'Nalshband. D 9J4.Iao Nizam. N.qshbndiyvah O.d", . o rnr

l1 i l". l*; Th. tmporrde of rhe sprrirudl cuide.. Fl .r I|.!/ rn rhe ltslmg od brid desdiptron\ wlu.h touow. aE welt a. rhe(qms, I.rctv hedJ\ on. cj RLm RnrI4 Jr Stun'bpdqlDdtedr:i f "tughrr-. nw Snn Gdas n tst n.W iOJ-2Oa^udm.

Ndqlhbad,raah Orde,. pp tbb.to; : Dd l" i H*, fm/hpond(e ol rhe bpiriruaj Cuide . p it I Sce dj$ Anbdtur &,,,

Ami,n. Mouku Khahd \larshban4i. pp. s2 9J {Engl,sb rexlr., rJ I ro i ro* her€ t , , lMshd s rhndi t@dons. diehrtv adarned in a few

la! TriDnghM, Th" Sui Od"E n l:kn. D. 2uJ.115 Nizni , 'Naqshbhdi ' .yah Ord6. D r6h146 S€e al-Rnm- Rtrald /i Sud,

98

MAPPINC THE SACRED 2

147 Triminghm, The Slf &d.ts ;n ISIM, p. 2a3.148 Nizmi, 'Naqshbddi'.)'ah Order', p 166; se also Trimingham, ?tp

Snf Ordas in Isldtu, p. 203.I 49 See al Runi, Rirnid f Sundn.150 Triminghu, T[. Slf (hdzrs it Islan, p. 203.1st Niami, Naqshbodiyaah Order', p. 166.1s2 T;minghd, The Stf. O ds in lslan, p. 203.153 Se! al-Rl]mi, Rira/at S"ndn.154 Triminghm. TA. Slf Ord.ers in Islam, p. 203.155 Nizdi, 'Naqshbdd;r1,ah Ordd, p. 167.1s6 lbid.1s7 S€e al Rnhi, R6aldfi Su,a4158 Triminghm, 'rhe Sul Oilzr in Islo , p. 203.1s9 Nizmi, 'Naqshbadilyah Order', p. 167.160 See Trininghd, Thz Suf Oidds in Islan, p. 203161 See al Rnmi, Rfalzt S!un.162 Triminghd, The Suf Odas in lsld , p. 203.163 Nimi, 'Naqshbmdiyyah O.der', p. 167.164 Triminghd, The Suf Gads h lslan, p. 203 €sp. n. 2.165 S€e al-Rnmi, R6alatt S!en.166 Trim;nghm, The Suf. (>dqs in Isb^, p. 203167 Nizd;, 'Naqshbandlryah Order', p. 16?.168 Trimingh@, The Srf (rda6 in lsldn, p. 203.169 S€e al Rnni, Risa/dfi Su'utr.170 T.iminghm, fte Saf Ctldm in /iizn, p. 203; Nizmi, 'Naqshbd

d;],.1'ah ordd , p. 167.171 Trihingh@, The Stf (rders in Isldn, v 203.172 For the theme of contemplative prayer, compare Pegg.r' Wilkinsn,

Findins rhe MJsric W;rhir yo!, (Hauppauge, NY Living FlmePr6s, 1988). Conpare al$ Roy Cmpbdl (trans.), poe6 oJSt.lahnottu aross, (claseow: Coll;ns, Fomt Paperbacks, 1983)

173 S@ al Rumi, Rfaldf Slen174 TriminghaD, The Slf &ders it klan, p. 2041see also Nizmi,

'Naqshbandiryah Onter', p. 167.175 Se€ al Rnhi, Rnald t S/tun176 T;minghm, The Suf. OtAe6 m Isidn, p. 203 204; Nizami,

'Naqshbmdilyah Order', P' 167.177 Se al Rnmi, Rirnla f Sdan.1,-8 T.ihingh@, The Stf Otdas in Isldn, p. 204.179 Nizmi, 'Naqshbadiyyan Order', p. 167.180 Trimingham, The Stf. Ord.B;t lslam. p. 204 n. LlE1 td H@, The Impo.td@ of th€ Spiritual cuide , p. 311; s€e also

Trimingham, Th. 36 Ordas in Islan, p. 203; tuhilmel, MrsrtcatDimnu, p 364; Alga art. Nak!,hbod , p. 934; idem, potiticalAspcts of Naqshbm& Hisrory'. p. 123.

SOFi RITLTAL

182 Na,zim al Qubrusi, Md.} O@dB, Booh Tuo, p .t90.183 S.hirnoel, Mrs*dt Ditu6ia$. n.1j2.18.{ Habib, Some Notes', p. .{2.18s Algd, an Nalq[bmd', p 933.186 Idem, 'Th€ Naqshbardr Ordd, A preliminary Sutuey of;ts Histo.\

and Sigd6cee', p 129.187 Al Rnmi, Rnab tr S!tutr cited dd trdslared ;a Trihingbm, 11,. .-

:j6 Ordc$ ;n Isla , v 202; e ats Habib, Some Not6;, p. 4.1188 TrimiDshan, Th. Suf Odas in Istan. o. 26b.l8q cchlhmel. M ndt t ' tup^sioa. p {br. :

"ee atso AterandlBenDqqen Lps rdngdr en A{e Ldhdlp in popouc & Ve,tur" 1(eds.), L.J Onlr"s Mlsra@s, p. 3j

190 ter Har, 'The Naqshbandi TBditlon D rhe Eyes of AhmariSirhindi , p 81; se at$ Joseph Ftetcher, .Les ,voij

Gs,us) eune.o r-h;re h Popo\ r & \e,nsrein,eds.r. ta urdra M;$,?;,, p .

_- no v/ ,nrrph ( n psd dc svnlhes€ D,brd. p. . ,qr ,

191 Atgar, Silent and Vo.2l dit&r', p 43.

" l l " . ' . A BrreJ Hr.ron. p. r : .e atso Schihmet, Mr.rr" i

Di.wa..ia... p tis dnd J Fter, hcr. The \jaq\hbmrD€ rd rt .

, -Dhi ld:airu ' . /o, , ra l of lx , laA studia. , l9; ; r . pp. I l l l l9

rq, 5e Ngdr. sr tenr dnJ Vdai d} i l f . DD {4 au.I9'1 Ibid., p. ,16.195 Algd, A Brief Hjstoly , p. 42. See also Habibis , Cmpatuh1e Srud,-.

p. 248.lab Rpsula trJr.lhddr eu,esh,. su6 y^\ oJ tarlia and pobi,,ttn

\da,i. c@,^r and \teanry rr eaDMlr. Uhbndse Srudih InL'Fnomu. rologv Ldbddqe edhrdpe Lnjversj t precs. lqs,repr. 1988), p. XIII.

197 tbid.198 tbid.199 Ibid. , p.82.200 Ibid.'01 s.ii]lmrl Mt{lr"!l Dr'lm,ra. p tsi: *. rl.o K..\ Niam. d

-^ ^Lr lh l l lyd / .L \n l 2. p i : Drdper. Cap shdl p. o.

202 Qureshr S,f M6r. p 82203 Algd, &t. 'N*$band , p. 934; *e ale Schimel, Mlrnal

?,* ' : ' : * o ld0. D,"F, . L i r p S,ud, pp h. 12, . , rJ5 r ro_- ^rdv_

Ad4.tbdn h Sr/b rn d tti,.km Seft,,g, p. 15020.1 ter_ He, 'The Naqshbandr Tradidon ; the Ey6 of Albad

S;hindi', p. 8;.lu. !h i rmel. V! . r i . r l DinPlMtu. p ldr . w Jso I . iminghM. Ti .

r!, ur're^ In /ddn. p 202 n 5206 Habib, 'Sone ,\..otes', p 46 n. 32.207 Ibid, pp. 46 +9.208 lb;d., esp. p 48.

100 101

\'APPINC IHE S,\LI{I! I

209 lbid., p. 48.210 Ibid21 I Ira Friedlmder, ?ie Whirlins Dn,isfres, (London: W;ldwood Hous€,

1975), p 87.212 Hab;b;s, Cmpatutive Studtx p. 250.213 S€e abov€ p. 10.214 Trimngham, The Suf Odss in Islan, p. 211.21s Ibid., p. 308.216 [b;d. , P 211.217 lb id. , P 212.218 lb id. , pp. 211 212.219 Muhmad b. 'Ali al Smnsr, al-Salsabil aL,Ma'in fi "l Tata"iq dI

Arba'u [Or the mgin of th€ sde author's al-Masa'ii al-'4slar (orBlsbat al Mdqaai'l fl Khdlasdt dl Mdrasi4l, (Cairo, 1353/1935),cited od trmslated by Triminghd, The Sd Odets in klm,PP. 212 213,29i

220 t6 Hd. 'The ImrDnoc€ ofth€ Spiritual Guide, p 320.221 lbid., w 32w321.222 lbid., p izr.223 Ibid221 S* Michel Chodkiewicz, 'Quelques Aspects des Techniques

Sdr;tuelles dos la Tadqa Naqshbddiyya ln Gaborieau, Ndqsnband;, esp. pp. 76 77r see also Abu'Mameh, 'Kldlod dd Rab,tu',pp. 289 102. For a vide raneins discussion of all aspecis of rabrid,se Fritz Meier, Zue; Abh^dlugd nber die Naqibandit\a 1. DieHerzmbind.vg M den Me;ster 2. Krdftlht und F@strecht d.sHeil,sm, B€irute. Texte und Studien, Bmd 5E, (Istanbul, InKomisson b€i F.nz St€iner Verlag, Stuttgdt, 1994).

224 WehJ, Di.rio@! oI Mod2m Wittd Ara\c, p. 504 sv $i6d.226 S.himel, Mtsti.al Di']mioa, p. 366227 Alg&, a.t. 'Nakshband , p 934.228 Abu'lr'faneh, 'rcrdiDd dd R.i6iid', pp 290 291.229 S@ above n. 65.230 Abu Mdneh, 'Khdlad &a Rabna', pp. 291 292.231 Algd, dt. 'Naqshbhdiyah', p. 228232 Se above r. 127.:133 Nizoi, Naqshbandi)yah Order', p. 166.23,1 lbid., p. 167.235 Hmid Alga, 'Sone Notes on the Naqshbandi Tariqat in Bosnia,

p.81.236 tbid., p. 86.237 lbid.218 S€ Atay NaqsAbandi Sz,4s in a ll/6rdn Setiing, pp. 158 159.239 The NaqshhandiyJa Arrdd, (Kenya, Nairobi, n.d.) lleaietlj see also

Atay, N'dqsita'di .Su[s ia a West*n S€ttina, p. 316, Appendix 3

SUF I RLTU^L

which rQroduces 'the ard printed dd circulated for the ne*members of the tEnqlsht ommurrv

rr0 REnold {. \i;"t;n. ir Mr:tus ol ktan rlondon & Bosl-l

- xoLrledqe & R.gM paul. Ia/.) papoback edn.j. p {h

zal 5e 1ra\. \dqs/ibdndr Sunr ,n d typrkm Saftha. p. t5q_4r 'Mv lralr(l bee Jbo H^bib6 Conpdtdtfl? Stuty. p. 24s.

24.1 \ee frihhshn. tre S,I oldA) ;n /rldn. pp ao. 2;5.)4! UaJau.d AwoA at.Tanga dt Bwhaai.r\d it n",aqino ot Shndt,

I'wa. 'Lrro: lpiided ar rh. expen* ofl dl Harj yuquf Anhad Jmaln.d.. 7th printiDsl.

141 lb,d. . pp SO rg. * tSn B,hjrd. Rrhtar /br Bdrturz. (B€irut .Ddr\5d'r lao4,. pp lo .2; , bbstar€d In H A R. Uibb,ed. & t tu\ .I hp t ta1 els ot Ik Battuta A D t J 2 r tJi.r, rcambddC.. pubtishedfor the Haklu',r Society ar the U.iveAity prs, te.S;, Vot. t.pp. 25-27.

2+6 Mqnn:a Au@J. n. 123.2a, Sec Alqa, some Not6 on ,he Ndcshbodi Teiqr'. pp 8J 8..

Lrrprdliy the ph'aqe lrdstat6 a lhe €dt of [!he payeo ot] rhel \ la l . ' . S.e Hab,b. Some Nor6. pp.,15 40 Compre *; th lhemore Ind,v'dudJ no!ne1 DFd or proqmme d apprcnr;sge (l)d,\. L6 \dqshb$di de tsoejr.ptu\ partiotreremor lfu d"v, toko er Ieurc Rplar,ons dve, d \utres Ordre Souhs roGaborieau, N'd$hbdid6, p. 67:]) and the mardn rh,i/ (Habib;s,t oaparat re Srldr,. po. 249. 4t7r

, ,a8 Aiea. . r rme Nd;s;n the \aq.hbdnd, td,qar ' . pp.8J 84.249 Ib;d250 Ibid. p. 84.

i:1 f 1 "1 Sone Nors on rhe Naq,hbddr rdiqar'. p 84 n 4

\r i 'rmrnqhah

n. Sur{ O,&,s o ftlan, DD t0. JOo2(1 AJed. tiome \da on rh, \a,r.hbandi idqdl . pp 8J 8j.254 Habib, 'Som€ Not6,. DD 45 44.2 r Word' urtryed by rhe *Ut of ro*1" tMutha* Etend,, medine

rcbre unjon ad indi, ine lbdr !,\p pan(rpMts shouJd in$ddt)Jorn lhel qr i lhes D rhp hldra !o tu, sd a rr wse. d;ed themlhrough h,m a d chffpi ro rhe hqvenly ,alm ,Algd. tiome Nole\

- on lne \dq\hbdd, Tdiqdr'. p. 84. R dle n .rl

2s6 Schihhel, M$ri.dt Di@io;. DD. 133. )0z.-q W VadeluDs. Relreu ofl l,rz !t€ie,. Z@i Abhaadtunad ubd D.

Ndq.ban4itra. Jortut oJ ti" Rdal Asidrr S@ipt), Jrd s . Vol b pt.1 (Apr;l 1996). D. 92.

258 TrimiDghm, The Sufi (hdets in Islan. o. 2ort2s9 Merct OceaE' I Iinnm Trwtes, pt. t . ;D. 7 i 20260 Ibid , p. 117.261 lbid., p. 118262 lbid., pp 118 119. Cohpre N{atthN 6:1 18, Luk€ 18:9-t4

to2

Unveiling the Sacred 1The Five Arhin

4,1 Theology

In one of the most magisterial and, indeed, distinctive

introdu. trons to Islam published rn recenl (imes. Ih? Vaion

o/Isiam, the authors, Sachilo Munta ard William C Chittick,

retell the famous hadtth of Cabriel.t The hadith relates how the

angel Gabriel comes to Muhammad whi le he is '*r lh Um ibn

al-Khattab and others, and questions the Prophet about lslam

(submission), faith and the doing of that which is beautiful The

angel is unrecognised by Muhammad's companions Durng the

dialogue, Islam (submission) is defined by the Prophet in terms

of the 6ve arlzn. When Gabriel leaves, Muhammad asks'Umar

i f he kr lo*s who the mysrery vis iror ardquestroner was'Umar

dearly does not and he is then iold that it was Gabriel 'who

came to you to teach you your religion (dinabr-rm) '/

The articulation of Islam. then, in terms of its f've arban has

a Prophetic sanction and authority. And one of the fundamental

lessons to be drawn from the whole hadith is that lslam 'is built

on (he five pilldrs which have ro be acted uPon $ ith iman dn-d

ihsan. Denying any one of these pillars and not wishing to fulfil

any one ofrhem males rou a non Mu*lrm 'From their retelling of the hadith of Gabriel, Murata and

Chittick are concerned, intet alid, to reveal the ritual ess€n'rt ol

Is lam, and rhe whole of their book is indecd occupied with

explaining and explorrng rhe maniiold dimensrons of rhis

huar*r.1 it'".. is, however, another equally interesting hadith

which also incorporates the five dTlan but which is motlvated

nor so m'ch by a need for theoloexalor relaled dehnir ion' but

l0 l

a prasmatic desire to enter Paradise aJ}d avoid Hell hre. It is alsoconveniently recorded by afNawawi,i like the hadith ofGabrielwhich we have just considered; like the latter it is multifacettedin the interprctations which it car bear: these include thephenomenological, the anthropological and the semiot;c as wellas the theologica.l. Here we will note and stress the theology ofreward and punishment as well as the essential doctrine thatIslam is a relision of faith and deeds.

The hadith is related on the authority of \Iu'adh ibn Jabalwho asks the Prophet Muharnrnad what action he shouldperform which will guarantee entry to Paradis€ and ensure thathe does not fall into Hell. The Prophet notes the magnitude ofwhat he has been asked but also acknowlaJges that Alleh cansmooth one's path. He goes on to illustrate with r€ference to thefive azbin: none should be worshipped but Allah; the livefoldprayer should be performed and the statutory allr.s tax (zabhlshould be paid. In addition one should fast during the month ofRamadtn and make the pilgrimage to \fecca. Three of these,the Prophet says, comprise'the gates ofgoodness': the shield offasting, charity which puts out sin as \r'ater does a fire, aidroctumal prayer. Quoting the Qur'an, the Proph€t r€cites:

Their limbs do forsaleTh* beds of sleep, the whileThey call on their Lord,In Fear and Hope:And they spend (in charitylOut of the sustenance uhichU/e have beston€d on th€nNow no Person knowsWhat delights of the e)eAre kept hidden (in reserve)For thern as a rewudFor the'r (goodl Deeds.6

Continuins in the metaphorical vein *'hich he commencal withhis reference to 'the gates of goodness'. the Prophet )vluhammadthen asks Mu'adh whether he would like him to ide.ntifu 'thepeak ofthe matter, its pillar, and its topmost part (rd's al anr oa

i 0.1

LN\l ILIn ' 'C THE SACRED I

'amudihi ua dhirua sananriir). The 6nt is Islam, the second isprayer and the third is jiiad. The Prophet go€s on ro lecturcMu'adh on the need for verbal self restraint: the sins of thctongxe play a huge role in toppling sinners into the fires of Hell

'I'he theological lessons to be learned from this hadlth, interms of reward and punishment, are clea-r: the performalce ofthe arknn leads the believer to Paradise; but the commission ofsins by th€ tongue, unrepented, can put a man in Helt. And theemphasis on deeds here is particularly important, for Islam isnot a religion ofjuslification by faith alone in the tradition ofReformation Protestantism.

Cornmentators have drawn a number of conclusions fromthis hadith concerning the 4r[an. They include the beliefs:

.'that this Hadith contums that if one fulfitls the requirementsof rhe 6ve piliars of lslaam Isirl then he is guaranteedParadise.'7

. 'that all the hve pillars are compulsory for a \{uslim.'3

. 'that the duties pertaining to the five pillars have beenlikened to a singJe act.''q

. 'that the five pillars constitute the indivisible whole which isIslaam.'r0

. 'that this shows that without any one ofthe pillars we do nothave th€ single act, i.e. Islaam. Therefore leaving any one ofthem, or denying any one of them, is kufr ard bars us fromParadise.'1 1

The hadith on which these remarks are a commentary will bereferred to at various points in what follows, not only because ofthe theological implications implicit and explicit in its text, butalso from the perspectives of phe.nomenology, anthropology andsemiotics. I will characterise the hadlth in what foliows as theHa.dtth of Reuard and. Punishment.

Shaheda

Each rnhn has its theological leitmotili or leitmoiios. That of thetust section of the ,Shaiado can only be tduhid, the declaration

10i

SIJFI RITUAL

of God's absolute Oneness- ln the Halrth of Rarard andP"nishmpnt th€ injunction against polytheism (shirb) right at thebeginning only sewes to t'olst€r this seminal statem€nt oflslamic theology. The oneness of God is stressed over and overasain in the Qur'en, and the sin of shir& is condemned as rhegreatest sin which will not be forgiven.rr

Schimmel remarks about the Sfiahada: 'The shahada in itstwo parts is the foundation of Islam, and a Muslim is a personwho pronounces it and accepts the vdidiry of the rian"d as theGod given path to watk on.'r3 In this succinct phrase, Schimmelgoes right to the heart ofthe siahada and here neatly associat€sit with the willingness to be bound by the holy law of Islarn.The foundational role of the Sftalada in lslamic theology iseverylvhere acknowledged. For example, a modem Turlishcatechism states: 'Eve4body who says the ... blessed sentence[i.e. the Shairada] with word of mouth and certifres it with hisheart, is called Nlu'min (Believer). A person who wants roembrace Islam and follow its teachings nay join the religion ofIslam by saying this blessed sentence . . . [which conrains] everybeliefthat is necessary and imporrant and constitut€ls] the fusrstep of faith.''a A manual designed for Muslim students,published by the lnternational Islamic Federation of StudentOrganizations, stresses the onen€ss of God early in the volumewith reference to Q. 112:1 1:

Say: He is God,The one ud oniy;Clod, the Etenal, Absoluteille begetteth not,Nor is He begotten;And there ls noneLike unto Him r5

The title siven to rhis sr'd, Srrdr dt-I[hlas, reflects its generalorientation: 'This snm is sometimes called The Sura of (inityand is said to encapsulate the essence of the whole Qur.an.'r6The reference in the student manual to Q, 1 12:1- 4 occurs in itsfirst chapter entitled 'The Ideolosical Foundation of Islam,; thearticulation of the remaining four azlan takes place in the third

106

UNVEII- ING THE SACRID 1

chapter which bears the title ''I'he Application ofFaith'.1; ln all,the discussion of the spiritual and practical significance of the6ve ar&an occupies just under a half of the manual.

Of course, the Shai.ala embraces two dogmas, tduhtd andnubutnea;rr and so the need for, and importance of, Messenger-ship and Prophethood, and in particular that of the FounderProphet of Islam, Muhammad, must be accounted the secondtheological leitnotit, of this foundational pillar of Islam.Elsewhere, the Qur'an stresses the uniqueness of Muhamrnadas the last or 'Seal of the Prophets' (Khaiam dl rYabilyin) r'v Ifthis is taken as a commentary upon, or adjunct to, the secondpart of the Shahado, it would not be an exaggeration to say thatthe Shaiada prodaims three 4pes of uniqueness: a uniqueDeity, a unique Prophet and a unique Text. The 6lst, Allah, isutterly incomparable in every sense as the Qurran stresses;20 thesecond, the Prophet \lul.rammad, is utterly incomparable forthe Muslim in human terms,?r not least because he is the vesselor channel of the Qur'anic revelation; and the third, the tett ofthe Qur'an, beins the last revelation of God to man, isclassically possessed of the sublime quality of iiaz (inimit-

ability) and, indeed, chaitenges its opponents to pmduce

something similar.r?One scholar has observed that'the N{uslim confession ol

faith is sometimes described as essentially negaiive, just asIslam itself is characterised as essentially passive.' However, hecontinues: 'Yet in Muhammad's day it was a positive anddange.ous step to reject the Meccan polytheistic tradition andaccept the validity of Muhammad's prophetic mission.'riSchimmel reminds us that 'the "mystical No" . . . is inclusive,and that is expressed in the transformation of the sfidhada intothe words la n.'ujnao illa Allah, "there is nothing existent butcod," who includes everlthing.'ra In these words Schimmelhere underlines the fact that the apophatic vocabulary of Godused in the Qur'"n is distinct ftom that of the Neoplatonittradition-bf Plotinus and others. For in the Qur'an, God'stranscendence, expressed thus in negative terms, is but thcreverse of a coin which reveals His immanence too:

107

S'FI RITUAL

It was We whoCreated nm, md We knowWhat ddk susgestions hjs soulMakes to him: for WeAr€ nearer to himThan (hig jugular vein.'?5

In later times the Shahada was sometimes elaborated slightlybut the few additions only sewed to emphasise the tundamentaldogmas of tauhid and prophethood which we have surveyed.The following is an interesting example drawn from th€Mrraata' of Malik b. Anas (c. i16 795):

Greetiags, good words, prayers, pue actions belong to Allah. Itestify that there is no god ex@pt AIth, alone without partner

[wahdatu la sharrtu lohr ], a'd I testii' that Muhamad is theslave of Allah and Hls \,lessenge. Peae be upon you, Prophet,and the mercy ofAllah md His btessiags. Peace be upon us andon the slaves of AI;n who are right acting. Perce be upon you.'z6

Tarahid is much more than the simple declaration of God'soneness in the Sfiaftada.z; Its theological dimensions are ]ast-23The same is true of lslam's doctrine of prophets andmessengers.2q Bound up with it all is Islam's doctrine thatman will ultinately return to God to be judged by Him. Murataand Chittick have stressed that this concept of'R€turn' is at theheart of lslamic dogma and ritual: one cannot truly understandthe wbole reality of tduJhid and prophecy if one ignores th€reality ofthe 'Return to God' and vice versa. As they succinctlystate: 'Tau;l.rtd, prophecy, and th€ Return are three faces of asingle message. No matter which of the tbree is investigated, theother two have to be iiept in view'3o

Consciously or unconsciously, every Muslim knows thetheofogy of the Shahada thus articulat€d. Consciously orunconsciously, €ach strives towards the lina.l goal. Recitation ofthe Shahada creates an obligtion to r:ndertale the four otherarA.an without whi& 'one's Islam is lacking, if not unacceptable.'rr

To summaris€, the Qur'an presents a theological model of aneternal God who is both tmnscend€nt and immanent. The

Ioi i

UNVEILING Ttt! SACRED 1

Shahatda appears at frst sight to embmce only that tust aspect

in its apparently negative declaration that 'there is no god but

God.'F"rttt". thought, how€ver, shows that an aspect of

immanence is present in the Shdhadd too. For the nature of God

in Islam is revealed more closelv to His people via His holy text,

the Qur'an; and Muhammad, 'the Messenger of God', is the

vehicle and bearer of that text, from God through the Angel

Gabri€I, to humanity.

Salnt

In the Christian tradition, prayer has classicallv been defined as

'the raising up of the mind and heart to God.'3'/ Islam stresses

both the divine and human aspects ot prayeri

Ary Muslim who fails to observe his pravers and has no

reasomble excuse is comitting a grav€ offens€ and a heinous

sin. This olTen* I so grav€ b€caus€ it is not onlv against God,

which is bad enough, but is also against the verv nature of man

It is m instinct of mm to be inctined io adore the great bemgs'

and to cpire to lofty goals. The greatest being and th€ loftiest

goal of alt is God To negled praver is to oPpress the good

qualiti€s in human nature ad unjustifiablv denv it the right to

adore ud love . . rr

The dominant theological i€ilno,ilr herc, then' is tdhin', the

praise,3{ glorification or exaltation of the Creator, in a word,

adoratiorr Such adoration is to be given, formallv and rituallv,

in praver 6ve times a day As we have seen' the injunction to

or* , . "

k"v fearure of borh rne H,drth of Cabriel and rhe

^aitn oI Reward and Punr.hmenr' And ls l"m rnsisrs thar the

burden of fivefold ritual daily praver is not onerous All

Muslims are familiar with the account of the Prophet

Mubammad's rni'raj during which ar initial divine injunction

to pray 6fqr times a day was reduced, at the urging of Moses, to

five.3s While the Qur'an itself does not specify the exact

number of prayers per dien - and'the times for the frve dailv

p.uy"." u." derived from the Koran as interyrcted ond

ST'FI RITUAL

surylemented. Vt the ha.diths'36 the obligation to glorifu andadore God is clearly and r:nequivocally laid dolm:

So (sive) glory to God,When ye reach eventideArd when ye riseIn the morniry;Yea, To Hin be praise,In the heavens md on earth;And in the late afternoonAnd when the dayBegins io decline.r'

Schimmel reminds us that the times for prayer are announcedby a special call, the alhan: thus 'sacred time' is ineluctablyassociated vith 'sacred presence'- For her this is 'similai to theenclosure that protects the spatial sanctuary from deilement.'$This, of course, contrasts with the luji where the focus is onsacred spa.e, sealed by the wearing of ihram.re

Ritual Fayer is powerfully associated w;th the concept ofritual purity. Those blemished and besmirched by the sin andpollution of the material world or body should not attempt toenter the sacred pr€sence of God in prayer in an uncleanssl state:

O ye who b€iieve!When ye prepareFor payer, washYour faces, ed you. hmds(And arms) to the elbows;Rub your heads (with water)jAnd (wah) your feet

If ye are in a stateOf ceremonial impurityBathe your whoie body ao

If water is unavailable, or ssrce, for t}re ritual ablution, thensand, earth or even snow may be substituted.ri This exteriorcleansing sfiolrid constitute, of course, an external mirror of theinterior purification of heart and mind with which the

I t0 l l l

UNVEILI!.iG THE SACRED 1

worshipper should pray. After adomtion then, a secondary

th."loeiirl |rit'noti, of prayer must be the need for puritv of

heart. (There are clear links here between this theologv of ritual

Duritv and th€ semiotic dimensions of the prayer ritual which

will be explored later on) What is interesting from a theological

DersDecti;e about the relationship between ritual prayer and

rituJ purity is the simple progr€ssion ftom physical to sPiritual

purity: the worshipper begins with a physical act of purfication,

designed to mirror an inner state, moves to the actual prayer

ritual and then 6nds that the spiritual consequence is a further

inner cteansing of sin, dirt and impuritv in the iver of prayer'{r

A third and final thmlogical leitmotiq to be derived, then, from

the rituals of saizt is the idea of saiat as a function which can

remove the stains of everyday sin. (No analogy' of course'

should be attempted here belween salat "nd bapt ism in the

Christian tradition which wipes out the stain of original sin'

The laner doctrine does not erist in Islamr'arThe theology of the salZt may thus be articulated in terms of

adoration, purification and absolution, though it cannot be

stress€d too strongly that my use of the last term conveys

absolutelv no sacram€ntal connotation akin to that of the

Cbristian term. AMatati rightly stresses that 'prayer constitutes

one pillar of Islam and is considered the Foundation of

Retigion'la while Murata and Chittick go so far as to suggest

that 'performing the saldt {ritual prayer) is, in a certain sense'

even more basic [than uttering the Shahala] '+5

Z^l<et

Zahtu. wtn tr now universallv mea.ns the obligatorv alms tax,and which contrasts with the voluntarv almsgiving called S.ddqd,originally meant 'virtue' or 'purity'a6 From this perspective,

and Lhe facr thar, by givirg voluntarv alms man can achie\e

pardon for sin,a; there ate interestng cultic. semantrc dnd

doctrinal links with the pillar of talat which we have just

discussed.as The Qur'an itself mak€s an interesting conlunctron

of oraver and za&.at in the same verse when rt counsels:

SUFI RITUAL

And be steadfast in prayer [al,sdtar];Practise regul& charity ldi zahaf]jAnd bow dom your hadsWith those who bow down (in wobhip).l,

The thmlogicat leitmottu of zahft must surely beboth acknowledging Gods own generosiry to

generosrttlman and,

practically, attempting to mirror that generosity in on€'sdealings with one's fellow man.50 There is also a thmlosv ofdirine ownership behind the pilat ol zahat. Cbisrooher iefersto the repedred references in Lhe Qur'ar) to rhe idea lhat rhepossession of personal prop€dy can be justfied onlv if theowner gives i r away treely ,nd generously . . . ln

" f f" . r ,orvnership of wealth is nor absolute; it is a rrust from God. tobe used for God's purpnses.'5l

Abdalati stresses the moral dimension: 'Zakah does not onlvpurrfu the property of rhe conrrrburor bur also purifies his hearrfrom selnshness and greed for we2trh. ln rerurn, it ourfies rhehean of rhe recipienr from enrry and jeatousy, fromkrred ,nduneasrness; and it fosters in his heart, instead, good will andwarm wishes for the contributo.'ir In line with such ideas, andlinking them with th€ purity and purification conceDtsa.'ocrated with sd/dl. Murar? and Chinick observe: .lusr

asabhrions pur: fy rhe body and sdldr punhes rhe sout, so zaharpurilies possessions and males them pleasing to God_';r

What we have, then, is a mixed theolosy of cod-orientatedpurification and generosity deriving from the co^cept of zdh .The former does not, usually, tead to a sufi style oi asceticismbut is designed to result in the latter zdhaL The mediaevaljurists, Iike Melik b. Anas, were fully aware ofthe fundamentatrmportance of zalar to the um'na as a whole, and its individualmembers, and they created a body of explanatory law which notonly served as a substratum or foundation for the theoloev of:abat, but had considerable social and socrological impticatronsas well.ta As one modern writer puts it: ,Unlike other ereatsacred books. rhe Qur'an sers out the basic headrnes oi thebudger and expenses ofrhe srare, and hisroncalty anLicipaed bysome 12 centuies th€ principle ofwhat we call social security.'s:

112 l l l

UNVEII-I^-G TUE SACRED I

The same author go€s on to cite a Jordanian civil servant who'neady defined :alar for me as "financial worship"' s6

Sawm

Although fasting in Ramadan is not the only kind of fastmentioned in the Qur'an,:7 there is no doubt that it is the mostimportant. For the fastins in the month ol Ramadan celebratesthe tust revelation of the Holy Qur'an:

Ramadhan is the (nonth)In which was sent downTieQur' . ! ,dag{ideTo nmlind, alo cleu (signs)For g{idance and judgement(B€tw€en right and srong).So every one of youWho is F€s€nt (at his home)During that monthShall spend it in fsting.53

Despite the rigours ot the fast, celebration must be accountedthe principal theological l€itmotil' here. This is particularlyevident in the evenings of Ramadnn, in th€ Islamic world, whenthe fast has ended: 'The streets are full of vendors, colouredlights and lantems (/auanas) and throngs of pmple especially insuch areas as the qua.ter ofth€ Sayyidna 'l-Husayn Mosque inCairo- The mosques in Ramadan are also full of worshipperspedorming extra prayers.'se Commentators have drawn atten-tion to the spirit o{'family closeness'which pervades theseason, rather in the manner of the \i/est€m Christmas. Thereis the same kind of present-giving and the meeting of friends.The preparations at the end of Ramadan signal a happycelebrat;on and i t is s igniFcant rhat. in Turkey. ld al- l r rr goesunder the name of S gdr Bayam because of the sweets whichare distributed.6o

The specific time of the 6rst revelation of the Qur'an duringthe month of Ramadan is said to have been d.urng Laylat al-

SUFi RITUAL

Qddr, 'the Night of Power (or Decr€e) which is believed to bethe night between th€ 26th and 27th of Ramadan, or the 27thnight.'6r This event is immortalised in the Qur'an: the whole ofSnrat al Qad.r (The Srra of Power lor The Decree]), which isno. 97 in the Qur'an, reads:

1. We have indeed revealedThis messageIn the Night of Power [Lajat a!-Qanrl

2. And what will explainTo thee what the NightOf Power is?

3. The Night of PowerIs betto thanA thousand Morths.

4. Therein came downThe angels and the SpiritBy God's permissionOn every errand:

5. Peace! .. . ThisUntil the rise of Mom.62

The Fast of Ramaden, then, although it also has othe. asp€ctsand connotations,63 is inexorably interlocked with the primalevent of lslam, the revelation of the Qur.an, the Mind of GodHimself, to His people and to the world. It is an event of suchcataclysmic importance fo. the Muslim that 'sanctmcation' isdlmosr too weal a word for $,har happens. in consequence, rothe ninth month of th€ Islamic lunar catendar. The obligationsof the fast, in terms of abstinence from food, drink, s€x andsmoking, are, of course, well,known, but extra attention butalso be paid to living righteously. As Murara and Chittickremind us: 'The Prophet said: "Five things break the fast ofthefast€r lying, backbiting, slander, ungodly oaths, and lookingwith passion "'61 ln Ramadan the lvluslim is under anoblisation not only to avoid certain things which are usuallypermitt€d but to make a positive effort to qualify himself .with

the qualities of God' (bi-ahhk4 AIIzh) in such a way that hissinful inclinations and charact€risrics may be exchanged for

t14

IJNVEILINC THN SACRED ]

more worthy ones.65 There is alr obvious mixture here ofpurification and abstinence where the outer purification of thestomach by fasting mirrors a spiritual cleansing, and where anouter avoidance of, or abstinence from, the Jicit goods and actsof this world mirrors an inner asceticism and control of temper.Some may hold that such an inner asceticism is basically unIslamic66 but it exists nonetheless, at least during the fast ofRamadan, and fuels the essentia.l motif of theological celebra-tion which is at the heart of this month.

Fasting is also regarded as a protection asainst violence orwrongdoing. The Prophet is recorded as having said; 'Fasting isa protection for you, so when you are fasting, do not behaveobscenely or foolisbly, and if anyone argues with you, or abusesyou, say "I am fasting, I am fasting"'.07

A secondary, but almost equally powerful, theologicalIeitmotb to be identifred with this month of Ramadan is thetwin edfice of atonement and forsiveness. Islanic traditiont€ach€s that whil€ the sat€s of Heaven are opened duringRamadan, those of Hell are fumly closed and the devils arechained.63 Folklore, recorded by Lane, holds that even the jinn

are imprisoned: 'Hence, on the eve ofthe festival which followsthat month, some of the women of Eg1pt, with the view ofgeventing thes€ objects of dr€ad from €ntering their houses,sprinkle sa.lt upon the flools of the apartments; saying, as theydo it, 'In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.'6eA proper observance of Ramadan, undertaken with a trueintmtion, will secure forgiveness of sin.70 Prayet dvrng Laylatal Qdlr is particularly efficacious in achieving pardon for pastsins.tr

Fina.lly, fasting brings down God's rewad. \i/e thus have atheological triangle of celebration, atonemert and forgiveness,and divine reward. This last is clearly speJled out in a statementby the Prophet to the effect that 'the smell of the breath ofa manfasting is better with Allah than the scent of musk.' The Prophetcontinued: Alleh says, "He leaves his desires and his food and&ink for My sake. Fasting is for me and I reward it. Every goodaction is reward€d by ten times its Lind, up to seven hundredtimes, except fasting, which is for Me and I reward it."'t2

I 15

SIIFI RITUAL

A modern Islamic catechism confrrms this: 'Fasting is a greatworship performed bodily for our Creator. The Almighty givesthe reward offastjng Himsell Fasting has many advantages forthe body and soul.'t3

Haii

The ia, creates and establishes a complex threefold theologicalparadigm whose interlinked constitu€rt elements are:

1. Commemo.ation ol and reflection upon, an archetypicalpast. That past is annually rnnrored in the present andcombhed with an expectation of the eschatological future.

2. A worship of celebration, thanksgiving and confirmation.3. What may be termed here 'the fundamental theology of

The frsr element structures the haj within t'vo historical timeframes by its evocation both of the great patriarch lbralum, andthe Prophet Muhammad's famous, and seminal, Pilgrimage ofFarewell. It also looks forwa.rd to a third 'time frame'. ,vith therrrqtt at 'Arafet, that of the Last Judgement, when all mankindwill stand in judgernent before God. The second elementcelebrates the religion of Islam, together with its associationswith Mecca and the Ka'ba to*'ards which all Muslims pray fivetimes a day. It contums a,od strcngthens Muslims in their faithin a way that contumation in the Christian Church or BarMitzvah in Judaism does for Ctristians and Jews respectively.The third element echoes the Quianic injunaion to command

sood and forbid evilia in its'rejection of lblis,/ob€dience toGod'theology.

The complexity of the physical, spiritual and ritual elementsof the pilsrimage makes it impossible to disentangle andidentify a single, dominant theological leitmotiu There is notone but several: a list would include the commemoration of Godand His prophets, worship, obedience to God, Islam in its fullsense of submission, repentance and the seeking forgivmess forsin, judgement, and sacrifice to God. The lrajj has been neady

1t6 117

LN"\DlLi\C TtlE SACRED I

characterised as 'a grand rite of passage, a move from

involvement with this world to occtpation with God' and,

therefore, 'a kind of death.'tr The tladith of Gabriel, and the

Hadith of Reward and Punishment, cited earlier, each

emphasise the need to make the pilgrimage to Mecca with the

two phrases 'Islam is . . . to make the pilgrimage to the House if

you are able to do so' (Al'lslan an . . t/J,hujjd al'bayt in'stotd'ta

ildlhi sdbrl"")r-6 and 'You shouid mal€ the pilgrimage to the

I{otse' lwa tahuiu ol bart).ii

Mecca has a unique role. Schimmel holds that th€ citv of

Mecca is blessed by the presence of the sacred Ka'ba' and

characterises it as 'an omphalos, the navel of the earth. ltis,for

the pious, th€ earth bound oPposite, geographicallv, to the

celestial Ka'ba in Paradise.Ts

All of these classical and modem textual references are borne

out by the t€xt of the Qur'an itself:

Beholdl We save the sit€,

To Abraham, of the (sacred) House,

(Saying): ,Associate not anyth'ng(ln worship) with \{e:

And wctify J\'|y House

For those who compass it round,

Oi stmd up,

O. bow, or prostrate themselves(Thereir in prayc).

Ard prmlaim the Pilgrimage

Among men: they will come

To thee on foot md (mount€d)

On oery kind of camel,

Lem on accout of jouineys

Though deep md distant

Mountain highways;

That they may s'itness

The beneGts (provided) for them,

,{nd celehrat€ the name

Of Cod, through the Days

Appointed, ov€. the cattle

SUFi RITUAL

Which He has povided for thm(For sacrifice): then eat yeTheteof and feed the distressed

Then let them completeThe rites prescribedFor them, perform their voss,And (aeain) circummbulat€The An ient House.Such (is the Pilgrimase):Whoeur honoltrs the sactedRites oj God, for himIt X sood in the si9htOJ h;s Lord l

The individual rituals, arld the chronoiogy ofthe hajj, have beensurveyed countless times in many other places.3o It is notproposed to duplicate those descriptions here but rather roconcentrate on the elements of the threefold paradigmadumbrated above. Where relevant, reference will be made, ofcourse, to the individual rituals and chronology of the fiajj.

Pilgrirnage was certainly well-known in Pre lslamic Arabiaand there is abundant epigraphic evidence for the dedication ofpeople ard objects to various deities, as well as penitentialtemple rites.3l

(iaudefroy Demombynes believes the pilgrimage to be 'anhstitution of peculiar interest to the \{uslim religion' seeing itas 'a revival and a syncretism of ancient rit€s commonthroughout the Semitic East. sr Muslims believe that Adamand Eve learned the rites of the pilgrimage from the angelGabriel.3r However, our first delinitive time frame;s that oftheprophet lbrahim. Several events in his life are commemorated,or even rc-enacted, during the fr4J.

Firstly, Ibraiirn will be forever associated with the Ka'basince, with Ismail his son, he is the re,builder of that edfice.3+Muslims circumambulate the Ka"ba during the hajft. Hasar(Hajar) and Isma'rl, having be€n cast out by Ibrahim, foundthemselves in the locality of present day N{ecca. Hagar's {rantic

118

L \ \ I ILI \C fHE s,{CRED I

running up and down in a search for water is commemorated bythe sevenfold sd'f between al-Safa and al-Marwa in the hdjjrituals today.36 Iblis was stoned by Ibr,lim in a.n effort by theprophet to wa.d oIf temptation. Mtslims duing the hajj engagein a lapidation ritual in the Valley of Mina and throw a numberof pebbles at three columns in emtlation of what lbrahim did.37Finally, Ibrahim's srblime obedience in being willing tosacrifice his son Isma-J in most accounts - is celebrated byMuslims throughout the world on 'Id al'Adha.33

The linking of the pahiarch Ibrahrm to the Islamic haj, andthe annual modem emulation by pilgrims of his actions, steepsthe lai turther in a prophetic history to which it is alreadylinked from the beginning of time to the end of time: Adam, the6rst prophet, is revered as the tust builder of the Ka'ba;"g *1t;1"the uqnf at 'Arafet looks forunrd to the Day ofJudsement, theend of human time and beginnins of an eschatological era.'qO Inbetween, however, are the two major 'time frames'to which wehave referred. We have examined that of the patriarch Ibrahrminow we turn to that of the Prophet N{uhammad and hisPilsimage of Farewell.

The Farewell Pilgrimage of the Prophet, undertalen in A.D.632 shordy before his death, created the definitive ritualparadigm for all succeeding generations.el The early Muslimsources confirm that this was the case. Al-Tabari notes: 'TheMessenger o{ God proceeded to perform his pilgrimageshowing the people its rites and teaching them its customs-'e2Ibn Istleq's words transmitted via Ibn Hisham are almostidentical: '(ln its cours€) the Messenger showed the men therites and taught them the customs of the pilgrimage.'e3Furthermore, as John Renard puts it, 'he sanctified deinitivelythe Ka'ba and the sites in the vicinity of Makka, making themforever integral to the Nluslim ritual of the Hajj . . .''y4

Al Tabari's account refers to the Pilgdmage of Farewell inthe context of the ival prophet Musaylima, and notes that the'pretensions' of the latter coincided with the Prophet Muf,ammadh 6nal illness after the Pmphet's return from this pilgrimage. Al-Tabart notes that Mutrammad began his preparationsfor the pilgimage in the month of Dhu 'l Qa'da. He records

119

S.FI RITUAL

the Prophet's famous farewell speech in which he begins bysaying that he does not Lnow whether he will ever neet thepeople again in that place in a succeeding year. Blood andprope.ty are to b€ considered sacrosanct in th€ sarne way as thatday and month are regarded as sacred. The Prophet's speech islaced with verses from the Qu.'an as he proceeds.ei

Al Tabari concludes with the Prophet's identification of

'Arafat, al Muzdalifa, and Mina as formal 'stations' of the hajand strcsses how the Prophet instructed his people in thediverse rituals of th€ pilgrimage: these included the lapidationdtes, the ldlratof the Ka'ba, and the ritual prohibitions. 'It wasthe Farewell Pllgrtmage (llajjdt al-WaAz) and the Pilgrimagefor Conveying the lvlessage (Hajjat al'Balzgh), because theNlessenger of God did not ma-k€ any pilgrimage a.fter that.'e6

Throughout this frral pilgrimage, the Prophet is portrayed asbeing supremely conscious of the legacy of Ibrahm, whose heirin a very real sense he was. Thus he emphasised the great age ofthe pilgrimage arld its links with the patriarch. For example,It {uslim notes: 'And then soing to th€ Place of Abraham (in theHanm), he recited: And adopt the Place of Abraham as a placeof prayer."' (Quran 2:12s)."

It is clear, then, that the two historical time frames to whichwe have referred, at:rd whose substance we have delineated here.were inexorably linled fiom the very beginning of lslam andthey have continu€d to be linked to the present day. Not on-ty dothey frame the various theological leilnotirs of the ftajjidentified above, but, as we have sugsested, they project themind of the pilgrim for. ard to a final, more terrifying 'time

frame', when time will meet eternity on the yaunn al q\ana.The uqrtat 'Arafat is the temporal mirror of that forthcomingeschatological realit]'. This is why the themes of repentance andmeditation upon judgement are essential to the pilsrimage andthe pilg.im mentalitlr

The commemoration of a classical. archetypical past was the6rst element which we identified in a threefold theologicalparadism extrapolated from the laji. The second element wascharacterised as a 'worship of celebration, thanlsgiving andcontumation.' lt will be sufveyed more briefly here.

120 121

U\IEILING THE SACRED 1

A modern Turkish catechism describes the frai as 'a worshipperformed bodily and spiritually.''q3 A volume produced for

lv{alay students strcsses the diversity of purposes served by the

hat: it constitutes a huge 'annual convention of faith'i it

d€monstmtes the 'universality of Islam and the brotherhoodand equality of the Muslims'; it confirms 'the commitment of

the Muslims to God'; it acquaints pilgrims 'with the spiitualand historical environmmt' of the founder-Prophet Muham-madr it commemorates, as we have seen, 'the Divine rituals

observed by Abraham ard Ishmael'; and'it is a reminder ofthe

Grand Assembly on the Day of Judgement when pmple wili

srand equal before Cod. uairrne lor rheir l-inal Desiny ""Another author notes how the pilgrim'experiences a dim,

inward sense of the power of Islam that can bring together eachyear so many men of strange races and incomprehensibletongues.'l oo

There is also a confirmatory 'political theology' which can be

extrapolated fiom this element which we have characterised as'a worship of celebration, thanksgiving and confirmation ' The

hajj has always been multi dimensional, mixing religion inter

alid with trade, travel, politics and the exchange of ideasl0rRevolutions have be€n start€d by returnins pilgrims, underlining the truism rhat lslamic poliiics and Islamic theology aretecbnically lvo sides of the same coin.102 The impetus for the

establishment of snfl Orders has often had a similar origin.r03

And 'the social, political and symbolic weight'1G ofthe iajj wasrecognised by leaders in the Arab arrd Islamic world such asPresident Gamal Nasser: after accompanying an Egyptianmission to Saudi Arabia to express condolences on the d€ath ofthat state's king, Nasser stood in front of the Ka'ba aJId 'realised

the need for a radical chaage of our conception of thePilgrimage.'1o5 He told hirnself: 'The journey to the Qaaba

[sic] should no longer be consbued as an admission card toParadise or as a crude attempt to buy forgiveness of sins afterteading a dissipated life.'r06 His view was

the Pilgrimage should have a poiential political power' Theworld press should hasto to follow and feature its news not by

slfi RtTl.r.\L

drawing attractive pd picture of its rites dd rituals for thedelrctation of readers, but by its repre*othg a p€riodicalpolitical conference whereir the heads of all Islmic States,leaders of opinion, scientists, eminent industrialists odprominent business men assernble to draw up at this *orldIslmic Paliment the broad lines of policies to be adopted bytheir respective countries and lay down the principles ensuringtheir close co-operation until they have again gathered togetherin the following session 1or

What Nasser envisaged, then, was not just 'a worship ofcelebration, thanksgiving and confirmation' such as wasoutlined above but a politicat apotheosis of lslam or, to put itanother way, an lslamic apotheosis of politrcs.

The third constituent element of our threefold thmlogicalparadigm was what may be termed 'the fundamental theolog]of lbrahim.' This is a theology of oMience according to whichlbrahim was prepared to sacrince his son without qu€stion ordemur, simply because it was required of him by God.ro3 Itincluded as its substratum a rej€ction of lblis symbolised inthe stonins ofthe pillars in the Valley of N{inaro'q during the lajj

and contrasts vividly with the fundamental disobedience ofIbLs in refusing to bow down and revere Allah's new creation,Adam.rr0 A further contrast is the implicit humility of Ibra*rimand the explicit arrogance of lblis. Muslims on the [a, modelthemselves both on the obedience of lbrehim when they obeythe injunction of Allah to visit the Ka'ba, I I I and on the rej€ctionof Iblis by Ibr,hm wher they cast their stones in N{ina.

Every r hn, th€r, has its theoiogic2l l"itrnotirs: enumeratedtogether they inciude tauhid, nubuuud, tabbr, pUrification,absolution, generosity, celebmtion, atonement, seeking forgive-ness, divine reward, cornnemoration, worship, obedience.submission, rcp€ntance, judgement and sacrfice. The arA.anmay thus be seen to articulate a dogmatic and ritual theology,some of whose aspects are common to many world religions buta few of which, tahen toeethet, delineate and define Islam as adtr. They are tauhd, nubuwwo and submission. The arLanconstitute a t!/o way penta structure of dogma and ritual

122 12.]

UNVEILJNG THE IACRTD 1

whereby God seeks to bind man, arld man seeks to articulatc hrs

response We saw that dmong lhe l?irnutiu of the drhdn \')/' rc

.u. l t .on,"p,. a aronement and seelrng forgrreness -Thc

Arabic language itself provides a primarv linguistic paradtgm

*hi.h is oik"i 'el"uu"ie

in illustrating the whoie point: tdobd

means rrepentance' and 'fie Arabic verb Ebd, said of a man'

indicates i'to repeni"; when it is said of God it means "to

forgive." Thus ialuurdb means both "repentant" (a man) and

"Forgiving" (God).''11

4.? PhenomenologY

It is a trursm thar thete (dnnor be an odequ'te phiJosophv uf

somelhing ui thour an inJormed knowledge of thdr thine" '

This is as-true of all the great world religions as everything else

And the approaches to those religions, arrd their individual

dimensions, are diverse One popular' and useful' approach rs

that of the phenomenolocist o];eligion 'The phenomenologv

of relision, Ninian Smart reminds us' 'seeks to draw out

mryini pauerns and these are irnportant.'1la ln lslam there is a

'patteriiof6'e pillars, one of which is credal and four ofwhich

are practical oi ritualistic We v,'ill return to articulate a

phenomenology of the d|&an in a little whrle'

PhenomeJogy generatly, and the phenomenologv. of

religion in pardcirlar, 'illuminates th€ necessitv for the rather

heaiy contextualisation of religious utterances '1tt 'lhe 'hahdda

is no't proclaimed *ithilr a uoid but *ithitt a tareful framework

of religious belief and ritual Phenomenologv of religion mav

ir'"" "i"-;""

carefully the structures of religion within which

belief and ritual are articulated, or, to pui it another wav' bv

which belief and ritual are clothed An examination of

structures can provide insight and illuminate the esse'ltlal

features of what is under discussion at anv one time "oNinian Smart identifies nine dimensions for a religion: the

ritual or practical, the doctrinal or philosophical' the mvthic or

nanativ€; the exp€riential or emotional, the ethical or lesal' the

organisational oi social, the material or artistic, the political

and, finally, the economic.rrT However, for the purposes of thiss€ction, it is his first category that of'the ritual or practicaldimension'. which concerns us here. He defines this as the areaof religion which includes such things as 'worship, meditation,pilgrimage, sacrilice, sacramental rites and healing activities.'Smart confesses that he is aware that it is unusual to considermeditation as a ritual but he draws aftention to the fact thatmeditation often has a strict pattem and thus may licitly beincluded in a list which embmces the itual and the practical "8

Formal rituals may involve formal language or formal actionsor, most oft€n, a mixture of both.rre Good examples from thedrhan of such a mixing are in the salzt and the hdi rituals. Ritualboth feeds and responds to expeience. Mosque and Church, artald arch;tecturc are aids to the appreciation of th€ spiritual andthe divine. Ritual chant, whether it be from the minaret or thepulpit, plays its part in sharpening one's spiritual perceptions.Rites. Smart concludes. delineate rhe paLh of the spirir.l'0

In the domain of ritual. space and time may vanish.121 Thepast becomes, indeed is, the present. Smart's example is that ofthe Cbristian faithful who, on Easter Sunday, proclaim 'JesusCbist is risen today.'l, Another useful parallel is the RomanCatholic belief that the sacrifice of the Mass is not a rcpetition ofCalva.ry but the same sacrifice made sacramentally present uponthe altar: 'The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover. . .In the sense of Sacred Sc.ipture the ms,noriai is not merely therecollection of past events but the prcclamation of the mightyworks wrought by God fot mer . . . In the lituqial celebration ofthese ermtq thej becone in a certain way present onl rea,l-'t2lHere, in a very vivid way in Catholic belief, space and tirne areset at naught.

Though the hayl' rituals lack the sacramental character ofwhat has been described, there is a very real sense in which thetwin evocations of IbreLim and Muhammad, and theirassociation with these rituals, as well as the evocation at 'Arafatof the Last Judgement, all serve to transcend any sense of spaceand time for the pilgrims who undertake the iajj.

Phenomenologically, the ari.4n e{hibit a dual dimension: inthe frst place, they constitute a 'block of belief, action and/or

'124 124

L]NVT]LINC TH! SACRED I

ritrnl', a pattem, a summary of religion, which may loosely beparalleled by other blocks such as the seven sacraments olRoman Catholic Christianity or the Noble Eightfold Path ofBuddhismr?a which comprised right view, right thought, rightspeech, ight action, right livelihood, ight €ffort, right mindfrrlrress, right concent.ation, and which was fundamentally a'schene of moral and spiritual self-development leading toEnlightenment.'12i Obviously such parallels must not bepushed too far; there are clear differences, for exampl€, betweenpure rituals such as the Islamic lraji and Buddhist concepts fromthe Eighdold Path such as samma samadh; (ight concentration).126 However, th€rc is no doubt that, just as the BuddhistPath aims to defeat rhe negative aspects of every character,127the live Islamic arlan may b€ said to strive towards the samegoal. And if we follow an eishteenth certury Chinese Muslim,Ma Fu ch'u, and use his terminology of 'the Five VirtuousActs', th€n the similarities become even more apparent:

For all lods under Heaven,the dctrine of the Prophet ruNcomprising Rites fot humm s@ietyard the Heavenly Path.To confess the Sovereign Godis the tust requirement,and this central ritualis most woDdrous-The Heavenly Path is cultivatedby the Five Virtuous Acts:the V;tuous Act of enunciating the Truth lshdfiaddfi]with the heart turn€d io God;the Vinxous Act of ritualising the Truth lsdlan]with the body adoring God;the Virtuous Act of fastins ls(1umlto mster the p.omptings of desire;the Virtuous Act of havenly charity lzdean]to 6sist the orphus dd the ne€dy;the Virtuous Act of pilsimage [ldr]forsaking home md family.l'?e

SI.IFi RITTJAI-

What we have n the arhan is a thumbnail summary of theessentials of Islam, phenomenologicaily delineated from earliesttimes as a block of five key points, not all pure act, not alldogmatic position, but a m&ture of theological statement(sfrahada), ascetical practice (sdun and zahat) and physicalmovement (sdlat and haj) which may all be characterised a-s'rites' or 'rituals'. lfitual is a 'behavioural or bodily activity .ra'then this is true in one sense or another of all the ar[,nn: even theShahada employs the physical motor of speech except whenrecited mentally. lf rituals are 'rendered efGcacious by exactrepetition'l3o then this is certarnly true of all the ar[.En. Andwhile the laj may be a unique experience for the individualbecause of the constraints of time and cost. it is a seminal eventwhich has been repeated down the centuries by the ivluslimUnna as a whole. Finalir', if the core, or at least one core, ofritual in religion 'is the practice of worship, that is praise orhomaee rendered to a God',1r1 then according to this definitionevery single one of the orian may be classified as a ritual sinceeach constitutes, in its own way, an act of worsh;p.

I sussested earlier that, phenomenolosically speaking, thearban exhibited a dual dimensionr in the frrst place, theyconstituted a fvefold 'summary of religion'. If we now turn tothe second dimension, it is thjs: each of the five pillars may beconceived of as beins 'ordinary rites of religion (by contrastwith the'extraordinarv'rites such as circumcision and initiationinto lslam, which can only take place once). These 'ordinary'rites are located in human time and space but they sanctify orsacralise that human time or space in such a way that it b€comessacred time or space. In this way the spiritual path is traced orwoven,lrr and space and time may even seem to be abolished.For elample, the repetition of the Shahada always takes place ata moment in human time, and in a set location, but, lslamically.it evokes a timeless. eternal God unbounded and unrestrainedby spatral considerations. The hall, as we have seen, evokes andmakes present the saintly figures oflbrahrm and Nlubammad aswell as the powerful image arrd reality of the Last Day. Fastinsin this life during Ramadan e!'okes thoughts of an eternal

Qur'an. The generosiiy of man in giving zc&tt is an imitation,

126 r27

U\VEII- IN(] THE SACRTD 1

albeit a pale one, of the generosity of God Himsellrr3 faiat for

the Muslim is a ladder from the material to the spiritual, the

temporal io th€ et€rnal, which parallels in its fivefold nature the

fivefold nature of the arh.an. All of these points conlirm Smart's

fundamental point that ritual may be a potent instrument in the

very abolition of space and time.lr1 If doctrine can bring us to

some perception of the Divine, then ritual can bring us even

closer.'$ All of this is intensely true of the five Islamic athdn

whose fundamental phenomenology may be assessed in terms

of their being a block 'summary of religion' as well as a neatlv

structured path to the spiritual.

4.3 AnthrcPologY

From what has been said already in particular, the frequent

citations oi and references to, the Hadrth of Gabriel and the

Hadith of Reward and Punishrnent it is evident that the drhan

are of the essence of lslam. It should therefore be equallv

evident that any speciic anthropology of the drhan must derive

from and flow naturally out of, a general anthropologv of Islam

if that can be established. We staJr then with Talal Asad's own

general question: 'What, exactlli is the anthropology of lslam?

What is its object of investigation?' And the answer is neither

selt evrdent nor easy.Li6Diverse answers have been offered, ranging from a denial

that Islam exists as a 'theoretical object', through the id€a that'Islam is the anthropologist's label for a heterogeneous

collection of items, each of which has been designated Islamic

by informants', to the concept of Islam as 'a distinctive

histoical totality which organizes various aspects of social

life.'r'For Asad, anthropologists such as Abdul Hamid El-

Zein and Michael Gilsenan got it wrongr33 Asad believes that

Islam, and so, implicitly, we might add, the Iive pillars of lslam,'as the object of anthropoloeical understanding should be

approached as a discursive tradition rhat connects varrously

with the formation of rnoral selves, the manipulation ofpopulations (or .esistance to it), and the prcduction of

SIFI RITUAL

appropriat€ knowledges.'lre He insists that lslam is primarily atradition mther than 'a distinctive social structure' or 'heterogeneous collection of beliefs, aitifacts, customs and morals. rrt'

Tradition is instructive discourse which relates to both past andtuture tbrcugh the medium of the present.lat Any anthropologyof Islam must. therefore. 'seek to understand the historicalconditions that enable the production and maintenance ofspecifrc discursive traditions.'ra'

It is in the light of such staternents that the dr&.an may beevaluated and illuminated from an anthropological persp€ctive.We have earlier suggested that each ru[n or pillar may becharacterised as a ritual or a rite143 in one way or another. Now aritual may be a book or a piece of symbolic behaviour or 'aptperformance'.raa )lIost of all, however, as Denny puts it, 'ritual

is for the participant a reenactment of a profound truth.'ra5 Wehave already seen how the hajj, for example constitutes atradition which does indeed refer back and forth to both past(lbFhim, Mubanmad) and future (the Last Day) fiom thelit€ral standpoint (the u qnJat 'tuafat) ofthe present.r46 Adam,IbLs, Ibrahim, Isma'rl, Jibril, Muhammad, and God as Judge,are evoked by means of physical materials such as stones (rlreBlack Stone in the Ka'ba, th€ stoning of the pi ad, and water(Zamzam), and by means of physical actions such as running(betwe€r al-Safe arrd al-Marwa) and standing (at 'Arafdt). And;f it is insisted that th€ true focus, in any anthropological studyof the ar&rn must be on the htman figure himself, then it is thefigure of the Mar-Prophet, lv{uhammad, himself which toomslarge over each of the arhan, whether it be as a focus u,ithin theHadith of Cabriel or as a paradigm for future pilgrimage ritual,as with Muhammad at the Pilgrimage of Farevell or as the onewho receives 6nal confrmation that prayer should be 6ve timesa day. The Man'Prophet articulates, verbally or by action, theFive Pillars as discunive traditions which imbue the present,hark back to the past and look forward to the tuture.r+; Thesepillars constitute the elemental discourses whereby everyMuslim lives and, at a fundamental level, organises his dailylife. Thus any anthropology of the arban, as with anyanthropology of lslam itself, will try to comprehend the history

128 129

IN\f I I - I \U THT l CREL] I

indeed the proto-histo.y, which gave rise to such discourses m

the first place.r+3Furthermore, holv or sacred persons reifv, inhabit and

'mulr iolv holv or sacred spaces Cl inlon Bennet( drdw"

anenl ion lo Vrrcea El iade s idea rhat rel ig ious cenrres tend to

be replicated in other ptaces. In Islam, for example, Mecca is

the archetvoical model for a whole varietv of other tombs and

"h'in"". Cii"t"" holds that this is a good example of Islamic

kulid where all sacred space in Islam is nothing but an

elaboration of the paradigmatic sacred space which is Mecca

itself. The'one' may have a plural manifestation but it remams

one. This parallels the philosophicat concept beloved bv Ibn

al 'Arah and others of 'C)neness of Being' according to which

erentlune is a manifestatron of Cod 14" AnJ r-he Ka-ba rn

Mecca, rhar cenrral focal pornr foI rhe unicirv oi lslamnacred

soace. is also a channel of comrnunication between Heaven and

earth through which passes, in Eliade's phrase' 'the A;is

Mudi.ri Clinton concludes that 'this axis is also refer-red to in

Musl i rn metaphysics as the Q'r lb "hr.h i :both ar is ald

'.pirirual centre'. lt car manife.r in a person a' well ds a

Dlace. lrr

There i . a ver\ real sen.e in uhich rhe diurnal lsalal

Shah,ada) or annuJ (5d um, bo'jj ' zahat) rcpetition of individual

aspects of the arban 'cons€crates' the arena within which it is

oerformed, and males present once again the prcphetic/

irophetic memories with which that ruhn is associated'p;.allv asoects of the anthropology ol tb.e arhzn can t>e

developei into a mystical anthropolosv' as happened with Q'di

Sa'id Qummr (died 1691). Thus Corbin notes: "Wlren Qadr

Sa'rd Qummi invites us to rell€ct upon th€ general form of the

Temple- [of the Ka'ba] as the figuration of a human Person' the

Anthrooos or 'Perfect Man', 6rst divine Emanation and God's

Vicar (-Khallfat Allah) over all Creation, he speciies that bv this

we should understand him who was the firral seal of legislative

prophecy.. . '1"

SUIi RITLI L

4.4 &miotics

Everythins signilies. The Qur'all itselfis a *'orld of sisns: 'Soonwill We show them Our Signs in the (furthest) Regions (of thcearth), and in their own souls.' (.Sd-mnlii'n ayddna f.'l afaa u,)f anlusihirn).'i We may agree with Stiver that 'both universaland symbolic language are indirect and inexact pointers totruth, but both may point to truth.'ria The same may be said otsemiotics, an imprecise mode of analysis despite its regimentation and ordering by the great semioticians of our age such asLrmberto Eco.rii We note. too, Tillich's distinction betweensymbols and signs: 'Both point beyond themselves, but symbolshave more than an arbitrary or conventional relationship withthat to which they point. A red l;ght or a number has nointrinsic relationship \,,'ith what it represents. but a symbol.according to Tillich's second poini, particjpates in the reality towhich it points. The example he gives is a country's Ilag 'i:rThese points may be borne in mind as we examine the semiotictruths ;mplicit for Muslims in the live dr&on. Houever, it has tobe admitted that the distinction betwe€n symbol and sisn ma]not always be as clear cut, in the analysis which follows, asTiliich might have liked.

Everything signifies as we have just observed. Everl religionhas its sign system, often implicitly or explicitly bound up with.or into, both dogma and ritual. Catholic Christianity, forexample, has a 'sign system' of seven sacram€nts, Christfounded in the eyes ofthe believer. the true semiotic impulse oiwhich is irticulated in the classical definition of the word'sacrament' as 'ar outwi sign of inward grace, ordained byJesus Christ , by which grace is given to our souls. ' r ' ;Sacramental signs have a past, present ard future dimension.just as the hdjj in Islam has a similar threefold aspect. St.Thomas Aquinas noted: 'Therefore a sacrament js a sign thatcommemorates what precedes it Christ's Passion; demonstrates what is accomplished in us through Christ's Passiongrace; and prefigures what that Passion pledges to us futu.eglorl'.'rss Hugh of St. Victor, whom Ta.lal Asad characterises as'the most iniluential theologian of the twelfth century']ie also

130 1l l

L \.'VF.I]-I\C THL SACIIEIJ I

stressed the idea of sacrament as commemorative sign:

According to Hugh, a sacrament, from rts moment ot

authoritative foundation, is a complex network of signifiersand signifieds which acts, like an icon, commemorativety. Whatthis icon signihes is already present in the minds ofparticipants.It points backward to their memory and forward to their

exp€ctation. .'160 ,{sad believes that here Hugh uses as his

source Augustine's De Docnind Cirisridnd with its notion that'signs are things that give knou4edge of other things . . '161 lnwhat follows, it will become evident that the a7han, very

different though they are, theologicall! and ritually, from the

seven sacraments of Catholic Clhristianrtl nonetheless conlorm

to th€ fundamental paradigm just articulated of the elements of

a 'faith summarl" or 'package as commemotuhre sqnsFurthermore, just as we sa$ that $e sacrament was dehned

classically as 'an out*ard sisn of inward srace', so roo, the

ar&an and the rituals associated with them have 'an outwardform and an inner meaning'.]"]

Cornm€nting on the Shdftada Schimmel says that she caneasi ly undersrand hou rhe qorJ" of i r . ruo parts c.nsr irure dpowerful fortification which provides a safe reftge 1or theN,Ius1im.r6r Here she clearly echoes al-Cihazali sho, citins ahd.dnh qud:i, notes that man's naturc is fundamentally weakOnly th€ Siuhadd can prevent ihe realisation of his greatest

horror, the eternal lires of Hell. God has siven marl the Sldraddas a castle of protection: the entrant of that castle is safe liomGod s wrarh 'b+

'l'he .Shahada commemorates or, better, evokes God as aneternai, single Realitl', past, present and futu.e, and evokes, too,the name of the Prophet Nfuhammad whose earthly life may bein the past but u'ho lives ia erernity now and who will intercedefor Nfuslim sinners on the Last Day, in the future The

statement signals an uncompromising monotheism as well as a

belief in \{ubammad as the seal of the prophets. The out}'ardform ofthe verbal articulation ofthe Shdiadd, which admits thewould be convert to Islarn and rraintaias that person within the

fold, mirrors an inner acceptance ol and devotion to, td&tidand nablurua. The Ism.'ili Qadr ai Nu'mtn (died 97a) held

SUfI RITUAL

that belief (d/-t ran) included profession of the tongue (qarlbi-'l-lls.n) as well as confirmation in the heart (la'diq i','I-janan).16! The verbal Shahala should therefore be thtsemiotic indicator, par excellence, of the believing heart.

John Renard reminds us that the Persian mystic and poelRumi (1207 1273) likened the fivefold sdlat to the 6\'isenses.rbb Al-Nawawr reported that'Prayer is light' (al-saiatntr)r67 and characterised it as a pillar ('and).r63 As acommemorative sign, the salat evokes a Prophetic, and N.Iosaic.past in which the fivefold nunber of prayers was settled durinethe r1i"aj, reilies that past in the present and looks to aneschaiolosical future in which Lluhammad's prayerful intercession (sia,/h?) will save sinful Nluslims.'6e As the Testanent(Wasilya) ascribed to Abn Hiintfa puts it: 'The intercession ofour prophet Nfuhammad is a reaiity for all the Pmple ofl'aradise, even for hirn rvho had commired a sreat sin.'r;o

The sdl.l also has outward forms and inward meanings. Thcmost notable example is the need lor tahdra (purificationrbefore prayer. The outward ablution signals an internal 'prayerof forgiveness and mercy'r;1 Thus outer purilication isassociated with inner cleansing and prayer:'1'he Propherlvluhammad has said: "He who rnales ablution afresh revivesand refreshes his faith."'r72

The compulsory alms tax, zahat, is a sign of purilication aswell. An older classical meaning of the Arabic word zal,ar uas'purity'and the zaA'' was one uho was 'l'ure from sin.Righteous, Compassionate.'1;-1 Al-Nawawt held that the. atfi rst, closely related rollniarl alms-giving (al :a&rqa)' extlnguishes sin as water extinguishes lire ''7i There is, then, apermanent l iDk in the mind between 'v ir tue' , 'pur i t_v.'purification from sin on the one hand, and alrns tar' anda.lms giving'on th€ other in the sema.ntic range ofsuch words aszahat and sadaqa.l;'The Qur'ar in several places applauds'benevolence' and 'giving' as a sign of the true believer and hrsvirtue. Za[ar also has a.*'ide commemorative range. signalling aheroic past in which zalai became transformed into a '6scalinstitution', r;6 a present in which the believers are reminded oftheir obligations to those less well off than themselves, and a

132

I I \VEILING THE SA(]RED ]

future in eternity in *hich A ah's purposes will have been

fnltuled and there will be no need of sadaq.L r'ot zdhat

Al Nawawi characterised fasting (al saum) as a 'shield'

0 flnd).';; The $ord also translates as 'protection' or 'shel'

ter'.r;!i As we have already noted the fast in Rama<lan

commemorates, indeed celebrates, the hrst revelation of rhe

Holy Qur'an which occurred in a Prophetic past but which is

made present by a rigid month long ascesis signalling the

eternal importance of that sacred event. The fast of Ramadan

also signals a future eternal happiness for the devout observer of

that fast. Ashraf suggests that the two jovs of fasting identified

by the Prophet Nluhammad the joy of ftat at the end of each

dayt fasting, and the sighting of the nev moon signalling the

eni of the month of Ramadan are sisns of a further, celestial

p",r ot joy": the siahL of Paradr"e-airer Jearh and rhe ' 'e l ' r ol

Cod on the Dar of Resurrect ion '"

\{alik ibn Anas, as we have seen, recounts a hmorrs badith in

which God is said to prefer the smell of a faster's heath to ihe

smell of musk. The hadnh soes on to stress thai, because the

fasting is done for the sale of God alone, Cod rewards that actlon

in a special wa1,13o The sheer power of the fa-st of Ramadar is

sisnaLled in the following quotation. also noted above' from

Nl-lik: 'Yahya related to me from MaLik from his paternal uncle

Abu Suhayl ibn \{alik from his father that Abu Huravra sard,

"Whm Ramadan comes the gales ofthe Garden are opened and

the gates ofthe Fire are locked, and the shavtans are chained "'r 3'

The fast ofRamadan, then, is an annual commemoration ofa

past event vr'hose devout observance in the present signals for

it" lvt""tinr "ot

o"ty "n

increase in spiitual power in his own

age over the forces of darkness but the promise of eternal

happiness in the future lrs outward form of phvsical

ren;nciation mirrors ar inner meaning which embraces, again,

a purification and cleansing of soul and a turning ln repentance

and hope to the Creator' Iadeed, the outward form is

deliberately desisned to foster the'inner fast'\lherebv the

aspirant on the spiritual path accepts the discipline of

abstinence from even those things permitted bv the law and

ultimately tries to avoid all and everything in an endeavour, at

133

SfFi F I ' I LAL

the hishest stage of inner fasting, to focus on cod.'3: Such. otcourse, is the constant aspiration of the sufi.

The semiotics of the ha, are wide ranging. Only a few willbe highlighted here. In the 6rst place, the links of the grearPatriarch lbranirn with the hd, signal the twir themes otsubmission and obedience, as we have already seen. Secondl,,.the Prophet l{uhammad's Pilgrimage of Farewelt established aritual paradigm and signalled tle need for religious continuitl..Thirdly, the haj signals the need for community. Renard pointsout that just as the hijra constitutes a forceful metaphor in termsof Muslims self-understanding ofthe;r slobal role and position.so the hajj 'epiromizes this sense of identity as a uniquecommunitJ oI fatth.' He draws attention to Islam's view of itseifas a non extreme 'middle way' and quotes, in support, Slra2:143i 'We have therefore fashioned you into an Umrna inequilibrium so that you miqht be witness to humankind andthat the N{essenger [\fuhammad] might be a witness to you.'r33

The commemorative signds or signs ofthe iajj in rheir past,present and future dimensions have alreadv been alluded to andthey wilt not b€ reiterated here. What may be stressed is the facrthat the har, Iike the other four arlan, has an outward form andan inner meaning. The outward rituals betoken once more aninner desire for repentance, purity ard purfication. Ir issigniiicant that this leitmoti! of purification runs tbrough, orunderlies, so many of the arlAn. -fhere is no doubt, of course.that from an anthropoiogical, political and a seniotic perspective 'rituals of purity and impuriry create' and sisnal 'unity inexperience.'134 Mary Douglas believes that 'ideas aboutseparating, purifying, demarcating ard punishing transgressioDs have as their main function to impose system on aninherently untidy experience ''3i All this is true of the hajjwhose rituals, particularly purifcatory, do impose both a moraland a sociological order arld system whereby there is an at leasttheoretical 'equality of purity' among atl the pilgrims. Thepurilication rituals of the haTj impose an outward disciplinewhich should mirror an inner spiritual frame of rnind.

The need for rituai purity during the [a1] was signalled fromthe beginning:136

13.1 135

t \ I I ILINI i 1HE SACRED I

When the month of Dh,l al Qa'dah started this year, that is, theyear 10/632, the Prophet made preparations fo. the pilgrimage

dd ordered the people to get ready.Ibn Humayd'Salamah Ibn kbaq-"AM al Rahnan b Qasimhis tather 'A'i"h"h th" Prophet's wife: The Prophet

departed for the pilgrlmage on the lwenty-GJth of Dhn al-

Q.a'dah. N€ither he noi th€ people talked of an)thing but thepilgrimage, until when he was ir Sarif and had driven with ltrm

the ecrificial animals as sone nobles had also done, he ordered

the p@ple to remove their pilgrim garmdts, except for those

who had brought the sacrincial animals lwith themlThat day my menses started. He called on ne while I was

weeprne and.a,d. \ \h,r b Lhe marry urrh you. r t \ shah

Ate you in yout menses?' 'Yes l rcplied, 'l wished I had not

come with you on rhis journey this y€d.' 'Don ! do that, he

said,'Don't say that, for you can carry out lall rh€ dteslperformed by a pilgim except that you will oot citcumanbulatethe Ka%atr'L3i

Al-Ghazalt held that the circumbulation of the Ka'ba was aprayer in which the worshipper resembled the angels closest to

God who circumambulated His throne. Al-Ghazali goes on to

suggest that the primary pr.rrpose of the taurdf around the Ka"ba

is the circumbulation by the heart of God Himself, the Lord of

the Ka'ba, by means of dhihr. For al-Ghazah the Ka'ba is an

outward manifestation of the unseen presence of God rather in

the sam€ way that the body may be described as a simiiar kind

of manifestation ofthe heart which is hidden within the bodv.133

In such a wise does al Ghazali articulate the semiotics of both

tauaf and Ka'ba, and elaborate the inner meaning of the

out lard form of both the itual and the building Confirming

all this, Syed AIi Ashraf holds that the ldural of farewell (tauaf

al roada') 'symbolizes man's d€tachment from the lowest region

and his journey to that region which is the highest of the high,

his real homeland.'r3'qNinian Smart has identiied three tyPical symbolic phases in

any pilgrimage: the setting out, the visit to the sacred site and

the return home.leo Ii is not difficult to extrapolate from this

SUFI RITUAL

general rubic to the specifics and semiotics of the lslamic ha!.The would-be hajji (or, more classically, i.ajj) signals his desiredpurity of heart and intention by the settlement of debt arld theassumption ofihran; arriving in Mecca he signals that purity ofhea.t and intention by voice and ritual action, labbayha ar'dtduai returned home from Mecca, he signals his 'otherness' interms of present inner purification by the proud acceptance ofthe title hajji/hai, and serves as an icon and al) inspirationwithin his or her community for those who have yet toundertake this most onerous, and most semiotic, of the livearlzn, whose inner puihcation is so frequently signa[ed by its

Noles

1 Sachilo Vurala md Will;am al Chittick, The VLnon of khn: TheFtunlat;aB aJ Mulin Fd;th dnd Pnrtte. (Lo or & New York: LB.Tauris, 19961, pp. L\V X\VI. Al \a*awis Foriy Hzi,t'fi providese$y access to the Arabic text: see Ezzedin Ibrahih & Denys JohnenDa*s (hms.), Matn al'Atba'in dl Ndbaeila [An \:d&Ln's Fo'bIlddthl, (3rd edn , I)anascus: rhe Holy Kors Publishing Houe,I9i7), pp.28 33 (Hadith .o 2l LHereafter this text is efded ro aal-Nawawi, dl Arbd'tl.

2 Ibid ln another hadith (Hadith no ; in dl Nawa$i, a/.Arbd'in,pp 44 45), we find din defined as sincerity (lAla): 'Religion iss;ncer;ty We said, To whon? He said: To A ,n dd His Bmk, andllis Messeger, and to the leaders of the h{uslims md th* commonfolk.

3 Abu Muntsir ibn \Ioh& 'Ali, GLi)r to An l;sLwi\ 40 Hadith,(Ipswich: Jm'iat lhyaa'Ivlinhaj al Sunnal. 1990), p. 5. Sae ate al-Nawaqt, d/-Arba'in, pp. 34 3i (lladith no. 31, pp. 46 17 (Hadlth no8) dd pp. 76 77 (Hadith no. l2).

4 \4urard & Chi,r i , l Uqn, or i ' i ,n p \ I \ l5 Al Nawawi, ai Arbd'u, pp. 98 101 lHadtth no.29).6 (I 32:16 17i trds. Yusuf Ali, T[. Hol] Qul4n, p. 1096 Comp&e 1

Corinthians 2:9, lsaiah 64:.1.7 'Al i , G de, p.3+.8 lbid.9 Ibid., pp. 31 3s.

10 lb id. , p. 3s.11 Ibid.

136 1t7

TN\EILI \G THE !1CKETT I

12 See q 4:a8.13 Schimel, Dedpherins the S;sB ol God, p 24614 Mehm€t Soyme., Concise Islanic L)teclisn, trans & ed bv

Ekmeleddin Ihsao€lu, (4th rec edn, Ankara: Directorate oi

Religious Affairs, 1991), p. 1.11 5 See Hmudati Abdalati, Isldn in Fl,ro, (KuMit: International

Islmic Fedqation of Student Orgmizations, 1981), p 't; Q. 112:1 4

trm. Yusu{ Ali, 'Ihe Holy Qytan, p 180616 Se€ art. l{l'Ik} as' in Nxtoq Popdar Dctinart of k/dn P. 118

17 See AHalati, lsldm in Fod, pP. s3 10s.18 Q ,17:19, Q. a8i29; *e also Q, 4:13619 Q -33:40.20 Q,6:103, Q 42:11.2l See Q, 9a:1; *e al$ Yusuf Ali, Tle Holr Qat'an, P 1755 n 6188:'The

holy Proph€t's humd nature had ben purfied, expanded &d elevatede that he b€(,ne a ifd.y to all Creatron (conmdt on Q 91:1)

22 ( ! 2:23 21.23 John B. Christophd, The Islanic Tradition Major Traditions of

World Civilization, (New York, Evuston San Fimcisco & London:Harper & Row' 1972), p. 39.

24 S.hirmel, D€.iphenns thd Sisru o/God, p 249; see als P 22s25 Q, 50:16; tlds. Yusuf Ali,'the Ho\ Qtr"n, p.1412 S€e also Netton,

Allah Ttfumdent, p. 22.26 Tros by Aisha AMurahnd Bewlev, AI Mreatta of Inan Molih

ibn A6: The Fist Fomllrtin oJ Islanic Ldt (Lo don & New Yotk:

Kegd Paul Int€mational, 1989), p 32 i.1 13:59l For the originalAiabic s Yalik b Aoas, Knab ai Mueatla', (Beirut: Du al Kiiab

al 'A.abi, 1996), Pt. 1, p. 8027 Murata & Chittjck, Virid ol Islan, p 4.l28 Se€ ibid., pp' 4'1 131.29 S€e ibid., pp 132 192.30 Ibid., p. 193.31 Ibid. , P. 11.12 See, for exmple, fie Pdn] Catedhim, (Lib€rtvville ll-r Prow Books,

Frociscm Marltown Press, 1982), p 25. 1'11

33 AMalati, Islam in F.)fu, p 5s3+ See Schmmel, DeapfoinE the Sigts oJ Gati, p 143

3s S.eJ Horovitz, dt. N{i'redj'in H A R Gibb & I H Krands (eds )Shdrer Enq1.Iopudia oJ Islan, [Hereafter referred to as ij/S]'(Leid€n: E.J. Brill/bndon: Luzac, 1961), esp P 383. See Sa)f id

Abul Aala Nlaudmdi, The Nobel Prophei's Meraj or Ascent to

H@ven: Sone Travel Notes , Th. Mwlin \Votld L@Ere lounal' Vol

2a, No. 7 (Rajab 1417lNov D€c. 1996), pP 19 22 See also: JohnReard, In th? fatsteps of Mubanurl: Understdndins the Indnic

Erpd?ianft, (New York/lvlahwah, N.J: Paulist Press' 1992)

5[ F' RITU.\L

pP' 123 128; N,Iurata & Chitricl, !'6on o/ lslan, p. 167j Schimm.lDeaphaing the Sig s oJ God, pp. 139 140.

36 (My ital;cs) Christophet, The Islatuic Ttdtritin, p. 10. See SchinmclDe.iphdins the Sis^s oJ Cod, p 139.

37q30:17 18; trms. YusufAli, T[e Ho]r Q,r"an, pp. 105.1 1054.38 Schim€I, ,adpnerins the SisB of God. p. 13939 Ibid.40 q 5,7; t.as Yusuf Ali, Tle Hob Qrr"an, P' 2a2.41 See ibid and also at. 'Tayammuo h :a€tton, Poprlar DitituD al

lddn, p. 248. Muslim latr, of cous, he mucl to sy on th; edr€lated ropics.odcern;g pnrit duing prayer See, for exmple, rhcr€levant setions in llalik's Ki6b dl M/uatt'd',6p. Pt I, pP 52 a;

12 For this image se Malik b. Anas, Kitab dl Mrudnd', Pt 1. p 123 Sec.lso Vurara & Chrnrcl . l aioi o/ Ll,n p. I

'43 See Abdalati, Islam in Foro, p 32.4.1 lbid., p. 55.15 Murata & Chndck, Vision o/ lslan, p I l.16 SeeJ. Schacht, art 'Zakat', I'IS, p.6i.r;J.G. Hava, AI.Fai'id Atubic.

Eaglisl Dictioaarr: (Beirut:Dar al Maskiq, 1970), p.293 s\ zahar.Mu.ata & Chittick, V{ion oJ klan, p. 16; Schimel. Dedp}dirs ,i.Sigu o/ 6od, p. 101

47 See q 2127148 See Vurata & Chirtick. I'nion oJlslan. p. 1649 Q 2:43r trans. Yusuf Ali, The I IoU (b/'dn, p. 27.50 S€e W Monteomery Watt, Muftdh'zl, Ptuphet mA St4t tun

(London (\ford Univesity P.ess, 196.1), pp.23 32.51 Christopher, The kldni Tldlniaa, p 1)52 AMalati, lsldn tn Po.a, pp. 9s 96s:l Yision o/lsldn, P' 16.s,l Se ibid, od ,\bdalati, lsldm in f&s, pp. 9s 98. Se€, in particula,

Mtlik b. AnB, Kitab al-MuudtbJ, Pr 7 pp. 161 188.5s Jonathm Benthall, The Quaans Call to Alm, Tines l.;shd

E,l.wdtion Surylemdt , 3td Jhudy 1 997. p I 6s6 Ibid. , p. 17.s7 E g. , se Q 19:26.58 q 2:18si tros Yu,uf Ali, TAe Hob Q/r'dn, p. 73.59 See art. 'Rdhad.n' ;n N€tton, l,oprla1 DictioturJ oI lsldn,

pp. 2rr 272. See the desript;on of Ramadd in Edwad WillimLaLe, An Accohr aJ the Ma ne6 Lnd C$to6 ol th. Modm EsJpriatu,(2nd edn., l,ndon: Wdd, Lock & Co.. 1890), pp. 436'4a2 &€ alsolvfurata & Chittick, y6id of lslan, p. 18.

60 Clristophd, Tlu Islann Trclition, p. 45.61 Art. Laylar al Qadr' in Netton, Popular Dictiomry ol Islnn. p. r52

G B. Vo! G.unebam, Muh^wadM Festi"aLs, (t ndon: ClrzonPress, 1988), p. s2.

138 119

UNVIILI \C THE SACRED 1

62 O.97r t os Yusuf Ali, Tte HoIl Qt'M, p 1765

e: Sze Von Crunebaum, Mrhanmdaa Festiuls, pp 51 6s; Ch'istoPher,

The Islant Trailitid, P 1461 Murata & Chittick, Virio' o/ Istdn. p 1 7

6l See ibid.; *e also Schimel, DedPidins tl€ Sics oJ God, p 99

66 Schi|rfrel, Dddpl'41g fie SiEtu o/ Cod, P 98

67 \{.Hr b Ams, KitiLb al tttuatta', Pt 1 p. 205i trds Bewlev Al

Iru0d*a, p. 1216s Von Grun;baun, Mrhanndridf, Festildis, p' 53; llltlik b Anas Kita6

d Muwdtd, Pt. 1, p. 206.69 ltne, Mod.m Ea/Dria6, PP 206 207.70 Von Grunebaum, MulMu)4n Festidk P 53

71 Divid Wan6, An lntrodlctim to Islam (Canbridg€: Cdbridg'

University Press, 1995). P 9172 lv{alik h Arc, Kifib al'Mrudtta', Pt 1' pP 205 206i t'ds Bewlev'

-AI'Muudtra, p. 121

73 Solmen, Contu€ Islanic Catechin P. t02.

7 '1 See Q,3:1047i Mdata & Chittic!. Vnion oJ lslan' p :10

76 Al Na*awi, al'Atba'in, pP 29 31 (A'abi' text), 28, 30 (Engiish

hds.), (Hadith no 2).77 Ibid , pp. 99 (Alabic text) 98 (English trds ), (Hadrth no 29)

;8 thilmel. DpdPh"rn! lhP iistu of Cod P i;

79 (lvly italics) Q ZZ,zo :lo, tros Ylsuf Ali, ?'t? Hob Qrr'anpp 8trt 858. $e al$ Q l lq6 200

dn +e. in ' " dr id, Ai . we; ' i .cL 'J Jone! B Ie" i ' sr H'oa! Lr '\b l t . pp . { l 18. Cl 'd; ioP\n f4. L lJa; . i 'ddJmr' pp ro ' l :

,Udur i ; C.rdef io\ Demombvne* r4u[n lor lu ' ron Iondon

Alld & Unwin. 19s0, 1961), pp 81 102i H A R' Gibb Mondmru

danim: An rli\tdi.dl Suruqr', 2nd edn, (Loddon: OUP), pP 6i 66;

G.R. Hawtinc, Th. flat in the:fcond Civil War' in Im Rjchrd

N"tto" ("d), Gold- Road:: Migratiaa, Pilsr;hase dnd'IidLeI ifl

MediMd ann Modam Isldn, (Richnond: Curzon 1993) Pp 31 42;

FE. Petere, The Hq.r: The Mtslin Pitstinase ta Mera and the Holl

Pld.s, (Princeton, \'J : Princeton Udv€'sitv l\ess, 1994); \lichael

wblfe let] ). Oro Tiruaad Rodds to Meccd: Ten Cdttn$ DJ hauters

\Vritins d6out ti? Mulin PilSridse (New York: Grove Press' 1997)i

Waines, Itt'oludim ro Isldn, Pp 91 93

81 5€e K. Conti Rossini (€d) Chrcsto@thia Arahicd Meiliandlis

Fpigrdphi.d, (Rome: Istituto P€r L Oriente 1931), eg nos 5 10

1.1. 16, 18,21. '15,46.82 Mclir Inslitutim, P El83 fthilrfrel, Dcdph.rins rn. Sisa of God p. 64

8+ :e q .u:127.85 S€e Soym€n, Cbeise Isldnic Cdte.hin pp 108 110 111'

SUFi RITUAL

E7

899091

92

95

Se et. 'lsma" (1)' in N€tt@, Popular Di.ti@dry of lslan. p. 1t1Solmen, Concise Islamic Catecliq, p. 110.Se art. Al-Jmra' i lie1tun, Popxlar Dxt;turt of kizn, p. l.l+Sotmen, Cotcise klant Cate.irin, pp. 109, 111.See Q, 37i102 107 {br this momentous evmt in the life of IbrahtmSoymen, Con.i'e isldnic Cnkci;m, pP i09-111, 112.see Gaudefroy Denonbyn€s, Mulifl /atltltim, p. 83.See Abdalati, lsiam ia Foro, pp. 99 100.Schimnel, Deciphenag tire S1s6 of God, p. 64i Wain6, lntrode,iorto /slan, p 92r Rendd, Ifl the F@'steps oI MthamntJd, p 86.Ai Tab&i, Td'nln aI Rsl tua"l Mulnh, (Vois 3-+, Cairo: a]I{atba'a al Husytu}ya al Miqri}ya, 1909), {her€aft€r re{ened to asllrkLlrl, Vol. 3, p. 168; trms. lsmail K Ponawala, The H;rtdr oJal Taboti (Ta'r thh al-rsl ua "l-ndnl): Vohre IX: The I^t ve&sol rhe Pnph.t, Biblioth@ Persica, (Albany, N.Y: State Univmity ofNew York Press, 1990). p. 112.Ibn Hishth, zl Sirz dl \idbddlld, €d. Jm,l Thebit et a1., (Cairc: Ddal Harith, 1996), \b1..1, pp. 227, 230itrus A Guillaume, Ttu L1t oJMrhtutunatr: A Timlrti.n of tldgi Sirat R@i Allil, (Kanchi: Ot]?1955, 1980), p. 650; s ale FF, Perss, A Ra'lE m Cl,1s;dl klan,{P.inetoD, N.J.: Itineton Univ€rsit! Pr6, 199.1), p 94.Roard, In tfre Fmtstups of Muhanntu\ p. 86.Al Tabm, Tz'n&I, Vol. J, pp 167 169; trds. P@na*ala, Iaf y€a'r

af the Prophet, pp. 107 11.1. Compare lbn Hisham, cl-.Srra alNdbdDi]}a, ed. Jmal Thabit e, al., \bl 4, w. 22i 230.Al Tabdi, Ta"n:Ah, \b1.3, p. 170:tlas. P@mwala, I^t v?d'r otti.hophat, pp. 111 115. Compde th€ extdded veGion in L{ulim,Sa[i[, (Beirut] Dfu Ibn t{um, 199s1, Voi 2: Kitt} al tlat: Chap 19.no. 147, pp. 721 i27; rtns. Petere. Read"r n Cbsnal klan.pp.281 285.

97 Muslim, Saiiir, Vol 2, p 72si trans. Peters. Readz, d CIBicalIslam, p. 282. Se alo VarrinLings, MuhdnnsL Hk L;k BLed 6,tu Ea'liest' ̂ Sou'es, (Lndon: Islmic Texts liriety/Gorge Allen &Unw;n, 1983), p. 333.

98 Soyme, Cotuie lslaai CdtechLn, p. 108-99 AMalati, lsldn in l'o.u, pp. 99 I00.

100 Gaudefroy'Demombynes, M6lin lrurtt tim, p 97.101 &e Wensinct/Jom;erllewis an. HadjlU'(esp pp.37 38 by Lwis).

see e,pecially for Ibn Jubarr, Ibn Badnta md the PilgrirFge toM@ca my articles ;n Ie Richdd Nefton, S?e[ K@bfue: Thoushtand Tttul in the I lae of ldan, (Richmond: Curzon, I 996)

102 Lewis rctes (wensinck4onier/t*wis an Hdjdi', p 38) that itwc pilgrims returning froo )r{eca, whae they had beome awe ofth€ir ow '.€lisious bclwadnes', $ho instituted the Alnoravidud the Almohad revolutions.

140

I \ \ EI I ING THE SlLRFD I

103 lais al$ notes (in ibid ) how India pilgrins intioduced relived'""

N*"ii*J* -,1'"

Middle East and r€tumed with the sPirit of

w-,iJtu"i t"*;, v au"n Nal ftr trianrlvo 4 surh o'dd '4

rh'

Modm Wd/d, t london OUP lob() P l8r qt"ses rhdi | \ds a

i;Gt oir*';-*" . V*ca bequn in l;72 ';7 r' whrch made tum

'"i.r'i'i. -"t''." on rhe 'rfi path fin'llt \rold A 7;d"h

i i ."^""i: q i 'ar "r, n*iott ' i v^*';" t 'ro^ 'LPrdel rJ

S., t i . r 'ota] . p 4a' ' behe\6 thrr ds '

reqLh or rhe tel ie iou' dd

-,1*. -"i,n" ^"a' Uv 'n€

Crdnd sdusi In Vec " the raan c

future plm and policie wde thought out and concret$€d'

104 Cil*nm, Rercsnene kld6 P 1a

iii c*.r ,tSaa i-** n" ra't"ornr o' 'h?

R.olurroa Tntrodu'noa'""

;';;; Th.."*n rca;o i ored Arub Republ:c Mrnisr) or

x",,J C.a.*" """ Inrormrtion Se^i ' los! p ol: for rhe

;;;J tJ" *e Nawr' Farsalar dr-rhd&'a, (cairo: Der ar

Ma'erif, nd ), P 7eroo il*.. pir-o'l'r,f ,i€ Raohtiotr, p 62i idem Fakafat al Thuru'

P.79.107 lbid.I08 See Q 2124 Q. l t l00 I l l

ro" s* *lt ,t l"-* rn \enon P"pula' Dirrrad\ oJ I ldn P tt

110S€eQ2141 seeQ.). lab /0r ,Q.Joo a7 Q 126 1r

ii.z s" "i r"*s. ; Neflon Poprlo' ttittimo'i or t4an P )tj

ii: ir-J- s--, Th. Phmdd oI Retlsim Philosophv of Religion

S€ri6, (l,ndon: Ilactulld lqTl) P I

r u ilJ.. n'^* .l ,lP S& rd ALAeron! oJ the \\o'td Betef'

(t-ondon: Ha+er Crllins' 1996) P 29 /-

lr' SIdt. Ph4ffi6@ ol Relision' P s

116 lbid.. p. 38.117 Snan, Dntrioa o/ rhe Sa't€d, pp 10 1l

i i r iu'J., o ro, *. "t ' . 'dem Phmtunoa ot RPIIs'on r '12

I 19 Sman. Dnrom of rh. S@Pd P 72

120 lb id. , pP 180 1E1.121 lb id. , P 83122 Ibidiii iii' uri"o cdtechisn oJ the cathotic chuch' (Londonr Geffrev

Chaomo, lqq4l , P JUo#1302 I lb l

r:r i . i i -"" n s. ia Thcari" Brddhrsm ' 1wo rormul"rron' or' il" o.- s't ,'.1 rhe Lrhi.' ot rhe cradu'r P'rh in f''nl' J

i.n-- a o*e"li" Mahinda (eds ), Pali B/ddh;m' (Richmond:

Curzon l'jress, 1996), P 35

rzs Cf';"t.^ rf'-pr""vs A Pop d' Dttindt at B'ddhan llondon

Curan Prru, 1184,, p 'Jo s' \ahb Eiqh'fold Path

126 Bond, 'Theraveda Bladhism's Two Fornulations" P 35'

141

StJI'i RITTJAL

127 Deegalle Mahinda, The Moral Signifcance ofBuddh;t N;vma inHolTman & Mahinda leds.). P..aL Bttlhin, p. r11.

128 Ma Fu'ch'u, Ttu Ihre Chatacter Rilrud Clan on the Ktb.hltrds. J. Pekr Hobson, Stutrias in Conparaliw Relidotr (Sum€.Autum 1980)1, rep.. in GIassa, The CotuAe &qclop@dia of lsldnp. I32 sv FDe Pillda.

129 Sman, Diruroioro or,he Sde.L p. j2130 Ibid., P. 7.1131 Ibid. , p.89.1J2 See ib id. , pP. 180-181.133 S@, lor €xmple. q 80,25 321-14 See above D. 121.13s See SDart, Dtruatoa oI thz S@eA, p A3.136 Talal Asad, The ld.a oJ an Aathropologl o/.lslam, Ocaionai Papcrs

:rries, (Wdhinston, D.C.: Cent r {br Contemporary Arab Srrdi.s.Georgetown Universitv 1986, p. 1.

r37 Ibid.138 lb id. , pp I 2.1.r9 Ib id. , P 7.1.10 Ibid., p. I'1.141 Ibid.142 lb id. , p. 17.113 See idem., G€nealostes oJ ReliEion: Dtcipli@ Md ReB.A oJ Powet i^

Chtitanirt and Islan, (Battinore & London: Jolns Hopk;nsUniversity l}€ss, 1991), p. 58.

14,1 lb id. , pp. 56,57.62115 lbid., p. 79 citing FNI I)€Dny ( lslamic Ritu.l: Perspetives &d

Thories' h R C. l,{artin (ed ), Apprwhu to Islan tn Relicio6StLdias, (Tucson: Utuversitr of Ar;zona l,r6s, 198s), p. 66)-

146 See Asad, Id.a oJ dn Anthropolol p 11

118 lb id. , p. 17.149 Clirton BeMett, 'Islan' in Jean Holm {ed ), S&acd Plz.e, Themes in

Relieious Studies S€ries, (London & New Yo.k: Pinrer, 1994), P 951s0 Mircea Eliade, I'dtktu in Conpatutie Relision. (London: Shed &

Wdd, 19s8), p 227.151 Bemett, 'Isld', p. 95152 He.ry Corb;, 'The Configuratio! of lhe Tedple of the Ka'bah o

the Secret of the Spfitual L;fe in idem. Tdral? dd C@teaplation.Islanic fexts dd Contexts, {London & New York: KPI inassoc;ation with lslmic Publiatjons, Lndon, 1986). p. 20.r.

153 Q 11:sJ; trms Yusuf Ali, The rIoly Qw"aa, pp. 1302 1303. SeeN€tron, Allai Trdaen&flr. p. 321.

151 Dan R Stivd, The Philosophe of Relisi8 Ltnsnge: Sigt, Synboland Story, (Canbr;dge, Nfas9/Oxfo.d: Blacksell, 1996), p 196

t42 r43

L N\ EILINC TTI E bACRED I

1ss see, for exafrple, Udb€rto Eco A Theorr oJ Seniotics Advdc€s n

lieniotics, (Bloonington & London: Indima Universitv Press'

1976); idem, Smiorics a"d the Phllosapb ol Lnguce, lLot'lon:\facnilla, 198'1)

156 Siiver, PnilosoPh] oJ Religiou lzns@ge Pp' 122 123 drawng oD

Paul Tillich, Lren;s of Falti World P€rsPectiv€s Series, Vol l0'(Nev Yorl: Heper Torchbook, 19s8) pP 41 '14

1i7 i\'{! nalic.) T[e Pdn] Cd&.h47, p 14 (q.249)'

1j8 it.-Thonas Aquinas, Sanma 'lheolosia' 11t, 60 3 cited in

Cdtachiffi oJ th. L:atholic Chrrch' p 259159 Asad, Gtualogi6 oJ Ral;3ion pp. 153 154'

160 Ibid., p. 1;'f.lo l lb . . DD l ;4 l i5 n 2l jlo l Sv"d. i i i \ 'hJaf, lhe lnn€r Nledins or rhe ls l"mic Fi 'e" Pr" ter '

Pi lermds., l - r rnq Jr l 'ao r 'c i red Hossern \a<r Pd ' ls iddl

Spinrulitr: Foufldahom, P 111163 Sch;nmel, De.iphenns the SisB oJ Go.l p. )t'

16.1 Al-Ghd.li, .Ct'}/"q'id "t

l-a fi Shaih Md'at1 Asna' AUah dl

fll]fu, ed. Fadlou A Shehadi, (Beirut: Dd al Mashriq 1971) p' 7s

For a tra.siatio" "f

al Ghaali s fmous text, see David B tsurrell &

-'r-aih Daler, Al Ghcali; The Ninetr-Nine BeautiFl NdnA oIcod

AI Ma4sai aI ctu fi shalh 6M' Allai di lea, (Canbridge:

Isl@ic Texts Societtl 1992), esp p 63'

165 Qa.li al-N!"mdn, Da'a';n dI lslan, ed. A A A Fvzee (Cairo: Dar

al V- a. i t . lqo , / \o l L p. l ,Arabi r€xr\ .

166 R€na.d, In !i€ Footsteps oJ Mthom@'I' P 154

167 ,A1-Nawa$, dlArba'in, pp 78 79 lHadith no 23)'

ib8 lb id. oD 100 L0l (Hadrth no 2 ' l )l6q t {" i i lemd 5mith & Yronne \azbe' t H'dd'd I i rp l " loni '

Ll snan4ins oI Death dnd R€sn ctim (Albd) N'Y: SUNY

Pr6s, 1981), P 81.l ;0 WdIwJl Aln l laara 'Hydsdb"d

laOl rreo dd rrdn' n W

Uo.isomen \r"n t lant ' t rcPts A Sptc ' r ion ls lo c surtet '

Se.ies, (Fninbureh Edinburgh Universitv Press 1994)' p' 60

171 Ashraf, 'Inn€r Meding, P 11l172 Ibid. D 112iz: t.C;. ti*", at Fa'a'id Ardbi. Enslish Dictiondr! P 293 sw zdhat'

17.1 Al'Nawawi, di A/6d'in, PP 98 99 (Hadith no 29)

17: SE J. Schacht, art. ZakaC, I]IS p 654

176 Ibid.177 Al NasaM, aiArba'm pp 98 99 (fladlh no 29)'

I78 Wehr, Dirrionary o/ M od'm Wtitten Arauc, 2nd Printing, p 138 sv

j,'-. S." A* ltail U. And, I(itab zl M!tuarl4' Pr I p' 205whde

fa<ins 's. ldsf i€d

ds a p 'otect ior UdrM

1 79 Ashral Inner Meaning , p 1 1 91a0 Kifib al-Mtuatla", Pr. 1, p.206.181 lbid., p. 206.182 Ashrd lMd Meaning, pp. 118 119.183 Rmrd, In th? Fmtrteps oJ Muhdnautl. p. 83.184 Mary Douglas, Prntr @l D6ger: An AMItsn oJ Cmepts ,,1

Pollution ana Tahoo, lLon lo.: Routledse & K€gd Paul, i 966, 1 9t0p2.

185 Ibid. , p 4.186 !@ al Tabm, Ta"riih, Vot. 3, pp. 167-168; tmns. Pdm*zl4 Ldrr

Yeats oJ the Ptophet, pp 109 lll.187 Ibid.188 &e al-Gbazili, Ihla"Ulnm al.Din, (RePr Beirut: Dd al lv{a'rifa.

n.d. {1.104/1983 4?1, Vol . 1, pp.218 222.r89 Ashral 'I..er Meaning , p. 12s.190 Smart, Dneroim of tle S6ed. p. 88

'141

5.1 TheologY

Neith€r the Ni'matullahivva nor the Naqshbandivva' which

have earlier been presented in this volume as two rltuar case

"J"". * i* , , f ' " n*,r lan ot marnsrream lslam: nothins could

il. ii,"r'"' fr". the collecrrve minds ^f eirhe! urder' Borh

-""if* * ;--"*" nde[tv to these hve fundamenta]s-of the^

dtfl. But, as we have shown' thev also have a number ot

supplementary rituals which mav be said to constitute rn sum'

a oialtet ttniuose oJ sufi ntual Here it is proposed to e\prore d

Jection of Lhese rir,rats dhihr' sama frht mwqaba ftbtta

*f.4". -'l,u-1,

."a r,l,ird 'decontextualised', as it were' from

if." f'"-"*.'f of their Orders, but examined under the same

four rubrics of thmlogv, phenomenologv' anthropolosv and

""*;"ti." *ru.f'

""'" J"pt.v"a in the as'e'sment of rhe five

,rl"r ir tf'" pr",,ou" .t'upi"' Ttu' parallel uruverse of snfr

, i J, * f t i . f , may anract some and protoundlv al ien"(e orher '

will then be surveved from the perspective of that alienation ln a

6nal chapter'The t ieoloey ol rhe dhi&r for the 'ufr rs ea'r lv aniculated in

Qur'anic ternis; that of the sanr^a' is less easilv surveved in such

^-'i*f i"n. S.f';-*a **inds us that the practice of dfiilr' which

"t" fr.t" t."""t"t"" as 'mentioning' or 'recollecting' has

Prooh"ti. *le."dettt' o"d eoes back ro the age of the founder

"i ri[- r.irn*rr' sr'" araws anenrion ro tbe numerous Qur"ini'

"""q"" of tl" nt"U. .*t dhahatd (to remember) and cites Strd

+'lo-: -a

So- 13:28 which respectively make reference to

''"-.J.i.e God after finishing the itual praver' and

Unveiling the Sacred 2The Parallel Universe of Sdff Ritual

STFi RI'i'UAL

proclaim that 'Verily by rcmemberjng the Lord, hearts b.co,rj,quiet.'r Here, then, are the source texts for dhihr oar excellen,,en.hr ined rn rhe source text oI ls lam ; l .ei f . fhe , i r . . r . ,constitutes a form of supplementary prayer in sofi Islam wb,.trmay build upon, but does not replace, the tradirioDal sdtal trsessential theology is, therefore, that of the salat. analvzed abor tin the prcvious chapter, reinforced by the Qur,anic dicta 1,1which we have just referred. The same dominant rheolosicallcLrmorw ol rabbtr. which ,s dr rhe hcan of the satar, ;s atso ai r t . ,heat of the dhibz.

The theological merits, and salvific consequence of dhihr. at,:powerfulll reinfor.ed anct underlined in d norable hrdirt-recorded by al Bulhari: it notes that Allrh has some anBelruho <peci6Lal l l .eek our rhose people who pracr ise dhrh, anJcongregate around such people when they 6nd them. When thishappens, A1lah, even though He knows the answer alreadv, asksrhe aneels wha( the people are saying The angels repear to,their Lord the glorificatory words of the dhi[r Allah astswhether his praisers have actually seen Him and, on being toldthat they have not, worders how such people would speal ifthev n rual lv had wghr of Him The .neels respond rhar i I rh" 'had happened, then the worship and glorification would havebeen even greaier and more intense.

Allah then asks about what such practitioners ofdhiLr requesr.An angel says that they seek Paradise. He queries what they seekto avoid and is told 'helltue' . In each case the questioning by Godand the aJlgelic responses follow a simiiar pattem: even thoushPdradrse dnd heU h.ve not been seen, rhe angels make n ctear rharthe sight of each would respectively increase desire for Paradiseard abhorrence and fi:ar of Hell. Allah condudes that thos€ vhoke€p company with th€ parple who practise dhibr will not sufferthe pains of Hell.r From an intertextual perspective the had-rthparticipates in, or relates to, that group of texts which seeks toestablish a theology oftrust. Another key textual exemplar ofthistheology i" b John 20:2q rn which blessrng is bestowcd uponthose who have not seen br:t have believed.

Finally, for the sufi, the theology of dhiir encapsulares alheoloe\ of rdenrrficarion. erowth, becoming and being

146 1li

U\VEII-Ih\G THE SACRED 2

wherebv the thouqht ot and mediratjon upon Cod prrmedle'

the very labrtc of rhc ruhs bodl ' -nd soul The story of the

discipte of Sahl ibn Abdullah, which we recalled in Chapter

Three, is an excetlent epitome of all that.

Sdrna', too, partakes of a th€ologv of tdbbt' bv praver, song'

movement and, sometimes, dance The latter has been

condemned as bid'a by manv mainstream Muslims Thus

dancrns durine rhe sdma i . an ' t t rv iry wirh a somewhdr

restric;d apr;l for some lejected bv orheF rn much rhe <ame

wav that d;ce was (ejected bv such earlv Christian Fathers of

th; Church as Origen (di€d 25'l)r The feelings of ecstasv

induced in the s[fi mvstic bv the dance might provide a

for€taste of 'Divine union' or Paradise for some; for others'

music dnd ddnce.ould only yield a sat 'ni ' rheoloel

In considering the related topoi ol frk and muraqobo' orle ts

on less thomy an<l ambiguous grounds theologicallv Both

words Darticipat€ in a fundamental Qur'anic theology Histori

callv fir has a *'ide semantic 6eld which the bare dictionarv

de6nition ('thinling, cogitation, reflection, meditation' spec-

ulation, contemplation, considerationi thought, idea, notion'

conceDti oDinion, view')r does not hightight ln the Qur'an man

i" "';"d

i. refle.t :o larer the pfulusophers and rheoloeidns

emoloved the na"d' t f tu ,o 6pn1 rhe rnrel lecrual facultv in

thJ aci of thoueht, ,"flecti.'g upo., arr object of intellection'7

i"J tr'" "':fi"

io"t.u"te,l th" word with dhthr, recollection 3

Finally, 'it was the superioritv of dtuiir to "fibr which was to be-

most eenerallv affirmed 'e Be that as it may, God is the focus of

hh,r ' ' " for the or, l inarv reader oi rhe Qur'arr ' a ' for the si f r '

iunJamenral lv, rhe theologv of f ih ' in the Qut dn is d 'emrorr 'theolow: God makes His signs clear to mankind in order that

-un dsht r€flect upon them, (.la'allah'm Ytafohbatlmal ' a

reflection which has implications for th€ present and future life

(ft 1'dunya uo'l ahhiTa).11 It is also a theologv with a proPheric

Ji*er'*io.', p.ope' reflection provides an insisht into th€ true

nature of the Prophet Nlulrarnmad who is 'but a persprcuous

warner' (nalhrr mrlbin) 1r and not mad or possessed'

The theology of,fhr in the Qur"an, then' has both a celestial

and a terrestiJ dimension: God provides man with clear signs

STIi RITI]AL

so that he might rellect upon them and ultimately come to H;r.God also provides man with the Prophet lrluharunad antlman's reIl€ction enables a corect identifrcation and charactcrisation of that prophetic frgure. The eschatologl behind thtphrase fr 'l dtnya wa 'l,ahlirar3 lends the whole concept offtrand its various verbal forms used in the Qur.an, dleschatologicd dimension which may not be immediatet,,apparenr.

If, then, fn, clea-riy participates in a fundamental Qur'anrtheology, which has semiotic, eschatological and Propheti.dimensions, its sister m rtqabd (looseiy, 'contemplation') ma1.be said to hav€ antecedents in, or even loosely embrace, thcProphet Muharnmad's ptactice of tahannuth, and may thus b,csaid to participate iD a S;ra theology. The Pmphet \{u[ramrnad.before the revelation of the Qur'an, used to go to Mount Hira ,

to practice tdhannuth. In common with Watt we note rhedifhculty in assigning a precise mealing to this archaic Arabicword. Watt suggests thar clearly some type of devotion isinvolved and he likes the suggestion of H. Hirschfeld that theetymolosy is the Hebre\r, tehinnat or tehimnth which had thesense of intercess;on with God for his favour.rr (lf course, it istrue that other s,tfi practices such as Aholua coutd also, withreason, be traced back to the Prophet s practice of alannuth.Nonetheless, the prayerful solitude of the latter practice gives itat least some affinities wit|. murnqaba.

There is, horvever, a Qur'enic theology behind nuraqaba aswell. Drawing att€ntion to the fact that one of God's names is'The Watchful' (a/ Raai6) fsee Q, +:t, Q, 33:s2], Waleyreminds us that in the same way that God extends Hiswatchfulness to man, so the $nfi should be watcMul over hisown heart lest it become distracted or a host to wickedthoughts.ri

Abu Hamid al-chazali rakes up the basic eur,anicreferences and, having defined al Raqi6 as a (nowing andProtective Being, goes on to elaborate a Qur,anic theology ofmuraqaba: tlte latter is only worthy of praise if its object is codand mans own heart. And it wili only be thus when manrealises that God observes his every move and that not only

118

L-N!E]LI\C] THE JACRED 2

Satan but his own soul may lead him astray Watchfulnesstherefore means that he is on guard both against Sata-n andhimself.r6 The fundamental theology of muraqaba th.us

embraces the twin, and complementary, ideas of tu.niry io

cod and turnine away trom sin.If w€ aftempt now to elaborate a theology of rabitd, we do

well to remember, fustly, that in $unsm the term indicates the'bond' or 'linl' between disciple and Shaykh This mirrorsideally in a very real sense the bond beween God and man, andthus the idea of rabitu may be characterised as Qur'anic in itstheology Watt puts it in a nutshell: 'Beliefin God's power andgoodness leads not only to gratitude a:rd worship but also to a

certain attitude or way of li{e in practical affairs.'I7 Thisrelationship of God and man, what we might cha.racterise as

Quaanic ?al'ita, is articulated at an individual lev€l by theMuslim who, classically, sees no division between Islamicpolitics and Islamic religion. and at an institutional level by thesofl Order which establishes a link or silsila between thecontemporary ShayLh and N{uhammad, the Prophet of Godwho, in tum, had indirect contact with Allah via Jibril. God'sgi{is reinforce the link with man. (X the Battle of Badr in A.D624 the Qur'.n notes:

Remember He covered youWith a srt of drowsin€ss,To give you calm as fromHinself, and He causedRain to descend on youFron heaven, to clem youTherryith, to remov€ from YouThe stain ol Satd,To strengthen your heets

fu d Ii y atbi!.r' ala wlnbihunl,{[d to plant your fe€iFirmly therewith.lb

The word suhba, 'companionship' or 'keeping of pious

company', clearly has much in common with rabila Theologically, and, ofcourse, etymologically, it is the sahabd, who'kept

5.FI RITL.AL

company' with the Prophet himself, who constitute th,

archetypical paradigm, and from whom may be derived th"

archetypical virtues of such companionship The sahaba hari

become objects of hish veneration in Sunni Islam: they liguriprorninently in the isna& of many hadith; they are consider.,lto be eremplars of good practice or sunna; their foundationalrole in the establishment and reinforc€ment of early Islam gavt

them an invincible charism to the extent that mockery or insultof the sahaba could incur the severest punisbrnents.rq ThmlL,gically, there is no doubt that the sofi practice of szhba shares rn

this paradigm whose primary f€ature is the relationship and

cornpanionship with the Prophet lvlubammad himsell This is

not to say that the Shaylh necessarily parallels the sah,ala in thc

areas outlined above, nor that th€ penalty for insulting a quli

Shaykh should in aay way follow that imposed for reviling the

sahaba. lt is simply to point to an ideal relationship in 5nfi eyes

between N{uframmad and his companions and suggest that, fors[ f ]s. rhis i . Lhe pr imal paradrem in;zfba.

The principle of rrdasaba or 'self-examination' has a clear

Qur'a:ric sanction. The sacred text speciEcally eqjoins a mode

of self'examination, though avoiding the use ofthe actual wordnuhasaba:

O rre who b€lieve

And let every soul lookTo what (p.ovision) he hasSent forth for the morror.

For God is well'acquaintedWith (all) rhat y€ do,And be ye not lile'lhose who forgot God;And He nade them iorgetThen ovn souls! SuchAre the rebellious transsessorsl"

It is clear from this that the theologl' of muhasaba can bearticulated as pa.d of a wider theolosy of fear of, and obedience

1]0 151

UIiVEILING THE SACRED 2

to, God as well as within a narrower paradigm of repentance

and oenance. The verses quoted above, of course' with their

refe.enc€ to th€ 'morrow' have obvious eschatological overtones

-i, i" att;. .""p..,,

"-brace a 'theology of preparation' for the

last times whici is paralleled bv the Parable of the Ten Virgins

in N{atthew 25:1 1il.Th€ 6nal srlf ritual to be assessed here under the rubric of

theology is the urird or litany We have drawn attention earlier to

the Priphet Muhammad's injunction to utter certain formulae

.. certain occasions and John Main's emphasis on the mantra as

a key to meditation and the penetration of self-consciousness'

Vird. in tosal,'rruuf can th€refore be, inter dlio' a conscious

meditative technilue, silent or vocal' wherebv the soul focuses

upon ' (s

( ieator. I t mav be said to have a canonica] Prophettc

o. iein una "u' , . t 'on.

,nderl ined and elaborared in SnFsm bv the

miy practitioners or reciters of at'rad from the mediaeval age

Of course, the Arabic term fitd has a broader semantic

baseaee lhan iust l i rany l tcan mean warelrngpld'e 'animrls

."ir"i"e t. ttt" \rarer'. .pecified trme of da1 or n'ghr de\oled ro

orivate" worship. a sectron o[ rhe Koran recired on this

.rcasron. /r Penrrce crre. rhe Qur'anrc usage in Sura 1a:8o twa

rus.qu aI nrjnnrln itn Jahaanorn raird-) which he translates as:

"r."i *" *;ti d.;u" the wicked into Hett, as cattle are driven to

water.'22 lf then one of the root meanings of the verb warada rs

'to arrive at uarer' (a fundamental for human life) it is not

difficult to combine the tltvo senses of uird and articulate a

ii""iogy in *t;.t' *" .ecitation of certain formulae enables the

"oi, ,"-'^"a;t"" upon, or even arrive at, the Divine Source of

i.ife ltself.']3 Such would be an eminentlv snfi theologv and

goal.

5.2 Phenomenolog

The phenomenon of meeting regularly for the recitation'

vhether silent or vocal, of certain ritual utterances has an

antique phenomenological pedigree in manv religions The use

SLIi RITLAL

of music in worship and, to a rather less€r degree, dance ar"similarly well'attested. We may identify at the heart of sul,dhibr and sama' the same triple phenomena of 'thanlsgivinr''rnemorial' and 'presence' which underpin, for example. thecelebration of the Roman Catholic Mass in Cbristianity.ri Ii,say this is not in any way to suggest a theological identficationbetveen the actual rituals of dhi[r and Eucharist. but onjy t,,identify a sharing of three underlying phenomena on ,*'hichthose two rituals are built: the sufi is tlanff"l for God's bounndurins the articulation of his vocal or silent dli[z;'z5 thcnenorial ol trs God quietens his heart;rb and. in a mysticalsense, he gains some kind of access to the presence of God by hisdhi[r. Schimmel envisases th€ silent dhihr as a species ofmystical journey through the Arabic letters of the word Aila/runtil the sufi is at the shining heart of the 6nal h of that word.ln the same mystical vein, she soes on to maintain that theconstant repetition of dftiAr cleanses the heart and makes itreceptive to the light of God and rellective of His beauty.:;

If it is the business ofthe phenomenologist of religion to seekpatterns and frameworks,r3 and if it is true that 'structuraldescription reveals the dominant pictures of the focus at a giventime',2e it is clear that any analysis of the fundamentalstructures of most snh Orders swiftly identifies the dominantrole of the dhilr (sometimes linked to iarxr") within the ritualstructures. From what we have already observed, that meansthat the triple phenomena of thanksgiving, memorial andpresence assume a paramountcy for each order which mayfrequently exceed the roles played by those three phenomena inmainstream non srlfi Islam.

From the perspective of mystical theology, we have seen that

,fihr rvas contrasted with dhihr. Phenomenologically, slfi.f&rimplies a witl to a type of contemplative intellection which isbeyond mere ordinary ratiocination. Javad Nurbakhsh providesa useftll siii key in his deiinition of fbr as "'heart based"contemplation' which was to be 'found' not 'woven'.r0 [rhenone deais with the phenomenon of,4[r, thm, in wsaun{, one rsdealing with a gnostic mode of thoughtful love of the Divinewhich transcends the fundamental int€ll€ctual structures of the

1;2 153

LNVEIL]NC :'HN SACRED 2

traditional sdlar. Sufis hav€ an increased oPportunitv through

fhr to garner'the divine sparks'which will help them on their

journey to God.jr' fili, then, fiom a s.fi phenomenological perspective, is

infused with a dimension of'value added' spiritualitv And if

we accept thanksgiving, memorial and Presence as the keJ

phenomenological lopoi deriving from dhi&r and sdma', then it is

ih" topos ot phe""-""on of transcendence which derives from

fh,Mworyrba, as a phenomenon, clearlv has a dual dimension:

man keeps watch both tz'er himself and for someone else, God

We may emphasise al Qusharyi's explanation of nwraqaba as a

mutual' 'waich keeping' between Creator and qtifi 32 Such

watchfulness participates in a paradigm of pragmatic anticipa-

tion: we have noted, in a slightly different context, the Parable

of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1 13 The warning which is

siven, a few verses before the narration of this parable, is

insrrucriue 'You mu'l be on lhe wdlch. then sincc )ou do nor

know the hour of your Lord's coming.'r3

The phenomenon ol rdbita h Silfrsm, the bond beF/een

disciple and Shaykh, and that of suhba' keeping pious companv,

extend and emphasise in a special wav a paradrgm or

ohenomenon established at the beginning of many of the

world's major religions, that of discipleship: Jesus Christ in

Christianity had His Apostles and disciples; Muhammad had

his sahaba: Brddha collected disciples as he travelled and

taught.ra N{any such leaders began slowlv with a few faithful

followers and gradually enlarged their fotlo\'"'ing rs Rabi@ is

itself an aspect of this more ancient phenomenon of disciple

ship, atablished by the Prophet Muhammad himsell The

Droblem. of course, which mav arise is that the link between

Master and gofi disciple is perceived to be bevond that whicl is

licit in terms of reliance and infuence 36 And just as the

founders of manv of the world's great religions have endured

p€rsecution and even death, so too many of -the

great tuti

lvlasters have also been reviled and Persecuted "The Master Discipleship relationship in Su6sm, while

mirroring the proto-relationship of the Founder of the Faith

SUFI RITUAL

to his disciples, exhibits another paradigm as well, that of theCustodian and the Recipient of mystical knowledge: theShaykh, tied to his mystical anc€stors and predecessors viathe silsila is a primary custodian of the ancestral 'narrative' oithe ran-qa. It is he \vho transmits tHs 'narrative' in words andritual to the mlr-rd or initiate, when the latter is inducted intothe Order. That 'narrative' may be two-dim€nsional insofar asit shares in the mainstleam history, beliefs and rituals of Islam.and then adds a new ritualistic or other dimension by means offeatures specific to that Order ot tLsau mf in general. Inmainstream Islam the Muslim may derive much of the'nartatle' of ddr al-lslam fron., the arhan. Christopher Martinidentifies four motives which reflect a religious 'narative in theurge to pilgrimage: healing, the searci for roots, penitence andhomecoming.33 As we have already seen, the Islarnic ial neatlyencapsulates all four aspects or motives which, together,transmit the Islamic 'narrative' of pilgrimage with panicularreference to lbrihim and Nfuhammad.

In tasararauf we have the phenomenon of an extn dirnensionofritual and mystical knowledge, an 'extended' narrative beingtransmitted from Shaykh to discipte by means of such devices as

'dbitd. The obvious focal point for discussion here, thei, is the

phenomenon of authority ard the question of who may licitlyexercise it in a modern post-Caliphal age.

Close inspection of the phenomenon of mulasaba or 'self-

examination' reveals a primary tool of sofr ascesis designed, like

,f&7, to lead the aspirart to God. lf sin is held to be an obstacleon that path, then it is clear that identification of sin is the tuststep to removing that obstacle. M asaba articulates a theologyof accountancy to God, which must be based on a phenomenology of tota.l honesty self knowledge and perspicacity if it isto yield valid results for the snfi in terms of salvation. Selfexamination allows sin to 'be prevented at its source, and theintention arld will mortilied in so far as they seek what iscontrary to the Divine Will.'3'! It is not diffrcult to deriv€ apsychological, ascetical, moral or devotional theology from thewritings of such arch-proponents of rnuhasaba as Harith b. Asadal-Muhasibi (781 857). From the phenomenological perspective,

UNVEILING THE SACRTD 2

rruhasaba is to be identified as a key, and €ven foundational,

asD€ct of the stiucture of the sdi Way in many of the tlnrq from

which so much else derives. Like f br, as a phenomenon it is not

a goal but a means. Structurally, it sits easily with other 91fi

ascaical practices and rituals Epistemologicallv, it is a device

for the sofi lo achiev€ rcal Lnowledge of the self together with

that r€pentance and turning to God about which the Qur'antalks so much.'o

Finally. we turn to a brief phenome.nological survev of the

rdrd, the litany, a public or private practice which has so much

in comrnon with that of dii[r' The phenomenon of praverful

repetition of certaia phrases is again well anested in many of

the world's major religions, and these have often become

insiitutionalised and ass<riated with specific ituals or saints

fea-r days. The phenomenon *or ls as an. id ro eon'entrat ion

and meditation, and as such has both an obliterative and a

directive content: the recitaiion of a litany seeks to obliterate

Jisrracrron from rhe mind of the !e. i ter dnd. at lhe same r ime

direcr or focus thal mrnd on anorher godl

We have already noted that John Main used the word'mantra' (his equivalent of one s€ns€ of raizd) in teaching

meditation. The underlying intention of both is the same lt

vields a ohenomenon which Main characterises as 'a journev

ihrough the undergro'ith ofthe ego' He obserwes that'the \r'av

tkough is the way of the mantra . - 'fhe mantra is like a beacon

guiding us *rough [th€ storm of distraction] and we must keep

our attention on it.'{r Such words have an equal applicabi}itv to

the ;r:fi phenomenon of ulird {2

Phenomologically, we noted earlier that the hve dr&an

constituted a 'block of beliel action and/or ribral ' a

summary of religion' and also that itual not onlv feeds

experience bur also functrons ds d recpon5e ro ir' Srmilar

remarks, from the same perspective, might be made about the

eieht qufi rituals which we have just suru€ved Phenomenolo-,

grral ly, rhey <reare a paral lel bLrt not al ternattve unrverce or

nrual structures fot thP sdf i , whi.h ofren have Qur'ani ' or ' at

least. mainstream Islarnic antec€dents' origins or echoes and

which build these into a parallei structure or pattern, sometrmes

. .1, FI FI IL. \L

as an adjurlct to mainstream ritual. These rituals of Srtfrsm arecontextualised within the extra curricular framework of, forexample,'presence','thanksgiving','transcendence' and othersimilar phenomena as we have seen; structural analysis reveals acentral focus on love of God achieved by ascesis and its multipletools. The supererogatory rinals employed by Snfism not or yfuel the mystical experienL e bur enable a response, somerime.in a Lind of two way dialogue, for example as in nuraAba.Finally, if, as Eliade and Smart insist, ritxal in general 'rnayabolish space and time',43 then there is no doubt that the samemay be held of many of the lnfi rituals which we have jusrsurveyed. The following quotation from a young 'turner' in thesama' of the Mawlawiyya (Mevleviyrya) provides an excellentillustration of this:

Sometimes, during the semait feels as if Mevlmais holding my hdd.I begin to smile iDside,md my heart is warm,and later it is as ifwhat Dy eyes seeis different from before.'a

5.3 Anthropology

The well known anthopologist Ma-ry Douglas has stressed that'most reiigions promise by their rites to make some changes inexternal events.'as She adds that 'somewhere the beliefs must besafeguarded against disappointment or they may not holdassent' and she go€s on to provide a number of ways 'ofprot€cting ritual from scepticism-'46 Among these is 'for thercligious teaching to change its task. In most everyday cont€xrsit tells the faithful that their fields will prosper and th€ir familiesflourish if they obey the moral code and perform the properritual services. Then, in another context, all this pious effortis disparaged, contempt is thrown on right behaviour,

156

U\\'EILINC THE SACRED I

mate.ialistic objectives are suddenly despised. We cannot saythat they suddenly becone religions of non attachment,pmmising only disillusionm€nt in this life. Rut they travelsone way along this path.'rt

Can at least some of the same kind of phrases be applied tothe parallel universe of snfi itual? Mainstream Islam has neverinsisted upon an attitude of contempt for this worid, though ithas insisted that the less weli off should be catered for, forexample through the payment of zahat, on€ of the 6ve dr&an.However, we have also seen that th€ parallel universe of sufiritual often has elements of ascesis and that there mdl be aprofound contempt for the world and all that materiallypertains to it. Indeed, st6 Orders such as the Tijaniyya, withits acceptance of wealth and less than total emphasis on z!ld,are the exception rather than the rule.a3

Earlier, in the anthropological assessment of the frve atuan,w€ noted that the real focus should be on the human 6gure ofthe Prophet N{uhammad. In the parallel universe of sofi ritual,from an aithropological p€rsp€ctive, the prima.ry focus is on theascetical saint or Shayl,i who may or may not be one and thesame. One Shaylh expressed the need in verse:

He aks: 'Is it incumbent on a wker to take [a] sheikh?I replied: 'Was a child ever reared without a fathet?'l'

With such attirudes it is hardly surprising that the Shaykh willinvolve himself both as teacher and leader in the major s':firituals. The reason is clear: in particular, th€ Shaykh, asCi lsenan puts i r . kno*s rhe 6at in '0 Thi. is an immense sourceof power and authority.5l

It is the Shaykh who will perform the initiation and, usually,either he or his delegat€ will be present at, aDd lead,;']the dhibrand the snma". Trimingham insists that it is via initiation that anurid gains full admittance to the spiritual world, therebyassuring succession in the Order. He cites the Uwaysi Khadirtradition as an example of 'spiritual initiation' but notes that'norma/|" ir ronws throush sridan,e ndlr a thi-s wu1ld no:tcr."In a typical 6ay'a formula, provided by a Shadhili Shaykh, themr.rr;d expresses rep€ntance to God and acceptance of his

SCFI RITI-AI-

teaching Shaykh as mentor, Ieader and guide to cod's pres€nc..and as murshll on the sAfr Path. He promises total ob€dienc€ r{,his Shaykh and asks God to confrm him in that obedience. llrfinally asks God to confirm him in the tan-qa of Abo 'l-Hasanal-Shadhili who is characterised as 'the Shaykb of Shayltrs. .'

In this 6ay'a the ranks of Shaykh and saint are neatly linledIn a very real sense, the Shaykh is, for the muntrm. thcembodiment of the path to sainthood and the world of thespirit. For this reason he hgures lalg€ in many of the s.fl rituais.In the Ni"matullahi dhiha for example, the Master plays a ke_vrole in the proceedings: describing the suft d[it' Pourjavad'"and Wilson note how the Master, the Shaykh of the Order.whom they call the Qutb, ma], or may not say a few words but,more importantly, will be responsible for beginning the dfti[r,rjali, a ritual which takes place in complete darkness. Similarly itis the Master who will conclude the dhiir with aprayer.ij In theritua] meal which follows the dftihr, which is called 'hot p,ot';o ;1is the Shaykh who 'begirLs the meal according to the sunna oftheProphet with a pinch of salt ''; t ater the Master signals theofficial conclusion ofthe majlis by rising and leaving the room,pmnouncjng at the sarne time the words 'Ya 'Ali.'ir Here, inboth dhibr and ritual meal the physical, as opposed to spiritual,focus is on the Shaykh at the beginning and at the end.Elsewhere, the Shaykh in the Naqshbandi ritual may also makehimself responsible for counting the number of repetitions of aphrase in the dhilr with the use ofa rosary;je other methods of'controlling' the proceedings may include the use of stones ormarbles: the Shaylt will have a bag containing small stones ormarbles in f.ont of him. As the ritual gets under way, theShayl-h will remove a stone or marbte from the bag and put it onone side. In this way he will be able to tell at a slance how manytimes a particular dhiAr has been recited.60

1'he dhiir in the Naqshabandi ritual, and, indeed, in that ofother Orden, is thus clearly subiect to the direction of theShayi.h6r who is a primary focal point in so many of an Order'sactivities.6'/ \Vriting of the Muhammadiyya Shadhiliyya,Johansen notes a marked disparity between the officialdescriptions of its rituals and the reality which he actually

158 159

t

UNVEILING THE SACRED T

observed during his field study in Egypt He put this down to

the poor health of the Shaykh and noted the minimalist nature

of the dhi&r when the Shaykh was bedridden 63

ln rhe l ight oi dl l th is. s i \en the pa-ramount rmponrnce of a

Master or Shayhh, both ritually and administrativeln in the

tlpical lnfi Order, it comes as no surprise to discover that some

critics have declared that the role of the Shaykh has become toopowerful. The wonhip due to God has been replaced, in their

eyes, 'by worship of individual men.'64 Such remarks, however,

reflect either a corrupted form of Sl6sm or, alternativelv, ignore

ttr- rcal anthrcpological role of the sufi Shaykh in an Order's

rituals. While it is tru€ that the emphasis in many of the Orders

and their rituals focuses on the role of the Shaykh together with

his teaching arrd ritual functions, it has to b€ borne in mind that

Sufism classically consid€rcd the lv{aster or Shayll to be a

channel, not a telos. Accordins to this classical pa-radigm' the

spiritual focus is always God. Describing the dhihr ol the

Ni'matullehi]rya, Pourjavady and Wilson conclude that 'the

effect of so many voices calling on God in unison' in the

darkness which hides their ferwour and gives it an anonymity

which symbolizes the extinction of the sell the effect of their

passion for the ,Absolute is extraordinary, ev€n for an out-

sider.'6iAnthropologically the Shaykh may be said often to be at the

h€art of the rituali theologically God is held to be the heart ol

the ritual. If it is believed that the Shaykh is a na'essdry guide to

the Divine in Sn6sm, then it follows that he must also be a

guide in terms of the ituals ol rasauwrf66 If it is corrcctlv

channelled. then'the def€rence ofthe murid to his Sheikh'wilt

not be considered idolatry.6; Thus the other, more minor rituals

which we have surveyed, whether obviously focussed upon the

figure of a Shaykh, lile rabi& and saibd, or less obviouslv

connected like fh, wird, muraqaba and mtthdrdbd' all have as a

teaching authority or interyreter the figure of the Shaykh or

Master himself. This is evident in the seminal role played bv

the writings of the modern safl Masters, to whom we have

referred at vaious times, li.ke Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh and Shavkh

Nazim al Qubrr:si. The teaching may be formal, by instruction

STFi RITU,\L

or writings, or m€r€ly by example.63 Anthropologically the

central role of the Shaykh in administratron, leadership andritual remains the sam€. Abn al Najib al Suhrawardr (1097-

1168) put it lile this in his famous Suf Rule for Not';ces (Kitah

Adab aI M"rtdt"), here companionship is interpreted as servicei

Conpmionship with the naster (uaadn) is by obedience, s it isnot really compantonship but *rvice. Conplete obedience odrespect towards the master de requned. The mster in themidst of his followers is like the prophet iD the midst of hiscommuity. lumyd once answered a question of one of hisdisciples md th€ lattd expressed objection to the eswer;

Jmayd thm said, 'If 1'ou do not bdieve in Dy words, dissiateyourselves from me.' He should. behau touuds the Shaykh libzthe Compdnions uith the Prcphet in follauing the ethis of th.

@,l".*

We are now in a position to retum and assess the applicabilityof the remarks by Mary Douglas with which this anth-ro'pological sectior commenced. Islam, like many of the world'smajor religions, does indeed hold forth a promise of malingsome impact on extemal phenomena by its rites. For example,the ritual p.ayer and the hajj foster a strong sense ofcommunity. ArId the d'l.n are not mere ritual talisrnansagainst death. They prodaim links with the eternal and theDivine while also fosterine life on earth. Sufi rituals, however,ftequently look to the extinction of self and can, indeed, asascesis adva:rces, become vehicles 'of non attachment. promising only disillusionment in this life.''o lt is from this p€rsp€ctivethat we may det€ct the g.eatest differences, anthropologicallyand theolosica.lly, between the drlan on the one hand and thetraditional ritua.ls of the sufi Orders on the other.

Talal Asad, in assessing 'The ldea of an Anthropology ofIslam' holds tMt one should explore ditrerences as wel asparallels.Tr He notes that all antkopolosists of Istam will bereadily aware of the wide diversity in Muslim belief andpractice which exists today.7'? In formulating an anthropology ofIslam, there is a need to return to the Iirst ts.tual principles of

Qur'an and hadrth r For Asad it is the authorisation by

160 161

U\\'EILING THE SACRED 2

'discursive t.adition'in lslam which makes a prachce trulv

Islamic. Its teacher and exponent mav be a 'alin, sofi Shavkh

or. bv contrast, even an uneducated parent-ta Asad concludes:

'An anthropology of Islam will therefore seek to understand the

historical conditions that enable the prcduction and man-

tenance of specific discursive tmditions, or their transformation

- una tl" "itott.

of practitioners to achieve coherence '7i

N{uch of this is true of gifi ritual as well $'6sm establishes a

oarallel universe of ritual structures whose parallels to the

,"e4", * *"ll as whose differences from the drhan' are the

subiect matter of this volume. S':fi ritual highlights the diversitv

oi i"t^-i. p*.ti.". Manv of its major elements claim to be

founded upon, and &awr from, the textual discourse ol

-nin"t ""- t"l"- The Shavktr, as the custodian of intelleciual

knowledee and thus power' sanctions bv his knowledge of the

6,atin, as"well as by his silsila and his sajjada, the itual practices

of rhe tai4.t. Each taliqd is born at a particular 'moment" or set

"f '-"-."t"' in histoical tirne The rituats' and the discursive

ritual traditions of each, reflect the past as they opemte in the

present and Presage the future-

5.4 Semiotics

Our eatlier €xamination of the semioiics of the live arhan

stressed that eve4thing signified and that the Qur'an itself was

a world of signs. The badrth literature ioo, is repl€te with a

"e.'"" of

"isr',"i" th" fumous hadith of Gabriel, for example' to

-*.f' *" fi."" *""*t,imes referred, Muhammad is questioned

about The Hour (al-Sla) and asked about its sicls (Ia ahhbirnrlan anaratihaJ. ihe Prophet famouslv replies in terms of the-

slaw girl giving bnth ; her mistress and the appearance of

'barefooteJ nakd, destitute herdsmen competing in construct'

ine lofry buildines -" While these wold' at 6rsr sighL seem ro

oa]ruke'of tt'" ajai6 genre o( adab rhev have been varrou'lv

inr".pr"r"a among tho.e prourded br al-Nauaui hinself r ' the

id* ih"t '"lau" girls will give birth to sons arrd daughters who

will become free and so be the maste$ of those who bore

SUFi RITLAL

them.'77 Classically tbe 'Signs of The Hour' (Ishardt al-Sa';)form an important element in eschatological literature.;3

It is from both the sign saturated Qur'an and hadr'rh that the6ve arhan, and their related theologies, derive. We saw earlierthat €ach of these classical arinn (a) could be described as acomtEmoratiTte sign and (b) that each had 'an outward form andan inner meaning.' In discussing now the semiotic dimensionsof the parallel univerce of sufr rituals, it is proposed here !oexamine the eisht areas of dhihr, sana', jhr, nun4aba, fibita.s.rhba, muh.rsabd. and wird firstly in terms of whether they ar€,or are not, commemorative signs and, secondly, in terms of theirexot€ric arld esoteric featu.es. We will also att€mpt to assesswhether each of these aspects of the paratlel ritual universecomplements the dr&an, or actually conflicts with those pillals,thereby sigaalling an ineluctable al€ndtion from the mainstream of Islamic ritual.

Semiotically, the dhihr has much in common with theshdhadr; indeed, the lafter may constitute the dhihr fior a tafiqa.As the sense of the word implies, dhi[r signals a desire toremember the Divine, whether by repetition of the DivineName or Names, or of anothe. related formula. Theperformance of a dh;&r is thus a commemorative sign parexcellence, signalling monotheism, devotion, remembrance and'belonging' in a very special qnfi way. Ritual has been neatlydefined as 'the ceremonial re enactment, or acting out, usuallyin the form of liturgical celebration, of profound religiousmysteries. It is a visible sign of the invisible but activerelationship between Cod and man.'7e AII this is true of the'liturgy' of the dhitr. The deinition highlights, too, the exotericand esoteric dimensions of dhibr whose outward form dassicallyreveals in word, and exalts, the inner theology or, at least,sentiments of the participant. Having observed a zib (dhihr) ;nAswan in Upper Egypt, Gilsenan was moved to skess thecentnlity of 'the notion of contact.' The saints and ecstasy wer€intermediary channels by which tbe snfr might gain somecontact with the Divine mysteries. Gilsenan identifred the'concentrated power'which was to be experienced by theparticipant in the zi[r. Th€ chanting of God's names and the

162 163

U\VEILI^'G THE SACRET] 2

rhlthmical movement seemed to him to connect the sifi 'to

forces that seem to come from outside, from the word of the

Divinity.' A combination of sPiritual emotion and phvsicai

labour in the zibr gave the s.fi an unrestmined freedom of

€xpr€ssion v/hich might easily have incurred the censure of a

more cosmopolitan, Cairene, non snfi observer'3uGilsenan's description immediat€ly raises trl/o points: the first

is the omnipresent danger of excess in irlfi itual. Dhihr mav be a

perfect complemenr to the drhar but i t ' over-exuberant

articulation has roused the urath of manv non'snfis and

app€ared to set it in conflict with those very arban x a

superstitious rival. The second point is one of authoritv. If the

mainstr€am. non-snft %lim from the Azhar, or faqih, mav be

characterised as the custodia.n of intellectual power, then any

oerceived or suspected antinomianism in sofi ritual and practice,

whether intended or not, may provole violent hostilitv. In surn,

while $n6sm in its ideal form may appear to belong to the realms

of private devotion and, mainly hidden ascaicism, the realitv

may sometimes reveal 'superstition and idolatrous excess '3t

The fgure of Dr. 'Umar'Abd al-Rabman' so sraphicallvport.ayed in Johansen's S fvn and lslanic Refotn in Esvpt,

constitutes a neat modem paradigm of the kind of intolerance of

sufis which is likely to be €ncountered in the modern world He

is rhe kind of enemy of Su6sm qho praises a young man who

chooses to postpone his set prayers in pteference to joining

others in prayer in a mosque which houses a tomb 3r And

becaus€ there is no explicit mention of sufis either in the

Qur'an or the hadith according to him, their origins are

illeeitimate.33 In sum, Sufism is an 'innovation'; its rittals and

practices should be branded as unbelief (&a,rt) and the rise oJ the

Orders is simply a mirror of the current decline of Islam.3i

It is clear from all this that the practice of dhthr would

certainly have been a major subject of Dr' 'Abd al Rahman s

6erce strictures and that dfiiit arrd other sufi practjces cannot

only rouse an acute distaste in the non-stfi but positivelv

dlienzte the sufi ffom his non-sufi co religromstlvluch of what has been said about diik can be applied to the

full sonra'. We stressed earlier the theological ambivalence in

STIFI RITUAI-

Islam regarding the use of music and chant outside the dtlanand Qur'anic tdJutd; there is no doubt that the use of music anddance in the sanrZ" of a slfi 4n-qa can be a profoundly alienatineexperimce for the observer raisel with even som€ of the vie*sof Dr. 'Abd al Rahman cit€d above.

Thus, on the one side of the coin, for the sufi participant, thesama" can be a profoundly commemorative religious sign. Forthe Mawlawl dervish the sdttir' is an axplosion of joy whosecont.ibutory parts are the annihilation of self and the praising ofGod. Performance of the sama' gives access to, indeed, makespresent, the sublirne state of the blessed b Paradise whose joy itis to witness God eternalll. according to Rnmi (1207 1273).3'

On the other hand, we have the 'appalled fascination'of IbnBattota (1304 1368/9 ot 1377), the sreat North Africantraveller of the fourteenth centurv. 'when he witnessed theexcesses of orders like the Rifa'iyrya, whose adherents nearWasit he saw indulging in tue-dancios and fire-eating during

Jalal al Din Rlmi and Ibn Battnta, on these occasions atleast, interpr€ted the sdma" in very differmt ways- For theformer, the samn' signalled a point of contact with the Divine;for the latter it signalled excess and trickery. For the former, thesdma" was a true commemorative sign of God's presence; for thelatter, the ritiral signalled man's unbounded capacity 1or excessand charlatanry. Finally, the sama' for Rnmi was an outwardsign of the jnner reality of God; for Ibn Battuta it was anoutward sign of the inner reality of mans foolisbness. Andaltbough Ibn Battuta was not alienated from Sufrsm by what hesaw his career exhibits a continuing fascination with sr:fis and

Sr:fism he did not share in Rnmi's mystical appreciation oftherac'ed r i ludl . or. at ledst. nol on rhis oc.a5ion.

The other six ritual practjces which constitute our panllel

universe of rofi ritual, may be assessed more briefly from the.emior ic perspe.rr \e Frrst ly. however. i r i . inslrucl i !e lo notewhat Mircea Eliade has to say on the theme of the sacred. Eliadeholds that the manifestadon of the sacr€d is always as a realitywhich is completely different from other 'natural' realities. Weonly recognise that which;s sacred because it is so profoundly

164 165

LNVEIL'NC THE SA(]RED 2

differmt fiom what Eliade calls the profane Th€ mvstery is

that we perceive a sacred' non tenestial reality within those

ir'il"" "r'J;.

*..ra which much be characterrsed as prolane I

t i " .J l t iua" a*"= u,t* tron to a *or ld of contrast ' thdtofthe

orofane and the sacred where inasnangebutsignif i 'antua;

if'" f",i". * recognised bv and indeed imbued with added

-*";"e b".""* .f *te existence of the former' With the a*an

and s,:i ritual, ihe dynamic contrast is, of course' no longer

J*;"" ir-r" "a.."d-und

the profane' for both must be

characterised as sacred. It is, rather, b€tween a mamstream set

of sacred rites, and a supererogatory set which feeds off' and.

oror ides an exttd dimension for. rhe let i : dnd rrres or

;"ir*'*"- lslam Thus rne sana is nor underraken bv the

sufi simDh' because it focuses on dance and chant' anv mo{e

ir.* ""-"a

trees are worshipped bv anirnists for their own

sahes. The sama" provides an exka dimension of the sacred'

.howing somerhme thar is more rhan just rh" lhmic movemenl

."a " . i - ." ,

**Ln*.r , oi 'nd herond pure dhih' uhich in

*.., a"p."a" uitimatelv on the mainstream Qur"an and

!r..i"J.'eila" insists that stones and trees are worshipped

not b€cause they are stones and tre€s but'because they show

something that is no longer stone or tr€e hrt the satred '33 He

eoes on: 'By manifesting the sacred, anv object becomes

iorrrethins el:i. yet ]t continues to remain itsef for it conttnues

io o"rticiput"; its ".,nounding

cosmic milieu '3e This is as true

"tiJ 'i*4" uf",r'"

"am.a'as it is oI the 'worship' of stones lt

is ihis intention to focus upon, ajrd manifest, the sacred bevond

the formal boundaries of mainstream ritual that makes rt

"o.*iUt" f". ,ft"

"ot ,o

"nact a ritual like the sdma' without f€ar

iilia". r, ; the lack of abilitv to perceive the,sense of the

sacred within such rituals that leads the non- s[tr antagontst'

*" O.. 'U-* 'Abd al Rahman' to whom we have referred

""tfi*, ,"

"*-ti"r" Sunsm and b€come totally alienated from it

y"i'ii, tt'.." *t'. t'"'e a religious experience tlike the srfil all

""i"." ; *p"Sf" of revealing itsetf as cosmic sacralitv The

cosmos in its entiretv can become a hierophanv

I can think of fe'rr' better semiotic analvses of sofi ritual and-

p.*ii.". Eii"i" a"ri*" hiercph.,nt zs 'rhe acr oJ man{estdtion of

SUFi RTTUAL

the sacred.'el Stfi rituais and practices, for those who undertalethem, are signs and signals of the sacred. And each ritual orpractice, whethe. it be the public sam.a'or the private nltra(laba,creates a sacrcd space. There is, Eliade tells us, an irruption ofthe saqed that results in detaching a territory from th€sunounding cosmic milieu and making it qualitatively different.'" He cites the Old Testament example of Jacob's Laddelwe may cit€ here also the sdrn4', in its Mawlawi (Mevlevi)articulation. Friedlander describes the 'unfolding' and whirlingof the dervishes accompanied by both music and chant. Sh€envisages celestbl energy being charurelled through the rightpalrns of the turners and exiting from the body into the earrhvia the left pa.lms. Thus, she concludes, 'with extended arms,the dervish embraces God.'er

It remains for us to €xamine the semiotics of the six otherar€as of snfi tual and practice to which we have refeffed atvarious times in this volume: fbr, nuraqaba,

'abita., hba,

muh^aba ar,a uird-In the distinctions which are sometimes made between dirlr

and fhr, it has been claimed that the appeal of dlib' is moresensory while that offbr is more to the intellect.e+ For the sufithe latter demands a concentration on a parricular r€Iigioustopic with a schematic and progressive form of meditation. lndii[r, however, the concentration focuses often on a singleDivine Name and the s!fi permits himself to be 'lost' in thecontempladon of that Name. For this reason repetition becomesextremely important.e5

Fi[r signals an interior, almost arid, intellectualisation of thesacred, producing no mere 'refreshment for the soul' as in dhibrbut a guidanc€ of 'the initiate towards the single divinemajesty.'eb Of its very nature it has only an internal aspect.lacking the often public display associated with dhihr. Filzr rsnot a commemorative sign in the sense of a past event (thoughone or more may be summoned to mind) but it is a processwhich attempts to actualise the sacred in th€ present and tocreate a sacred space around the practitioner or rnurdfdiiir lnthis respect it may b€ perceived as less threatening or alienatingthan the ov€rt ritual of the dlthr.

166 16t

UNVEILINC THE SACRED 2

The semiotrcs of contemplation, muraqaba, are not dissimila-rfrom those of jtu. Herc we find the same interiorisation ofspirituatity. Waleyk rendition of mtuaqa.ba as 'contemplativ€vigilance' and 'contemplative watchfulness' was noted earlier-e7Muraqaba, n its diection of the mind and soul to God, ideallysignals for the su6 man's response to God's care for maJI asarticulated in the Qur'an:'3

Foi ihat We pour forthWater in ablndanceAnd we split the eaJth

And produce therein Cotn,And Grapes and nutitious Plmts,Atrd Olives and DatesAnd enclosed Cardens,Dose with lofty trees,And FNits dd Fodder,For use and convenienceTo you and your catde.'"

Just as God has thus created a sacred space on earth for themultiplication and division of His gifts to mankind, so too mustthe practitioner create a sacred space, empty and alone, for thepurpose of his mutAqdba.roo

Murzqaba thus signals an act of gratitude and drawing closerto the Divine, a process which, for the faithful practitioner willultimately be transc€nded by the Beatific Vision of GodHimself vhen the qnfi veils will be rent. The outwa-rd seclusionsought by the murdqib signals or mirrors the inner seclusion andcon.mrratron on a sol i taJy goal. I t is not a commemorat i ' |ve srgnbut a sign of hope in a blissful Paradisical future. lfconsideredas an extension or outgro*th ofthe fivefold salat, it can neitherbe said to be an alienating or a threatening practice to the non-

Rdbild and suhba m,y be cons'deled ds a "emrotrc

pair'

Rabird with its connotation of attachment to, indeed annihila-tion in, the sublime 6gure of the Shaykh or Master, signalsobedience and fidelny. The archetypical paradisrn is that of

st]li RtTriAL

Ibrahim and Isma"rl: the latter obeyed the former while bothmanifested a heroic obedi€nce to the will of God.r0r ln this senst/dbitd is a commemorative sign or mirror image of all pa-;trelationships of Master Disciple in Islam in which instruction iospirituality and/or the will of God is the key focus. The innersubmission (nlam) ofthe will is mirrored in the outward action ofobedience and potential or actual sacrince. But while theIbrahirnic paradigm just outlined accords pdfectly with mainsteam, non qufi Islam, rabi@ can atso be a focal point ofalienation if the bond betw€en Masler and disciple becornesdistorted or colrupted, and is petceiud (even if in reality it is notthe case) either to encroach upon that which should exist betweenthe worshipper and God alone or, alternatively, to be a vehicle forthe self glorfication or even delusion of the teaching Shaykh.r0l

S rba, as we have seen, has much in comrnon with rabt a andmay be said to share in a similar semiotic pool. ln its emphasison pious companionship it may be characterised as an intenseforlr:, of ftbird uhereby ritual and spiritual knowledge aretransfened from Master to novice. ln the intimacy of sp;itualconverse between the two, 5rlrba may well be described as a palerellection of the ardent commurion of Moses with God on theMount,ror part of which is articulated in the Qur'an incharacteristically semiotic phrases:

(God)said. . .Thos who b€hav€ &rogantlyOn the earth in defianceOf right them will ITurn away from NIy Sig'li:Ev€n if they see all the Signs,They will not believe in them;And if they see the wayOf right conduct, they willNot adopt it as the Way;But if they se the wayOf error, that isThe Way they will adopt.For they have rejected

168 169

UNVEILINC THE S,\CRTD 2

Our Si3rx, md failedTo tale wdning from them

Those who reject Our Signs

And the lr{eting in the Heteafter,

Vain ae then deds:Can th€y dp€ct to be rewarded

Except as they have wrought?]oa

Thus Moses, here, in the intimacv of his semiotic converse with

God, and lbdhm, who bore the title Kidltl Allah (The Friend

of dod),tot both provide models for the practice of t&hbd

unflawed by alienating asP€cts

Mlhasala, or 'self'examination' is an easy ritual to examine

for its semiotic content. It signa.ls a desire for metAnoid, change

of heart. It does not commemorate so much as look forward to

i.,t,r.. "*r-ir'"tion",

*'hether thev be undertaken bv the Angeis

Munlur "r'd

Nakir106 or on the yat'n ol'Qilano itself lt is

€ffected within the innermost realms of man's being and its

intention is to alienate that person from ilture sin and the

desire to cornrnit sin.Finallv, {or the lnfi, uitd is a corffnemotative sign of the

univeni presence of God By the repetition of short litanies or

o*v.rs, o,re. und ol'o again, the sufi signals and makes public

i'hit he believes to be an inner realitv. The Shadhili mvstic lbn

' i i l , l l . f ' rdred I lnq) held tbdt onlv an ignoramus uould

disparage tbe recirar ion of l r ranies eren though lr tanies l i le the

*"'ta .u-outa u*l't' u"d thdt insp;atron from Cod *a' of more

value.107 Here the mystic signalled both the value and the

evanescence of the eartblv litanv by comparison $'ith the value

of what derives from the Hereafter' But he also stresses the

rn,rt,Aiw of""a'.h;" both God and man He states that God

"., i 'ay a*;* man to reci te l i tanies wfule man acr ivelv seek'

insonarion from Cod fr"m al l thi ' we mdv drt iculate a

"".i;oti." of v""*i"e vlherebv God loves and inspires man' and

-* y"*ns io m"'if that love and inspiration bv praver' chant

and litanvin this Chupt". we have examined the parallel universe of

sofi rituals ftom the persp€ctives of theology, phenomenology'

S.Fi RITUAL

anthropology and semiotics. Tbroughout there have beencertain recurrent themes: one of these has been the theme ofalienation. It is this, togethe. wi.h the $]fr doctrin€ offdna',which will constitute the sub-stntum of the concludins chapter

Notes

1 Schimmel, Deariains the Sisrs of GoA, p. 147 .2 Al Bu-khari, Sdhih olBtbhan, ed Muhmad Muhs; Kho, (3rd

rev edn., Chiogo: Kei Publications, 1979), Vol. 8: I( ab dI Da'a1Lat:Chap.68, no.417, pp.278 279 j s al6o Mulhkdi gdhih dl B .hanSunnatized $ahk aI Bubhnn, ed. Muhanad lvluhsin Khan.(Rjyadb: Maktaba Dar al Saleh. 199+): Kitah aLDa'Mt Chap.20, no. 2090, pp. 979-980.

3 lichimel, Dedplatns ttu Siga of GaJ, p. 10a.4 lb id. , pp. 104 10s, p. 111 n.40.5 W.*, Dictioury oJ Monzm W;ttei Atubb, p.724 sv f'hr.6 L. Gadet, art. 'Filr', EI', Vol. 2, p. 891; for Qur'anic efcences se

below m. 11 & 127 Gddet. art. 'Fikr', p.891.8 tbid.9 Ibid., p. 892. (Al Ghaal;, however, disagreed. See Waley, Con

templative Disciplines , p. s4.+).10 Se Gddet, art Fik, p. 891.11 q 2,219 220, se also Q, 2:266.1 2 q 7: 184; trms. Yusuf Al;, The H oU qt1 a, p. 39 /-, s& also Q. 34:.16

14 W tr4ontgomery Watt, Muhonnaa at Me@, p. +4. se al$ p. ,10. Seeale Mdtin Linss, Mufidnturl: lls Life B6ed ot thz farli.xr Sares,P '13

15 Waley, 'Contehplative Disiplin6', p. 535.16 A1 Ghazdli, AL Mdqsdd. oLAw Ji Shath Ma'dni Ainn' AIInh al.

H'/Aru, p. r28-1 7 W Montgomdy Watt , Munannad: Prophet and Statestun. v 31 .18 Q,8:11i tro9 Yusuf Ali, The llolr Qr'd, p. 11719 I. Goldziher, dL Dalriba, ElS, p. a88.20 q 59:18 19; trds. Yusuf Ali, ?he Holl Qtur"an, pp. ls26 152721 Weh!, Di.tiotuD, o/ Modem Wriu^ AtabX. p. 1060 * una22 John Penrice, A Di.tioturt dnl CLssLtt of tie Ko r,ii, (Ri.hmond:

CuzoD Press, 1993, rep!. ofnes edn. of 1971), P 158 sv ud"ald.23 Obvious analosies for this idea will be foud in John 4:13 1s.24 See Catechsn of the Carholir Chnch, pp 30s 306nn 1:l;6 1364.

170 ' t71

LN!f l l l \G THE:ACREn )

25 See Schimel, DecipAains tne Sigro oI God pP 1l7 148'

26 lbid.. p. 147.27 lbid., p. 148.28 Smart, DiMim ot,he S@ed, P. 29i29 Idem , Phmmaot oI Religim. P 3E.30 Nubaksh, In the ParcAi.e oJ the SdE, P 62.31 Snair, Di'l16im oJ ti€ ^Sd.'ed, p 6s32 See Waler 'Contenplative Disciplines , p. s3b

33 N{atGew 24:.12; trans. Ronald Knox, The Hob BibLe: The Neu

Tara@t, (London: Burns & Oates/N{&nillm & Co., 1960)

34 lje Nidd Sman, B&hsotnd to the Lns Search' (London: BBC,

1977), p 50.3s For m lslmic exmple, se lkhwo al Safe', Rdla \l lhhuan dl $aJa"

36 See Djeial€ddin Ans{i, 'Basic Tea.hings of the Sufis in Djelal€ddin

As&i "r

dl., V;its to S!,[ C€nt'rs: Sme Reent Resedtch I'ape$ on

S!-lqs dnd Sl]ifl. (London: Th€ Sci€tv {or Suli Studies, 1980), pp 2

ff.37 lbid.38 Christoph€r \Idtin, 'Places of Crace , 'Ihe Tdblet ..,1'th

Inre 1991,

W 761--764.39 Smth, Ar rdrl:v Mrs,ic oJ PashJatl, P 1i3{0 Se€, for dmde, q {2:2541 Main, Tle Wa! oI Unhnouins, p.3342 S€e Triminghd, The S4 Otdds in IslM PP 2r4 215a3 Se€ Smart. DJ116im of tne Sac'sd, p 83.{4 lra F.iedldder, Th" */iirlias D.roishes, p 684s Mary Dolglas, Pt t! an'J Ddnsd: An Aulvsis af the Condpts oJ

Pollutin atul Td6@, (London & New York: Rourledge rePr' 1996),

p. 175.46 lbid.47 lb id. , p 176.,18 S.e Jmil 11. Abu N asr, 'the 'tii,nitJd: A S$ Ordd if, the MoAan

!.16ll, pp. 46 4 t-.19 Julim Johans, Sl4'n atd klmic Refon in Espt: The Bdttle fv

Isldai. ?radltid, Oxford Oriental Monosraphs, loxford: Cluendon

Pr6s, 1996), P 20350 Gilsend, R.cosn€ing lsldn. p 11651 S€e ib id. , pp. 116 111.52 See ibid., p' 1:15 for compaing Shavkhs in the dnih'l

53 (My italics) Triningho, The Su,f Orders in Islan p. 187

54 lb id. . pp. 186 1Et5s (My italics) Pourjavady & Wilson, Kings dIlo,e p. 170

56 Ibid , p. 176 n 557 (IIy italics) lbjd., p 171

SL, FI FLTLAL

58 tbid.59 Habib, Sone Notes on the Naqshbodr Ordc, p. 47.60 Ibid.61 See Draper, Ca. Srldr, p. 130.62 See Habibis, Conpardttue St!{, p 407.63 Johm*n, Sdn and ftl,/nic ReJm in Estp,- p. 2r3.64 Massoud Hohayouni, AiseR t .Sa4 Qu6rioa d.Sq[q, P' 17. S€e

arso the remrks of selyed F Hosein, Tlp sui, o/ Tod4r. G,ndon:Designist Comunications Ltd., 1981), p. 16.

D( Pourid\ddy & U ilsoD. Kins" of Lnu?. p. t?0.66 See Johdsen, Sltsn dnn kLrnic Refm in EsJpr, pp. 180 1E2. But

*e the rddks of Gilsend on the Shaykh of a group of Ahrudiyyain Aswd who d6 not aslhe a l@dechip role (Recosnizins Islatu,p. 88).

67 Johasen, S,lfsn dnd Islanic Refdn in Estpt, p. 197.68 Se Draper, Cr6d Sr/dr, pp. 26 27; Habibis, Cmpatut;ae S'.\ly v 2i9

where the Shaykh giv€s the mrtdin a peMnal ui'd-60 Vmdhem \',Iil{n

'pd. & 'rdn,

,. 4 Suil RulpJd Nd\"s Kitab AdaboI Mur ta oJ Aba dl Ndrtb dl.Srh'@ath, (CMbrids€, il1as. &Londotr: Hatudd University Press, 1975), pp. 46 47: abridgednansLtron of {bu \r,b al {uhmsddr K 4b Adnb dt Munhn, edMe'alem Milson, p. 37 (A.abic text of the Kir.or).

i0 Datslaq Punt, dnd DdnEe\ p. 176.71 Talal Asad, The ldaa oJ dn hrhtopolos! ol Islan, p. 4.72 lbid., p. s.73 Ibid., p. 1.1.74 Ibid. , p. 15.75 Ibid. , p. 1776 Al Nawau, oi-Arba'm, pp. 30 33 (Hadith no. 2).77 lb id. , p.32 n.7.78 Se dt. 'Ishdret al-Se'a' in Netton, Porllar Dicrlioury oJ Islan, p. 125.79 John Baldek, The Elefletts of Chtrt'ur Srrrboinn, lshafresbury.

Dorset, Element B@ks, 1990, 1997), p. 109.80 Gilsean, Re.osrizins Isldn, P 8981 Johdsen, Sursn aid Isld^i. ReJm in EsJet, p 16382 Ibid., p 1.+7.83 Ibid.84 lbid.85 Friedl@der, Whirlins Deryish5, p. 8786 Id Richard Netton, 'Myth, Mirule md Magic iD the Ribla of lbn

Battnta in iden., Seel Kmubdge: Thoughr andkarel in the Ho@ oIIsl4fl, (Ri.hnond, Currcn Press, 1996), p 105. This &ticle orisinalt)appeared in./SS, Vol- XXIXI (Spring 1984), pp. 131 1.10. For theArabc r€f€rence to this episode s@ Ibn Rattuta, Rihlor lbn Bafinto.p. 184.

172 17-1

L]NVEILINC THE SACREIJ 2

87 Mirca Eliad€, 'the Sacred and rhe Prafane: The Nanre oJ Religion(San Dieeo, New York & l,ondon: Harcourt Brace & Conpdv AHavest Bok, 1959, 1987), pp. 10 11.

88 Ibid., P 12.89 lbid.90 lbid.91 (My italics) lbid., p 11.92 lbid., p. 26.93 F;edlmder, Whmins Detukhes, P 9294 L. Ga.det. an. fikr', p 892.95 Ibid,p.891.96 lbid., pp. 891 892i s€e Abn Bak. al Kalabadfi, Kitnb al'Ta'artuJ li

Manhhzh Ahl a,'Taawf, ed A l Arbsrv, (Ctro Khangi, 1352/

1931), pp. 74 7s .ited in i$d.97 W.ler 'Contemplative Di*iplines', p 53s98 S.e Nurbal<hsh, In tle Pa'dnise oJ the Sfs, p 71.99 Q,80:2s 32r trans. Yus{f Ali, fii€ Hob Q,a', pp 1689 1690

100 See Nuba].hsh, In the Pdadke of the Sufs, pp 77 80101 Se Q. 37:102 107102 Se, fore$mple, Anwi, Basic Teachhgs ofthe Sulis', P 6 S€e also

Homayouoi, Ae€rs to .Saa Qr.stions on S'fsn, pp. 16 17

103 See q 7:142 ff104 (My italics) q 7: 144 147; trans Yusuf Ali, The HalJ QttM'

pp 383 384.105 Q.4:125.106 See Id zuch&d Netton, The Perils ofAllegory: I{edieval Istan and

the Ans€ls ofth€ Grave, nidem (ed ), Stldi€s ia Honw ol CliIJotdEdnund lJonoth Vollne 1: Htntet oJ the E6rt Atdbi. \fld SeniticSrudio, (Leiden/Boston/Koln: EJ Brill,2000), pp 117"427

107 S€e Crril GlAs€, ?lle a'd cise Fiq.lopdedia of Isldn, pp. 41 8 'l19 sv

The Alienated Snfi?

6.1 Alienation as Ritual Paradox

Throughout the chapters which have preceded this conclusion,frequent r€lerence has been made to the concept of ritua.l: avariety of approaches have been deployed and an attempt has

been made to examine the parallel universe of 9o{i ritual in theirlight and as a counterpoint or complemenf to the matnstreamarkan. Increasing reference has also been made, however, to the

concept of alienation. In this chapter th€ concepts of ritua.l and

alienation are examined together to illustrat€ a fundamenta.l

6.1 1 Ali€nation

The term 'alienation' has both a technical philosophical and apopuiar semantic range. Different thought systems frame andinterpret the term in differmt ways.r Nathan Rotenstreichprovides examples from Hegel, Feuerbach and Marx toillustrate this fundamental point: Hegel perceived alienationas a positive though transitional state bound up with ideas ofid€ntity. For Feuerbach alienation has no links with realityMarx perceived alienation as an essentially negative process

whose fruit was the subjugation of humanity to production andeconomics.2 And the whole question of alienation, and thequestrons posed by the concept itself, have not gon€ awayDavid Cooper holds, in his book on Existe'ntidlirm, 'that themost s€dous question with which philosophy has to d€al is that

S!FI RITTIAL

of alienation in its various forms alienarion from the *,orld.from one's fellows, from oneself.'3

Much more simply, from the popular perspective, the term'alienation' may be defined as 'being estranged', .being turnedaway' or 'being diverted from.'1 Whatever the negative orpositive connotations of the word, in both technical and popularusage, there is no doubt that tbe term has been various\.deployed down rhe dges in a variew of guises, often rn walswhich differ frorn, and even contmdict, eacl other, and our ownage has reclothed the term in a new semantic garb.5 However,the contemporary usage of the term is perhaps of rather lessrelevance in our dual discussions of alienation and tdna, thanthe classical, Nmplatonic senses with which Plotinus imbuedthe term. Por Plotinus, real contemplation meant that the soulbecame alienated from itself since it was no longer conscious ofitselfand had become at one with The One. Real contemplationof The One was necessarily synonymous with reat alienationfrom the selfor soul. The emanationist tuerarchy established byPlotinus gav€ alienation a particular charism whereby theinferior mode of separate exjstence was swappd for a superiormode in which the soul participated in the existence and sphereof The One, the source of all emanated being.6

In this concluding chapter, the term 'alienation will be usedin at least two different, but hopefu y self-explanatory, waysreflecting both the popular usage of 'estrangement' (in ourdiscussions of sufi practice ?is a r,ri minstream Islamic rituaipractice), as well as the more technical usage in the Enneal: ofPlotinus (when we come to examine the concepts offdna, andbaqa).

6.1.2 Fani"

Simple dictionary deinitions of this complex term from a singledictionary range from 'passing away, cessation of being;perdition, ruin, destruction, annihilation; evanescene, ranishing,temination, extinction; exhaustion' to 'non being, nonexistence,nonentity; extinction of individual consciousness, recedmce of

I ;6 171

TI lL {LIF \ \TFN SI] f I '

the ego, obliteration of the self'.t It is the latter definitions whichwill be of most rel€vance to our discussions here. TheEnqrlopaedia oI ls lam n.nJate" the term as 'pds5rne-a$d\.

effacement', characterising it as a stage'ofthe development ofthemystic in the path of gnosis's while Annemarie Schimmel usesthe translation 'annihilation'e but go€s on to insist that'theGerman term Entuetdm. as used by the medieval mystics, iscloser to its meaning than words lile "annihilation", "being

naughted" [src], or rrpassing away", since it is the opposite of"hcomins", uerd€n 'i0 She goes on to explain that Jana" shouldnot be equated with Hindu or tsuddhist concepts of nirvana.Islam, she insists, has no knowledge either of karma, and /dna'does not indicate freedom from some circle of transmigration. Itshould be viewed as an ethical notion whereby man annihllateshis self in order to clothe himself in the divine attributes of Godand ultimately to 6nd, and immerse himseli in the very existenceof the Divine.lr Schimmel expresses admiration for ToshihikoIzutsuk delinition offan.' as 'the total nullification of the esoconsciousness, when there rcmains only the absolute Unity ofReality in its puritl as arl absolute Awareness prior to itsbifurcation into subject and object l'?

It is €ven better, however, to so back to the original Persianand Arabic sources for our deinitions if we ar€ truly toappreciate the real senses of/ana'. The foltowing are but two ofa multitude of examptes: 'Ali b. 'Uthman al-Jullabi al Hujwiri(died c. 1075) had this to say n tus Ka:hf al'Mahiub (The

Disclosure of the Concealed.), which Reynold A. Nicholsoncharacteris€d as 'the old€st Persian treatise on Sulism':

&eing is of two kinds: he who l@ks at mything sees it eitherwjth the eye ofsubsistence (bdqt) or with th€ eye ofannihilation

tatui). If with the eie of subsistence, he perceives that th€ wholeunjverse is imperfecr in compaison with his own subsistence,for he des not regard phenonena as *lf-subsistenri and if h€lools with the eye of annihilation, he perceives that all createdthings are non-existent b€side the subsistence of God.13

Real affrihjlation from drthing involves consciousness of itsimp€rfection and absdce ofdesire for it, not merely that a mm

should say, wben he lik€s a thi.g, ,I am subsisten! therein,,orwhen he disliles it, that he should say,.t u amihilat€dth€reflom, for thes€ quatiries ee charact€.isric of on€ who isstiil seeking. In am'hilation there is no rove or hate, and insubs'st€nce th€re is no consciousness of union or sparation.

These may be labelled 'classic, definitions oflana,, and it hasbeen well said that 'as the oldest surviving persian Sufi manual.the Kashf al-mahjab serves as an aurhoritaiive point of referencefor the Persian canon of Sufi literature.,rs

Al Hujwiri's views are elaborated by other authors. porexample, Abu Bakr al Kalabadhi (di€d 990 or 995)i6 had this tosay on the subject:

Passing-away lat JaM") is a state in which all passions passavay, so that the nystic expe.iences rc feetings towardsanyth;ng whatsoeve!, and toses all sense of discriminarion: hehas pa$ed away from all rhings, od he is wholly absorb€d withthat through whrh he has passed away. . pereisten@ ldl-6dqn"lqluch fouou. pd$ine auay. means.hat rhe mvsrjc pr5*s dwa)irom what b€longs to himsetl dd persists throush whar isGod's. One of the great sufis said: ,persistence is the station of

Commenting on al Kalabadhi s survey of these themes, Baldict<notes that the mystic meant subordination to the will of Godwhen he talked of such things as surviving in God,s attributesand that he did not mean to imply the totai extinction ofa man,satt.ibutes but.rather that'man's bad quaiities are submerged inpleaswe at the vjctory of God,s knowledge and justice,rsBaldick goes on m stress, however, that .Ka[badhi

;cocn;esrhed've,.rrv ofqu6 opinion regardrng po"" i"g o*"y, . ; *" t1as rne que\rron ol wherhe, rhe m'sr ic cdn rerum from rt ro lu,

These quorar ions from primary dnu se(onoary sourcesmrlor ihat drversrr l , recognised hy at-Kalabadhr. Whateverthe specific de6nitions however, cerrain rhemes constantlyrecur, most notable of which is that of,alteration' in one,s stateof being, and alienation from what has gone before.

179

THE ALIEN,{TED S.Fi i

6.1.3 Ritual as Shield

ln rituai, and the use and practice ofritual, there is a clear focuson being and identiry and the reinforcement of that being andidentiry There is no doubt that ritual constitutes an experiencewhich is essentially transformative.ro This transformation maybe symbotised, for example, by a simple cookng image in arAfrican cult.j' Transformation is also seen in a most elementaryform if we examine the itual of pronouncins the Shahada forthe first time when the aspirant is transformed by that keyformula into a Nluslim. Reinforcement of that neophyte'sMusiim ness is undertaken at every subsequent reiteration of theSlrcfiada. And ritual not only transforms, and insists upon, thebeing and identity of the participant. lt becomes the very miroror epitome of the participant's religion itsell We cannotunderstand a religion if we do not fully understand its rituals.For F.W Clothey ritual is the dramatic model of the veryintention of religion. It becomes this 'by the use of symbols,both visual and aural, which "aLong with intellectual andsensual images" provide the participant with a sense of identity.The paradigmatic element ofrituals is seen in that during theirperformanc€ they transform the participant "into a new modeofbeing"'.rr James L. Cox's preferred dehnition embraces someof this: A ritual is a repeated and symbolic dramat;zationdirecting attention to a place where the sacred enters lifeth€r€by granting identity to participants in the drama,transforming them, communicating social meaning verballyand non-verbally, and offering a paradigm for how the worldought to be.'2r In Islam the {rniversal practice ol tlre arhan at afuture dat€ would signal in a truly significant way |he universalspread and accomplishment of the d.ar al-Islarn.

It is also signficant wherc the ritual ta-kes place althoughritual can, of course, sacralise its own local, naiional orinternational space. The chosm place for the enactment ofthe rituai is important'since it is in the sacred space that theideal can be realized during the ritual drama.'24 In Islam theritual drama of the ha1 is played out amually in Mecca and itsenvions. lt is hardly surprising iherefore, that for some

5. FI RITUAL

mediaeval N4uslim geographers and writers, Mecca wasconsidered to be the centre and hear:t ofthe terrestial universerias well as the natuml goal of rhe pilgrim routes.z6

Ritual can also serve as a powerfut shield against alienation.It has been argued that rituais 'create solidarity in the few partsof society shared by all.':i This is certainly true ofritual fastingwhich has a.lso been characterised as a shield ( al-sautm funna)lrthe Arabic word junna can also be rranslated as 'protection' or'shelter'which makes equal sense.2e Dhibr, however, consritutesthe 'double' ritual shield par excellence from alienation. As wehave already seen in dive.se parts ofrhis volume, it linls man toGod ard it linhs man to his fellow man, thus providing a dualsense of belonging ard identiry It gives a ritual structu.e andlbcus for the emotions: as \tuir puts ii:'Rituals give access toemotional states that resist expression in language.'ro Indeed,ritual may emote rather than nean.3] The danger is that.ultimatell', there is the possibiliry at least, the emotion may endup destroyins the ritual and thus breal the format tinks of marto God and man to man i2 Ifthat happens then emotion infuseditual becomes a self centred structu.e for alienation rather rhansolida.rity.

6.1,4 Ritual as Alienatioo

It is almost a truism that 'the repetition of ev€ryday gestureswjthin the confines of a special place and time rouses emotionalresponses of fear or j oy, hate ot love, alieflotion or communionIn that emotional evocation lies the work of the ritual.3-lParadoxically, in view of the links stressed above, the seeds ofalienation are ahvays present in sl]fi ritual. This is b€cause sufidtuals actively direct themselves towards the coal of fat a.,asceticism, abDegation and, thus, alienation Indeed, thema;nstream sdlat itself can be a potent l€Hcle of a_nnihilation.The posture ofthe individual who prays in Islam is deliberatelvrnterded ro he rhdr of a slave before his .up,eme Lord . \ .Ashraf puts it, 'one is compelled to annihilate oneself in thepresence of the Almighty.'ra Or, as Rotenst.eich purs it in

180

THE ALIENATED SUFI;

another cont€xt,35 in the urge of the seeker for true knowledge,and identification and unity with the Knower, 'man standsoutside, or even in the way, of identiry' Rotenstreich concludesthat 'hence the goal of identity has as its negative correlatealienation.'r6 The Plotinian paradigm, mentioned earlier, isrelevant here. True contemplation of the One means selfalimation since the self becomes merged with that One.37

The paradox at the hert of snfi ritual, then, is that it seeksunion through aLenat ion. The r iLual Lnks or unitFs mdn roGod, man to man, and man to his o*'n spiritual core or self, onthe one hand, and yet on the other, it consciously seeks toalienate him from his corporeal and terrestial links and concernsas a means to a higher goal.

6.2 A Paradigm of Siili Alienation

Safr ritual leads to, or at the very least bears within itself theseeds of, a paradigm for sufl alienation.

The aspects of ritual which are 'formalized, collective,institutionalized' and'repetitive'r3 are easy to understand.Perhaps rather less obvious is the way in which 'many ritualswork like models. They present a standard or a simplifiedminiature for society to follow''r, This is certainly true of thefive ar[an; r'e note in particular how prescriptive the individualrituals of the hat are. 'I'hus the omission of the uuqrrtat 'Arafat(arch paradigrn in terrestial terms of the Last Judgem€nt itself)renders the whole of the }ajj invalid.ro It is also true ofthe sufirituals which mould and bind the adherents of a particulartaiqa.

ln this s€ction, then, which seeks to adumbrate a paradigm ofsnfi alienation, Edward Muir's excellent dennition of ritual as 'asocial activity that is repetitive, stardardized, a model or amirror'{r should be borne in mind.

The paradigm is fundamentally a very simple one; it may bearticulated in two parts as follows: (A) Islam in Dtr al-Harb,lorexample in tsritain, has as one of its 'alienaring factors' itsmainstream rituals. Those alienated are usually non Muslims.

1E1

(This is not to say, of course, that dll non Muslims are liable tosuch feeiings of alienation in th€ prcsenc€ of Muslim rituals)Where such alienation does take place however, it may have thesemiotic consequence of'the silenced dlfian.' When the localmosque in King Street, Loughborough, U.K., sought permission from Charnwood Borouqh Council to broadcast theNfuslim call to prayer from the mosque roof through loudspeakers, it was given a six week trial p€riod. However, a rash ofleaflets swiftly followed claiming that the alhan would createnoise pollution, in arr effort to persuade the Council to refirsethe application at the end of the trial period. h{uslim leaderspromptly alleged religious discrimination. One observed thar'church bells ring freely all around the country, but only ahandful ofMosques in Birmingharn and Bradford are permittedto calt the faithful in a similar way. {r

Alienation thus breeds alienation. Having praised thebeautiful sound of church bells. attention was drawn in theMuslim press to the multi faith nature of British s(riety, th€'illegal and discriminatory' nature of 'the consistmt refusals ofmany local auihorities to allow )vlosques to practise theequivalent of church bell ringing a moment or two of thehauntinsly beautiful call of the Koran , and the need for othersto join notable non alienated people like the Prince of Waleswho 'admirably, has stated that he wjshes to be the defender ofall the faiths. The themes of belonging and identity wer€ at th€heart of the conclusion of the NJuslim editorial whichpronouncedr 'lt is time for a Royal Proclamation from Charles,and a ringing endorsement by the Home i,ecretar!, that fromnow on the Azaan lsicl is as much a part of British religious lifeas the peal of Christian bells.'rr

(B) Howeve., the second part ofthe paradigm is that Sufism,both in Dar a|-lIarb and Dar al-lslam, has, as its fundamental'alienating factors', potential or actual, the sufi rituals, mostnotably the dhibr and the sama'. Those alienated may includenot only the non-\{lrslim protesters at the sound of the adhanbut, much more significantly for the \{uslim corununrty'ssense of belonging and identity, non-sufi Muslims. TheEgyptian, Dr. 'Umar 'Abd al-Rahman, to whom previous

182 183

THE ALIENATED SUI ' i i

reference has been made, constitutes a paradigmatic case studv

of alienation.The'semiotic consequences' are visible in the gulfs of

misunderstanding, suspicion and sometimes mutual accusation

which can arise between srift }luslims, non soli Muslims and

non Muslims and, more specifically, the si€g€ mentality of the

tust group. The $ufi adherent may feel himself totally alienated

from mainstream Nluslim life. Moreover, $ufrsm is deeplv

divided upon itselfas to the 'reality' of the S.lism of others' and

who is and is not eligible to be called a true $nfi.aa The $nfiOrders are accused of a lack of enlightenment and of being a

mere 'living palimpest [sicl]' of real Sr:fism.aiThe paradigm may not operate in every case or in every land

When it does, however, the sufi may find himself alienated from

non-sufi N{uslims, non Muslims, his fellow snfis (of different

Orders or stvles of Su6sm) and, ultimately, from himself The'silenced adhan', which signals so powerfully 'the absence of.

universal communal solidaritv',a6 in areas of Dar al Harb like

Britain, is transmuted into something which on the surface is

far worse a sense of profound isolation and alienation but

which, paradoxically, and insofar as it may be identified with thegoal of fa n', is infinitely to be desired

Noting that, 'a further major source of conflict in earlv Islam

was Sufism'. Wolffe insists that 'an awareness of these ancient

divisions is important for understanding th€ varieties of outlook

among tr{uslims in modern Britain.'rt lt helps to explain the

siege mentality of some lufi groups which, for example, are

profoundly suspicious of Western education,ls and mav seek to

.etreat into, or constitute, a separate sodiety within society at

large.r'q To observe all this is by no means to condemn it or passjudgement upon it. These rernarks are intended simplv to

illustrate the workings of the topos of alienation within Sufism,

whether consciously or unconsciousiyThis sense of alienation, compounded by deep-rooted,

almost guilty, ambiguities of feeling, has been neatlv encapsu

lated in Daphne Habibis arr ic le on \ lahdism Ln the Leba-non 0

i\..oting that 'Tripoli stands at the crossroads of the meeting

betwem East a.d West'ir, she has a number of pertinent

S.FI R]TI.]AL

observations about th€ mrni* who follow the NaqshbandiKhalidi Shaykh Nazlm al-Qubrusi, to whom we have alreadyreferred in this volume. Her remarls powerfully illustrate theparadigm of sr:fi alienation which is the focus and conclusion ofthis book.

Firstly, she draws attention to an ambiguiry of attitudeamong the muraLs \rho are torn between an admiration forWestern technology and science and yet det€st uhat theyperceive as the 'oppressive quality' of Wastern civilisation.Taking Lebanese Christianity as their reference, they resentChristian power and prominence whiJe envying their .highty

Westernised territory' They feel let down, the morc so sinceIslam promises them final victory as in Sriar dl ,\Idr, (Srrrl 110)of the Qur'an. Despite their incorporation into the Westernworld by virtue of their education, travel and saturation by theWestern media, they are alienared both from this world and thestate of the fragmented lslamic Unrna in which they live wherea bare lip service is paid by maly nominal Muslims to religionor where Islam has been transmuted for ideotogical or otherends into_ something which they cannot comprehend orrecognise.i, Habibis concludes thar the sheer speed of change,and the massive contrasts between that which is old and thatwhich is new, have left the rnunds isolated and uncertain,alienared (my word) both from tbe old and the new. On the onehaad, they do not wish to cast off the cultural and retigiousheritage of many centuries, bequeathed to them by theirparents; on the other hand, the values ofthe new age and othercultures have a magnetic attraction. 'They watch what ishappening around them wjth despair. jl

Notes

1 Rotensheich, Al;Mrion, p. 15.2 Ibid., pp. 7 163 David E. Cooper, Exftdtiatisn. A Reco6ttrcrion, (Cllford, Blacl

we1l, 1990, 1995), p. 84 S€e J.B. Sykes

-(ed.), -7-fie Cotcise oxford Dict;wty of Cunmt hgtish,

6th edn., (Oxfo.d; CldendoD Press, j976, 19is), p.25 se dtid;b

164

THE ALIENATED SUFIi

5 Rot6tr€ich, Aliedti@, p. 3.6 Ibid., p' 3 citing Plotinus, EnndadJ, Vl. 9.7.7 W.tu, Dnri' r! oI Mollm Wdxen Atoti., p.729 s! fa@'8 E Ralmm, arr. 'B*a' wa-Fma", EI?, Vol. 1 p. 951.9 E.g., ke her M$tical DituNioB of kldn, p. 4i.

10 Ibid., p. 142.11 Ibid.12 TGhihiko Izutsu, 'The Basic Structur€ of Metaphysical Thinking in

Islm in lvlehdi Mohaghegh & H€rmon Lddolt (eds.), ColiectedPaper or ldanic Philosopb and Mrsti.isn, (Teh€ran, 1971), P. 39t,cited ;n Schim€I, Mystirdl Di^ im of Islafl, p t43.

1-3 A1 Hrjwiii, Kchl alMabjab, p. 2l1r trms. Nichohon, Tn? Kashtal Mdhtb, pp. 185 186.

1.1 A1 Hujwrri, K6hI dI Mdhjnb, p. 313; trms. Nicholson, The Kash/al Mahj'tb, p. 243.

15 Jawid A. \{oladdedi, 'Ext€ndins the Bounddi* of Sufisn: al Hujw;i s Kci/ai Maijub', S!-f, No. 3s (Autum 1997), p. 4e.

16 For this datins se A.J. Arbdry (trms.), The Dodnre oI rhe $nJ'6(Knnb dl Ta'anuI lirudhhab anl al tasauu/), trus. from the Aiabicof Abn Bal. al. Kaltbedhi, (Cmbridge: CUP, 1977, repr. of 1 93 5 edn.published by CUP), p. XL

17 Al-Kalabtdhi, Kirab al-Ta'and liM hnab Anl oi-Torouud, ed.'Abd al Halim Vahmnd md T:la 'Abd al-Baqi Surnr, (Cairo:al tlalabi. 1960), p. 123i trds Arb6ry, DoctTine oI the SnI'l, p. 120.

18 JtrId Baldick, Mrsti.dl Isldn: An Inhaductiat to ^Su,{.M, (London:Taur is, 1989), p.56.

l9 lb id.20 I$lie S. Nthoi. ' Wosde Rit€ of Passag€: Reflections on the Ituiiatlon

of Wosdn4 in the Cult of Vwali in Zimbabze in JDes L. Cox (ed.),Rit s o/ I'6sage in Cmtmpour AJtica, R€lision in ContenPoraryAfria S€ries. (Crdiff: Cddiff Academic Press, 1998), p. 79.

21 Ibid22 Jm6 L. Cox, lnkoduct;on: Ritual, Rites of fasage and the

Int.raction betwen Christia md Traditional Religiom in Cor (ed.),Rit s o-f Paas€, P. IX quoting F.W Clothey, 'Ritual' in K. Crlm (Gen.Ed.), Abinsdon Di.tiotutr ol Li|.'ne Relisio6, (Ndhvi e: AbingdonPr€s. 1981), pP. 624 628.

23 Cox, 'Introduction , p. X.24 lbid., p. XIIL25 S@S. Maqbll,\hnad, an.'Djugbre6ye', EI'z, Vol.2, pp. s7s 587.26 For the pilerim rout6, see, for evmple, Abdullah al Wohaibi, ?he

Notthem Hie in ti. ffiltinss oJ the Ardb Geosdphds 800 t154,(B€int: AI Risalah, 1973), esp pP. 313 395

2t Edwad Muir, Ritul in Earb Modem Enope, New ApProaches ioEuop€d History -\'-o. 11, (Canbridge: CUP, 1997), p.4.

18.

S.!'i RITUAL

28 Al Nawawi, alAtbd'1n, p 99 (Arabic texr), p' 98 (English tres.),(Haditb no. 29).

29 S@ Wehr, D;rioery o/ Moada Wdttn Atubi, v r38 sv funM30 Muir, Rtual in Ea'lr Md,)em Euopz, p. 2_31 Ibj ,d. , p.274.J' Se Ahad. Gp@tolp of RpIEion p. ;2 6p. n 18.il ivy. ildlr", \furr. R,,@i rr Ea \ Modlm Lgopc. p 2J4 S\,ed Ali A"haL lhe lnnr Veme of lhe tsldi. Rrles in \sr,

44nk rprflr,arrry tou datb$, D 11535 Rotenstieich, Aliaarion, pp 4 5.:16 IHd., p. 5.37 Ibid. , p 1.38 Muir, Rri@l in Earir Vodern Ewope, o.3.39 Ibid., p. 5.40 S€e Malil b. An4, Kifib al Mtuattd', pt. I, p. 263.41 Mri, RilJ@l in Ed t Moaer^ Ewope. p. 612 E6t, 12th June 1997.43 Ibid , p. 6.4! See.. io, exmple. rhe iolto$lne rhree drlktes rn tl,e Sorery for Suti

irudres }(riMt, Inniation antl Sp,pr. M Suf Grrles, LLondonDoignist Cmrunications, 1980), Franz Heid;tbergd, ,Tim

spntmong SuGs'; Rosalje \farshan,.Su6 Orders'; Hoda Azi;ian,'Observation of a SuG Sch@l'.

4s Meshm, 'Su6 Orders , p. 2saD John Wolfie. frdcmenred un'veFdiir! tJd od Mslrm ,n Cdajd

P"rsr. led . The n,ou,h ot R.riei,6 l/ird$r!. Bntain hm 1.J45.voLune I lradititb, p. l;n se. alro p. l;2

47 lb id. , p. 13E.48 See,_ for example, Aray, ,\lagsnbandr' S!,rts in d W6rm Serhng,

pp. 128-135.49 S€e Habibis, Conpardri,e Sruds p. .111.50 Daphne Habibis, 'Mahdjsn in a Branch of a

Ndqshbdnd, o 'dp, rn teban"n rn Uabo, jedu,

51525l

pp. 603 619.Ibid. , P.612.Ibid. , pp.612 613Ib;d.

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Cox (ed.), James L., Riks of PLretse ia C,mtenwo'r A,fri.a, Retigion inClonterDponry Africa S.,ri€s, (Caditr CardiffAcadoic Preis, 1 s98).

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I)avies, C. Collin, art., Akbar', EI', Vol. 1.de Jong, Frederick, Th€ Naqshbandilrya in Egypt and S1ria. Aspects

of irs History dd Obseruations Concanhg i* PresencDayCondition ;n Gaborieau, Naqshbandir.

Demirci, Emin Yarar, Mod.tnisation, Relicbt ond. Polnns in Trrhet:The Crc oJ thz Ishendzrpasa Connuairl, unpublished phDThesis, Dept. of Govmment, Univasity of Manch6rd, 1996-

Denny, F.M., 'Islmic Ritual: Perspeaivs md Thedes' in Mdrinled.), Approarhes to Islan in R?lisiou Srulies.

Dietrich (ed.), Alb€rt, AArn d.s VII Kolste$es Inr Aftb;'tih undlsldnD6s"ruchaJt, Gdttingd, ls. bi 22. AuE6r 1974, (cotiingen:Vandenh@ck & Rlprecht, 1976).

Digblr Simon, 'The Naqshbmdis in the De<a in the Late Semteothud Eaily Eightenth Century A.D: Bebi Palangposh, BabiMus6$r ed Their Adherors' in caborieau, N/qsibandi.

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E6r [UK Asian Newspap6], 12rh June 1997.Eco, Umberto, Se,/,iotis a the Philosopb of linsMs4 (t,ondo\:

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Enqclopazlia oJ Islm, s*cond Edition, (E.lr), €d H.A R Gibb €t dl.,(iriden: E.l. BriX, 1960 )r 10 vols., continu'ng + suPps

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Faklrry, I!1., lslamic Occasiond;sn dnd lts Gitiqu. by Atetroes dndAq,iM, (London: Allo & Unwir, 19s8)

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Fletcher, Joseph, 'The Naqshbandiyya dd the Dhihr'i ant' , Jomalof Turhsh Sndies, (1et-7).

Flacher, Joseph, 'l*s "voies (raruq) soulies €n Chine'in Popovi. &kinstein (eds.), Les Ordr€s M]sdqurs.

Friedlader, Ira. 7he Whirling Derds[es, (London: Wildwood House,19;5).

Friednan. Yohman, 'The Naqshbmdis and Awrangz.b: Reconsi'dentioo' in Gaborieau, Naqsnbaadr!

Friedman, Yohanan, SharlA Ahnad Siriindi: An Outline oJ HisTh@sht dnd a Stqdr aI Ht Inage in the Eyes of Posterii:t', MccillIsiuic Studies, No. 2, (Nfontreal & London: McGlll tlueen'sUniversity Pr6s, 1971)

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19:

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Gibb, H.A.R., Mohannedzn;sn: An Hi,tdical S!roer, 2nd edtr.,

'London: Ox'ord t versiry Pres6 tao,t ,

Gibb, H.A.R., see also udzt En Jclopaal)a oJ klanGibb, H.A.R. & Kramers, J.H. (eds.), Shdtet E^L,rclopaznin of klar|

lElsl, (Leiden: E.J. Brill/lnndon: Luzac, 1961).Gilsenan, Michael, Re.osnAins lslam: An Anttuopotoskr's Lo&E

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Erc).lopartia of the Mo.lan klanu Woid, Vot. 3.C;ol&iher, L, arr., 'Sahaba in cibb & Krmds (eda.), Sto,r",

Evlclopaedia oJ Islan.Graham, Terry, Shah Ni"matullah \Vah: Founder ofthe Ni.ma.u[ahi

strfi order' in l2wisoh! led.), The LecdcJ ol Medi@al p6ians,/.-.

C;randh, Nicole, A Propos des Asdnid de la Naqshbmdiwa das lesFonddents de la Khatm'yya du Soude Oriental: Srrat6gi6 dePouvoir €t Relation Maitre/Disciple' in caborieau, -\dqsn6atrdis.

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Habibis, Daphne, 'Mahdism in a B'anch of a ContemporaryNaqshbandi Ordd in t,ebmon' in cabon@u, Nrdastrandis.

Hakim, Halkawt, Conh.ie des NdqslDandis au Kudktan au XtX.sirrle, Doctoral Thesis, S.rbonne-Pdis IV t9tt3

Halim, Halkatrr, 'N{awlana Kh,lid et ls pouvoirs, in Gaborieau,

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Hourani, Albert, 'Shaikh Khalid md the Naqshbadi Order' in S M.Stern e, dl., (eds.), tdanic Philosopfu and the Classial Ta.dition

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Nurbakhsh, Javad see aiso unAet Arabic, Petsian, hfi;'h and Sabuan

Olson, Robert W, 'The Internatioml Consequene ofthe Sheik SaitRebellion ir Gaborieau,,Ya4shbcndi.

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al-Oubrusi, Nazrm, Mc,a O.ea\. Soon luo, tKon1. Sebat "r80)al Qubru"i, Nazrm, Mncl Oear' Lndles, Honam" lDrs'ourses

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Index

('al' and 'el' are discounted in the order of what follows, at thebeginning of an entry)

l{bd al Rahman, Dr. "Uma 163, 'A'ishah 13s164, 165, 182 183 "aja'ib 16l

'Abd al Rahme b. Qtsim 13s Akbar, Mughal Emperor 6s, 70;Abdalati, Hmmudah 111,112 din-i iLahi 6aablutiom, ritual7, 30,31, 32, 35, Aleppo 21

43,112,132ieeabopuit} , , r i tual Algar, Hamid x, 62, 63, 6+, 67,Abraharn s.e Ibrahm 69, 70, 7'1, 77,81, 82,85, 86,absolution 111, 122 88Ab' l Bakr 61,74,80 Al i , Yasmin 6AbHn-fa 132r WariyJa 132 Ali, Yusuf 49; see also QuimAbn HualE 133 i{li b. Abi "lilib 12, 27, 31, 13,Ab. Suhayl ibn Nl.lik 133 74, 158act ion, fof fEl 124 al ienat ion ix, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 11,72,act ion, nghi 125 t4s, 162, 163,164, 165, 166,act ion, sad€d 8, 124 167, 168, 169, 170, 175 184ad4b 161 al-"Allai Ab1: 'l Hudhayl 42ad.ab, snfi 28 29,32 34,3s 36, Allah s.? God

43, 50, g0 Almohads 140 n.102Adam 12, 118, 119, t22. 128 Almoravids 140 n.'102Adams, Charles J. 68 almssie;ns see sdiaqa; zahata.Jhan 36, 110, 182, 183; s€e dLo altdation 1t8

chmt, rituatr rajDid American University ofCairo 83adoration of God r?" d&6iz Amir Kulel, Khvaja 63Afghanistan 86 amulets 14Africa 24,

16,1 mgels, angelology 9, 12,22, 40,Ahmad, Aziz 66,67 83, 135, 1'16, 169: Angel ofA]trd, Khwaja'Ubayd Allah D€ath 7s; Munkar and Nakir

64 65,66,69 169ahtal2,32,3a,83 animals 8

205

sCFi RIT{JAL

aDnihilation of sell ego 3s, 36,43, 83, 85, 164, 16?, f i6 177,178, 18q see also Janna MJs

anthropology ix, 104, 105,127 129, t34,145, 156 161,1 70; mystical anthropology129

antinomianism 163Aquinas, St. Thomas 130Arabia, Pr€ Islamic 118Arabic 123'Arafat 79, 116, 119,120,121,

128, 181t see dlso hajt urqnfAristotelianism 42; see also

substaces ald accidentsd*an \x, 13,35, 40 41, 49, 50,

103 1,14, 145, 154, 155, 157,t60, 161, 162, 163, 163, 17;,179, 181

dt ed dchitecture 124Arthur, King 73Asad, Talal 127, 130, 131, 160,

161ascehcrsm 13, -11,44,6i1, 112,

115, 133, 154, 155, 1i6, 157,163, 180

Ashral Syed Ati 133, 13s, 1u0Asia, Cenftal 69, 70, 71, 88j

lnner 69i South East 85Asid 5, 6,; se? aiso food

aton€not 11;, 122, 123'Atttu, 'Ala' al,Din 85Ausustine, St. \ De Dhttitu

Ciiistidfla 131

authori ty 154, 157, 159, 163aufid see uird: Aufid i Fathitja

86Awangzeb, Ivfughat Enperor

65,66

al Azha University 1, 163

Babu, Mughal Emreror 64Badr, Battle of 149Baghdad 43, 68Ba]'ira 22Batdick, Julim 178

ba.qt '11, 12, 43, 176, | i7.178i.

al-Baqitldi 42Bd llitzvah 116bzda4 14; see aLso blssings ad

Barelwis 1aBarthes. Roland 27al Basn, al HasaD 27, 44bann 157, 161ba!'d 76, 157, 13aBayrm, Sugd see 'td al-Fir'being 178, 179belonging 2 6, 180, 182Benedict, St. 29; Rde of St.

Benedict 29 30,32,34, 46,16:see dlso oblates, Benedictine

Benedictines 48; se" dlso oblares,Benedictine; Boedict, St.

Bennett, Clinton 129bid'd (innovation) 14i, 163, 165Birmingham 182blesshgs md cur*s 8, 9, 146;see

Bosnia 86B.adford 5, 182Britai! 2, :t, 4, 5, to, 14,12. a/',

181, !82, 183Duddha 1s3BuddhisD 2, 125, 177;

Thtravada Buddhisn 2; seedr'o nirvana; Noble EighdoldPath

Bulhaa 63, 69

206

INDEI

al Bukhan- 146turda 8Burhaaiyrya 87, 88

Cairo 87, 113, 163Call tn prayet w anhanCalvary 124

Cassian, John 48catechism, Tukish 106, 116, 121

celebEtion 113, 115, 116, 117,120,121,122,124,133

chmt,. i tual 124, 164, 165, 166,169; see also alhan; musiqsinging; tajud

Chaptd of Fautts 46chaity 104, 112Chmwood Borough Coucil 1 82chha 2, 71Chishti'rya 14, 67, 68, 82Chitr ic l , VlC. 71, 108, 111, 112,

1 t4, The Vnion of lslun r03Chrjst iani ty 48, 109, 111, 116,

124, 130, 131, 152, 153, 184Christmas 1 1 3Cbristopher, John B. 112Chrysside, George 2chlrch bells 182Church Fathers, Early Cbdstian

t47chcumambulation see lduaJ

citi6 10civilistion, Western 1 84

Clothey, FW 179

@Inmandhg good edforbidding evil 116; we alsoQ".'an

comemoration 1 16, 118-1 19,120,122,130, 131, 132, 133,134, 162, 164, 166, 167, 168,169

community 134, 160, 183i se€

Compmions of the Prophet see

comparionshiP see $f bdconc€rt, mystical, sPiritual see

confe.ences on Snfrsm 3q

conErmatior 116, 120, 127,122cont€mplation 4, 78, 83, 84, 166,

t76. 1a1; see ako fh;snaqabat rnrshahada

Cooper, David 175;tnstenhalArn L/5

Coibin, Hetry 129Cordova 22Cox, James L. 179Crearor 32,41, 151, 153i s€e also

Godculture clash 2, 4, 5

Daghistani, Sheikh 72al-Dajjal 72Damascus 68Danrel, David 70dmce, sacred see satna"dancing 14, 37, 38, 39, 83, lJ4,

147, 152, 164, 16, see akomusici singrng

dar al hath 181, 182, 183dar al- Is laf l ix, lo, 154, 179, 182Dasuqitya 87Davies, Collin 6s

Day ofJudgement 37, 40 41, 721se€ dlio judgenent

death 9,22, 117, 133, 160declaration of faith see slahadadeeds, good 8, 104, 105, 108,

115, 133, 156; Five Vir tuousActs 125

Delhi 65, 66, 68Demy, F.M. 128Deobandis 14

207

SIFJ RITL:AL

devi ls 115Dewsbut' 5

dhibr lx, 11, 12, 13, 15,28, 29,35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 49, / -1,75,77,7'3, i9 a1,85, 1.{5, 146,t47, 152, 133, 15;, ts7, 158,159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 180,182; dhibr jah 36,63,8r, rSB:dhitu bhaJi 36,63,79 81,82,83, 85, 90; see atso uird

Dhn 't Qa'da 119, 135din 136 n.2, 145ttn.i ilak s@ Akbatdiscipl€ s.e m!?nC(s)Divine Destiny see al-qadarDivine Of6ce 34, 4?I)ome of the Roc[ 7l)ouglas, I{ey 134, 1j6, 160dreams, tnterpreiation of 13

Eeth 129 , 167 , 168Easter Sunday 12,1Fao, Umberto 130ecstasy 4, 37. 38, 82, 83, 147, 162€ducation, Western 183, 184Egypt 1,23, 71,115, t59,162Eliade, Mircea 129, I56, 164,

165, 166emanation 129, 176emotions and ritual 180Empedoclean etements 7Encycbpaedia of kldm 80, 17 iEnslmd s€e BritainElntuddr ree PlotinusEnoch 74

epistemology 155eschatology 9, 10, 1't6, 120. \32,

148, 151, 162el'Essawy, Hesham 3erh;cs t23, 160,177Euchaist 152Enrcpe 6,24,71Eve 1l8

examiMt;on of con$i6c€46 4 /-. see also tuhnmto

Eyre, Ronald l, 3; On the IntaSurch 1

fai th 8, 103, 104, t03,10/^, r32;Protestant justification by faith

Faiih Movenot s?€ ?itliisl-iJdmdat; ree also liyas, Mawlm

Jona" 11, 12, 45, a4, a-i. t7O.176 117, l7a, 180, 183; see4iso mnihnation of sli ba4a'

fst ing 104, 113 116, 125, 126,129, 133, 180

Fil,ihd 83, 88, 8gi ia dtro Qur'a!teatts 8; see abo 'Id dI Adhat .Id

al-FitrFeuerbach. I-udwig 175

hdeliry 167tAr ix, 35, 39 +0,49, t45, t4j ,

152. r53, 154, 159, 162, 166,I67i see dlso contemplarion;nriqabd: ,nudahano

tsh 22F'itzgerald, Edward ix, 15 n.lfolklore. Islamic 115f@d 14, 33forgiveness 115, 116,122, 123.

132rounders of orders 11, t2foontains of Paradi* 7; see also

French 71Friedlander, IE 166Friedmm, Yohum 6s, 66Fulbright $holars 83

Gaborieau, Mtrc 62, 67; s@ dlsoSevre Round Table

Gabriel se Jibril; see olso Hadithof Gabriel

208 209

INDEX

g&ments, Islamic 8, 30Gaudeft oy-Demornbynes,

Mauiice 118

gen€rosity 1 12, 122, 126 -.127geographcs, Muslim 180George Washington University

39i Lisner Auditrriln 39gestures 180al-Ghazali, Abn Hmid 1,38,

39, ,14, 47, 50, 131,135, 14i l ;ll.rya' 'Ulnn al-thq 39

al Ghazeli, Almad 27al'Ghijduwani, Khw.ja iAbd

al-Kh. l iq 63, 75,79, 86Ci ls€nan, Michaei 1,3, 127, 157,

' t62,163Glmsc, Clril 3; Concise

Bqclapaedja of Islm 3gnosis 177God 6 ad pasin; immence

107, 108, 109; tescendence107, 108; s€€ diso God, tseatihcVisiotr of; God, obedience toiHaq;qar names of God; ai'tutAllaA; Presence, Divine; hbbt';ia iid; uion, mystical

God, B€atilic Vision of 167God, obedience to 116, 119Golden FIce 73gEce 130, 131Graham, Teny 24Crail, Quest for the 73gtatitude 1 67Gull The 68Gwalior 65

Habib, N{adelain 72, 83, 88Hatibis, Daphn€ 72, 183, 184hadirh 9, 12,23,44,48,67, 110,

131, 133, 146, 150, 160, 161,162, 163j Hadith of Gabriel{J ibr i l ) a0 41, 103, 104, 109,117, 127, 12a, 161; HadrtL ofReNard md Punishmot

104 105, 106, 101 , l1 i , 12? l

Hagar (Hajar) 118, 119haj j i ,68,19, r01,110, 116 123,

124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130,134 136, 140 n.102, 151, 160,ri9, ral see aLso ihnmllabbalAa; al Mama; al Safa;stj''y tuuaf rJvqnJ

Hajjat al Bolash see Pllgllnfiaee

Hofiat alvaaa' see Pilgrimaseof Faewell

Hdadani, 'Ali b. Shihab al'DrD86

Hanaddni, Majdhnb 'Ah Shah35, 53 n.32

Haqqa 9U see also GodHdawi, Amri Husayn 23,52 n.23heal ing 124, 154Heaven (al Janna) see PaadiseHegel, G.WF. 17sHeiLer, Friedrich 6, 10Hel l (al-Naz) 7,21, 104, 10s,

115, 131, 133, 146, 151Herat 23I{ercules 73Hidd€n Imm 22hieruchy 11,25 30, 73 75hierophmy 165 166Hij .z 66, 71,86nria 80, 134

Hira', Mount 8, 1,18Hirschfeld, H. 1a8Hizb al-Bdhr 88

Hour, The 41, 161; signs ofTheHour 161, 162; see also

Hourui, Albert 67, 68Hugh of St. Victor 130, 131al'Hujwiri, :{li b. 'Uthman

al Jullabl 37, l1t' 178: KashJal MahjtLb 31, r7i 178

SUFI RITUAI-

hunan b€jns, figufe 128humii i ty 13, 29,30,34, 76,89, 122

Iblis 128i see dlso SatmIblis, rejection of 116, 119, 122Ibn 'Abdull.b Tust&i, Sali 48,

87,147Ib^ al : tuabi 22,24,66,129t see

aLso Mhdat al-uljndIbn :\ta'All h 16SIbn Battora 164Ibr Hisham 119Ibn Humayd 135Ibn Ishaq 119, 135Ib. Jabal, Mu"adh 104, 10sIbn Rushd 22Ibn Sina 22Ibn Suw6r, Illuhmad a8Ibrahrm 116, 117,118, 119, 120,

1,22, 124, 126, 128, 134,154,168, 16\ KhaLil Allah \69

'Id al Adhi 119' Id al-Fi t 113ident i ty 6, 179, 180, 181, 182

Idlis, Sayyid 1 4; sre also Sannsiyyathran 110, 135. 136ihsan 4rilaz 107; se. also Qur',nIkhwen al Safa 32, 49Ilyas, lvlawlma N{uhemad 5i

see dtso TabLiEh i lalwtiman 40 41, 132

India 14, 65, 66, 67,6a,69, ?0.71, lJ1, 82

Indim relieions 48individuals 9, 10lndonGia 71, 86inimitability s€e i'jaznit iat ion 23, 29, 30 32,73 77,

126,157inte ect, intellrctuals 19 n.91,.10,

64,152,166, l / -9

'ntention 30, 36, 136, 154

Intermtional Isldic Fed€rationof Student Organ;ations 106

interlexrualiry 146Dluat;on se" undIrm 24, 68, 71r s€e abo Persia'isa. the prophet 72Ishmael w Isma"Isma"i l 118, 1ls, 128, 168IsDs"ilism 131itrad 150; see al,o hadithlstanbul 70irtishft a7, 89Ivanow, W 25Izutsu, Toshihiko 177

J&ob's Ladds 166Ja'fa al Sed;q 74Jahengn, Mughal EDperor 65ldhattun ls\ se. also HellJdmfat,i Tablish at-Islm 14; ree

at o sha}, Pn Maroof Hussainat.lanv see Ptadisa'Japan 2Jason 73Jdusalem 7; ec also Dome of the

RmkJesus Christ 28, 124, 130, 153Jesus Prayer 47; see also dhilr;

.J ibr i - I ,11, 103, 109, 118, 128, 149rsee aiso Hadith of Gabriel

jihnd 10sJinr 15, 115Johansn, Julian 1s8 159, 163;

svf6n Md tslani. Rehr,tr. ;tE$pt 163

.tonar 28, 4eJo*Ph 28Judaism 116judgement, Last Judgement 9,

108, 116, 119, 120,121, 122,t24, 126, 12a. 1J1, 169, 181;see atso Hou, The; Day of

210 211

INDEX

al-Junayd 27, 48, 49, 160junar (shield) 180

Kd'ba i ,2a, 116,117, 118, 119,120,121, 122,129, 13t see

al-Kalabadhi, Abn Bakr 178balitut-i E lst.la 7i 18, see also

\-aqshbandi)ryabarmat 63

Khalid, Shaykh se? Naqshbed,,Mawlma Khtlid

Khalidi branch ofNaqshbandiyva seeNaqshbmdiyya

Khalidirrya see NaqshbandtrryaEhaliJd 12.23, i4, 80, r29Kltalil Allah s€e lbrahimKhalrlulah (son of Nlr al-Din

Shah Ni"matullah Wah) 23, 26hhaluaTS,7A,85, 86, 148, 167;

Khaa, Ahmad Raza 1ahhatuqah 11 , 24 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31

32, 33, 35, 36, '15; see also

KILatar. al -N'd6iryin 107, 131hhanaf, al-salauat A8Khatm i Kt ajaefu 86, 88i see

Kharyarn, Omar ix, 1, 15 n 1;Rs6air t ; , 1, 15 n.1

Khwajagm stlal-Khidr 22, 26, 73, 75bhilali 6i, 8l see aLso R6hi.lnnhhirqa 30Khumaym, Ayatouah 71i uila)dt

al-faqih t-rKirm,n 23al Kirmani, aH al Rezaq 23Konya 22Koran sa Qur'arKubrawitl'a 68, 86Kutr 10s, 163

Kurdt, Mawlana Khalid 67 69Kurdisid 68, 71Kurds 68Kushl-i Hinduwan 63

tdbbatko r3t see dtso hlrjilabours of Herculs 73Lane, E.\tl 11slanglag€, formal 124lapidation ritual 119, 120, 122,

128i s?e dko Mila; stonesLast Judgd€nt, The see

law sch@ls. Islmic 37; s.€ also

Larlat a.l Qdd.r 113 114, llsi s€€

Lebanon 72, 183, 184Lewis, Philip s, 14, 37Lewisoh!, tenard 203Libya 14; see aiso SmusiyyaLight 7litany s€€ dhi&r; u,itdl i turgy 34 50, J6,79 90, 124,

162l-ondon. University of 39Lote Ttee 8; see dlso ParadiseLot6, Muhmmad Reza 3sLoughborough, UK 1li2Iote 1 3, 19 n.91, 22, 24, 28, 2t) ,

30, 34, 39, 40, '11, 52 n.32,71,80,82. 109, 152, 156, 169,178, 180

Ma Fu ch'u 12sNlahen 23I{ahdi, The 71 72al \Iahdr (father of Sayyid Idris)

14Mahdism 183Main, John 47,48, 151, 155i sce

dlso mantra; meditation

Valakut 38malamati snffs 89

qT'Fi RiTU^L

Malaya 86 millenrimisrn 7t 72Malik 133 Mina 119, 120, 122; see alsoMalik b Anas 108, 112, 133i lapi&tion ritual

M\batta'1\8 Mr Dard 83manifestarion 164, 165 miracles 1.+mantra 47 +ii, 151, 155i see diso mitfij 109, 132

d[th4 Main, John; Dird m'rro6. Islamic 8tuqanat 2,31,38, 178 monasrery, Ch.istianturuatha 17t see ale dhih\ $idMbles 158N{utin, Christopher 1 5,1al-lr{ama 119, 128; see also haijl

al'Safat v'}N{ass, sacri6@ of 124, 1s2Mdx, Karl 17sMdt :Ali Sheh 26rnaster G) 11, 12, 13, 15, 22,23,

24, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31, 36, 3 t^,3E,40, 43,.15, 48,49,61, 6.1,73, 75,85,88, 153, 157, 158,159, 160, 167, 168; see di joshaykh

N{atthew, Gospel of I 51 153mausolea 8, 1,1, 23, 129, 163Mawlawiyya 9, lJ3,84, 156. 164,

166meal, ritual 158lvlecca 7, 23, 26, 68. 86, 10,1, 107,

116, 117, 11rJ, 11S, 129, 136.140 n 102, 1,+1, n.103. 179,180; see also Zamzan, Well of

media, Western 184Medina 80meditat ion.+7 48, 78, 124, 151,

166; see also _fbr; lv{ain, Johrmantra, mrtuqdbo

mentioning see diiblmessengers 40, 83, 108

Mevl€viyya se l,Iawlawi)t3mIcrocosm,imacrocosm aMiddle Ea.t ;l

mondticism 29, 34, 46, 47, 48,76

monotheism s.e tduhtdmonths, sfied 8; see dbo tim€

mosques 8, 163, 182Mughal Empire 65, 66, 69Mughals 65, 66, 70Ifuhamad, The Prophet 7, 9,

t2, 13, 14, t5, 22, 26, 27, 2a,10, 41,4?.61,74, 80, 83, 84,88, 103, 104, 107, 108, 109,i 11, r 15, 116, 119,120,12.t ,124.125, 126, 12a,129, t31.132, 133, 134, 135, 136 n.2,145, 14/- ,148, 149, 150, 151,153, 154, 157, 158, 160, 161jKhatan al.NabiJt& l\i , 1311Pilgrimage of Frewel 116,119, 12O,12a, 134t sea al'obuda. c t\ Sta, tahannuth

nrl tJabd ix, 35,43 47,49, 145,150 151, 154 155, 159, 162,I66, 169

al-Muhrsib,, Heith b. Aed,13 44, 154; vorks 44

\4uir, Edward 180, 181Nfujaddid, brmch of

Naqshbandilya seeNaqshbandiyrya

multi faith society 182N{nnis 'Ali Shah 27N,f !nisi!'l,a branch of

Ni'matulahirya 2;, 27MuIIar ard Nalir 169; se" dl'o

2t2

INDEX

nnagaba ix, 33, 40 43, 49, 44,145, 147, 148, 149, 153, 156,159, 162, 166, 167; see atso@Dtemplation; tAi n8iaiada

Munta, Sachiko 103, 108, 1 11,112, rr4, Thc VLsiotuf Istan r03

r l id \s), t 1i&n 11,14,23,24,26, 37, 36, 3i , 40 , 43, 45, i3, 74 ,75,76,85,87, 149, 153, 154,157, 158, 159, 160, 168, 1t l4

Mnsa (Mo6€s) 26, 73, 7a, 109,132, 168, 169

\{usylima 1 1 9nuhalada 80: see also fb:

music 13, 37, 38, 39, 81, 82, 83,14i,152, 164,166. ee alsoddlzn; dancingi singing

trlu'tazila 42al-Muzdalifa 120mysteries, scred, religious 162mystical audition s?d id'nd'myih 9, 123

tuts (soul) a6, t9, 112, 116, 130,1 4 r-, 149, \51', 167, li 6t seedbo :lmililarion of *li €go

narb6 9, 80; names of God 118,162. 166

n4qsh 61,64Naqsl'l'a'd 80Naqshbmd, Kt'waja Baha'

a1 ttn 62, 63, 64, 69, 70, 79,81,82,8: ,86

Naqshbandi, Mawlana Khelid 85Naqshbandr practice, lv{alay-

Naqshbandiyya x, 13, 14,61 102, 141 n.103, 145, 158,184; Khalidl branch 68, 85;Mujaddidi branch 68; see alsokal;'nj't i adsiyJa

al-Nar see Hell

Nasser, Gamal (Jmai iA.bdal Naqir) 121 122

al-Nawawi 104, 132, 133,'t61 t62

Nazim, Shaykh see al-Qubrusinegative vocabulary of God

108 109; see also GodNeoplatonism 107, 176; see also

Plotinus; Universal Intellect;Universal Soul

New T6tament 151, 153Nicholson, Reynold A. 177ni'tut Allah 27Ni'matullah Wali, Nrlr a.l-Din

shah 21., 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 37,39, 45, 53 n.32

Nimatullahi SUG N{usicEnsmble 39

Ni'matullehi)ya ix, 13, 21 59,71,73,84, 145, 158, 159,203;see dlso N{nnislyya branch

nirvma 177i se€ dlso BuddhismNizami, K.A. 62,64, 65.66,67,

69, i7Noble Eishtfold Path 125i se€

also Buddhismnovrc€ se? mutid(s)nutuMa 107, 108, 122, 131al Nu'n.n, QAdl 131numbers, numerology 8, 13, 31,

32,34,49,54 n.82Nlr Ali Shah 26Nurbalhsh, Javad ix, x, 22, 23,

25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 35,38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 52 n.32,71. 152, 159t In rhe Puadi.e oJt le S!,Es 41, 43,49, 50iNutuabhsh Encr.lapedia oJ SurtTermirclogt 32

Nurull.h Shah (erandson of Nnra]-Din Shah Ni'matullahwalt 2a

al-Nusmar, Shaykh Sayyid 83

2t3

ob€dience 11,34, 74,116, t19,122,134, t50 151, 158, 160,167, 168

obiates, Benedictine 75i see ziJoBenedict, St; Benedictines

occasDnalism s"? atonissof6ce of an order see uidOld T6tament 166one, The s?? GodOneness of cod see rdutrdOrisen 147ostentation, reje.tion of 89 90

Ottomm Empire 69

ownership of wealrh 112

Pakistan 14,81Pdabie ofthe Ten Virgins 1 51 , I ;.]P&adise 7, S,31, 10,+. 117, 121.

129, 132, 133, 1.16, 147, 16.+.167; s?e also Lote Tree

passing away see ,Iatd '

peDitence see repentmcePerfect Van 129Persia 23, 27, 71; see dlso IraDlersian 177 178p€rson, sacred, holy 129phenomenology ;r<, 6, 7, lt,

10 11, 104, 105. 123 127,1,+5, 151 156, 169

philosophds 147phiiosophy 17s

pj lgr image 31, 63, 68, 124, 135,

Pilgrimage of Farewell 116, 119,120,128

pir l ,14place, sacred 27 28,119, t7g: see

211

pldrs 8Plato 50, 79Plotinus 4, 107, 176, 181i

Emeads 176; see also

p.Etry 9, 13, 22, 23, 36, 3a

politics 134; Islamic 121 122,119

polytheism s srrt!Pourjavady, N4roltah 22, 2s, 27

10,35, 158, 159; (titl3s of L@36

povdry 13, 30, 31, 32, 64prayer, ritual (saldr) 9.35,36, 49.

50.87, {r8, 104, 10;, 108,109-111, 112, 113, 116, 124,t23, 126. 127, t2A, 129. 132,r+6, 147,1;3,158, 167, 169,180

Pre*nce, Divine 90, 152, 153,156, 158; s€e dlso cod

presence, sacred 110, 152, 153,156; se dlso sp&e, aacred;

pride 90Prirne llaner 32Prince ch&les, Prince of wates

182profession of faith see shahndzprohibit'ons, ritual 114, 120prophecy 108, 129Prophet, The s"e \tuhmad,

The Prophetprophethood s?e n/huDaprophets 9, 73. 74, 83, 108, 116,

129, | /-8

psychratry 25Punjab, East 65punty, .itual; puity; purificarion

35 36. 110, 111, 112, 115,122, 132,133,1: l+. 136, t52rsee also ablrtions. ritual

rNDEX

Qediriyya 14, 23, 36, 64, 66, 67,66

Qdadagb 68al-Qaani, Uways 22Qawwali, qoruals 81, 82qibla 36, 43al Qubrusi, Shaykh Nazim 61,

71, 72,73, i4, 75, 79, 86, 89,159, 184

questing md testing 73Qurnmi, Qadi Sa'id 129Qu."en (Kdar) 7, 9, 10, 12, 1s,

26,3a,42, +4,47, 48, 49, 50,66,73,74, a2,84, 8i ,48, 104,106, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112,113, 114, 117, 118, r20,126,130, 132,133,136 n.2, 145,146, | | i , t48,119, 150, 151,155, 160, 161, 162, 163.164,165, 16;, 168, 182, 18'1;copiesof the Qur'o il; revelation olth€ Qur'e 113; s?e dl,o Ali,Yusuf; Faiila; ilaz; Sttaral Baqatu: Stuat aL-lkhlo:;Snrdr al /aiirai; St'dMaDan; Strai al Nari Strd,al-Qa&; tajurl; Throne Verse

qrb al fara'in 89al Qushald, Ab. 'l-Qasirn 40,

41, 1:3rytb 22, 25, 26, 27, 33, 129, 1513

f ibi la s, a4 83, 145, 149, 153,154, 1;9, 162, 166, 167, 168

iutd-i sh4nJ 89 , 102 n.2as

Ramadan 104, L13 116,126,133; s?? dlso Laylat al-Qadr

Ratr'hiinn 83: see nlso hhilaJaRua Mohamad S. 4rdollecting, recol€ction see dniAr

Refomation 105reformds, lslamic 15

r€membding see dlilrrem€nbrmce s?€ dhi!'Renaid, John 119, 132, 134retutance 116, 120, 122, 123,

133, 134, 151, 154, 155, 157repetition, ritual 124, 129, 166,

169, 179, 180, 181Resurr€ction, Day of s€e

leturn to God 108return to homeland, myth of 6reward, divine 11s, 116, 122reward md punishment

104 105, 106; see Hadith ofRryad and Punishmat

rh€toric 22Richard, Ydn 27Rifa'i)Ta 164ihla fr tala.b aI "iln 23rites of passage 116, lr7, 726

rivers of Pdadise 7; see dlsd

RomD Catholicism 124, 12sr@ts, search for 154

rosewater offerings 14Rosny sous-Bois 27Rolenstreich, Naihm 175,

180 181

rule of life 29, 32 34, 77-79Rnmi, Jalal alDin (Mevlana) 10,

22, 132,156, 164al Rnmi, Tej al Drn ibn Mahdi

Zaman 80; Risala Ji Sudn 80

al-Sa'6 4rsacrments, saciamental rites

124, 125, 730, 131r baPtism111i Euchdist 124; s€e dlsoconlirmation; Mass, sacrifice of

sacred, mmifestation of 16'1, 165

S.FI RITIJAL

sacri f ice 116, 11/ ' ,122, t24, t68sdnaqa lI l, 132, 133al Safa 119, 128; s€e dlso ldti

salald 149 150, 153, 160eints 84, 157, 158, 162sdjjada 12, 16L Sharbh

dl sdjjada t2salmah 13ssalit see prayd, ritualsalvation 154sa' l l .ae 9, \ , 12,13, 35, 36, 37,

J8,39, 81 81, 145,117.152,153, 156, 157, 162, t63 164,16s, 166, 182

sarma samadhj 125j jee dl'oBuddhism

Samarqdd 23, 6JSanlsi, Grand 141 D 103SandsiD'a 14Sarajevo 86

Satan 149; se€ dlso Iblissaudi Arabia 121

ta' ! 119. l28t see nlsa haj j .al-Marwa; al Sa{h

Sayyidna'l-Husayn Mosque,Cairo 87. 113

Schimmel, Annemar;e 6. 7, 8, 9,10, 66, 75, 81, 83, 106, 107,1t0,117,131, 145, 1i7lDecipheins the SisB of God 6,7,8

School of Oliedtal and Alr'caDStud;es (SOAS) 3s

Sch@ls of Law, SuDnt g,67seclusion see ilaluasectanatusm, Islamic 4, gself examinarion see nrhdrdbdsemiotics ix, 13, 77, 104, t}S,

111, 130 136, 145, 147,161 170, 182, 183

hses 156, 166, 179Ssaes Round Table 62; see aiso

Gaboriau, M&cal-Shadhni, Abo 't Hasan s8Sh.dhiliyya 23, 27, 87, 157, 169;

lvluhmmadiraa Shedhiliyya1;8

shafa'o r32Shai. Pir Marmf Htrsnin I 4; se

dso lani'at i Tablieh aI t.tnnshahada 31, 36, 76, 78, 87 .

t05 109, 111, 123,12a,126,129, t31. 132, 162, 163, 179

Shabrizu 67, 68al Shah;nri se€ Kurdi, Mawlma

Kh,tidsharafuddin, shaykl 7ishan'a 28, 31, 3i, 42, -50, 63, 65.

68, 70, il, 73, 106, t12, wdlso law sch@ls, Istamic;Schools of Lav Suntu

Shaybadds 70shayktr 1, 11, 12, t4,23,25, 33,

34, 35, 36. 37, 38, 45, 65, 68,i1,13, / -4,75.76, 83, 84, 85,86,90, 149, 150, 153, 154,157, r58, 159, 160. 161, 167,168: Shayhh al.sjjada 12: seealso Dastefi sql-.ada

Shi'ism 22, 27, 53 n.32, 71

Shrui, Shaykh Rnzbihan Baqli34,12

stlir& 106, 107shrines 8, 14, 129dl Sid?{ s? Abn Bakr; Idn:s;

Ynsufsigns 10, 113; s?e dlso smioricssigns of the Hour 41sitel\t dh;br w dh;hlsi ls i la l l , 12,27,62,63,74, aB,

89, 149, 154, 161sin 110, 111, 114, 115, t16,121,

151, 169j O.iginal sin 111stncenty 136 n.2

2t6 2t7

INDEX

singing 14, 36, 3i, 39, 83, 147 i ula& 86; see also Naqshbmdivvasee also odidn; dmcing; music sun 7

Sira 148; see also Muhammad smtu, suni 8, 63, 68 69, 70,sirhitrd 65 150, 158Sirhindi, Shaykh Ahmad 6s 66, Sntu MdrJam 14; se€ a/so Qur'm

67, 70, 74, 82. Mdtztubat 66t Snra YtrlJ 8i se€ also Qur'osee also Lahdat al shuhnd Snrat 01 Bdqya \L see also

Smdt, Ninian 123, 124, 127, Qu.'t'135, 156

Smith, Margaret 43elitude n a dowd (lhdluat drr

ani t fun) 4, i8,8r,86Sorbom€ 2s

Soviet Union 71spacer sacted space 8, 10, 110,

124,126, 12t- , 129, 156, 166,167, 179; see also place, sacred;

spiritual communion see

springs of Ptadise 7; see also

stations see ruqamatSt€poiants, ]vlarietta 1 2Stiver, Dm R, 130Stone, Black 7, 128; rr€ dlso Dom€

of the Rockr (a'ba; stonesstons,7,8, 10, 128, 158, 165isee

dl'o lapidation ritual; Kd'6dstructur€ 1S2, 155, 180substances md accidents 42: s?€

dlso AiistotelianismSudm 71

vhla ix, 75, 85 86, 145, 149,150, 153, 159, 160, 162, 166,167, 168 169

al Strhrawadi, Abu'l-Najib 160;Kitab Adnb al Mtndin 160

Suhnwadiyya 14, 67, 68, 82SulalDaniyya 68

Strdt dl Iiilar 87, 88, 89, 106isee dlso Qur'an

St'at al'Irufii'ah 89; see at'oQ".'an

Snrai al Ndr' 184i see alsoQur'5n

Suftt al Qah l14t see dlso

symboiism 37, 130, 179Syr ia21, i l ,72

al-Tabari 12, 119 120Tablish i Jdnaat (F^;'th

N{ovement) sTabnzr, Shams al Din

Mubamrud 22tahonnuth 148; w also

taj6d 36, a2, t6\ see also otlhan;chant, ritual; Qur'an

tahbir toq l1o, l1 l , 122,146,147, 164; sde also God

turqa, trruq 11 , |3,24,2t3,30, 53n.32,62,6a, 69,10, i1,14,7 5,77, 83, 85, 86, 87, 88, 154,155, 158, 161, 162, 164, 181,

tdsii]d 89tdbal na, n0, 135: see also hajj;

tauaJjuh 8stdrubd sed r€Pentancetdul id 105 106, 10i,108,122,

129, 131, 162; see also God

SUFI FITUAL

t€chDology and scioce, West€m184

Teheran 28, 36; Tehean

tehhe ?.0, 86t see abo khanaqah;

Ter Had, J.C.J. 82tertia.ies, Carmeiite 75tertiaries, Francis.ar 75thanksgiving 116, L2o, t21,122,

152, 153, 156theolosians 37, 43theology ix, 22, 25, 67, 86,

103 .123, 145 151,162,169;as.ehcal 44, 154i devorional154; dogmatic 122; tDo|/?,t 46,154; myst icd 152, 154, 162;political 1 21 ; psychological154; .itual 122i theoioev ofIbrahim 122 123

theosophy 22, 25thresholds 8Throne Verse 89; see also

Qu.'-Tibet 2al-Tijeni, Ahnad 64, 141 n.103Ti jaDiyya 64, 7l , 157Titlich, Paul 130i iDe, saded t ime 8, 10, 110, 119,

120, 121, 126, 127, 136) seeolso mooths, saced; presence,

Tr-mru-i Lang 23, 63Timtrids 66, 69, 70tolerance 19 n.91,24tombs s?e mausoleatladition 128j s€e at'o hadithftanscendence 153, 156

Trosoxmia 23, 70Triminghm, J Spencer 22,23,

47,62,70, 77,78, 81, 84, 88,8q. 15;; Ile Su,{ Ordar rn

T.ipoli, kbanoD 183Turkey 69, 70, 71, 81, 86, 113

Uhud, Banle of 22'ulanal t, 67, 72'Ume b. al Khafteb 40, 41, 89,

103vnw 9, 69, 112, 126, 134, 184:

s"e z60 commuDfyunion, myst ical3, 4, 7, 8, 15 n. l ,

24, 45, 50, 71, 72, 73, 147,178, 181

United Kingdom see BftainUnited Stares 24Universal Intell€ct 32i see al',

Universal Soul 32; s?e al'o

Uwaysi, Khadir tradition 1S7Uzbek khanates 69

Via llluminativa 8Via Purgativa 8Via Unitiva 8, 9j see aiso uion,

voal dhihr see dhihr

bahdat al-shuhnA 66; s.e aLsoSirhindi, Shaykh Alnad

uohd^t al utjnd 66, t29: see okoIbn al-"Aiabir

Wahlabism 86, 141 n.103

Waley, MuhDmad Isa 35, 39,40, 41,4i . t48. 167

Wali Allah, Shah 66 67, 68iHujjat AU.Lh al-Baliaha 67

Wasit 164watcMulness 148, 149, 167wa1lhng see nuragabawater 7, 10, 30, 110, 128; holy

water 14; see also ablutions,

218 )19

INDE\

Watt, WM. 148, 149

weaponry Islamic 8a;lalat al la4ih 7l see dlso

Khumaytu, AyatollahWilson, Peter Lobon 22,25,

27, 30,35, 158, 159; Kings oJL@e 36

uid ix,35,4i 49,86 88, 145,1;1, 155, 159, 162,166, 169;ee also AufiA-i Fat!'yaldhih': Khatr, i Khbajd$anl

wisdom 80Wolffe, John 183

Wright, Owen 37u)snf 79, 116, It9, 120, 128,

181: s€€ dlso Arafat; idt

al Ye6'i, :{Mullah 23, 26, 27

Yaf ilTa 23Yahy. 133Yasvilrya 81Yabm alQiana see jdsere tYemen 22Yugoslavia 71

YinusiD'a 49; s€e aiso uirdYlsuf 8, 74; Ynsuf's shirt 8j s?e

dlso Snrd Y,trut

z.Lhat 104, tr1 t13, t2s, 126,129,132 t33, 157

Zamze, Well of 7, 128; s"e dlso

zawila l1t see dlsa hhana.qah,

el'Zein, Abdul Hamid 127

Ziwutun 63zildtu 31