WORDS ON THE PATH OF THE FRIENDS OF GOD

From KITAB AL IBRIZ, Pure Gold from the Words of Sayyidi Abdalaziz ad Dabbagh (qs)

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim

Calligraphy of the name Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah

TRAINING IN SUFISM AT THE HANDS OF A SHAYKH

One of the questions, oh Sayyidi, concerns what's transmitted from the shaykh Zarruq [ !!"# !$% #&od 'e (leased with him#) *+rainin, disci(les in the strict sense has ceased- .ll that remains is trainin, 'y means of [a shaykh's% effecti/e will (himma) and s(iritual state (hal). So ,i/e your attention to the Book [0uran% and the Sunna [1ro(hetic 23am(le of 4uhammad, (eace 'e u(on him% without any additions and omissions-* 5as this (eculiar to his own day and a,e or has trainin, disci(les ceased until the descent of our master 6esus [at the end of time%#(eace 'e u(on him#7 .nd if you say it's ceased, what caused it to cease7 .nd if you say it still remains, then who is the shaykh to whom the s(irit of the no/ice (murid) should 'e entrusted, and who should e3ercise authority o/er it throu,h s(iritual retreat (khalwa) or whate/er he wishes7 Shaykh Abdalzaziz Al-Dabbagh answ ! d #&od 'e (leased with him) '+he (ur(ose of trainin, is to (urify the 'ody (al-dhat) and cleanse it of its /anities so it 'ecomes ca(a'le of carryin, the secret- +his can only 'e done 'y remo/in, darkness from the 'ody, se/erin, from its orientation attachments of falsehood and then se/erin, from it falsehood (itself)Sometimes this occurs due to the (urity in its fundamental nature, &od ha/in, cleansed it without an intermediary- Such was the situation of the three no'le ,enerations that were the 'est of 1

,enerations [the first three ,enerations of 8slam, in the first two of the fourteen centuries of 8slam%1eo(le in those ,enerations were en,a,ed with the truth and sou,ht after it- 8f they sle(t, they sle(t in the truth- 8f they were awake, they were awake in the truth- .nd if they set themsel/es in motion, their motion was in the truth- +hus anyone whose dee(er /ision &od had illuminated and who then looked at their interiors would find that their minds#with rare e3ce(tion#were en,a,ed with &od and 9is .(ostle [1ro(het 4uhammad, (eace 'e u(on him% and sou,ht to attain whate/er is (leasin, to &od and the .(ostle- For this reason there was much ,ood in them+he li,ht of truth shone in their 'odies, and reli,ious science (ilm) and the attainment of a de,ree of inde(endent :uridical inter(retation (ijtihad) a((eared amon, them that can't 'e descri'ed or su((orted;onsequently, s(iritual trainin, wasn't necessary in those ,enerations- +he shaykh met his no/ice who was to 'e the (ossessor of his secret and the heir to his li,ht, and he [sim(ly% s(oke in his ear and 'y this means alone the no/ice recei/ed illumination 'ecause of the (urity of 'odies, the clarity of minds and 'ecause of the no/ice's lon,in, for u(ri,ht 'eha/iorBut sometimes this occurs #8 mean the se(aration of darkness from 'odies# throu,h the shaykh 'rin,in, it a'out, and this is after the no'le ,enerations when intentions ha/e 'een corru(ted and inner con/ictions ha/e 'ecome dulled- 4inds are then en,a,ed with the world, seekin, to attain fulfilment of lusts and the en:oyment of (leasures- +he shaykh, endowed with dee(er /ision, now meets his no/ice and heir, he reco,ni<es him and looks him o/er- 9e finds that the no/ice's reason is en,a,ed with falsehood and the fulfilment of lusts, and he finds his 'ody follows his reason in this- 8t amuses itself with those who (ursue tri/ial amusement, it's ne,lectful with those who are ne,lectful, and it sides with the worthless- 8n the midst of this the lim's set themsel/es in motion in uncommenda'le actions 'ecause the mind which is the 'ody's master is attached to falsehood, not to the truth+hus if he finds the no/ice in this state, he orders him to undertake s(iritual retreat (khalwa), recollection of &od (dhikr), and to diminish his food- 8n s(iritual retreat he's se(arated from the worthless who are amon, the num'er of the dead- +hrou,h recollection of &od false s(eech disa((ears alon, with tri/ial (lay and foolishness which were on his ton,ue- .nd throu,h diminishin, food the /a(ors in the 'lood diminish as does lust, and the mind returns to 'ein, en,a,ed with &od and 9is .(ostle- 8f the no/ice then attains this cleanliness and (urity, his 'ody is a'le to su((ort carryin, the secret- .nd this is what shaykhs aim for in their trainin, and 'y im(osin, s(iritual retreat.nd so matters stood for a while, until truth consorted with the false and li,ht consorted with darkness- +he (eo(le of falsehood now trained whoe/er came to them, ha/in, them enter s(iritual retreat and im(artin, &od's names with a corru(t intention and a (ur(ose contrary to the truth4oreo/er, they mi,ht add ma,ic incantations and such usa,es that (ro/oke &od the Su'lime's deceit (ma r) and forms of lullin, someone into false contentment !istidra"at#$ +his state of affairs was wides(read in the eras when the shaykh Zarruq #&od 'e (leased with him# and his s(iritual masters li/ed- +hus it a((eared to them to 'e ,ood ad/ice re,ardin, &od and 9is .(ostle to tell the (eo(le to withdraw from this kind of trainin, in which the idle were numerous+hey had the (eo(le stand in the courtyard of safety which is de/oid of fear and sorrow, namely adherence to the Sunna [1ro(hetic 23am(le of 4uhammad, (eace 'e u(on him% and the Book [0uran% which don't lead astray anyone who takes them as his ,uide- +he words of these masters# &od 'e (leased with them#were uttered 'y way of ad/ice and caution- 8t wasn't their wish#&od 'e 2

(leased with them#to eliminate alto,ether the true trainin,- Far 'e it from them= 8ndeed, the li,ht of the 1ro(het#&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him#still remains and its ,oodness is all#em'racin, and its 'lessin, will (re/ail until the >ay of Resurrection.s for your words) *5ho is the shaykh7*, the answer for you is) +he shaykh accorded leadershi( is someone who knows the 1ro(het's states#&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him#and whose 'ody has 'een ,i/en the 1ro(het's li,ht to drink so that he's come to follow the 1ro(het's ste(s#&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him= &od the Su'lime has (ro/ided him with (erfect faith and (urity of di/ine knowled,e !%irfa&#$ So this is the one accorded leadershi(- ?ou must lo/e him and associatin, with him will 'rin, (rofit- 8ndeed, he :oins the 'ondsman with his @ord and remo/es from him dou'ts a'out his knowled,e of &od and causes him to ad/ance in his lo/e of the 1ro(het#&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him= AAA

II

"ROGRESS IN S"IRITUA# "URIFI$ATION HAS DEGREES

Shaykh Abdalaziz al Dabbagh Bmay &od 'e (leased with him# said) '8n the interior of e/ery 'ody there are three hundred and si3ty#si3 /eins, each /ein 'earin, its own s(ecial attri'ute with which it was created- +he knower of &od endowed with dee(er /ision 'eholds these /eins shinin, and aflame in their /arious characteristics@yin, has a /ein set aflame 'y its own attri'ute, en/y has a /ein that shines 'y means of its attri'ute and hy(ocrisy has a /ein that shines 'y means of its attri'ute, 'etrayal has a /ein that shines 'y means of its attri'ute, conceit has a /ein that shines 'y means of its attri'ute, and (ride has a /ein that shines 'y means of its attri'ute, and so it continues until you co/er all the /eins+hus if the knower of &od looks at 'odies, he sees each 'ody like a lantern with three hundred and si3ty#si3 candles fi3ed in it- 2ach candle has its own quality which isn't like any other candle-

4oreo/er, each one of these attri'utes has su'di/isions and cate,ories in it- >esire, for instance, has cate,ories de(endin, on what it's focused on- 8f it's focused on the ,enitals, this is one cate,ory- 8f it's focused on rank, this is another cate,ory and if on money, this is another cate,ory and if on ho(e that time remains [to re(ent%, still another cate,ory- .nd the same is true of lyin, 'ecause if someone with this attri'ute doesn't tell the truth, it's considered one cate,ory- 8f someone with this attri'ute thinks another (erson isn't tellin, the truth and dou'ts his words and doesn't 'elie/e him, this is considered another cate,ory+he 'ondsman doesn't recei/e illumination until he's tra/ersed all these stations- But if &od wishes 9is 'ondsman well and renders him fit for illumination, 9e ,radually eliminates them from him one after the other- 8f, for e3am(le, &od eliminates from him the attri'ute of lyin,, the 'ondsman reaches the station of truthfulness and then the station of confirmin, the truth- 8f &od eliminates the attri'ute of desire for wealth, he reaches the station of asceticism, and if the desire for sins, he reaches the station of re(entance, or if the desire for ho(e that time remains [to re(ent%, he reaches the station of a/ersion to the 9ouse of dece(tion (the world), and so on+hen if he recei/es illumination and the secret is (laced in his 'ody, he ad/ances 'y sta,es in the stations of 'eholdin, (mushhada) the worlds+he first thin, he 'eholds are the earthen 'odies, ne3t the translunar 'odies and then the 'odies of li,ht+hen he 'eholds &od the Su'lime's actions as (er/adin, 9is creation- 8n his 'eholdin, the earthen 'odies there are sta,es+he first thin, he 'eholds is the earth that he's on- Ce3t he 'eholds the oceans that are on the earth+hen he 'eholds what's 'etween the earth he's on and the second earth, 'ecause his si,ht (enetrates the 'oundaries u( to the second earth- +hen he 'eholds the second earth, ne3t he (enetrates the 'oundaries u( to the third earth- .nd so it (roceeds until the se/enth earth9e then 'eholds the air 'etween himself and the first hea/en, ne3t the first hea/en itself- .nd so it (roceeds as in the (re/ious manner with the earth+hen he 'eholds Bar<akh and the s(irits that are in it, then the an,els and the ,uardian an,els, and the affairs of the hereafter8n the case of each of these /isions (mushhadt) the 'ondsman is su':ect to a ri,htful claim from amon, the ri,htful claims of @ordliness (rubbiyya) and a (ro(er rule of 'eha/ior from amon, the rules of 'ein, &od's 'ondsman (ubudiyya). 8n this 'arriers a((ear to him and he e3(eriences hindrances- 9e 'eholds fri,htful and deadly thin,s- 8f it weren't for &od the Su'lime conferrin, success and 9is ,enerosity toward the im(otent 'ondsman and 9is mercy on him, the 'ondsman would return from the least of these sta,es rendered fee'le#minded 'ecause of them9is tra/ersin, the stations of /ision (mushhada) and their terrors is more difficult for him than the stations of the attri'utes of carnal souls, 'ecause his tra/ersin, the stations of attri'utes was internal and he didn't know a'out it until after illumination- But his tra/ersin, the stations of /ision is e3ternal-

9e 'eholds it directly and sees it 'ecause it's somethin, he del/es into after illumination- 8f his ,a<e is (ure and the li,ht of his dee(er /ision is com(lete, and if &od shows him such mercy that after it no hardshi( e3ists, then &od#9e is e3alted#will 'estow on him si,ht of the chief of the first and the last [of mankind% (1ro(het 4uhammad ) u(on him 'e the 'est of 'lessin,s and the (urest (eace= 9e'll see him directly and 'ehold him in a wakin, state&od the Su'lime im(arts to him what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and what has ne/er occurred in any human 'ein,'s heart- 9e now attains the station of well#'ein, and ha((iness- 4ay he take deli,ht in this felicity= 8f you consider the a'o/e#mentioned num'er of attri'utes and the cate,ories contained in them alon, with the stations occurrin, in the (re/ious /isions, you'll find that they e3ceed the aforementioned num'er4oreo/er, the (ure qualities of the 1ro(het#&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him#aren't concealed from his reli,ious community- +he reli,ious scholars B&od 'e (leased with them# ha/e recorded what &od #9e is 'lessed and su'lime# distin,uished him with in his 'ody's e3terior and in its interior #the most e3cellent 'lessin,s and (urest (eace 'e u(on him= 5hoe/er claims to ha/e seen him in a wakin, state, let him 'e questioned a'out some of the 1ro(het's (ure states and let his answer 'e heard- 8t won't 'e unclear which (erson answers on the 'asis of direct /ision, nor will he 'e confused with anyone else- 1eace= Cow if you're satisfied with this, 'e ha((y with it= But if you wish to hear more, know that if &od the Su'lime confers illumination on the 'ondsman, 9e (ro/ides him with a li,ht from the li,hts of truth which enters his 'ody from all directions- 8t (enetrates the 'ody until it's (enetrated flesh and 'one- From its cold and the hardshi( of its enterin, the 'ody the 'ondsman suffers what a((ro3imates the a,onies of death- 8t's characteristic of this li,ht that it im(arts secrets of created 'ein,s throu,h the 'eholdin, of which &od wishes to 'estow illumination on this 'ondsman- .nd the li,ht enters his 'ody, 'ein, /ariously colored with the colors of the said created 'ein,s- So if, for e3am(le, &od the Su'lime wishes to 'estow illumination on him throu,h 'eholdin, created 'ein,s on the surface of this earth, then the li,ht in question comes to him one time and it (enetrates him with the secrets 'y means of which the 'odies of the offs(rin, of .dam were formed.nother time it comes to him with the secrets 'y means of which animals were formed- .nd another time it comes to him with the secrets 'y means of which inanimate thin,s such as fruits, /e,eta'les, etc-, were formed- But he won't recei/e illumination throu,h 'eholdin, any of them until he's first ,i/en to drink of their secrets- 9owe/er, on each occasion he suffers what he suffered the first time.nd amon, the created 'ein,s is the chief of e3istence and the luminary of direct 5itnessin, (1ro(het 4uhammad) #&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him= But if &od (romises the 'ondsman to 'estow on him illumination throu,h 'eholdin, the 1ro(het's no'le 'ody #&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him# he won't 'ehold him until he's 'een ,i/en to drink the secrets which the 1ro(het's no'le 'ody contains@et's su((ose that the 'ody 'efore illumination is like somethin, dark and that the no'le 'ody [of the 1ro(het% is like a li,ht with /arious rays that num'er one hundred thousand or more- 8f &od wishes to 'e merciful to this dark 'ody, the li,ht that assists it and (ro/ides it with drink comes to it one time- 8t (enetrates it with these rays one after the other5

@et's su((ose, for e3am(le, the ray of (atience- By means of it the 'lackness of its o((osite, consistin, of fear and an3iety, disa((ears- .nother time the li,ht comes to it with a different ray@et's su((ose it's the ray of mercy- +hen the 'lackness of its o((osite, which is a lack of mercy, disa((ears- .nd another time it comes to it with a different ray- @et's su((ose the ray of for'earance- By means of it the 'lackness of its o((osite disa((ears- .nd so it continues until you ,o throu,h all the rays that are contained in the 1ro(het's (ure, illuminated 'ody- +hen all the characteristics associated with 'lack will disa((ear from the dark 'ody.t this (oint the 'ondsman is ca(a'le of 'eholdin, the [1ro(het's% no'le 'ody 'ecause as lon, as some 'lackness remains with him, 'lackness is in his 'ody, and he's una'le to 'ehold the no'le 'ody [the 1ro(hetDs 'ody% until all 'lackness lea/es his 'odyBut we don't mean that if he's ,i/en to drink the secrets that are in the no'le 'ody that he contains them to the (erfect de,ree they ha/e in the 1ro(het's no'le 'odyRather we mean he's ,i/en to drink the secrets to the e3tent that his 'ody and his fundamental nature can su((ortCor do we mean that if he's ,i/en to drink some of these rays that they diminish in the no'le 'ody and their (lace remains em(ty of them8ndeed, the li,hts don't disa((ear from their (lace 'y someone (artakin, of them+hus it's 'ecome clear to you that the 'ondsman doesn't 'ehold the 1ro(het #&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him# until all his characteristics are effaced 'y the arri/al of these no'le secrets and su'tle li,hts- .nd this in/ol/es tra/ersin, stations that can't 'e counted and are 'eyond any reckonin,8t's as if whoe/er limited them to two thousand or more was re(ortin, on his own situation and the illumination he'd recei/ed- 9e still lacks what he lacks- .s for what was (re/iously said a'out denyin, /ision (mushhada) to the (erson who hasn't 'een ,i/en all the li,hts to drink#what we meant 'y this was denial of (erfect /ision- 5hoe/er still lacks a ray of li,ht 'ut e3(eriences a /ision hasn't e3(erienced it with (erfection- But &od knows 'est='

Blessed mosque where lies 'uried the (ro(hetic 'ody, in 4edina

III

$#OSENESS %ITH THE "RO"HET &bl ssings and ' a( b wi)h hi*+

.nd 8 heard him say#&od 'e (leased with him) '2/erythin, has its si,n and the si,n that the 'ondsman has achie/ed 'eholdin, the 1ro(het in a wakin, state#&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him#is that his thou,ht is continually occu(ied with this no'le 1ro(het such that the 1ro(het is ne/er a'sent from his thou,ht- Co distractions or (reoccu(ations take the 'ondsman's attention away from him- ?ou see him eatin,, and his thou,ht is with the 1ro(het #&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him= .nd if you see him drinkin,, he's like thatE and when he quarrels, he's like thatE and when he slee(s, he's like that-' 8 asked) '>oes this ha((en 'ecause of a strata,em and effort on the 'ondsman's (art7' 9e re(lied#&od 'e (leased with him) 'Co- For if this ha((ened 'ecause of a strata,em and an effort on the 'ondsman's (art, he'd 'ecome ne,li,ent of it once a distraction arri/ed or a (reoccu(ation occurred- But it's somethin, from &od the Su'lime which con/eys the 'ondsman to it and makes use of him in it- +he 'ondsman doesn't feel that he has any choice in it himself- 2/en if the 'ondsman were ,i/en the task of wardin, it off, he couldn't do so- +hat's why distractions and (reoccu(ations don't dri/e it away- +he interior of the 'ondsman is with the 1ro(het #&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him# and his e3terior is with the (eo(le- 9e s(eaks with them with no intention, he eats with no intention, and he a((roaches e/erythin, he sees in his e3terior without an intention, 'ecause what's of im(ortance is in the heart and his heart is with someone other than them- 8f the 'ondsman continues like this for some time, &od the Su'lime will 'estow on him /ision of 9is no'le 1ro(het and 9is ,reat .(ostle in a wakin, state- +he (eriod of this contem(lation /aries- For one (erson it's a month, for another it's less and for another lon,er-' 9e said#&od 'e (leased with him) 'Beholdin, the 1ro(het# &od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him# is a momentous affair and an awesome matter- 8f it weren't that &od the Su'lime stren,thened the 'ondsman, he wouldn't 'e a'le to su((ort it- 8f we were to su((ose a hu,e, (owerful man who com'ined the stren,th of forty men, each of them a'le to take hold of the ear of a lion with coura,e and audacity, and if we were to su((ose that the 1ro(het emer,ed from somewhere 'efore this man, the man's li/er would 'urst, his 'ody would dissol/e and his s(irit would come forth, due to the awesomeness of the 1ro(het's (ower#&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him= 7

>es(ite this awesome (ower, the no'le /ision in question entails (leasure which is 'eyond descri(tion and any reckonin,- .ccordin, to those who'/e e3(erienced it, it's 'etter than enterin, 1aradise+his is so 'ecause whoe/er enters 1aradise isn't ,i/en all the deli,hts that 1aradise contains8nstead, e/ery (erson has his own (articular deli,ht- 8t's otherwise with 'eholdin, the 1ro(het#&od's 'lessin,s and (eace 'e u(on him= 8f someone e3(eriences the said /ision, his 'ody is ,i/en to drink all the deli,hts of the dwellers in 1aradise- 9e feels (leasure of e/ery sort and sweetness of e/ery /ariety, :ust like the dwellers in 1aradise e3(erience it in 1aradise.nd this is (altry with res(ect to someone whose li,ht 1aradise was created from #&od 'less and ,rant him sal/ation, and &od honor and re/ere him, ,lorify and e3tol him, as well as his family and ;om(anions=' 9e said#&od 'e (leased with him) '8n e/ery /ision this [e3(erience of% 'ein, ,i/en to drink takes (lace, and anyone whose /ision (ersists, for him this [e3(erience of% 'ein, ,i/en to drink also (ersists-'