ERNST WokDS OF ECSTASY The Literature and Theory of Ecstatic Expression 1, CLASSICAL SUFISM UP TO RUZBIHAN For Sufis, the phenomenon of shath as a mode of speech with God must seek its origin, ultimately, in the experience of the Prophet Muhammad. ‘The Quran is the word of God, which has been internalized to form the basis of the mystical vocabulary of Sufism." The model for shath is especially to be looked for inthe Divine Saying (hadith qudsi, the extra ‘Quranic revelations in which Muhammad reported what God said to him. twas the view of Louis Massignon that many ofthe Divine Sayings were not authentic reports going back to Muhammad, but were the results of the experiences of the early mystics, who circulated these say- ings publicly in the guise of hadith, before the standardization of the hhadith corpus.* The recent researches of William A. Graham have shown that ths is not necessarily the case, Most of the Divine Sayings can be found in the canonical collections of hadita.} In these canonical hadith, there are some that emphasize the possibility of close contact between ‘man and God: “The Prophet said, ‘God says: “I fulfill My servants ex- pectation of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. Other sayings stress the importance of love (mahabbah).“ the Apostle of God say: ‘God said: “My love belongs by who love one another in Me, to those who sit together (in fellowship) in Me..." The most famous of these Divine Sayings is the saying on supererogatory worship (hadith al-nawafi), which expresses. an ex- petience in which the worshipper feels the divine presence so strongly 910 [ECSTATIC EXPRESSIONS IN SUFISM that bis votition i taken up by God, and all his aeons SF performed by Cas The easential section isthe following: “Ané MY servant continues cok ag nearer to Me through supererogatory ace unt Hove him; and arr tfove him, become his ear with which he hears, iS eye with which paces hand with which he grasps, and bis foot ‘with which he sc Tne importance ofthis Divine Sayin for Sufism 2 scarcely be walks mated, Tt "forms one of the cornerstones of ‘mystical teaching in Seficen Az the word of God tothe Prophet, thie sy5°8 stands a5 a con- Sith reminder ofthe possibilty of union with Cod through devotion. Serie we can tll, the fist major development oF She concept of diving sperch was the work of the sath imam of the ‘Shi'ah, Ja’ far al- sire (ds 148/765). Respected for his piety and wish by all Islamic satin ar was regarded especially hhly by the Sus who took his Guran commentary as the basis for their Brow ‘body of mystical Gubarie erature. In bis exegesis of the theoptnny experienced by Qioces on Mi. Sinai Ja'far found the Key to the nase of divine speech Motpe words by which God identified Himselt ‘According to Ja'far, ven God said to Moses, “Iam 1, your Lord (inni ana rabbuka)” (QUr- 20.12), Moses then realized that von se ayn a nc ie ie ws go rn fr mene Oh uni wa ee heen Teno eae me ec th 7 at ayn i eri a Su ve Ce ofthe striking things about this comment is that reveals selfhood a veaclusvely divine prerogative. Only God has ‘he right to say “L an ersortant point woul ater be stresed By Sufi sve) My ‘Abu Sa'id This impor (d. 279/892) and Abu Nast at-Sara) (4. 378/990) A further atte of J3fa’s comment tha realy iluenced ‘Sufism was the use of are oss canniiation ona)” and “subsistence (bade) which refer te the disappearance of the human ego and the manifestation of the “fee presence. This would later be artieulated By Ye Sufi Dhu al-Nun {a ca 2467859), who was the first Sui editor of far's Qur'an com- cecatary."® Finally, Ja'far interprets Moses) experi ‘of the divine TPeech as an event occurring within the conscloustess ‘of a human being. Peehast agree with Nya that Jafar has deserbed cy that whch ae uf eine by ae techs tm of hah of echt he ae bear nl he ane bu Dee thot on be to Mad, and Hal, ne a-ha (Lae {TUE LITERATURE AND THEORY OF ECSTATIC EXPRESSIONS 1 “Truth, but the phenomenon isthe same: in none ofthese cassis the sub- ject of the sentence eter Moses Bistami, or Halla) but it is God who speaks by and through the human consciousness? ‘Although he does not use the term shath, Ja'far has described this phenomenon in @ way that will main archetypal for tater Sufi. "The first widely quoted author of ecstatic sayings was Abu Yazid al- Bistami (d. 261/875), the Persian ascetic and mystic (known as Baya in ran), who is most famous for his phrase, “Glory be to Me! How great is My Dignity!” He did harsh penances for many years, and then began to express his spiritual experiences in a most daring language. He spoke bf the annihilation of the self, but he also described the experience of as~ Gent into the presence of God, comparable to the heavenly ascension (miira) of Mubammad."? The great Sufi master of Baghdad, Abu al- ‘Qasim al-Junayd (d. 298/910), gathered and discussed many of Bayazid’s sayings in a work called Tafsir al-Shathiyat ("Commentary on the Eestatic Expressions”). Junayd’s approach was apparently based on sobriety (sahn), as opposed 0 the intoxication (sukr) that he sav int Bayazid, but he regarded Bayazic’s sayings as significant data of the mystica life. In some instances, he indicated that Bayarid’s sayings did rot emerge from the highest level of mystical experience. The largest col- Icetion of Bayazid’s sayings is the Kitab al-Nur min Kalimat Abi Yazid Tayfur (*The Book of Light from the Sayings of Abu Yaaid Taytur” compiled by al-Sahlaj (d. 476/1082-3) on the basis of reports going back to Bayavid’s descendants, This book has been edited by Abd al-Rahman Badawi under the title Shaiahat al-Sufiyah."? Junayd himself is eredited with a number of ecstatic sayings, despite his sobriety. Junayd’'s com mentary, and many of Bayazid’s sayings, would not have survived wuithout the valuable work of Abu Nasr al-Sarraj (4. 378/988). A native OF Tos in Khurasan, Sartaj was widely travelled, and was an authoritative aaster in Sufism and law. He compiled his Kitab al-Lumd fi al Tasawwuf (The Book of Glimmerings on Sufism”) as a guide to all aspects of Sufism, designed to show that Sufism was completely in ac- ford with the principles and ordinances of Islam. The last of the twelve Sections of this book is entitled “The Commentary on Ecstatic Expres: Sions, and Words that are Externally Found Repulsive, Though they are Internally Correct and Well-founded.” This section incorporates ‘Junayd’s comments on Bayazid, as well as sayings of Shibli, Nuri, ‘Wasiti, and other early Sulfis. ‘Sarraj has developed a very interesting theory of shath and the com ditions for understanding it, His discussion, which is the earliest treat ment of its kind, deserves to be considered here at some fength. In the following passage he gives the etymology and definition of the term, and describes its essential features:” [ECSTATIC EXPRESSIONS IN SUFTSM 4 qusion aks he eating of shat, he awe hat i Es 1g ausiony con serbia an sta hat veins een of ranges tycoon the singh oH linea ce gy ne a sath Aral ES enews a Tang nus vealed he sake NU “moe Tyas foar 9 mosh, abo the ac wre mln be eae sore he edges om 0 mush SR they aft and orate rom nav, cae the aan Thus shh Wor er enn mn he eB PONE: tema on ay of thea Byam expen hatte EA fa They Ee i ed sry fons pron Dy ening nds ana Me an le ste a 0d Y evi i fie he eae ge iy ni by aig ene wh ely Soni crowed ance beer es ks Tm om owing na now sen o¥rtows wt ot naa nero) nthe seu” heeft To en en eco powes ane Sunable = when he ey of ns pt ees hat hve come Net HS ac he sao gps ane expres HY are ta hea apm fr bearer uns ete worthy of and Bae sang and pe fi Anh ine eng of ose wi each eee, le “this isa earmed and sophisticated description that presents a number Of Joncepts central to the understanding of shath. The fenes oUt cone Fowing and spilling over of a powerful experience isthe basis o% ovettlon of this term, Yet Satraj also streses the componert f notage in shath. tis exeensal that the enquiter ask one “who 20 Trews it Gelamu “iimaha)," one who has “widely encompass to jee ol i muda fi rhe)” identi te estasy (ah eo seange seeming expression are by no means devoid of intelectual aaannet although the determination of tis content may be difiew- Sarra} goes on to explain the kind of knowledge that is sense Sulicn and the place it hols relative to the other branches of {slants aareage, He articulates four kinds of Knowledge: first the knowles ree eayings of the Prophet; second, the knowledge of religions a Graancess tied, the Knowledge of analogy, theory, and eispavatcns cinch protects the faith against innovations and error, fourth Tones of them al, the knowledge of spiritual realities tatiofs 22 7 iaty, abstinence, and contemplation of God's This a DrITG op Pi eaige i what we call Sufism. Just as in any other Wd Trotledge, says Sarraj, oné must always go to the experts in OH Pa aster science when there is a problem to be solved, 30 in ques tne weitual reaites one must approach the appropriate exer, CY a SPivfers, in order to understand properly their sayings on 1 Store as ins reason, “tis inappropriate for anyone to think that he ence THe LITERATURE AND THEORY OF ECSTATIC EXPRESSIONS. B ‘passes all knowledge, let he err in his opinion of the sayings ofthe elect, ‘and anathematize them and charge them with heresy (yukaffirahum wa ‘uzandiqahum), when he is devoid of experience in their states and the Stations of their spiritual realities and their actions." It is from a clearly established theretical position that Sarraj formulates the relation of mystical experience to the standard Islamic religious sciences, and he does 0 in order 10 defuse serious accusations that have been brought against Sufis in the past, He further points out that the Sufis are fre- ‘quently learned in the traditional fields of jurisprudence, hadith, and disputation, in addition to their own speciality, while this is not true of the experts in those fields. Finally, Sarraj elaborates more on the stages of spiritual develop- ‘ment at which shathiyar are likely to occur: ‘Shathis less frequently Found among those who are perfected, since the lat- ter are fully established in their spiritual realities (ma‘anihim). Itis only one who is at @ beginning stage who falls into sharh, one whose goal is union with the ulkimate perfection." ‘Sarraj here contrasts the self-possession of the perfected soul with the soul that is overpowered and cannot refrain from expressing shathivat. He considers this an experience of novices, at least in theory. There will bbe occasion to question this judgement later on; if, afterall, Bayazid’s ut- terances were only the result of immature experiences, why did Junayd ‘and Sarraj consider them worthy of comment? Junayd’s explanation of Bayazid’s statements is referred to as a (afsir, a word usually reserved for ‘commentaries on the Qur'an, If the view of shathiyat as characteristic of the beginner is inconsistent with Sarraj’s real position, it may well be that his explanation is intended to offer a ready excuse in cases where other- ise heresy would be suspected. Furthermore, Sarraj ultimately derives the shath of Bayazid from the celebrated Divine Saying on ‘supererogatory worship (hadith al-nawafi), as it obviously implies some sort of approximation to union with God.'* Yet Sarraj’s caution kept him from mentioning Hallai’s ecstatic expressions in his discussion of shathiyat, although he elsewhere refers to Hallaj’s execution. Evidently ‘Sarraj deliberately avoided reference to the controversial “Iam the ‘Truth” of Hallaj, in what is admittedly an apologetic work. Other writers of this era also discussed shath. One of them was Abu Se'd al-Khargushi (4. 406/1015) a pious Sufi of Nishapur who devoted himself to building hospitals and caring for the sick. His lengthy work Tahdhib ol-Asrar ("The Refinement of Consciences") evidently has some reference to shath, but it remains in manuscript and has not been accessi- i ble to me. According to Arberry, Khargushi favored sobriety over intox- ‘ation, so he may have been cautious about approving ecstatic ut-