Spiritual States (Ahwāl): Explanation of the Seventh Station in the Mystical Path

Spiritual states are akin to a reward given to a labourer after arduous work. However, the seeker acts not for the sake of recompense, but out of sincere devotion.

Key Point: The succession of spiritual blessings is the outcome of the seeker’s selfless efforts in the valleys of trials, guiding them towards spiritual states.

Summary

The preceding discussion introduces the valleys of trials as the most arduous stage in the mystical path, wherein the seeker enters the unseen realms illuminated by divine light. This stage, in conjunction with the tenfold stations of vision, knowledge, wisdom, insight, discernment, reverence, inspiration, serenity, tranquillity, and determination, illustrates the maturation process of the seeker when facing divine lights, trials, and admonitions. The valleys serve as a spiritual wilderness, removing the seeker from comfort and guiding them towards divine love and guardianship. Divine grace and the guidance of a mentor protect the seeker from perils and elevate them to spiritual states and the succession of blessings.

The Concept of Spiritual States and Their Place in the Path

This study focuses on spiritual states (Ahwāl) as the seventh of the ten categories of the mystical path. Spiritual states constitute an inner domain that the seeker attains after passing through the stages of beginnings, gates, transactions, ethics, principles, and valleys. This station manifests inner conditions such as love, zeal, longing, restlessness, thirst, awe, bewilderment, agitation, illumination, and taste, accompanied by existential warmth and complete detachment from worldly concerns.

Definition and Stages of Spiritual States

Spiritual states, as the seventh category in the mystical path outlined in Manāzil al-Sā’irīn, are an inner stage reached after the seeker has passed through the prior stations of beginnings, gates, transactions, ethics, principles, and valleys. This station represents the emergence of internal conditions such as love, zeal, longing, restlessness, thirst, awe, bewilderment, agitation, illumination, and taste, which are accompanied by existential warmth and complete devotion to the Divine. Unlike ethics, which pertains to external traits, spiritual states belong to the seeker’s inner nature and shape their internal dispositions. This station serves as a portal guiding the seeker from the coldness of duty to the warmth of divine love.

Key Point: Spiritual states elevate the seeker from outward duty to divine love and devotion, guiding them toward complete detachment to the Divine.

Difference between Spiritual States, Ethics, and Valleys

Unlike ethics, which is limited to outward behaviour, and valleys, which are realms of trials, spiritual states pertain to the seeker’s inner dispositions and existential warmth. Ethics focuses on external virtues, observable even without the heart’s engagement. Valleys expose the seeker to trials and hardships, while spiritual states constitute the domain of fervour and longing, transitioning the seeker from suffering and obligation to inner delight and passionate devotion.

Key Point: Spiritual states, unlike ethics (external) and valleys (trial-based), belong to the seeker’s inner realm and existential warmth.

The Role of Determination in Entering Spiritual States

Determination, as the outcome of the valleys, is the driving force that enables the seeker to overcome the hardships of the valleys and prepare for entering spiritual states. In the valleys, the seeker encounters deserts, mountains, cold, and heat; these trials refine them and develop determination. Determination is a divine gift guiding the seeker toward purposeful action, unlocking the doors of the valleys and leading them toward spiritual states.

Key Point: Determination is a divine gift that enables the seeker to transcend the hardships of the valleys and approach spiritual states and inner conditions.

Transition from Valleys to Spiritual States

Upon attaining determination, the seeker exits the valleys and enters spiritual states. This achievement indicates a transition from external trials to inner states. The valleys, through their hardships, warm the seeker’s heart, preparing them for the domain of spiritual states—a garden of fervour where the seeker moves from the coldness of obligation to the warmth of love and devotion.

Stages of Spiritual States and Inner Transformation

Love: Initiation of Spiritual States

Love is the first stage of spiritual states, signifying attraction and devotion to the Divine. It transforms the seeker’s duty-bound will into a love-oriented will, igniting inner warmth and energising the heart. Love frees the seeker from calculation and hypocrisy, directing their actions toward sincerity.

Zeal: Detachment from Self and Others

Zeal is the second stage, detaching the seeker from self-concern and worldly preoccupations, focusing them entirely on the Divine. It purifies the heart and leads to complete detachment, reflecting inner warmth absent in the indifferent.

Longing: Desire for Divine Presence

Longing, the third stage, denotes yearning for the Divine encounter, distinct from love, which is directed toward movement toward the beloved. Longing ignites the heart and guides the seeker toward divine union.

Restlessness: Inner Anxiety

Restlessness is the fourth stage, a state of inner agitation keeping the seeker in anticipation of the Divine. It signifies the intensity of longing, keeping the seeker in a state of expectancy and inner turmoil.

Thirst: Desire for Divine Vision

Thirst, the fifth stage, reflects an intense craving for witnessing the Divine, rendering the seeker self-sufficient in relation to all else. It drives the seeker toward divine union, dispelling sleep and distraction.

Awe and Bewilderment: Confronting the Majesty of the Divine

Awe and bewilderment, the sixth and seventh stages, represent confusion and astonishment in the face of divine majesty. Awe induces sudden bewilderment, while bewilderment immerses the seeker in contemplation of divine grandeur.

Agitation: Turbulence in the Ocean of the Divine

Agitation, the eighth stage, is a state of turbulence in which the seeker is immersed in the vastness of the Divine, drawn toward the infinite.

Illumination: Manifestation of the Divine

Illumination, the ninth stage, is the momentary manifestation of the Divine following agitation. It illuminates the seeker’s heart, guiding them from appearances to true vision.

Taste: Experiencing the Reality of the Divine

Taste, the tenth and final stage, is a sensory and cognitive experience through which the seeker apprehends the reality of the Divine. It transforms doubt into certainty and vision into union, leading to spiritual guardianship.

Existential Warmth and Its Role in the Seeker’s Transformation

Existential warmth is the essence of spiritual states, igniting the seeker’s heart from coldness and inertia toward vitality and internal activity. This warmth is the result of enduring the hardships of the valleys, refining the seeker and preparing them to receive divine gifts.

Contemporary Humanities and the Importance of Spiritual Sciences

Modern humanities, in many educational systems, have been reduced to memorisation and historical narration, lacking depth and meaning. Instead of addressing psychological, philosophical, and spiritual matters, these sciences remain superficial. This highlights the need to develop spiritual and mystical sciences.

Key Point: Contemporary humanities, focusing on memorisation and historical accounts, lack spiritual and psychological depth, necessitating reconsideration.

From Spiritual States to Guardianship

Spiritual states guide the seeker toward guardianship, a station in which the seeker, having experienced the reality of the Divine, acts on its behalf. Guardianship represents the pinnacle of spiritual states, manifesting divine attributes in the seeker and uniting them with the Divine.

The Brilliance of Divine Guardianship

Divine brilliance manifests in the guardian, eliminating doubt and illuminating the heart. It signifies certainty and perfection.

Divine Exchange and Perfection

The divine exchange is an act whereby the guardian’s essence is supplanted by the Divine, culminating in spiritual perfection. This process empties the self and fills it with divine light.

Key Point: The divine exchange elevates the guardian to perfection and illumination, culminating the journey through spiritual states.

Endurance of Guardianship

Guardianship is a demanding station attainable only by the qualified. It represents a heavy burden that requires complete inner readiness.