of Nokounam, May His Sanctity be Honoured (Session Twenty-Five Introduction 25)
The mystical path (sulk) constitutes a journey from the self towards the Divine Truth, wherein the wayfarer transcends multiplicities and attachments to attain unity and divine proximity. The twenty-fifth lecture of Manzil al-S'irn, centred upon the foundational concepts of estrangement (ghurba) and nearness (qurb), elucidates the stages of this spiritual voyage. This discourse, grounded upon the noble hadith سِيرُوا سَبَقَ الْمُفَرَّدُونَ
(Travel, for the singular ones have gone ahead) and the luminous statement of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) that طلبُ الحقِّ غربة
(Seeking the Truth is estrangement), establishes estrangement as the axis of the path and a bridge towards divine nearness and vision.
سِيرُوا سَبَقَ الْمُفَرَّدُونَ
The hadith سِيرُوا سَبَقَ الْمُفَرَّدُونَ
, transmitted from the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny), is narrated with a asan (sound) chain via Yahya ibn Abi Kathir through Umar ibn Rashid al-Yamani. It is recorded in a Muslim, thereby possessing authoritative status, though variant transmissions exist. These discrepanciessometimes in the diction and sometimes in the phrasingnecessitate a meticulous critical analysis of both the chain of narration (isnd) and the text (matn). Certain phrases attributed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) appear interpolated due to incongruities with his characteristic rhetorical style.
سِيرُوا سَبَقَ الْمُفَرَّدُونَin a Muslim affirms its mystical significance; however, textual and transmissional divergences demand thorough scrutiny.
The hadith summons the seekers to embark upon the path of Truth and defines the mufarradn as those who, through singularity and concentration upon the Truth, have outpaced others. The distinction between mufarradn (the singularly devoted on the path) and mufarran (those who sever or separate) is clarified by the linguistic context of سِيرُوا
(travel) and سَبَقَ
(preceded). The mufarradn are travellers who, with purity and unity, have detached from multiplicity and hastened towards the Truth. This singularity is not an act of alienation from others but rather a concentrated orientation towards divine unity.
Diverse traditions interpret mufarradn as الذَّاکِرِينَ اللَّهَ کَثِيرًا وَالذَّاکِرَاتِ
(those who remember God abundantly, both men and women) or as المُسْتَهْتَرُونَ فِی ذِکْرِ اللَّه
(those immersed in the remembrance of God). This variation underscores the paramount importance of remembrance and concentration upon the Truth within the path. However, the phrase المهترون الذین یهترون
is extraneous to the core hadith due to its non-narrative and technical diction. The notion of shaghafan intense passionate love accompanied by awe and bewildermentliberates the wayfarer from the non-Truth and orients them exclusively towards the Truth.
The hadith سِيرُوا سَبَقَ الْمُفَرَّدُونَ
, emphasising movement and singularity upon the path of Truth, invites the seeker to a conscious and focused spiritual progression. The mufarradn, through abundant remembrance and passion for the Truth, distance themselves from multiplicity and attain divine proximity. Its authentication in a Muslim alongside interpretive variations enriches the mystical depth of this narration.
طلبُ الحقِّ غربة
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) declared, طلبُ الحقِّ غربة
(Seeking the Truth is estrangement), indicating that the seeker inevitably experiences estrangement due to singularity on the path. This estrangement arises as a consequence of separation from multiplicity and concentration on the unity of Truth, akin to a traveller who leaves their homeland and proceeds alone towards their destination. Estrangement is not merely an inherent characteristic of the path but rather a prerequisite condition for nearness to the Truth.
The mystical journey commences with estrangement and culminates in proximity. The seeker, intending to traverse the path of Truth, becomes a traveller who experiences estrangement as an existential solitude akin to a wanderer in a desert, detached from attachments and prepared for nearness to the Truth. Proximity denotes closeness to the Divine, enabling the wayfarer to attain the station of divine vision and witnessing.
Hijrah, one of the fundamental principles of estrangement, is exemplified in the conduct of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and the divine saints. This hijrah encompasses the spiritual (detachment from the desires of the self), the geographical (leaving ones homeland), and the ultimate (attainment of the Truth). The seekers hijrah is akin to departure from the city of multiplicity to the desert of unity, liberating them from attachments.
Estrangement is accompanied by profound difficulties and trials comprehended only by the wayfarer. These challenges resemble storms on the journey, refining the seekers soul and preparing it for nearness. The estrangement of the seeker does not occur in the city of multiplicity but rather on the path of unity, where the seeker is alone and solely encompassed by the Truth.
A poem that equates estrangement with begging and urban desolation deviates from the mystical reality of estrangement. The seekers estrangement is solitude upon the path of Truth, not destitution within the city. Confounding estrangement with begging is semantically incongruous, as mystical estrangement is an inward state distinct from material poverty.
Estrangement constitutes the axis of mystical progression, conveying the seeker from multiplicity towards unity and from solitude towards proximity. Hijrah is the condition of estrangement, with proximity as its consummation. The trials of estrangement refine the seekers soul, and critiques of extraneous interpretations elucidate the authentic nature of estrangement.
Proximity is the nearness to the Truth attained subsequent to estrangement. By severing ties with the non-Truth and enduring solitude on the path, the seeker attains divine proximity. This nearness resembles a traveller reaching their destination after a strenuous journey, bringing the wayfarer tranquillity and unity.
Vision constitutes the observation of the Truth, the ultimate result of estrangement and proximity in the mystical path. The divine saints, having eradicated otherness and abiding in the Truth, attain this vision. It resembles the reunion with the beloved after separation, the fruit of the wayfarers singularity and purity.
The Hadith of Ihsan, as narrated by Umar ibn al-Khab, explicates the concept of worship in two elevated stages:
To worship God as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then indeed He sees you.
This sacred narration, authenticated within a Muslim, delineates the progressive degrees of worship, extending from the inner conviction of divine perception to the actual experiential vision of God.
The path of spiritual progression (sulk) is traditionally categorised into three primary stages: mmiyyah (the general or novice level), Slik (the intermediate traveller), and Muaqqiq (the consummate knower or the accomplished). Each of these stages is characterised by its own distinctive jurisprudential rulings (shar), methodology (minhj), and spiritual orientation (wajh), towards which the slik aspires. Throughout this journey, both knowledge and ultimate purpose serve as the guiding beacons and termini.
The concepts of qurbah (nearness) and ruyah (vision) represent the fruits borne out of the state of estrangement (ghurba) within the spiritual progression. They culminate in the slik achieving unity with and direct witnessing of the Divine Reality. The Hadith of Ihsan elucidates these degrees of worship and spiritual journeying, whilst the categorisation of the stages of sulk clarifies the phases inherent in this metaphysical expedition.
The saints (awliy) of God are exclusively guided by the Divine Truth itself. This guidance is direct and unmediated, manifesting through the endowment of knowledge and the granting of the ultimate goal, thereby propelling the slik towards the intended spiritual destination. The beloved ones traverse the path of sulk by means of this inner guidance, without recourse to verbal instruction.
The saints veil their dreams and mystical unveilings, akin to the injunction given to Prophet Ysuf (Joseph) by his father Yaqb (Jacob):
Do not recount your vision to your brothers
(l taqu ryk). Such concealment is undertaken to preserve spiritual purity and to avoid discord and turmoil.
The verse:
I am the servant of God; He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet
(inn abdullh tn al-kitb wa-jaalan nabiyyan) epitomises the language of the seekers hearts, who, prior to the commencement of sulk, already apprehend this profound reality within themselves. This inner gnosis is the hallmark of divine guidance firmly rooted within the hearts of the saints.
The saints, guided directly by the Divine and maintaining secrecy over their mystical experiences, advance towards the ultimate unity with God and self-annihilation in Him. The language of the seekers hearts is that of inner knowledge, manifesting prior to the external journey of sulk within their spiritual core.
The twenty-fifth lesson of Manzil al-Sirn meticulously delineates the concepts of estrangement (ghurba), nearness (qurbah), and vision (ruyah), thereby mapping the stages of the mystical path from initial movement to ultimate attainment of the Divine Reality. Estrangement, analogous to the solitude of a traveller lost in the wilderness, serves to separate the slik from multiplicity and leads him towards nearness and the vision of God. The mufarridn, those immersed in the remembrance of God, excel through solitude and fervent devotion. Hijrah (spiritual emigration) is the prerequisite for estrangement, whilst nearness is its inevitable outcome. The Quranic verses and Prophetic traditions emphatically underscore the indispensability of estrangement, sincerity, and inner guidance. This treatise, crafted with scholarly eloquence and precision, exhaustively explicates all facets of the lesson for erudite audiences, emphasising the pivotal roles of estrangement and nearness within the spiritual journey.
Supervised by Sadegh Khademi
