of Nokounam, (Session Fifty Chapter on Yaqah Part Five).
The chapter on Yaqah in the revered treatise Manzil al-Sirn, authored by Khwajah Abdullah Ansari, functions as a gateway to the mystical path. It guides the spiritual wayfarer from the slumber of heedlessness towards the awakening of gnosis. Lesson Five of this chapter, elucidated in the fiftieth session of Nokounams discourses, focuses on the third stage of Yaqah, namely Intibh (causal awakening). Intibh constitutes a causal vigilance that summons the seeker to discern the causes of blessings and afflictions, to compensate for past shortcomings, and to cultivate a prosperous future. This lesson delineates the process of consummating awakening by differentiating between the resultant Yaqah (desire and awe) and the causal Yaqah (Intibh), while critically examining time-wasting and emphasising the stinginess thereof, ultimately proposing practical methodologies for spiritual advancement.
Yaqah, like a triangular mirror, possesses three distinct faces: Desire (Raghbat), Awe (Rahbat), and Intibh. Desire is the hearts inclination toward Divine bounty, directing the seeker from negligence toward cognizance of divine favours; Awe is the fear inspired by the souls transgressions that leads to reparation of sins and spiritual purification; and Intibh is the causal attention to the reasons behind blessings and afflictions, which perfects the awakening. This tripartite configuration, analogous to three branches of the tree of knowledge, each fulfills an indispensable role in the path of spiritual journeying. Desire and Awe, as resultant stages, concern themselves with the effects of deeds, whereas Intibh, like a deep root, probes the causes underlying those effects.
Desire and Awe function as the initial wings of the spiritual path, guiding the seeker toward rectification of deeds; nevertheless, these stages remain incomplete as they focus on outcomes (the resultant). Desire urges the seeker to gratitude for blessings, while Awe compels reparation of transgressions through divine justice including recompense, expiation, retribution, or penal measures. In contrast, Intibh, akin to a lantern illuminating the darkness of causes, prompts inquiry into the why and how of the emergence of blessings and afflictions. This stage, by exploring the roots of actions, prevents repetition of errors and consolidates the durability of blessings.
The tripartite structure of Yaqah functions as a ladder by which the seeker ascends from heedlessness to consummate gnosis. Desire and Awe, as initial stages, stir spiritual motives; however, Intibh, through causal analysis, elevates awakening from the superficial realm of results to the profound depths of causes. This stage leads the seeker to profound self-knowledge and sustainable rectification.
Desire, like a breeze dispersing the slumber of heedlessness from the seekers eyes, propels him toward Divine favour. A seeker devoid of sincere desire is akin to a sleeper dwelling in the darkness of negligence. This stage, by awakening enthusiasm for divine blessings, acts as a luminous light that illuminates the heart toward knowledge. Desire is the motivating engine of the spiritual path, directing the seeker from passivity to active spiritual endeavour.
Awe resembles a fire consuming the souls impurities, urging the seeker to a fear of transgressions and their rectification. This fear does not arise from mere terror but from recognition of sins and the necessity for purifying the soul. At this stage, the seeker, by resorting to justice, expiation, retribution, or penal bounds, like a gardener pruning superfluous branches, purifies the soul from contaminations. Awe thus serves as a prelude to return to the Divine and ethical reformation.
Desire and Awe, as the foundational pillars of Yaqah, guide the seeker toward knowledge and soul reform. Desire stirs the yearning for blessings, and Awe engenders fear of sins, thereby preparing the groundwork for awakening. Nonetheless, due to their resultant nature, these two stages require completion by the causal stage, namely Intibh.
Intibh, like a lamp illuminating the darkness of causes, directs the seeker to investigate the roots of blessings and afflictions. This stage elevates awakening from the superficiality of effects to the profundity of causes by interrogating the why and how of the bestowal of blessings or the emergence of afflictions. In this station, the seeker resembles an investigator tracing the sources of streams, identifying the causes of blessings (such as aptitude, success, or worship) and afflictions (such as sin, illness, or failure). This comprehension acts as a key unlocking the gates to prevention and the permanence of blessings.
Human actions, like streams nourished by multiple springs, result from multifaceted agency. No act arises solely from the human agent; rather, both the proximate agent (human) and the determining agent (God, inheritance, conception, sustenance, place, and time) partake therein. This perspective, like a mirror reflecting the truth of divine unity, negates egocentrism and guides the seeker toward the recognition of divine agency. Comprehending these factors resembles a map preventing the seekers deviation from the spiritual path.
A seeker who remains ignorant of the causes of their sins resembles a driver repeatedly involved in accidents due to psychological deficiencies (such as visual distortion or impaired decision-making). Mere superficial repair (e.g., bodywork or superficial repentance) without addressing causes is akin to prescribing an ineffectual remedy. This analogy, serving as a mirror reflecting the essence of Yaqah, underscores the imperative of root-cause analysis and prevention of recurrence.
Intibh, as the apex of the stages of Yaqah, guides the seeker to comprehend the causes of blessings and afflictions and to forestall errors. Through analysis of multifarious agency and root-cause investigation of deeds, it perfects awakening and deters repetition of sins and heedlessness.
At the outset of the spiritual path, the seeker, like a gardener pruning superfluous branches, must eliminate the afflictive factors (spiritual maladies) from within. These factors, akin to weeds impeding the growth of the tree of knowledge, lurk in the seed, sustenance, nourishment, or companionship. By the sharp blade of Intibh, the seeker severs these afflictions at their roots, stems, or branches, purifying the soul from contaminations.
Much like a gardener who waters the healthy branches, the seeker must reinforce the motivational factors (charitable deeds). These acts of charity, akin to saplings that bear the fruit of knowledge, are latent within worship, study, or innate talent. Recognising the causes of these charities, like discovering a pristine spring, guides the seeker towards their persistence and ultimate completion.
Repeated repentance without understanding the causes of sin resembles wandering endlessly in a circle, keeping the seeker at their initial position. A seeker who sins daily and repents each day is like a traveller who never reaches their destination. Causal awakening, by tracing the roots of sins, breaks this cycle and directs the seeker towards lasting reformation.
Pruning the afflictions and strengthening acts of charity, much like a gardener tending to existence, purifies the self from corruption and yields charitable fruits. This process, accompanied by the critique of repetitive repentance, emphasises the necessity of fundamental reform and introduces awakening as the origin of such reform.
Time is like a precious jewel, towards which the seeker must exhibit stinginess. Stinginess in time entails optimising every moment to compensate for the past and cultivate the future. The awakened seeker, akin to a merchant who does not squander their capital, values every moment and avoids its wastefulness.
Wasting time is like pouring water onto barren desert land, a sign of heedlessness and an obstacle to awakening. Much of human life is spent on unnecessary and futile activities. The awakened seeker, like a farmer who does not waste their land, prevents time wastage through prioritising tasks.
In awakening, the value of time fluctuates like light varying in intensity. One moment for the awakened seeker may equate to an hour, and one hour to a day. This awareness is akin to a seed sown in the soil of the seekers existence, bearing the fruits of knowledge.
Stinginess in time, comparable to investment in the abode of knowledge, prevents the seeker from squandering their lifespan and guides them to redeem the past and cultivate the future. This principle introduces awakening as an existential awareness of times value.
Awakening, like ascending a lofty summit, is a demanding and arduous process. The awakened seekers, akin to travellers treading a perilous desert, face hardship, pressure, burning, pain, separation, and estrangement. These hardships, like a furnace purifying gold, prepare the seeker for the attainment of knowledge.
Awakening consists of three stages, like a ladder: heartfelt attention (initial focus), study (contemplation of blessings), and awareness (complete causal awakening). Attention resembles a fleeting glance, and study like reading the book of the soul, both preliminary stages; whereas awareness, akin to an awakening that integrates part into whole, guides the seeker to deep causal analysis.
The difficulty of awakening is like a test preparing the seeker for spiritual progression. The distinction among attention, study, and awareness delineates the hierarchy of consciousness and introduces awareness as the supreme stage of awakening.
Awareness, like a lamp revealing the source of light, guides the seeker to recognise the benefactor (the origin of charities). This source may be hidden within a father, mother, neighbour, or teacher. The seeker, like a pupil who honours their master, attains gratitude and knowledge of blessings through recognition of these agents.
The expansion of the universe, akin to a divine sign of omnipotent power, manifests the agency of the Absolute Truth; however, human negligence acts as a veil that obscures this reality, preventing the recognition of the Agent. This analogy, comparable to a mirror reflecting the grandeur of the Truth, underscores the imperative attention to the causal Agent of blessings.
The recognition of the Benefactor and attention to the universes expansion, like two wings of gnosis, direct the seeker from negligence towards divine unity (Tawhd). This knowledge defines awakening as the awareness of divine agency in all matters.
Man is likened to a tree that absorbs or repels certain blessings and afflictions. Awakening functions like a vigilant gardener, enabling discernment of these substances so that blessings may be absorbed and afflictions repelled. This metaphor, akin to a mirror revealing the role of will, propels the seeker from spiritual passivity to activity.
A human devoid of awakening resembles a barren tree, which despite its human appearance, remains at the level of non-conscious beings. Claiming humanity without awakening is like weeping over a withered branch. Awakening, akin to a soul within the body, restores the essence of humanity to the seeker.
The analogy of man to a plant highlights the role of will and awareness in the spiritual path. Awakening activates this choice, guiding man from negligence to the truth of humanity, transporting him from superficiality to the depths of existence.
Environmental factors such as nourishment, the Qur'anic verses, place, and time, resemble breezes that sometimes bring good and sometimes evil. The seeker, like an alchemist testing substances, must identify the effects of these factors on the soul and harmonise them with their spiritual temperament.
The Noble Qur'an states: وَنُنْزِلُ مِنَ ٱلْقُرْءَانِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۙ وَلَا يَزِيدُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًا (Al-Isr: 23; Foladvands translation: "And We send down from the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss"). This verse, akin to a mirror reflecting the reality of the soul, indicates the variable effect of the verses on different souls. The seeker must examine their soul through the verses and discern their influence in drawing closer or distancing from the Truth.
The impact of environmental factors, like a breeze sometimes gentle and sometimes harsh, necessitates understanding and adaptation to the spiritual temperament. Testing the soul with Qur'anic verses presents awakening as a tool of self-knowledge and guidance.
General jurisprudential and ethical prescriptions, such as public treatises or exhortative sermons, resemble medication without diagnosis and are ineffective. This approach, like pouring water onto barren land, neglects individual conditions. Awakening, through causal and case-specific analysis, akin to individualised medicine, directs the seeker towards rectification.
The night prayer, like sweet honey, is generally strongly recommended, yet for some, due to lack of spiritual readiness, it may act like a harmful poison. This variable effect, comparable to the verse of healing and loss, exemplifies the necessity of tailoring acts to spiritual states. The seeker must comprehend these causes and reform the soul prior to worship.
The science of spiritual states is akin to a map guiding the seekers path, comprising knowledge of spiritual conditions and the selection of appropriate acts. The seeker, like a diligent student who recognises the right time for study, must identify the proper time and place for worship or labour. This knowledge is like a key unlocking spiritual efficacy.
Critique of general prescriptions and emphasis on Ilm al-Hl, akin to individualised medicine, introduce awakening as an indispensable tool for guidance. Matching acts to spiritual states prevents waste of energy and directs the seeker towards perfection.
Attention, like a bridge connecting past and future, obliges the seeker to compensate for what has been lost (Mft) and to reconstruct what remains (Bqiya). This process, like a farmer rehabilitating burnt soil, requires frugality in time and simultaneous management of past and future.
The seeker, like a merchant carrying two watermelons with one hand, must, through frugality in time, simultaneously compensate the past and cultivate the future. This management, like weaving a delicate fabric, demands precision and prioritisation to prevent time loss.
Compensating past loss and reconstructing the future, like rebuilding a ruined structure, presents awakening as a dynamic process encompassing past, present, and future. Frugality in time brings this process to fruition.
The commentator (Kamal al-Dn), like an explorer uncovering a treasure of knowledge, emphasises that which is cause (m huwa sabab), relating cognition to causal understanding of blessings and detriments. This analysis, like light illuminating text, elevates the commentary from generalities to particulars and introduces awakening as an analytical process.
The commentator, like a guide indicating the source of goodness, invites the seeker to recognise the Benefactor in blessings. This goodness may sometimes be inherited from father, mother, or teacher, and such recognition, akin to finding a spring, directs the seeker towards gratitude and gnosis of favours.
The commentators analysis, emphasising causality and recognition, introduces awakening as an analytical science and directs the seeker towards profound knowledge of blessings and detriments.
From a psychological perspective, humans resemble malfunctioning machines that waste approximately 90% of their energy due to improper nourishment or other factors. This waste, like dust settling on heart and brain, diminishes efficiency and induces lethargy. Awakening, like a remedy, restores psychological health by removing these barriers.
Factors such as urea, fat, or blood sugar resemble stones weighing down the body, generating heaviness and lethargy. The seeker, like a physician diagnosing illness, must identify and rectify these factors to regain existential efficiency.
Energy waste, functioning as an impediment on the spiritual path, disrupts the seekers existential efficacy. Awakening, through psychological analysis and obstacle removal, guarantees existential health and guides the seeker towards perfection.
The fifth lesson from the chapter on awakening in Manzil al-Sirn, akin to a lamp illuminating the spiritual path, introduces the stage of attention as the pinnacle of causal awakening. Awakening, manifested through the three aspects of desire (raghbat), awe (rahbat), and attention (intibh), guides the seeker from negligence to complete gnosis. Desire and awe act as the initial two wings that evoke spiritual motivation, whereas attention, through comprehension of the causes of blessings and afflictions, perfects awakening. Pruning afflictions, reinforcing blessings, frugality in time, and critique of general prescriptions provide practical strategies for self-reformation and perseverance on the path. Psychological analyses, including the analogy of driving and energy waste, alongside philosophical discussions on multiple agency, elucidate the depth of this lesson in scientific terminology.
