Taken from the lectures of Nokounam (Session 118 - The Chapter of Flight - Part Six)
This work is a scholarly and academic rewriting of the lectures of Nokounam on the explanation of the station of Flight from Manzil al-S'irn by Khwaja Abdullah Ansari. It offers a deep insight into the seeker's journey from knowledge to witnessing, the heart's role in receiving divine truths, and liberation from carnal desires, explaining one of the exalted ranks of mystical progress.
The station of Flight, like a bridge between the shore of knowledge and the ocean of witnessing, guides the seeker from intellect-based knowledge and hearsay towards inner, spiritual vision and direct witnessing. Flight in this station has two stages: first, flight from ignorance to knowledge, which leads the seeker from the darkness of unawareness to the light of knowledge; second, flight from knowledge to witnessing, as if a bird spreading its wings from the cage of the mind to the sky of the heart. This transition moves from apparent understanding to inner vision, where the eye of the heart replaces the eye of the head to behold the truth.
| Key point: Flight is the seeker's progression from knowledge (intellect-based understanding) to witnessing (spiritual vision), making the heart the center of receiving truths instead of the senses. |
This transformation corresponds with the noble Quranic verse:
فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى الْأَبْصَارُ وَلَكِنْ تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ
Indeed, it is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts within the breasts are blind. (Surah Al-Hajj, 22:46)
This verse emphasizes the hearts role in witnessing, as if the heart is a lamp in the chest illuminating the path to truth.
In the stage of knowledge, the mind is the vessel that receives information through the senses such as hearing and seeing. But in the station of Flight, the heart becomes the vessel of spiritual states, like a boundless ocean containing divine realities. The states (ahwal), as entrances of the heart, prepare the way for the hearts perfections and lead the seeker to witnessing. This transition is from the vessel of news (heard knowledge) to the vessel of vision (seen knowledge), where the heart perceives truths without dependence on sensory gates.
أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَتَكُونَ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ يَعْقِلُونَ بِهَا
Have they not traveled through the land so that they have hearts by which to reason? (Surah Al-Hajj, 22:46)
This verse introduces the heart as the center of reasoning and witnessing, reaching beyond the senses to inner reception.
The station of Flight leads the seeker from knowledge to witnessing, and from mind to heart. The heart, as the vessel of spiritual states, is the center of witnessing that directly receives truths. This transformation is confirmed by Quranic verses that regard the heart as the place of reasoning and witnessing.
In the vessel of spiritual states, the seekers heart attains inner receptions known in mysticism as influxes (wardt). These influxes are like clear streams flowing from the spring of the unseen into the heart, connecting the seeker to divine responses. The heart in this station conducts a kind of spiritual exchange, like a marketplace where truths are received and divine answers returned. This process transcends the senses, each of which has limited gates, while the heart embraces truths without reliance on these gates.
| Key point: The heart in the vessel of states receives influxes and divine responses, engaging in inner exchange and directly perceiving truths without sensory mediation. |
This concept aligns with the noble Quranic verse:
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ
Indeed, in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart. (Surah Qaf, 50:37)
This verse considers the heart the place of divine inspirations, which in the station of witnessing leads to grasping truths.
Heartly manifestations (mujyid), like jewels hidden in the shell of the heart, are spiritual miracles and receptions guiding the seeker to higher spiritual ranks. These manifestations are gifts from the Divine bestowed upon the seeker, enabling release from carnal attachments. At this state, the seeker is like a wave breaking in the ocean of divine love, dissolving and beholding a glimpse of divine beauty with every divine response.
In the station of Flight, the heart is the locus of influxes and divine responses, perceiving truths directly beyond the senses. Heartly manifestations are divine miracles that guide the seeker to higher ranks and enable liberation from worldly attachments.
This section explores philosophically how the vessels of knowledge and states differ and the characteristics of the seekers progression from one to the other. Theoretical intellect is active in the vessel of knowledge, engaging in understanding through sense perception. However, in the vessel of states, practical and heart-based intellect becomes active, leading to witnessing and immediate knowledge.
The vessel of knowledge consists of the sensory and mental channels that accumulate information and generate knowledge. The vessel of states is the inner heart space that welcomes spiritual truths, freed from external veils. In the station of Flight, the seeker migrates from the vessel of knowledge to the vessel of states, which requires self-purification and strengthening of the heart.
To cross from the vessel of knowledge to that of states, the seeker must transcend carnal desires such as envy, greed, and vanity that obstruct true understanding. This passage is the true flight that carries the seeker beyond theoretical intellect and leads to heart-based witnessing.
The station of Flight is a transitional bridge leading the seeker from the level of intellectual knowledge and apparent understanding to the depth of inner witnessing and spiritual vision. In this path, the heart replaces the mind as the center of perception, and the seeker enters a stage where divine influxes and responses become manifest. This transformation requires self-purification, meditation, and heart refinement for the seeker to reach divine witnessing.
This concept aligns with the noble verse from the Holy Quran:
فَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ فَعْلَ الْخَيْرَاتِ
"We revealed to them to perform good deeds" (Surah Al-Anbiya, Ayah 73, translated by ).
This verse alludes to the direct reception of divine commands for righteous action.
The customs of the Shariah, which are akin to an external shell, are derived from the principles, i.e., the inner knowledges of the heart. The principles are truths manifested in the hearts of the saints that have shaped the Shariah. This perspective regards the Shariah as the outward form and knowledge as its inward reality, as if the Shariah were but the shadow of the light of knowledge.
شَرَعَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا وَصَّى بِهِ نُوحًا
"He has ordained for you of the religion that which He commanded to Noah" (Surah Ash-Shura, Ayah 13, translated by ).
This verse considers the Shariah as the manifestation of divine commands originating from these principles.
The actions of the people of witnessing are received directly from God, and the Shariah is the manifestation of the heartfelt knowledges of the saints. These concepts are corroborated by the verses of the Holy Quran.
Revelation is a reality determined within the heart of the Prophet, which is subsequently expressed as the Quranic verses. These verses, like banners at the doorway of revelation, indicate the truth of the revelation rather than being the revelation itself. This viewpoint regards revelation as transcending mere outward words, as if the words are manifestations of an inner truth.
| Key Point: Revelation is an inner reality fixed within the heart, and the Quranic verses are its manifestations and indicators. |
This concept aligns with the noble verse from the Holy Quran:
نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الْأَمِينُ عَلَى قَلْبِكَ
"The Trustworthy Spirit has descended upon your heart" (Surah Ash-Shuara, Ayahs 193-194, translated by ).
This verse locates the heart as the locus of revelations descent.
The Holy Quran constitutes the words and manifestations of revelation, not revelation itself. The verses are determinations of the truth that manifest in the hearts of the saints. The friends of God perceive the Quran as it was revealed, as if, like a pure spring, the reality of revelation flows within their hearts.
إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
"Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran that you might understand" (Surah Yusuf, Ayah 2, translated by ).
This verse views the Quran as a sign for intellect and comprehension of the truth.
Revelation is an inner reality determined within the heart, and the Holy Quran is its words and manifestations. The friends of God apprehend this reality within their hearts, and these concepts are confirmed by the Quranic verses.
The sacred word "I was a hidden treasure, then I desired to be known," which shines like a jewel in the treasury of mysticism, refers to the purpose of creation for divine knowledge. God, who was a hidden treasure, desired to be known by creating existence. This knowledge is actualised through divine manifestations and love for creation.
| Key Point: The sacred word identifies divine knowledge as the purpose of creation, realised through divine manifestations and love towards creation. |
This concept corresponds with the noble verse from the Holy Quran:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me" (Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Ayah 56, translated by ).
The interpretation of this verse as knowledge reveals the connection between worship and recognition.
Actions are only accepted when accompanied by divine affirmations and manifestations. These manifestations, like light shining upon the hearts deeds, actualise their truth.
The sacred word considers knowledge the purpose of creation, and divine manifestations render actions acceptable. These concepts are confirmed by the Quranic verses.
The people of witnessing do not abandon tradition but rather transition from the apparent tradition to the inner and supreme tradition. This transmission is like the change from hearing to seeing, from a seed in the womb to a child in the heart. The seeker, through this transformation, apprehends the Shariah not by mere transmission but by heart.
| Key Point: The people of witnessing transfer from the outward tradition to the inner and supreme tradition, as if from hearing to seeing and from transmission to the heart. |
This concept aligns with the noble verse from the Holy Quran:
يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ
"Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge by degrees" (Surah Al-Mujadila, Ayah 11, translated by ).
This verse affirms the elevation of the believers and the knowledgeable to higher ranks.
The Shariah is a manifestation of the heartfelt knowledges of the friends of God. Being of the heart requires adherence to the Shariah; otherwise, claims of knowledge are void. The Shariah is like a river springing from the fountain of the saints knowledge, conveying truth to creation.
اتَّبِعُوا مَن لاَّ يَسْأَلُکُمْ أَجْرًا وَهُمْ مُّهْتَدُونَ
"Follow those who do not ask you for reward while they are rightly guided" (Surah Yasin, Ayah 21, translated by ).
This verse places the Shariah at the centre of the righteous deeds.
The people of witnessing apprehend the Shariah in their hearts and transition from tradition to the supreme tradition. The Shariah is the manifestation of the knowledge of the saints, and these concepts are corroborated by the Quranic verses.
The desires of the self, which imprison the soul like traps, are cravings and weaknesses that hinder the seeker from witnessing. These desires are tainted with heedlessness and errors, akin to weeds that consume the garden of the heart.
| Key Point: The desires of the self, intertwined with weakness and errors, impede witnessing and necessitate liberation. |
This concept corresponds with the noble verse from the Holy Quran:
وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا
"By the soul and He who proportioned it" (Surah Ash-Shams, Ayah 7, translated by ).
This verse indicates the possibility of purifying the soul.
Flight from desires to detachment signifies liberation from the impurities of the self. Deliverance, like shedding an old garment, frees the seeker from the afflictions of the soul. This transformation elevates him, like a bird, to the skies of subtlety and purity.
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا
"He has succeeded who purifies it" (Surah Ash-Shams, Ayah 9, translated by ).
This verse associates salvation with the purification of the soul.
Desires of the self obstruct witnessing, but through detachment and deliverance, the seeker attains subtlety. This transformation is confirmed by the Quranic verses.
Insincere asceticism, which at times burdens the seeker like a heavy load, indicates weakness. The weak perform actions with toil and complaint, akin to sweat flowing with every effort, exposing their hardship. Such asceticism sometimes leads to deviation.
| Key Point: Asceticism without true insight leads to hardship, weakness, and potential deviation. |
This concept aligns with the noble verse from the Holy Quran:
فَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ
"So woe to those who pray" (Surah Al-Maun, Ayah 4, translated by ).
This verse warns about empty rituals devoid of true spirit.
Knowledge without inner illumination is like a barren tree. The true knowledge is that which leads to love, worship, and realization of the divine truth.
وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا
"And you have not been given of knowledge except a little" (Surah Al-Isra, Ayah 85, translated by ).
This verse indicates humility in knowledge.
Asceticism without inner realization is burdensome and weak; knowledge without love is barren. These warnings are confirmed by Quranic verses.
