Along the path of mystical spiritual journeying (sulk), the station of um'annah stands as a lofty and seemingly unattainable summit, beckoning the seeker towards an eternal tranquillity and an unmediated union with the Divine Reality. This exalted station, the fruit borne from the tree of saknah, blossoms within the hearts of the Perfect Saints (awliy kmiln), liberating the soul from all forms of anxiety and agitation. The present discourse, derived from the utterances of Nekounam (may his sanctified soul rest in peace) in the four hundred and eighty-third session, provides a precise and profound elucidation of this sublime station. Drawing upon Qurnic verses and mystical exegeses, it offers a comprehensive guide for the travellers on the path of gnosis (marifah).
Saknah, like a divine breeze, descends exclusively upon the heart of a Prophet or a Saint (wal), and this descent signifies the purity of the inner self and liberation from anxieties and carnal weaknesses. This Divine tranquillity, manifesting in the hearts of the select awliy, is a distinctive characteristic of the highest mystical stations. The heart of the Prophet and the Saint, akin to a polished mirror, is prepared to receive this divine grace; hence, saknah does not enter any other hearts. This exclusivity stems from the intimate connection of the hearts of the awliy to the Prophetic station, such that their hearts are linked to that of the Prophet, benefiting directly from his grace.
Among the various types of saknah, the third saknah (saknah thlithah) is akin to a pure jewel, encapsulating the very essence of divine tranquillity. This saknah, revealed in the heart of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, as well as the select faithful, transcends physical appearances and the stations of the inspired. This station brings the seeker to complete witnessing and profound serenity in the presence of the Truth, where the heart is freed from all anxiety and rests tranquilly before the Divine Presence. Unlike the first saknah, which manifested in the Ark and had an objective, external reality, and unlike the second saknah, which appeared at the station of the inspired through the flowing of wisdom upon their tongues, the third saknah is the pure reality of tranquillity blooming in the hearts of Gods awliy.
Saknah al-Wuqr, identified as the fourth rank of saknah, is a radiance emanating from Saknah Thlithah that manifests outwardly in the conduct of the seeker. This saknah appears in the reverence and respect others bestow upon the seeker, indicating the luminosity of their heart. When the seeker attains the station of saknah, this luminosity becomes evident in their demeanour and dignity, compelling others to show honour and veneration. This manifestation is accidental and resultant rather than causal, as it originates from the perfection of Saknah Thlithah that connects the seekers heart to eternal tranquillity.
Saknah Thlithah itself comprises three levels, commencing with the perfection of faith and culminating in the station of ihsn and wilyah. The first level arises through the perfection of faith, which transcends knowledge and speech, culminating in witnessing and presence before the Divine. At this station, the seeker is freed from the veils of egotism (aniyyah) and duality (ithnaniyyah), reaching the witnessing of the Ultimate Reality (aqqat al-aqqah). This witnessing, the zenith of the mystical journey, liberates the heart from self-conceit and carnal attachments and guides it towards annihilation in God (fan f Allh).
um'annah, as a summit above saknah, is a station where repose is accompanied by true and permanent security. Unlike saknah, which may be momentary and unstable, um'annah bestows stability and eternal tranquillity upon the seeker. The calm experienced in saknah is sometimes accompanied by anxiety and fluctuations of state, whereas in um'annah, this calm attains an unshakable steadfastness, immune to temporal changes and carnal vicissitudes. This station, exclusive to the Perfect Saints, connects the heart to a tranquillity that never fades.
Translated by : O tranquil soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him]. Enter, then, among My servants, and enter My Paradise. This Qurnic verse constitutes a comprehensive blueprint, encompassing all the stages of the mystical path. Commencing from the restful soul (nafs al-mumainnah), it guides the seeker through the stations of return, satisfaction, acceptance, entry among the Divine servants, and ultimately entry into the Divine Paradise. These stations, akin to the seven trials of Rostam, pave the seekers way towards Divine perfection.
The restful soul is neither the commanding soul (nafs al-ammrah) which incites towards evil, nor the reproaching soul (nafs al-luwwmah) which chastises, nor the inspired soul (nafs al-mulhamah) which is receptive to inspiration. Rather, it is a soul that has attained complete certainty and perfect security. This soul, freed from carnal attachments, stands at the station of witnessing and Divine nearness. When the Almighty addresses: O tranquil soul, return to your Lord
, He calls the seeker to return to the Divine Presence, a return that signifies annihilation in God and negation of self-conceit. This soul, having attained the stations of satisfaction (riyah) and acceptance (mariyyah), reaches mutual contentment with the Divine and eventually enters the assembly of the select Divine servants and the Paradise of reunion.
The verse encompasses seven stages of spiritual journey: firstly, the tranquil soul which has attained complete repose; secondly, the return to the Lord which indicates annihilation in God; thirdly, the station of satisfaction wherein the seeker is content with the Truth; fourthly, the station of acceptance wherein the Truth is content with the seeker; fifthly, the entrance among the Divine servants, representing inclusion among the select awliy; sixthly, entrance into Paradise which is the union and witnessing of the Truth; and finally, the most perfect assurance, the culmination of all stations.
The station of Wilayah, akin to a gateway to the boundless realm of Truth, guides the spiritual wayfarer to the direct vision (shuhd) of the aqqat al-aqqa the ultimate reality itself. At this exalted station, the veils of anyat (selfhood or egotistical perfection) and ithnyat (duality) are removed, liberating the seeker from self-centeredness and all attachments of the ego. This shuhd, inseparably united with the annihilation in God (fan f-llh), connects the heart to eternal tranquillity.
The example of Moses (peace be upon him), who upon hearing the command الْقِ مَا فِي يَمِينِكَ (Throw what is in your right hand), no longer perceives the staff as a mere staff, signifies this actualised monotheism wherein the seeker sees nothing but the Divine Truth alone.
This station marks the inception of Wilayah, whilst its ultimate extremity is so sublime that even eminent saints like Salman and Abu Dharr reside at its threshold.
The gateway of Wilayah unfolds as a realm of a passionate gamble in which the wayfarer stakes both this world and the hereafter upon a single takbr the exclamation of Divine glory. This double-edged gamble, dared only by the utterly self-surrendered, epitomises absolute submission and liberation from all egoic attachments. The self-surrendered enters this arena by Divine grace as a trustee and, by invoking the Divines manifest decree (kaf al-aqq al-tal), conquers all in a single sweep.
This gamble, emanating from Divine love, not only resolves both worlds into itself but elevates the seeker to the station of complete annihilation. The exemplars of Gods saints, such as Al ibn Ab lib (peace be upon him), who proclaimed Fuztu wa rabbi l-Kaba (I have triumphed by the Lord of the Kaba) after partaking from the piercing sting of the river of Kawthar, symbolize this self-surrender and passionate longing for tribulation.
The Noble Qurn, as the final Divine scripture, encompasses all previous heavenly books and constitutes the ultimate guidance for humanity. Earlier scriptures such as the Zabur, Tawrat, and Injil served as preparatory stages for human perfection but, due to textual distortions, were deprived of their consummation. The Qurn, with its unparalleled conciseness and comprehensiveness, conveys the truth in the fewest possible words, as exemplified by chapters such as al-Kawthar and al-Tawhid, which manifest the grandeur of this Divine miracle.
This superiority is also evident in the diverse nature of the Qurnic verses, among which the verse of the reassured soul (nafs al-mumainnah) holds a distinguished status owing to its comprehensiveness and uniqueness.
The verse يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ارْجِعِي إِلَى رَبِّكِ (O reassured soul, return to your Lord) manifests an extraordinary subtlety through the use of the feminine suffix kaf in rabbiki and the vocative particle ayyatuha. This feminisation signifies the equality of all beings before the Divine and the negation of the seekers ego. By this address, the Divine summons the soul to Himself, liberating the seeker from distinctions of masculine or feminine.
This subtlety, rooted in the precise selection of Qurnic terminology, renders the verse a source for repelling doubts and a locus of specific spiritual closings (khumt) accessible only to the possessors of Wilayah, whose hearts are purified from worldly attachments.
Tranquillity (umaninah) is fortified by sound security and absolute certainty (yaqn tmm), which transcends mere intellectual certainty. This certainty, arising from the station of excellence (isn) and direct witnessing (<em/mushhadah), purges the heart of all doubt and connects it to the immediate vision of the Truth.
Unlike intellectual certainty, dependent on rational proof and theoretical knowledge, the certainty of tranquillity resides in the station of direct inspection (muyanah), surpassing mere observation and attaining complete Divine nearness. This inspection represents the ultimate station of witnessing, guiding the seeker to the unmediated vision of the Truth.
Observation (mushhadah) resembles distant viewing wherein the seeker perceives the Truth behind a veil; inspection (muyanah), however, resembles close viewing where all veils are entirely removed, and the seeker attains complete nearness.
Tranquillity, situated at the station of inspection, perfects the Divine peace (sakinah). This distinction manifests in the stability and endurance of tranquillity, whereby the seeker remains in eternal peace and absolute confidence in all states from warfare to commerce.
The example of Abu Dharr, who attains sakinah in battle but may lose it in trade, illustrates the impermanence of sakinah as opposed to the steadfastness of umaninah.
Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him), like a radiant beacon along the path of tranquillity, demonstrated his steadfastness in this station through constant generosity and supplication for forgiveness from the needy. Unlike sakinah, which may be lost with changes of state, tranquillity endures through all circumstances.
This eminent Imam maintained his calm and assurance in both hardship and ease, thereby exemplifying that tranquillity is the station of the perfected saints who are immune to temporal fluctuations.
Sakinah is like a spark ignited momentarily that may be extinguished with change of condition. A seeker who attains sakinah in battle may lose it in trade. In contrast, tranquillity is akin to a persistent fire, burning continuously in all states.
An example is momentary generosity at gatherings that ceases with altered states, demonstrating the instability of sakinah, whereas tranquillity transforms charitable acts into a constant, unwavering reality.
The gateway of tranquillity in the stages of the spiritual travellers functions as an aperture to eternal peace and unmediated connection with the Divine, guiding the seeker to the station of perfected saints. The third sakinah is the Divine reality of peace revealed in the heart of the Prophet and the saint, whose fruit is tranquillity, perfected through absolute certainty and direct inspection, thereby stabilising the heart in complete assurance.
The verse يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ, by virtue of its unparalleled comprehensiveness, maps the entire spiritual journey, guiding the seeker from the reassured soul to entry into the Divine paradise. These stations, accompanied by annihilation in God and removal of the veils of anyat and ithnyat, manifest solely within the hearts of select saints.
Exemplars such as Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) and Al (peace be upon him), who attained these stations through ardent longing for tribulation and self-surrender in the gamble of love, illuminate the path for spiritual wayfarers.
Supervised by Sadegh Khademii
