the same time the author insists upon a multi-level interpretation of the
sacred text (Qur’an), which corresponds to the different levels of the
listeners’ capacity to understand.
This notion of degrees of knowledge and nearness to God is one of the
fundamental characteristics of the mystical teachings of Sufism in general till
today.
Though in theory the path is open to all, virtually nobody can travel
along the path without a guiding mentor, or the higher levels of knowledge,
understanding and proximity to God would elude him forever. So the stages
are an inherent part of the path and define the ascetic and ethical discipline
of the Sufi. By strictly adhering to the above seven stages, the
salik
is blessed
with ten states (sing.
hal
, pl.
ahwal
): meditation (
muraqaba
), nearness (
qurb
),
love (
mahabbah
), fear (
khawf
), hope (
rija
), longing (
shauq
), intimacy (
uns
),
tranquillity (
itminan
), contemplation (
mushahada
), and certainty (
yaqin
)
12
;
all with God as the referent (object). While the stages themselves can be
arrived at and achieved through one’s own effort, under the guidance of a
mentor, the ‘states’ are spiritual feelings and dispositions over which a man
has no control and are a gift from God to be freely given or withheld.Also,
as ‘states’ are divine gifts, they can take many forms and colours and are
often beyond description.
A Sufi’s “path” is not traversed until the aspirant has passed all the “stages”,
achieving perfection in the preceding one before advancing to the next,
and also having experienced whatever “states” it pleases God to bestow
upon him. Only then is he permanently raised to the higher planes of
consciousness, which Sufis call “gnosis” (
ma‘arifah
) and true reality (
haqiqat
),
12
As given by al-Sirraj in his manual mentioned above.
