Sufi says: “The first stage of
dhikr
is to forget self, and the last stage is the
effacement of the worshipper in the act of worship, and total absorption in
the object of worship.”
19
Dhikr
is performed both communally and in seclusion. The former enables
senior Sufi disciples to supervise the progress of their juniors.The
dhikr-i-khafi
,
recollection performed eithermentallyor in a very lowvoice,was recommended
by the Naqshbandis.
20
The Chishtiya
21
and Qadriya
22
generally performed
dhikr-
i-jali
, which was recited aloud. Both forms of
dhikr
required control of breath,
of inhalation and exhalation.The formulas of
dhikr
itself differed from one order
to another, but generally involved the recitation of various syllables of the
kalima
(Muslim profession of faith) or one or the other of the many names of
God, for example: “Glory be to God” (
Subhan Allah
) or “There is no god but
God” (
La ilaha illa Allah
), with an intense concentration of every mental and
physical faculty upon the single word or phrase.The chanting might be audible
or silent - just repeated in the mind without uttering the words themselves -
and the Sufis always attached great value to this repetition, or litany, for it
enabled them to enjoy an uninterrupted communion with God.
Sahl ibn Abdullah al Tustari (d.896)
23
, a noted Sufi of an early period,
asked one of his disciples to keep on saying “Allah! Allah!” throughout the
19
See:
The Mystics of Islam
, R.A. Nicholson, London, 1963, p.48.
20
Naqshbandi silsila
- a Sufi order of Central Asian origins, established by Khwaja Ya’qub Yusufal
Hamadani (d. 1140), which flourished in India and produced such figures as Baqi Billa (d. 1565),
who brought it to Hindustan; Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (d. 1624); and Shaikh’ Abd al Haqq Dihlavi (d.
1642).
21
Chishti silsila
- one of the most popular and influential mystical orders of India, introduced by
Khwaja Mu’in al Din Chishti (d. 1236). Nizam ud din Auliya belonged to this order.
22
Qadri silsila
- order named after ’ Abd al Qadir al Jilani (d. 1166), with centres all over the Islamic
world.
23
See:
The Kashful Mahjub
of AI-Hujwiri, ed. R.A. Nicholson, London, 1967, pp..139-140 and
especially, pp.195-210; and
Tadhkirat ul-Auliya
by Fariduddin ‘Attar, tr. Bankey Behari, Lahore, I
961, pp. 83-84.
