Some Sufis may be observed sitting with their eyes closed in prayer
facing the Kabah, uttering
la,
drawing the sound as if from the navel up to
the left shoulder; then uttering
ilaha
(the sound rising from the brain).
Finally
Allah
is repeated from the left side with lots of energy and stress.
These exercises are called
dharb
(strikes).
Dharb
is performed from all
sides: front, navel, brain, etc.
Dhikr-i-khafi
is a practice of remembering God silently. The following
phrases,
Allah-u-Samiun
(God is All-Hearing),
Allah-u-Alimun
(God is All-
Knowing) and
Allah-u-Basirun
(God is All-Seeing), are successively recited
with the eyes shut and lips closed. Recitation continues with what is described
as the tongue of the heart. Each exhalation of breath begins with
la ilaha,
and
each inhalation with
illa Allah.
The whole process or technique is set forth in
numerous manuals, but it is frequently difficult to understand without the
commentary of an experienced shaykh.
Habs-i-dam
is a term standing for “restraining breathing”. Holding his
breath, the Sufi traveller conceives of his heart (
qalb
) as continuously
repeating
la ilaha illAllah
(‘There is no god but God’).With the passage of
time, the practice intensifies to the extent that one can repeat the creed
several hundred times within the span of one breath.
Pas-i-anfas
is a practice during which the Sufi concentrates his inward
eye on his heart, which he imagines to be engraved with the word
Allah
.
Furthermore, he imagines that every inhaling of his is producing the sound
Allah
and exhaling,
Hu
, making up the phrase:
Allah Hu
(There is God).
In exercises known as
mahmuda
and
nasira,
one concentrates whilemeditating
on a part of the body.
Mahmuda
implies concentrating on the tip of the nose,
while in
nasira
one’s concentration is directed towards themiddle of the forehead.
