F. Mystical Qabalah and the Mystical Tradition of Islam
Like Judaism and Christianity, Islam is a primary branch stemming from the
religion of the children of Abraham. Like Master Abraham, the Prophet Mohammed
was faced with the task of leading his people away from the worship of idols
and back to the universal mystical spirituality of a divine singularity.
If you remove the clouds of dogmatic theocracy that now often overshadow
the depth and beauty of that transmission, Islam probably more closely resembles
in some ways the original Hebrew religion than does Rabbinical Judaism.
The mystical tradition (Ar. tasawwuf) at the core of Islam is called
Sufism by Westerners, and those who walk its path are called Sufis, dervishes,
and faqirs. The appellation "Sufi" is thought by some to have
been derived from the word suf (Heb. and Ar. pure wool), reflecting
the rough patchwork wool robes worn by the early Sufi ascetics to reflect
the quality of spiritual poverty (faqira). In their literature, the
Sufis have a variety of other names and eloquent titles by which they refer
to themselves, such as "Possessors of the Kernel" and "Community
of the Bench." The tradition itself is also given a variety of prominent
epitaphs, such as Haqiqah ("Way of Truth"), reflecting
the goal of union with the singularity of the Divine Essence. As it is written:
"The highest Truth is that I ALONE AM." (Surah 20:9)
"Everywhere you look, there is the Face of Allah." (Surah
2:115)
Several centuries after the birth of Islam, a number of informal private
Sufi teaching circles in Iraq and Persia grew in numbers and organized into
orders (tariqa). Soon thereafter, dozens of other orders, most of
which evolved as sub-branches of the initial ones, arose throughout the
Middle East, Central Asia, India, East Africa, and Spain. Sufi influence
continued to expand with the spread of Islam throughout the world. The various
orders trace their lineages to, and are generally named after, extraordinary
Sufi masters who lived at different times and came from different locales.
The Naqshbandi take the name of their order from Khaja Bahaudin Naqshband
of Central Asia (1318-1389), the Qadiri from Abdul Qadir of Gilan (1077-1166),
the Chishtiya from Abu Ishak Chishti of Syria, etc. Shah, Indries. The Way of the Sufi, Octagon Press, London,1968All genuine orders have
a record of their chain of spiritual transmission (silsilah) passed
down from one spiritual preceptor, called a shaykh in Arabic and
a pir in Persian, to another. All of the silsilah trace back to the
original silsilah of the Prophet Mohammed through Abu Bakr or the fourth
Kalif Ali. Some of the chains of initiation are still anchored in living
masters who transmit the genuine b'rakha (blessing of spiritual potency)
of mystical gnosis to their aspirants (mureed). Others have become
"a name without a reality." Congregations of Sufis convene with
their shaykhs in specially designated halls (Persian, khanqah; Arabic,
zawiya; Turkish, tekke). Sufis are, with a few notable exceptions,
devout Muslims. Yet, Sufism is generally eschewed and viewed with suspicion
by the Sunnite and Shiite Islamic orthodox authorities. Like the vast majority
of mainstream Muslims, Sufis generally do not participate in or endorse
the extreme agenda of radical ultra-orthodox fundamentalists.
In addition to the Qur'an, the Sufis have a rich and prolific
mystical literature filled with sublime mystical allusions and brilliant
allegories. Like the Chasidim, teaching stories and sayings are important
vehicles for the transmission of Sufi teachings. The MathnaviRumi, Jalal Al ‘Din. The Mathnawi, translated by R.A. Nicholson, London, 1926.
of Jalal ad Din ar-Rumi (d.1273) is often called the "Qur'an
of Persia," which opens with the story of the reed that has
become separated from its reed bed. The Sufis are also known for the exquisite
spiritual love poetry of Hafiz, Kabir, Ra'bia, and others.Kabir. The Bijak of Kabir, translated by Linda Hess and
Shukdev Singh, North Point Press, San Francisco, 1983.
Rumi, Jalal al ’Din. The Essential Rumi, translated by
Coleman Barks, with John Moyne, A.J. Arberry, and
Reynold Nicholson, Castle Books, New Jersey, 1993. The Conference
of the Birds (Mantiq at-Ta'ir) by Farid ad-Din 'Attar,
Yusuf and Zulaika by Jami, and the Rose Garden (Galistan)
by Sa'adi are masterful works of mystical allegory.‘Attar, Farid ad-Din. The Conference of the Birds,translated by C.S. Nott, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1961.
Jami. Yusuf and Zulaikha: An Allegorical Romance
(abridged), translated by David Pendlebury, Octagon Press,
London, 1990.
Sa’adi. Gulistan or Rose Garden, translated by Edward
Rehatsek, Capricorn Books, New York, 1966. All Sufis use the symbol
of the rose Per Indries Shah, the Arabic word for rose (ward) and the
word for concentration practices (wird) rhyme.as an allusion to contemplative practice. Sufism has also been
enriched by numerous mystical commentaries, such as the Niche for Lights
(Mishkat al Anwar) by Al Ghazzali (d.1111), and the recorded teachings
of Sufi masters such as Rumi, Ibn 'Arabi, al-Suhrawardi, Ibn 'Ata Allah,
Al Bayazid Al Bistami, Al Junaid of Bagdad, Abdul Qadir al Jilani, Al Hallaj
and others.Al Ghazzali. Mishkat Al Anwar translated by W.H.T.
Gairdner as "Niche for Lamps," Royal Asiatic Society,
London. 1924. The Mishkat Al Anwar is primarily a
commentary on the "Light Surah."
Al Ghazzali. The Alchemy of Happiness, translated by
Claud Field, Ashraf, Lahore, 1966.
Ibn ‘Arabi. What the Seeker Needs, translated by Bankey
Behari, Sufi Publishing Co., Surrey, England, 1992.
Al Jilani, Abdul Qadir. The Secret of Secrets, interpreted by
Shaykh Tosun Bayrak, Islamic Text Society, Cambridge,
1992.
Rumi, Jalal al-Din. Discourses of Rumi, translated by A.J.
Arberry, Samuel Weiser, New York, 1972.
Al Suhrawardi, Abu al Najib. A Sufi Rule for Novices
(abridged), translated by Menahem Milson, Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, 1975.
Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah. The Book of Wisdom, translated by Victor
Danner and Kwaja Abdullah Ansari; and Intimate
Conversations, translated by Wheeler M. Thackston, Paulist
Press, New York, 1975. Western alchemy was derived in great measure from the writingsSufis whose writings substantially influenced Western alchemists included Jabir ibn Chayyan (known in the West as
"Geber"), Abu al-Qasim al Iraqi, and El Malik al Fatih.
of a number of Sufis concerning the mystical analogy of the purification
and transformation of metals into the stone of unity, known as the "Philosopher's
Stone."
The mystical worldview of Sufism, as delineated in the Qur'an,
is basically identical to the qabalistic worldview rooted in the Torah.
As with the Qabalah, someone new to the study of Sufism will find a plethora
of specialized and abstract terminology used to describe its mystical worldview.
The challenge is further exacerbated by the fact that there are equivalent
words for Sufi terminology in Persian, Arabic, and Turkish. The Sufis have
their own version of the Tree of Life, names for the four worlds, terms
for the various bodies or shells, and terms for states (hal) and
stations of consciousness (maqam) that correspond closely to those
in the Mystical Qabalah. The name for the Divine Presence dwelling among
embodied souls in the worlds of matter, for instance, is called Shekhinah
in the Qabalah and Sakinat in Sufism. It is also used in the Qur'an
(Surah 2:249) in the same context as it is found in Torah
Shmoth 24:22, when referring to the Divine Presence residing between
the Kerubim over the Ark of the Covenant. The doctrines identified earlier
as dualism, qualified non-dualism, and pure non-dualism are differentiated
in Sufism as three phases on the Path, known as makhafah (way of
fear), machabah (way of love), and ma'rifah (way of knowledge).
The activity in these three phases can be correlated respectively with the
yogic practices associated with karma yoga (way of purification through
selfless service), bhakti yoga (way of devotion), and jnana yoga
(way of direct knowledge of the Divine Source). The mystical teachings,
literature, and history of the Sufi orders are subjects of extraordinary
breadth far beyond the range of this book, and have been documented in critical
detail by other authors.Ernst, Carl. Sufism, Shambhala, Boston, 1997; Fadiman,
James and Frager, Robert. Essential Sufism, Harper, San Francisco, 1997.
)
The silent and oral recitation (dikhr) of the "Affirmation of
Unity" (La Illaha Il Allah), which is the root mantra at the
foundation of Islam, is a core practice of all Sufis. The various orders
can often be distinguished by the way that they do this. Moses Maimomades,
the oft-cited author of The Guide for the Perplexed, regarded the
Affirmation of Unity of the Qur'an as essentially equal to
the Affirmation of Unity of the Torah, "Shem Ayin
Yisrael YHVH Elohenu YHVH EchaD." Maimomedes made this declaration
actually believing this to be the case, and not just because the alternative
was death. Sufis are also known for movement practices, called dervishes,The most well known dervish is the so-called "whirling" dervish of the Turkish Mevlevi Order of Sufis, descendants of the great Sufi master Rumi, disciple of the inscrutable
saint Shems a-Din Tabriz. Dervishes of widely varying
formats are practiced by numerous Sufi orders. The most
common dervishes are simple patterns of rhythmic
movements coordinated with repetition of Divine Names,
and frequently, with a corresponding breathing practice.
which vary from order to order. These dervishes usually involve some combination
of movement, breath, and repetition of Divine Names. The Jewish Kabbalist
Abraham AbulafiaIdel, Moshe. The Mystical Experience in Abraham
Abulafia, SUNY, 1988. may very well have adopted some of the head movements he
employed with letter visualization practices from the Sufis who were his
contemporaries in Spain.
