Shabd - Jyoti Yoga and Sufi Devotion

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2 Foreword: Shabd - Jyoti Yoga and Sufi Devotion (With special attention to Sufism) Scientific studies reveal life after death is real (Mental activity for a while.) The largest study ever of its kind was conducted into life after death and all signs point to it being real. Whether you believe in a religious afterlife or something more abstract, most people would tend to agree that it is hard to imagine that the soul (the Higher Self within the human) and energy that are present in all of us simply disappear upon death of the physical body. This firmly excludes all religious dogmas around paradise for believers and hell for unbelievers, these religious dogmas as many others will never be confirmed, and written to create fear and obedience mostly politically as history states. Over 2,000 cases were examined and the overwhelming majority of results confirmed that some kind of consciousness was still present after life signs in the body had faded. Results collected from the University of Southampton were published in the journal Resurrection. Dr. Sam Parnia, lead researcher said: Contrary to perception, death is not a specific moment but a potentially reversible process that occurs after any severe illness or accident causes the heart, lungs and brain cease functioning If attempts are made to reverse this process it is referred to as cardiac arrest : however if these attempts do not succeed it is called death. The researchers said with this study they wanted to change the public s perception of what are described as near-death experiences (NDE) and out-ofbody experiences (OBE). Around 40% of all patients who experienced cardiac arrest said they had some form of consciousness afterwards. Parnia said: This suggests more people may have mental activity initially but then lose their memories after recovery, either due to the effects of brain injury or sedative drugs on memory recall The results show that the human brain is actively different to the body, and it is merely the death of the body which shuts down the ability to connect with your inner mind. 2

3 The study is important because it highlights the difference between what people perceive to be hallucinations due to the complications of the physical act of dying and real after-life experiences. Sikhism and Sufism Sufism is often described as the mystical side of Islam. It embraces music and dancing as sacred rituals which help to connect devotees in meditation and prayer. Sikhs have had a strong relationship with Sufis over the years. For example, the foundation stone of the Harmandir Sahib or the Golden Temple in Amritsar was laid by the Sufi mystic Sain Mian Mir. The 5th Sikh Guru had specifically called upon the mystic to lay the stone in order to show that the doors of the Sikh faith s holiest of holies would always be open to everyone, regardless of their beliefs. The Gurus were known for their appreciation of the spirituality and beliefs of others. When the Sikh scriptures were first being compiled by the 5th Guru some 400 years ago, he invited verses to be sent to him from all over the subcontinent so that they could be considered for inclusion. Many Hindus and Muslims submitted their own poetry and those of their teachers, and the Guru selected those hymns which accorded with Sikh teachings. That was how the verses of Sheikh Farid, a Sufi saint who died about 250 years before the Sikh faith was even founded, came to form an integral part of the Sikh scriptures. His poetry also helped transform Punjabi from being a folk language to one considered suitable for literature, in much the same way that Chaucer changed how English came to be perceived. On Thursday (not long ago at the time of writing), a Sufi shrine in the Sindh province of Pakistan was attacked by a suicide bomber, killing at least 80 worshippers. The shrine is dedicated to Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, a much revered Sufi saint from the 13th century who inspired one of the most famous qawwalis or Sufi spiritual songs of all time, Damma Dam Mast Kalandar, which is sung to this day by artists from all faiths and none throughout the subcontinent and the diaspora communities around the world. The horrors of what happened in Pakistan on Thursday (not long ago) are sadly not unique. Minority communities around the world are increasingly finding themselves in challenging circumstances, ranging from being victims of discrimination at one end of the spectrum through to being subjected to violent attacks with deadly consequences on the other. At a time when difference is seen to be something to fear and despise rather than appreciate and celebrate, I m reminded of the following couplet by Sheikh Farid: 3

4 Do not utter even a single harsh word; your True Lord and Master abides in all. Do not break anyone s heart; these are all priceless jewels. The words of a Muslim Sufi saint within the holy Sikh scriptures is for me a beautiful example of what we can all strive for within a society. Sufism and Sikhism The relationship between Sufism and Sikhism dates back to the time of Guru Nanak ( ), who led a modest life of profound, spiritual devotion, focused on building bridges of love, tolerance, co-existence, and harmony among peoples of diverse faiths and socio-economic status. So immersed in piety and teaching his disciples to live spiritually, honestly, and harmoniously was the Guru, that many of his Muslim contemporaries, especially Sufis, called him a true Muslim. Guru Nanak travelled extensively including to Mecca for Haj, different provinces of Afghanistan, and Baghdad in search of divine knowledge and mystic scholarship. This gave him more exposure to Islam and its various mystic schools of thought than to any other religion. And, of course, for 64 long years, one of Guru Nanak s closest companions and servants was Mardanda, who remained a Muslim until he died. According to the custodian of the shrine of Miyan Mir in Lahore, the descendants of Mardana still live there, and they refer to themselves as Sikh-Muslims. Upon his death, Guru Nanak left behind a large number of Hindu and Muslim disciples, each side claiming him as theirs, for he had lived with them so harmoniously and treated them so equally, so respectfully, and so sincerely that neither side was willing to give up his body to the other. Today, the shrine of Guru Nanak is visited not only by Sikhs but also by Hindus and Muslims, each seeking his blessings in their distinct ways. It was in this mutually reinforcing spiritual relationship that evolved between Sufism and Sikhism that Guru Arjan Dev invited Miyan Mir, a leading Sufi of his time and Pir of the Sufism s Qaderi Order, to lay the foundation stone of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab. Indeed, the commonality of the values and principles, which the Gurus and Sufis had been teaching their followers, was so deeply focused on humanism that Guru Granth (the central religious text of Sikhism) includes 112 couplets and four hymns by Khwaja Fariduddin Ganjshakar ( ), a prominent Sufi of the Chishti Order, who lived in Punjab. This underscores the deep relationship between Sufism and Sikhism, and the influence they had on one another. 4

5 Since the emergence of Sikhism in the 15th century, the differences between the Sikh and Muslim communities have been traced to realpolitik. These differences have rarely emanated from the shared path, which the Sufis and the Gurus followed to reach truth by serving the vicegerents of God on this earth, while inviting them to love, tolerate, and help one another. Meeting Vali Qandhara (65K)Afghanistan is the birthplace of many great Sufis of the subcontinent, including the sultan-ul hind: Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. He was born in Chisht, Herat, sometime in 1141, and eventually settled down in Ajmer, following a dream in which Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) blessed him to do so. To restore this spiritual connection, Afghanistan has recently proposed to establish a sister-city relationship between Chisht of Herat and Ajmer of Rajasthan, both to honour the legacy and contributions of the great Sufi and to further strengthen cultural ties between Afghanistan and India, based on the two countries shared past and intertwined destiny. The Chishti Order of Sufism which influenced the thinking and teaching of Guru Nanak interpreted religion in terms of human service, inviting its followers to develop river-like generosity, sun-like affection, and earth-like hospitality. The highest form of devotion, according to Chishti, was to redress the misery of those in distress, to fulfil the needs of the helpless, and to feed the hungry. To implement these universally good deeds, the followers of Chishti and other Orders of Sufism set up khanaqas, community centres with feeding and lodging facilities, which were built in rural areas throughout India. The Chishti Order khanaqas welcomed anyone, regardless of faith, race, or caste, and offered them food and shelter, spiritual guidance, psychological support, and counselling. By creating egalitarian communities within a stratified society, the Sufis successfully spread their teachings of love, spirituality and harmony. Indeed, it was this example of Sufi brotherhood and equity that drew people to Islam. Revisiting the Basic Precepts To restore peace and harmony in South Asia today, we do not need to look much farther afield. We should simply revisit the basic precepts of Sufism and Sikhism. In a fast shrinking, interdependent world, nations should tear down walls of hatred, hostility, and self-defeating, zero-sum designs to undermine each other. These artificial human obstacles to their collective progress should be replaced by honest, results-oriented efforts to achieve regional integration for peace and prosperity for all. That is what the great Sufis and Gurus of Central Asia and South Asia preached and promoted, so that human tragedy was replaced by human harmony through universal human service and fraternity under one beneficent, merciful God and its many different, beautiful manifestations. 5

6 Last year s Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Kathmandu, Nepal, debated the many common challenges that confront the nations of South Asia. Extreme poverty, weak governance, a lack of connectivity, a lack of energy, and security threats continue to cause widespread human suffering throughout the SAARC region, a region otherwise richly endowed in nature and civilization. To address the root-causes of these problems and to exploit the region s vast natural and human potential for the collective security and prosperity of all their nations, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called on his fellow SAARC leaders to change the rules of the game and the playing field among the nations from confrontation to cooperation. In effect, Ghani maintained that so long as the South Asian nations remained locked up in a zero-sum mind-set, undermining one another, they would struggle to develop and advance together on a sustainable basis. The president noted that to change the status quo was the test of leadership. For inclusive, transformational leadership, which South Asia direly lacks, we need to draw inspiration from the kind of leadership that Guru Nanak exhibited during his lifetime. As noted, Guru Nanak led his Hindu and Muslim followers by example, so much so that he had erased from his followers minds any differences among their ethnicity, faith and caste. In other words, he unified them around an ethos that promoted the general well-being of all people. Afghanistan, where many of this region s Sufis, Gurus, poets, and scholars were born and where they made remarkable contributions to the region s shared, rich civilization, has been a target of the so-called Muslims that daily terrorize innocent Afghans, burn down their schools and madaares, and increasingly carry out suicide terrorist attacks inside their mosques where the innocent and the poor pray and worship God. They ruthlessly kill civilians men, women, and children in the name of a religion of peace, tolerance, harmony, and coexistence, whose true message the great Sufis of Afghanistan like Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti spread throughout South Asia. Indeed, the Sufis was the real jihad, the greater jihad, whose message of universal brotherhood naturally resonated with and attracted believers of different faiths and social castes. Theirs was the straight path, the path of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), from which today s killers of innocent Muslims and non-muslims have long and far deviated, increasingly serving the political, short-sighted interests of realist states in the international system. Because of this deviation from the noble teachings and traditions of Islam whose image they have harmed terribly the terrorists who often kill and destroy, in the guise of jihad, will not succeed in their worldly designs, even at the cost of innocent human lives. Certainly Afghanistan didn t succumb to their brutal, inhumane atrocities against its people during the 1990s; rather, the 6

7 brutality which eventually spelled their own downfall. Nor would the country s courageous people ever cease their greater jihad to secure and rebuild their country, in partnership with the international community. The enemies of humanity in South Asia and beyond should be reminded of what Islam really stands for, as communicated by another great Sufi-poet of the region, Saadi Shirazi: Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you ve no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot retain! Influence of Islam and Sufism on Sikhism Islam exerted a considerable influence on Indian life, culture and religion during the middle ages in the same way just as Christianity and system of modern education is playing an important part in the religious and cultural development of modern India. During medieval period, it is a fact that Islam, if not so much as a faith, but at least as a State religion, played an important role in the development of Sikhism. Islam and Sufism have influenced most of the religious movements of India from thirteenth century onwards. Indians, mostly religious minded and inclined towards mysticism, warmly welcomed the mystical teachings of Islam. The egalitarian and humanistic attitude of the Sufis attracted the Hindu masses who were groaning under the pressure of castes and untouchability in their own society. All these factors led to the growth of Sufism by leaps and bounds and thus profoundly influenced the Indian society and culture. Like Buddhism and Siddhism, Islam influenced Sikhism more on practical side than on the side of its theoretical teachings. For instance, there are two modes of worship in Islam: Individual and congregational. The Hindu worship was mostly individual. Besides the individual prayers, a Sikh has also to join the congregation in a Gurudwara twice a day, at sunrise and sunset. Again the way in which the holy book, Guru Granth Sahib is wrapped in clothes and when opened, but not read, is covered by a sheet of cloth has also been the fashion for the holy Quran. The most important resemblance between the two scriptures is in the headlines of every composition contained therein. The Mulmantra of Guru Granth Sahib and the Bismillah of Quran, are both dedicated to One Merciful 7

8 God and are placed in the beginning of every chapter. They resemble both in content and form. Most of the founders of religious sects (including Sikhism) made the best use of their knowledge of Sufism and used the Sufi terminologies to preach their views. This undoubtedly helped in stimulating the Indian religious movements. Influence of Sufism is quite evident in the teachings of Guru Nanak, Kabir, Dadu and other saints of Bhakti movement in medieval India. The early exposition of spiritual thought in the Upanishads formed an ideological bridge between Vaishnavism and Sufism. At the same time, the Sufis were so impressed by Indian thought and practices that many of them adopted these ideas. Similarly some Kayasthas, Khatris, Kashmiri Pandits and Sindhi Amils adopted Muslim culture, cultivated Persian language and literature, and participated in the administration of Islamic states during the medieval period. During the rule of Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, the Kashmiri Pandits, especially the Sapru clan took up the study of Persian. This was the only group of Brahmins who took to Muslim culture. The Amils of Sindh were a hereditary caste of government servants. After the incorporation of Sindh in Delhi Sultanate, they turned to the study of Persian. Their Sindhi literature remained fully integrated with Muslim traditions and they wrote Sindhi in Arabic script. Tara Chand rightly observes, Hindus offered sweets at Muslim shrines, consulted the Quran as an oracle, kept its copies to ward off the evil influence, and celebrated Muslim feasts. The Muslims responded likewise. The Sufis and Bhakti saints made a departure from orthodox Islam and Hinduism. However, while the Sufis essentially remained within the fold of Islam, the Bhakti mystics, particularly those of Nirguna Marga, challenged all religious norms, including the religious scriptures, incarnation theory, and idol worship. All fought for an egalitarian society, in which there should be respect, a sense of human dignity and fraternity for all without distinction. There were many Sufi Sheikhs and Bhakti Gurus who were equally popular among the Hindus and Muslims and there was an effective literary and cultural interaction between the two communities. The devotional form of Bhakti literature, including the Guru Granth Sahib, the Panchvani and the Niryanpanti, which include the sayings of a large number of religious thinkers are similar to the Rushd Nama of Abdul Quddus Gangohi and other such compilations. All these contributed to the evolution of a common culture in India. This produced a new mystical terminology and their ideas contained in them took an identical course. The mutual use of large number of Hindi and Persian words, phrases, 8

9 idioms and similes in the Bhakti and Sufi literature show the extent of foreign influence on Indian culture and vice-versa. There has been close contact, very often cordial between the Sufis and Indian Yogis. Gorakh s cult was an attempt to reconcile Buddhism and Sufism. It adopted a way in between the two. If Sufis made their converts from among the Yogis, a number of Sufis became Yogis also. The Chisti Sufis held discourses with Siddhas and Yogis who made frequent visits to the Jamaat Khana at Multan and Delhi. It is significant that many of the khanqahs of early Muslim Sufis in India were established outside the old cities, in the midst of the settlements of the poor. The liberal and secular ideas of the Sufis, and their humanitarian attitude towards all, attracted particularly the depressed classes to the khanqahs. Besides the two basic socio-religious ideals, the unity of God and the unity of human being taught by the Sufis determined the extent of the discontent of the lower classes of people towards the established thought and practice in Hinduism. It was but natural that they were bound towards this new social order, so different from their own. The Sufi attitude towards the Hindus and Hinduism was based on understanding and adjustment, because it was believed that all religions were different roads leading to the same destination. Believing in ahimsa, living as vegetarian, and giving equal status to all, naturally increased the scope of their contact with the Hindus. Again the mutual use of a large number of Hindi and Persian words, phrases and idioms and similes in Sufi and Bhakti literatures shows the extent of social contact. Indian musical forms like Khayal and Thumri and the recitation of Hindi verses have been very much in use in the samas and khanqahs. Being a powerful means of spiritual satisfaction, the sama or qawwali became a popular institution of medieval mysticism and attracted higher intellects as well as common people of both the communities. Sikhism and Islam In the five hundred years of Sikhism, there has been many a debate on the Vedantic roots of Sikhism and also on its Semitic antecedents which came via Islam. There is also a second powerful argument which holds that, to look at Sikhism as a synthesis is to diminish it, for it is an entirely new revealed system. In fact both have seen something admirable in Sikhism with which they can identify. History tells us that the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, was revered by both Muslims and Hindus of the time. He travelled widely to both Hindu and Muslim places of pilgrimage and his two constant companions throughout were 9

10 Mardana, a Muslim and Bala, a Hindu. Mardana also composed some hymns which are included in the Sikh scriptures. Many scholars have stressed the Islamic and Sufi influence on different religious movements of India but the impact of Islam and Sufism on Sikh religion and thought is yet to be properly assessed. The Islamic and Sufi concepts of the unity and sovereignty of God, unity of revelation and variety of Divine Scriptures have permeated to a great extent in the Sikh teachings. We find that Sikhism has made the best use of its acquaintance with Islam and Sufism to preach the religious views. The verses contained in the Sikh Holy scripture Guru Granth Sahib bear ample evidence that the Sikh Gurus were well versed in Islamic and Sufi learnings. There is enough evidence that Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion, had not only studied Islam but had close contacts with the contemporary Mullahs and Pirs when be engaged in religious debates on several occasions. It is well known that he had close contacts with the Muslims. There is every likelihood that he had imbibed some of the Islamic and Sufi doctrines particularly pertaining to devotion and love of God. Guru Nanak s own religious ideals and representations could not but be somewhat influenced by Sufi thought and imagery as suggested by many of his verses. S A A Rizvi thinks that, as he belonged to a literate family, neatly placed in the service of Afghan governors of the Punjab, he must have listened to the verses of Rumi, Sa di, Hafiz and Jami in his own environment and the thought of the great mystic poets would have aroused interest in divine love, grace and mercy. However, as far as his contemporary Kabir is concerned, there is no uncertainty. He was brought up in a Muslim family and was well acquainted with Islamic and Sufi teachings due to family tradition as well as his personal contacts with contemporary Sheikhs and Pirs. It is pertinent to mention here that Guru Nanak was well acquainted with Islamic teachings and Sufi doctrines. He had travelled extensively and visited many holy places. Moreover he had met and conversed with many Sufis of his time particularly Sheikh Sharaf of Panipat and Sheikh Ibrahim, the spiritual successor of Baba Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar. Therefore, his teachings are very close to the mystical doctrines preached by the Muslim Sufis. To quote Tara Chand, How deep Guru Nanak s debt is to Islam, it is hardly necessary to state, for it is so evident in his words and thoughts. Manifestly he was steeped in Sufi lore and the fact of the matter is that it is much harder to find how much exactly he drew from the Hindu scriptures. 10

11 Four hymns and 130 shloks of Baba Sheikh Farid have been included in the Guru Granth Sahib, compiled by 5th Guru, Arjan Dev. Although there is a dispute concerning the authorship of these shloks, it is beyond dispute that these shloks are the compositions of a Sufi and reflect the impact of Sufism on the Sikh religion. On the theoretical side, although Muslim concept of the unity of God resembles Guru Nanak s monotheistic belief and his concept of solidity of God, yet instead of replacing the Hindu immanent God by the transcendental God of the Muslims, he combined the two aspects in the same deity. One thing which is particularly Muslims or more correctly Semitic is the male character of God. The Guru never in serious thought represents God as female, as it is sometimes done in the Hindu sacred literature. Guru Nanak s God is merciful, but not so much as to say God forgives even if there is no repentance on the part of the sinner as mentioned in the Quran. Sometimes in the Quran, but never in Guru Granth Sahib, is God described as avenging. Similar ideas are met within Vedic hymns. God is mentioned to be Retributor and Wrathful. Guru Nanak declared, My Lord is kind and always kind. (mehrwan sahib mera mehrawan) The ideas of Guru Nanak reveal his contact with two types of Muslims: The orthodox and the Sufi. The hypocrisy,16 intolerance and formalism of the former repelled Guru Nanak. His attacks against the Mullah and the importance which he attaches to externality are as severe as they are against the Brahmin. The philosophy of Hukm is Semitic in general, but it is characteristically prominent in the Muslim thought. The very word Hukm is Quranic. Again Quranic ideas like : All people are a single nation (2-213), and people are naught but a single nation (10-9) found expression in Guru Nanak s words like: All men are of the same caste and that we are all equal, no high and low, all brothers, no friends or foes. Just as in mosque, the ideal of brotherhood is triumphant, the beggar, the sweeper, the prince worship side by side ; similarly in a gurdwara all social superiority or inferiority is set at naught. The orthodox belief that Mohammad was the prophet of God, did not appeal to Guru Nanak. He said if there was one prophet than there were millions like him. When a Qazi asked Guru Nanak to have faith in one God and His one Rasul-Prophet, he said, Why to have faith in the latter who takes birth and dies, believe only in the one who is omnipresent. The narrow-mindedness and the intolerance of this school, led Nanak to say the opposite: that all religions were true only if they were to be sincerely lived, and not hypocritically boasted of. Allah and Ram, mosque and temple did not differ in essence. So much so that the Sixth Guru got a mosque constructed for the 11

12 Muslims. The first Guru did not object on principle to say prayers in a mosque, but he could not join the group as the leader was not sincere in his prayers. It is no coincidence that the Islamic scholars understood Guru Nanak much better than Hindu scholars. Because of Nanak s crusade against false rituals, the Pandits felt danger to their khir-puri and called him a kuraiya, a corruptor. Muslims were more liberal in understanding Nanak. Many Pirs and Fakirs made very close relations and understanding with the house of Nanak. Foundation stone of Har Mandir in Amritsar, the sanctum sanctorum of the Sikhs, was laid by Mian Mir, a Muslim Pir of great repute. The only difficulty Guru Nanak had in his encounter with the Muslim saints, scholars and sages was that most of them would not believe that a non-muslim and particularly a man born in a Hindu family could be an enlightened man of supreme revelation. But as soon as they came to know that he was more staunch a monotheist than any Muslim or Jew, and he did not believe in idolatry, their attitude changed and most of their differences disappeared. Guru Nanak took from Quran and Sufi literature a good many terms and symbolic expressions, like sidak, sabar, hukm, nadir, mehar, karam ( grace), etc. The striking resemblance between some of the utterances in the Quran and his writings shows that he had studied Islamic source books thoroughly. He tells us how one should be a true Muslim, and what is shariat and kalma for him. Where was so much Islamic literature available to Guru Nanak? It is not difficult to answer this question. Guru Nanak worked as Modi (Granary Officer) of Daulat Khan Lodhi, Governor of Punjab at Sultanpur, for over ten years. Here was available to him the library of Daulat Khan s son Ghazi Khan, a young man of very scholarly taste. This library was at that time the biggest library in India housing very rare manuscripts on Islamic literature, and scholars came from far and near to consult rare books. Guru Nanak had access to this library for all the years he lived in Sultanpur. That accounts for his profound knowledge of Islamic history and doctrines. Sikhism and Sufism, exchange of Ideas More positive in content was the exchange of ideas which took place between the Sikh Gurus and Muslim Sufis. The Sufis are the followers of the mystic and emotional side of the teachings of the great Prophet s religion. Guru Nanak had personal relationship with some well-known Sufis, the verses of one of whom are recorded in Guru Granth Sahib. Muin-ud-Din Chisti of Sistan came to Delhi in 1192 AD along with the army of Shihabuddin Ghauri. Three years later he went to Ajmer which became the first centre of Chisti order in India. Guru Nanak met Baba Farid II, who was the 13th spiritual successor of First Sheikh Farid Shakarganj. There is a fusion of Advaitic Bhakti and Sufism in 12

13 Sikhism. Just as there are stages in the spiritual uplift of a Sufi, similarly Guru Nanak also speaks in his Japu Ji of five steps, in the spiritual progress of man. Singing of the praises of God, music and free kitchen are some of the common practices among the Sufis and the Sikhs. Our purpose of the comparative survey of Sikhism is to show that if we say that Sikhism is the branch of this or that religion is to shut our eyes to the multifarious trends of thought originating from these sources and contributing to the general atmosphere in which the founders of Sikhism flourished. Just as the mere presence of the ideas of transmigration of souls and the law of Karma should not make us think that Sikhism in nothing but Hinduism; similarly its stern monotheistic character should not persuade some scholars to say that Guru Nanak was a Mohammadan. Thus we find that Sikhism was not only deeply influenced but it also made the best use of its acquaintance with Islam and Sufism to preach the religious views. Guru Nanak s quatrains bear ample evidence of his being well versed in Islamic and Sufi learning. In Sikh religion, the impact of Islam and Sufism seems to be deeper than the founders of other religious sects. The fact of the matter is the Sikh religious teachings are so much influenced by the Islamic teachings and Sufi doctrines that it can never be understood without a good knowledge of Islam and Sufism. The Origin of Sufism Sufism There is disagreement among religious scholars and Sufis themselves about the origins of Sufism. The traditional view is that Sufism is the mystical school of Islam and had its beginnings in the first centuries following the life of the Prophet Mohammad. Indeed, most Sufis in the world today are Muslim and many of them would consider a non-islamic Sufism impossible. There is another view, however, that traces the pre-islamic roots of Sufism back through the early Christian mystics of Syria and Egypt, to the Essenes, the ancient Pythagorean orders, and the mystery schools of the Egyptians and Zoroastrians, among others. It is these roots that gathered into the trunk known as Islamic Sufism. Sufi Inayat Khan recognized the multi-religious roots of Sufism as well as its contemporary relevance for people of all faiths. When he was instructed by his teacher in 1907 to bring Sufism to the West, he articulated a "message of spiritual liberty" which reflects the universal, inclusive nature of Sufism. As he noted: 13

14 "Every age of the world has seen awakened souls, and as it is impossible to limit wisdom to any one period or place, so it is impossible to date the origin of Sufism." In Sufism, as in any serious Islamic discipline such as jurisprudence (fiqh), Quranic recital (tajwid), and hadith, a disciple must have a master or sheikh from whom to take the knowledge, one who has himself taken it from a master, and so on, in a continuous chain of masters back to Muhammad. According to Carl W. Ernst: Within the Sufi tradition, the formation of the orders did not immediately produce lineages of master and disciple. There are few examples before the eleventh century of complete lineages going back to the Prophet Muhammad. Yet the symbolic importance of these lineages was immense: they provided a channel to divine authority through master-disciple chains. It was through such chains of masters and disciples that spiritual power and blessings were transmitted to both general and special devotees. This means that a Sufi master has met and taken the way from a master, and that during his lifetime he has explicitly and verifiably invested the disciple whether in writing or in front of a number of witnesses as a fully authorized master (murshid ma dhun) of the spiritual path to succeeding generations of disciples. Such spiritual transmission from an unbroken line of masters is one criterion that distinguishes a true or connected Sufi path (tariq muttasila), from an inauthentic or "dissevered" path, (tariq munqati a). The leader of a dissevered path may claim to be a Sufi master on the basis of an authorization given by a master in private or other unverifiable circumstance, or by a figure already passed from this world, such as one of the righteous person or Muhammad, or in a dream, or so on. These practices only warm the heart (yusta nasu biha) but none meets Sufism s condition that a Sufi master must have a clear authorization connecting him with Muhammad, one that is verified by others than himself. Without such publicly verifiable authorizations, the Sufi path would be compromised by the whims of the people. The chain of spiritual transmission is not tied to a country, family or political appointment, but is a direct heart to heart transmission, at or after the time of death or burial. It is also considered that the appointed sheikhs will be in some communication with past sheikhs. All are joined by their common spiritual allegiance to the master of spiritual lineages, Muhammad. Universality of Sufism - Sufi Inayat Khan The germ of Sufism is said to have existed from the beginning of the human creation, for wisdom is the heritage of all; therefore no one person can be said to 14

15 be its propounder. It has been revealed more clearly and spread more widely from time to time as the world has evolved. Sufism as a brother/sisterhood may be traced back as far as the period of Daniel. We find among the Zoroastrians, Hatim, the best known Sufi of his time. The chosen ones of God, the salt of the earth, who responded without hesitation to the call of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed, were Sufis, and were not only simple followers of a religion but had insight into divine knowledge. They recognized God's every messenger and united with them all. Before the time of Mohammed they were called Ekuanul Safa, Brothers of Purity, but after his coming they were named by him Sahabi Safa, Knights of Purity. The world has called them Zoroastrian, Christian, Jewish, or Islamic mystics, and the followers of each religion have claimed them as their own. For instance, a Christian would claim that Saint Paul was a Christian and a Muslim that Shams Tabriz was a Muslim. In reality Christ was not a Christian nor was Mohammed a Muslim, they were Sufis. Sufism, Wisdom of All Faiths - Sufi Inayat Khan The word Sufi comes from a Persian word meaning wisdom. From the original root many derivations can be traced; among them the Greek word Sophia is one of the most interesting. Wisdom is the ultimate power. In wisdom is rooted religion, which connotes law and inspiration. But the point of view of the wise differs from that of the simple followers of a religion. The wise, whatever their faith, have always been able to meet each other beyond those boundaries of external forms and conventions, which are natural and necessary to human life, but which none the less separate humanity. People of the same thought and point of view are drawn to each other with a tendency to form an exclusive circle. A minority is apt to fence itself off from the crowd. So it has been with the mystics. Mystical ideas are unintelligible to the generality of people. The mystics have, therefore, usually imparted their ideas to a chosen few only, to those whom they could trust, who were ready for initiation and discipleship. Thus great Sufis have appeared at different times and have founded schools of thought. Their expression of wisdom has differed to suit their environments, but their understanding of life has been one and the same. The same herb planted in various atmospheric conditions will vary in form accordingly, but will retain its characteristics. The European historian sometimes traces the history of Sufism by noticing the actual occurrence of this word and by referring only to those schools which have definitely wished to be known by this name. Some European scholars find the origin of this philosophy in the teaching Of Islam, others connect it with 15

16 Buddhism. Others do not reject as incredible the Semitic tradition that Sufism's foundation is to be attributed to the teachings of Abraham. But the greater number consider that it arose contemporary to the teaching of Zoroaster. Every age of the world has seen awakened souls, and as it is impossible to limit wisdom to any one period or place, so it is impossible to date the origin of Sufism. Not only have there been illuminated souls at all times, but there have been times when a wave of illumination has passed over humanity as a whole. We believe that such a period is at hand. The calamity through which the world has lately passed, and the problems of the present difficult situations are due to the existence of boundaries; this fact is already clear to many. Sufism takes away the boundaries which divide different faiths by bringing into full light the underlying wisdom in which they are all united. Sufism, the Unity of Knowledge The connection between the ancient practical philosophies and the present ones is seen to have been based upon the higher-level unity of knowledge, not upon appearances. This explains why the Muslim Rumi has Christian, Zoroastrian and other disciples; why the great Sufi 'invisible teacher' Khidr is said to be a Jew; why the Mogul Prince Dara Shikoh identified Sufi teachings in the Hindu Vedas, yet himself remained a member of the Qadiri Order; how Pythagoras and Solomon can be said to be Sufi teachers. It also explains why Sufis will accept some alchemists to have been Sufis, as well as understanding the underlying developmental factors in Rumi's evolutionary philosophy, or Hallaj's 'Christianity'; why, indeed, Jesus is said to stand, in a sense, at the head of the Sufis. Origin and Nature of Sufism The Sufis are an ancient spiritual freemasonry whose origins have never been traced or dated; nor do they themselves take much interest in such researches, being content to point out the occurrence of their own way of thought in different regions and periods. Though commonly mistaken for a Moslem sect, the Sufis are at home in all religions: just as the "Free and Accepted Masons" lay before them in their Lodge whatever sacred book whether Bible, Koran, or Torah is accepted by the temporal State. If they call Islam the "shell" of Sufism, this is because they believe Sufism to be the secret teaching within all religions. Yet according to Ali el-hujwiri, an early authoritative Sufi writer, the Prophet Mohammed himself said: "He who hears the voice of the Sufi people and does not say aamin [Amen] is recorded in God's presence as one of the heedless." Numerous other traditions link him with the Sufis, and it was in Sufi style that he ordered his followers to respect all People of the Book, meaning 16

17 those who respected their own sacred scriptures a term later taken to include Zoroastrians. Nor are the Sufis a sect, being bound by no religious dogma however tenuous and using no regular place of worship. They have no sacred city, no monastic organization, no religious instruments. They even dislike being given any inclusive name which might force them into doctrinal conformity. "Sufi" is no more than a nickname, like "Quaker," which they accept good-humoredly. "We friends" or "people like us" is how they refer to themselves, and they recognize one another by certain natural gifts, habits, qualities of thought. Sufi schools have indeed gathered around particular teachers, but there is no graduation and they exist only for the convenience of those who work to perfect their studies by close association with fellow Sufis. The characteristic Sufi signature is found in widely dispersed literature from at least the second millennium B.C., and although their most obvious impact on civilization was made between the eighth and eighteenth centuries A.D., Sufis are still active as ever. They number some fifty million. What makes them so difficult to discuss is that their mutual recognition cannot be explained in ordinary moral or psychological terms whoever understands it is himself a Sufi. Though awareness of this secret quality or instinct can be sharpened by close contact with Sufis of experience, there are no hierarchical degrees among them, only a general undisputed recognition of greater or lesser capacity. Sufism has gained an Oriental flavour from having been so long protected by Islam, but the natural Sufi may be as common in the West as in the East, and may come dressed as a general, a peasant, a merchant, a lawyer, a schoolmaster, a housewife, anything. To be "in the world, but not of it," free from ambition, greed, intellectual pride, blind obedience to custom, or awe of persons higher in rank that is the Sufi's ideal. Sufis respect the rituals of religion insofar as these further social harmony, but broaden religion's doctrinal basis wherever possible and define its myths in a higher sense for instance, explaining angels as representations of man's higher faculties. The individual is offered a "secret garden" for the growth of his understanding, but never required to become a monk, nun or hermit, like the more conventional mystics; and he thereafter claims to be enlightened by actual experience "he who tastes, knows" not by philosophic argument. The earliest known theory of conscious evolution is of Sufi origin... 17

18 Greatest Mystic in Islam: Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid ( ) Al-Ghazali is one of the greatest Islamic jurists, theologians and mystical thinkers. He learned various branches of the traditional Islamic religious sciences in his home town of Tus, Gurgan and Nishapur in the northern part of Iran. He was also involved in Sufi practices from an early age. Being recognized by Nizam al-mulk, the vizir of the Seljuq sultans, he was appointed head of the Nizamiyyah College at Baghdad in ah 484/ad As the intellectual head of the Islamic community, he was busy lecturing on Islamic jurisprudence at the College, and also refuting heresies and responding to questions from all segments of the community. Four years later, however, al-ghazali fell into a serious spiritual crisis and finally left Baghdad, renouncing his career and the world. After wandering in Syria and Palestine for about two years and finishing the pilgrimage to Mecca, he returned to Tus, where he was engaged in writing, Sufi practices and teaching his disciples until his death. In the meantime he resumed teaching for a few years at the Nizamiyyah College in Nishapur. Al-Ghazali explained in his autobiography why he renounced his brilliant career and turned to Sufism. It was, he says, due to his realization that there was no way to certain knowledge or the conviction of revelatory truth except through Sufism. (This means that the traditional form of Islamic faith was in a very critical condition at the time.) This realization is possibly related to his criticism of Islamic philosophy. In fact, his refutation of philosophy is not a mere criticism from a certain (orthodox) theological viewpoint. First of all, his attitude towards philosophy was ambivalent; it was both an object and criticism and an object of learning (for example, logic and the natural sciences). He mastered philosophy and then criticized it in order to Islamicize it. The importance of his criticism lies in his philosophical demonstration that the philosophers' metaphysical arguments cannot stand the test of reason. However, he was also forced to admit that the certainty of revelatory truth, for which he 18

19 was so desperately searching, cannot be obtained by reason. It was only later that he finally attained to that truth in the ecstatic state (fana') of the Sufi. Through his own religious experience, he worked to revive the faith of Islam by reconstructing the religious sciences upon the basis of Sufism, and to give a theoretical foundation to the latter under the influence of philosophy. Thus Sufism came to be generally recognized in the Islamic community. Though Islamic philosophy did not long survive Al-Ghazali's criticism, he contributed greatly to the subsequent philosophisation of Islamic theology and Sufism. 1. Life The eventful life of Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-ghazali (or al- Ghazzali) can be divided into three major periods. The first is the period of learning, first in his home town of Tus in Persia, then in Gurgan and finally in Nishapur. After the death of his teacher, Imam al-haramayn al-juwayni, Ghazali moved to the court of Nizam al-mulk, the powerful vizir of the Seljuq Sultans, who eventually appointed him head of the Nizamiyyah College at Baghdad in ah 484/ad The second period of al-ghazali's life was his brilliant career as the highestranking orthodox 'doctor' of the Islamic community in Baghdad (ah 484-8/ad ). This period was short but significant. During this time, as well as lecturing on Islamic jurisprudence at the College, he was also busy refuting heresies and responding to questions from all segments of the community. In the political confusion following the assassination of Nizam al-mulk and the subsequent violent death of Sultan Malikshah, al-ghazali himself fell into a serious spiritual crisis and finally left Baghdad, renouncing his career and the world. This event marks the beginning of the third period of his life, that of retirement (ah /ad ), but which also included a short period of teaching at the Nizamiyyah College in Nishapur. After leaving Baghdad, he wandered as a Sufi in Syria and Palestine before returning to Tus, where he was engaged in writing, Sufi practices and teaching his disciples until his death. The inner development leading to his conversion is explained in his autobiography, al-munqidh min al-dalal (The Deliverer from Error), written late in his life. It was his habit from an early age, he says, to search for the true reality of things. In the process he came to doubt the senses and even reason itself as the means to 'certain knowledge', and fell into a deep scepticism. However, he was eventually delivered from this with the aid of the divine light, and thus recovered his trust in reason. Using reason, he then set out to examine the teachings of 'the seekers after truth': the theologians, philosophers, Isma'ilis and Sufis. As a result of these studies, he came to the realization that there was no way to certain knowledge except through Sufism. In order to reach this 19

20 ultimate truth of the Sufis, however, it is first necessary to renounce the world and to devote oneself to mystical practice. Al-Ghazali came to this realization through an agonising process of decision, which led to a nervous breakdown and finally to his departure from Baghdad. The schematic presentation of al-munqidh has allowed various interpretations, but it is irrelevant to question the main line of the story. Though certain knowledge is explained in al-munqidh as something logically necessary, it is also religious conviction (yaqin) as mentioned in the Ihya' 'ulum al-din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences). Thus when he says that the traditional teachings did not grip him in his adolescence, he means to say that he lost his conviction of their truth, which he only later regained through his Sufi mystical experiences. He worked to generalize this experience to cure 'the disease' of his time. The life of al-ghazali has been thus far examined mostly as the development of his individual personality. However, since the 1950s there have appeared some new attempts to understand his life in its wider political and historical context (Watt 1963). If we accept his religious confession as sincere, then we should be careful not to reduce his thought and work entirely to non-religious factors. It may well be that al-ghazali's conversion from the life of an orthodox doctor to Sufism was not merely the outcome of his personal development but also a manifestation of a new stage in the understanding of faith in the historical development of Islam, from the traditional form of faith expressed in the effort to establish the kingdom of God on Earth through the shari'a to a faith expressed as direct communion with God in Sufi mystical experience. This may be a reflection of a development in which the former type of faith had lost its relevance and become a mere formality due to the political and social confusion of the community. Al-Ghazali experienced this change during his life, and tried to revive the entire structure of the religious sciences on the basis of Sufism, while at the same time arguing for the official recognition of the latter and providing it with solid philosophical foundations. 2. Theological conceptions Al-Ghazali wrote at least two works on theology, al-iqtisad fi'l-i'tiqad (The Middle Path in Theology) and al-risala al-qudsiyya (The Jerusalem Epistle). The former was composed towards the end of his stay in Baghdad and after his critique of philosophy, the latter soon afterwards in Jerusalem. The theological position expressed in both works is Ash'arite, and there is no fundamental difference between al-ghazali and the Ash'arite school (see Ash'ariyya and Mu'tazila). However, some changes can be seen in the theological thought of his later works, written under the influence of philosophy and Sufism (see 4). 20

21 As Ash'arite theology came into being out of criticism of Mu'tazilite rationalistic theology, the two schools have much in common but they are also not without their differences. There is no essential difference between them as to God's essence (dhat Allah); al-ghazali proves the existence of God (the Creator) from the createdness (hadath) of the world according to the traditional Ash'arite proof. An atomistic ontology is presupposed here, and yet there are also philosophical arguments to refute the criticism of the philosophers. As for God's attributes (sifat Allah), however, al-ghazali regards them as 'something different from, yet added to, God's essence' (al-iqtisad: 65), while the Mu'tazilites deny the existence of the attributes and reduce them to God's essence and acts. According to al-ghazali, God has attributes such as knowledge, life, will, hearing, seeing and speech, which are included in God's essence and coeternal with it. Concerning the relationship between God's essence and his attributes, both are said to be 'not identical, but not different' (al-iqtisad: 65). The creation of the world and its subsequent changes are produced by God's eternal knowledge, will and power, but this does not necessarily mean any change in God's attributes in accordance with these changes in the empirical world. One of the main issues of theological debate was the relationship between God's power and human acts. The Mu'tazilites, admitting the continuation of an accident ('arad) of human power, asserted that human acts were decided and produced (or even created) by people themselves; thus they justified human responsibility for acts and maintained divine justice. In contrast, assuming that all the events in the world and human acts are caused by God's knowledge, will and power, al-ghazali admits two powers in human acts, God's power and human power. Human power and act are both created by God, and so human action is God's creation (khalq), but it is also human acquisition (kasb) of God's action, which is reflected in human volition. Thus al-ghazali tries to harmonize God's omnipotence and our own responsibility for our actions (see Omnipotence). As for God's acts, the Mu'tazilites, emphasizing divine justice, assert that God cannot place any obligation on people that is beyond their ability; God must do what is best for humans and must give rewards and punishments according to their obedience and disobedience. They also assert that it is obligatory for people to know God through reason even before revelation. Al-Ghazali denies these views. God, he says, can place any obligations he wishes upon us; it is not incumbent on him to do what is best for us, nor to give rewards and punishments according to our obedience and disobedience. All this is unimaginable for God, since he is absolutely free and is under no obligation at all. Obligation (wujub), says al-ghazali, means something that produces serious harm unless performed, but nothing does harm to God. Furthermore, good (hasan) and evil (qabih) mean respectively congruity and incongruity with a purpose, but God has no purpose 21

22 at all. Therefore, God's acts are beyond human ethical judgment. Besides, says al-ghazali, injustice (zulm) means an encroachment on others' rights, but all creatures belong to God; therefore, whatever he may do to his creatures, he cannot be considered unjust. The Mu'tazilites, inferring the hereafter from the nature of this world, deny the punishment of unbelievers in the grave from their death until the resurrection, and also the reality of the various eschatological events such as the passing of the narrow bridge and the weighing on the balance of human deeds (see Eschatology). Al-Ghazali, on the other hand, rejecting the principle of analogy between the two worlds, approves the reality of all these events as transmitted traditionally, since it cannot be proven that they are rationally or logically impossible. Another important eschatological event is the seeing of God (ru'ya Allah). While the Mu'tazilites deny its reality, asserting that God cannot be the object of human vision, al-ghazali approves it as a kind of knowledge which is beyond corporeality; in fact, he later gives the vision of God deep mystical and philosophical meaning. In short, the Mu'tazilites discuss the unity of God and his acts from the viewpoint of human reason, but al-ghazali does so on the presupposition that God is personal and an absolute reality beyond human reason. 3. Refutation of philosophy Al-Ghazali's relationship with philosophy is subtle and complicated. The philosophy represented by al-farabi and Ibn Sina (Avicenna) is, for al-ghazali, not simply an object of criticism but also an important component of his own learning. He studied philosophy intensively while in Baghdad, composing Maqasid al-falasifa (The Intentions of the Philosophers), and then criticizing it in his Tahafut al-falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers). The Maqasid is a precise summary of philosophy (it is said to be an Arabic version of Ibn Sina's Persian Danashnamah-yi ala'i (Book of Scientific Knowledge) though a close comparative study of the two works has yet to be made). In the medieval Latin world, however, the content of the Maqasid was believed to be al-ghazali's own thought, due to textual defects in the Latin manuscripts. As a result, the image of the 'Philosopher Algazel' was created. It was only in the middle of the nineteenth century that Munk corrected this mistake by making use of the complete manuscripts of the Hebrew translation. More works by al-ghazali began to be published thereafter, but some contained philosophical ideas he himself had once rejected. This made al-ghazali's relation to philosophy once again obscure. Did he turn back to philosophy late in life? Was he a secret philosopher? From the middle of the twentieth century there were several attempts to verify al- Ghazali's authentic works through textual criticism, and as a result of these works the image of al-ghazali as an orthodox Ash'arite theologian began to prevail. The new trend in the study of al-ghazali is to re-examine his relation to 22

23 philosophy and to traditional Ash'arism while at the same time recognizing his basic distance from philosophy. Al-Ghazali composed three works on Aristotelian logic, Mi'yar al-'ilm (The Standard Measure of Knowledge), Mihakk al-nazar fi'l-mantiq (The Touchstone of Proof in Logic) and al-qistas al-mustaqim (The Just Balance). The first two were written immediately after the Tahafut 'in order to help understanding of the latter', and the third was composed after his retirement. He also gave a detailed account of logic in the long introduction of his writing on legal theory, al- Mustasfa min 'ilm al-usul (The Essentials of Islamic Legal Theory). Al-Ghazali's great interest in logic is unusual, particularly when most Muslim theologians were antagonistic to it, and can be attributed not only to the usefulness of logic in refuting heretical views (al-qistas is also a work of refutation of the Isma'ilis), but also to his being fascinated by the exactness of logic and its effectiveness for reconstructing the religious sciences on a solid basis. There is a fundamental disparity between al-ghazali's theological view and the Neoplatonic-Aristotelian philosophy of emanationism. Al-Ghazali epitomizes this view in twenty points, three of which are especially prominent: (1) the philosophers' belief in the eternity of the world, (2) their doctrine that God does not know particulars, and (3) their denial of the resurrection of bodies. These theses are ultimately reducible to differing conceptions of God and ontology. Interestingly, al-ghazali's criticism of philosophy is philosophical rather than theological, and is undertaken from the viewpoint of reason. First, as for the eternity of the world, the philosophers claim that the emanation of the First Intellect and other beings is the result of the necessary causality of God's essence, and therefore the world as a whole is concomitant and coeternal with his existence (see Creation and conservation, religious doctrine of). Suppose, say the philosophers, that God created the world at a certain moment in time; that would presuppose a change in God, which is impossible. Further, since each moment of time is perfectly similar, it is impossible, even for God, to choose a particular moment in time for creation. Al-Ghazali retorts that God's creation of the world was decided in the eternal past, and therefore it does not mean any change in God; indeed, time itself is God's creation (this is also an argument based on the Aristotelian concept of time as a function of change). Even though the current of time is similar in every part, it is the nature of God's will to choose a particular out of similar ones. Second, the philosophers deny God's knowledge of particulars or confine it to his self-knowledge, since they suppose that to connect God's knowledge with particulars means a change and plurality in God's essence. Al-Ghazali denies this. If God has complete knowledge of a person from birth to death, there will 23

24 be no change in God's eternal knowledge, even though the person's life changes from moment to moment. Third, the philosophers deny bodily resurrection, asserting that 'the resurrection' means in reality the separation of the soul from the body after death. Al-Ghazali criticizes this argument, and also attacks the theory of causality presupposed in the philosophers' arguments (see Causality and necessity in Islamic thought). The so-called necessity of causality is, says al-ghazali, simply based on the mere fact that an event A has so far occurred concomitantly with an event B. There is no guarantee of the continuation of that relationship in the future, since the connection of A and B lacks logical necessity. In fact, according to Ash'arite atomistic occasionalism, the direct cause of both A and B is God; God simply creates A when he creates B. Thus theoretically he can change his custom (sunna, 'ada) at any moment, and resurrect the dead: in fact, this is 'a second creation'. Al-Ghazali thus claims that the philosophers' arguments cannot survive philosophical criticism, and Aristotelian logic served as a powerful weapon for this purpose. However, if the conclusions of philosophy cannot be proved by reason, is not the same true of theological principles or the teachings of revelation? How then can the truth of the latter be demonstrated? Herein lies the force of al-ghazali's critique of reason. 4. Relation to philosophy Philosophy declined in the Sunni world after al-ghazali, and his criticism of philosophy certainly accelerated this decline. Nearly a century later, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) made desperate efforts to resist the trend by refuting al-ghazali's Tahafut in his Tahafut al-tahafut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence) and Fasl al-maqal (The Decisive Treatise), but he could not stop it. Philosophy was gradually absorbed into Sufism and was further developed in the form of mystical philosophy, particularly in the Shi'ite world (see Mystical philosophy in Islam). In the Sunni world also, Aristotelian logic was incorporated into theology and Sufism was partially represented philosophically. In all this, Al- Ghazali's influence was significant. Al-Ghazali committed himself seriously to Sufism in his later life, during which time he produced a series of unique works on Sufism and ethics including Mizan al-'amal (The Balance of Action), composed just before retirement, Ihya' 'ulum al-din, his magnum opus written after retirement, Kitab al-arba'in fi usul al-din (The Forty Chapters on the Principles of Religion), Kimiya'-yi sa'adat (The Alchemy of Happiness), Mishkat al-anwar (The Niche of the Lights) and others. The ultimate goal of humankind according to Islam is salvation in paradise, which is depicted in the Qur'an and Traditions as various sensuous pleasures and joy at the vision of God. The greatest joy for al-ghazali, however, is the seeing 24

25 of God in the intellectual or spiritual sense of the beatific vision. In comparison with this, sensuous pleasures are nothing. However, they remain necessary for the masses who cannot reach such a vision. Resurrection for Ibn Sina means each person's death - the separation of the soul from the body - and the rewards and punishments after the 'resurrection' mean the pleasures and pains which the soul tastes after death. The soul, which is in contact with the active intellect through intellectual and ethical training during life, is liberated from the body by death and comes to enjoy the bliss of complete unity with the active intellect. On the other hand, the soul that has become accustomed to sensual pleasures while alive suffers from the pains of unfulfilled desires, since the instrumental organs for that purpose are now lost. Al-Ghazali calls death 'the small resurrection' and accepts the state of the soul after death as Ibn Sina describes. On the other hand, the beatific vision of God by the elite after the quickening of the bodies, or 'the great resurrection', is intellectual as in the view of the philosophers. The mystical experience (fana') of the Sufi is a foretaste of the real vision of God in the hereafter. A similar influence of philosophy is also apparent in al-ghazali's view of human beings. Human beings consist of soul and body, but their essence is the soul. The human soul is a spiritual substance totally different from the body. It is something divine (amr ilahi), which makes possible human knowledge of God. If the soul according to al-ghazali is an incorporeal substance occupying no space (as Ibn Sina implies, though he carefully avoids making a direct statement to that effect), then al-ghazali's concept of the soul is quite different from the soul as 'a subtle body' as conceived by theologians at large. According to A- Ghazali, the body is a vehicle or an instrument of the soul on the way to the hereafter and has various faculties to maintain the bodily activities. When the main faculties of appetite, anger and intellect are moderate, harmonious and well-balanced, then we find the virtues of temperance, courage, wisdom and justice. In reality, however, there is excess or deficiency in each faculty, and so we find various vicious characteristics. The fundamental cause for all this is love of the world (see Soul in Islamic philosophy). The purpose of religious exercises is to rectify these evil dispositions, and to come near to God by 'transforming them in imitation of God's characteristics' (takhalluq bi-akhlaq Allah). This means transforming the evil traits of the soul through bodily exercises by utilizing the inner relationship between the soul and the body. Al-Ghazali here makes full use of the Aristotelian theory of the golden mean, which he took mainly from Ibn Miskawayh. In order to maintain the earthly existence of the body as a vehicle or an instrument of the soul, the mundane order and society are necessary. In this framework, the traditional 25

26 system of Islamic law, community and society are reconsidered and reconstructed. The same is also true of al-ghazali's cosmology. He divides the cosmos into three realms: the world of mulk (the phenomenal world), the world of malakut (the invisible world) and the world of jabarut (the intermediate world). He takes this division from the Sufi theorist Abu Talib al-makki, although he reverses the meanings of malakut and jabarut. The world of malakut is that of God's determination, a world of angels free from change, increase and decrease, as created once spontaneously by God. This is the world of the Preserved Tablet in heaven where God's decree is inscribed. The phenomenal world is the incomplete replica of the world of malakut, which is the world of reality, of the essence of things. The latter is in some respects similar to the Platonic world of Ideas, or Ibn Sina's world of intelligibles. The only difference is that the world of malakut is created once and for all by God, who thereafter continues to create moment by moment the phenomenal world according to his determination. This is a major difference from the emanationist deterministic world of philosophy. Once the divine determination is freely made, however, the phenomenal world changes and evolves according to a determined sequence of causes and effects. The difference between this relationship and the philosophers' causality lies in whether or not the relation of cause and effect is necessary. This emphasis on causal relationship by al-ghazali differs from the traditional Ash'arite occasionalism. The Sufis in their mystical experience, and ordinary people in their dreams, are allowed to glimpse the world of the Preserved Tablet in heaven, when the veil between that world and the soul is lifted momentarily. Thus they are given foreknowledge and other forms of supernatural knowledge. The revelation transmitted by the angel to the prophets is essentially the same; the only difference is that the prophets do not need any special preparation. From the viewpoint of those given such special knowledge of the invisible world, says al- Ghazali, the world is the most perfect and best possible world. This optimism gave rise to arguments and criticism even in his lifetime, alleging that he was proposing a Mu'tazilite or philosophical teaching against orthodox Ash'arism. He certainly says in his theological works that it is not incumbent upon God to do the best for humans; however, this does not mean that God will not in fact do the best of his own free will. Even so, behind al-ghazali's saying that God does so in actuality, we can see the influence of philosophy and Sufism. Al-Ghazali's criticism of philosophy and his mystical thought are often compared to the philosophical and theological thought of Thomas Aquinas, Nicholas of Autrecourt, and even Descartes and Pascal. In the medieval world, where he was widely believed to be a philosopher, he had an influence through 26

27 the Latin and Hebrew translations of his writings and through such thinkers as Yehuda Halevi, Moses Maimonides and Raymond Martin of Spain. Historical Survey of Islam Belief: Ash'ariyya and Mu'tazila The Mu'tazila - literally 'those who withdraw themselves' - movement was founded by Wasil bin 'Ata' in the second century ah (eighth century ad). Its members were united in their conviction that it was necessary to give a rationally coherent account of Islamic beliefs. In addition to having an atomistic view of the universe, they generally held to five theological principles, of which the two most important were the unity of God and divine justice. The former led them to deny that the attributes of God were distinct entities or that the Qur'an was eternal, while the latter led them to assert the existence of free will. Ash'ariyya - named after its founding thinker, al-ash'ari - was the foremost theological school in Sunni Islam. It had its origin in the reaction against the excessive rationalism of the Mu'tazila. Its members insisted that reason must be subordinate to revelation. They accepted the cosmology of the Mu'tazilites but put forward a nuanced rejection of their theological principles. 1. Historical survey The Mu'tazila originated in Basra at the beginning of the second century ah (eighth century ad). In the following century it became, for a period of some thirty years, the official doctrine of the caliphate in Baghdad. This patronage ceased in ah 238/ad 848 when al-mutawakkil reversed the edict of al-ma'mun, which had required officials to publicly profess that the Qur'an was the created word of God. By this time, however, Mu'tazilites were well established in many other centres of Islamic learning, especially in Persia, and had split into two rival factions, the Basran School and the Baghdad School. Although their links with these two cities became increasingly tenuous, both schools flourished until the middle of the fifth century ah (eleventh century ad), and the Basran School only finally disappeared with the Mongol invasions at the beginning of the seventh century ah (thirteenth century ad). After the demise of the Mu'tazila as a distinct movement, Mu'tazilite doctrine - by now regarded as heretical by Sunnis - continued to be influential amongst the Shi'ites in Persia and the Zaydis in the Yemen. Al-Ash'ari (d. ah 324/ad 935) was a pupil of Abu 'Ali al-jubba'i (d. ah 303/ad 915), the head of the Basran School. A few years before his master's death, al- Ash'ari announced dramatically that he repented of having been a Mu'tazilite and pledged himself to oppose the Mu'tazila. In taking this step he capitalized on popular discontent with the excessive rationalism of the Mu'tazilites, which had been steadily gaining ground since their loss of official patronage half a century earlier. After his conversion, al-ash'ari continued to use the dialectic method in 27

28 theology but insisted that reason must be subservient to revelation. It is not possible to discuss al-ash'ari's successors in detail here, but it should be noted that from the second half of the sixth century ah (twelfth century ad) onwards, the movement adopted the language and concepts of the Islamic philosophers whose views they sought to refute. The most significant thinkers among these later Ash'arites were al-ghazali and Fakhr al-din al-razi. 2. Cosmology Popular accounts of the teaching of the Mu'tazilites usually concentrate on their distinctive theological doctrines. To the philosopher, however, their cosmology, which was accepted by the Ash'ariyya and other theological schools, is a more appropriate starting point. To the Mu'tazila, the universe appears to consist of bodies with different qualities: some are living while others are inanimate, some are mobile while others are stationary, some are hot and some are cold, and so on. Moreover, one and the same body may take on different qualities at different times. For instance, a stone may be mobile when rolling down a hill but stationary when it reaches the bottom, or hot when left in the sun but cold after a long night. Yet there are some qualities which some bodies cannot acquire; for example, stones are invariably inanimate, never living. How are the differences between bodies, and between one and the same body at different times, to be explained? The answer given by the Mu'tazilites is that all bodies are composed of identical material substances (jawahir) or atoms (ajza'), on which God bestows various incorporeal accidents (a'rad). This view was first propounded by Dirar ibn 'Amr (d. c.ah 200/ad 815) and elaborated by Abu al-hudhayl (d. ah 227/ad 841 or later), both of whom were early members of the Basran School. Abu al-hudhayl held that isolated atoms are invisible mathematical points. The only accidents which they can be given are those which affect their ability to combine with other atoms, such as composition or separation, motion or rest. Conglomerates of atoms, on the other hand, can be given many other accidents such as colours, tastes, odours, sounds, warmth and coldness, which is why we perceive them as different bodies. Some of these accidents are indispensable, hence the differences between bodies, whereas others can be bestowed or withdrawn, thus explaining the differences between one and the same body at different times. This account of the world gained rapid acceptance amongst Islamic theologians, although to begin with it was rejected by two Mu'tazilites of the Basran School, al-nazzam (d. ah 221/ad 836) and Abu Bakr al-asamm (d. ah 201/ad 816?). The former, who was Abu al-hudhayl's nephew, argued that atoms which were mere mathematical points would not be able to combine with one another and that, rather than being composed of atoms, bodies must therefore be infinitely divisible. Abu al-hudhayl replied that God's bestowal of the accident of 28

29 composition on an isolated atom made it three-dimensional and hence capable of combining (see Atomism, ancient). Al-Asamm, on the other hand, objected to the notion of accidents, arguing that since only bodies are visible their qualities cannot have an independent existence. Abu al-hudhayl retorted that such a view was contrary to divine laws because the legal obligations and penalties for their infringement were not directed at the whole person but at one of his 'accidents', such as his prostration in prayer or his flagellation for adultery. 3. The five principles According to the Muslim heresiographers, who are our main source of information about the Mu'tazila, members of the movement adhered to five principles, which were clearly enunciated for the first time by Abu al-hudhayl. These were: (1) the unity of God; (2) divine justice; (3) the promise and the threat; (4) the intermediate position; and (5) the commanding of good and forbidding of evil. The first and second principles are of major importance and will be discussed in detail below. The third principle is really only an adjunct of the second, and is here treated as such. The fourth principle is a relatively unimportant doctrine which probably only figures in the list because it was thought to have been the reason for the Mu'tazila's emergence as a distinct movement; it is said that when Hasan al-basri was questioned about the position of the Muslim who committed a grave sin, his pupil Wasil bin 'Ata' said that such a person was neither a believer nor an unbeliever, but occupied an intermediate position. Hasan was displeased and remarked, 'He has withdrawn from us (i'tazila 'anna)', at which Wasil withdrew from his circle and began to propagate his own teaching. The historicity of this story has been questioned on the ground that there are several variants: according to one version the person who withdrew was Wasil's associate 'Amr ibn 'Ubayd (d. ah 141/ad 761), and according to another the decisive break came in the time of Hasan's successor Qatada. Moreover it is noteworthy that at least one influential member of the Basran school, Abu Bakr al-asamm, rejected the notion of an intermediate position and argued that the grave sinner remained a believer because of his testimony of faith and his previous good deeds. This was also the view of the Ash'arites. The fifth principle, which is derived from several passages in the Qur'an (for example, Surah 9: 71), and which the Mu'tazilites understood as an obligation incumbent on all Muslims to intervene in the affairs of state, was rarely put into practice. For the Ash'arites, the commanding of good and forbidding of evil was the prerogative of the head of state, who acted on behalf of the Muslim community. 29

30 4. The Unity of God The first half of the shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith, is the testimony that there is no god besides Allah. Thus the numerical unity of God is axiomatic for all Muslims. Nevertheless, although the Qur'an explicitly asserts that God is one, and equally explicitly rejects polytheism and the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, it speaks of God's 'hands' (Surah 38: 75), 'eyes' (Surah 54: 14) and 'face' (Surah 55: 27), and of his seating himself on his throne (Surah 20: 5), thus apparently implying that he has a body. Moreover, in describing the radiant faces of believers 'looking towards their Lord' on the Day of Resurrection (Surah 75: 23), it suggests the possibility of a beatific vision. However, the Mu'tazilites emphatically rejected such notions, insisting that God is not merely numerically one but also that he is a simple essence. This led them to deny that he has a body or any of the characteristics of bodies such as colour, form, movement and localization in space; hence he cannot be seen, in this world or the next. The Mu'tazila therefore interpreted the Qur'anic anthropomorphisms as metaphors - God's 'hands' are his blessing, God's 'eyes' are his knowledge, his 'face' is his essence and his seating himself on his throne is his omnipotence - and argued that, since the Qur'an elsewhere asserts that 'sight cannot reach Him' (Surah 6: 103), the phrase ila rabbiha nazira means 'waiting for their Lord' rather than looking towards him. Some of the later Ash'arites accepted the Mu'tazilite position on the Qur'anic anthropomorphisms. In al-ash'ari's own view, however, they are neither to be dismissed in this way nor understood to imply that God has a body like human beings. They are 'revealed attributes', whose existence must be affirmed without seeking to understand how (bi-la kayfa). Furthermore, the possibility of beatific vision depends not on God's embodiment, but on his existence. God can show us everything which exists. Since he exists, he can therefore show us himself. Hence the statement that 'sight cannot reach Him' must apply only to this world, where he impedes our vision. Much more problematic than the Qur'an's anthropomorphisms are the adjectives which it employs to describe God. He is said, for instance, to be 'living', 'knowing', 'powerful' and 'eternal'. If we deny these qualities to God, we must then attribute to him their opposites, which are imperfections. But God is by definition free from imperfections; therefore God must always have had these qualities. But does this mean that he possesses the attributes of 'life', 'knowledge', 'power' and 'eternity' and that they are distinct from his essence? The Mu'tazilites reasoned that this was impossible because it would imply plurality in the Godhead. When we speak of God as 'living', 'knowing', 'powerful' and 'eternal', we are, in their opinion, merely considering him from different points of view. God's 'attributes of essence' (sifat al-dhat), as they are 30

31 generally called, are a product of the limitations and the plurality of our own intellectual faculties; in reality, they are identical with God's essence. Thus, according to al-ash'ari (Maqalat: 484), Abu al-hudhayl maintained that 'God is knowing by virtue of a knowledge which is His own essence' and that he is likewise powerful, living and eternal by a power, a life and an eternity which are none other than his own essence. Al-Nazzam expressed this even more forcefully when he said, 'If I say that God is knowing, I merely confirm the divine essence and deny in it all ignorance. If I say that God is powerful, living and so forth, I am only confirming the divine essence and denying in it all powerlessness, mortality and so forth' (Maqalat: 484). Al-Ash'ari himself rejected this reductionist account of the 'attributes of essence' which made them artefacts of human reason, but his arguments for doing so are far from compelling. He alleged that since in the case of human beings knowing implies possessing knowledge as an entity distinct from the knower, the situation with God must be analogous. Hardly more cogent is the claim that if God knew by his essence, he would be knowledge. Finally, al-ash'ari's assertion that the 'attributes of essence' are neither other than God nor identical with him is simply a retreat into paradox. However, al-ash'ari was not alone in wishing neither to affirm the independent existence of these attributes nor to deny it outright. Al-Jubba'i's son Abu Hashim (d. ah 321/ad 933) attempted to resolve the problem by introducing the idea of 'state' (hal). A state is not something which exists or which does not exist; it is not a thing and it cannot be known in itself, only with an essence. Nevertheless it has an ontological reality. According to Abu Hashim, there are in God permanent states such as 'his mode of being knowing' (kawnuhu 'aliman), 'his mode of being powerful' and so forth, which give rise to distinct qualicatives. This compromise was accepted by many of Abu Hashim's fellow Mu'tazilites of the Basran school, but was unanimously rejected by those of Baghdad. In addition to the attributes of essence, the Qur'an employs a whole series of adjectives such as 'providing' and 'forgiving', which describe God in relation to his creatures. It is easy to imagine a time when God did not have these attributes. The Mu'tazilites called these 'attributes of action' (sifat al-fi'l) because they deemed them to come into being when God acts. In their reckoning, God's 'speech' belongs to this category of attributes, for it does not make sense to think of his commandments as existing before the creation of the beings to whom they are addressed. Thus the Qur'an itself, although the Word of God, is temporal and not eternal. It was created initially in the 'guarded tablet' (Surah 85: 22) and subsequently recreated in the hearts of those who memorize it, on the tongues of those who recite it and on the written page. Although not denying the existence of attributes of action, al-ash'ari insisted that 'speech' - along with 'hearing' and 'vision' - was an attribute of essence. He argued that if God's word were not 31

32 eternal, it would have had to have been brought into being. Furthermore, since it is an attribute, it could not have been brought into being other than in an essence in which it resides. In which case either God brought it into being in himself, or he brought it into being in another. But if he had brought it into being in himself, he would be the locus of things which come into being, which is impossible. If, on the contrary, he had brought it into being in another, it is the other, and not God, who would have spoken by the word. 5. Divine justice and human destiny In addition to championing the unity of God, the Mu'tazilites stressed his justice. They held that good and evil are objective and that the moral values of actions are intrinsic to them and can be discerned by human reason. Hence God's justice obliges him to act in accordance with the moral law. For instance, he is thus bound to stand by his promise to reward the righteous with paradise and his threat to punish the wicked with hellfire. More importantly, the reward and punishment which he metes out must be merited by creatures endowed with free will (see Free will). Thus although the Qur'an says that God guides and leads astray those whom he wills (Surah 14: 4), it cannot mean that he predestines them. This and similar texts refer rather to what will happen after the judgement, when the righteous will be guided to paradise and the wicked will be caused to stray far from it. With regard to our acts in this world, God creates in us the power to perform an act but we are free to choose whether or not to perform it. Many of the Mu'tazilites held that the principle of justice made it requisite for God always to do for people what was to their greatest advantage. Al-Jubba'i went as far as to claim that God is bound to prolong the life of an unbeliever if he knows that the latter will eventually repent. In view of this, al-ash'ari is alleged to have asked him about the likely fate of three brothers: a believer, an unbeliever and one who died as a child. Al-Jubba'i answered that the first would be rewarded, the second punished and the third neither rewarded nor punished. To the objection that God should have allowed the third to live so that he might have gained paradise, al-jubba'i replied that God knew that had the child lived he would have become an unbeliever. Al-Ash'ari then silenced him by asking why in that case God did not make the second brother die as a child in order to save him from hellfire! For al-ash'ari, divine justice is a matter of faith. We know the difference between good and evil solely because of God's revelation, and not by the exercise of our own reason. God makes the rules and whatever he decrees is just, yet God himself is under no obligation: if he wished, he could punish the righteous and admit the wicked to paradise (see Voluntarism). Moreover, to suppose as the Mu'tazilites did that human beings had free will would be to restrict the sovereign freedom of the creator. On the contrary, God creates in his 32

33 creature both the power and the choice; then he creates in us the actions which correspond to these. Nevertheless, we are conscious of a difference between some actions, such as the rushing of the blood through our veins, which are involuntary, and others, such as standing up or sitting down, which are in accordance with our own will. Al-Ash'ari argues that by approving of these latter actions, which God created in us, we 'acquire' them and are thus held responsible for them. Causality and necessity in Islamic thought Discussions of causality and necessity in Islamic thought were the result of attempts to incorporate the wisdom of the Greeks into the legacy of the Qur''an, and specifically to find a philosophical way of expressing faith in the free creation of the universe by one God. Moreover, that article of faith was itself a result of the revelation of God's ways in the free bestowal of the Qur''an on a humanity otherwise locked in ignorance, which a purportedly Aristotelian account of the necessary connection of cause and effect might be taken to rule out. Thus free creation of the universe and free gift of the Qur'an formed a logical unit. The challenge, therefore, was to compose an account of metaphysical and ethical matters which permits rational discourse about them, without obscuring their ultimate source or precluding divine action in the course of world events and human actions. The scheme of emanation elaborated by al-farabi sought to give 'the First' the place of pre-eminence which the Qur'an demanded for the Creator, but did so by modelling creation on a logical system whereby all things emanated necessarily from this One. It was this necessity, further articulated by Ibn Sina, which al- Ghazalii took to jeopardize the freedom of God as Creator and as giver of the Qur'an. al-ghazali's objections were honed by a previous debate among Muslim theologians (mutakallimun), who had elaborated diverse views on human freedom in an effort to reconcile the obvious demand for free acceptance of the Qur'an with its claims regarding God's utter sovereignty as Creator over all that is. Natural philosophy was also affected by these debates, specifically with regard to the ultimate constitution of bodies as well as accounts that could be given of their interaction. However, the primary focus was on human actions in the face of a free Creator. 1. Metaphysical issues The understanding of causality that prevailed among the classical Islamic philosophers was decidedly Neoplatonic in character (see Neoplatonism 3). Intellectual coherence was assured by a scheme of emanation itself modelled on the necessity inherent in a logical system. Thus the connections between events shared in the connections between propositions that followed logically from one 33

34 another. In this fashion, al-farabi's emanation scheme offered a cosmic pattern for all causality as well as a master metaphor for causal interaction (see al- Farabi 2). All that is and all that happens was conceived as depending, for its being and its intelligibility, ultimately on the first cause (or 'the One') by way of intermediary influences which are cosmic in character yet linked together by an intellectual inherence assuring necessary linkage between cause and effect. Aristotle's ideal of 'scientific explanation' in the Posterior Analytics could only have been projected, after all, if the world itself was so constructed that things and events were properly connected with one another so as to form a coherent whole (see Aristotle 3). That is the sense to be made of Ibn Sina's division of 'being' into 'necessary being' and 'possible being', with 'necessary being' restricted to the One from which all the rest emanates while the remainder is characterized as 'possible in itself yet necessary by virtue of another' (see Ibn Sina 5). In this way the order of the natural world is assured, since it derives from the one principle of being in a way that is modelled on logical derivation. In this way also, the necessity of causal interaction becomes virtually identical with that of logical entailment, thereby linking the entire universe in a necessary order with the first cause. Furthermore, the pattern of logical entailment extends to the action of that first cause as well: the universe comes forth from it necessarily, as premises from a principle. Such a model for causal activity cannot be easily imported into a world believed to be freely created by one God. The order described by the emanation scheme threatened the hegemony of the God revealed in the Qur'an, by removing the freedom of that God to reveal as well as to create. Accommodation with Neoplatonic thought required too much by way of concession from believers in the Qur'an, and it was only a matter of time before this effort to harmonize creation with emanation was challenged. That challenge came notably from al- Ghazali, whose frontal attack, entitled Tahafut al-falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers) was in turn countered by Ibn Rushd in his Tahafut al-tahafut (Incoherence of the Incoherence). But while Ibn Rushd's defence of a repristinated Aristotle would continue to influence Western thought, al-ghazali's spirited attack succeeded in virtually marginalizing such philosophical reflection on metaphysical matters in the Islamic world to the activities of an elite who would come to be known as 'the philosophers', and whose adherence to Qur'anic faith would often be suspect. 2. Human action and divine action If such quasi-logical necessity attributed to causality in the universe ran counter to the freedom of the divine agent, it also threatened by implication the freedom of human beings to respond to divine revelation; and such freedom is clearly 34

35 presupposed by the very structure of the Qur'an, which calls constantly for a response to its warnings and means to elicit wholehearted response to the guidance it offers (see Islamic theology 3). Yet the controversy here was not carried out on the terrain staked out by the philosophers but rather among expressly religious thinkers (called mutakallimun because of their desire to articulate the faith by way of argument). The earliest among these, the Mu'tazilites, could only see their way to securing human freedom by considering free human actions as utterly autonomous, and so as the creations of human agents, not of God. These early Islamic thinkers fashioned their position on such matters without benefit of the later philosophical reflections noted above, and appear to have conflated notions of origination, causation and creation in an effort to assure that humans bear complete responsibility for the actions for which they will be rewarded or punished. Their concern was for justice, as it can be applied to human beings and to the God of the Qur'an. Again, however, to withdraw a sector of creation from the purview of the creator of heaven and earth, and to insist that human actions be our creation and not God's, could hardly be sustained in Islam. The challenge this time came from one of the theologians' own number, al-ash'ari, who shared their conceptual conflations; he developed a purportedly intermediate position, whereby human actions are created by God yet performed by us. The key notion introduced was kasb (or iktisab), which attempts to distinguish responsibility for one's actions from their sheer origination. Originating in the marketplace to describe transactions, it alludes to the fact that actions which God creates are 'acquired', or perhaps better, 'performed' by human beings as created agents (see Ash'ariyya and Mu'tazila 1, 5). While this position obviates the removal of human actions from the domain of God's creation, it seems to complicate unduly the issue of human agency and responsibility. The conceptual question turns on the extent to which the notion of 'agent' can be used of both creator and creature. Can there be an authentic agent other than the creator? This is a question, of course, which touches every religious tradition which avers the free creation of the universe by one God: how does the first cause relate to other causes? Indeed, can there even be other causes in the face of a sovereign 'First'? The response of kalam thinkers to this question was complicated by their commitment to an atomistic metaphysics, which seemed designed to remove all causality other than the divine from the realm of nature: this is the celebrated 'Islamic occasionalism'. Later, however, the question was debated by al-ghazali without reference to any such metaphysical theses. Rather, the terms were those introduced by 'the philosophers', turning on the necessity of the connections between events in nature, specifically between those which we recognize as causes and their effects. Clearly these connections could not be akin to logical 35

36 necessity, or there would be no room whatsoever for miracles like the 'descent' of the Qur'an; yet if the universe is the result of God's free action and not of necessity, the creator will continue to be free to act within creation. Thus the account given of causal agency in general, and of personal agency in particular, will have to allow for just that: a kind of agency proper to creatures, yet always subordinate to the influence of a free creator. al-ghazali responds to this challenge by comprehending created causes under a patterned regularity of the sunna Allah, action willed by God: creatures do indeed contain such powers, yet always subject to the will of the One who so created them. In this way, a key Islamic religious thinker such as al-ghazali can simultaneously insist that God alone is the only agent and yet, by God's power, others are agents as well. Thus causality can be attributed to creatures, but not causal connections of the quasilogical sort demanded by the emanation scheme. 3. Natural philosophy Early kalam thinkers, as noted above, presumed an atomistic conception of nature by which the universe was divinely sustained by being freely created at 'each moment' by God. This conception is clearly an attempt to affirm the omnipresence of divine causal action in the universe God creates, and just as clearly evacuates created causal efficacy. It also runs foul of Aristotle's refutations of atomism in terms of the irreducibility of the continuum of time, space and matter to discrete moments (see Atomism, ancient). It is these arguments which persuaded al-ghazali that the Ash'arite presumption of the atomistic constitution of nature was gratuitous and unnecessary as a ploy to assure the omnipresence of the creator's action in nature. Thus Islamic thought has not been caught between the two extremes of 'occasionalism' (whereby all action is effectively God's) (see Occasionalism) and the pervasive necessity associated with the Neoplatonic emanation scheme of its notable philosophers; there is a middle course, intimated by al-ghazali and explicitly developed in the early twentieth century in Egypt in the celebrated Qur'an commentary al-manar, whereby the sunna Allah is evoked to explain the consistency of a created world of nature. In summary, Islamic thought must always reconcile the assertion that the entire universe is the free creation of God, who neither requires anything in order to create it now stands to gain anything by creating it, with the fact that this created world has a consistency associated with causes and effects as we observe them and as we use them to explain natural phenomena. If that causal consistency is articulated in terms which presume a necessity inimical to the free action of a creator, either in the beginning or at any moment of the universe's duration, then Islamic thinkers will feel constrained, as some indeed have, to deny created causality in favour of divine sovereignty. However, as might be expected, developments internal to Islamic thought on this matter have found a way of 36

37 affirming the free creation of the universe together with its causal consistency, and in doing so have suggested a pattern for causal connections in nature which distances them from the quasi-logical while respecting their reality, specifically by invoking an analogy with the patterns which the God who reveals the Qur'an sets up between human actions and their recompense: the sunna Allah. In this way the world of nature can be seen to have a consistency proper to it, yet at the same time is affirmed to be the result of an intentional agent whose order it reflects in the operations proper to it (see Intention 4). The pattern to be found by scientific investigation will be a reflection of that with which the natural world has been endowed by its creator: the celebrated ayat, or 'signs' of divine wisdom and ordering available to human reason. Aristotelianism in Islamic Philosophy In Arabic, Aristotle was referred to by name as Aristutalis or, more frequently, Aristu, although when quoted he was often referred to by a sobriquet such as 'the wise man'. Aristotle was also generally known as the First Teacher. Following the initial reception of Hellenistic texts into Islamic thought in al-kindi's time, al-farabi rediscovered a 'purer' version in the tenth century. In an allusion to his dependence on Aristotle, al-farabi was called the Second Teacher. Ibn Rushd, known in the West as Averroes, was the last great Arabophone commentator on Aristotle, writing numerous treatises on his works. A careful examination of the Aristotelian works received by the Arabs indicates they were generally aware of the true Aristotle. Later, transmission of these works to Christian Europe allowed Aristotelianism to flourish in the scholastic period. We should not take at face value the Islamic philosophers' claims that they were simply following Aristotle. The convention in Islamic philosophy is to state that one is repeating the wisdom of the past, thus covering over such originality as may exist. There was a tendency among Islamic philosophers to cite Aristotle as an authority in order to validate their own claims and ideas. 1. Early influence Among the major differences between the Islamic philosophers and Aristotle are the questions of the eternity or creation of the world, the nature of Being and a real-world distinction between essence and existence. The ninth-century philosopher al-kindi used Aristotle, in Arabic translations, as a base for his own philosophical works. Among other works, al-kindi wrote one treatise specifically dealing with Aristotle, Fi kammiya kutub Aristutalis wa ma yahtaj ilahi fi tahsil al-falsafa (The Quantity of the Books of Aristotle and What is Required for the Acquisition of Philosophy). The early part of this treatise gives an accurate summary of various logical works by Aristotle, such as Categories and De Interpretatione, before diverging into a decidedly non-aristotelian précis 37

38 on questions found in the physical treatises. Though he owed a large debt to Aristotelian thought, al-kindi parted company with Aristotle in espousing the idea of creation from nothing by a Creator. Furthermore, in writing about creation al-kindi does not ascribe the idea to Aristotle in the text of his treatises. Debate still continues over whether al-kindi should be considered more 'Platonic' or 'Aristotelian'. An inventory of those works attributed to Aristotle which were available to early Islamic philosophers appears in the Fihrist of the tenth-century bibliographer Ibn al-nadim. The work known as the Theology of Aristotle appears in the Fihrist, although it is mentioned only in passing. Greater attention is paid to other correctly attributed works of philosophy and logic by Aristotle, including such detailed information as the translator, the number of sections and the work's Arabic commentators, suggesting the relative importance of these works to Ibn al-nadim and his audience. Judging from the list available in the Fihrist, the Islamic philosophers would have been able to appreciate Aristotle's logic, physics and metaphysics. However, since the Theology of Aristotle was really a Neoplatonic work (see Neoplatonism in Islamic philosophy 1), based on the Enneads of Plotinus, accepting this attribution would have obscured understanding of Aristotle. Whatever the influence of Aristotle on Islamic philosophy, the Muslims were nonetheless obliged to work out for themselves certain underlying issues, such as conceptualizing ideas in their own language. In particular, they had to implement a philosophical terminology, as there was a lack of abstract nouns in Arabic. 2. Middle stage: Ibn Sina and al-farabi The Islamic philosophers picked and chose from Aristotle's texts, using him as an authority when it suited their purposes, and knowing that philosophy was a 'foreign science' in need of an external authority as it lacked an indigenous authority. While aspects of Avicennan philosophy continue the Aristotelian tradition in broad terms, Ibn Sina's ideas about the Necessary Existent and the Possible Existent do not have their antecedents in Aristotle's philosophy (see Ibn Sina). However, as Ibn Sina himself hailed from Khurasan, one cannot dismiss the possible influences of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Hinduism on his philosophy. The differences with Aristotle go back to the fact that the philosophers are writing in an Islamic milieu, and certain changes had to take place to correlate with the religious ideology. Seen in some lights, these changes may be considered peripheral; the philosophers continued to hold a solidly Aristotelian view of such basic ideas as the relationship of form and matter. Among the scholars of the Middle Period - the fourth and fifth centuries ah (tenth and eleventh centuries ad) - al-farabi is considered the foremost Aristotelian, and was indeed known as the Second Teacher (Aristotle himself 38

39 being the First Teacher). Some scholars have divided his works into those which admit Aristotelian influence, such as Kitab al-huruf (The Book of Letters), and more popular works, such as Kitab fi mabadi' ara' ahl al-madina al-fadila (The Book of the Principles of the Opinions of the People of the Virtuous City), usually known simply as al-madina al-fadila (The Virtuous City), a utopian treatise which espouses Neoplatonic theories such as emanation, in which everything is said to flow from the One. His internalization of Aristotle is apparent in his treatment of the four causes in Tahsil al-sa'ada (The Attainment of Happiness), echoing those found in al-tabi'a (The Physics). Here he shows a complete familiarity with the Aristotelian idea of the four causes, but is equally willing to propound his own interpretation, preferring the word mabadi' (literally, principles) rather than asbab (causes), which was the translator Ibn Ishaq's choice. On another important point, however, al-farabi is not conceptually Aristotelian. In al-madina al-fadila, we do not find the long discourses on the inherent weakness of women, children and slaves, which are found in Aristotle; rather, he distinguishes the inhabitants of the virtuous city from those of the ignorant cities by their moral character. Al-Farabi considered his Kitab al-huruf, which takes its title from the Greek letters which entitle Aristotle's chapters, to be a commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics. While al-huruf is inspired by Aristotle's concerns, and deals with many of the same subjects, it does not slavishly imitate or even follow the order of the Metaphysics. Al-Farabi also believed in the ultimate harmony of the opinions of Plato and Aristotle, a difficult notion for many philosophers today to accept. One might ask why Ibn Sina (Avicenna) would be taken in by a false treatise, the Theology of Aristotle, when he had such a good command of Aristotelian concepts that he could quote accurately from memory. In his 'Letter to Kiya', Ibn Sina expresses doubt about the authorship of the Theology of Aristotle, remarking that the text is 'somewhat suspect' (Gutas 1988). The tone of his discussion indicates that while he included this work with other Aristotelian treatises, he has by no means concluded it is genuinely an Aristotelian text. On the other hand, in the Danashnama-i 'ala'i (The Book of Knowledge for 'Ala'), his account of metaphysics, Ibn Sina derives a quotation from Aristotle where he claims that Aristotle describes the First Being as having complete happiness in itself. It is uncertain to which part of the Metaphysics Ibn Sina is referring, as such a passage does not appear to exist. Elsewhere, Ibn Sina claims to quote Aristotle from memory when discussing the theory of definition for his treatise on Definitions, when he suggests that in the Topics, Aristotle defines definition as 'a statement indicating the quiddity of a 39

40 thing'. This is an exact quotation. It is remarkable that Ibn Sina appears to remember Aristotle's important ideas word for word after having, he says, read the books only once and thereafter being unable to refer to them. Given his life as a wanderer, this statement is credible. 3. Late period: the legacy of Aristotelianism Unlike the Islamic east, where a Hellenistic tradition of philosophy flourished from the ninth century, philosophy reached al-andalus later. Ibn Bajja, known as Avempace in Latin, was one of its first practitioners, active in the early part of the twelfth century. His heavily Aristotelian commentaries on the logical works of al-farabi still survive. The socio-historian Ibn Khaldun ranked him with Ibn Rushd, and Ibn Bajja no doubt influenced this, the most famous, philosopher of Muslim Spain. Ibn Rushd, better known in the West as Averroes, is considered not nearly as influential in the Islamic world as he was in medieval Europe. Here, either because he lived on the Western periphery of the Islamic world or because he wrote such extensive commentaries on Aristotle, he became renowned (see Averroism 1). Latin translations of Ibn Rushd's texts were available in Europe within a century of his death. Coming from a family of eminent jurists, Ibn Rushd had legal as well as philosophical training. He wrote commentaries on a wide range of Aristotle's works, including his Physics, Metaphysics, Book of the Soul, On the Heavens and Posterior Analytics, the last dating from In both long and intermediate commentaries as well as short paraphrases, Ibn Rushd tried to analyse the extent of his Islamic predecessors' deviation from Aristotle. He also exerted himself in reconciling religion and philosophy in his Fasl almaqal (Decisive Treatise On the Harmony of Religion and Philosophy). He discovers a duty to reflect with the intellect on existing beings and to seek knowledge in the Qur'anic injunction found at Surah 49: 2: 'Consider, you who have vision.' There is good reason to consider another of Ibn Rushd's works, the Tahafut altahafut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence) to be an attack on Neoplatonism and a defence of true Aristotelianism. On the question of the origin of the world, Ibn Rushd promulgated eternal creation but did not accept emanation. While he wrote the Tahafut primarily as a rebuttal of al-ghazali's attack on the philosophers, he also disagreed with Ibn Sina's ideas about necessity. Ibn Rushd was also to be the last in the line of Islamic Aristotelians. Throughout the classical period of Islamic thought, there were always some thinkers who distrusted rationalism and logic, certain that the study of philosophy results in a loss of faith. Al-Ghazali and Ibn Taymiyya are the two best known examples. Al-Ghazali studied philosophy to be able to rebut it; he suggested that knowledge is inferior to faith, as knowledge could not overcome doubts. His 40

41 Tahafut al-falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers) had a lasting influence. Here al-ghazali attacked Aristotle and his followers, al-farabi and Ibn Sina, particularly objecting to the Aristotelian notion of the eternity of the world, which he found irreconcilable with the Qur'anic description of God's creation of the world from nothing. Al-Ghazali also saw this as an idea which limited God in a totally unacceptable manner. Two centuries later, Ibn Taymiyya wrote al-radd 'ala al-mantiqiyyin (Against the Logicians) as an attack on the method of definition and demonstration used by the philosophers who were influenced by Aristotle. He argued that logic is based on the faculty of human reason, which is necessarily inferior to divine revelation. Despite the efforts of Ibn Rushd to rehabilitate philosophy, many scholars believe that Islamic philosophy never completely recovered from al-ghazali's massive and brutal assault on it. In the Latin West, Islamic Aristotelianism was reincarnated as Averroism, that is, Aristotle's works as taught by Ibn Rushd and translated into Latin (see Aristotelianism, medieval 4; Averroism 1). His works also came to have great influence in Jewish philosophy, and for many years led to a strong strain of Aristotelianism among Jewish philosophers (see Averroism, Jewish). Aristotelianism continued to have an effect on Islamic philosophy through opposition to it from Illuminationist philosophy (see Illuminationist philosophy), and in particular thinkers such as al-suhrawardi, al- Shahrazuri, Ibn Kammuna and others, often based in Persia. The latter sought to attack what they took to be the principles of Aristotelianism, especially its logical and ontological axioms, and produced critiques of Aristotelian essentialism which are sometimes quite similar to that of William of Ockham. It is accurate to say, however, that Aristotelianism as a school of philosophy in the Islamic world found no Muslim successors after the death of Ibn Rushd. Islamic philosophy, in modern times There are a number of major trends in modern Islamic philosophy. First, there is the challenge of the West to traditional Islamic philosophical and cultural principles and the desire to establish a form of thought which is distinctive. From the mid-nineteenth century onwards, Islamic philosophers have attempted to redefine Islamic philosophy; some, such as Hasan Hanafi and Ali Mazrui, have sought to give modern Islamic philosophy a global significance and provide an agenda for world unity. Second, there is a continuing tradition of interest in illuminationist and mystical thought, especially in Iran where the influence of Mulla Sadra and al- Suhrawardi has remained strong. The influence of the latter can be seen in the works of Henry Corbin and Seyyed Hossein Nasr; Mulla Sadra has exercised an influence over figures such as Mahdi Ha'iri Yazdi and the members of Qom 41

42 School, notably Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The philosopher Abdul Soroush has introduced a number of concepts from Western philosophy into Iran. Finally, there have been many thinkers who have adapted and employed philosophical ideas which are originally non-islamic as part of the normal philosophical process of seeking to understand conceptual problems. This is a particularly active area, with a number of philosophers from many parts of the Islamic world investigating the relevance to Islam of concepts such as Hegelianism and existentialism. At the same time, mystical philosophy continues to exercise an important influence. Modern Islamic philosophy is thus quite diverse, employing a wide variety of techniques and approaches to its subject. 1. Reactions to the West There has been a tendency in the Islamic world since the late nineteenth century to explore the issue of the relative decline or decadence of Arabic intellectual thought and science as compared with its Western equivalent. During the Christian medieval period the Islamic world was in its cultural and political ascendancy, and was at the centre of theoretical work in both science and philosophy. However, by the nineteenth century an enormous gap had opened between the Islamic world and the West. A wide variety of explanations for this decline have since been sought. The realization that this gap existed led to the Nahda (rebirth or renaissance) movement between 1850 and Beginning in Syria but developed largely in Egypt, the movement sought to incorporate the main achievements of modern European civilization while at the same time reviving classical Islamic culture which predated imperialism and the centuries of decadence. The main problem facing the Nahda thinkers had was how to interpret the Islamic cultural tradition, including philosophy, in an environment dominated by the West. Jamal al-din al-afghani and Muhammad 'Abduh both argued that Islam is inherently rational and need not be abandoned in the face of the encroachment of Western forms of scientific and cultural thought. The Egyptian philosopher Mustafa 'Abd al-raziq also argued that it is possible to demonstrate the authenticity of traditional Islamic philosophical work and its modern relevance within Islamic society. He posits an inseparable link connecting rationalism and revelation in Islam, and he defends the traditional Islamic sciences as compatible with science and rationality. In this he constitutes what might be thought of as a more conservative position than his predecessor 'Abduh, who was more dubious about the values of some of the Islamic schools of thought, in particular of Sufism (see Mystical philosophy in Islam). 42

43 Muhammad 'Abid al-jabiri suggests that a viable Arab future can only come about through a deconstruction and critique of the reasons for the decline of the Arab world. He criticizes the dichotomy between the Islamicists, who hark back to a Golden Age in the past, and the liberal Westernizers, who praise the principles of the European Renaissance from which colonialism originated. The solution he offers is the freeing of modern Arabic thought from both the language and the theological limitations of the past. The Arab mind has become very much part and parcel of traditional ways of exploring the world, and is restricted in its potential if it remains too closely wedded to its Islamic heritage. Fu'ad Zakariyya' argued that the Arab world declined due to its inability to historicize the past and its dependence on tradition, while Zaki Najib Mahmud brought out the importance of philosophy in taking us from the known to the unknown, and was critical of the ability of religion to interfere with this movement in thought. Hasan Hanafi presents a form of phenomenology which argues that a new concept of tawhid (divine unity) should be developed which will involve a principle of unity and equality for all people. Hanafi also throws the charge of decadence back at the West, suggesting that the West is now entering a period of decadence and will require an infusion of ideas and energy from the East. He uses the language of liberation theology, which holds that revelation is adaptable to the language of each age (see Liberation theology). The original revelation was suited to the time and place of the Prophet and not necessarily of the current world. Modern Muslims should reinterpret revelation in modern language and in accordance with present demands; fossilized conservatism is a misinterpretation of the true dynamic and dialectical spirit of Islam. Fazlur Rahman also contends that Islamic conservatism contradicts the essence of Islam. Islam's aims are economic reform and the establishment of a just social order (see Islamic theology 6). According to the Qur'an, he argues, moral and economic decline are related events. Therefore Islamic societies should turn away from petrified conservatism and educate their children in the new technologies. Islam should not be limited to communities of the faithful, but should seek a prominent place in the new ethical and social world order. Another movement in Islamic political philosophy depicts Muslims not as the antagonists of Western culture, but rather as being in the vanguard of the globalization of peace and social justice. The most popular thinker of this school in the USA is Malcolm X, who began his career as an isolationist minister for the Nation of Islam movement. At first he used Islam to separate African- Americans from white people, but later he preached an internationalized Islam that reaches beyond racial and national differences. 43

44 An important African thinker in this tradition is Ali Mazrui, who tries to harmonize several interdependent factors in Islamic theology with current global realities. Mazrui proposes a marriage between the Islamic monotheistic jihad (universal struggle), Islam's anti-racist and humanist agenda, and the need for global economic cooperation; he employs culture as a vehicle for social change through his integration of multiculturalism, the politics of pan-islamicism and the need for globalism. He takes Islam to be the first Protestant revolution in Christianity. Moreover, he suggests that Islam's economic message turns monotheism from isolated spirituality to communitarian humanism - in the form of a Muslim world order among a community of faithful (umma) - through global economic cooperation, social justice and the brotherhood of all. The essence of a multicultural perspective implies the acknowledgement that cultures project their own biases onto their perceptions of other societies. In a world which demands global economic policy-making and increasing interdependency, Mazrui believes that Muslims should see their religion of 'all is Godism' as a type of globalism. His innovation (ijtihad) interprets the Islamic jihad as an agenda of global peace and justice, thereby transforming what is taken to be a negative image of Islam into a signal for economic unity and world peace. 2. The Persian approach to philosophy The area of the Islamic world which continued most forcefully the Islamic tradition in philosophy after the decline of Peripateticism is undoubtedly Persia (see Islam, concept of philosophy in 3-4). Interestingly, one of the most staunch advocates of the form of thought which might be called neo- Illuminationism, and which stems from the ishraqi principles of al-suhrawardi, is Henry Corbin ( ), a French philosopher who worked in Iran. Corbin was active in translating and interpreting post-avicennan Islamic philosophy with an emphasis on shi'ism, ishraqi thought and the mysticism of Ibn al-'arabi. He posited the existence of a perennial school of philosophical wisdom, which can be detected through the recurrence of archetypal symbols such as the icon of light. Such icons exist in the works of Shihab al-din al-suhrawardi in the early twelfth century ad, and have their source in Eastern (ishraqi) traditions such as Zoroastrianism, Hermeticism and Manicheism. (The term ishraq, which signifies 'light', also means 'East' or 'Orient'.) For Corbin, 'ishraq' designates not only a static spatial direction but a prescriptive invitation for a hermeneutic reorientation, whereby persons scrutinize their spiritual needs and points of return to archetypal origins. Corbin also discusses the role of the imagination, a faculty which exists between the senses and the intellect. While the senses perceive discrete data and the intellect categorizes, imagination is concerned with the world of archetypes ('alam atmithal). For example, the notion of the perfect person (al-insan al-kamil) is an 44

45 icon for the psychic centre. This centre signifies peace and the perfection of the self-realization process. Corbin asserts that by means of a series of epistemic states - which include revelation (kashf) and recollection (or archetypal memory) (dhikr) - one may return to the eternal origin. This process describes a cycle, thereby reasserting the Islamic theme of the unity of being (al-wahdat alwujud). Corbin's followers, such as Hermann Landolt, William Chittick and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, have developed his ideas in a variety of different ways. The latter is the best known contemporary Islamic philosopher. According to him, people share a spiritual component that cannot be actualized by either descriptive or pragmatic accounts of nature. Nasr's world perspective includes a normative element which integrates people in the same way as earlier religions and cosmologies (Nasr 1993). In the past, everyone considered their religion to be the true religion; today, however, we are confronted with a plurality of religions. How can a Muslim attain a workable relation with the sacred in such an environment? Nasr employs Sufism to refer to the archetypal dimensions common to all religions; it is through the realm of mysticism that different forms of spirituality meet. The contemporary world creates the need for followers of different creeds and cultures to communicate. Islam must coexist with the Western world, but this does not imply an Islamic surrender to all the practices of Western society. Nasr's views on Western scientific progress show his dissatisfaction with many Western perspectives. Citing the ecological disasters of overpopulation and pollution, Nasr criticizes the value of Western technological advances. According to him, the fault lies in the mistaken metascientific presupposition that an innate nature exists which is disconnected from humanity and can be investigated separately and controlled. Moreover, the increasingly pervasive quantitative perspective supplied by units of measurement - like that by which the size of a building might be described - is an incomplete outlook because it does not articulate the qualitative effects of what it describes on the surrounding environment. By contrast, Nasr holds that Islamic and Eastern perspectives on science and technology are integrative and harmonious. They stress unity in their studies of nature, thereby acknowledging the long-term ecological significance of development. Unless religious and spiritual values are embedded in a technological agenda, ecological disasters as well as a general lack of a sense of meaning in life are inevitable. Western science and its technological consequences are of ecological import to modern civilization. Consequently, neither science nor technology can consider itself irrelevant to environmental ethics (see Environmental ethics). Philosophy along Neoplatonic lines should be pursued, since only this form of analysis does justice to the spiritual wholeness of humanity. 45

46 The main emphasis in recent Persian philosophy has been on the thought of Mulla Sadra and al-suhrawardi. Islamic philosophy has moved from the madrasa (traditional school) system and became an important part of the university curriculum. One of the most interesting thinkers is Mahdi Ha'iri Yazdi, whose work on knowledge by presence ('ilm al-huduri) provides an example of the fruitful combination of ideas from Western analytical philosophy and the ishraqi tradition in order to elucidate metaphysical and epistemological problems (Ha'iri Yazdi 1992). Recent Shi'ite theologians, as students of the work of Mulla Sadra, were versed in the dialectics of time and change. 'Ali Shari'ati, another student of Corbin, is an important social thinker whose work advocates a social process of Islamization. He rejects both the Peripatetic philosophers and the mystical thinkers, claiming that the existential being of each person contains a determination formed through mutual trust and compassion between them and God as their essence. This presumption is the ground for each person's being and the very core of each subject's potential for therapeutic unity (tawhid); its purpose is justice in both the providential and the social contexts. Islamization is achieved through an existential empathy and a phenomenological assimilation of exemplary people - such as the Imam Hossein (the Prophet's grandson) or Fatima (his daughter and the wife of Imam 'Ali) - into archetypal memory. The martyrdom of 'Ali or Hossein is a paradigmatic message, not for sorrow but for the assimilation of their characters into the self. Further, Shari'ati depicts history as a dialectical process which does not exclude economic and material realities, Islam as a practical religion or people as potential agents of justice. He replaces the Platonic theory of epistemic recollection with a theory of normative archetypal recollection. One may gain normative knowledge through the archetypal recollection of a religion's most exemplary mythical figures. Religion provides social ideals, and yet it demands not a withdrawal to a secret realm but a social revolution in the everyday world. A creative commentary on Mulla Sadra was produced by Ruhollah Khomeini, who argues that people are primarily social as well as private citizens. Thus religious teachings relate not only to the personal morality of individuals but also to their social responsibilities and political actions (see Social sciences, philosophy of). In practice, these ideas imply a theocracy that does not distinguish between politics and religion. Bringing such a dominion into existence, he claims, requires an internal revolution from the masses directed against the existing ruling class, but this revolution must be guided by the directives of the religious authorities. He modifies Islamic theology with the notion of the religious jurist-ruler's guardianship (velayat-e-faqih), whose role is to guide the community of faithful in their universal struggle (jihad). This jihad is not essentially military, but is largely educational and seeks the expansion of monotheistic (that is, Islamic) ethics (see Ethics in Islamic philosophy). 46

47 Khomeini was a member of the School of Qom, based on the college in that city, which also produced Muhammad Hossein Tabataba'i, Murtaza Mutahheri and Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi, all of whom have directed their influential thought at confronting the challenge to Islamic philosophy coming from the West. It should not be thought that this is an essentially reactionary strategy, however; Misbah has encouraged many of his students to study in the West and to take seriously scientific and logical thought as practised in the West. Also, although much of Misbah's work has been on Mulla Sadra, he has been far from uncritical of the latter. In particular, he criticizes the notion of prime matter, which Mulla Sadra ( 1-2) identifies as the pure potentiality for existents. He questions the principle that a potentiality for existents exists prior to existents themselves; after all, there is nothing but existents. Misbah argues further that many relations are not truly essences. For example, in the mind-dependent realm, we may ascribe 'below' as a relation between a table and book, but this subject-directed ascription does not imply that below is an essence in the actual world. An interesting and quite recent controversy in Persian philosophy has been that between Abdul Soroush on the one hand, and the philosophers of the school of Qom, as well as those influenced by the Corbin school, on the other. Soroush introduced a number of concepts from Western philosophy into Iran, in particular the leading ideas of Popper, Moore, Berlin and Wittgenstein. This led him to suggest that we should use a notion like that of collective reason to understand and interpret religious ideas. Collective reason is the best way of dealing with theoretical and practical problems, and is preferable to relying solely on solutions attainable through the efforts of the jurisprudents and religious authorities. Not surprisingly, this aroused the ire of the school of Qom philosophers, and their representative Sadiq Larijani engaged Soroush in a debate which largely dealt with the correct interpretation of thinkers such as Popper, Watkins and Stalnaker, and in particular Hempel's paradoxes of confirmation (see Hempel, C.G. 2). Soroush was also attacked by the Corbin circle, whose basic philosophical approach relies very much on Heidegger along with traditional Islamic philosophy, and who were quite out of sympathy with the analytical nature of Soroush's books. This controversy is interesting in that it brings out the fact that philosophers in Iran are generally familiar now not only with traditional forms of Islamic philosophy but also with the current philosophical ideas of the West. Modern philosophers do not entirely reject Western views, but neither are they completely taken over by the West; they are prepared to examine Western views with a critical sympathy. 3. Modern trends A very vibrant area in Islamic philosophy is the history of philosophy, in particular the Greek tradition in Islamic philosophy. There exists both in the 47

48 West and in the Islamic world a large number of scholars who have developed accounts of this close relationship and who continue to edit, translate and work on important texts in order to get some idea of the nature of the philosophical material which was produced in the early centuries of Islam. In addition, many philosophers in the Islamic world have adapted Western philosophy so as to make sense of the philosophical problems in which they are interested. C.A. Qadir in Pakistan developed an account of Islamic philosophy which he thought was in line with logical positivism, while 'Abd al-rahman Badawi applied existentialism to Arab society. Zaki Najib Mahmud followed William James in presenting a pragmatic account of philosophy. Some thinkers applied particular techniques in the Islamic tradition to philosophy, so that 'Ali Sami al-nashshar for example based his work on Ash'arite theology (see Ash'ariyya and Mu'tazila), while Muhammad 'Aziz Lahbabi (1954) used Hegelianism to develop a theory of being which is quite unusual within the context of Islamic ontology. Hichem Djait (1986) combines Hegelianism with existentialism. He argues that only dialectical epistemology can be used to understand the modern situation of the Arab world, and that the apparent opposites of decadence/renaissance, Arab/non-Arab, orthodox/heterodox, tradition/modernity need to be transcended if we are to understand the present nature of Islamic culture. Abdallah Laroui (1976) and Muhammad Arkoun (1985) both stress the contrast between Islam and modernity, and the former advocates the adoption of Westernization as the appropriate strategy for the Islamic world. In his approach to the Qur'an, Arkoun uses the semiotic ideas current in modern French literature to argue that Islam has always been changing and developing, so that there is no point in referring to a particular constant orthodoxy. While many of these thinkers are hostile to mysticism and its Islamic form, Sufism, there can be little doubt that the latter represents a very potent framework for a good deal of present Islamic philosophy. The tradition of Sufism presents both a way of life which avoids many of the rigidities of traditional Islam and also a complex conceptual system which enables the philosopher to develop ideas and arguments which are intellectually satisfying. Modern Islamic philosophy employs a wide variety of different techniques and approaches to the subject. Mulla Sadra (Sadr al-din Muhammad al-shirazi) (1571/2-1640) Sadr al-din al-shirazi (Mulla Sadra) is perhaps the single most important and influential philosopher in the Muslim world in the last four hundred years. The author of over forty works, he was the culminating figure of the major revival of philosophy in Iran in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Devoting himself almost exclusively to metaphysics, he constructed a critical philosophy which brought together Peripatetic, Illuminationist and gnostic philosophy along with Shi'ite theology within the compass of what he termed a 'meta-philosophy', the 48

49 source of which lay in the Islamic revelation and the mystical experience of reality as existence. Mulla Sadra's meta-philosophy was based on existence as the sole constituent of reality, and rejected any role for quiddities or essences in the external world. Existence was for him at once a single unity and an internally articulated dynamic process, the unique source of both unity and diversity. From this fundamental starting point, Mulla Sadra was able to find original solutions to many of the logical, metaphysical and theological difficulties which he had inherited from his predecessors. His major philosophical work is the Asfar (The Four Journeys), which runs to nine volumes in the present printed edition and is a complete presentation of his philosophical ideas. 1. The primacy of existence Sadr al-din Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Yahya al-qawami al-shirazi, known variously as Mulla Sadra, Sadr al-muta'allihin, or simply Akhund, was born in Shiraz in central Iran in ah /ad He studied in Isfahan with, among others, Mir Damad and Shaykh Baha' al-din al-'amili, Shaykh-e Baha'i, before retiring for a number of years of spiritual solitude and discipline in the village of Kahak, near Qum. Here he completed the first part of his major work, the Asfar (The Four Journeys). He was then invited by Allah-wirdi Khan, the governor of Fars province, to return to Shiraz, where he taught for the remainder of his life. He died in Basra in ah 1050/ad 1640 while on his seventh pilgrimage on foot to Mecca. Safavid Iran witnessed a noteworthy revival of philosophical learning, and Mulla Sadra was this revival's most important figure. The Peripatetic (mashsha'i) philosophy of Ibn Sina had been elaborated and invigorated at the beginning of the Mongol period by Nasir al-din al-tusi, and there existed a number of important contributors to this school in the century before Mulla Sadra. Illuminationist (ishraqi) philosophy, originated by Shihab al-din al-suhrawardi, had also been a major current (see Illuminationist philosophy). The speculative mysticism of the Sufism of Ibn al-'arabi had also taken firm root in the period leading up to the tenth century ah (sixteenth century ad), while theology (kalam), particularly Shi'ite theology, had increasingly come to be expressed in philosophical terminology, a process which was initiated in large part by al-tusi (see Mystical philosophy in Islam; Islamic theology). Several philosophers had combined various strands from this philosophical heritage in their writings, but it was Mulla Sadra who achieved a true fusion of all four, forming what he called 'metaphilosophy' (al-hikma al-muta'aliya), a term he incorporated into the title of his magnum opus, al-hikma al-muta'aliya fi'l-asfar al-'aqliyya al-arba'a (The Transcendent Wisdom Concerning the Four Intellectual Journeys), known simply as the Asfar. 49

50 Mulla Sadra made the primacy of existence (asalat al-wujud) the cornerstone of his philosophy. Aristotle ( 11-12) had pointed out that existence was the most universal of predicates and therefore could not be included as one of the categories, and al-farabi added to this that it was possible to know an essence without first knowing whether it existed or not, existence thus being neither a constitutive element of an essence nor a necessary attribute, and that therefore it must be an accident. But it was Ibn Sina who later became the source for the controversy as to how the accidentally of existence was to be conceived. He had held that in the existence-quiddity (wujud-mahiyya) or existence-essence relationship, existence was an accident of quiddity. Ibn Rushd had criticized this view as entailing a regress, for if the existence of a thing depended on the addition of an accident to it, then the same principle would have to apply to existence itself. This was merely an argument against the existence-quiddity dichotomy, but al-suhrawardi had added to this another argument, asserting that if existence were an attribute of quiddity, quiddity itself would have to exist before attracting this attribute in order to be thus qualified. From this, al- Suhrawardi deduced the more radical conclusion that existence is merely a mental concept with no corresponding reality, and that it is quiddity which constitutes reality. It was this view, that of the primacy of quiddity (asalat al-mahiyya), which held sway in philosophical writing in Iran up to Mulla Sadra's time. Indeed, Mir Damad, Mulla Sadra's teacher, held this view. However, Mulla Sadra himself took the opposite view, that it is existence that constitutes reality and that it is quiddities which are the mental constructs. By taking the position of the primacy of existence, Mulla Sadra was able to answer the objections of Ibn Rushd and the Illuminationists by pointing out that existence is accidental to quiddity in the mind in so far as it is not a part of its essence. When it is a case of attributing existentiality to existence, however, what is being discussed is an essential attribute; and so at this point the regress stopped, for the source of an essential attribute is the essence itself. 2. The systematic ambiguity of existence A concomitant of Mulla Sadra's theory that reality and existence are identical is that existence is one but graded in intensity; to this he gave the name tashkik alwujud, which has been usefully translated as the 'systematic ambiguity' of existence. Al-Suhrawardi, in contrast to the peripatetics, had asserted that quiddities were capable of a range of intensities; for example, when a colour, such as blue, intensifies it is not a new species of 'blueness' which replaces the old one, but is rather the same 'blue' intensified. Mulla Sadra adopted this theory but replaced quiddity with existence, which was for him the only reality. This enabled him to say that it is the same existence which occurs in all things, but that existential instances differ in terms of 'priority and posteriority, perfection 50

51 and imperfection, strength and weakness' (making reality similar to al- Suhrawardi's Light). He was thus able to explain that it was existence and existence alone which had the property of combining 'unity in multiplicity, and multiplicity in unity'. Reality is therefore pure existence, but an existence which manifests itself in different modes, and it is these modes which present themselves in the mind as quiddities. Even the term 'in the mind', however, is merely an expression denoting a particular mode of being, that of mental existence (al-wujud aldhihni), albeit an extremely attenuated mode. Everything is thus comprehended by existence, even 'nothingness', which must on being conceived assume the most meagre portion of existence in order to become a mental existent. When reality (or rather a mode of existence) presents itself to the mind, the mind abstracts a quiddity from it - being unable, except in exceptional circumstances, to grasp existence intuitively - and in the mind the quiddity becomes, as it were, the reality and existence the accident. However, this 'existence' which the mind predicates of the quiddity is itself merely a notion or concept, one of the secondary intelligibles. It is this which is the most universal and most selfevident concept to which the Aristotelians referred, and which al-suhrawardi regarded as univocal. But in reality there are not two 'things', existence and quiddity, only existence - not the concept, but the reality - and so 'existence' cannot be regarded as a real attribute of quiddity; for if this were possible quiddity would have to be regarded as already existent, as al-suhrawardi had objected. 3. Substantial motion Another of the key properties of existence for Mulla Sadra is its transubstantiality, effected through what he termed motion in substance (alharaka fi'l-jawhar) or substantial motion (al-haraka al-jawhariyya). The peripatetics had held that substance only changes suddenly, from one substance to another or from one instant to another, in generation and corruption (and therefore only in the sublunar world), and that gradual motion is confined to the accidents (quantity, quality, place). They also held that the continuity of movement is something only in the mind, which strings together a potentially infinite series of infinitesimal changes - rather in the fashion of a film - to produce the illusion of movement, although time as an extension is a true part of our experience. What gives rise to movement is an unchanging substrate, part of the essence of which is that it is at an indefinite point in space at some instant in time; in other words, movement is potential in it and is that through which it becomes actual. Mulla Sadra completely rejected this, on the grounds that the reality of this substance, its being, must itself be in motion, for the net result of the peripatetic view is merely a static conglomeration of spatio-temporal events. The movement from potentiality to actuality of a thing is in fact the abstract 51

52 notion in the mind, while material being itself is in a constant state of flux perpetually undergoing substantial change. Moreover, this substantial change is a property not only of sublunary elemental beings (those composed of earth, water, air and fire) but of celestial beings as well. Mulla Sadra likened the difference between these two understandings of movement to the difference between the abstracted, derivative notion of existence and the existence which is reality itself. Existence in Mulla Sadra's philosophical system, as has been seen, is characterized by systematic ambiguity (tashkik), being given its systematic character by substantial motion, which is always in one direction towards perfection. In other words, existence can be conceived of as a continual unfolding of existence, which is thus a single whole with a constantly evolving internal dynamic. What gives things their identities are the imagined essences which we abstract from the modes of existence, while the reality is everchanging; it is only when crucial points are reached that we perceive this change and new essences are formed in our minds, although change has been continually going on. Time is the measure of this process of renewal, and is not an independent entity such that events take place within it, but rather is a dimension exactly like the three spatial dimensions: the physical world is a spatio-temporal continuum. All of this permits Mulla Sadra to give an original solution to the problem which has continually pitted philosophers against theologians in Islam, that of the eternity of the world. In his system, the world is eternal as a continual process of the unfolding of existence, but since existence is in a constant state of flux due to its continuous substantial change, every new manifestation of existence in the world emerges in time. The world - that is, every spatio-temporal event from the highest heaven downwards - is thus temporally originated, although as a whole the world is also eternal in the sense that it has no beginning or end, since time is not something existing independently within which the world in turn exists (see Eternity). 4. Epistemology Mulla Sadra's radical ontology also enabled him to offer original contributions to epistemology, combining aspects of Ibn Sina's theory of knowledge (in which the Active Intellect, while remaining utterly transcendent, actualizes the human mind by instilling it with intellectual forms in accordance with its state of preparation to receive these forms) with the theory of self-knowledge through knowledge by presence developed by al-suhrawardi. Mulla Sadra's epistemology is based on the identity of the intellect and the intelligible, and on the identity of knowledge and existence. His theory of substantial motion, in which existence is a dynamic process constantly moving towards greater 52

53 intensity and perfection, had allowed him to explain that new forms, or modes, of existence do not replace prior forms but on the contrary subsume them. Knowledge, being identical with existence, replicates this process, and by acquiring successive intelligible forms - which are in reality modes of being and not essential forms, and are thus successive intensifications of existence - gradually moves the human intellect towards identity with the Active Intellect. The intellect thus becomes identified with the intelligibles which inform it. Furthermore, for Mulla Sadra actual intelligibles are self-intelligent and selfintellected, since an actual intelligible cannot be deemed to have ceased to be intelligible once it is considered outside its relation to intellect. As the human intellect acquires more intelligibles, it gradually moves upwards in terms of the intensification and perfection of existence, losing its dependence on quiddities, until it becomes one with the Active Intellect and enters the realm of pure existence. Humans can, of course, normally only attain at best a partial identification with the Active Intellect as long as they remain with their physical bodies; only in the case of prophets can there be complete identification, allowing them to have direct access to knowledge for themselves without the need for instruction. Indeed, only very few human minds attain identification with the Active Intellect even after death. 5. Methodology Even this brief account of Mulla Sadra's main doctrines will have given some idea of the role that is played in his philosophy by the experience of the reality which it describes. Indeed he conceived of hikma (wisdom) as 'coming to know the essence of beings as they really are' or as 'a man's becoming an intellectual world corresponding to the objective world'. Philosophy and mysticism, hikma and Sufism, are for him two aspects of the same thing. To engage in philosophy without experiencing the truth of its content confines the philosopher to a world of essences and concepts, while mystical experience without the intellectual discipline of philosophy can lead only to an ineffable state of ecstasy. When the two go hand in hand, the mystical experience of reality becomes the intellectual content of philosophy. The four journeys, the major sections into which the Asfar is divided, parallel a fourfold division of the Sufi journey. The first, the journey of creation or the creature (khalq) to the Truth (al-haqq), is the most philosophical; here Mulla Sadra lays out the basis of his ontology, and mirrors the stage in the Sufi's path where he seeks to control his lower nafs under the supervision of his shaykh. In the second journey, in the Truth with the Truth, the stage at which the Sufi begins to attract the divine manifestations, Mulla Sadra deals with the simple substances, the intelligences, the souls and their bodies, including therefore his discussion of the natural sciences. In the third journey, from the Truth to 53

54 creation with the Truth, the Sufi experiences annihilation in the Godhead, and Mulla Sadra deals with theodicy; the fourth stage, the journey with the Truth in creation, where he gives a full and systematic account of the development of the human soul, its origin, becoming and end, is where the Sufi experiences persistence in annihilation, absorbed in the beauty of oneness and the manifestations of multiplicity. Mulla Sadra had described his blinding spiritual realization of the primacy of existence as a kind of 'conversion': In the earlier days I used to be a passionate defender of the thesis that the quiddities are the primary constituents of reality and existence is conceptual, until my Lord gave me spiritual guidance and let me see His demonstration. All of a sudden my spiritual eyes were opened and I saw with utmost clarity that the truth was just the contrary of what the philosophers in general had held... As a result [I now hold that] the existences (wujudat) are primary realities, while the quiddities are the 'permanent archetypes' (a'yan thabita) that have never smelt the fragrance of existence. 54 (Asfar, vol. 1, introduction) Therefore it is not surprising that Mulla Sadra is greatly indebted to Ibn al-'arabi in many aspects of his philosophy. Ibn Sina provides the ground on which his metaphilosophy is constructed and is, as it were, the lens through which he views Peripatetic philosophy. However, his work is also full of citations from the Presocratics (particularly Pythagoras), Plato, Aristotle, the Neoplatonists (see Neoplatonism in Islamic philosophy) and the Stoics (taken naturally from Arabic sources), and he also refers to the works of al-farabi, and Abu'l Hasan al- 'Amiri, who had prefigured Mulla Sadra's theory of the unity of intellect and intelligible. This philosophical heritage is then given shape through the illuminationism of al-suhrawardi, whose universe of static grades of light he transformed into a dynamic unity by substituting the primacy of existence for the latter's primacy of quiddity. It is in this shaping that the influence of Ibn al- 'Arabi, whom Mulla Sadra quotes and comments on in hundreds of instances, can be most keenly felt. Not only is that apparent in Mulla Sadra's total dismissal of any role for quiddity in the nature of reality, but in the importance which both he and Ibn al-'arabi gave to the imaginal world ('alam al-mithal, 'alam al-khayal). In Ibn Sina's psychology, the imaginal faculty (al-quwwa al-khayaliyya) is the site for the manipulation of images abstracted from material objects and retained in the sensus communis. The imaginal world had first been formally proposed by al-suhrawardi as an intermediate realm between that of material bodies and that of intellectual entities, which is independent of matter and thus survives the body after death. Ibn al-'arabi had emphasized the creative aspects of this power

55 to originate by mere volition imaginal forms which are every bit as real as, if not more real than, perceptible but which subsist in no place. For Mulla Sadra, this world is a level of immaterial existence with which it is possible for the human soul (and indeed certain higher forms of the animal soul) to be in contact, although not all the images formed by the human soul are necessarily veridical and therefore part of the imaginal world. For Mulla Sadra, as also for Ibn al- 'Arabi, the imaginal world is the key to understanding the nature of bodily resurrection and the afterlife, which exists as an immaterial world which is nevertheless real (perhaps one might say more real than the physical world), in which the body survives as an imaginal form after death. Philosophy has always had a tense relationship with theology in Islam, especially with the latter's discourse of faith (iman) and orthodoxy. In consequence, philosophy has often been seen, usually by non-philosophers, as a school with its own doctrines. This is despite the assertions of philosophers themselves that what they were engaged in was a practice without end (for, as Ibn Sina had declared that what is known to humankind is limited and could only possibly be fulfilled when the association of the soul with the body is severed through death), part of the discipline of which consisted in avoiding taqlid, an uncritical adherence to sects (see Islam, concept of philosophy in). It is the notable feature of Mulla Sadra's methodology that he constantly sought to transcend the particularities of any system - Platonic, Aristotelian, Neoplatonic, mystical or theological - by striving to create through his meta-philosophy an instrument with which the soundness of all philosophical arguments might be tested. It is a measure of his success that he has remained to the present day the most influential of the 'modern' philosophers in the Islamic world. Meaning in Islamic Philosophy The discussion of the notion of meaning in Islamic philosophy is heavily influenced by theological and legal debates about the interpretation of Islam, and about who has the right to pronounce on interpretation. The introduction of Greek philosophy into the Islamic world produced a new set of authorities on how to interpret texts, and this led to arguments over the potential benefits of the new approaches as compared with the traditional Islamic sciences. The discussion came to centre on the nature of ambiguity, equivocation and analogy, with different philosophers adopting diverse theories and thus attaining a variety of conclusions about how to interpret meaning. These variations have powerful implications for the understanding of their thought. Not only do the different approaches result in different conclusions, they also represent different approaches to the whole philosophical enterprise. The topic of meaning is not so much an aspect of Islamic philosophy as an interpretation of how to do Islamic philosophy itself. The main issues focus on identifying the people best qualified 55

56 to interpret texts, valid interpretations of the texts, and the notion of meaning that should be employed in our understanding of the texts. 1. Religious context Since the Qur'an was transmitted in Arabic, an understanding of the nature of that language is a vital aspect to an understanding of the text itself. Those brought up within the traditions of jurisprudence, grammar and theology were of the opinion that they were the best positioned to pronounce on the meaning of the text (see Islamic theology 1). All scriptures require interpretation, and a wide diversity of views arose within the Islamic community over the correct reading of much of the Qur'an, with the creation of different schools of thought based upon political and religious divisions such as those between the Sunni and the Shi'i communities and between the Ash'arites and the Mu'tazilites (see Ash'ariyya and Mu'tazila 1). It was accepted quite early on that while some parts of the Qur'an are clear, others are less easy to grasp and so require more complex interpretations. Some passages are zahir (exoteric) while others are batin (esoteric), and naturally the commentators disagreed on occasion over which texts fell into which category and how the esoteric texts were to be read. In a religious text, of course, even the apparently plain and commonplace can be given a richer and deeper interpretation, and different interpreters produced different interpretations. None of these was arbitrary. All were based upon argument and a variety of Islamic sources, but this hermeneutic process was capable of arriving at a variety of conclusions. 2. Language versus logic The arrival of Greek logic in the Islamic world caused great controversy in the fourth century ah/tenth century ad. It brought with it the view that logic is superior to language since the latter deals only with the contingent and conventional, while logic encompasses the necessary and the universal. Language deals only with alfaz (utterances), while logic gets to the heart of the matter by analysing ma'ani (concepts) themselves. This controversy was explored in the celebrated debate between the grammarian Abu Sa'id al-sirafi and the logician Abu Bishr Matta in Baghdad in ah 320/ad 932. Matta argued that logic was more important than language since the meanings which are embedded in a particular language are analysable without reference to that particular language. Those meanings could exist in a whole variety of languages. Logic is the only rigorous tool for judging when language is used correctly or otherwise, and the logician is the best qualified to adjudicate on such issues. This was a very important debate, since if Matta were to carry the day it would imply that the traditional approach to Islamic texts rests on an error. Only logic, as understood by the Greeks and a non-muslim such as Matta, is a sound vehicle 56

57 for the understanding of texts. Al-Sirafi was clear on the significance of the debate, and he argued that it is impossible to separate language and logic in the way Matta wants. Although logic is useful at one level in dealing with concepts, it is far from comprehensive and is better suited to analysing the Greek language than the Arabic. Problems in understanding Arabic texts can only be answered by a good understanding of the Arabic language and the culture which surrounds it. Logic by itself is not sufficient (see Logic in Islamic philosophy). This sort of debate continued in the Islamic world for some time, albeit in a more sophisticated form. The debate is highly significant, since it is really about the appropriate notion of meaning to be employed. Must that notion of meaning be taken from the context in which the text to be analysed has itself originated, or can it come from elsewhere? How one answers this question has radical implications for the way in which Islamic philosophy is to be pursued, and the protagonists of the argument are well aware of this. 3. Ambiguity, equivocation and analogy There are two main theories of meaning in Islamic philosophy, one broadly Neoplatonic and adopted by Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and al-ghazali, and one broadly Aristotelian and defended by Ibn Rushd (Averroes). On the former account, the definition of x does not include the existence of x, so that something else is required to move x from the realm of possibility to the realm of actuality if it is to be instantiated. For Ibn Sina the mover is another thing, ultimately God, which causally necessitates the change, while for al-ghazali it is God who directly established quite arbitrary rules for the behaviour of contingent phenomena. This means that for al-ghazali it is possible to think of something happening without its customary explanation, that is, without a natural explanation. God could always have brought it about that people on occasion write philosophy books without possessing a head, or that straw does not burn when in contact with fire. Ibn Rushd operates with a different concept of meaning, in accordance with which the cause of an event is part of its definition or essence. If headless people were to start composing philosophical books we should need to construct an entirely novel conceptual scheme for such a possibility to make sense. Al- Ghazali, by contrast, argues that we can conceive of such changes to our conceptual scheme by using our imagination, and failure to approve the possibility of such changes is merely a result of intellectual laziness, not the flouting of necessity. It is possible, then, for God to do anything he wishes so long as it is logically possible. God can resurrect the dead, he can intervene in the natural world, he can be aware of events in the world, he can create that world at any time he wishes out of nothing. These are all actions which Ibn Rushd argued are not possible even for God, if what is meant when talking 57

58 about such actions is similar to what we mean when we talk about what we do. Al-Ghazali suggests that any analysis of the properties of God which interprets them as equivocal, ambiguous or metaphorical is a subtle attack upon the notion of God in its religious sense. It involves pretending to make God part of one's metaphysics but changing the way in which one talks about him to such an extent that he no longer is equivalent to the God of Islam. For Ibn Rushd, there are serious problems in talking about God using the same sort of language we use about ourselves. God cannot be defined in terms of a genus or species since he cannot consist of a plurality of qualities as we do. Rather, he is the exemplar of all things, and we must work towards a conception of him by thinking analogically about the things in the world of which we have experience. The way in which al-ghazali talks about God seems to be in line with religion, but really it involves treating the deity as someone much like ourselves but more so, and as a plurality of predicates rather than a complete unity. Ibn Rushd goes along with Aristotle's argument that there can be no priority or posteriority within the same genus (see Aristotle 7-8), and so develops a theory of meaning which is based upon the pros hen notion of equivocation rather than the genus-species relation. We can use the same language about God as we use about ourselves, but we should realize that the latter type of use is derivative upon the former, since the latter concepts are aspects of the paradigm which is to be found when we talk about God. When we use the same concept to refer to God and to ourselves we are speaking not univocally but equivocally, acknowledging the very real difference which exists between the level of the human and the level of the divine. 4. The main debate In al-ghazali's concept of meaning, the appropriate people to interpret religious texts are those professionally involved in the religion, such as theologians, jurisprudents and so on. They need to understand the religious context of the text and apply the terms univocally to God and to his creatures. The correct way to think analytically is to adopt the methodology of the thought-experiment, holding ideas together in the imagination to see if they can be combined without contradiction. If we can imagine dead people being resurrected and leaving their graves to continue a physical existence somewhere else, in hell or paradise, then there is nothing impossible about that idea and there is no need to suggest that it is a metaphorical or equivocal reference to something else. If the Qur'an refers to physical resurrection, and if we can think about physical resurrection without contradiction, then why not just accept that what is meant by physical resurrection is what we would normally understand by that miraculous event? It follows from Ibn Rushd's approach that the best people to interpret difficult theological passages are not the theologians but the philosophers, since only the 58

59 latter are skilled in understanding analytical and demonstrative thought. The philosopher can understand how a religious text may embody a whole range of meanings, some intended for a more sophisticated audience and some designed for a more naïve and practically-oriented audience. The latter might understand by physical resurrection that the consequences of what we do outlive us, and the moral status of what we do affects us in this life and others after we are dead. They might find this easier to understand if they can think of themselves, or something like themselves, surviving their death. The more sophisticated audience would understand by the religious text what the philosophers understand by it, what it really means. This sort of audience does not require the rhetorical and poetic language which is capable of moving the largest section of the community to action. Only philosophers are capable of resolving the meaning of a text once and for all. The other theoreticians who work within the Islamic sciences, such as theology and jurisprudence, will constantly disagree about the appropriate meaning, and as a result they will sow discord in the community. The role of the philosopher is to resolve the meaning of the text and then communicate that meaning to different kinds of audiences in different kinds of ways, each suited to the limitations of the audience to understand the real point of the text. It can thus be seen that the issue of meaning in Islamic philosophy concerns not only the philosophy of language but also politics. It is linked to the question as to who is entitled to derive the meanings of a text and how that meaning may be communicated to others. Although the focus of discussion is generally on the relationship between ordinary language and language about God, it has far broader implications, and leads to a diversity of views on how to do philosophy itself. Aesthetics in Islamic Philosophy The major Islamic philosophers produced no works dedicated to aesthetics, although their writings do address issues that contemporary philosophers might study under that heading. The nature of beauty was addressed by Islamic philosophers in the course of discussions about God and his attributes in relation to his creation, under the inspiration of Neoplatonic sources such as the pseudo- Aristotelian Theology of Aristotle, a compilation based upon the Enneads of Plotinus. Considerations of artistic beauty and creativity were also addressed in works inspired by Aristotle's Rhetoric and Poetics, and Islamic philosophers also adapted some of Plato's views on literature and imitation, particularly those expressed in the Republic. On the whole, Islamic philosophers did not view artistic and literary creativity as ends in themselves. Rather, their interest was in explaining the relations of these activities to purely intellectual ends. In the case of poetics and rhetoric in 59

60 particular, the emphasis in Islamic philosophy was pragmatic and political: poetics and rhetoric were viewed as instruments for communicating the demonstrated truths of philosophy to the populace, whose intellectual abilities were presumed to be limited. The medium of such communication was usually, although not necessarily, that of religious discourse. Islamic philosophers also devoted considerable attention to explaining the psychological and cognitive foundations of aesthetic judgment and artistic production within the spectrum of human knowledge. They argued that rhetoric and poetics were in some important respects non-intellectual arts, and that poetics in particular was distinctive in so far as it addressed the imaginative faculties of its audience rather than their intellects. 1. Beauty Plotinus' Ennead V.8, 'On Intelligible Beauty', was the basis for the fourth chapter of the Arabic compilation known as the Theology of Aristotle (see Plotinus 1, 7). Against the background of the discussion of beauty in this text, Islamic philosophers developed the theme of the differences between sensible and intelligible beauty; and the love and pleasure associated with each. The notion of intelligible beauty is included in the discussion of the names and attributes of God contained in al-farabi's al-madina al-fadila (The Virtuous City) (see al-farabi 2). Among the divine names al-farabi lists 'beauty' (aljamal), 'brilliance' (al-baha'), and 'splendour' (al-zina). Although the connotations of these terms are principally visual and hence sensible, al-farabi argues that beauty in all things is primarily ontological: the more any being attains its final perfection, the more beautiful it is. From this he reasons that God, whose existence is most excellent, is the most beautiful of beings. Moreover, God's beauty surpasses all other beauty because it is essential, not accidental: the source of God's beauty is his own substance as defined by his self-contemplation, whereas created beauty derives from accidental and corporeal qualities that are not one with their own substances. Finally, al-farabi argues that pleasure and beauty are intimately related, and that consequently God's pleasure, like his beauty, is beyond our comprehension. Pleasure is attendant upon the perception or apprehension (idrak) of beauty, and it increases in proportion to the beauty of what is perceived. Since God is the most beautiful of beings, and since his proper activity consists in an act of self-contemplation in which knower and known are completely one, the intensity and certitude of God's perception of his own beauty, al-farabi reasons, must yield a pleasure of equal intensity. Moreover, since God's perception of his own beauty is the function of an eternal and uninterrupted act of contemplation, his pleasure, unlike ours, is continual rather than intermittent. 60

61 While al-farabi's treatment of beauty in this context is principally an extension of his general account of divine transcendence and perfection along standard Neoplatonic lines, the development of the connection between beauty, perception and pleasure introduces a more properly aesthetic element into his account. Beauty in God, like beauty in the sublunar world, is found principally in things in so far as they achieve their proper perfection; when that beauty, be it sensible or intelligible, becomes an object of contemplation, it becomes in turn a source of pleasure for the one beholding it. The contrast between sensible and intelligible beauty and the affective pleasures proper to each is developed in more detail in the Risala fi al-'ishq (Treatise on Love) by Ibn Sina. In the fifth chapter of this work, Ibn Sina discusses the youthful love of external, bodily beauty. He opens his discussion of the love of beauty with a consideration of four principles, three of which pertain to the psychology of the human soul. The first is based upon Ibn Sina's characteristic view of the soul as a single substantial unity comprising a hierarchy of distinct powers. Either these powers can work together in harmony, in which case the lower will be ennobled by their cooperation with the highest faculty, that of reason, or the lower powers can rebel. These two possibilities are especially evident in the relations between reason and imagination (al-takhayyul) and the desires attendant upon them. The second principle is an elaboration upon the first: there are some human actions which pertain only to the bodily, 'animal' faculties within this hierarchy, including sensation, imagination, sexual intercourse, desire and aggression. Either these actions can be pursued in a purely animal fashion, or they can be transformed into something uniquely human under the guidance of reason. Ibn Sina's third principle is that everything ordained by God has its own proper goodness and hence is the object of some legitimate desire; nonetheless, the lower desires can interfere with the higher, and thus their unlimited pursuit is to be avoided. Finally, Ibn Sina's fourth principle presents his definition of beauty in so far as it is the object of love for both the rational and animal souls: beauty (al-husn) consists in order (al-nazm), composition, (al-ta'lif) and symmetry (ali'tidal). In the animal soul, this love of beauty is purely natural, arising either from instinct or from the simple pleasure of sensible perceptions. In the rational soul, however, love of beauty is more reflective, ultimately resting upon the recognition of the proximity of the beloved object to God, the First Beloved. In applying these principles, Ibn Sina argues that there is what we might call an innate aesthetic sense implanted in every intellectual being (al-'aqil) which kindles in it a passionate desire for what is beautiful to behold (al-manzar alhusn). Despite the overall orientation of his discussion to the desire for the supra-sensible and purely intelligible beauty of God, Ibn Sina's remark here clearly pertains to the realm of sensible judgments. In fact, Ibn Sina even argues 61

62 that such a desire for sensible beauty on the part of an intellectual being can be a noble thing, so long as the purely animal aspects of the desire are subordinated and the intelligible allowed to influence the sensible: such a purified aesthetic desire, according to Ibn Sina, results in a partnership (al-shirka) between the animal and rational souls. As evidence of this more general claim, Ibn Sina notes that even the most wise of humans can be preoccupied by a 'beautiful human form', and he implies that such a preoccupation is justified not only by the intrinsic aesthetic principles he has outlined, but also on the assumption that internal and external beauty and harmony mirror one another, unless the external beauty has been accidentally harmed or the internal character has been altered (for better or worse) by habituation. Finally, Ibn Sina also defends the desire for some sort of physical union with such a beloved, through kissing and caressing, although the expression of such an aesthetic impulse through sexual union is considered inappropriate except for the purpose of procreation, and where sanctioned by religious law. 2. Rhetoric and poetics Most discussions of aesthetic themes by Islamic philosophers occur in the context of their considerations of the arts or rhetoric and poetics and the Aristotelian treatises devoted to these topics (see Aristotle 29). Following a practice established by the sixth-century Greek commentators on Aristotle, these treatises were classified by the Islamic philosophers as parts of Aristotle's logical corpus, the Organon (see Aristotelianism in Islamic philosophy). Thus the approach to these arts was not primarily aesthetic, but was focused on linguistic issues and the cognitive functions of rhetorical and poetic language. Rhetoric and poetics were classified as popular methods of instruction which produced less than certain states of belief in their audiences, who were assumed to be incapable of grasping the finer points of truly philosophical demonstration. The Islamic philosophers did not explicitly limit the use of rhetoric and poetics to the spheres of religious discourse and political communication, however, and in their commentaries on Aristotle's Poetics some effort was spent on explaining the linguistic mechanisms whereby speech becomes figurative and metaphorical. Ibn Rushd in particular attempted to apply his understanding of Aristotle's views on poetics to the interpretation and criticism of Arabic poetry, and his Talkhis kitab al-shi'r (Middle Commentary on the Poetics) is full of citations of the works of well-known Arabic poets. Nonetheless, most of the interest taken by the Islamic philosophers in the arts of rhetoric and poetics stemmed from the foundations provided by these arts for explaining the relationship between philosophy and religion. The central books of al-farabi's Kitab al-huruf (The Book of Letters), along with Ibn Rushd's Fasl al-maqal (Decisive Treatise), are devoted to this theme, which is nicely summed up in the following passage from al-farabi: 62

63 And since religion only teaches theoretical things by evoking imaginings and by persuasion, and its followers are acquainted with these two modes of instruction alone, it is clear that the art of theology which follows religion is not aware of anything that is not persuasive, and it does not verify anything at all except by persuasive methods and statements. (Kitab al-huruf: 132) The use of the language of 'imaginings' and 'persuasions' indicates a reference to the cognitive aims that the Islamic philosophers traditionally ascribed to the arts of rhetoric and poetics. Religion is a reflection of and handmaiden to philosophy, dependent upon philosophy as a copy is dependent upon its original. In understanding religion as an imitation of philosophy, the Islamic philosophers were consciously evoking the background of Aristotle's Poetics and Plato's Republic and the aesthetic theories which they developed through a creative blending of the respective views of their two ancient sources on the nature of imitation. 3. Imitation and imagination Ibn Sina's Risala fi al-'ishq, discussed in 1, contains elements of a theory of aesthetic judgment that is also developed, from a somewhat different perspective, in his discussions of the psychological underpinnings of the art of poetics. In these discussions, aesthetic judgments are attributed to the faculty of imagination (al-mutakhayyila) and the related internal sense faculties that formed a part of the Islamic Aristotelians' development of the concept of imagination (phantasia) found in Aristotle's On the Soul and Parva naturalia. In turn the notion of imitation or mimsis, as found in Plato's Republic as well as in Aristotle's Poetics, was interpreted in terms of the functions of the imaginative faculty. Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd all identify the imagination as the faculty by which poets produce the figurative discourses proper to their art, and to which they appeal in their audience. These authors all contrast this use of and appeal to the imagination with the strictly intellectual and rational aim proper to all other modes of discourse and forms of reasoning. Al-Farabi's Ihsa' al-'ulum (The Book of the Enumeration of the Sciences) provides one of the most extensive descriptions of the character of poetic imagination. Two aspects of poetic statements are emphasized by al-farabi: their representation of their subjects in terms 'more noble or more debased' than they actually are, and their ability to bring about an appetitive, as well as a cognitive, movement in the audience. That is, by depicting a subject in terms of images that evoke a loathsome object, the poet is able to make the hearers feel aversion to the thing depicted, 'even if we are certain that it is not in fact as we imagine it to be' (Ihsa' al-'ulum: 84). The reason for this aversion is directly linked to the poet's appeal to the imaginative 63

64 faculty: 'for the actions of a human being frequently follow his imagination, more than they follow his opinion and his knowledge, because often his opinion or his knowledge are contrary to his imagination, whereas his doing of something is proportional to his imagining of it, and not to his knowledge or his opinion about it' (Ihsa' al-'ulum: 85). A similar point is made by Ibn Sina in a number of texts. Ibn Sina frequently contrasts poetics with other modes of discourse by distinguishing the poet's attempt to produce an act of imagination (takhyil) in the audience with the more intellectual goal of seeking to produce an act of assent (tasdiq) to the truth or falsity of some claim. Ibn Sina, like al-farabi, emphasizes the fact that such acts of imagination may often be contrary to what we know or believe to be the case, and he has a favourite example to illustrate this point: if someone tells us that 'honey is vomited bile', we are likely to lose our appetite for the honey before us, even if we are quite certain that the metaphor is literally false. Ibn Sina also echoes al-farabi's claim that this ability of the imagination to affect our action is owing to the close link between the imaginative faculty and the appetitive motions of the soul. The emphasis upon the imagination's ability to intervene in the soul's intellectual assent appears to have been directly linked by the Islamic philosophers to the theme of imitation. Al-Farabi, for example, appears to have made this connection in his Ihsa' al-'ulum, since he concludes his remarks on the poetic statement's ability to influence behaviour with the observation that this is 'what happens when we see likenesses imitative of the thing, or things resembling something else'. By the same token, throughout his Talkhis kitab al-shi'r, Ibn Rushd consistently interprets the Arabic term for mimsis (muhaka) as equivalent to takhyil, the evoking of an image. And in several passages, Ibn Sina contrasts imaginative utterances which 'imitate one thing by another' with imaginative utterances that happen to be literally true as well. Generally, then, for the Islamic philosophers 'imitation' appears to refer to those specific acts of imaginative representation in which the object is depicted in terms not proper to it, or more specifically, which portray it as better or worse than its actual state. In this way, imitation is linked not only or even principally to Aristotelian mimsis, but rather to Plato's notion of imitation as it relates to the theory of the Forms found in the Republic (see Mimsis; Plato 14). This emerges clearly from a discussion in a little treatise by al-farabi known simply as the Kitab al-shi'r (Book on Poetics). In this treatise, al-farabi identifies imitation, along with metric composition, as constitutive of the very substance of poetry, with imitation the most crucial of the two elements. In order to explain the nature of poetic imitation, which occurs through language, al- Farabi draws heavily upon its similarities to imitation through action, for example, in the making of statues or in performative imitations. Here too 64

65 imitation is said to have as its end to 'cause an imagining' of the imitated object, either directly or indirectly. The difference between direct and indirect imitation refers to the distance that separates the representation of the object from the reality itself, as illustrated in the example of a statue. For if an artist wished to imitate a person named Zayd:... he might make a statue which resembles him, and along with this make a mirror in which he sees the statue of Zayd. And it might be that we would not see the statue itself, but rather the form of his statue in the mirror. And then we would know him through what imitates an imitation of him, and thus be two degrees removed from him in reality. 65 (Kitab al-shi'r: 94-95) The possibility of degrees of removal from the original is highly evocative of Plato's description of the possible states of removal from the Forms in the myth of the cave. Al-Farabi believes this possibility holds not only for artistic imitation, but also for linguistic imitation in poetry. While these associations are sometimes viewed pejoratively by the Islamic philosophers, as one might expect in the light of their Platonic resonances, this attitude is not universal. Al-Farabi himself reports noncommittally that many people consider the more remote imitation to be the more perfect and artistic, and here as in his other works he admits the power of imitative utterances for inciting humans to actions to which intellectual opinion or knowledge fail to move them. It is Ibn Sina ( 8), however, who goes furthest in eliminating the negative overtones of these descriptions of poetic speech. In all but his most youthful writings, Ibn Sina emphasizes that the poet's concern with the imagination requires that his work be judged on its own terms and not on the level of intellectual judgments. Strictly speaking, poetic imaginings are neither true nor false; but in so far as poetic statements may imply corresponding intelligible propositions, they may possess a truth-value incidentally and secondarily. For this reason, although many will remain literally false, this need not be universally the case: And in general poetic [syllogisms] are composed of premises which evoke images... be they true or false. Generally they are composed of premises to the extent that they possess a figure and a composition which the soul receives by means of what is in them of imitation and even of truth; for nothing prevents this [that is, their being true]. (al-isharat wa-'l-tanbihat: 80-1) By the same token, Ibn Sina also allows for the use of poetic and imaginative discourse that is ethically neutral, seeking neither to ennoble nor to debase what

66 is imitated, but rather merely aiming to 'provoke wonder through the beauty of the comparison' and thus to fulfil what could be termed a purely aesthetic end. Note on Aristotle ( bc) Aristotle of Stagira is one of the two most important philosophers of the ancient world, and one of the four or five most important of any time or place. He was not an Athenian, but he spent most of his life as a student and teacher of philosophy in Athens. For twenty years he was a member of Plato's Academy; later he set up his own philosophical school, the Lyceum. During his lifetime he published philosophical dialogues, of which only fragments now survive. The 'Aristotelian corpus' (1462 pages of Greek text, including some spurious works) is probably derived from the lectures that he gave in the Lyceum. Aristotle is the founder not only of philosophy as a discipline with distinct areas or branches, but, still more generally, of the conception of intellectual inquiry as falling into distinct disciplines. He insists, for instance, that the standards of proof and evidence for deductive logic and mathematics should not be applied to the study of nature, and that neither of these disciplines should be taken as a proper model for moral and political inquiry. He distinguishes philosophical reflection on a discipline from the practice of the discipline itself. The corpus contains contributions to many different disciplines, not only to philosophy. Some areas of inquiry in which Aristotle makes a fundamental contribution are these: (1) Logic. Aristotle's Prior Analytics constitutes the first attempt to formulate a system of deductive formal logic, based on the theory of the 'syllogism'. The Posterior Analytics uses this system to formulate an account of rigorous scientific knowledge. 'Logic', as Aristotle conceives it, also includes the study of language, meaning and their relation to non-linguistic reality; hence it includes many topics that might now be assigned to philosophy of language or philosophical logic (Categories, De Interpretatione, Topics). (2) The study of nature. About a quarter of the corpus (see especially the History of Animals, Parts of Animals, and Generation of Animals; also Movement of Animals, Progression of Animals) consists of works concerned with biology. Some of these contain collections of detailed observations. (The Meteorology contains a similar collection on inanimate nature.) Others try to explain these observations in the light of the explanatory scheme that Aristotle defends in his more theoretical reflections on the study of nature. These reflections (especially in the Physics and in Generation and Corruption) develop an account of nature, form, matter, cause and change that expresses Aristotle's views about the understanding and explanation of natural organisms and their behaviour. Natural philosophy and cosmology are combined in On the Heavens. 66

67 (3) Metaphysics. In his reflections on the foundations and presuppositions of other disciplines, Aristotle describes a universal 'science of being qua being', the concern of the Metaphysics. Part of this universal science examines the foundations of inquiry into nature. Aristotle formulates his doctrine of substance, which he explains through the connected contrasts between form and matter, and between potentiality and actuality. One of his aims is to describe the distinctive and irreducible character of living organisms. Another aim of the universal science is to use his examination of substance to give an account of divine substance, the ultimate principle of the cosmic order. (4) Philosophy of mind. The doctrine of form and matter is used to explain the relation of soul and body, and the different types of soul found in different types of living creatures. In Aristotle's view, the soul is the form of a living body. He examines the different aspects of this form in plants, non-rational animals and human beings, by describing nutrition, perception, thought and desire. His discussion (in On the Soul, and also in the Parva Naturalia) ranges over topics in philosophy of mind, psychology, physiology, epistemology and theory of action. (5) Ethics and politics (Nicomachean Ethics, Eudemian Ethics, Magna Moralia). In Aristotle's view, the understanding of the natural and essential aims of human agents is the right basis for a grasp of principles guiding moral and political practice. These principles are expressed in his account of human wellbeing, and of the different virtues that constitute a good person and promote wellbeing. The description of a society that embodies these virtues in individual and social life is a task for the Politics, which also examines the virtues and vices of actual states and societies, measuring them against the principles derived from ethical theory. (6) Literary criticism and rhetorical theory (Poetics, Rhetoric). These works are closely connected both to Aristotle's logic and to his ethical and political theory. 67

68 Sufism - The Dhikr of Allāh: An enduring legacy of Imām Abdallāh Bin Alawī al-haddād Imām Abdallāh bin Alawī al-haddād, Rady Allāhu Anhu ( H), popularly known as Mawlānā al-haddād, left a three-fold legacy. 1. Dhikr (also sometimes spelt as zikr, remembrance of Allāh) He sustained, nurtured and passed on to the next generation the age-old Muslim tradition of doing dhikr (remembrance) of Allāh, The Glorified and The Exalted. Thus he became Qutb u l Ghawth (the Pillar of spiritual succour). He lived an exemplary life of a dhākir, one in constant remembrance of Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta ālā, and produced many dhākirīn (those who remember Allāh) from among his murīdīn (spiritual disciples). 2. Nasīha (Religious Advice) He wrote ten classics of Muslim spirituality to teach, propagate and spread Islām. So, he is Qutb u l Irshād (the Pillar of Religious Guidance). 3. Qasāid (Religious Poems) He composed more than a hundred qasāid which convey the total teaching of Islām. So, he became Ghawth u l ibād wa l bilād (the spiritual succour for peoples and nations). 68

69 This article deals with the first of his legacies: the dhikr of Allāh, Subhānahū wa Ta ālā. Allāh Subhānahū wa Ta ālā says in the Holy Qur ān Karīm: Fadhkurūnī Adhkurkum wa shkurūlī wa lā takfurūn Therefore, do my dhikr (remember me), I will remember you, and be thankful to Me, and be not ungrateful to Me. (2:152) Recitation of Qur ān Karīm, Asmā u l Husnā (the Most Beautiful Names of Allāh), du ā (supplication to Allāh), kalimāt (declarations of belief), tasbīhāt (glorification of Allāh) is all dhikr of Allāh, while salawāt ala r Rasūl, invoking blessings on the Holy Prophet Muhammad al-mustafā Sallallāhu alayhi wa Sallam is dhikr al-habīb (the dhikr of the Beloved of Allāh). The Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu alayhi wa Sallam received many of these ad iya (plural of du ā: supplication), kalimāt and tasbīhāt as revelation in the form of verses of the Qur ān. Examples of these are: Du ā (Supplication to Allāh) Rabbanā ātinā fiddunyā hasanatan wa fi l ākhirati hasanatan wa qinā adhāban nār O our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and save us from the punishment of the Fire (of Hell) (2:201) Kalima (Declaration of faith) Lā ilāha Illallāh Muhammad u r Rasūlullāh None is worthy of worship but Allāh Muhammad is the Messenger of Allāh (47:19, 48:29) Tasbīh (Glorification of Allāh) Lā ilāha illā Anta Subhānaka innī kuntu min az-zālimīn None is worthy of worship but You (O Allah!). Glory be to You. Surely, I am one of the wrongdoers. (21:87) We can see very clearly that all this dhikr conveys the aqīda (faith and conviction of a Muslim). So the daily life of a Muslim is based on aqīda as well as the regular pronouncement of that aqīda in the form of dhikr. Besides the dhikr in the Qur ān Karīm, the Beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu alayhi wa Sallam overflowed with even more dhikr as he opened out his heart to Allāh, imploring, supplicating, invoking, glorifying, praising, and lauding Him. These adhkār (plural of dhikr) are found in his blessed Hadīth 69

70 Sharīf (Noble Sayings). We learn from the Hadīth Sharīf, for example, that Rasūlullāh Sallallāhu alayhi wa Sallam taught his beloved daughter Sayyidatinā Fātima Rady Allāhu Anhā to recite the tasbīh Subhānallāh (33 times), al- Hamdu Lillāh (33 times), and Allāhu Akbar (34 times). Thus, it is Sunnah (the Prophetic tradition) to specify the number of times each tasbīh is to be recited. According to Qutb u l Irshād Mawlānā al-haddād, to do any voluntary good deed on a regular basis is called wird. Thus, if you give one loaf of bread in charity every day, that is your wird. If you fast every Monday and Thursday on a regular basis, that is your wird. The tasbīh that Rasūlullāh Sallallāhu alayhi wa Sallam suggested to Sayyidatinā Fātima Rady Allāhu Anhā thus became her wird. It is recited after Salāt al-fard (obligatory Prayer) everyday by all Muslims all over the world. Thus it has become the wird of all the Muslims. The plural of wird is awrād. The recitation of adhkār and awrād is thus a noble Sunnah of the Blessed Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu alayhi wa Sallam and much spiritual reward and benefit is to be derived from its recitation. Since the time of Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu alayhi wa Sallam, the mashāyikh (spiritual masters) have been compiling his adhkār and awrād. For example, Imām al-ghazālī compiled it in Ad-Da awāt u l Mustajāba (Supplications that are answered by Allāh), being Book 9 of the Ihyā Ulūm al-dīn (The Revival of Religious Sciences). Imām an-nawawī compiled al- Adhkār (Supplications to Allāh for All Occasions). From all the compilations existing up to his time that were available to him, Mawlānā al-haddād also compiled his own selection of adhkār and awrād, with reference to the Qur ān and the Hadīth (Sayings of Prophet Muhammad, Sallallāhu alayhi wa Sallam). For example, he composed the Rātib al-shahīr (popularly known after him as Rātib al-haddād) to be recited after Salāt al- Ishā, the Wird u l Latīf to be recited after Salāt al-fajr, the Hizb u l Fath and the Hizb u n Nasr also to be recited after Salāt al-fajr, and so on. Then, after he passed away, other ulamā (learned Muslim scholars) came, who put together all these adhkār and awrād as classical compendiums of Muslim spirituality. A Classical Compendium of Dhikr of Allāh One such compendium of the daily adhkār and awrād of Sayyidunal Imām al- Habīb Abdallāh bin Alawī al-haddād Rady Allāhu Anhu was compiled by his great grandson al-habīb Alawī bin Ahmad bin al-hasan bin Abdallāh al- Haddād in 1199 H. He referenced eight books written by his father especially Sabīl al-hidāya wa r Rashād (The Way of Right Guidance) to put together this compendium of 526 pages. It contains Rātib al-haddād, Wird u l Latīf, Wird u l Kabīr, Hizb u l Fath, Hizb u n Nasr and other adhkār. It also has his own 200 page sharh (Appreciative Explanation) of Rātib al-haddād. 70

71 Following this, as-sayyid Alawī bin Muhammad bin Tāhir al-haddād similarly compiled the daily adhkār and awrād of Mawlānā al-haddād in another classic titled Wasīlat u l Ibād ilā Zādi l Ma ād (A Means For People To Provide For The Hereafter). Mawlānā al-haddād has himself explained the purpose of these invocations in his classical masterpiece Risālat u l Mu āwanah (The Book of Assistance) as follows: Be careful to keep to the textually transmitted invocations and prayers which follow the ritual prayers, and morning and evening, before going to sleep and on waking, and at all other specified times and recurrent occasions. The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him, made them Sunnah only so that his nation would find in them the means for obtaining the goodness and escaping the evil which occur at these times and occasions. (Translation by Dr. Mostafa al-badawi, p. 29). Recite the Qur ān and Do Dhikr of Allāh The fulfilment of farāid (obligatory duties) like the five times daily salāh (prayers) is first and foremost. Next in importance is the daily recitation of the Holy Qur ān Karīm, and in this connection, Mawlānā al-haddād has recommended in his kitāb Risālat u l Mu āwanah (The Book of Assistance) that the least a Muslim should do is to have a wird of reciting one juz (part) of the Qur ān every day (to complete the Qur ān recitation in a month) and the most is to recite ten juz everyday (to complete the Qur ān recitation in three days). As he does this continuously, in time he comes to recite more and more adhkār and awrād from a kitāb like Wasīlat u l Ibād ilā Zādil Ma ād. In this way, he takes both the Qur ān and the Sunnah to his heart. Alhamdu Lillāh, millions of Muslims have done just that over the ages and in fact the demand for these adhkār and awrād keeps on increasing. Wasīlat u l Ibād was printed for the tenth time in 1397 H/1977 C.E and it has been printed and reprinted in Mombasa, Delhi, Singapore, Istanbul and Cairo, among other cities. The spiritual benefits of dhikr are well recognized by the shuyūkh (spiritual masters) and such is their esteem that many spiritual luminaries have written whole books of explanation (sharh) on these adhkār. Shaykh Abdallāh bin Ahmad Bā Sawdān has written a sharh on Wird u l Latīf, Wird al-kabīr and Rātib al-haddād while others who have written a sharh are al- Allāma as-sayyid Fadl bin Alawī Jamālullayl al- Alawī, and al- Allāma AbūBakr bin AbdirRahmān bin Shihābuddīn al- Alawī (on Wird u l Latīf), and al-habīb Alawī bin Ahmad bin al-hasan bin Abdallāh al-haddād (on Rātib al-haddād) as already mentioned earlier. These shurūh (plural of sharh: appreciative 71

72 explanation) trace the source of each of the supplications and invocations to the Blessed Hadīth (Sayings) of Prophet Muhammad Sallallāhu alayhi wa Sallam. They also explain the spiritual benefits and heavenly reward of each supplication. In Miftāh u l Jannah (The Key To Paradise), Sayyidī wa Murshidī al-habīb Ahmad Mashhūr bin Tāhā al-haddād, Rady Allāhu Anhu ( H), the spiritual inheritor of Mawlānā al-haddād expounds on the spiritual benefits of dhikr and offers the following nasīha (advice): If you wish to obtain all of these benefits and attain to the highest ranks, then you should search for a litany (wird) that includes all these kinds of invocations and prayers. You are sure to find them in the litanies of our master Imām Abdallāh ibn Alawī al-haddād, such as al-wird al-latīf, al-wird al-kabīr, al- Rātib, the Hizb al-fath and his Hizb an-nasr. (Translation by Dr. Mostafa al- Badawi, p. 113) Surely, Allāh Ta ālā Himself has blessed the adhkār and awrād of Mawlānā al- Haddād, Rady Allāhu Anhu. Their nūr (spiritual light) has spread across the world, illuminating homes, hearts and the foreheads of the muttaqīn (those in reverential awe of Allāh), the ābidīn (worshippers of Allāh) and the dhākirīn (those who do dhikr of Allāh). Allāhummaj alnā minhum: O Allāh, make us among them, Āmīn Yā Rabb al- Ālamīn. The Zikr of Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh 72

73 Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh 73

74 Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Lâ ilâha Illallâh Muhammad u'r Rasûlullâh Sallallahu 'alayhi wa Sallam Du'â: Supplication to Allâh None is worthy of worship except Allâh Muhammad is the Messenger of Allâh O Allâh! As long as we live, may we be wedded to this kalima and when we depart from this world, let this kalima be on our lips. Lâ ilâha Illallâhu Muhammad u'r Rasûlullâh Sallallahu 'alayhi wa Sallam Allah - Zikr of Allah - Remembrance of Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah 74

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79 Translation of Ratib Al-'Attas The Ratib of Sayyidunal Imam, al-habib 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-rahman al-'attas. Naf'anAllahu bih (passed away 1072 A.H/1660 C.E) Translated by Sayyid Muhammad Naqib al-'attas Al-Fatihah and the verses before the Ratib have been added by one of the commentators of the Ratib, Sayyid 'Ali ibn Hasan al-'attas Translation To begin reciting this Ratib the first thing is to offer Transliteration al-fatihah To the holy presence of our Master and our Beloved Muhammad, may Allah bless and bestow upon him and his Family and Companions peace: and to the spirit of our beloved master 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-rahman al-'attas, the composer of the Ratib, and to Shaykh 'Ali ibn 'Abd Allah Baa Raas (one of his disciples). Al-Fatihah Ilaa hadrati Sayyidina wa Habibina Muhammad-in Sallallahu 'alaihi wa aalihi wa sahbihi wa Sallam wa ilaa ruhi Sayyidina al-habib 'Umar ibni Abd-i'r Rahman al-'attas Sahib- i'r Ratib wa'sh-shaykh 'Ali ibn 'Abd Allah Baa Raas 79

80 al-fatihah I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds; Most Merciful, Most Compassionate; King of the Day of Judgement. You do we worship, and Your aid we seek. Show us the Straight Way, The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your grace, Not of those upon whom is Your wrath nor of those who go astray. Amen! (1:1-7) Al-Fatihah A'udhu Billahi min ash-shaytaan-i'r rajeem Bismillah-i'r Rahman-i'r Raheem Alhamdu Lillahi Rabbi'l 'Aalameen Ar-Rahman-i'r Raheem Maaliki Yaum-i'd Deen Iyyaka na'budu wa Iyyaka nasta'een Ihdinas-Siraat al-mustaqeem Siraat al-ladheena an'amta 'alayhim Ghayri'l maghdubi 'alayhim wa laddaalleen Aameen (Recite once) I seek refuge in Allah the All-Hearing and All-Knowing from the accursed Satan A'udhu Billah-i's Sami' i'l 'Aleem min ash-shaytaan-i'r rajeem (3 times) Had We sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you would assuredly have seen it humbled, Lau anzalnaa haadha'l Qur'an-a 'alaa jabalin lara'aytahu khaashi'an mutasaddi'an min khashyatillah 80

81 split asunder for fear of Allah. And We strike these similitudes for men that perchance they may reflect. wa tilka'l amthaalu nadribuhaa linnaasi la'allahum yatafakkarun He is Allah than Whom there is no other god; The Knower of the Unseen and the Visible; He is the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Huwallahu'l ladhee laa ilaaha illaa Huwa 'Alimu'l ghaybi wash-shahaadati Huwa'r Rahman-u'r Raheem He is Allah, than whom there is no other god; The Sovereign, the Holy One, The Source of Peace, The Guardian of Faith, The Preserver of Safety, The Exalted in Might, The Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) Above the partners they attribute to Him. Huwallah-u'l ladhee laa ilaaha illa Huwa'l Maliku'l Quddus-u's Salaam-u'l Mu'min u'l Muhaymin-u'l 'Azeez-u'l Jabbar-u'l Mutakabbir Subhaanallahi 'ammaa yushrikun He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper, To Him belong the Names Most Beautiful. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth Huwallah-u'l Khaaliq-u'l Baari-u'l Musawwiru Lahu'l Asmaa'-u'l Husna Yusabbihu Lahu maa fi's-samaawati wa'l ardhi 81

82 magnifies Him; and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. (59:21-24) wa Huwa'l 'Azeez-u'l Hakeem (Recite once) [The Ratib] 1. I seek refuge in Allah, the All- Hearing, the All-Knowing from the accursed Satan. [Ar-Ratib] 1. A'udhu Billah-i's Sami' i'l 'Aleem min-ash-shaytaan-i'r rajeem (3 times) 2. I seek refuge in the complete Words of Allah from the evil of that which He created. 2. A'udhu bi-kalimaatillah-i't taammaati min sharri maa khalaq (3 times) 3. In the Name of Allah Who causes no harm to come together with His Name from anything whatsoever on earth or in heaven, for He is the All-Hearing, the All- Knowing. 3. Bismillah-i'lladhee laa yadurru ma'a Ismihi shay'un fi'l ardi wa laa fi's samaai wa Huwa's Sami' u'l 'Aleem (3 times) 4. In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate; there is no Power and no Strength save in 4. Bismillah-i'r Rahman-i'r Raheem wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa Billah-i'l 'Aliyy-i'l 'Azeem 82

83 Allah, Most High, Most Great. (10 times) 5. In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate. 5. Bismillah-i'r Rahman-i'r Raheem (3 times) 6. In the Name of Allah, in Allah do we find securiy; In the Name of Allah, in Allah do we trust. 6. Bismillahi tahassannaa Billah Bismillahi tawakkalnaa Billah (3 times) 7. In the Name of Allah, in Allah do we have faith; And whoever has faith in Allah no fear shall come upon him. 7. Bismillahi aamanna Billahi wa man yu'min Billahi laa khawfun 'alaih (3 times) 8. Glory be to Allah, to Him belongs Might; Glory be to Allah, to Him belongs Majesty. 8. Sub'haanAllahi 'Azzallah Sub'haanAllahi Jallallah (3 times) 9. Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Him; Glory be to Allah, the Great. 9. Sub'haanAllahi wa bi Hamdihi Sub'haanAllah-i'l 'Azeem (3 times) 10. Glory be to Allah, Praise be to Allah, 10. Sub'haanAllahi wa'l Hamdu 83

84 there is no deity but Allah, and Allah is Most Great. Lillahi wa laa ilaaha Illallahu Wallahu Akbar (4 times) 11. O One Who is Most Kind to all His creatures, O One Who is Omniscient of all His creatures, O One Who is Most Informed of all His creatures, Be kind to us, O Most Kind One, O All-Knowing One, O Most Informed One. 11. Yaa Latif-an bi-khalqihi Yaa 'Aleem-an bi-khalqihi Yaa Khabeer-an bi-khalqihi Ultuf binaa Yaa Latif-u Yaa 'Aleem-u Yaa Khabeer (3 times) 12. O One Who is Most Kind, Who never ceases to be kind, Be kind to us in what befalls us, You are indeed the Most Kind Who never ceases to be kind, Be kind to us and all the Muslims. 12. Yaa Latif-an lam yazal Ultuf binaa feemaa nazal Innaka Latif-un lam tazal Ultuf binaa wa'l Muslimin (3 times) 13. There is no deity but Allah Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah 13. Laa Ilaaha Illallah (40 times) Muhammad-u'r Rasulullah (once) 84

85 14. Allah is sufficient for us, and most excellent Manager of our affairs. 14. Hasbunallahu wa Ni'mal Wakeel (7 times) 15. O Allah! bestow Blessings upon Muhammad, O Allah! bestow Blessings upon him, and peace 15. Allahumma Salli 'alaa Muhammad Allahumma Salli 'alaihi wa Sallim (11 times) 16. I seek forgiveness from Allah I am repentant to Allah 16. Astaghfirullah (11 times) Taaibuna Ilallah (3 times) 17. O Allah! (grant me to die) by it- O Allah! (grant me to die) by it- O Allah! (grant me to die) by a goodly ending. 17. Yaa Allahu bihaa Yaa Allahu bihaa Yaa Allahu bi husni'l khaatimah (3 times) [End of the Ratib] [End of the Ratib] [Supplication after reciting the Ratib] Added by the commentator of the Ratib Sayyid 'Ali ibn Hasan al-'attas 85

86 Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the end of all journeys. Allah burdens no soul save to its capacity; standing to its account is what it has earned, and against its account is what it has earned. Our Lord, take us not to task if we forget, or make mistake. Our Lord, burden us not with a load such as You did lay upon those before us. Our Lord, lay us not with a burden beyond what we have the strength to bear. And pardon us, and forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Protector; Help us against the people who stand against Faith. (2: ) Ghufraanaka Rabbanaa wa Ilayka'l maseer Laa Yukallifullaahu nafsan illaa wus'ahaa lahaa maa kasabat wa 'alayhaa maktasabat Rabbanaa laa tu'aakhidhnaa innaseenaa aw akhta'naa Rabbanaa wa laa tahmil 'alaynaa isran kamaa hamaltahu 'alalladheena min qablinaa Rabbanaa wa laa tuhammilnaa maa laa taaqata lanaa bihi Wa'fu 'annaa Waghfir lanaa Wa'rhamnaa Anta Mawlana Fansurnaa 'ala'l qaumi'l kaafireen 86

87 Al-Fatihah: To the holy presence of our noble Master, our Beloved, our Intercessor The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad son of 'Abd Allah- Allah Bless and grant him Peace!-and his Family, his Companions, his Consorts, his Descendants; that Allah exalt them in the Garden; and grant us to benefit from their spiritual secrets and their lights, and their various knowledges in religion, in the world and in the Hereafter, and make us to be among their Party, and nourish us with Love for them, and make us to die in their Way of Religion, and assemble us in the Final Gathering in their Group. May Allah reward all of you! (Recite Surah al-fatihah) Al-Fatihah Ilaa hadrati Sayyidina wa Habibina wa Shafi'ina Rasulillah-i Muhammad ibni 'Abdillah-i Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam wa aalihi wa as-haabihi wa azwaajihi wa dhurriyatihi bi Annallaha yu'lee darajaatihim fi'l jannah wa yanfa'unaa bi-asraarihim wa anwaarihim wa 'ulumihim fi'd deen wa'd dunyaa wa'l aakhirah wa yaj'alanaa min hizbihim wa yarzuqunaa mahabbatahum wa yatawaffaanaa 'alaa millatihim wa yahshurunaa fee zumratihim Al-Fatihata Athaabakumullah (Recite Surah al-fatihah) Then al-fatihah To the spirit of our noble master, the foremost in discernment, Muhammad ibn 'Ali Ba 'Alawi, Al-Fatihah Ilaa ruhi Sayyidina al-faqih al- Muqaddam Muhammad ibni 'Ali Baa 'Alawi 87

88 and his genealogical root and its branches, and all our noble masters of the Ba 'Alawi as well as all those who have rights over themthat Allah forgive them, and have mercy on them, and grant them lofty ranks in the Garden, and grant us to benefit from their spiritual secrets, their lights, their various knowledges in religion, in the world, and in the Hereafter. May Allah reward all of you! (Recite Surah al-fatihah) wa usulihi wa furu'ihi wa jamee'i saadaatinaa aali Abi 'Alawi wa dhawi'l huquqi 'alaihim ajma'een Annallaha yaghfiru lahum wa yarhamuhum wa yu'lee darajaatihim fi'l jannah wa yanfa'unaa bi-asraarihim wa anwaarihim wa 'ulumihim fi'd deen wa'd dunyaa wa'l aakhirah Al-Fatihata Athaabakumullah (Recite Surah al-fatihah) Then al-fatihah To the spirit of our noble master, our beloved, our blessing, the composer of the Ratib, the Pole of the Breathings, the beloved 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-rahman al-'attas; and to the spirit of the venerable teacher 'Ali ibn 'Abd Allah Baa Raas; and to the spirit of our noble master, our beloved, our blessing, our model and our guide, the beloved Al-Fatihah Ilaa ruhi Sayyidina wa habibina wa barkatina Saahib-i'r Ratib Qutb-i'l Anfaas al-habib 'Umar ibn 'Abd-i'r Rahman-i'l 'Attas thumma ilaa ruhi'sh Shaykh 'Ali ibni 'AbdAllah Baa Raas thumma ilaa ruhi Sayyidina wa habibina wa barkatina wa qudwatina wa murshidina 88

89 leader Ahmad ibn Hasan ibn 'AbdAllah al- 'Attas, and their genealogical roots and branches as well as those that have rights over themthat Allah forgive them, and have mercy on them, and elevate their ranks in the Garden, and grant us to benefit from their spiritual secrets, their lights, their various knowledges and beneficial effects in religion, in the world and in the Hereafter. May Allah reward all of you! (Recite Surah al-fatihah) al-imam-i'l Habib Ahmad ibni Hasan ibni 'AbdAllahi'l 'Attas wa usulihim wa furu'ihim wa dhawi'l huquqi 'alaihim ajma'een Annallaha yaghfiru lahum wa yarhamuhum wa yu'lee darajaatihim fi'l jannah wa yanfa'unaa bi-asraarihim wa anwaarihim wa 'ulumihim wa nafahaatihim fi'd deen wa'd dunya wa'l aakhirah Al-Fatihata Athaabakumullah (Recite Surah al-fatihah) Then al-fatihah To the spirits of the saints, the witnesses, the righteous, and rightly-guided leaders; and to the spirits of our parents, our doctors of religion, our teachers and all those who have rights over us; and to the spirits of the departed who truly believe and have faith, both men and women, and who have willingly submitted to Allah in Islamthat Allah forgive them, and have mercy Al-Fatihah Ilaa arwaahi'l awliyaa' wa'sh shuhadaa' wa's saaliheen wa'l a'immati'r raashideen thumma ilaa arwaahi waalideena wa mashaayikhina wa mu'allimeena wa dhawi'l huquqi 'alaynaa ajma'een thumma ilaa arwaahi amwaati'l mu'mineena wa'l mu'minaat wa'l muslimeena wa'l muslimaat Annallaha yaghfiru lahum wa 89

90 on them, and elevate their ranks in the Garden, and grant us to benefit from their spiritual secrets, their lights and their various knowledges in religion, in the world and in the Hereafter. May Allah reward all of you! (Recite Surah al-fatihah) yarhamuhum wa yu'lee darajaatihim fi'l jannah wa yanfa'unaa bi asraarihim wa anwaarihim wa 'ulumihim fi'd deen waddunya wa'l aakhirah Al-Fatihata Athaabakumullah (Recite Surah al-fatihah) Then finally al-fatihah That Allah kindly accept our works and make complete all requests that are hoped for, and make good our affairs, both manifest and hidden, in religion in this world and in the Hereafter; and that He may repel evil from us and attract good for us and our loved ones, our parents, our teachers of religion, with grace and well-being, with the intention that Allah may illuminate our hearts and our souls with godliness and guidance and purity, and make us to die in the Religion of Islam in true belief and faith without trial and Al-Fatihah Bi'l qabul wa tamaami kulli su'l wa ma'mulin wa salaahi'sh sha'n zaahiran wa baatinan fi'd deen wa'd dunya wa'l aakhirah daafi'atan li kulli sharr jaalibatan li kulli khayr lanaa wa li ahbaabinaa wa li waalideenaa wa mashaayikhina fi'd deen ma'allutfi wa'l 'aafiyati wa 'alaa niyyati Annallaha yunawwiru qulubanaa wa qawaalibanaa ma'attuqaa wa'l hudaa wa'l 'afaafi wa'l mawti 'alaa Deeni'l Islam-i wa'l Imaan bilaa mihnatin wa laa imtihaanin 90

91 examination by right of our Master the son of 'Adnan and with every good intention. And (finally) to the holy presence of the Beloved Muhammad- Allah bless him and give him peaceand whoever aids him. May Allah reward all of you! (Recite Surah al-fatihah) bi-haqqi Sayyidi waladi 'Adnan wa li kulli niyyatin saalihatin wa ilaa Hadrati'l Habib Muhammadin Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam wa man waalaah Al-Fatihata Athaabakumullah (Recite Surah al-fatihah) [End of supplication] AL-WIRD AL-LATĪF by: AL-IMĀM ABDALLĀH BIN ALAWĪ AL-HADDĀD Rady Allāhu Anhu Transliteration and Translation Bismillāhi r Rahmāni r Rahīm Qul Huwallāhu Ahad Allāhu s Samad lam yalid wa lam yūlad wa lam yakun lahū kufuwan ahad (To be recited three times) In the Name of Allāh, The Beneficent, The Merciful. Say! (O Prophet Muhammad). He, Allāh, is One. 91

92 Allāh, The Eternally Besought. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And there is none like Him. (112:1-4) Bismillāhi r Rahmāni r Rahīm Qul a ūdhu bi-rabbbi l falaq min sharri mā khalaq wa min sharri ghāsiqin idhā waqab wa min sharri n naffāthāti fi l uqad wa min sharri hāsidin idhā hasad (To be recited three times) In the Name of Allāh, The Beneficent, The Merciful. Say! (O Prophet Muhammad). I take refuge with the Lord of the day-break; from the evil of what He has created; from the evil of the darkness when it gathers; from the evil of the women who blow on knots (practicing witchcraft); and from the evil of the envious when he envies. (113:1-5) Bismillāhi r Rahmāni r Rahīm Qul a ūdhu bi-rabbi n-nās Maliki n nās Ilāhi n nās min sharri l waswāsi l khannās alladhī yuwaswisu fī sudūri n nās min al-jinnati wa n nās (To be recited three times) In the Name of Allāh, The Beneficent, The Merciful. Say! (O Prophet Muhammad). I take refuge with The Lord of mankind, The King of mankind, The God of mankind; 92

93 from the evil of the (devilish) whisperings of one who slinks away; who whispers in the breasts of mankind, from among the jinn and mankind. (114:1-6) Rabbi a ūdhu bika min hamazāti sh-shayātīn wa a ūdhu bika Rabbi an yahdurūn (To be recited three times) My Lord! I seek refuge with You from the evil suggestions of the devils. And I seek refuge with You from their presence. (23:97-98) Afa-hasibtum annamā khalaqnākum abathan wa annakum ilaynā lā turja ūn Fa-Ta ālallāhu l Maliku l Haqq lā ilāha illā Huwa Rabbu l Arshi l Karīm Wa man yad u ma Allāhi ilāhan ākhara lā burhāna lahū bihī fa innamā hisābuhū inda Rabbihī innahū lā yuflihu l kāfirūn Wa qul Rabbi ghfir wa rham wa Anta Khayru r Rāhimīn (To be recited once) Did you then think that We created you in vain, and that you would not be returned to Us? But Exalted is Allāh, the True King, there is no god but He, Lord of the Honoured Throne. And whosoever calls upon any other god besides Allāh has no authority for this, and his reckoning is with his Lord; undoubtedly, the non-believers will not be successful. And say (O Prophet Muhammad)! My Lord! Forgive and have mercy and You are the Best of those who show mercy. (23: ) 93

94 Fa SubhānAllāhi hīna tumsūna wa hīna tusbihūn Wa lahu l hamdu fi s-samāwāti wa l ardi wa ashiyyan wa hīna tuzhirūn Yukhriju l hayya min al-mayyiti wa yukhriju l mayyita min al-hayy wa yuhyi l arda ba da mawtihā wa kadhālika tukhrajūn (once) So glorify Allāh when you reach the time of the evening and the time of the morning. And His is the Praise in the heavens and the earth, and (glorify Him) in the late afternoon and when you reach mid-day. He brings forth the living from the dead, And He brings forth the dead from the living, and He gives life to the earth after its death, and in like manner you shall be brought forth (from the dead). (30:17-19) A ūdhu Billāhi s Samī i l Alīm min ash-shaytāni r-rajīm (3 times) I seek refuge with Allāh, The All-Hearing, The All-Knowing, from satan, the rejected one. Law anzalnā hādha l Qur āna alā jabalin lara aytahū khāshi an mutasaddi an min khashyatillāh wa tilka l amthālu nadribuhā li nnāsi la allahum yatafakkarūn 94

95 Huwallāhulladhī lā ilāha illā Huwa Ālimu l ghaybi wa sh-shahādati Huwa r Rahmānu r Rahīm Huwallāhulladhī lā ilāha illā Huwa l Maliku l Quddūsu s Salāmu l Mu minu l Muhayminu l Azīzu l Jabbāru l Mutakabbir SubhānAllāhi amma yushrikūn Huwallāhu l Khaliqu l Bāriu l Musawwiru lahu l Asmā u l Husnā yusabbihu lahū mā fi s-samāwāti wa l-ardi wa Huwa l Azīzu l Hakīm (once) If We had sent down this Qur ān upon a mountain you would certainly have seen it humbled, split asunder out of the fear of Allāh; and such examples We set forth for mankind that they may reflect. He is Allāh, there is no god but He, The Knower of the invisible and the visible; He is The Beneficent, The Merciful. He is Allāh, there is no god but He, The King, The Most Holy, The Bestower of Peace, The Granter of Security, The Guardian, The Mighty, The Compeller, The Supreme in Greatness; Transcendent is Allāh beyond what they ascribe as partner (with Him). He is Allāh, The Creator, The Maker, The Shaper; to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names; 95

96 all that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is The Mighty, The Wise. (59:21-24) Salāmun alā Nūhin fi l ālamīn Innā kadhālika najzi l muhsinīn Innahū min ibādina l mu minīn (once) Peace be upon (Prophet) Nūh among all beings. Thus indeed do We reward the righteous. Undoubtedly, he is among our most believing devotees. (37:79-81) A ūdhu bi-kalimātillāhi t-tāmmāti min sharri mā khalaq (3 times) I seek refuge in the complete words of Allāh from the evil in what He has created. Bismillāhilladhī lā yadurru ma a Ismihī shay un fi l ardi wa lā fi s-samā i wa Huwa s Samī u l Alīm (3 times) In the Name of Allāh Who causes no harm to come together with His Name from anything in earth or in heaven, and He is The All-Hearing, The All-Knowing. Allāhumma innī asbahtu minka fī ni matin wa āfiyatin wa sitrin fa atmim ni mataka alayya wa āfiyataka wa sitraka fi d-dunyā wa l ākhira 96

97 (3 times) (In the evenings, recite: amsaytu instead of asbahtu) O Allāh! Morning dawns upon me with blessings, good health and protection from You, so bestow upon me complete blessings, good health and protection from You, in this world as well as the Hereafter. Allāhumma innī asbahtu ush hiduka wa ush hidu hamalata arshika wa malāikataka wa jamī a khalqika annaka Antallāhu lā ilāha illā Anta Wahdaka lā sharīka laka wa anna Muhammad-an Abduka wa Rasūluk (4 times) (Note: In the evenings, recite: amsaytu instead of asbahtu) O Allāh! As morning dawns upon me, I bear testimony before You and before the angels who carry Your Throne and all Your angels and all of Your creation that truly, You are Allāh, there is no god but You, The One and Only God without any partner, and that truly, Muhammad is Your special devotee and Your Prophetic Messenger. Al-hamdu Lillāhi Rabbi l ālamīn hamdan yuwāfī ni amahū wa yukāfi u mazīdah (3 times) 97

98 All Praise is for Allāh, Lord of the worlds; such complete praise that lives up to His favours and is sufficient (to thank Him) for the increase (in His favours). Āmantu Billāhi l Azīm wa kafartu bi l jibti wat-tāghūti wa stamsaktu bi l urwati l wuthqā lanfisāma lahā Wallāhu Samī un Alīm (3 times) I believe in Allāh, The Incomparably Great, and I reject the sorcerers and the idols, and I hold fast to the firmest handhold that never breaks, and Allāh is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Radītu Billāhi Rabban wa bi l Islāmi dīnā wa bi Sayyidinā Muhammad-in Sallallāhu alayhi wa sallama Nabiyyan wa Rasūlā (3 times) I am content with Allāh as Lord, and with Islām as religion, and with our master Sayyidinā Muhammad, may Allāh s blessings and peace be upon him, as Prophet and Messenger (of Allāh). Hasbiyallāhu lā ilāha illā Huwa alayhi tawakkaltu wa Huwa Rabbu l Arshi l Azīm (7 times) 98

99 Allāh is sufficient for me, there is no god but He; in Him do I put my complete trust, and He is the Lord of the Great Throne. (9:129) Allāhumma salli alā Sayyidinā Muhammad-in wa ālihī wa sahbihī wa sallim (10 times) O Allāh! Bless our master Sayyidinā Muhammad, and his Family, and his Companions, and bestow peace upon them. Allāhumma innī as aluka min fujā ati l khayr wa a ūdhu bika min fujā atish-sharr (once) O Allāh! I implore you for good and sudden surprises, and I seek refuge in You from bad surprises. Allāhumma Anta Rabbī lā ilāha illā Anta khalaqtanī wa anā abduka wa anā alā ahdika wa wa dika ma stata tu a ūdhu bika min sharri mā sana tu abū u laka bi ni matika alayya wa abū u bi dhanbī fa ghfir lī fa innahū lā yaghfiru dh-dhunūba illā Anta (once) O Allāh! You are my Lord.None is to be worshipped but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I am faithful to Your covenant and Your promise as much as I can. I seek refuge with You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge before You all the blessings You have bestowed upon me, 99

100 and I confess to You my sins, so forgive me, for truly, nobody can forgive sins except You. Allāhumma Anta Rabbī lā ilāha illā Anta alayka tawakkaltu wa Anta Rabbu l Arshi l Azīm (once) O Allāh! You are my Lord, there is no god but You. I put my complete trust in You, and You are The Lord of the Great Throne. Mā shā Allāhu kāna wa mā lam yasha lam yakun wa lā hawla wa lā quwwata illā Billāhi l Aliyyi l Azīm (once) What Allāh wishes, happens; and what He does not wish, does not happen; and there is no power and no strength except by Allāh, The Most High, The Incomparably Great. A lam Annallāha alā kulli shay in Qadīr wa Annallāha qad ahāta bi kulli shay in ilmā (once) I know that indeed Allāh is Powerful over all things, and that indeed Allāh encompasses all things in His Knowledge. Allāhumma innī a ūdhu bika min sharri nafsī wa min sharri kulli dābbatin Anta ākhidhun bi nāsiyatihā 100

101 inna Rabbī alā Sirātin Mustaqīm (once) O Allāh! I seek Your protection from the evil of my soul, and from the evil of every moving creature You have taken by the forelock. Indeed, it is my Lord Who is on the Straight Path (of truth and justice). Yā Hayyu Yā Qayyūm bi Rahmatika astaghīth wa min adhābika astajīr aslih lī sha nī kullahū wa lā takilnī ilā nafsī wa lā ilā ahadin min khalqika tarfata ayn (once) O The Ever-Living, The Self-Existing by Whom all subsist, I cry out to Your mercy for succour, and from Your punishment I seek protection. Make righteous all my affairs, and do not leave me to myself or to anyone from Your creation even for the blink of an eye. Allāhumma innī a ūdhu bika mina l hammi wa l hazan wa a ūdhu bika mina l- ajzi wa l kasal wa a ūdhu bika minal jubni wa l bukhl wa a ūdhu bika min ghalabati d dayn wa qahri r-rijāl (once) O Allāh! I seek refuge in You from anxiety and grief, and I seek refuge in You from weakness and laziness, 101

102 and I seek refuge in You from cowardice and miserliness, and I seek refuge in You from being overwhelmed by debt, and the tyranny of men. Allāhumma innī as aluka l āfiyata fi d-dunyā wa l ākhirah (once) O Allāh! I seek of You well-being in this world as well as in the Hereafter. Allāhumma innī as aluka l afwa wa l āfiyata wa l mu āfāta d-dā imata fī dīnī wa dunyāya wa ahlī wa mālī (once) O Allāh! I ask of You pardon, well-being and continuous safety, in my religion, my daily life, my family and my possessions. Allāhumma stur awrātī wa āmin raw ātī (once) O Allāh! Cover my shame and calm down my fears. Allāhummahfaznī min bayni yadayya wa min khalfī wa an yamīnī wa an shimālī wa min fawqī wa a ūdhu bi azamatika an ughtāla min tahtī (once) O Allāh! Safeguard me from in front of me and from behind me, and from my right and from my left, and from above me, and I seek refuge in Your Greatness from unexpected harm from below me. Allāhumma Anta khalaqtanī wa Anta tahdīnī wa Anta tut imunī wa Anta tasqīnī 102

103 wa Anta tumītunī wa Anta tuhyīnī (once) O Allāh! You created me, and You guide me, and You provide me with food, and You provide me with drink, and You shall cause me to die, and You give me life. Asbahnā alā fitrati l Islām wa alā Kalimati l Ikhlās wa alā dīni Nabiyyinā Muhammad-in Sallallāhu alayhi wa ālihi wa sallam wa alā millati abīnā Ibrāhīma Hanīfan Musliman wa mā kāna min al-mushrikīn (once) (In the evenings, recite: Amsaynā instead of Asbahnā) We have risen this morning on the original pattern of Islām, and on the Word of Sincerity, and on the religion of our Prophet Muhammad, may Allāh s blessings and peace be upon him and his Family, and on the creed of our fore-father (Prophet) Ibrāhīm who was upright, a Muslim, and not an idolater. Allāhumma bika asbahnā wa bika amsaynā wa bika nahyā wa bika namūtu wa ilayka n nushūr (once) (Note: In the evenings, recite: wa ilayka l masīr, instead of wa ilayka n nushūr) O Allāh! By Your wish we have arisen this morning; and by Your wish we come to the evening, 103

104 and by Your will we live, and by Your will, we die; and to You is the arising (on the Day of Judgment). Asbahnā wa asbaha l mulku Lillāhi wa l hamdu Lillāhi Rabbi l ālamīn (once) (Note: In the evenings, recite: Amsaynā wa amsa l mulku, instead of Asbahnā wa asbaha l mulku) We have arisen this morning and all the Kingdom of Allāh has arisen, purely for the sake of Allāh; and all Praise is for Allāh, Lord of the worlds. Allāhumma innī as aluka khayra hādha l yawm fathahū wa nasrahū wa nūrahū wa barakatahū wa hudāh (once) (In the evenings, recite: hādhihi llaylah fathahā wa nasrahā wa nūrahā wa barakatahā wa hudāhā) O Allāh! I ask of You (to give me) the goodness of this day, its (spiritual) openings, its help, its light, its blessings and right guidance. Allāhumma innī as aluka khayra hādha l yawm wa khayra mā fīhi wa a ūdhu bika min sharri hādha l yawm wa sharri mā fīhi (once) (In the evenings, recite: hādhihi llaylah instead of hādha l yawm, and fīhā instead of fīhi) 104

105 O Allāh! I ask of You (to give me) the goodness of this day and the best of what is in it, and I seek Your protection against the evil of this day and the bad that is in it. Allāhumma mā asbaha bī min ni matin aw bi ahadin min khalqiqa fa minka Wahdaka lā sharīka laka falaka l Hamdu walaka sh shukru alā dhālik (once) (In the evenings, recite: amsā instead of asbaha) O Allāh! Whatever favours I or anyone else in Your creation received this morning are from You Alone. You are the One and Only (God worthy of worship) without any partner. So for You is the Praise and for You is the thanks for that. SubhānAllāhi wa bi Hamdihī (100 times) Glorified is Allāh by His Own Praise. SubhānAllāhi l Azīm wa bi Hamdihī (100 times) Glorified is Allāh, The Incomparably Great, by His Own Praise. SubhānAllāhi wa l Hamdu Lillāhi wa lā ilāha Illallāhu Wallāhu Akbar (100 times) 105

106 Glorified is Allāh, and all Praise is for Allāh, and none is worthy of worship but Allāh and Allāh is Supremely Great. Lā ilāha Illallāhu Wahdahū lā sharīka lahū lahu l Mulku wa lahu l Hamdu wa Huwa alā kulli shay in Qadīr (100 times, to be recited in the mornings only) There is no god but Allāh. He is One. He has no partner. His is the Kingdom and His is the Praise, and He is Powerful over all things. Hamza practising his spiritual exercises next to his daily meditations 106

107 Correspondence on Qur anic Spiritual Exercises Wa alaikum assalam Dear Brother in Islam, Welcome to the fold of Islam. May Allah keep you and me steadfast on Islam and may we be contended with Allah as our Rabb, Islam as our religion and Muhammad as our Prophet. (Actually this is a translation of a prayer which Holy Prophet SAW instructed His followers to recite. You are better than most of us because you have chosen to sacrifice for the truth and AlHamdolillah you have found it. However the true Islamic spirit will be very precious thing and as such difficult to find. I wish you best of luck in your struggle and uphill task. Do not look towards ordinary Muslims or even scholars to search it. Scholars will beautifully describe it but it will never be found in their practical life. But don't get disheartened. We have a saying in Arabic (I am not an Arab) 'Mun jadda fa wajad' meaning he who made an effort, found it. May Allah help you in your quest. May I suggest you to recite the Zhikr or the ayah to solve this problem? URL are at the bottom. Wassalam, Rashid Dear Br Hamza, Wa alaikum assalam Praise be to Allah who Guides he who is seeking the truth honestly and truthfully. You have been very lucky that you got the right persons from the beginning. InshaAllah I will post you an audio copy of the Zikr, so that you will know exactly how to recite it. Once you know it by heart, than no need for the cassette or the paper. I hereby give you permission to recite it as well as, once you start finding the spiritual force behind it, to convey it to others. InshaAllah if you do it on a daily basis, same time same place, very soon you will feel it, I mean the spiritual elation. More later. Wassalam Rashid 107

108 Dear Brother Hamza Wa alaikum assalam wa rehmatullah wa barakaatohu. AlHamdolillah you have received the tape and liked it. I hope you have received the instructions that i have given in my yesterday's to you. Please note that through the authority given to me by my Shaikh, I hereby instruct you to do this Zhikr regularly (daily) and once you start getting the spiritual results and benefits, you are permitted to pass it to others with the same instructions. Please note that the Zhikr is not some kind of ritualistic practice to be done on week ends only. It is part of the spiritual training and as medicine has to be done on daily basis and usually it is preferable to do it same time/same place every day. There is a Hadith of Holy Prophet where has mentioned that there are some angels whose duty is to seek those people who are engaged in Zhikr. Once they find such person or gathering, they surround it and take part in it and in the end say Ameen on the prayers. They submit their daily report to Allah and within a short time they get used to this practice of Zhikr and come to this place even before the Zhikr starts. If for some reason some day the Zhikr is not done they pray for the betterment of this person. It is quite understandable that someone who is doing Zhikr on an irregular basis will loose this and a lot of other benefits, which you will only experience yourself InshaAllah I can't tell you in advance. Please try to cultivate the habit of Zhikr in the sanctity of night and solitude of your home. Otherwise you will always be dependent on some gathering, real and spiritually enriching Zhikr is the one which is done alone. If you see some dreams or experience unusual things, make a note of them in your diary and relate to me or someone else who is guiding you spiritually. There are certain rules to be observed here: 1. Don't mention any dream (for the first time) to anyone after sunset and before sunrise. 2. Only mention your dream for the sake of explanation and not for boosting your image, (Yes it can happen). 3. Mention your dream to someone who is your friend and well-wisher, who is knowledgeable and who is pious. Interpretations of dreams are hanging 108

109 till someone gives its explanation. If the person who has given the interpretation has given it a wrong explanation, something will happen. Therefore it is important that the person would be knowledgeable and well-wisher. 4. Dreams are a sort of secrets between you and your Lord and a person who cannot keep the secret will be not be entrusted any further secrets from this fountain of knowledge. Please note that I am away from 6th November till 18th December. I will be going for Umrah to Makkah and to visit the Prophet SAAW. InshaAllah I will convey your Salaam to him. Wassalam Your brother in Islam Rashid Dear Brother Hamza Assalamo alaikum AlHamdolillah you are on the right tract. Praise be to Allah who guides him who seeks him from the bottom of his heart. We have a saying 'Man ikhtaaroka, laka zimmatohoo' meaning that he who comes to you, his responsibility is on your shoulder on the day of Judgement. Since you have contacted me, it becomes my duty to inform you what I think is appropriate for you. Books and lectures can give you knowledge but not enlightenment. Forgetting enlightened you have to do the same whose stories of intoxication with love of Allah and His Prophet you have been reading or hearing. It is practice. Now i am not going to tell you about the basics, i am sure you have plenty of knowledge and lot of people around you informing that. Please may I suggest something which will help you in your spiritual quest. I hope you will forgive me for being overbearing. 1. Try to do zhikr on a daily basis. I have sent you the audiocassette. Just listen to it and recite it along with the tape. Once you can recite it with your memory then there is no need for the cassette or paper. Try to recite the thing same time same place every day. Night time is better especially during the early hours of morning (Tahajjud). Sit in a quite room with 109

110 eyes closed and recite it in a slightly louder voice without disturbing anyone else. 2. Zhikr, Fasting and Tahajjud prayers are the three trio which are necessary for each others' spiritual benefit. If any of them is missing, you will be rewarded for the rest but the spiritual uplifting and blessings will not be the same. 3. Truthfulness in all spheres of life, Eating Halal and Cleanliness are other three pre-requisites which if not observed carefully will hamper the progress. Not only just hamper but with the passage of time one looses interest slowly without realising. May Allah protect us from this. Ameen. 4. Slow and steady wins the race. Do little but on a regular basis, rather than do too much on irregular intervals. Trying to recite too much from various sources will just result in spiritual confusion. 5. Regarding Surah alikhlas, this is a special gift from my Shaikh - Recite it every night 101 times before going to bed, with 11 times Salaat and Salaam on Holy Prophet before and after it. In the end, send its reward as a gift to Holy Prophet SAAW and all the pious souls and say: O My soul take me to visit these pious souls. Then go to sleep without talking and reciting Salaat and Salaam. Please let me know if you see any dream. Usually it is advisable to complete the recitation of Ikhlaas for 125,000. No time limit - 1 month, six months or more but do it everyday without a break. Once you have completed this figure, than make it a routine of reciting it for 10 times or more daily. I think this should be more than enough for you, to keep you busy for a long time, but believe me this is the road to success. There is no need to look for any Shaikh. InshaAllah with the blessings of this Zhikr, if and whenever you need a Shaikh or any guide, Allah will guide you in your dream towards a proper person. More later, if you want, Best of luck, Wassalam Rashid Dear Brother Hamza Foods or anything that goes into your system consists of two types: 1. Permitted or lawful or Halal. 2. Forbidden or unlawful or Haram. 110

111 What is permitted or allowed in Islam is quite obvious and any book of Fiqh will give a whole list of items. In between these two extremes there are a lot of things which come under the category of doubtful and Holy Prophet SAAW has instructed us to stay away from all such things as well. For example you are not sure what you are eating or purchasing, whether it is Halal or not, stay away from it. Halal is a very comprehensive term. It includes not just what you eat but how you earned the money. You may be eating Halal meat but the money you have used to purchase it may not have been earned in proper manner and so on. One important point to remember is that if by mistake you are eating haram or doubtful thing, unknowingly, Allah will not ask you to account for it but right in this world the level of your spirituality will gradually start dropping just like a small hole in a water tank and this will ultimately lead to bigger things and bigger things. There are plenty of examples of Muslims around you that have just lost this spirituality and have developed apathy/senselessness. Halal foods are of two types: Spiritually depressing and spiritually enriching. If you read the life of Holy Prophet SAAW, anything he was fond of, with experience you will find that it is spiritually as well as physically and mentally enriching and satisfying. For example Beef is spiritually depressing whereas the foreleg of goat is enriching and so on. Halal eating does not mean that you should become vegetarian, but if there is no way you can get Islamically Halal meat then of course you have no choice unless you slaughter your own animal. I hope that this will be enough for now. Please note that I will be away from today till 18th Dec. If it is urgent, I can be reached on except during prayer times, until 6th Dec. After that I will be in Pakistan where it will be difficult to reach me. But I am sure it will be OK InshaAllah. Wassalam and May Allah make it easy for you. Your brother in Islam Rashid 111

112 Notes and Spiritual Advice I must congratulate you on the happy occasion of Ramadhan which really went away with a blink of an eye leaving behind fond memories. I was blessed in the end of Ramadhan by a visit to the Holy cities of Makkah, the Blessed and Madina, the Radiant - a unique experience indeed. I am grateful to Allah that he gave you the strength to continue with your spiritual activities regular. Praise be to Allah for that. Sufism is very popular in Turkey, Pakistan, and Central Asian countries. May Allah guide you to the right kind of Sufis. With all due respect to your newly found Sufi circle, For every real Sufi there are scores of false Sufis, whose main aim is commercially oriented. So be careful. For keeping a good company is of course desirable but sometimes Satan comes through good and lead one astray. Zhikr that I have given you will guide you to the right Sufi Master, as and when the need arises, InshaAllah. Wait patiently. Pray to Allah and request the Holy Prophet PBUH. Whenever you invoke the Blessing and Love of Allah upon the Holy Prophet, there are angels who carry it to the Holy Prophet immediately. If you can recite the salutations in Arabic, a short one, say 100 times per day, followed by your request to the Holy Prophet, seeking His guidance, InshaAllah you will have the honour of meeting him in your dream one day. Until you are guided to the Shaikh through do not give your hand to anyone. God willing this Zhikr will give you enough spiritual energy till this happens. And I am sure it will happen if your desire and longing is genuine. So my dear Brother Hamza, keep the fire burning. As far as this matter of leaving the job is concerned, my teacher normally does not approve of such drastic steps. The best thing, if the job is not suitable, is to look for another suitable job and when one finds it, then only he should leave it. Satan is very deceptive. It is very commonly seen that one gives up a job in the fit of a religious fervour but later on when faced with all sorts of difficulties, than the same man can start cursing the religion itself and loose his faith. I remember a story of a Banker who went to the mosque and heard a very nice lecture about Interest in Banking and as soon as he came back he wanted to resign from his job. His children were studying in college and they were all nicely settled. Besides they had brought up their children in a good religious environment. Someone took him to my teacher Shaikh Abdul Hafeez for advice. My teacher said: Beware of the trap laid by Satan. Sometimes Satan comes with a turban and robe and it is difficult to identify. You have been used to a certain lifestyle, your children are studying, and you have a nice religious atmosphere in 112

113 the house. If you give up the job you will have to move in a rented house, your children's education will be interrupted because you won t be able to afford. ultimately your wife will leave you and go back to her parents and your children will start suffering. And then one day you will sit and think was it really worth the trouble to follow such a religion. GO AND SEARCH FOR OTHER JOB, once you find it then only leave this job. The man always remained grateful for the timely advice. After sometime he found a suitable job and he left the bank. I feel ashamed when you say that you will follow my instructions. Please forgive me. I convey what I have learnt and learn what I do not know. Praise be to Allah that He has guided us to the right path. May he keep us steadfast on it, May all our efforts are purely to seek His pleasure and May we breathe our last with the Shahadah that there is no god except Allah and our Master, Muhammad is his Messenger. Ameen. It is good that you are discovering the true and the false Sufis, on this path. My Master once that he did not spend more than 3 days with any Sufi. By that time usually he was able to decide whether it is spiritually beneficial for him stay with him or not. Praise be to Allah that you are continuing with your zikr. Please note that the real zikr is done in the solitude of your room in the small hours of morning. Attending a zikr gathering is good once in a while but daily zikr should be done alone. When you are alone there is no Hijab between you and Allah. Hijab means a curtain or a barrier. You have not related how you are progressing spiritually. Have you seen any dreams? Dreams of a pious Muslims form an important part of his spiritual training, source of information, milestones in his spiritual journey as well as effect of satanic influences. The more you get closer to Allah, the more Satan will try to dissuade you. I pray that may Allah give you complete, lasting and permanent cure from all kinds of sicknesses. However any suffering is a blessing in disguise because it brings you closer to Allah. Allah says in Qur an: AL-BAQARAH And surely We shall try you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives and crops; but give glad tidings to the steadfast, Who say, when a misfortune striketh them: Lo! We are Allah's and lo! unto 113

114 Him we are returning. Such are they on whom are blessings from their Lord, and mercy. Such are the rightly guided. So dear brother, these sufferings are from Allah who want to get us closer to him. Just as when a child is sick or in trouble, he will not go anywhere except his parent, Allah has provided us an example to ponder that as father or mother you have created your child and when he is sick he comes to you seeking help; I love you 99 times more that all the parents can love their off springs, why don't you come to me. All trials and tribulations are either for forgiveness of our sins or for elevation of our spiritual status. It is for us to decide to which category we belong. As far as prostration is concerned, I agree with your concern. Prostration is the essence of all worships and it is prostration in which one is closest to Allah. he who has tasted its sweetness, will not trade it for anything in the world. However your knee problem will definitely create problems for you during prostration. But let me tell you a story, which will make you understand my point. There was a man who was living in front of a mosque, which was just across the road. He developed some problem with his legs, so he had to crawl to the mosque. One day he saw a young man who offered to carry him to the mosque. He used to come whenever this man was going to the mosque and carry him to the doorstep. Old man noticed that he was coming to prayers. So one day he asked him that he is doing such a good deed, why can't he come inside and pray as well. Young man said: There is no relation between prayers and me. I am Satan. Old man said: then how come you were doing such a charitable act? He said: You were getting so much reward of your crawling, that I decided to reduce it as much as I can, so I started carrying you on my shoulder. Al Hamdolillah that every thing went OK. It is good to know that you are back to more or less normal. I am looking forward to your work on Tasawwuf because I am setting up a site by the name of Al Hafeez and want to give a background of Tasuwwuf in pre-islamic period (it had always been there albeit with a different name and all prophets and saints have followed this path at some point of their life) and its continuation in Islam. If one studies the life of Prophet closely, he will discover that what is understood and practised by real Sufis is exactly what had been practised by Rasoolullah SAAW. If you will allow me your article would be of great help. 114

115 Sources and References Imām Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-ghazālī, Ad-Da awāt u l Mustajāba (Supplications That Are Answered by Allāh), Book 9 of his Ihyā Ulūm al-dīn (The Revival of Religious Sciences), Maktaba Ishā at al-islām, Delhi, 1405/1985. Imām Muhyiddīn Abū Zakariyya Yahyā bin Sharaf an-nawawī, Al-Adhkār (Supplications to Allāh for All Occasions), Al-Maktaba Ath-Thaqāfiyya, Beirut, Lebanon, Imām Abdallāh ibn Alawī al-haddād, Risālat u l Mu āwanah (The Book of Assistance), translated by Dr. Mostafa al-badawi, The Quilliam Press, London, Al-Habīb Alawī bin Ahmad bin al-hasan bin Abdallāh bin Alawī al-haddād, Sharh Rātib al-haddād (An Appreciative Explanation of Rātib al-haddād), a compendium of the adhkār and awrād of Imām Abdallāh ibn Alawī al-haddād, published under the supervision of Shaykh Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Zayn bin Sumayt, Pustaka Nasional, Singapore, 1417/1997. As-Sayyid Alawī bin Muhammad bin Tāhir al-haddād, Wasīlat u l Ibād ilā Zādi l Ma ād (A Means For People To Provide For The Hereafter), a compendium of the adhkār and awrād of Imām Abdallāh ibn Alawī al-haddād, Maktaba Ishā at al-islām, Delhi, 1397/1977. Al-Habīb Ahmad Mashhūr bin Tāhā al-haddād, Miftāh u l Jannah (Key To The Garden), translated by Dr. Mostafa al-badawi, The Quilliam Press, London, The Prophetic Invocations, compiled by Imām Abdallāh ibn Alawī al-haddād, translated by Dr. Mostafa al-badawi, The Starlatch Press, Chicago, Al-Wird al-latīf li l Imām Shaykh al-islām As-Sayyid AbdAllāh bin Alawī al- Haddād, Sharh (Appreciative Explanation) in Arabic by al- Allāmah Fadl bin Alawī bin Muhammad bin Sahl Bā Alawī al-husaynī, translated into Ki- Swahili by Shaykh Mohamed Mlamali Adam. Al-Wird u l-latīf li l Habīb AbdAllāh bin Alawī al-haddād, in Mukhkhul Ibādah li Ahli s-sulūk wa l irādah (The Essence of Worship For Intending Spiritual Travellers), compiled by Al-Habīb as-sayyid AbdAllāh bin Mustafā bin Hasan al- Aydarūs, n.d, p Al-Wird al-latīf li l Habīb AbdAllāh bin Alawī al-haddād, in Al-Maslak al- Qarīb li kulli sālik munīb (The Near and Dear Way for Every Repentant Seeker), compiled by As-Sayyid al-habīb Tāhir bin Husayn bin Tāhir, Maktaba Ishā at al-islām, n.d, Delhi, p

116 Al-Wird u l Latīf li l Habīb AbdAllāh bin Alawī al-haddād, in Al-Adhkār wa l Awrād (Regular Voluntary Supplications and Invocations to Allāh), compiled by Shaykh Muhyiddīn bin Abd ar-rahmān bin Muhammad az- Zanzibārī, Sulaymān Mar ī, Singapore, 1405/1985, p Al-Wird u l Latīf li l Imām AbdAllāh bin Alawī al-haddād, in Shawāriq al- Anwār (The Brilliant Burst of Sunshine), compiled by As-Sayyid Imām Muhammad bin Alawī al-mālikī al-hasanī, n.d, p Al-Wird u l Latīf, in Ad iya thuluth al-layl al-akhīr (Supplications in the Small Hours of the Night), compiled by al- Allāmah al-ustādh Muhammad Sharīf Sa īd al-beidh, Vijana wa Īmaan, Mambrui, Kenya, n.d. p The Wird al-latīf (Arabic/English translation), in The Gifts of Imām al-haddād, compiled by Syed Abdul Kader al-haddad, Wardah Books, Singapore, Remembrance, taken from the Wird of Imām AbdAllāh al-haddād, Appendix One, in Purification of the Heart, translation and commentary of Imām Mawlūd s Matharat al-qulūb, by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Starlatch Press, Illinois, U.S.A, 2004, p Wasīlat u l ibād ilā zādi l ma ād, Majmū awrād wa da awāt wa Salawāt li l Imām Shaykh al-islām AbdAllāh bin Alawī al-haddād (A Means for People to Provide for the Hereafter: A Compendium of Regular Voluntary Supplications and Invocations of Blessings, by al-imām AbdAllāh bin Alawī al-haddād), compiled by As-Sayyid Alawī bin Muhammad bin Tāhir al-haddād, Maktaba Ishā at al-islām, 10th edition, 1397/1977, Delhi. 116

117 The Ten Great Masters of Sikhism First Master Guru Nanak in Sikhism ( ) Guru Nanak Professed: God is one. He has innumerable forms. He is the creator of all. 117

118 Truth is High; Higher Still is Truthful Living. Engage in a daily practice of Meditation (by reciting and chanting of God s Name). Honest Living. Daily earnings must be through honest means. Share with the needy. It is the greatest and true worship of all time. Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. The Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak s divinity and religious authority. One of the most spiritual and sacred Compilations of Guru Nanak, called as Japji states: "There is but One Universal Creator God; His name is Truth and He is the Creator. He fears none; He is without hate; He never dies; He is beyond the cycle of births and death; He is self existent and self illuminated; He is realized by the kindness of the True Guru. He was True in the primal beginning; True throughout the ages; Ever been True. He is also True now." These words are enshrined at the beginning of the Sikh Holy Scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak s path was, is and will ever remain decorated with endless rows of true flowers. He realized God by singing virtues of God and following a life of true deeds. He only sang in the beautiful poetic forms of the time. Singing, often extemporaneously, with all his heart and soul, so much so that his singing became his meditation and Hymns. This was Nanak s path, decorated with true flowers of song - songs of glory and praise of the Almighty Lord. His blissful and mesmerizing Hymns are not those of an ordinary singer. There is the ring of truth, the reflection of God within them. It is these Hymns of love and expressions of truthfulness and worship, along with the Hymns of Guru Nanak's nine successors, that form the eternal Guru of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak founded and formalized the three main principles of Sikhism: Meditation: Guru Nanak preached and practiced meditation on God through reciting, chanting, singing and constant remembrance followed by deep study and comprehension of God s name and virtues. In real life, 118

119 to practice and tread on the path of righteousness - the inner thought of the Sikh thus stays constantly immersed in praises and appreciation of the Creator and the ONE ETERNAL GOD is commonly referred by Sikhs as Waheguru (meaning: The Wonderful Lord). Honest Living: He expected the Sikhs to live as honorable householders and earn honest living by ones physical and mental effort while accepting both pains and pleasures as God's gifts and blessings. One is to stay truthful at all times and, fear none but the Eternal Super Soul. Live a life founded on decency immersed and controlled by high spiritual, moral and social values. Share with the Needy: Guru Nanak preached the Sikhs to share their earnings with the needy by practicing share and consume together. The community or congregation is an important part of Sikhism. One must be part of a community that is living the flawless objective values set out by the Sikh Gurus and every Sikh has to contribute in whatever way possible to the common community pool. This spirit of sharing and giving is an important message from Guru Nanak. "Me, the bard out of work, the Lord has applied to His service. In the very beginning He gave me the order to sing His praises night and day. The Master summoned the minstrel to His True Court. He clothed me with the robe of His true honour and eulogy. Since then the True Name had become my ambrosial food. They, who under the Guru's instruction, eat this food to their satisfaction, obtain peace. By singing the Guru's hymns, I, the minstrel spread the Lord's glory. Nanak, by praising the True Name I have obtained the perfect Lord." (Guru Nanak, Pauri, pg. 150) The founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak was born on April 15, 1469 in the Western Punjab village of Talwandi. He was born to a simple Hindu family. His father Mehta Kalian Das was an accountant in the employment of the local Muslim authorities. From an early age Guru Nanak made friends with both Hindu and Muslim children and was very inquisitive about the meaning of life. At the age of six he was sent to the village school teacher for schooling in reading and writing in Hindi and mathematics. He was then schooled in the study of Muslim literature and learned Persian and Arabic. He was an unusually gifted child who learned quickly and often question his teachers. At age 13 it was time for Guru Nanak to be invested with the sacred thread according to the traditional Hindu custom. At the ceremony which was attended by family and friends and to the disappointment of his family Guru Nanak refused to accept the sacred cotton thread from the Hindu priest. He sang the following poem; "Let mercy be the cotton, contentment the thread, Continence the knot and truth the twist. O priest! If you have such a thread, Do give it to me. It'll not wear out, 119

120 nor get soiled, nor burnt, nor lost. Says Nanak, blessed are those who go about wearing such a thread" (Rag Asa) As a young man herding the family cattle, Guru Nanak would spend long hours absorbed in meditation and in religious discussions with Muslim and Hindu holy men who lived in the forests surrounding the village. Thinking that if bound in marriage Guru Nanak might start taking interest in household affairs a suitable match was found for him. At age 16 he was married to Sulakhani daughter of a pious merchant. Guru Nanak did not object as he felt that married life did not conflict with spiritual pursuits. Guru Nanak was happily married, he loved his wife and eventually had two sons Sri Chand in 1494 and Lakshmi Chand three years later. Now that he had a family of his own Guru Nanak was persuaded by his parents to take a job as an accountant in charge of the stores of the Muslim governor of Sultanpur Daulat Khan Lodi. Guru Nanak agreed and was joined by his family and an old Muslim childhood friend Mardana, a musician by profession. Guru Nanak would work during the days, but early in the mornings and late at nights, he would meditate and sing hymns accompanied by Mardana on the rabab ( a string instrument). These sessions attracted a lot of attention and many people started joining the two. Early one morning accompanied by Mardana, Guru Nanak went to the river Bain for his bath. After plunging into the river, Guru Nanak did not surface and it was reported that he must have drowned. The villagers searched everywhere, but their was no trace of him. Guru Nanak was in holy communion with God. The Lord God revealed himself to Guru Nanak and enlightened him. In praise of the Lord, Guru Nanak uttered; "There is but One God, His name is Truth, He is the Creator, He fears none, he is without hate, He never dies, He is beyond the cycle of births and death, He is self illuminated, He is realized by the kindness of the True Guru. He was True in the beginning, He was True when the ages commenced and has ever been True, He is also True now." (Japji) These words are enshrined at the beginning of the Sikh Holy Scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak did not believe in a Trinity of Gods, or the belief that God can be born into human form. After three days Guru Nanak appeared at the same spot from where he had disappeared. He was no longer the same person he had been, there was a divine light in his eyes and his face was resplendent. He remained in a trance and said nothing. He gave up his job and distributed all of his belongings to the poor. When he finally broke his silence he uttered "There is no Hindu, no Muslim". Daulat Khan asked what he meant when he said to Guru Nanak, "Perhaps the Hindus were no longer Hindus but the Muslims remain devout to their faith." Guru Nanak replied, 120

121 "Let God's grace be the mosque, and devotion the prayer mat. Let the Quran be the good conduct. Let modesty be compassion, good manners fasting, you should be a Muslim the like of this. Let good deeds be your Kaaba and truth be your mentor. Your Kalma be your creed and prayer, God would then vindicate your honour." (Majh) Guru Nanak was thirty years old at this time in The next stage of his life began with extensive travels to spread the message of God. Accompanied by his Muslim rabab player Mardana for company, Guru Nanak undertook long journeys to convey his message to the people in the form of musical hymns. Guru Nanak choose this medium to propagate his message because it was easily understood by the population of the time. Wherever he traveled he used the local language to convey his message to the people. He traveled throughout the Indian Subcontinent and further east, west, and north to spread his mission. Wherever he went he set up local cells called manjis, where his followers could gather to recite hymns and meditate. Once when Guru Nanak came to the small town of Saidpur in West Punjab he choose to stay there with Lalo, a low caste carpenter. At the same time the local chief of the town Malik Bhago, who was quite wealthy and a very proud man was holding a feast to which all holy men were invited. When Malik Bhago found out that Guru Nanak would not attend his feast but instead partook of the simple fare of his host Lalo, he was quite angry and had the Guru brought to him for questioning. When asked why he didn't join in the feast, the Guru sent for the meal served by Malik Bhago and also some of the simple meal served by Lalo. Holding these in separate hands he squeezed them, blood appeared out of the rich food of Malik Bhago, while milk oozed out of Lalos simple fare. Malik Bhago was put to shame and realized that his riches had been amassed by exploiting the poor, while what Lalo offered was the milk of hard earned honest work. Another time while camped out at a town during the rainy season, several devotees would come to the Guru on a regular basis. One of them while on the way to see the Guru, came across a prostitute and was allured by her. Thereafter he would leave home on the pretext of going to see the Guru, but instead visited the prostitute. A few days later his friend who daily came to pay homage to the Guru was pricked by a thorn, while his neighbor, who visited the prostitute, found a gold coin in the street. The incident bewildered the Guru's devotee who came every day religiously. He mentioned it in the morning prayer meeting where Guru Nanak heard it and was amused. He told the Sikh; "Your friend was destined to come across a treasure but due to his evil ways, it has been reduced to a single coin. While on the account of your past karma you 121

122 were to have been impaled with a stake, but having reformed yourself, you have been let off with the mere prick of a thorn." (Janamsakhi) When the Guru visited Kurukshetra in Haryana, a big fair was being held at the holy tank to celebrate the solar eclipse. There were a large number of pilgrims all over the country. On his arrival at the fair, Guru Nanak had Mardana cook them a meat dish of a deer presented to them by one of his followers. Upon finding that meat was being cooked on the holy premises, a large angry crowd gathered in anger to attack the Guru for what they thought amounted to sacrilege (Bhai Mani Singh, Gyan Ratnavali, pg. 123). Upon hearing the angry crowd Guru Nanak responded; "Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don't understand truth nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is meat and what is plant? Who knows where the sin lies, being a vegetarian or a non- vegetarian?" (Malhar) When Guru Nanak stopped at Hardwar a pilgrimage center on the Ganges river he found a large gathering of devotees. They were taking ritual baths in the holy river and offering water to the sun. When the Guru asked "Why do you throw water like that?" The pilgrims replied that they were offering it to their ancestors. Guru Nanak upon hearing this started throwing water in the opposite direction towards the west. When the pilgrims asked him what he was doing?. Guru Nanak replied "I am sending water to my farm which is dry". They asked, "How will water reach you crops so far away?". Guru Nanak replied, "If your water can reach your ancestors in the region of the sun, why can't mine reach my fields a short distance away?" The pilgrims realized their folly and fell at the Gurus feet. On an eastern journey Guru Nanak visited Gorakhmata where he discussed the true meaning of asceticism with some yogis; "Asceticism doesn't lie in ascetic robes, or in walking staff, nor in the ashes. Asceticism doesn't lie in the earring, nor in the shaven head, nor blowing a conch. Asceticism lies in remaining pure amidst impurities. Asceticism doesn't lie in mere words; He is an ascetic who treats everyone alike. Asceticism doesn't lie in visiting burial places, It lies not in wandering about, nor in bathing at places of pilgrimage. Asceticism is to remain pure amidst impurities. (Suhi) After his first long journey, Guru Nanak returned home after twelve years of propagating his message. He then set out on a second journey traveling as far south as Sri Lanka. On his return north he founded a settlement known as Kartharpur (the Abode of God) on the western banks of the Ravi river. Guru Nanak would one day settle down here in his old age. It was also here that he met a young devotee who would later go on to serve five of the following Gurus, Baba Buddha (the revered old one). On his third great journey Guru Nanak 122

123 traveled as far north as Tibet. Wherever Guru Nanak traveled he always wore a combination of styles worn by Hindu and Muslim holy men and was always asked whether he was a Hindu or Muslim. Guru Nanak visited Sheikh Ibrahim the muslim successor of Baba Farid the great Sufi dervish of the twelfth century at Ajodhan. When asked by Ibrahim which of the two religions was the true way to attain God, Guru Nanak replied; "If there is one God, then there is only His way to attain Him, not another. One must follow that way and reject the other. Worship not him who is born only to die, but Him who is eternal and is contained in the whole universe." On his fourth great journey in life Guru Nanak dressed in the blue garb of a Muslim pilgrim traveled to the west and visited Mecca, Medina and Baghdad. Arriving at Mecca, Guru Nanak fell asleep with his feet pointing towards the holy Kabba. When the watchman on his night rounds noticed this he kicked the Guru, saying, "How dare you turn your feet towards the house of God". At this Guru Nanak woke up and said, "Good man, I am weary after a long journey. Kindly turn my feet in the direction where God is not." When pilgrims and the holy men of the shrine gathered to hear Guru Nanak and question him, he sang in Persian; "I beseech you, O Lord! pray grant me a hearing. You are the truthful, the great, the merciful, and the faultless Creator. I know for certain, this world must perish, And death must come, I know this and nothing else. Neither wife, nor son, nor father, nor brothers shall be able to help. I must go in the end, none can undo what is my fate. I have spend days and nights in vanity, contemplating evil. Never have I thought of good; this is what I am. I am ill-starred, miserly, careless, short-sighted, and rude. But says Nanak, I am yours, the dust of the feet of your servants." (Tilang) While in Baghdad contradicting the Muslim priests views that their were only seven upper and as many lower regions Guru Nanak shouted out his own prayer saying, "There are worlds and more worlds below them and there are a hundred thousand skies over them. No one has been able to find the limits and boundaries of God. If there be any account of God, than alone the mortal can write the same; but Gods account does not finish and the mortal himself dies while still writing. Nanak says that one should call Him great, and God Himself knows His ownself." (Japji) In 1916 a tablet with the following inscription was uncovered in Baghdad, "In memory of the Guru, the holy Baba Nanak, King of holy men, this monument has been raised anew with the help of the seven saints." The date on the tablet 927 Hijri corresponds to A.D

124 On his return journey home he stopped at Saidpur in western Punjab during the invasion of the first Mughal Emperor Babar. On seeing the extent of the massacre by the invaders, Mardana asked Guru Nanak why so many innocent people were put to death along with those few who were guilty. Guru Nanak told Mardana to wait under a banyan tree and after a while he would return to answer his question. While sitting under the tree Mardana was suddenly bitten by an ant. In anger Mardana killed as many ants as he could with his feet. Guru Nanak said to him, "You know now Mardana, why do the innocents suffer along with the guilty?" Guru Nanak and Mardana were both taken prisoner by the Mughal's. While in jail Guru Nanak sang a divine hymn about the senseless slaughter of the innocents by the Mughal invaders. Upon hearing it the jailer reported it to his king. Babar sent for the Guru and upon hearing him realized that Guru Nanak was a great religious figure. He asked for the Gurus forgiveness and set him free offering him a pouch of hashish. Guru Nanak refused saying the he was already intoxicated with the love and name of God. After having spent a lifetime of traveling abroad and setting up missions, an aged Guru Nanak returned home to Punjab. He settled down at Kartharpur with his wife and sons. Pilgrims came from far and near to hear the hymns and preaching of the Master. Here his followers would gather in the mornings and afternoons for religious services. He believed in a castless society without any distinctions based on birthright, religion or sex. He institutionalized the common kitchen called langar in Sikhism. Here all can sit together and share a common meal, whether they were kings or beggars. While working the fields one day in 1532 Guru Nanak was approached by a new devotee who said, "I am Lehna," Guru Nanak looked at him and replied, "So you have arrived Lehna - the creditor. I have been waiting for you all these days. I must pay your debt." ("Lehna" in Punjabi means debt or creditor.) Lehna was a great devotee of the Hindu God Durga. One day having hearing about Guru Nanak and his teachings, he decided to visit and see the Guru for himself. Once Lehna met Guru Nanak he left his previous beliefs and became an ardent disciple of the Guru. Lehna's devotion to Guru Nanak was absolute, when he was not working on the farm, he would devote his spare time to the contemplation of God. Over time he became Guru Nanak's most ardent disciple. Guru Nanak put his followers to many tests to see who was the most faithful. Once while accompanied by Lehna and his two sons Guru Nanak came across what looked like a corpse covered with a sheet. "Who would eat it?" asked Guru Nanak unexpectedly. His sons refused, thinking that their father was not in his senses. Lehna though agreed and as he removed the cover he found that it was a tray of sacred food. Lehna first offered it to Guru Nanak and his sons and then partook of the leftovers himself. Guru Nanak on seeing this replied; 124

125 "Lehna, you were blessed with the sacred food because you could share it with others. If the people use the wealth bestowed on them by God for themselves alone or for treasuring it, it is like a corpse. But if they decide to share it with others, it becomes sacred food. You have known the secret. You are my image." (Janamsakhi) Guru Nanak then blessed Lehna with his ang (hand) and gave him a new name, Angad, saying "you are a part of my body". Guru Nanak placed five coins and a coconut in front of Guru Angad and then bowed before him. He then had Bahi Budhha anoint Angad with a saffron mark on his forehead. When Guru Nanak gathered his followers together for prayers he invited Angad to occupy the seat of the Guru. Thus Guru Angad was ordained as the successor to Guru Nanak. Feeling his end was near, the Hindus said we will cremate you, the Muslims said we will bury you. Guru Nanak said; "You place flowers on either side, Hindus on my right, Muslims on my left. Those whose flowers remain fresh tomorrow will have their way." He then asked them to prey and lay down covering himself with a sheet. Thus on September 22, 1539 in the early hours of the morning Guru Nanak merged with the eternal light of the Creator. When the followers lifted the sheet they found nothing except the flowers which were all fresh. The Hindus took theirs and cremated them, while the Muslims took their flowers and buried them. Thus having spread the words of reform throughout his lifetime, Guru Nanak successfully challenged and questioned the existing religious tenants and laid the foundations of Sikhism. Guru Nanak's Divine Journeys, (known as The Udasis In Sikh History): In 1499, he embarked on his Divine Mission and travelled on foot towards east, west, north and south of India. He met people of different religions, tribes, cultures and races - his travels are called Udasis. Guru Nanak was moved by the plight of the people of world and wanted to tell them about the "real message of God." Guru Nanak saw the world suffering out of hatred, fanaticism, falsehood and hypocrisy. The world had sunk in wickedness and sin, so he decided that he had to travel and educate and press home the message of Almighty Lord. He carried the torch of truth, heavenly love, peace, compassion, righteousness and joy for mankind Social Reforms and Contributions By Guru Nanak: Equality of Humans: Guru Nanak preached against discrimination and prejudices due to race, caste, status, etc. All Human Beings are created equal. He urged to "conquer" our minds to these evil practices. All human 125

126 beings had the light of the Lord and were the same - only by subduing one's pride and ego could one see this Light in all. Equality of women: Around 1499 when the world offered low to no status or respect to women, Guru Nanak sought to improve the respect of women by spreading this message: "From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. O' Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman." Universal message for all people: It had been a custom at the time for religious leaders to address only their own congregation and for segregation of the different religions -- but Guru Nanak broke with tradition and spoke to all of humanity. Unity, Harmony, Equality, Love, Faith, Sharing, Giving is Guru Nanak! Second Master Guru Angad ( ) Guru Angad is the second Master in Sikh Dharma. He was born in Sarai Matta, India. His father s name was Pheru Mall Ji and his mother was Daya Kaur Ji. He married Mata Khivi. They had two sons Dassu Ji and Dattu Ji and two daughters Bibi Amro Ji and Bibi Anokhi Ji. Guru Angad continued sharing the teachings of Guru Nanak. He also entered states of mystical vision and wrote songs from his own experience. To help the community learn to sing these songs, Guru Angad standardized the Gurmukhi script. Gurmukhi means from the mouth of the Guru. With very easy and clear rules of pronunciation, the Gurmukhi script allowed people to pronounce the songs of Guru Nanak, Guru Angad and the songs of the mystics from other lands and languages that Guru Nanak had collected. In some ways, it could be said that Gurmukhi was the world s first tape-recorder for it was an alphabet devised to re-create sound regardless of the particular language a song was written in. Under Guru Angad s instruction, his wife Mata Khivi further developed langar or the community meal. In India, people of different castes or social classes did not eat meals together. Guru Nanak began a tradition of having people of all castes sit together and eat together as a way to create community among people and break the false divisions of social class. Mata Khivi was instrumental in seeing that this tradition of eating together flourished into an 126

127 institution during the second Guru s reign. The son of a prosperous Hindu trader, Bhai Pheru, Guru Angad was an ardent devotee of the Hindu goddess Durga. Lehna, as he was known before becoming Guru was born on March 31, 1504 in the village of Matte-di-Sari but eventually his family moved to Khadur. He was married to Khivi and had two sons, Datu and Dasu, and one daughter Amro. Lehna would annually lead groups of pilgrims to visit the temple of Durga at Jwalamukhi for preying and dancing. Here the flames emitted by the volcano are worshipped by devout Hindus. One day Lehna heard a Sikh named Bhai Jodha reciting the Japji, the early morning prayer composed by Guru Nanak. Finding out about Guru Nanak from Bhai Joda, Lehna decided to visit the Guru and pay his respects. Upon meeting Guru Nanak at the age of 27, Lehna became a devout disciple of Guru Nanak and renounced his former practices. Guru Nanak instructed Lehna to return to Khadur to instruct people in the ways of Sikhism. Here Lehna spent his time in prayer and serving the people. He distributed food to the poor daily. Longing to be with Guru Nanak he eventually returned to Karthapur where he became totally devoted to the service of Guru Nanak. After undergoing countless tests, Guru Nanak eventually appointed Guru Angad as his successor on July 14, 1539 as described previously. Upon the death of Guru Nanak, Guru Angad returned to Khadur where he went into seclusion and meditation for six months. Eventually a delegation of Sikhs led by Baba Buddha convinced the Guru that they needed him. Guru Angad longed for Guru Nanak, when he said to Baba Buddha; "He whom you love, die for him. Accursed is the life without the beloved. The head should be sliced that does not bow before the Master. O Nanak! the body should be burnt that suffers not the agony of separation." (Sri Rag) "He who has been blessed by Guru Nanak is lost in the praises of the Lord. What could one teach those, Who have Divine Nanak as their Guru?" (Majh) Guru Angad was the embodiment of humility as Guru Nanak had been before him. The renowned yogi Daya Nath visited Guru Angad to try to convert him. Daya Nath believed that mental purity could only be obtained through renunciation of the world, observance of rituals, introspection, and yoga. Guru Angad engaged him in discussion saying that only through living a simple truthful life as Guru Nanak had lived can God be realized, by remaining pure amidst impurity. The yogi was eventually won over by the purity and innocence of Guru Angad and asked the Guru if there was anything that he could do for him. The humble Guru Angad replied that he only seeked the learned yogis blessings. 127

128 Guru Angad followed the daily routine that Guru Nanak had. He would wake up early at dawn to recite Guru Nanak's Japji (morning prayer) as well as sing Asa di var with his congregation, work during the daytime and then have evening prayers. Guru Angad also maintained langar where people of all religions and casts could gather for a free meal. Guru Angad also took a keen interest in physical fitness, and encouraged his devotees to be involved in sports after their morning prayers. After the Mughal emperor Babur's death he was succeeded by his son Humayun. He was soon defeated by Sher Shah and on his retreat out of India he stopped at Khadur to seek the Guru's blessings. When Humayan arrived, Guru Angad and the congregation were absorbed in singing religious hymns. After a while Humayan became impatient and angry at being ignored and put his hand on the hilt of his sword to attack the Guru. Guru Angad was unmoved by this and said "When you should have used the sword you did not, rather you ran away from the battlefield like a coward. Here you show off, threatening to attack unarmed devotees engaged in prayer." Humayan was humbled by this and asked the Guru's forgiveness and blessings. Guru Angad blessed him, and as history was to have it he eventually regained his throne. Guru Angad was very fond of children and took a great interest in their education. He advocated that they should be taught to read and write in their mother tongue, Punjabi. Although the origins of the Gurmukhi script are unclear, it is clear that Guru Angad popularized the use of this simplified script among the Sikhs starting around Being the successor of Guru Nanak he also got the first authorized biography of Guru Nanak written in 1544, as well as having a number of copies of Guru Nanak's hymns written out in the new Gurmukhi script. Guru Angad further expanded the number of Sikh religious centers. There lived a very devout Vaishanavite Hindu named Amar Das. He had regularly made pilgrimages to the Ganges river for ritual baths for over 20 years. While returning from his twelfth such pilgrimage he was asked by a monk "Who is your Guru?" Amar Das felt frustrated as he could not answer this question having searched his whole life, but still not achieving the peace of mind that he longed for. One day he heard Bibi Amro the daughter of Guru Angad, who was recently married to his nephew singing the hymns of Guru Nanak. Amar Das started to listen to them every day until he was enchanted by them. Bibi Amro told Amar Das about the mission of Guru Nanak and promised to introduce him to her father Guru Angad. When the time finally came and they met, Guru Angad got up from his seat on his arrival to embrace Amar Das as he was his relative and also much older than the Guru. Amar Das instead fell to the Guru's feet out of respect and humility, 128

129 forgetting his age and family status. On this day of their meeting, Guru Angad was eating meat and being a Vaishnav Hindu, Amar Das felt uncomfortable. Guru Angad told Amar Das that the meats one should avoid are envy, greed, ego, slander and usurpation of others rights. He told Amar Das that there is life in everything, whatever is eaten while remembering God is like nectar itself. Amar Das thus became a devoted disciple of Guru Angad. One of the Guru Angad's wealthy disciple named Gobind decided to build a new township on the river Beas to honour the Guru. Guru Angad sent Amar Das to supervise the construction of this new township which came to be known as Goindwal. When it was completed Guru Angad instructed Amar Das and his family to move there. Amar Das complied. Every morning he would get up early in the morning and carry water from the river to the Guru and remain in his company the entire day before returning to Goindwal in the evenings. Each year Guru Angad would present a turban as a symbol of honour to his devoted followers. Such was the devotion of Amar Das that he would wear one on top of the other, refusing to discard the Guru's gift. People ridiculed Amar Das for his blind faith, but he was never concerned. As Guru Angad's popularity continued to spread among the people, this caused much jealousy among the Hindu high castes because Guru Angad was gaining popularity with his preaching about a castless society. They conspired to turn the people away from the Guru. During a drought year a Hindu recluse told the villagers "You go to Guru Angad day and night for spiritual guidance, why can't he get rain for your dying crops?" The recluse forecasted that there would only be rain when Guru Angad left the village. When confronted by the desperate farmers Guru Angad replied, "Nature cannot bend to your will merely by human sacrifice to the gods, or by injuring someone's heart. But if your rain god is satisfied by my leaving this village, I shall do so without a moment's hesitation." Leaving the village Guru Angad was refused shelter in neighboring villages and finally settled in a forest south of Khadur. When the rains did not come as promised the villagers grew angry at the Hindu recluse and wanted to kill him. Amar Das was disappointed with the way that the villagers had treated Guru Angad. He suggested that instead of killing the recluse the farmers tie the recluse to a plow and drag him through their fields. The rains finally came. The villagers now emplored the Guru to return to the village. When Guru Angad heard to the punishment the Hindu recluse had received he told Amar Das; "You should have shown endurance, in the face of adversity, like the earth, steadfastness like a mountain and compassion like a river. For the wise and the holy, it is unforgivable if they practice not humility and remain not even-minded in weal or woe." Amar Das asked for and received forgiveness. Guru Angad did not believe in performing miracles unnecessarily. When Amar Das blessed a devotee of the Guru's with a son, Guru Angad warned him, "Do 129

130 not go about disbursing your blessings and curses without due deliberation. God is merciful to all men of prayer and good intentions, and one need not exhibit one's spiritual prowess by such showmanship." A village women once ridiculed Amar Das for his faithful devotion as being that "homeless old man who carries water every day for his Guru daily." When Guru Angad heard this he embraced Amar Das and told his congregation; "Amar Das is not homeless, he is the shelter of the unsheltered. He is the strength of the weak and the emancipation of the slave!" Finding that Amar Das was his most worthy disciple and feeling that his end was near Guru Angad announced that Amar Das would be his successor. Guru Angad's two sons were unhappy with their fathers decision but the Guru told them that the honour would go to Amar Das because he was the most worthy and humble. Guru Angad bowed before Guru Amar Das placing five copper coins and a coconut before him signifying as Guru Nanak had done before him. Guru Angad then had Baba Buddha anoint the forehead of Guru Amar Das with a saffron mark. Shortly thereafter Guru Angad left this world on March 28, Third Master Guru Amar Das ( ) Guru Amar Das (Punjabi: ਗ ਰ ਅਮਰ ਦ ਸ) (Born in Amritsar, Punjab, India on 5 May 1479 died 14 May, 1574 in Amritsar, India). He was the third of the Eleven Gurus of Sikhism, and he became Guru on 26 March 1552 following in the footsteps of Guru Angad Dev, who died 29 March He was born in Basarka village in Amritsar district, the eldest son of his parents, Bhai Tej Bhan Bhalla and Mata Lakhmi. At the age of 24, he was married to Mansa Devi who gave birth to two sons, Mohan and Mohri, and two daughters, Bibi Dani and Bibi Bhani. He often went to Haridwar and Jwalamukhi on pilgrimages. Guru Amar Das was past the age of sixty before he came into contact with Sikhism. The Third Sikh Guru contributed the following to the people of the world: All visitors to Gurdwaras to take Langar Free Food. Guru lifted the status of women as equal to men. Prohibited the practice of Sati Established a Administration system for management of congregations Gift of the prayer called anand Sahib. An Incomparable Prophet: Guru Amar Dass ( ) by Sirdar Kapur Singh (National Professor of Sikhism) Guru Amar Dass, Nanak the Third, is referred to as "an incomparable prophet" in the Sikh scripture (Bhalle Amardas gunu tere teri upma tohi ban avai), not in 130

131 the sense of unparalleled qualitative superiority or imperial spiritual status, for, according to Sikh doctrines there is no social hierarchy in the world of the Spirit and no gradation of excellence or rank amongst God's prophets or men otherwise 'filled with God'. The Sikh scripture refers to all true prophets and men filled with the Holy Spirit, as 'co-equal and entitled to utmost reverence' (Nanak vechara kia kahai, sabh lok salahai ek sai, siru Nanak loka pav hai, balihari jao jete tare nav hai). But there are differences of identity and in the aroma of the time-climate in which the prophets and the messengers of God manifest themselves and operate. It is in this sense that Guru Amar Dass is referred to as 'incomparable' in the Guru Granth. The epiphany of the spiritual effulgence of Guru Amar Dass occurred in the second half of the 16th Century when, in an obscure corner of India, he appeared in the religious firmament of the world as a quasar, quasi-star but has been commonly regarded as a mere asteroid. A 'quasar' is a distinct heavenly body distinguishable by its extraordinary radio-action, smaller than galaxies, yet emitting many million times the energy released by any ordinary star. A quasar is incredibly luminous though such stellar objects are estimated to be about 5,300 million light-years away from us, while an asteroid or planetoid is just a junior member of our own solar system, just a little planet. Those who like to view Guru Nanak in his ten manifestations as bhaktas of Hindu Vaishnavite tradition or 'sants' in the sense of highly pious Hindus, confuse a quasar with an asteroid. Nor is Guru Nanak, in any of his Manifestations, to be judged merely by their historical impact on society or history, for, we must not reduce religion to social revolutionary Marxism. As the famous Christian theologian, Harnack has said, "He already wounds religion who primarily asks what it has achieved for culture and progress of mankind and wants, accordingly, to determine its value. The meaning of life unfolds always in the supra-worldly spheres." (Adolf von Harnack, Die Mission, 1902.) "It is in the supra-world that true worth of man is adjudged", according to the Sikh Scripture, (kac pakai othai pae) for, "here it is pitch dark night and there the shining light of the day" (othe dinh ethai sabh rat), wherein alone the meaning of life and death are clearly seen. Guru Amar Das was born in the village of Basarke on May 5, He was the eldest son of Tej Bhan a farmer and trader. Guru Amar Das grew up and married Mansa Devi and had two sons Mohri and Mohan and two daughters Dani and Bhani. He was a very religious Vaishanavite Hindu who spent most of his life performing all of the ritual pilgrimages and fasts of a devout Hindu. 131

132 It was not until his old age that Amar Das met Guru Angad and converted to the path of Sikhism. He eventually became Guru at the age of 73 succeeding Guru Angad as described previously. Soon large numbers of Sikhs started flocking to Goindwal to see the new Guru. Datu one of Guru Angad's sons proclaimed himself as Guru at Khadur following his fathers death. He was so jealous of Guru Amar Das that he proceeded to Goindwal to confront the Guru. Upon seeing Guru Amar Das seated on a throne surrounded by his followers he said; "You were a mere menial servant of the house until yesterday and how dare you style yourself as the Master?", he then proceeded to kick the revered old Guru, throwing him off his throne. Guru Amar Das in his utter humility started caressing Datu's foot saying; "I'm old. My bones are hard. You may have been hurt." As demanded by Datu, Guru Amar Das left Goindwal the same evening are returned to his native village of Basarke. Here Guru Amar Das shut himself in a small house for solitary meditation. There he attached a notice on the front door saying, "He who opens this door is no Sikh of mine, nor am I his Guru." A delegation of faithful Sikhs led by Baba Buddha found the house and seeing the notice on the front door, cut through the walls to reach the Guru. Baba Buddha said, "The Guru being a supreme yogi, cares for nothing in the world - neither fame, nor riches nor a following. But we cannot live without his guidance. Guru Angad has tied us to your apron, where should we go now if you are not to show us the way?" At the tearful employment of the Sikhs, Guru Amar Das was overwhelmed by their devotion and returned to Goindwal. Datu having been unable to gather any followers of his own had returned to Khadur. Guru Amar Das further institutionalized the free communal kitchen called langer among the Sikhs. The langar kitchen was open to serve all day and night. Although rich food was served there, Guru Amar Das was very simple and lived on coarse bread. The Guru spent his time personally attending to the cure and nursing of the sick and the aged. Guru Amar Das made it obligatory that those seeking his audience must first eat in the langer. When the Raja of Haripur came to see the Guru. Guru Amar Das insisted that he first partake a common meal in the langer, irrespective of his cast. The Raja obliged and had an audience with the Guru. But on of his queens refused to lift the veil from her face, so Guru Amar Das refused to meet her. Guru Amar Das not only preached the equality of people irrespective of their caste but he also tried to foster the idea of women's equality. He tried to liberate women from the practices of purdah (wearing a veil) as well as preaching strongly against the practice of sati (Hindu wife burning on her husbands funeral pyre). Guru Amar Das also disapproved of a widow remaining unmarried for the rest of her life. 132

133 Goindwal continued to experience growth as many Sikhs thronged there for spiritual guidance. Pilgrims moved there in large numbers to be close to the Guru. Muslims and Hindus also moved to the thriving town. When there was racial fighting between the three groups and calls for revenge, Guru Angad instructed his Sikhs; "In God's house, justice is sure. It is only a matter of time. The arrow of humility and patience on the part of the innocent and the peaceful never fail in their aim." Once during several days of rain while Guru Amar Das was riding by a wall which he saw was on the verge of falling he galloped his horse past the wall. The Sikhs questioned him saying; "O Master, you have instructed us, 'fear not death, for it comes to all' and 'the Guru and the God-man are beyond the pale of birth and death', why did you then gallop past the collapsing wall?" Guru Amar Das replied; "Our body is the embodiment of God's light. It is through the human body that one can explore one's limitless spiritual possibilities. Demigod's envy the human frame. One should not, therefore, play with it recklessly. One must submit to the Will of God, when one's time is over, but not crave death, nor invite it without a sufficient and noble cause. It is self surrender for the good of man that one should seek, not physical annihilation. " With a view of providing the Sikhs with a place where they could have a holy dip while visiting Goindwal the Guru had a type of deep open water reservoir called a baoli dug. As the Hindus believed in reincarnation in 84 hundred thousand species, Guru Amar Das had the well dug with exactly 84 steps. To symbolize that God could be reached through his remembrance rather than just a cycle of reincarnations he declared that who ever would descend the 84 steps for a bath while reciting the Japji of Guru Nanak at each step would be freed from the cycles of births and deaths. When it came time for the Guru to marry his younger daughter Bibi Bani, he selected a pious and diligent young follower of his called Jetha from Lahore. Jetha had come to visit the Guru with a party of pilgrims from Lahore and had become so enchanted by the Guru's teachings that he had decided to settle in Goindwal. Here he earned a living selling wheat and would regularly attend the services of Guru Amar Das in his spare time. In 1567 while on his way to Lahore the Emperor Akbar decided to visit and see for himself Guru Amar Das. He stopped at Goindwal to meet the Guru, whose teachings he had heard about. The Guru agreed only to seem Akbar if he would first eat in the langer. Akbar agreed and here the Emperor sat down and ate with the poorest of the poor in his company. Akbar was so impressed by Guru Amar Das that he wanted to give the Guru a parting gift of the revenue collected from several villages to help support the langer kitchen. Guru Amar Das refused 133

134 saying that the langer must be self supporting and only depend upon the small offerings of the devout. The jealousy of the teachings of the Gurus by the high caste Khatris and Brahmins continued. They pleaded with Akbar at the royal court that the teachings of Sikhism would lead to disorder as they went against the teachings of Hindus and Muslims. Akbar summoned the Guru to his court for an explanation. Guru Amar Das politely excused himself on account of his old age, but sent Jetha to answer the charges leveled against the Sikhs. In the royal court Jetha explained the teachings of Sikhism. Akbar was open minded and deeply impressed by the religious doctrine of the Sikhs and decided that no further actions were required. Guru Amar Das continued a systematic planned expansion of the Sikh Institutions. He trained a band of 146 apostles (52 were women) called Masands and sent them to various parts of the country. He also set up 22 dioceses called manjis across the country. These twenty two dioceses helped to spread Sikhism among the population while collecting revenues to help support the young religion. Guru Amar Das also declared Baisakhi (April 13), Maghi (1st day of Magha, mid January) and Diwali (festival of lights in October/November) as three special days where all the Sikhs should gather to hear the Guru's words. Although advanced in years, Guru Amar Das undertook a tour of a number of Hindu places of pilgrimage along the banks of the Yamuna and Ganga rivers as well as Kurukshetra. Here the Guru would hold religious services and large numbers of people would come to hear his preaching. For their religious scriptures Guru Amar Das collected an anthology of writings including hymns of Guru Nanak and Guru Angad and added his own as well as those of other Hindu saints whose poems conformed to the teachings of Sikhism. All of these were in Punjabi and easily understood by the common people. When a learned Brahmin once questioned the Guru; "Why do you impart instruction to your disciples not in Sanskrit, the language of gods in which all the Hindu lore is written, but in their mother-tongue, like Punjabi, the language of the illiterate mass." To this Guru Amar Das replied; "Sanskrit is like a well, deep, inaccessible and confined to the elite, but the language of the people is like rain water - ever fresh, abundant and accessible to all." He said; "I want my doctrines to be propagated through every language which the people speak, for it is not language but the content that should be considered sacred or otherwise." Seeing the rapid expansion of Sikhism, Guru Amar Das asked his son-in-law and trusted follower Jetha to oversee the founding of another city. He wanted him to dig a tank there and to build himself a house. Jetha first purchased the lands for the price of 700 Akbari rupees from the Zamindars of Tung. Here he 134

135 started the digging on the tank. This new township called Ramdaspur would in due time become present day Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs. On September 1, 1574 sensing that his end was near, Guru Amar Das sent for Baba Buddha and other prominent Sikhs including his tow sons Mohan and Mohri. He declared; "According to the tradition established by Guru Nanak, the leadership of the Sikhs must go to the most deserving. I, therefore, bestow this honour on my son-in-law Jetha." Guru Amar Das then renamed Jetha as Ram Das, meaning Servant of God. As was the custom Baba Buddha was asked to anoint the forehead of Amar Das with the saffron mark. All those present bowed before Guru Ram Das except for Mohan, Guru Amar Das's eldest son. Shortly thereafter Guru Amar Das breathed his last on the full moon day of Bhadon in 1574 at the ripe old age of 95. Fourth Master Guru Ram Das ( ) Guru Ram Das Ji is the fourth Sikh Guru. He was born at Chuna Mandi Lahore on September 24, The original name of Guru Ram Das Ji was Bhai Jetha Ji. He was son-in-law of Guru Amar Das Ji. He was married to Bibi Bhani Ji. He had three sons namely Prithi Chand, Mahan Dev and Arjan Dev. He was nominated to Gurgaddi on August 30th, 1574 at Goindwal. Guru Ram Das Ji emphasised the concept of selfless service to the humanity without any consideration of caste, colour, creed, gender and country. He put stress on high thinking and simple living. He gave the gift of "Four Lawan" to attain unity with God. Founder of the city of Amritsar, site of Harmandir Sahib Ji, Guru Ram Das Ji worked to ensure the city's growth by encouraging commercial and trade ventures in the town. Soon, with the city flourishing as a trade centre and place of pilgrimage, the Sikhs had a distinct religious centre of their own. He excavated the pool of Harmandir Sahib Ji He founded the town of Guru Ka Chak, which later on came to be known as Amritsar. The Guru Ji invited people of different trades to do business in the newly set up town. He started the excavation of the holy Sarovar (Lake of immortality or pool of Nectar) of Sri Harmandir Sahib Ji at a place now called Darbar Sahib Ji or Golden Temple Amritsar. Sri Harmandar Sahib Ji is fountain of spirituality that strengthens the Sikh unity. He dedicated his life to preach Sikhism. He encouraged the Sikhs to become true Sikhs by singing the glory of God. He established the Massand institution to look after growth of Sikhism. Guru Ram Das Ji bestowed Guruship on his 135

136 youngest son Arjan Dev Ji, after whom the Guruship became hereditary. He left for heavenly abode on September 1st, 1581 at Goindwal Sahib Ji. Guru Ram Das was born on September 24, 1534 to simple God-fearing parents, Hari Das and Anup Devi of Lahore. Known as Jetha meaning the first born, he was a handsome young man. When he grew up he could always be found in the company of religious men. One day Jetha came across a party of Sikhs who were on their way to Goindwal to pay homage to Guru Amar Das. Jetha decided to join them and also travel to Goindwal. Upon their arrival and meeting, Guru Amar Das at once noticed the young Jetha with his pleasant manner and sense of devotion. While his fellow travelers returned to Lahore, Jetha decided to stay and become a disciple of Guru Amar Das. His hard work, and devotion eventually won him the hand of Guru Amar Das's younger daughter, Bibi Bhani. They went on to have three sons, Prithi Chand, Mahadev and Arjan Dev. Jetha became a trusted disciple of Guru Amar Das. As described previously he successfully represented Guru Ram Das before the Mughal royal court to defend the charges by jealous Hindus that Sikhism maligned both the Hindu and Muslim religions. "Birth and caste are of no avail before God. It is deeds which make or unmake a man. To exploit ignorant people with superstitions and to call it religion is a sacrilege against God and man. To worship the infinite, formless and absolute God in the form of a totem, an image or an insignificant or timebound object of nature, or to wash one's sins not through compassion and selfsurrender, but through ablutions; to insist upon special diets, languages and dresses, and fads about what to eat and what not, and to condemn the mass of human beings, including women, to the status of sub-humans and to deny them the reading of the scriptures and even work of every kind is to tear apart man from man. This is not religion, not is it religion to deny the world through which alone man can find his spiritual possibilities." The Emperor Akbar was greatly impressed by the tenants of Sikhism as explained by Jetha and dismissed all of the charges. Eventually Jetha was ordained as Guru Amar Das's successor and named Guru Ram Das (meaning servant of God). These events have previously been described. When the aged ascetic son of Guru Nanak Baba Sri Chand came to visit Guru Ram Das he asked him why he kept such a long beard? Guru Ram Das replied; "To wipe the dust off the feet of holy men like yourself" and then proceeded to perform this supreme act of humility. Sri Chand held his hand and embraced Guru Ram Das saying; "It's enough. This is the kind of character by which you have deprived me of my ancestral heritage. Now, what more is left with me that I could offer you for your piety and goodness of heart?" 136

137 Guru Ram Das now eagerly continued the building of the city of Ramdaspur (the abode of Ram Das) by digging of the second sacred pool as he had been instructed by Guru Amar Das. Pilgrims came in large numbers to hear the Guru and to help in the excavation work of the tank. The holy tank would be called Amritsar meaning pool of nectar. Today the city which is the holiest center of Sikhism has come to be know as Amritsar. Guru Ram Das urged his Sikhs that one could fulfill one's life not merely by quiet meditation but in actively participating in the joys and sorrows of others. This is how one could also rid oneself of the prime malady - Ego, and end their spiritual loneliness. One of the new entries into the Sikh fold at this time was Bhai Gurdas Bhalla, the son of the younger brother of Guru Amar Das. Bhai Gurdas was a superb poet and scholar of comparative religion who would later go on become the scribe of the first edition of the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Amar Das was impressed with Bhai Gurdas's existing knowledge of Hindi and Sanskrit and the Hindu scriptures. Following the tradition of sending out Masands across the country Guru Amar Das deputed Bhai Gurdas to Agra to spread the gospel of Sikhism. Before leaving Guru Amar Das prescribed the following routine for Sikhs; "He who calls himself a Sikh of the True Guru, He must get up in the morning and say his prayers. He must rise in the early hours and bathe in the holy tank. He must meditate on God as advised by the Guru. And rid himself of the afflictions of sins and evil. As the day dawns, he should recite scriptures, and repeat God's name in every activity. He to whom the Guru takes kindly is shown the path. Nanak! I seek the dust of the feet of the Guru's Sikh who himself remembers God and makes others remember Him." (Gauri) The standard Sikh marriage ceremony known as the Anand Karaj is centered around the Lawan, a four stanza hymn composed by Guru Ram Das. The marriage couple circumscribe the Guru Granth Sahib as each stanza is read. The first round is the Divine consent for commencing the householders life through marriage. The second round states that the union of the couple has been brought about by God. In the third round the couple is described as the most fortunate as they have sung the praises of the Lord in the company of saints. In the fourth round the feeling of the couple that they have obtained their hearts desire and are being congratulated is described. Guru Ram Das's first cousin Sahari Mal came to invite the Guru to visit Lahore in connection with the marriage of his son. The Guru being much too busy with his work promised to send one of his sons instead. Guru Ram Das asked his eldest son Prithi Chand to attend on his behalf, but he refused. Prithi Chand feared that his father was perhaps trying to eliminate him in order to install his youngest brother Arjan as the next Guru. Arjan was a great favorite of his father. 137

138 Mahadev the Guru's middle son was a recluse and excused himself on the ground that he was not interested in the affairs of the world. The Guru therefore asked his youngest son Arjan to attend, which he agreed to do with such grace and humility, that Guru Ram Das was very pleased. Arjan now proceeded to Lahore, where his father asked him to remain until called for and to take charge of the needs and education of the Sikhs in Lahore, his ancestral home. After two years of feeling intensely homesick, Arjan composed a poem of love and devotion and sent it to Guru Ram Das. This poem along with another one a few month's later were intercepted by the Guru's jealous son Prithi Chand who made sure his father never received them. Finally Arjan wrote a third poem and numbered it with a 3 and gave strict instructions to the messenger to only hand it over to the Guru personally. "A moment's separation and it was like an age. When do I see you now, my beloved Lord? My night does not pass, nor do I get sleep, Without seeing the Guru's darbar. I am a sacrifice, I am a sacrifice again to the true darbar of the Guru. 3" (Majh) Upon finally receiving this poem, Guru Ram Das sensed what must have happened to the earlier two messages so he confronted his eldest son Prithi Chand. At first, Prithi Chand denied everything, but seeing the insistence of the Guru and the consequences of refusal to obey him, he finally confessed his treachery and produced the other two letters. When Guru Ram Das read them, he was moved to tears by the humility and sincerity of his son Arjan's compositions. Guru Ram Das immediately sent for Baba Buddha to journey to Lahore and to bring back his son Arjan with full honour. The Guru then had Bhai Budhha apply the saffron mark to the forehead of Arjan and declared him his successor. Prithi Chand would not accept his fathers wishes and continued to misbehave and abuse Guru Arjan Dev. Guru Ram Das had to publicly condemn his son Prithi Chand for his actions. Shortly thereafter Guru Ram Das breathed his last on September Fifth Master Guru Arjan ( ) Guru Arjan Dev ji was the youngest son of Guru Ram Das ji, the Fourth Guru. Guru ji's mother name was Mata Bhani ji. He was born on April 15, 1563 and designated as the Fifth Guru in the year 1581 at the age of 18. He led the Sikhs for 25 years and was martyred in 1606, when he was only 43 years old. Guru Arjan Sahib completed the work on the Tank (sarover) at Amritsar and built a beautiful Harminder Sahib (Temple of God) in the midst of it. He got the foundation stone of Harminder Sahib laid by a Muslim saint Mian Mir. Harminder Sahib is also known as The Golden Temple because of its gold 138

139 plated domes and the outer walls. Harminder Sahib has four doors signifying that it is open to all without any consideration of caste, creed or status. Golden Temple soon became a very important place of worship for people of all faiths. Guru Sahib helped in the establishment and growth of new trades and professions in the city of Amritsar. Some of these trades were banking, embroidery, carpentary and horse trading. Sikh traders were sent to Afghanistan and Central Asia for buying good horses. The trade in horses helped the Sikhs in developing a great interest in horseback riding and horsemanship. Guru Sahib opened another center of worship at Taran Taaran, where also a big temple and a tank (sarover) were built for the comfort of the devotees. The foundation stone of this temple at Taran Taaran was laid by Guru Arjan Sahib himself. A house for the lepers was also built near the Temple. Guru Sahib compiled the Adi-Granth (the sacred Sikh scriptures) by putting together the hymns of the first four Gurus, some of the Hindu and Muslim Bhagats and added his own to them. The first version of the Adi Granth was completed in 1604 with Bhai Gurdas ji s assistance. Guru Sahib was a great poet. Sukhmani Sahib is also one of his great compositions. People of all faiths adored Guru Sahib. Guru Sahib s popularity and influence grew over the people with every passing day. They came to take his blessings in large numbers from all over the country. This worried the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. In his own words, he wanted to put an end to this traffic. Jahangir soon learnt that his own son Khusro, who had revolted against him, had also gone to Guru Arjan Sahib for his blessings. This gave him the desired excuse to accuse Guru Sahib of helping his enemy with money and moral support. Deewan Chandu, a Hindu official in Jahangir s court bore a grudge against Guru Sahib for rejecting his daughter s hand in marriage for Guru Sahib s son. He took the responsibility to torture Guru Sahib to death. Guruji was arrested, taken to Lahore and tortured to death. He was made to sit on a red hot iron sheet and hot sand was poured over his body. Saint Mian Mir offered to intervene and convince the Emperor that nothing wrong had been committed by Guru Sahib, but Guru Sahib politely refused the offer saying Tera Bhana Meetha Laagey meaning Sweet is thy will, O Beloved Lord. After four days of brutal torturing, Guru Sahib s half baked and blistered body was thrown into the river Ravi to be washed away. 139

140 Today a beautiful Gurdwara called Dera Sahib stands at this place and thousands visit there every year to pay their homage to their beloved Guru Sahib - an apostle of peace! Guru Sahib s martyrdom resulted in initiating the militarization of the Sikhs and turning them into one of the world s greatest marshal races known as Saintsoldiers! Guru Arjan was the youngest son of Guru Ram Das and Mata Bhani. He was born at Goindwal on April 15, In 1579 Guru Arjan was eventually married to Ganga Devi daughter of Krishan Chand in Eventually Arjan was invested with the Guruship by his father Guru Ram Das in 1581 as narrated previously. Guru Arjan now left Goindwal for Ramdaspur (Amritsar) to complete the work started there by his father and to get away from his jealous older brother Prithi Chand. Guru Arjan completed the two tanks of Santoksar and Amritsar and undertook the expansion of Ramdaspur. The Guru laid the foundation of the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in the middle of the tank of Amritsar. All of the Sikhs desired that it should be the tallest building in the new town. Guru Arjan however felt otherwise. He reminded his followers that humility should be a great virtue. The temple was therefore built on as low an elevation as possible. To counter the Muslim belief that God's House is in the west and the Hindu belief that it is in the east where the sun rises, the Harmandir Sahib had entrances on all four sides. Guru Arjan exclaimed; "My faith is for the people of all castes and all creeds from whichever direction they come and to whichever direction they bow." To help raise money for these monumental public works projects, the Guru declared that all Sikhs should donate 1/10th of their earnings to charity. Around the year 1590 Guru Arjan decided to go on an extensive tour of Punjab accompanied by such trusted Sikhs as Bhai Gurdas and Bidhi Chand. He visited Khadur, Goindwal, Sarhali, Bhaini, Khanpur, Taran Taran, Lahore, Dera Baba Nanak, as well as Barath where he met the aged ascetic son of Guru Nanak, Baba Sri Chand. Guru Arjan also purchased some land near Jullundur and laid the foundations of a new township called Kartarpur as well as digging a well called Ganga Sagar. The Guru eventually returned to Amritsar to find his eldest brother Prithi Chand jealous as ever. With the Guru having no children as yet, Prithi Chand hoped that his own son Mehrban would be able to succeed Guru Arjan as the next Guru. Guru Arjan in his humility asked his wife Ganga Devi; "If you need a boon, ask not me but a pious Sikh like Baba Buddha, the aged seer and devout disciple of Guru Nanak". She proceeded with a large entourage and much 140

141 fanfare to Baba Buddha who lived in a jungle near Amritsar. There she presented him with many delicacies to eat. Baba Buddha resented this and refused to provide any blessings. Upon hearing what happened, Guru Arjan told his wife to return this time on foot, with a simple meal prepared by herself. This time Baba Buddha was delighted and partook of the simple food. He prophesied; "A son will be born to thee who will crush the enemies of Nanak's house, just as I have crushed this piece of onion with my hand." Soon thereafter Ganga Devi became pregnant. Prithi Chand meanwhile cultivated Sulhi Khan, a revenue officer of the Mughal court to raid Amritsar on the pretext of collecting a tribute. Guru Arjan along with his family left Amritsar and settled at Wadali a few miles away. It was here that on June 14, 1595 that the Guru was blessed with a son, Hargobind. The love of a father for his son can be seen in the following lines: "My True Guru is my Savior and Protector. Showering us with His Mercy and Grace, God extended His Hand, and saved Hargobind, who is now safe and secure. The fever is gone - God Himself eradicated it, and preserved the honor of His servant. I have obtained all blessings from the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy; I am a sacrifice to the True Guru." (Guru Arjan Dev, Sorath, pg. 620) Meanwhile Sulhi Khan upon hearing that both Guru Arjan and his treasure were no longer in Amritsar put off his attack on the city. In Amritsar Prithi Chand tried to convince the Sikhs that he was the real Guru and not Arjan Dev. He only met with disappointment though, as the Sikhs continued to flock to see Guru Arjan Dev. Prithi Chand therefore concocted a plan to assassinate the Guru's only child Hargobind. He sent a wet-nurse with poison, got a snake charmer to release a snake near Hargobind, and on another attempt sent a servant with poison milk. All of these attempts failed with the perpetrators all publicly confessing that Prithi Chand had sent them. "The poison had absolutely no harmful effect. But the wicked Brahmin died in pain. 1 The Supreme Lord God Himself has saved His humble servant. The sinner died through the Power of the Guru." (Guru Arjan Dev, Bhairon, pg. 1137) Eventually a large delegation of Sikhs were able to convince the Guru to return to Amritsar. Guru Arjan now started the training for his son Hargobind for the responsibilities which he would one day have to face. He had the young Hargobind not only trained in languages and religious philosophy, but also in riding, the use of weapons, astronomy, medicine, agriculture, public administration and the sciences. Baba Buddha was put in charge of the religious 141

142 education of the young Hargobind, while a team of experts were employed for instruction in their areas of expertise. Guru Arjan meanwhile kept quite busy attending to the spiritual needs of the large masses of Sikhs who came to see him daily. He would daily perform devotional music from the Harmandir Sahib, being a great instrumentalist and vocal singer. A situation now arose which would require the Guru's complete attention. Reports came to the Guru that Prithi Chand was composing his own hymns and was passing them to the visiting Sikhs as the compositions of Guru Nanak as well as other Guru's. Others were also passing of their own compositions as the works of the Sikh Guru's. Guru Arjan realized that if this situation was allowed to continue it would be the undermining of the Sikh religion. Having given the Sikhs a central place of worship, they now needed an authentic compilation of the hymns of their Guru's. Thus Guru Amar Das started collection the original verses of all the Guru's. He sent trusted Sikhs such as Bhai Piara, Bhai Gurdas and Baba Buddha across the country in search of original manuscripts. Guru Arjan made trips to Goindwal, Khadur and Kartarpur to visit the families of the previous Guru's. Guru Arjan collected original manuscripts of the Guru's from Mohan (son of Guru Amar Das), Datu (son of Guru Angad) as well as Sri Chand (son of Guru Nanak). Putting Baba Buddha in charge of the spiritual needs of the large number of pilgrims visiting Harmandir Sahib, Guru Arjan now pitched a tent by the side of Ramsar tank and started the arduous task of compiling the first edition of the Holy Guru Granth Sahib. Bhai Gurdas was entrusted as the Guru's scribe for the master copy. Unlike any other religious book in history, Guru Arjan decided to also include the compositions of Hindu and Muslim saints which he considered consistent with the teachings of Sikhism and the Guru's. Guru Arjan included the works of such Hindu Bhaktas as Kabir, Jaidev, Namdev, Dahnna, Ravidas, Pipa and Ramanand. The Guru also included the works of such Muslim divines as Farid, Mardana, Satta and Balwand, the Guru's minstrels, as well as several bards (Bhatts). Bhai Gurdas was invited by the Guru to include his own verses, but declined out of modesty. The monumental task was finally completed. This first edition of the Guru Granth Sahib known at that time as Pothi Sahib was installed on a high pedestal within the Harmandir Sahib in August Guru Arjan seated himself at a lower level and instructed all Sikhs to bow before it, not as an idol, but as the book of divine inspiration which instructed living men in the ways of God and dedicated secular life. The revered Baba Buddha was appointed the first Granthi (custodian) of the book. Guru Arjan dictated that unlike the Hindu scriptures, the Pothi Sahib could be open to reading by anyone of any caste, creed or sex. This original copy is still in existence today. A rich arrogant Hindu banker of Delhi called Chandu Shah tried to marry his daughter to Hargobind. But due to his arrogance Guru Arjan refused the match. 142

143 Prithi Chand knew that Chandu Shah welded some influence with the imperial court. He used Chandu Shah's anger at being rejected to cause further trouble. Prithi Chand had Chandu Shah complain to the Emperor Akbar that the Guru had prepared a book which was derogatory in nature to Muslim's and Hindu's. Upon hearing this Akbar ordered the Guru to be brought before him along with the. Guru Arjan sent the revered Baba Buddha and Bhai Gurdas to the Mughal court along with a copy of the Holy Granth. Akbar opened the Holy Book and the first hymn read out was; "My God has breathed His Light into the dust. And so brought the world into being. He it is who created the sky, the earth, the waters and all vegetation. O man, whatever one sees, passes away. But the world usurps anothers due and is forgetful of God. It is the world of the animal, nay, of ghosts and goblins. It eats the forbidden fruit, usurping what belongs to another. Hold thy mind, O man, or God will burn thee in the fire of Hell. Thy benefactors, thy brothers, thy courts and kingdoms and thy homes. Are of no avil to thee, when seized thee the Angel of Death. My Lord, purest of the pure, knows all that is within thee. Nanak: pray thou to His Saints that they lead thee on the Truth Path." (Tilang) Upon hearing this Akbar was satisfied as he had always looked upon the Sikh Gurus as social reformers and believed in the unity of God and the brotherhood of man. However Chandu Shah accused Bhai Gurdas of not really read the text but recited a hymn from memory. Akbar therefor got one Sahib Dyal who could read Gurmukhi to appear before the court and opened a page at random for him to read, he read the following; "You don't see God who dwells in your heart. And you carry about an idol around your neck. A nonbeliever, you wander about churning water, And you die harassed in delusion. The idol you call God will drown with you. The ungrateful sinner. The boat will not ferry you across. Says Nanak, I met the Guru who led me to God. He who lives in water, earth, nether region, and firmament. " (Sulhi) The Emperor now exclaimed; "Excepting love and devotion to God, I so far find neither praise nor blame to anyone in this Granth. It is a volume worthy of reverence." Not only this but Akbar wanted to offer Guru Arjan a suitable gift. Guru Arjan asked the Emperor to instead exempt the people of Punjab from the annual land revenue that year since their was a severe drought. Akbar graciously complied with the Guru's wishes, this greatly increased the Guru's popularity with the peasants. On October 17, 1605 Akbar died and was succeeded by Jahangir as Emperor. Jahangir was a person of lax morals, pleasure loving and fond of drinking. He left much of the administration duties of running his kingdom to others. Because of his lax morals Jahangir set out to please the orthodox Muslim clergy which he 143

144 knew did not approve of his actions, or the tolerant attitude that his father Akbar had previously displayed to other religions. Jahangir wrote the following in his memoirs called Tuzak-i-Jehangiri; "At Goindwal on the banks of the river Beas, lived a Hindu, Arjan by name, in the garb of a Pir or Sheikh. Thus, many innocent Hindus and even foolish and ignorant Muslims he brought into his fold who beat the drum noisily of his self-appointed prophethood. He was called Guru. From all sides, worshippers came to offer their homage to him and put full trust in his word. For three or four generations, they had warmed up this shop. For a long time I had harbored the wish that I should set aside this shop of falsehood or I should bring him into the fold of Islam." Jahangir further writes; "In these days, Khusro (Jahangir's rebel son) passed through this way. The foolish person resolved to call on him. Khusro halted for a time at this place and this man came to see him and discoursed with him on many matters and also applied with saffron on his forehead what the Hindus call kashkeh (tilak) and consider a good omen. When I heard this account personally, I knew about his false pretenses. So I ordered that he be brought into my presence, that his property be confiscated and his sons and other possessions be made over to Murtaza Khan and he be dealt with in accordance with the political and common law of the land." When Guru Arjan received the summons to appear before Jahangir, he knew that it was not a good sign. The Guru declared that his son Hargobind should be installed as the next Guru. Prominent Sikhs gathered and revered Baba Buddha applied the saffron mark on Hargobind's forehead anointing him as Guru Hargobind. Upon reaching Lahore, Jahangir demanded that Guru Arjan revise the Holy Granth, removing all references to Islam and Hinduism. This of course the Guru refused to do. Since Jahangir was on his way to Kashmir, he asked Murtaza Khan to deal with the Guru. Murtaza Khan immediately jailed the Guru, and ordered the Guru Arjan to be tortured to death if he did not agree to remove the alleged derogatory references in the Holy Granth. The Guru was cruelly tortured. He was made to sit on a red hot iron sheet. They poured burning hot sand on his body. The Guru was dipped in boiling water. The bore all of these brutalities with calm serenity, for five long days he was tortured. When the torturers found the Guru unresponsive to their torture they did not know what to do. On May 30, 1606 the Guru asked for a bath in the river Ravi by the side of the Mughal fort. Thousands of followers watched the Guru who could barely walk make his way to the river with tears in their eyes. His bare body was covered with blisters, Guru Arjan repeated over and over; "Sweet is Your will, O God; the gift of your Name alone I seek." The Guru then calmly walked into the river bank, bidding his farewell to his followers and was gone forever, his body carried away by the currents. This act 144

145 of brutality in ending such a saintly life with such cruelty was to forever change the course of Sikhism. Sixth Master Guru Hargobind ( ) Guru Hargobind was sixth in the spiritual descent form Guru Nanak, was born the only son of Guru Arjan and Mata Ganga on Har Vadi 7, 1652 BK / 19 June 1595 at Vadali, now called Vadali Guru, a village near Amritsar. As a child, he escaped being poisoned by a jealoous uncle and being bitten by a cobra thrown in his way. He also survived a virulent attack of smallpox and grew up into a tall and handsome youth. His contribution to Sikhism and Sikhs can be summed up in one phrase i.e. "making them Saints and Soldiers". He received his early education and training at the hands of two revered Sikhs of that time Bhai Gurdas and Baba Buddha. The former taught him the religious texts and the latter the manly arts of swordsmanship and archery. He was barely 11 years of age when his father, Guru Arjan, was martyred in Lahore. Guru Arjan had on Jeth vadz Bikrami May 1606 nominated him his successor and, according to the Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, sent him instruction "to ascend the throne fully armed, and have armed men, as many as you can, to accompany you." For the ceremonies of succession which took place on 26 Har 1663 Bk/24 May 1606, Guru Hargobind chose himself a warrior's equipment. He sat on a seat he had had erected in front of the holy Harimandar, with two swords on his person, declaring one to he the symbol of the spiritual and the other that of his temporal investiture. Hukamnamas were issued to sangats on Har vadz 2,1663 Bk/ 12 June 1606 to come with offerings of arms and horses. Guru Hargobind maintained a retinue of fifty-two armed Sikhs. Many more came to offer him their services, and several of them were provided with horses and weapons. Manly sports became popular and bards such as 'Abdulla and Nattha were engaged to recite heroic poetry. Guru Hargobind combined with soldierly demeanour a compassionate disposition and carried out his spiritual office in keeping with the custom of his predecessors. "He," as says the Mahima Prakash, "arose three hours before daybreak and sat in seclusion, to concentrate on the Divine. Then he dressed himself and repaired to the presence of the Holy Book and began to recite it silently. None entered to interrupt him. None could fathom the depth of his spiritual absorption. " Reports about the splendid style of Guru Hargobind led Emperor Jahngir to pass orders for his detention in the Fort of Gwalior. According to the Dabistani-Mazahib, the charge levelled against him was that he had not paid the fine imposed on his father. For how long he remained in the Fort cannot be stated 145

146 with certainty. From forty days to twelve years, in Dabistan-i-Mazahib, several different periods of time are mentioned. It seems that Guru Hargobind remained in the Fort for a few months during whereafter he was required to stay in the royal camp under surveillance for some time. During his detention in Gwalior, Sikhs made trips to the city in batches to see him and, when disallowed to enter the Fort, they proffered obeisance from outside its walls and returned. As time came for Guru Hargobind to be released from the Fort, he came out on the condition that all other detenues were freed, too. He led fiftytwo prisoners out of the Fort. Bandichhor? (Liberator Benign) is the title by which he is remembered to this day. When at last Guru Hargobind reached Amritsar Sikhs illuminated the town. The anniversary of the event is still celebrated at Harimandar, the Golden Temple, with Lights and fireworks. Emperor Jahangir from now on continued to be conciliatory and, according to Sikh tradition, he delivered to Guru Hargobind Chandu Shah, who took part of the responsibility far the execution of Guru Arjan and for his own incarceration. Chandu Shah met with a violent end at the hands of the Sikhs. On his lands, also made over to him, Guru Hargobind founded a new town Which came to be known as Sri Hargobindpur. As the work commenced, Bhagvan Das, a local landlord, objected and attacked the Sikhs with a party of his men. Bhagvan Das was killed in the skirmish. His son, Ratan Chand, and Chandu Shah's son, Karam Chand, sought help from the Mughal faujdar of Jalandhar who sent a body of troops against Guru Hargobind. They were repulsed in the battle that ensued. Both these actions were fought in the vicinity of Ruhela, the first on 28 Assu 1678 Bk/28 September 1621 and the second on 3 Kattak 1678 Bk/4 October At Sri Hargobindpur, the Guru built along with the dharamsala a mosque for the Muslims. In 1628 the city of Amritsar witnessed the first onslaught on it by the Mughals. Shah Jahan, who succeded his father in 1627 knew that Sikhism had undergone a metamorphosis under Guru Hargobind, the only son of the martyred fifth Guru. This according to the Bhatt Vahi Multan Sindis, was fought on Baisakh 17,1691 Bk/14 April He had donned two swords of Miri (temporal) and Piri (spiritual), had raised an Akal Takht (1609), built Lohgarh (fortress), collected arms,3 recruited Pathan mercenaries under Paindeh Khan and was giving military training to his followers. On a pretext of getting a royal hawk released from the Guru an expedition of 7,000 strong under Ghulam Rasul Khan Panj Hazari and Mukhlis Khan, Deputy Nazim, was sent. Guru Hargobind would not have liked to make the holy place a battle-ground and had enjoined that "the Harimandir is specially devoted to God's service. It should never be defiled with any impurity of the human body ". He was busy making preparations for the wedding of his daughter Bibi Viro. The combat with royal 146

147 forces took place at Gumtala, then a suburb of Amritsar. Guru Bilas Patshahi Chhevin 4 gives a vivid account of the encounter, the feats of valour displayed by Bidhia, Jetha, and Piraga each at the head of 100 villagers from Kambowal, who at the moment had arrived to pay homage to the Sixth Guru. The royal troops suffered heavy casualities, including those of Mukhlis Khan the commander of the Mughal army, Maula Bux, son of Qutb-ud-Din, a Qazi of Lahore and Zaffar Beg, a commander. Ghulam Rasul Khan fled. Those thirteen killed on the Guru's side were Bhais Nand, Jait, Piraga, Tota, Tiloka, Sain Das, Paira, Bhagtu, Ananta, Nihala, Takhtu, Mohan and Gopal.5 They died in the defence of the city, the temple and the Guru. Soon oon afterwards Guru Hargobind left Amritsar, this time taking with him the holy Granth Sahib seated in the Harimandar. The first long halt was at Darauh, near Moga, in present-day Faridkot district. From there Gura Hargobind sent the Granth Sahib with the family to Kartarpur. He himself sojourned in the Malva, visiting his Sikhs and confronting, on 16 December 1634, the Mughal troops in yet another battle, this time at Lahira, near Mehraj, now in Bathinda district. Another armed clash took place at Kartarpur on Baisakh 1692 Bk/26-27 April 1635, when Guru Hargobind's own erstwhile Pathan follower, Painda Khan, led out a Mughal force against him. According to Teja Singh and Ganda Singh Guru Hargobind had won four battles, but as his purpose had always been only defensive. Guru Hargobind finally retired to Kiratpur where he spent the remaining nine years of his life in peace. The town was of the Guru's own creation and had existed since Baba Sri Chand had, according to the evidence of the Bhatt Vahis, broken ground at his request, on Baisakh suds Puranmashl 1683 Bk/l May The site had been gifted by Raja Kalyan Chand of Kahlur, one of the chieftains who had won their reprieve at Gwalior through Guru Hargobind's intercession. Kiratpur now became the centre of the Sikh faith. Sikhs came here from all parts to see the Guru. Guru Hargobind gave most of his time to religious devotions. Contact was maintained with sangats in farflung places, and old warriors like Bidhi Chand were sent out as preachers. For Sikhs the roles of saint and soldier had become mutually complementary. About the Guru himself, Bhai Gurdas wrote: "Great hero is Guru Hargobind. He is the vanquisher of armies, but his heart is full of love and charity." This synthesis of the heroic and the spiritual was Guru Hargobind's distinctive contribution to the evolution of Sikh society. Guru Hargobind had travelled extensively in the Punjab spreading the word of Guru Nanak. He had also visited places such as Nanakmata and Srinagar in Garhval (where the famous Maratha saint Samarth Ramdas met him) in the cast 147

148 and Kashmir in the north. The journey to Kashmir was made in 1620 in the company of Emperor Jahangir, and Srinagar, Baramula, Uri and Poonchh were among the places visited. Gurdwaras in these and in many places in the Punjab and outside honour the memory of Guru Hargobind. Guru Hargobind, like all of his predecessors, lived a married life. He had six children, five sons and a daughter. Gurditta, Ant Rai and the daughter Bibi Viro, Suraj Mall, Atal Rai and Teg Bahadur. Two of his sons, Baba Gurditta and Atal Rai, died in his lifetime. Guru Hargobind passed away on Chet 5,1701 Bk/3 March 1644 at Kiratpur. Guru Hargobind was born at Wadali village in June 1595 and was the only child of Guru Arjan Dev. He was invested with the Guruship on May 25, 1606 just days before his fathers martyrdom. From a young age he was educated in the sciences, sports and religion as his father had insisted. Baba Buddha was responsible for overseeing the Guru's religious teachings. During the Guruship ceremony Guru Hargobind respectfully declined to wear the Seli (woolen cord worn on the head) which had been passed down on each successive Guru since Guru Nanak. Instead the Guru asked for a sword. Baba Buddha, never having handled a sword before, placed it on the wrong side of the Guru. Guru Hargobind noticing this, asked for another sword saying "I'll wear two swords, a sword of shakti (power) and a sword of bhakti (meditation)." Henceforth the Guru would always carry two swords to symbolize his dual role of holding secular power (Miri) and spiritual authority (Piri). Soon after his ascension to Guruship in 1606, Guru Hargobind laid the foundation of a new temple at Amritsar; the Akal Takht. The Akal Takht was built facing Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple). Guru Hargobind had a throne built, and would administer Sikh affairs from here. The temporal nature of the Akal Takht balanced the spiritual nature of the Golden Temple, emphasizing the dual concepts of Miri and Piri introduced by the Guru. Guru Hargobind donned the royal regalia of a King and was known by the Sikhs as Sacha Padshah (The True King). Guru Hargobind knew that the Sikh's would no longer take their freedom for granted, he undertook to steel his Sikhs against tyranny and oppression. The Guru now gave instructions to the Masands and to all the other Sikhs that they should make offerings in the future of horses and weapons rather than just money. The Hindus had become so weak that they could not contemplate any kind of resistance to the rulers of the date. The Sikhs did not believe in selfdenial alone; they grew increasingly aware of the need for assertion also. They wielded arms and lived an active life, reared horses, rode on them, and racing 148

149 and hunting became their pastimes. Guru Hargobind encouraged Sikhs in physical activity and weapons training as well as prayers. Soon an army of one thousand horses was raised. The spiritual side was not neglected. Guru Hargobind would rise long before the day dawned and after his bath in the holy tank, would go into meditation. The Guru would then join his Sikhs for prayers both in the mornings and evenings. Guru Hargobind did not want his emphasis on the temporal caused by the necessity for a war like posture to detract his followers from the spiritual ideals of Sikhism. The Gurus military activities were soon reported to Emperor Jehangir by the ever jealous Chandu Shah, who still had an unmarried daughter on his hands as a constant reminder of the indignity hurled at him. Guru Hargobind was summoned by Jehangir and decided to go see the Emperor. Many Sikhs were apprehensive about the Guru going as they feared for his life. Before setting out for Delhi Guru Hargobind assigned the secular duties of running the Golden Temple to the honoured Baba Buddha and the spiritual instructions to the great scholar and scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib, Bhai Gurdas. Guru Hargobind then set out for Delhi accompanied by three hundred horses. When Jehangir met Guru Hargobind, he was quickly won over by the young Gurus charm and holiness. The Guru had a number of religious discourses with the Emperor who wanted to be sure that no harm was intended to Islam by the propagation of Sikhism. When asked which religion was better Hinduism or Islam, Guru Hargobind replied quoting Kabir: "God first created light, All men are born out of it. The whole world came out of a single spark; Who is good and who is bad? The Creator is in the creation, and the creation in the Creator, He is everywhere. The clay is the same, the potter fashions various models. There is nothing wrong with the clay or the potter. God the true resides in all, Whatever happens is His doing. He who surrenders to Him gets to know Him. He is His slave. God is invisible, He cannot be seen. The Guru has granted me this sweet gift. Says Kabir, my doubts are dispelled. I have seen the Pure with my own eyes." (Parbhati) When Jehangir found out that Guru Hargobind was a great lover of sports, he invited the Guru to accompany him on a tiger hunt. During the chase the Emperor was attacked by a ferocious tiger. The attendants accompanying the royal party lost their nerve and their horses and elephants panicked. Guru Hargobind rushed his horse and pulling out his sword, he engaged the killed the dangerous tiger single handed. Jehangir was full of gratitude towards the Guru for risking his life. Jehangir became so fond of the Guru that he asked him to accompany him on a number of visits. Once while visiting Agra a poor grasscutter follower of the Guru came to seem him. The grass-cutter, crying that he wanted to see the vision of the True King, was led by the royal attendants into 149

150 the camp of the Emperor. The grass-cutter put a coin before him and stood with folded hands, praying, his eyes filled with tears and his throat choked with emotion. The Emperor was overwhelmed with the devotion of a loyal subject and offered him a large gift. The Sikh replied, "O True King, if you are so pleased, bless me with the glory of God's Name that I be emancipated." When the devotee was told that he had come to the wrong camp, and that the one who granted redemption was housed in the opposite camp, the devotee unhesitatingly left the presence of the emperor picking up his coin saying "Then this too is meant for him, not your Majesty". While at Agra Jehangir suddenly fell ill. The ever scheming Chandu Shah conspired with astrologers to tell the emperor that he would only be cured if a holy man was sent to Gwalior Fort and undertook penance on the emperors behalf. Guru Hargobind was now requested to go to Gwalior Fort. Fully aware of Chandu's scheming, the Guru agreed, and accompanied by an escort of five Sikhs left for the fort. Guru Hargobind spent a number of months within the fort sometime between 1617 and 1619 as a virtual prisoner. Here were also imprisoned a number of princes who lived in deplorable conditions. Guru Hargobind uplifted their spirits with daily prayers and distributed much of his rations to them. Chandu Shah even tried unsuccessfully to have the Guru poisoned. Eventually many months after Jehangir's recovery he was finally convinced by Wazir Khan a admirer of the Guru in the mughal court to release the Guru and invite him back to Delhi. Guru Hargobind refused to leave the fort unless all of the princes who were political prisoners were also not released. Jehangir agreed after he was reminded by Wazir Khan that the emperor owed his life to the Guru. Upon his return to Delhi, Guru Hargobind told the emperor about the intrigue and scheming of Chandu Shah. Jehangir handed over Chandu to Guru Hargobind to avenge the death of his father Guru Arjan. Guru Hargobind handed over Chandu Shah to his Sikhs who eventually took Chandu to Lahore where he was killed by an indignant Sikh who had seen Guru Arjan tortured with his own eyes. Upon hearing this news Guru Hargobind asked God to pardon Chandu Shah's sins. Guru Hargobind now proceeded to visit Lahore. A devout Sikh from Kabul called Sujan brought a magnificent horse to present to the Guru as a gift. The horse was seized by a Muslim Qazi who refused to return it unless he received a large ransom. Guru Hargobind remarked that "the horse must come to him to whom he was intended". Soon the horse stopped eating and its health deteriorated. The Qazi sold the horse to the Guru for a minimal rate, thinking that the horse would die anyway. Instead the horse regained its health and Guru Hargobind would ride it regularly. The Qazi became angry and felt that he had been cheated and launched a complaint with the authorities. The authorities did 150

151 not take any action against the Guru. Meanwhile the Qazi's daughter ran away from her fathers tyranny and sought refuge with the Guru at Amritsar. There she lived her whole life as a devout Sikh, and Guru Hargobind got a tank known as Kaulsar dug up in her memory. Guru Hargobind now undertook extensive travels. The Guru founded the town of Kiratpur in 1626 where the land had been gifted to the Guru by one of the princes who had been freed from Gwalior by the Guru. While visiting Srinagar the Guru had a discourse with Swami Ramdas Samrath a great spiritual teacher who would later go on to instruct Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire. Swami Ramdas asked the Guru "You are on the spiritual throne of Guru Nanak, a great Saint. You are wearing arms and maintain troops and horses. You allow yourself to be addressed as Sachcha Padsah, the True King. What sort of saint are you?" Guru Hargobind replied, "I display royalty only from the outside; inwardly, I'm detached like a hermit. Guru Nanak had not renounced the world. He had only renounced maya (illusion and ego)." The Swami answered that this idea appealed to him and thus he thereafter changed his teachings of hindu renunciation. While visiting the shrine of Guru Nanak, Guru Hargobind met and received the blessings of Baba Sri Chand, Guru Nanak's son. Soon thereafter in 1613 a son was born called Gurditta. In 1617 another son was born, Suraj Mal. In 1618 a third son, Ani Rai was born and in 1620 Atul Rai was born. Finally in 1622 the last and fifth son, Tegh Bahadur was born. During the life of Guru Hargobind some of the most influential Sikhs of the time passed away. Baba Buddha passed away in 1631 at Ramdas, Bhai Gurdas in 1636 at Goindwal and Baba Sri Chand at Kiratpur in In October 1627 emperor Jahangir died and Shah Jahan ascended the throne in Delhi. The mughal emperor Jahangir was out hunting one day in the vacinity of Amritsar. A favorite hunting hawk of the emperors flew into the camp of Guru Hargobind who was also hunting. When the emperors soldiers came to reclaim the hawk, a brief skirmish ensued and the hawk was not returned. Jahangir was so enraged that he sent an army of 7000 cavalry under the command of his general Mukhlis Khan to recover both the hawk and capture the Guru for his insolence. In the ensuing battle the Gurus forces emerged victorious after the Guru killed Mukhlis Khan in single combat with his sword. This battle took place in This battle marked a turning point as the Sikhs now turned militant under mughal persecution. After the battle Guru Hargobind left Amritsar never to return. The Guru shifted to Kartarpur and went on to build the city of Hargobindpur on the banks of the river Beas. The local villagers who were members of the Gherar tribe were very excited, but the headman of the tribe Bhagwan Das did not want the Guru to 151

152 settle there. Bhagwan Das who was friendly with the mughal authorities made derogatory remarks against the Guru, the Sikhs lost their temper and in the insuing scuffle, Bhagwan Das was killed. His son Ratan Chand went to Abdullah Khan the Subedar of Jullundur and convinced him to attack the Guru at Hargobindpur with a force of 10,000 troops. The Guru felt that he was being forced into a fight when all he wanted was to be left alone to pursue his religious pursuits. He said, "We are fighting for a righteous cause - our right to live with honour and in peace - and not for the sake of self glory or rule over others." A fierce battle ensued in which the Gurus forces were only half of the invading mughals. Karam Chand the son of Chandu Shah joined Rattan Chand the son of Bhagwan Das for revenge. In the ensuing battle both the Subedar Abdullah Khan as well as his two sons were killed. Rattan Chand was also killed while Karam Chand was captured by the Sikh Bidhi Chand. Guru Hargobind ordered Karam Chand released but he soon returned to battle again. At this Guru Hargobind engaged Karam Chand in single hand to hand combat without any weapons and killed him with his bare hands. The mughal forces were completely defeated and forced to retreat. After the battle the construction of a Gurdwara at Hargobindpur resumed and the Guru ordered that a mosque also be built for Muslims. Friction with the mughal authorities were to continue. A group of devoted Sikhs from Afghanistan were on their way to present the Guru with two extraordinary horses. The horses were seized by the Muslim authorities at Lahore and presented to Shah Jahan who was visiting there. When the Sikhs heard about this, Bidhi Chand decided to rescue the horses for the Guru. He gained the confidence of the keeper of the royal stable at Lahore first disguised as a grass cutter and then as a magician. Both times he was able to safely spirit away both horses to the Gurus household. The fact that the mughals would retaliate was a foregone conclusion, therefore Guru Hargobind shifted his base deep into the forest in the district of Nabha. Here a large contingent of mughal troops sent by the emperor under the control of Lala Beg found there way. A bloody battle lasting 18 hours took place in which the Sikhs suffered over 1,200 casualties but were able to inflict even heavier losses to the mughals and send them retreating in defeat. This battle took place in Before the death of Guru Nanaks son Baba Sri Chand, he asked Guru Hargobind if he could adopt one of the Gurus sons since he had no children. Out of respect for Sri Chand, Guru Hargobind offered him the choice of his eldest son Baba Gurditta. Baba Sri Chand then chose Baba Gurditta as his successor. Baba Gurditta who was married to Natti gave birth to a son called Dhir Mal who was to later cause much trouble to the Guru and his family. In 1630 Baba Gurditta had another son called Har Rai who was to prove to be a blessing. The son of Guru Hargobind, Atal Rai started displaying his supernatural powers by 152

153 performing miracles and revived a dead playmate of his. When Guru Hargobind heard about this he reprimanded his son saying, "My son has started dissipating his spiritual powers without discrimination. Shall our occupation now be to revive everyone's dead son and interfere ever in God's will, we who are enjoined to accept whatever good or bad comes to us in His pleasure." Atal Rai took the Guru's reprimand so seriously that he soon passed away after that. His death caused Guru Hargobind much grief and he constructed a nine storey structure called the Bunga of Baba Atal at Amritsar to commemorate the nine short years of his sons life. Trouble soon evolved among some of the Gurus troops. One of the Gurus favorite soldiers Painda Khan let the honour and gifts presented to him by Guru Hargobind go to his head. He gave the choice gifts which he had personally received to his son in law Asman Khan who also captured one of the Gurus favorite hunting hawks and refused to return it. When Guru Hargobind asked Painda Khan for an explanation he replied in a rude and insulting manner. Therefore the Guru regrettably terminated the services of Painda Khan. The disgruntled Painda Khan along with 500 troops loyal to him approached the emperor in Lahore and offered to join the imperial forces against the Guru. The emperor was pleased to have the help of such a close confidant of the Gurus. Painda Khan told the emperor that the Gurus army was only composed of poor peasants. In the year 1634 Fifty thousand troops under the command of Kale Khan and supported by Painda Khan were dispatched to attack the Sikhs at Kartarpur. When the Gurus forces heard about the impending attack, Dhir Mal the Gurus grandson sent a secret letter to Painda Khan pledging him his full support. The battle was fierce with Guru Hargobinds two sons Gurditta and Tegh Bahadur also fighting along with their father. Many great soldiers fell on the battlefield including Kale Khan. The mughal forces were decimated until among the remaining Painda Khan engaged Guru Hargobind in battle. Guru Hargobind had raised Painda Khan from a young age and loved him like a son, therefore he refused to strike the first blow. Painda Khan struck two times unsuccessfully missing the Guru both times. Painda Khan continued to taunt and insult the Guru until finally Guru Hargobind killed him with his sword. Seeing his body in the dust, Guru Hargobind clasped his old comrade in his arms and put his shield over Painda Khan's face to shade it from the scorching sun. Guru Hargobind then wept over the death of one so dear to him and prayed that God grant Painda Khan forgiveness and a place in heaven. In another part of the battlefield Baba Gurditta also wept at killing another mughal general Asman Khan who had been his childhood friend. The mughal forces were successfully routed and retreated with heavy losses although the Sikhs suffered over 700 dead. 153

154 Immediately following the battle Guru Hargobind and his family left Kartarpur to retire to the out of the way town of Kiratpur in order to avoid further bloodshed. Here the Guru had also promised to visit a Muslim devotee of his Budhan Shah who was near death and had previously met Guru Nanak. The Gurus grandson Dhir Mal refused to move, instead he remained in Kartarpur and with possession of the original copy of the Granth Sahib which he refused to hand over. Dhir Mal had aspirations of succeeding Guru Hargobind as the next Guru because he had the Holy Granth. Here are Kiratpur Guru Hargobind remained the rest of his life peacefully. He kept a small army of men and 900 solders as his protection. The Guru continued to receive countless devotees who flocked to Kiratpur to hear and see the Guru and Sikhism continued to spread throughout the Indian Subcontinent. The most accurate eye witness account of Guru Hargobind's life appears in the Dabistan-i- Mazahib written by the Muslim Mohsin Fani. In this he writes about the Sikhs, "The Guru believes in one God. His followers put not faith in idol worship. They never pray or practice austerities like the Hindus. They believe not in their incarnations, or places of pilgrimage nor the Sanskrit language which the Hindus deem to be the language of the gods. They believe that all the Gurus are the same as Nanak. The Sikhs are not restricted in the matter of eating and drinking." Soon the Guru received the shocking news of the death of his eldest son Baba Gurditta who passed away at age 24. He passed in much the same manner as Atal Rai, having taken to heart the reprimand of the Guru for reanimating a dead cow of an angry farmer which he had accidentally killed while out hunting. Guru Hargobind was much saddened by the death of his son and requested his grandson Dhir Mal to appear for his fathers last rites and receive his fathers turban. Dhir Mal refused to come even on such a solemn occasion, only caring about styling himself as the next Guru, especially now with his fathers untimely demise. Guru Hargobind now started training his grandson Har Rai the other son of Baba Gurditta as his natural successor. The Gurus own sons; Gurditta had passed away, Suraj Mal and Ani Rai were too worldly while Tegh Bahadur preferred solitude and meditation. Har Rai was a pious young man and Guru Hargobind proceeded to train him in the use of arms as well as spiritual matters. At the age of fourteen Har Rai was ordained by Guru Hargobind as the seventh Sikh Guru. Guru Hargobind bowed before Guru Har Rai as his successor. Soon thereafter Guru Hargobind passed away in 1644 having in his lifetime transforming the Sikhs into soldier-saints. 154

155 Seventh Master Guru Har Rai ( ) Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji (26 February October 1661) was the seventh of Ten living Guru Ji' of the Sikhs, who became Guru Ji on 8 March 1644 following in the footsteps of His Grandfather, Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji, nominated Five year old, His youngest Son as the next Guru Ji of the Sikhs. The following is a summary of the main highlights of Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji' life: Continued the military traditions started by His Grandfather Guru Har Gobind Sahib Ji. Maintained a cavalry of 2,200 soldiers throughout His Guruship. As a very young child he was disturbed by the suffering of a flower damaged by his robe in passing. Though such feelings are common with children, Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji would throughout His life be noted for His compassion for life and living things. His Grandfather who was famed as an avid Hunter is said to have saved the Mughul Emperor Jahangir's life during a tiger's attack. Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji continued the hunting tradition of His Grandfather, but He would allow no animals to be killed on His grand Shikars. The Guru Ji instead captured animals, adding them to His zoo. Made several tours to the Malwa and Doaba regions of the Punjab. His son Ram Rai, seeking to assuage concerns of Aurangzeb over one line in Living in Kiratpur Guru Nanak Dev Ji's verse (Mitti Musalmaan ki pede pai kumhar) suggested that the word Musalmaan was a mistake on the copyist's part and substituted wording that placated Auranzeb's concerns, therefore distorting Bani. His father, Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji refused to ever meet with him again. The Guru Ji is believed to have said, "Ram Rai, you have disobeyed my order and sinned. I will never see you again on account of your infidelity." It was also reported to the Guru Ji that Ram Rai had also worked miracles in the Mughal's court against His father's direct instructions. Sikhs are constrained by their Guru Ji' to not believe in, magic and myth or miracles. Just before the Guru Ji' death at age 31, Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji passed the Gaddi of Nanak on to His Younger Son, the five year old Guru Har Krishan Sahib Ji. Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji was the Son of Baba Gurdita and Mata Nihal Kaur (also known as Mata Ananti Ji). Baba Gurdita was son of the Sixth Guru Ji Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji married Mata Kishan Kaur 155

156 (sometimes also referred to as Sulakhni) the daughter of Sri Daya Ram of Anoopshahr (Bulandshahr) in Uttar Pradesh on Har Sudi 3, Samvat Guru Har Rai had one daughter and two sons: Baba Ram Rai and Sri Har Krishan. Although, Guru Har Rai Ji was a man of peace, he never disbanded the armed Sikh Warriors (Saint Soldiers), who earlier were maintained by his grandfather, Guru Hargobind. He always boosted the military spirit of the Sikhs, but he never indulged in any direct political or armed controversy with the Mughal Empire. Once, Dara Shikoh (the eldest son of emperor Shah Jahan), came to Guru Har Rai asking for help in the war of succession launched by his halfbrother the murderous Aurangzeb. The Guru had promised his grandfather to use the Sikh Cavalry only in defense. He, nevertheless, helped him to escape safely from the bloody hands of Aurangzeb's armed forces by having his Sikh warriors hide all the ferry boats at the river crossing after they had been used by Dara Shikoh in his escape. Background Once, while the Guru Har Rai was returning from a tour of the Malwa and Doaba regions, Mohamad Yarbeg Khan, (son of Mukhlis Khan, who had been killed by Guru Hargobind, when he had led his forces against the Sikhs the Guru attacked the kafla of the Guru with a force of one thousand armed men. The revengeful attack was repulsed by a few hundred 'Saint-Soldiers' of the Sikhs with great courage and bravery. The enemy suffered a heavy loss of life and fled the scene. This self-defense measure, was a reply to the surprise attack of the Muslims overlords. Guru Har Rai often bestowed Sikh warriors with robes of honor in reward. The Guru also established an Aurvedic (herbal medicine) hospital and a research center at Kiratpur Sahib where he also maintained a zoo. Once Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Guru Har Rai giving medicine for cure of Dara Shikoh Shah Jahan fell seriously ill by some unknown disease (usually explained as trimmings of tiger's whiskers sneaked into his food by his envious sibling, Aurangzeb.). The court hakims (physicians), both Indian and European attempted cures, but there was no improvement. At last the emperor made a humble request to the Guru for the treatment of his son. Accepting the request Guru Har Rai, sent some medicinal herbs, then available only in his Aurvedic hospital, back with the emperor's messenger. Dara Shikoh was cured of his near fatal illness. The emperor, whole heartedly thanked the Guru and offered a jagir (title to land and villages and a portion of the profits (lagaan) derived from it), 156

157 which Guru Har Rai declined. Guru Har Rai visited the Doaba and Malva regions of Punjab where he preached to the Sikhs in big huge numbers. Guru Har Rai also visited Lahore, Sialkot, Pathankot, Samba, Ramgarh and many places in the Jammu and Kashmir region.guru Ji established 360 Sikh 'missionary' seats called Manjis (after the small cot (manji) used by the Guru's representatives. He also tried to improve the old corrupt Masand system and appointed pious and committed personalities, such as Suthre Shah, Sahiba, Sangtia, Mian Sahib, Bhagat Bhagwan, Bhagat Mal and Jeet Mal Bhagat (also known as Bairagi), as the heads of Manjis. Guru Har Rai Ji faced some serious difficulties during the period of his guruship. The corrupt Masands, Dhir Mal and Minas always tried to preclude the advancement of the Sikh religion. Recitation of Gurbani One day the Sikhs asked the Guru whether those who read the Gurus' hymns without understanding them, derived any spiritual advantage from it. The Guru gave no reply at the time, Guru Har Rai ji was the man of peace and next morning went hunting. En route, the Guru came across a broken pot which had held butter. The rays of the sun were melting the butter on the broken pot fragments. The Guru took one of these fragments in his hand and said, "Look my Sikhs, broken pot shreds when heated, the butter that had adhered to them readily melts. As the grease adheres to the potshreds, so do the Gurus' hymns to the hearts of his Sikhs. At the time of death the Gurus' instruction shall assuredly bear fruit. Whether understood or not, it has within it the seed of salvation. Perfume still clings to a broken vase." The meaning of the parable is that whosoever daily reads the Gurus' shabads shall assuredly obtain peace. And even though he may not fully understand them, God will undoubtedly assist him. Guru Ram Das has said: "The Word is the Guru, and the Guru in the Word, and in the Word is the essence of ambrosia." Bhai Gonda A devout Sikh called Bhai Gonda used to stay with the Guru. He was a saint in thought, word and deed. The Guru was very much pleased with his sincere 157

158 devotion and asked, Bhai Gonda, go to Kabul, and instruct the Sikhs there in the worship of the true Name, and preach the Sikh faith. Feed holy men and pilgrims with the offerings you receive and send whatever remains Sangat here for the upkeep of the Langar. These are to be your duties, and I am confident that you will succeed in them. Although Kabul was a foreign country and there was danger from Muslim bigotry in living there, Bhai Gonda cheerfully accepted the task given to him. On arriving there he built a Gurdwara and carried out all the Guru s instructions. One day, while Bhai Gonda was repeating the Japji, he felt as though clinging to the Guru s feet. He was in such a state of abstraction that he became quite unconscious. He grew as absorbed in the sight of the Guru as a drop of rain in the ocean. The Guru knew what was passing through Bhai Gonda s mind, and sat firmly on his throne keeping his feet together. At mid-day, when dinner was announced, the Guru made no response. When the announcement was repeated an hour later, he still remained silent. A longer interval later, the call was again made for the third time and cook asked permission to serve the food, but again the Guru did not speak. Several Sikhs gathered together and were about to make a representation to the Guru, when he finally spoke. Brother Sikhs. Bhai Gonda is in Kabul. He is in thought, word, and deed, a saint of the Guru. He today clasped my feet. How can I take them away from him? How can I go take my dinner until he lets go? I am therefore waiting until the conclusion of his meditation and obeisance. Bhai Gonda did not awake from his trance before twilight, and it was only then that the Guru felt free to take his meal. Dara Shikoh The Emperor Shah Jahan had four sons: Dara Shikoh, Shuja Muhammad, Aurangzeb, and Murad Baksh. Dara Shikoh was the heir-apparent, and was very dear to his father. Aurangzeb was very cunning, clever and ambitious, and was fixated on succeeding to the throne. He administered tiger s whiskers in a dish to his eldest brother and he became dangerously ill as a result. Astrologers were sent for, pirs and fakirs were called, all known charms, spells and incantations were tried but to no avail. Wise men were assembled together and they came to the decision that until the tiger s whiskers could be removed, there was no hope of a recovery. They were of the opinion that if two ounces of chebulic myrobalan (scientific name: termininalia chebula; known in Ayurvedic medicine 158

159 Dara Shikoh as Aralu, credited with having laxative and stomachic properties) and a clove weighing one masha were administered, his health could be restored. The Emperor searched everywhere for the ingredients but they could not be found it was only until his Prime Minister, who had heard of the Gurus fame, was informed that there were available from the Gurus storehouse, that hope was restored. Although the Emperor was hostile to the Guru, yet as the Guru s house was a mine of sympathy and compassion for all, there was no doubt that he would grant the articles required. The Emperor humbled himself before the Guru and sent a letter. The Guru was pleased that the Emperor had such confidence in him as to write such a friendly letter, and consented to give the required medicines. Behold, said the Guru, with one hand man breaks flowers and with one hand offers them, but the flowers perfume both hands alike. The axe cuts the sandal tree, yet the sandal perfumes the axe. The Guru ought, therefore, to return good for evil. The ingredients were weighed and it was explained that these medicines would cause the hardest substance taken to be digested. To these ingredients, the Guru added a pearl which was to be ground and used as a subsidiary remedy. The Emperor was naturally very pleased and forgot all his enemity with the Guru, and vowed that he would never again cause him annoyance. His medicine was administered and effected a fast and complete cure. Guru Har Rai was born on January 16, 1630 in Kiratpur to Baba Gurditta the eldest son of Guru Hargobind. From a very young age he exhibited a sensitivity to all living things and endeared himself to his grandfather Guru Hargobind. One day while young Har Rai was returning home he got off his horse upon seeing Guru Hargobind and in his hurry his robe got caught in a bush and some flowers were broken from their stems. It is said that it pained Har Rai's heart so much that he started crying. At the age of 14 after having received suitable training Har Rai was invested with the Guruship by his grandfather Guru Hargobind shortly before his death in March Like Guru Hargobind, Guru Har Rai kept a contingent of 2,200 cavalry as his personal guard. After the many battles of Guru Hargobind, the times of Guru Har Rai were a time of consolidation for the Sikh community without any major battles in the Gurus lifetime. The Guru was fond of hunting but due to his sensitive nature he would not kill the animals but keep them as pets in his zoo. Once while in the forest the Guru came upon a large snake basking in the sunlight. Pointing to it, Guru Har Rai exclaimed, "This serpent might as well have been a pundit in his previous life; 159

160 beautiful to behold in his dress, but the knowledge he has is to bite. Men also bite others through jealousy; even when they teach about God it is not through love or self-surrender, but through the sharp wits and poisonous fangs of controversy and argument." Guru Har Rai spent his life at his birthplace of Kiratpur. Guru Har Rai would spend the mornings and evenings listening to devotional music and giving lectures on the writings of the Gurus. The Guru would also eat simple food which was earned by the labour of his own hands. Followers from far would come to Kiratpur to seek the blessings of Guru Har Rai. The Guru continued to spread the message of Sikhism. He sent Bhagwan Gir to eastern India to preach Sikhism. Another disciple Bhai Pheru was sent to Rajasthan and Suthre Shah was appointed to Delhi. When mughal emperor Shah Jehan's eldest son Dara Shikoh was seriously ill, Guru Har Rai sent a herbal medicine which cured him. Thus relations with the mughals remained on a good footing for a short time. There was eventual unstability in the Delhi royal court when Shah Jehan fell ill and his second son Aurangzeb aligned himself with his youngest brother Murad against their eldest brother Dara Shikoh, Shah Jehan's approved successor. Aurangzeb imprisoned his father in Agra and his soldiers as well as those of his youngest brother Murad forces Dara Shikoh to flee towards Punjab. Guru Har Rai was visiting Goindwal in June 1558 and here he met Dara Shikoh who had come to receive his blessings. Dara Shikoh remembered that the Guru had been responsible for saving his life when he was sick. Dara Shikoh was both an intellectual and liberally tolerant towards other religions. He was a great admirer of the muslim Sufi Saint Mian Mir who was in turn a great admirer of the Gurus. Guru Har Rai granted Dara Shikoh an audience and received the prince with due courtesy. After some time Dara Shikoh was eventually captured by the forces of Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb had Dara Shikoh executed, then killed his own youngest brother Murad and appointed himself as the emperor. With such a ruthless person on the throne in Delhi, relations with the Sikhs would never be the same during Aurangzeb's long reign. Once settled into the throne, Aurangzeb turned his attention to the new faith, Sikhism. It was reported to the emperor that Guru Har Rai has had blessed Dara Shikoh and assisted his escape. Aurangzeb ordered the Guru to appear in the royal court of Delhi. Guru Har Rai did not go himself but instead sent his son Ram Rai to meet the emperor. Before leaving Ram Rai was instructed by his father to not engage in any miracles and to not allow the teaching of the Sikhs to be compromised in any way. When Ram Rai presented himself before the royal court he was able to impress Aurangzeb with his intellect and charm that Sikhism did not present any threat to the Mughals. Aurangzeb took exeption to a verse in the Guru Granth Sahib; 160

161 "God alone knows who burns in hell (the Hindu or the Muslim), for (like the Hindus whom fire consumes here), the earth of the Muslim graves also suffers being fired by the potter who fashions bricks and vessels out of its clay." (Guru Nanak, Asa Var) Ram Rai explained to Aurangzeb that the words of Guru Nanak had been incorrectly written by the scribe, and that the word was not "Muslim" but "Baiman" (meaning faithless). By intentionally changing the words of Guru Nanak, Ram Rai was able to gain the emperors friendship. When it was reported back to Guru Har Rai what his son had done, he was deeply hurt. The Guru exclaimed, "Ram Rai was a genuine claimant for my throne. But the Guruship is like the milk of a tigress which can only be contained in a cup of gold. Now Ram Rai shall never see my face again." Ram Rai never saw his father again but maintained his friendship with Aurangzeb. Since Ram Rai had proved a disappointment to his father, Guru Har Rai appointed his younger son Harkrishan as the next Guru and passed away soon thereafter on October 6, Eighth Master Guru Harkrishan ( ) Earlier it was believed that Guru Har Krishan Sahib was born in Keeratpur (Sivalik Hills) in northwest Indian subcontinent to Mata Sulakhni and Guru Har Rai ji. But, as per book Dabistan-i-Mazahib (written in 1660) Guru Har Rai spent 13 years (1644 to 1657) at Thapalpur (then Nahan State); hence Guru Harkrishan was born in 1652 at Thapalpur, old Nahan State, now (Lohgarh Zone), Haryana. His father, Guru Har Rai ji supported the moderate Sufi influenced Dara Shikoh instead of conservative Sunni influenced Aurangzeb as the two brothers entered into a war of succession to the Mughal Empire throne. After Aurangzeb won the succession war in 1658, he summoned Guru Har Rai in 1660 to explain his support for the executed Dara Shikoh. Guru Har Rai sent his elder son Ram Rai to represent him. Aurangzeb kept the 13 year old Ram Rai as hostage, questioned Ram Rai about a verse in the Adi Granth the holy text of Sikhs. Aurangzeb claimed that it disparaged the Muslims. Ram Rai changed the verse to appease Aurangzeb instead of standing by the Sikh scripture, an act for which Guru Har Rai excommunicated his elder son, and nominated the younger Har Krishan to succeed as the next Guru of Sikhism. Aurangzeb meanwhile rewarded Ram Rai, patronizing him with land grants in Dehra Dun region of the Himalayas. A few years after Guru Har Krishan assumed the role of Sikh leader, Aurangzeb summoned the young Guru to his court, with an apparent plan to replace him with his elder brother Ram Rai as 161

162 the Sikh Guru. However, Guru Harkrishan Rai contracted smallpox when he arrived in Delhi and his meeting with Aurangzeb was cancelled. On his deathbed, Guru Har Krishan said, "Baba Bakale", and died in The devout Sikhs interpreted those words to mean that the next Guru is to be found in Bakala village, which they identified as Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhism. Authentic literature with more details about Guru Har Krishan's life and times are scarce and not well recorded. Some of biographies about Guru Har Krishan, particularly about who his mother was, were written in the 18th century such as by Kesar Singh Chhibber, as well as in the 19th century, and these are highly inconsistent. Guru Harkrishan was born on July 7, 1656 to Guru Har Rai and Krishan Kaur. Before his death in October 1661 Guru Har Rai had appointed his younger son Harkrishan as the next Guru as opposed to his elder son Ram Rai who was in collusion with the mughals. Guru Harkrishan was only five years old when he received the guruship. The Gurus older brother Ram Rai complained to emperor Aurengzeb in Delhi that he had been discriminated against because of his loyalty to the emperor and had not received his due share of the property of his father Guru Har Rai. Ram Rai knew that before his death Guru Har Rai had instructed Guru Harkrishan to never meet Aurengzeb. Ram Rai hoped if Guru Harkrishan met the emperor he would be going against his fathers wishes and the Sikhs would be displeased with their Guru. On the other hand if Guru Harkrishan refused to come to Delhi, then he would be attacked by the emperors forces. Since Aurengzeb was very friendly with Ram Rai he summoned Guru Harkrishan to appear before him in Delhi. The Sikhs were very apprehensive about allowing young Guru Harkrishan to go to Delhi. Aurengzeb sent Raja Jai Singh a high court official known for his devotion to the Gurus to escort the Guru to Delhi. Raja Jai Singh assured the Guru that he would not have to meet the emperor personally while in Delhi, and that there were a large number of devotees in Delhi who were anxious to see and hear their Guru. Guru Harkrishan convinced the Sikhs at Kiratpur that he should go to Delhi. As a result Guru Harkrishan along with his mother and a group of devotees set out for the long journey to Delhi. On their journey the Guru was met by large crowds of devotees. At Panjolhara an jealous Brahmin taunted the Guru, "Your Guru is called Hari Krishna, a mere child of eight years! Krishna, the incarnation of Vishnu, uttered the Gita which is the repository of all the eternal truths, If your Guru also calls 162

163 himself Krishna, let him expound the truths of Gita to us". Hearing this a poor watercarrier called Chhajju stood up and proclaimed that anyone could expound on the Gita if he were so blessed by the Guru. Guru Harkrishan touched Chhajju with his walking stick and Chhajju immediately began explaining the philosophy of the Gita. The Brahmin was so humbled by the spectacle that he fell to the Gurus feet and asked forgiveness for his arrogance. Upon reaching Delhi the Guru and his party were the guests of Raja Jai Singh who had promised to uphold the safety of the Guru. Every day large numbers of devotees started flocking to see the Guru. At this time a smallpox epidemic was raging in Delhi. The Guru helped to heal many sick people, naturally coming in contact with so many people every day, the Guru was also infected and taken seriously ill. On March 30, 1664 Guru Harkrishan decided to announce his successor, the Guru called for five coins and a coconut. He took them and being too weak to move, waved his hand three times in the air and said "Baba Bakala". Guru Harkrishan then suddenly passed away at the tender age of eight years old. Ninth Master Guru Tegh Bahadur ( ) Guru Harkrishan Sahib the 8th Guru nominated Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, as his successor, before he passed away on March 30, Guru Tegh Bahadur ji was the youngest son of the 6th Guru, Guru Hargobind Sahib. He was born on April 1, 1621 at Amritsar. After the passing away of his father, Guru Hargobind Sahib in 1644, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib moved to Bakala with his wife, Mata Gujri ji and mother Mata Nanki ji. He took charge of Guruship in March 1665 at the age of 44. Hymns written by him are included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Sahib was a great horseback rider and extremely well trained in the use of weapons of war. He was only 13 when he participated in the 4th battle of Kartarpur Sahib along with his father. Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib s life may be divided into 3 periods. The first period of 23 years spent at Amritsar along with his father. The second period of 19 years, spent in quiet meditation at Bakala. And the third period of 11 years, when he extensively toured the Northern and Eastern India including what is now called Bangladesh to spread his mission. Guru Sahib founded the town of Anandpur Sahib - the city of Bliss! During Guru Sahib s times, Aurangzeb, the fanatic Mughal Emperor of India launched an aggressive campaign of converting Hindus to Islam by force. He ordered demolition of all Temples and started building Mosques in their places. Guru Sahib cautioned all his followers to be prepared for the worst and be ready to die. At the same time he started imparting them training in the use of arms and told them not to panic but to face the difficulties boldly. 163

164 In 1669, Aurangzeb, stepped up his anti-hindu campaign and issued special orders denying government employment to all non-muslims unless they converted to Islam. He also issued instructions that all Sikh missionaries called Masands be banned from entering any township for spreading Guru s mission. By May 1675, more than half of Kashmiri Hindu population had been forcefully converted to Islam. Demoralised and terrorised, a representative group of Kashmiri Pandits led by Pandit Kirpa Ram came to Anandpur Sahib and approached Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib for guidance and advice. Guru Sahib told them not to worry but to send word to the Emperor that if he could convert him (Guru Sahib) to Islam, all Hindus would follow in his foot steps. Before long, Aurangzeb issued orders for the arrest and imprisonment of the 9th Guru and to bring him to Delhi. Knowing that he was not going to come back, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib passed on the responsibilities of Guruship to his 9 year old son (Guru Gobind Singh) and left for Delhi. Guru Sahib was arrested, chained and kept in an iron cage in the police Kotwali under heavy security at Chandni Chowk in Delhi. Several seasoned top most royal Muslim missionries were deputed to persuade Guru Sahib to give up his faith and accept Islam or be prepared to die a terrible death. Guru Sahib refused to convert. To shake his resolve, three of his ardent followers who had opted to get arrested along with him, were brutally murdered one after the other right before his eyes. Having failed to persuade Guru Sahib to give up his faith, orders were issued for his execution. On the evening of November 11, 1675, the 9th beloved Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib was seated under a tree and beheaded in full public view. Following his execution, a big storm broke out, the sky was covered with dark clouds and there was lightening in the sky. Taking advantage of the situation, two brave Sikhs appeared from the surging crowd and soon Guru Sahib s severed head and body were gone. Bhai Lakhi Shah managed to take Guru Sahib s body to his house in the village of Rakab Ganj where he and his family placed Guru sahib s body inside the house and put their house on fire to avoid suspicion. On the other hand Bhai Jaitha ji picked up his beloved Guru s bleeding head and ran towards Anandpur Sahib - about 200 miles away to hand over the Guru s head to his son, Guru Gobind Singh ji for being cremated properly. The place where Guru Sahib was executed in Chandni Chowk in Delhi, a 164

165 magnificient marble Gurdwara Sis Ganj, stands in his memory. A beautiful white marble Gurdwara stands at the place where Guru Sahib s body was cremated. It is known as Gurdwara Rakab Ganj (in Delhi). The location where the 9th Guru s head was cremated by the 10th Guru Sahib in Anandpur Sahib stands a Gurdwara called Gurdwara Sis Ganj. Guru Tegh Bahadur was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind and Bibi Nanki and was born at Amritsar on April 1, From a young age Tegh Bahadur was trained in the martial arts of swordsmanship and horse riding as well as religious training by the wise Baba Buddha and Bhai Gurdas. In February 1633 Tegh Bahadur was married to Gujari daughter of Lal Chand and Bishan Kaur. During his young years Tegh Bahadur fought along his fathers side but after Guru Hargobind's fierce and bloody battle in 1634 at Kartarpur he turned to the path of renunciation and meditation. When Guru Hargobind settled down at Kiratpur to live the rest of his life in peace, Tegh Bahadur spent nine years with his father before settling down at the isolated village of Bakala in 1656 and retired to a life of contemplation. He became known as "Tyag Mal" meaning "the Master of Renunciation". Here Tegh Bahadur would spend many long years in meditation and prayer. Guru Hargobind did not choose Tegh Bahadur as his successor because the Sikhs needed a leader of men, something still lacking in his young son, who had now chosen a path of renunciation. Instead Guru Hargobind chose Guru Har Rai his grandson as his natural successor. Guru Har Rai in turn chose his youngest son Guru Harkrishan as his successor. When Guru Harkrishan had suddenly fallen ill at Delhi in 1664, before his death, being too weak to move or speak the Guru had said his successor was "Baba Bakala". Following the untimely death of Guru Harkrishan large numbers of Sikhs flocked to the village of Bakala looking for the new Guru. When the Sikhs went in large numbers to Bakala to find the Guru, they were instead confronted by twenty two members of the Sodhi family, each claiming that they were the Guru and successor as named by Guru Harkrishan. The Sikhs were in a quandary as to who was really the true Guru? Meanwhile a wealthy merchant Makhan Shah had his ships carrying valuable cargo caught in a fierce storm at sea. He vowed to offer five hundred gold coins to the Guru if his goods safely reached home. His wish was fulfilled and his merchandise safely arrived at their port. Makhan Shah immediately set our for Delhi where he received the tragic news that Guru Harkrishan had passed away and that his successor was at Bakala. Makhan Shah set out for Bakala to pay his homage to the Guru. When he finally got there he was confronted with all the 165

166 same quandary as the rest of the Sikhs, who was the real Guru? Being a businessman Makhan Shah decided that he would pay homage to all of the twenty two claimants and placed two gold coins before each of them as tribute. When he had visited all of the claimants, a child pointed out to him that a holy man lived across the street. Makhan Shah decided that he may as well pay him tribute also. When Makhan Shah entered the house he found that Guru Tegh Bahadur was in meditation. He was told that Tegh Bahadur did not like to receive visitors but spent his time in meditation. Makhan Shah waited until he met the Guru and placed two gold coins before him. At this Guru Tegh Bahadur smiled and said to Makhan Shah, "I thought that you had pledged five hundred coins". Makhan Shah became so elated that he kissed the Gurus feet and started shouting from the rooftop "I've found the Guru, found the Guru!". All the Sikhs rushed to the house of the quiet saint and when they heard the story there was much rejoicing for many days. Thus the pious, humble saint Tegh Bahadur was acclaimed as being the true Guru of the Sikhs and natural successor of Guru Harkrishan. Sikhs flocked to see the Guru and presented him with many gifts and offerings. One who was not so happy about the whole affair was the troublesome Dhir Mal, grandson of Guru Hargobind who had wanted people to acclaim him as the Guru since he was in possession of the Guru Granth Sahib written by Guru Arjan Dev. Dhir Mal became so angry that he planned an assassination attempt. He sent Shihan a masand (priest) loyal to him and some men to attack the Guru while he slept. Dhir Mal's men attacked the house of Guru Tegh Bahadur, shot the Guru and ransacked his belongings. Luckily Guru Tegh Bahadur was not seriously wounded. In retaliation loyal Sikhs raided Dhir Mal's house, looting it including the original copy of the Guru Granth Sahib and presented all of the bounty to the Guru as revenge. Guru Tegh Bahadur believed in forgiveness and ordered all of his property returned, including the original copy of the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Tegh Bahadur now accepted the role of leading the Sikhs and set out on a number of missionary journeys. He visited Kiratpur and then made his way to the other great centers of Sikhism, Tarn Taran, Khadur Sahib, Goindwal and Amritsar. At Amritsar Guru Tegh Bahadur bathed in the sacred pool but he was refused entry into the Golden Temple which was under the control of Harji, grandson of that other famous troublemaker to the Gurus, Prithi Chand. Guru Tegh Bahadur then journeyed back to Kiratpur. Here he encountered some Sodhi family jealousy and decided to found a new township. The Guru acquired a tract of land from the raja of Kahlur and founded the town of Chak Nanaki in 1665, named in honour of his mother (later to be known as Anandpur Sahib). The Guru now continued his journeys to spread the messages and teachings of Sikhism among the masses across the land. 166

167 Accompanied by his wife and mother Guru Tegh Bahadur traveled across the country. The Guru traveled throughout Punjab, wherever he would stop the Guru would get wells dug for the people and community kitchens set up. Guru Tegh Bahadur continued his tour through Haryana and arrived at Delhi. Here the Guru met the congregations of Delhi who came out in large numbers to see the Guru. The emperor Aurangzeb was away from Delhi at this time. Guru Tegh Bahadur then continued his mission of preaching to the masses, visiting Kurekshetra, Agra, Ittawa and Allahabad. Wherever the Guru stopped he would preach about honest work and charity. The Guru would also give away all the offerings that he would receive from devotees. At Priyag, the Gurus wife Gujri conceived a child. The Guru then traveled onto the holy Hindu city of Banaras and then onto Gaya and Patna. Guru Tegh Bahadur was requested by custodians of the various temples that he visited to perform rituals and ceremonies for himself and his ancestors, but the Guru refused saying, "He who trusts in God and makes an honest living to share with others and injures no one, nor harbors ill-will against another need perform on other rituals. His soul ever stays in health. And, as for the ancestors, they gather the reward of what they themselves have sown and no one can bless or curse them after they are gone." Guru Tegh Bahadur now arrived at Patna where he stayed for some time. The Guru left his family here, as his wife Mata Gujri was expecting their child and moved onwards with his tour to Dacca and the eastern most parts of India not visited since the time of Guru Nanak. Sikh congregations were very jubilant to see their Guru. In December of 1666 while on his eastern tour Guru Tegh Bahadur received the news that he had been blessed with a child, a son named Gobind Rai. This eastern tour would last three years as Guru Tegh Bahadur visited as many people as he could. While in Assam in 1668 Guru Tegh Bahadur was able to achieve a peace treaty between the ruler of Ahom and a large force sent by Aurengzeb under the command of Raja Ram Singh of Amber. In Guru Tegh Bahadur started the journey homeward and traveled to Patna to see his young son Gobind Rai for the first time. Here Guru Tegh Bahadur spent over a year with his family training his son in the Sikh Scriptures, horse riding and swordsmanship. Guru Tegh Bahadur then sent his family onto Punjab while he continued his missionary work. The Guru finally returned home to Anandpur Sahib in Here thousands of devotees flock to see and hear the Guru. While the Guru attended to his devotees at Anandpur, things in the country were rapidly deteriorating under the tyrannous rule of emperor Aurengzeb. Since coming to power by imprisoning his father and killing his two brothers, Aurengzeb had been consolidating his power base. After ten years he now began to apply his power throughout the country. Aurengzeb was an orthodox Muslim who dreamed of purging India of all 'infidels' and converting it into a land of Islam. Aurengzeb had no tolerance for other religions and proceeded on a brutal 167

168 campaign of repression. Famous Hindu temples throughout the country were demolished and mosques built in their place. Hindu idols were placed in the steps of mosques to be trodden on by the feet of Muslim pilgrims. Aurangzeb issued a number of harsh decrees. In 1665 he forbade Hindus to display illuminations at Diwali festivals. In 1668 he forbade Hindu Jatras, in 1671 he issued an order that only Muslims could be landlords of crown lands, and called upon provincial Viceroys to dismiss all Hindu clerks. In 1669 he issued a general order calling upon all governors of all provinces to destroy with a willing hand the schools and temples of the infidels; and they were told to put a stop to the teachings and practicing of idolatrous forms of worship. In 1674 lands held by Hindus in Gujarat, in religious grants were all confiscated. In this climate of intolerance the viceroy of Kashmir Iftikhar Khan took to the task of forcibly converting the Hindu population to Islam by the sword. The Hindu Brahmin Pandits of Kashmir were among the most highly learned and orthodox of the Hindu leadership. Aurangzeb felt if they could be converted, the rest of the country would easily follow. He did not want to see the talik (holy mark on the forehead) or janaeu (sacred thread) on any of his subjects. Given this ultimatum, a large delegation of 500 Kashmiri Pandits decided to journey to Anandpur Sahib to seek the help of Guru Tegh Bahadur. This delegation was led by Pandit Kirpa Ram Datt (who would later on become the Sanskrit teacher of Guru Gobind Singh and eventually become a Khalsa and died fighting in the battle of Chamkaur). The Pandits met the Guru and explained their dire predicament to the Guru and requested the Guru to intercede on their behalf. As the Guru was pondering over the issue his nine year old son Gobind Rai walked into the room, noticing the serious and gloomy mood in the room the young Gobind asked his father what was happening. Guru Tegh Bahadur replied, "Unless a holy man lays down his head for the sake of the poor Brahmins, there is no hope for their escape from imperial tyranny." Young Gobind replied, "Revered father, who would be better equipped for this than yourself?" Guru Tegh Bahadur hugged his son and wept for joy. "I was only worried about the future, for you are far too young". "Leave me to God", Gobind replied, "and accept the challenge of the Mughals." Even though Guru Nanak had refused to wear the sacred thread when he was young, the Gurus still believed in the freedom of religion and the right of the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs to live in peace and practice their own religions. With this Guru Tegh Bahadur laid down the gauntlet in the fight for freedom of religion and told the Pandits to inform Aurangzeb that the Brahmins would gladly accept and embrace Islam if Guru Tegh Bahadur can be convinced to do so. Guru Tegh Bahadur made preparations to leave for Delhi. he bid farewell to his family and followers and dictated that his son Gobind Rai should be installed as the next Guru. Accompanying the Guru on his journey and also prepared to 168

169 accept the consequences of whatever happened were Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Dyala and Bhai Sati Das. As soon as Aurangzeb heard the news he ordered the immediate arrest of the Guru. Guru Tegh Bahadur and his party were arrested soon after they left Anandpur Sahib and taken in chains to Delhi. When brought before Aurangzeb, he was asked why he was hailed as the Guru or prophet and called 'Sacha Padsah' (the True King) and if he really believed in his being one he should perform a miracle to justify his claim. Guru Tegh Bahadur reprimanded the emperor for his blind orthodoxy and his persecution of other faiths, "Hinduism may not be my faith, and I may believe not in the supremacy of Veda or the Brahmins, nor in idol worship or caste or pilgrimages and other rituals, but I would fight for the right of all Hindus to live with honour and practice their faith according to their own rites." The Guru answered further, "Every ruler of the world must pass away, but not the Word of God or His Saint. This is how people not only call me a True King but have done so through the two centuries before me in respect of my House and also in respect of others who preceded them and identified themselves not with the temporal and the contingent, but with the eternal and the ever dying." The Guru refused to perform any miracles saying, "this is the work of charlatans and mountebanks to hoodwink the people. Men of God submit ever to the Will of God." Guru Tegh Bahadur refused to embrace Islam, saying "For me, there is only one religion - of God - and whosoever belongs to it, be he a Hindu or a Muslim, him I own and he owns me. I neither convert others by force, nor submit to force, to change my faith." Aurangzeb was enraged and ordered Guru Tegh Bahadur to be forced to convert to Islam through torture or be killed. Guru Tegh Bahadur was subjected to many cruelties, he was kept in an iron cage and starved for many days. The Guru was made to watch as Bhai Mati Das the devoted Sikh was tied between two pillars and his body split in two by being sawn alive. Bhai Dyala was boiled alive in a cauldron of boiling water and Bhat Sati Das was wrapped in cotton wool and set on fire. The Guru bore these cruelties without flinching or showing any anger or distress. Finally on November 11, 1675 Guru Tegh Bahadur was publicly beheaded with the sword of the executioner as he prayed. The Gurus body was left in the dust as no one dared to pick up the body for fear of the emperors reprisal. A severe storm swept through the city and under the cover of darkness a Sikh named Bhai Jaita managed to collect the Guru's sacred head and carried it off to Anandpur Sahib to the Guru's son. Another Sikh Bhai Lakhi Shah who had a cart, was able to smuggle the Gurus headless body to his house. Since a public funeral would be too dangerous, Bhai Lakhi Shah cremated the body by setting his house on fire. Meanwhile the head was taken to the grief stricken young Guru Gobind Singh and the widow Mata Gujari. On November 16, 1675 at Anandpur Sahib, a pyre 169

170 of sandalwood was constructed, sprinkled with roses and the head of Guru Tegh Bahadur was cremated by young Guru Gobind Singh. Thus ended the earthly reign of the ninth Nanak, Guru Tegh Bahadur. Never in the annals of history has the religious leader of one religion sacrificed his life to save the freedom of another religion. Tenth Master Guru Gobind Singh ( ) Special Contribution to Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh Ji (Punjabi: ਗ ਰ ਗ ਬ ਦ ਬਸ ਘ,; 22 December October 1708) was the tenth of the ten Sikh Gurus, the eleventh guru being the living perpetual Guru, Guru Granth Sahib (the sacred text of Sikhism). He was a Warrior, Poet and Philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the Leader of Sikhs at the young age of nine. He contributed much to Sikhism; notable was his contribution to the continual formalisation of the faith which the first Guru Guru Nanak had founded, as a religion, in the 15th century. Guru Gobind Singh, the last of the living Sikh Gurus, initiated the Sikh Khalsa in 1699, passing the Guruship of the Sikhs to the Eleventh and Eternal Guru of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh moulded the Sikh religion into its present shape, with the formation of the Khalsa fraternity and completion of the Guru Granth Sahib as we find it today, which some will say was his greatest act. "If we consider the work which (Guru) Gobind (Singh) accomplished, both in reforming his religion and instituting a new code of law for his followers, his personal bravery under all circumstances; his persevering endurance amidst difficulties, which would have disheartened others and overwhelmed them in inextricable distress, and lastly his final victory over his powerful enemies by the very men who had previously forsaken him, we need not be surprised that the Sikhs venerate his memory. He was undoubtedly a great man." (W, L. McGregor) The tenth Guru (teacher) of the Sikh faith, was born Gobind Rai. It would not be out of context to say that throughout the chronicles of human history, there was no other individual who could be of more inspiring personality than Guru Gobind Singh. Guru Gobind Singh Ji infused the spirit of both sainthood and soldier in the minds and hearts of his followers to fight oppression in order to restore justice, peace, righteousness (Dharma) and to uplift the down-trodden people in this 170

171 world. It is said that after the martyrdom of his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the tenth Master declared that he would create such a Panth (community/society), which would challenge the tyrant rulers in every walk of life to restore justice, equality and peace for all of mankind. As a prophet, the Guru is unique. His teachings are very scientific and most suitable for all times. Unlike many other prophets he never called himself God or 'the only son of God.' Instead he called all people the sons of God sharing His Kingdom equally. For himself he used the word 'slave' or servant of God. "Those who call me God, will fall into the deep pit of hell. Regard me as one of his slaves and have no doubt whatever about it. I am a servant of the Supreme Being; and have come to behold the wonderful drama of life." Extracts from Guru Gobind Singh's writings: "God has no marks, no colour, no caste, and no ancestors, No form, no complexion, no outline, no costume and is indescribable. He is fearless, luminous and measureless in might. He is the king of kings, the Lord of the prophets. He is the sovereign of the universe, gods, men and demons. The woods and dales sing the indescribable. O Lord, none can tell Thy names. The wise count your blessings to coin your names." (Jaap Sahib) Early life A splendid Divine Light shone in the darkness of the night. Pir Bhikan Shah a Muslim mystic performed his prayers in that Easterly direction (instead of towards the West, contrary to his daily practice), and guided by this Divine Light, he travelled with a group of his followers until he reached Patna Sahib in Bihar. It was here that Gobind Rai was born to Mata Gujri in It is said that Pir Bhikan Shah approached the child and offered two bowls of milk and water, signifying both the great religions of Hinduism and Islam. The child smiled and placed his hands on both bowls. The Pir bowed in utter humility and reverence to the new Prophet of all humanity. Guru Gobind Singh was born as Gobind Rai in Patna, Bihar in India. His father 171

172 Guru Tegh Bahadur, was the ninth Sikh Guru. His mother's name was Mata Gujri. He was born while his father was on a tour of the neighbouring state of Assam, spreading God's word. After his tour of eastern parts of India ended, he asked his family to come to Anandpur. Gobind Rai reached Anandpur (then known as Chakk Nanaki), on the foothills of the Sivalik Hills, in March Gobind Rai's early education included study of languages and training as a Soldier. He had started studying Hindi and Sanskrit while at Patna. At Anandpur Sahib, he started studying Punjabi under Sahib Chand, and Persian under Qazi Pir Mohammad. Guru Gobind Singh married to Mata Sundari (also known as Mata Jito) and they had four sons Sahibzada Ajit Singh, Zorawar Singh, Jujhar Singh and Fateh Singh. Guru Tegh Bahadur had founded the city of Anandpur Sahib in 1665, on land purchased from the ruler of Bilaspur (Kahlur). Kashmiri Brahmins come to Anandpur Early in 1675, a group of Kashmiri brahmins under the leadership of Pandit Kirpa Ram, mad in desperation by the religious fanaticism of the Mughals General, Iftikar Khan, (he had threatened them with forced conversion to Islam) visited Anandpur to seek Guru Tegh Bahadur's advice. Aurangzeb had ordered the forced conversion of all Hindus and thought that if the respected Kashmiri brahmans accepted Islam, others in the country would be easily converted. They had been given six months to decide or suffer the consequences. Time was running out! As the Guru sat reflecting what to do, young Gobind Rai, arriving there in company with his playmates, asked why he looked so preoccupied. The father, as records Kuir Singh in his Gurbilas Patshahi 10, replied, "Grave are the burdens the earth bears. She will be redeemed only if a truly worthy person comes forward to lay down his head. Distress will then be expunged and happiness ushered in." "None could be worthier than you to make such a sacrifice," remarked Gobind Rai in his innocent manner. Guru Tegh Bahadur advised the brahmins to return to their village and tell the authorities that they would accept Islam if Guru Tegh Bahadur could first be persuaded to do so. 172

173 Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Soon afterwards the Guru Tegh Bahadur with a few followers proceeded to the imperial capital, Delhi. After watching the torture and execution of three of his followers, Guru Tegh Bahadur, after refusing to convert to islam, was beheaded on November 11, The 9 year old Gobind Rai, ordained as the next Guru before his father departed Anandpur, was formally installed as Guru Gobind Singh on the Baisakhi day of March In the midst of his engagement with the concerns of the community, he gave attention to the mastery of physical skills and literary accomplishment. He had grown into a comely youth spare, lithe of limb and energetic. He had a natural genius for poetic composition and his early years were assiduously given to this pursuit. The Var Sri Bhagauti Ji Ki, popularly called Chandi di Var. written in 1684, was his first composition and his only major work in the Punjabi language. The poem depicted the legendary contest between the gods and the demons as described in the Markandeya Purana. The choice of a warlike theme for this and a number of his later compositions such as the two Chandi Charitras, mostly in Braj, was made to infuse martial spirit among his followers to prepare them to stand up against injustice and tyranny. For the first 20 years or so of his life, Guru Gobind Singh lived peacefully at Anandpur practicing arms and exercises to complete his training as a soldier. He also studied Persian and Sanskrit and engaged 52 poets to translate the Hindu epics. Stories of ancient heroes were translated into Punjabi in order to create the martial spirit among the Sikhs. The Guru also wrote several compositions including Jaap Sahib, Akal Ustat and Sawayas during this period. He also established a Gurdwara at Paonta Sahib on the banks of the river Jamna. Stay at Paonta Sahib Much of Guru Gobind Singh's creative literary work was done at Paonta (in Sirmaur state) he had founded on the banks of the River Yamuna. This was the site Guru Gobind Singh temporarily shifted to in April 1685 at the invitation of Raja Mat Prakash of Sirmaur. According to the gazetteer of the Sirmur State, the Guru was compelled to quit Anandpur Sahib due to differences with Bhim Chand, and went to Toka. From Toka, he was invited to Nahan, the capital of Sirmaur by Mat Prakash. From Nahan, he proceeded to Paonta. Mat Prakash invited the Guru to his kingdom in order to strengthen his position against Raja Fateh Shah of Garhwal. At the request of Raja Mat Prakash, the Guru 173

174 constructed a fort at Paonta with help of his followers, in a short time. The Guru remained at Paonta for around three years, and composed several texts. Poetry as such was, however, not his aim. For him it was a means of revealing the divine principle, the Jap Sahib, Swayas and the composition known as Akal Ustat were composed in this tenor. Through his poetry Guru Gobind Singh preached love and equality and a strictly ethical and moral code of conduct. He preached the worship of the One Supreme Being, deprecating idolatry and superstitious beliefs and observances. The glorification of the sword itself which he eulogized as Bhagauti was to secure fulfilment of God's justice. The sword was never meant as a symbol of aggression, and it was never to be used for self-aggrandizement. It was the emblem of manliness and self-respect and was to be used only in self-defence, as a last resort. For Guru Gobind Singh said in a Persian couplet in his Zafarnamah: "When all other means have failed, It is but lawful to take to the sword." Martial training During his stay at Paonta, Guru Gobind Singh availed himself of his spare time to practice different forms of manly exercises, such as riding, swimming and archery. His increasing influence among the people and the martial exercises of his men excited the jealousy of the neighbouring Rajput hill rulers who led by Raja Fateh Chand of Garhwal collected a host to attack him. The hindus were defeated in an action at Bhangam, about 10 km north-east of Paonta, in September Soon thereafter Guru Gobind Singh left Paonta Sahib and returned to Anandpur. The Guru and his Sikhs were involved in a battle with a mughal commander, Alif Khan, at Nadaur on the left bank of the Beas, about 30 km south-east of Kangra, in March Describing the battle in stirring verse in Bachitar Natak, it is said that Alif Khan fled in utter disarray "without being able to give any attention to his camp." Among several other battles that occurred was the Husain battle (20 February 1696) fought against Husain Khan, an imperial general, which resulted in a decisive victory for the Sikhs. Following the appointment in 1694 of the liberal Prince Muazzam (later Emperor Bahadur Shah) as viceroy of north-western region including Punjab, there was however a brief respite from pressure from the ruling authority. 174

175 Battle of Bhangani Guru Gobind Singh admonished the hill Rajas including Raja Bhim Chand for giving their daughters to the Moghuls as tribute for holding their positions. His efforts at winning their support against Aurangzeb bore no fruit. On the contrary, the hill Rajas conspired with the Moghul armies to put down the power of Guru Gobind Singh. They however faced defeat several times at the hands of the comparatively small Sikh Army. The Masands Guru Gobind Singh received various complaints against priests, masands who robbed the poor Sikhs and misappropriated the collections. In Sambat 1756 (1699 A.D), Guru Sahib abolished the masand order and severly punished the miscreants. Guru Gobind Singh issued directions to Sikh sangats or communities in different parts not to acknowledge masands, the local ministers, against whom he had heard complaints. Thereafter, the faithful were to bring their offerings directly to the Guru at the time of the annual Vaisakhi fair. Sikhs, he instructed, should come to Anandpur straight without any intermediaries. The Guru thus established direct relationship with his Sikhs. The institution of the Khalsa was given concrete form on 30 March 1699 when Sikhs had gathered at Anandpur in large numbers for the annual festival of Vaisakhi. Creation of the Khalsa In 1699, the Guru sent hukmanamas (letters of authority) to his followers, requesting them to congregate at an open air diwan at Anandpur on 13 April 1699, the day of Vaisakhi (the annual harvest festival). Guru Ji addressed the congregation from the entryway of a small tent pitched on a hill (now called Kesgarh Sahib). He first asked everyone who he was for them? Everyone answered - "You are our Guru." He then asked them who were they, to which everyone replied - "We are your Sikhs." Having reminded them of this relationship, He then said that today the Guru needs something from his Sikhs. Everyone said, "Hukum Karo, Sache Patshah" (Order us, True Lord). The Guru drew his sword and in a thundering voice said, "I want one head, is there anyone who can offer me there's?" This most unusual call caused some terror in the gathering. The people were stunned! There was dead silence. The Guru made a second call. Again, he asked for a volunteer who was willing 175

176 to sacrifice his head. No one answered his first call, nor the second call, there was still more silence. On the third invitation, Daya Ram, a khatri of Lahore said, "O true king, my head is at your service." (later known as Bhai Daya Singh) and came forward offering his head to the Guru. The Guru took Daya Ram by the arm and led him inside a tent. A blow and thud were heard. Then the Guru, with his sword dripping with blood, came out and said, "I want another head, is there anyone else who can offer me there's?" On third call Dharam Das, a Jat from Delhi came forward and said, "O true king! My head is at thy disposal." The Guru took the volunteer inside the tent. The Guru returned to the crowd with more blood dripping from his sword. He then demanded another head. Upon this some people in the assembly remarked that the Guru had lost all reason and went to his mother to complain. Mohkam Chand, a calico priner/tailor of Dwarka (west coast of India) offered himself as a sacrifice. The Guru took him inside the tent and went through the same process. When he came out, he made a call for the fourth head. The Sikhs began to think that he was going to kill all of them. Some of them ran away and the others hung their heads down in disbelief. Himmat Chand, a cook of Jagan Nath Puri, offered himself as a fourth sacrifice. Then the Guru made a fifth and the last call for a fifth head. Sahib Chand, a barber of Bidar (in central India), came forward and the Guru took him inside the tent. A blow and thud were heard. The last time he stayed longer in the tent. People began to breathe with relief. They thought may be the Guru has realised "his mistake" and has now stopped. After some time, amazingly, the five volunteers came out of the tent in new clothing, completely unharmed. The Panj Pyare and Amrit Sanchar The Guru now clad his five volunteers in splendid garments. They had offered their heads to the Guru, and the Guru had now given them himself and his glory. When they were brought outside, they were in the most radiant form. There were exclamations of wonder and the sighs of regret on all sides. Now people were sorry for not offering their heads. Since the time of Guru Nanak, Charan Pauhal had been the customary form of 176

177 initiation. People were to drink the holy water which had been touched or washed by the Guru's toe or feet. The Guru proceeded to initiate them to his new order (Khande di Pauhal) by asking the five faithful Sikhs to stand up. Guru Gobind Singh then poured clear water into an iron bowl and adding Patashas (Punjabi sweeteners) into it, he stirred it with double-edged sword accompanied with recitations from Adi Granth. He called this mixture of sweetened water and iron as Amrit ("nectar") and administered it to the five men. These five, who willingly volunteered to sacrifice their lives for their Guru, were given the title of the Panj Pyare ("the five beloved ones") by their Guru. They were the first (baptized) Sikhs of the Khalsa: 1. Daya Ram (Bhai Daya Singh), 2. Dharam Das (Bhai Dharam Singh), 3. Himmat Rai (Bhai Himmat Singh), 4. Mohkam Chand (Bhai Mohkam Singh), 5. Sahib Chand (Bhai Sahib Singh). Guru Gobind Singh then recited a line which has been the rallying-cry of the Khalsa since then: 'Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh' (The pure belong to the Wonderful Lord; Victory is the wonderful Lord's). Guru Gobind Singh then gave them all the name "Singh" (lion), and designated them collectively as the Khalsa, the body of baptized Sikhs. The Guru then astounded the five and the whole assembly as he knelt and asked them to in turn initiate him as a member, on an equal footing with them in the Khalsa, thus becoming the sixth member of the new order. His name became Gobind Singh. Today members of the Khalsa consider Guru Gobind as their father, and Mata Sahib Kaur as their mother. The Panj Piare were thus the first baptised Sikhs, and became the first members of the Khalsa brotherhood. Women were also initiated into the Khalsa, and given the title of "Kaur" ("Princess"). Guru Gobind Singh then addressed the audience - "From now on, you have become casteless. No ritual, either Hindu or Muslim, will you perform. Nor will you believe in superstition of any kind but only in one God who 177

178 The 5K's is the master and protector of all, the only creator and destroyer. In your new order, the lowest will rank with the highest and each will be to the other a bhai (brother). No pilgrimages for you any more, nor austerities but the pure life of the household, which you should be ready to sacrifice at the call of Dharma. Women shall be equal of men in every way. No purdah (veil) for them anymore, nor the burning alive of a widow on the pyre of her spouse (sati). He who kills his daughter, the Khalsa shall not deal with him." Guru Gobind Singh then ordained them to do the following: I. First the Khalsa must wear the following articles whose names begin with 'K': 1. Kesh - unshorn hair. This represents the natural appearance of sainthood. This is the first token of Sikh faith. 2. Kanga- A comb to clean the hair. 3. Kachha - An underwear to indicate virtuous character. 4. Kara - A Iron bracelet on the wrist, a symbol of dedication to the Divine Bridegroom. 5. Kirpan - A sword symbolising dignity, power and unconquerable spirit. II. The Khalsa must observe the following guidelines: 1. Not to remove hair from the body. 2. Not to use Tobacco or other intoxicants (ie. drugs, alcohol, etc). 3. Not to eat or touch Kuttha (Halal or Kosher) meat of an animal. 4. Not to commit adultery- 'Par nari ki sej, bhul supne hun na jayo' (never enjoy, even in dream, the bed of a woman other than your own wife). (A supplementary ordinance was issued that any one who did not observe any of the four directives, must be re- baptized, pay a fine, and promise not to 178

179 offend anymore; or he must be excommunicated from the Khalsa) III. The Khalsa must rise at dawn, bathe 1. Meditate on Gurmantar - (repeating) 'Waheguru', 2. Recite Mool Mantar - the preamble of Japji, 3. And recite at least five banis daily - Japji, Jap Sahib and Swayas in the morning; Rehras in the evening; and Kirtan Sohila at bed time at night. IV. The Khalsa must not worship idols, cemeteries, or cremation grounds, and must believe only in One Immortal God. The Guru further spelled out that they should practice arms, and never show their backs to the foe in the battle field. They should always be ready to help the poor and protect those who sought their protection. They were to consider their previous castes erased, and deem themselves all brothers of one family. Sikhs were to intermarry only among themselves. The Rise Of The Khalsa About 80,000 men and women were baptized within a few days at Anandpur. "The creation of the Khalsa was the greatest work of the Guru. He created a type of superman, without hate, without fear, a universal man of God, casteless and country less. The Guru regarded himself as the servant of the Khalsa. He said, "To serve them pleases me the most; no other service is so dear to my soul." The Khalsa was the spearhead of resistance against tyranny." The creation of the Khalsa created a sense of unity among the Sikhs and their supporters. This unity and the resulting perceived strength in the Sikhs did not go well with the local rulers. The continuous gatherings at Anandpur sahib and the presence of many thousands of the congregation, some armed with fierce weapons caused anguish with the surrounding hill Rajas. These developments most alarmed the caste ridden Rajput chiefs of the Sivalik hills. They perceived the Sikhs as lower caste beings who had posed no danger to their authority. However, the creation of the Khalsa changed that. Firstly, it disturbed their system of discrimination and division; secondly, they could see that the forces of the Guru were becoming dangerous in number and in armaments. Siege of Anandpur The treacherous Hill Rajas rallied under the leadership of the Raja of Bilaspur, in whose territory lay Anandpur, to forcibly evict Guru Gobind Singh from his hilly citadel. Their repeated expeditions during however proved 179

180 abortive. The Khalsa forces were too strong to be dealt with by cowardly hill Rajas. The hill Rajas, with forces outnumbering the Sikhs, petitioned Emperor Aurangzeb for more help. In concert with contingents sent under imperial orders by the governor of Lahore and those of the faujdar of Sirhind, they marched upon Anandpur and laid a siege to the fort in May Over the months, the Guru and his Sikhs firmly withstood their successive assaults despite insufficient amounts of food resulting from the prolonged blockade. While the besieged (Sikhs) were reduced to desperate straits, the besiegers (governor of Lahore) too were exhausted at the courage of the Sikhs. Finally, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb sent a signed letter to the Guru, swearing in name of Quran, that the Guru and his followers would be allowed a safe passage if he decided to evacuate Anandpur. The Guru, hard pressed by his followers and his family, accepted the offer, and evacuated Anandpur on December At last, the town was evacuated during a night of December But as the Guru and his Sikhs came out, the hill monarchs and their Mughal allies broke their oath's set upon the Sikh's in full fury. As a direct consequence of these actions some Sikh's believe hindu's to be treacherous cowards (who only attack Sikh's if they outnumber them) and musualmaan (muslims) as treacherous liars. Sikhs "tricked" by the Mughals In the ensuing confusion many Sikhs were killed and all of the Guru's baggage, including most of the precious manuscripts, were lost. The Guru himself was able to make his way to Chamkaur, 40 km southwest of Anandpur, with barely 40 Sikhs and his two elder sons. The imperial troops besieged the fortress at Chamkaur. There the imperial army, following closely on his heels, caught up with him. His two sons, Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh and all but five of the Sikhs fell in the action that took place on 7 December The five surviving Sikhs commanded the Guru to save himself in order to reconsolidate the Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh with three of his Sikhs escaped into the wilderness of the Malwa, two of his devotees, Gani Khan and Nabi Khan, helped him at great personal risk. Guru Gobind Singh's two younger sons, Zorawar Singh (born. 1696), Fateh Singh (born.1699), and his mother, Mata Gujari Ji, also evacuated Anandpur but were betrayed by their old servant and escort, Gangu. Wazir Khan, the governor of Sirhind executed the two young boys after they refused 180

181 to convert to Islam, and Mata Gujri died soon after hearing of her grandsons' death. Rai Kalha's servant Noora Mahi brought this news to the Guru from Sirhind. Mata Sundari and Mata Sahib kaur escaped towards Delhi escorted by Bhai Mani Singh. At Dina Guru Gobind Singh reached Dina in the heart of the Malwa. There he enlisted a few hundred warriors of the Brar clan, and also composed his famous letter, Zafarnamah (the Epistle of Victory), in Persian verse, addressed to Emperor Aurangzeb. The letter was a severe indictment of the Emperor and his commanders who had broken their oath. They attacked Guru Gobind Singh once he was outside the safety of his fortification at Anandpur. Two of the Sikhs, Daya Singh and Dharam Singh, were despatched with the Zafarnamah to Ahmadnagar in the South to deliver it to Aurangzeb. From Dina, Guru Gobind Singh continued his westward march until, finding the host close upon his heels; he took position beside the water pool of Khidrana to make a last-ditch stand. Brave Sikh Women Join Fight The fighting on 29 December 1705 was hard and desperate. In spite of their overwhelming numbers, the Mughal troops failed to capture the Guru and had to retire in defeat. The major part in this battle was played by a group of 40 Sikhs who had deserted the Guru at Anandpur during the long siege, but who, scolded by their wives at home, had come back under the leadership of a brave and devoted woman, Mai Bhago, to redeem themselves. They had fallen fighting desperately to check the enemy's advance towards the Guru's position. The Guru blessed the 40 dead as 40 mukte, i.e. the 40 Saved Ones. The site is now marked by a sacred shrine and tank and the town which has grown around them is called Muktsar, the Pool of Liberations. After spending some time in the Lakhi Jungle country, Guru Gobind Singh arrived at Talvandi Sabo, now called Damdama Sahib, on 20 January During his stay there of over nine months, a number of Sikhs rejoined him. He prepared a fresh text of the Sikh Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, from memory alone with the celebrated scholar, Bhai Mani Singh, who wrote the Guru's bani. From the number of scholars who had rallied round Guru Gobind Singh and from the literary activity initiated, the place came to be known as the Guru's Kashi or seat of learning like Varanasi. 181

182 Zafarnamah Response The Zafarnamah sent by Guru Gobind Singh from Dina seems to have touched the heart of Emperor Aurangzeb. In response, Aurangzeb expressed his wish for a personal meeting with the Guru. The Guru left for Deccan in October 1706 to meet Aurangzeb. He passed through what is now Rajasthan, on his way to Ahmednagar, where the Emperor was encamped. At Baghaur (or Baghor), he received the news of Aurangzeb's death in March 1707, and decided to return to Punjab, via Shahjahanabad. After the emperor's death, a war of succession broke out between his sons. The third son, Mohammad Azam (or Azim), declared himself the Emperor. The second son Muazzam (later Emperor Bahadur Shah) set out from Peshawar to claim the throne. The Guru's follower Bhai Nand Lal (who had earlier served in the Muazzam 's court) brought him a letter written by Muazzam. Muazzam had sought Guru's help in securing the throne, and had promised to pursue a policy of religious tolerance towards the non-muslims. The Guru sent a band of his followers under the command of Bhai Dharam Singh, to help Muazzam. Muazzam's forces defeated Azam Shah's forces in the Battle of Jajau on 12 June Muazzam ascended the throne as Bahadur Shah. He invited Guru Gobind Singh for a meeting which took place at Agra on 23 July The Guru was received with honour and was given the title of Hind Ka Pir (the Saint of India). The Guru stayed with the Emperor in Agra till November He made Dholpur a center of his missionary activities, and toured nearby areas for many days, before proceeding to Deccan. In November 1707, the Emperor had to march into Rajputana against the rebel Kachwahas. He requested the Guru to accompany him. From Rajputana, the emperor marched to the Deccan to suppress the rebellion of his brother Kam Bakhsh, and the Guru accompanied him. Guru Gobind Singh was not happy with Bahadur Shah's friendly attitude towards Wazir Khan of Sirhind. He parted ways with the Emperor at Hingoli, and reached Nanded in July At Nanded, the Guru camped on the banks of the river Godavari. Saiyad Khan, the former general of the imperial forces, resigned from his post and came to Nanded from Kangra, to see the Guru. During a trip, the Guru met a bairagi (hermit) called Madho Das, whom he initiated into Khalsa as Gurbakhsh Singh. Gurbakhsh Singh, popularly known as "Banda Singh" or "Banda Bahadur", soon became his most trusted general. 182

183 While in Nanded, the Guru received in a letter from Saiyad Khan's sister Nasiran, the wife of Pir Budhu Shah of Sadhaura. The letter informed him that the Emperor's army had ransacked Sadhaura and hanged Pir Budhu Shah as a rebel, for having faith in Guru Gobind Singh, whom they considered as a Kaffir ("infidel"). The Guru assumed that the Emperor had fallen prey to Wazir Khan's propaganda, and was plotting to kill all of his supporters. He sent a letter to the emperor, demanding an explanation for Pir Budhu Shah's death. There was no reply from the emperor. Instead, the Guru heard rumors that the emperor was planning to wage a battle against him. The Guru appointed Banda Singh as the commander of the Khalsa and gave him five arrows from his own quiver and an escort, including five of his chosen Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh directed Banda Singh to go to the Punjab and carry on the campaign against the tyranny of the provincial overlords. Plan to assassinate the Guru Wazir Khan, the Nawab of Sirhind, felt uneasy about any conciliation between Guru Gobind Singh and Bahadur Shah I. He commissioned two Pathans, Jamshed Khan and Wasil Beg, to assassinate the Guru. The two secretly pursued the Guru and attack him at Nanded. According to Sri Gur Sobha by the contemporary writer Senapati, Jamshed Khan stabbed the Guru in the left side below the heart while he was resting in his chamber after the Rehras prayer. Guru Gobind Singh killed the attacker with his Talwar (curved sword), while the attacker's companion tried to flee but was killed by Sikhs who had rushed in on hearing the noise. Guru Granth Sahib Becomes Guru The European surgeon sent by Bahadur Shah stitched the Guru's wound. However, the wound re-opened and caused profuse bleeding, as the Guru tugged at a hard strong bow after a few days. Seeing his end was near, the Guru declared the Guru Granth Sahib as the next Guru of the Sikhs. He then sang his self-composed hymn: "Agya bhai Akal ki tabhi chalayo Panth Sabh Sikhan ko hukam hai Guru Maneyo Granth, Guru Granth Ji manyo pargat Guran ki deh Jo Prabhu ko milbo chahe khoj shabad mein le Raj karega Khalsa aqi rahei na koe Khwar hoe sabh milange bache sharan jo hoe." 183

184 Translation of the above: "Under orders of the Immortal Being, the Panth was created. All the Sikhs are enjoined to accept the Granth as their Guru. Consider the Guru Granth as embodiment of the Gurus. Those who want to meet God, can find Him in its hymns. The Khalsa shall rule, and impure will be no more, Those separated will unite and all the devotees shall be saved." The Guru became joti jot and left the visible body, along with his horse Dilbagh (aka Neela Ghora) on 7 October 1708 at Nanded, before which he had declared the Sri Guru Granth Sahib as his successor. The Sikhs made preparations for his final rites as he had instructed them, the Sohila was chanted and Parsahd (sacred food) was distributed. While all were mourning the loss, a Sikh arrived and said," You suppose that the Guru is dead. I met him this very morning riding his bay horse. After bowing to him, I asked where he was going. He smiled and replied that he was going to the forest." The Sikhs who heard this statement arrived at the conclusion that it was all the Guru's play, that he dwelt in uninterrupted bliss, that he showed himself wherever he was remembered. He who treasures even a grain of the Lord's love in his heart, is the blessed one and the Guru reveals himself to such a devotee in mysterious ways. Guru Gobind Singh, gave the Sikhs very distinctive symbols the uncut hair, the dastar (turban), the steel bangle and the sword. Born at Patna in 1666, Guru Gobind Rai became tenth guru at age 9 following the martyrdom of his father, Ninth Guru Teg Bahadar. At age 11 he married and eventually became the father of four sons. The guru, a prolific writer, compiled his compositions into a volume known as Dasam Granth. Guru Gobind Singh Ji had four sons namely; 1. Baba Ajit Singh Ji, 2. Baba Jujhar Singh Ji, 3. Baba Zorawar Singh Ji, 4. Baba Fateh Singh Ji. Guru Gobind Singh Ji was a great warrior and a spiritual leader. He had to spend most of his time fighting against the oppression and suppression committed by 184

185 the unjust forces. He was a unique nation builder who fought for righteousness. He sacrificed his all for human liberty, equality and fraternity. Two of his youngest sons were bricked alive. Sahibzade Ajit Singh Ji and Jujhar Singh Ji were martyred in the battle of Chamkaur Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh Ji revealed the order of the Khalsa Brotherhood at Sri Anandpur Sahib Ji. On the day of Baisakhi in 1699 at Anandpur Sahib Ji, Guru Gobind Singh Ji urged the Sikhs to take a pledge to lead a pure life as taught by the other nine Gurus. Amrit was prepared and the first five Sikhs were initiated into the order of Khalsa Panth. Thereafter, the Guru took initiation from the Panj Pyaras and merged entity of Guru Ji into Panth and entity of Panth into Guru. Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave the name of 'Singh' to males and 'Kaur' to females respectively to be used after their first name. The Sikhs were ordained to wear five Kakars and also to lead an exemplary life of Sikh Rehat. They were required to stay away from committing Kurehts, that is, they were ordained not to trim hair, not to use intoxicants, not to eat Kutha meat and never to commit adultery. The above event took presence at a place now called Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib Ji at Anandpur Sahib Ji. Hola Mohalla and Baisakhi are celebrated every year at Sri Anandpur Sahib Ji. Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave enormous importance to the Khalsa Rehat and wearing of five articles of Sikh faith. He specifically stated that so long as Khalsa lives under Rehat and discipline, I am delighted. "Rehani rahe soi Sikh mera, oh Sahib mein uss ka chera." Pir Budhu Shah fought for Guru Gobind Singh Ji in the battle of Bhangani. Guru Gobind Singh Ji had to vacate Anandpur Sahib Ji in good faith during Army of the enemy attacked him at night when the Guru Ji was crossing rivulet Sirsa. The last battle was fought against tyrant Mughals at Khidrana, Muktsar (Punjab, India). The Guru Ji sacrificed his great grand father, father, four sons and mother for the Khalsa Panth. At age 30, the tenth guru introduced the Amrit ceremony of initiation, created the Panj Pyare, the five administers of initiation rites, established the Khalsa, and took the name Singh. Guru Gobind Singh fought important historic battles which robbed him of his sons and mother and eventually his own life at age 42, but his legacy lives on in his creation, the Khalsa. Before his death, he compiled the entire text of Adi Granth Sahib from memory. He infused the scripture with his light passed to him from First Guru Nanak through the succession of subsequent gurus, and ordained the scripture his everlasting successor Guru Granth Sahib. 185

186 I establish thee as my son, that you spread My Path. Go and instruct men in Righteousness and the Moral Law, and make people desist from evil.' I stood up, with joined palms, and bowing my head to Lord God, I said: Thy Path I shall spread only if Thou be at my back. For this was I born into the world, I utter only how and what God uttered to me, for I am the enemy of no one. He who calls me God will surely burn in the fire of hell. For I am only the servant of God: doubt not the veracity of this statement. I am but the slave of the Supreme Being come to witness His Play. I tell the world only what my God said to me, for I will not be silenced through fear of the mere mortals. I utter as is the Instruction of my God, for I consider no one greater than Him. I am pleased not with any religious garb, so I shall sow the seeds of the Unaccountable One. Nay, I worship not stones, nor am I attracted by denomintional coats. I utter only the name of the Infinite and so attain unto the Supreme Being. I wear not matted hair, nor ear-rings, nor have regard for any such ritual, and do only what God bids me do. I repeat only the Name of One God who fulfills us, at all places. No, I utter not another's name, nor establish another God. I dwell upon the Name of the Infinite One and so realise the essence of the Supreme Light. I give thought to none else, nor utter another's name. O God, with Thy one Name I am imbued. I have no other pride. Yea, I utter only Thy Name and eradicate my endless sins. (Guru Gobind Singh, Vachitra Natak) Guru Gobind Singh advocated: "When all other means fail to uphold righteousness, it is morally right to take up arms." Guru Gobind Singh Ji composed several works, which later were compiled into Dasam Granth Ji by Bhai Mani Singh Ji. Before his death at the hands of an assailant in 1708, the Guru Ji added the writings of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji to the Sikh scriptures. He added Bani of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji into Adi Granth Ji thereby giving a final revision to its form at Damdama Sahib Ji. The Guru Ji declared the lineage of living Gurus finished, and requested his followers to seek spiritual guidance from the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. In essence, the light of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Guru, was to be forever enshrined within the pages of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Guru Ji conferred Guruship upon Guru Granth Sahib Ji in 1708 at Nanded before he demised. To illustrate his point that the Guru Granth Sahib Ji was the final Guru of the Sikhs, and as a sign of humility, Guru Gobind Singh Ji did not include his writings, over 1400 pages worth of gurbani are in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. A separate volume, called Dasam Granth, features the writings of the 186

187 tenth Sikh Guru. Before his departure from this world, Guru Gobind Singh detailed Banda Singh Bahadur Ji to fight against oppression and suppression. Guru Ji also gave blessing to many institutions of the Khalsa Panth, which are currently preaching the morals of Sikhism to the entire world. Remaining attentive to the Master within, your Higher-Self, Your Divinity You know that it is natural for us to accept the colour of the company we keep. That is why Saints have put a lot of emphasis on spending time in good company. Here you are in my contact. When you go back to your home, then also I remain in your contact, but you people forget me, because then you start getting involved in your worldly affairs, in your home affairs, and you remain in my contact only for name's sake. Kabir sahib said that everybody is liked by the Master, but few like the Master. This is an incident of Baba Sawan Singh's lifetime. When Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru in the Sikh line, was captured and imprisoned in Lahore, it became very difficult for His real disciples. Guru Arjan Dev was put in prison by Chandu Divan on orders of Jahangir, the Moghul Emperor. He was imprisoned in the name of religion because the orthodox religious people don't like the coming of the Saints into this world and they always give Them a very hard time. So guru Arjan Dev was ordered to be tortured to death. They made Him sit on hot coals and put burning sand on His head. He was also thrown in hot, boiling water. So when He was given so much torture, so many troubles, the disciples who could not remain away from the Master even for one moment suffered a lot. Most of the dear ones who used to live with Him in the Ashrams or nearby had the practice of eating food only after having the darshan of the Master, so it became very difficult for those who had made up their mind to have His darshan and then eat, because the physical form of the Master was far away from them(in Lahore). So in Amritsar where Guru Arjan Dev used to live, they started to sing the shabads, the hymns, in the evening and go around the house where Guru Arjan Dev used to live, hoping that looking at their yearning, Guru Arjan Dev would appear there to give them His darshan. So when they would sing the bhajans in the yearning and go around His house,, Guru Arjan Dev would appear there, and not only would He give them His darshan, but He would also give them parshad This happened about five hundred years ago, but still the devotees who visit Amritsar do this practice and it has become like a rite and ritual. It is very difficult to break such practices once they get started because the devotees need 187

188 something to do. So even now people go around the house, singing the hymns and expecting the Masters to appear there. This happened about five hundred years ago, but still the devotees who visit Amritsar do this practice and it has become like a rite and ritual. It is very difficult to break such practices once they get started because the devotees need something to do. So even now people go around the house, singing the hymns and expecting the Masters to appear there. Once an old woman who was an initiate of Baba Sawan Singh went to visit that house in Amritsar. So according to that rite which the Sikh people perform, she also went around the house where Guru Arjan Dev used to live. In her mind she did not find any difference between Baba Sawan Singh and the past Masters Who had come. We satsangis do not find any difference between the past Masters and our present Master, because we know that whether that Power came in the body of Guru Nanak or Kabir, or any other Mahatma, in our Master also, the same Power is working. So that is why whenever we remember the past Masters, we have the same spirit as when we remember our own Master. So when that old woman initiate of Baba Sawan Singh went around the house of Guru Arjan Dev, she requested Master Sawan Singh, saying, "O Master, when You were in the body of Guru Arjan Dev, You use to come and give Your darshan and parshad to the dear ones. Would you not be kind enough to come and give me your darshan now?" Because she was very much yearning for the darshan of the Master and the voice was coming from deep heart, Master Sawan had to appear there and he gave her His darshan and the parshad. When she got His darshan and the parshad, she forgot that Master was giving darshan only to her. So she at once thought, "Let me go and call my children so that they can also have Master's darshan and parshad." Carrying the parshad which she had got from the Master in her hands, she went home to call her children. But when she went back to that place she did not find Master Sawan Singh there. So she felt very embarrassed in front of her children. Then she took all of them to the Ashram where Baba Sawan Singh was doing the satsang. There she complained and told Him, "You deceived me. You gave me your darshan, but when I went to call my children You disappeared from that place." Master Sawan Singh ji replied, "You can ask all these people who are attending the satsang:i did not go to Amritsar to give you any darshan. I have been doing the satsang here for quite a long time. And all these people are my witness." But she said, "No I don't want anybody's witness, because I have this parshad as my witness. You went there and You gave me the parshad. So You cannot say that You didn'tgo there to give me your darshan and this parshad. Why did you come back without giving the darshan and parshad to my children?" 188

189 Master Sawan Singh ji replied, "as long as you were remembering me, you had my darshan and parshad, but when you took your attention away from me and gave it to your children, I also came back among the dear ones here." So in that way, as long as we remain attentive to attention of the Master, we feel that connection of radiation from Him. He always remains in contact with us, but when we take our attention away from Him and put it on other things, only then we feel that the connection has been cut. But in fact it does not get cut from His side. The glory of the Master cannot be described in any words. The grace of the Master cannot be found in any books. This is something which happens between the disciple and the Master, and only the disciple with whom this thing has happened can know about it. Even if it is night-time and it is raining very much outside, or if it is snowing and the weather is too bad to go out, or even if your house or your room is closed from all four directions, but still, if you have true yearning for the Master and if your remembrance of the Master is very real and very true, you will find your Master sitting with you. He will listen to all that you have to say and He will do everything which you want Him to do. Question: Master, what is the meaning of the aura of a person? What does the colour mean? You know that sometimes the colour is different. And also sometimes the size and the radius is different, and so what is the meaning of that? And what relation does it have with spirituality? Answer: We do not see the aura, the light around a person's body, for every person. We can see the real light only around the body of the perfect Being, and that also only when our attention gets attuned with the attention of that person. Mostly it happens during the Satsang, when we are looking at the Master and our attention is attuned with that of the Master- only then we see the aura. Even with the Saints, we see the auras, according to our own feelings. Guru Nanak Sahib said, "Whatever feelings we have, we see the image of god accordingly." Generally, people see the circular aura of the Master only when they sit in front of the Master, withdrawing from all the outer thoughts. Many dear ones had the good fortune of experiencing this with our great Master Kirpal Question: Master, I heard in one Satsang that Kal, or the Negative Power, has the right to ask for an arm, an eye or any part of the Master. Is this due to our own faults and shortcomings that we make? Answer: Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say that the Negative Power does not let any person go from this world without paying even the smallest karma, even a karma one-tenth of a sesame seed, even that small karma. All the karmas which are done in the realm of the Negative Power must be paid off, either by the Master or by the disciple. And you already know the condition of the 189

190 disciples, how capable they are of paying off their karmas. If they get even a little bit of fever, they go on praying to the Master to remove that fever. Not only will they themselves pray to the Master to remove their fever, but they will also have a couple of other people pray to the Master for them. So when the disciple is praying to the Master, the Master has to pay off his karma. And when He pays off the karmas of the disciple, he has to pay those karmas with His body and the Negative Power has the full right to ask for anything from the Master. It is like if someone owes some money to another person: if that person comes to collect that money, the debtor has to give whatever he has. If that person asks for a car, or animal, or anything in the house, he has to pay. The person who is in debt does not have any choice. In the same way, when the Master has to pay the karmas of the disciples, He does not have any choice. Whatever the Negative Power asks from Him, He has to give. Dear Children, when you people come to see me in interviews or when you write me letters, you would have realized that not one, not even hundreds, but thousands of people all request that I should bless them and I should bless their children-not only their children, but I should also bless their grandchildren.so you can see how much burden we put on our Master. We even put on His shoulders the responsibilities of those people who never like to come to the Satsang and who never even like to talk about the Path, even of those people who don't like the Masters. And after requesting the Master to carry all that burden, we tell Him that we cannot do the meditation: for that also we want Him to help us. Now Master is a very gracious Being; He has come into this world to shower His grace on us. So when we pray to Him like this, when we have all these requests for Him, He quietly and lovingly accepts our requests and He suffers on account of our karmas. Because in the kingdom of the Negative Power in which we are living, there is judgment. Whatever one has sown, one has to reap that. Whatever one has done, one has to suffer the consequences of that. In the kingdom of Positive Power there is no judgment, because it is the kingdom of all-forgiveness. But in this kingdom of the Negative Power there is no forgiveness; there is judgment. And that is why whatever deeds or karmas are done in this kingdom of the Negative Power must be paid off. Once Master Sawan Singh was talking with some community leaders and some of His leading sevadars. One person told Master Sawan Singh, "Master, it is written in Your Horoscope that You will live for a hundred years. Is that true?" Master Sawan Singh Ji said, "Yes I will live for a hundred years, but only if people let me work peacefully, only if people do not write painful letters to me and if they write only about meditation, only if people do not make me carry a lot of burden of their karmas." The meditators know that Master Sawan Singh Ji 190

191 left ten years before He was supposed to go. He left this world at the age of ninety years. In the same way, those who meditate know how Master Kirpal Singh also left fourteen years early. In Ganganagar it became the practice that if anybody became sick, people would sit in meditation and pray to Master to remove the sickness. I saw this for a couple of days and then I told people that it is a very bad thing, because we cannot carry the burden of our little sickness also. When I said that, most of the people didn't like it, but some people who were the real lovers of the Master and those who loved Him very much, they accepted it. Once when Master Kirpal came to the ashram, a couple came with a young girl and they asked me if they could see Master because they wanted Him to shower grace on that little girl because she cried all night. I told them, "Either you should take this girl to some doctor or you should see if she is hungry in the night. You should take care of her." I lovingly advised them not to put that burden on Master, but they felt very bad and they thought that I was not letting them see the Master. So this is our condition. We want our Master to take care of our children, we don't want our Master to carry all our burden. Once Master Sawan Singh became very ill, so one dear one asked Him, "Master, is it because of Your own karma or are You paying off the karma of some disciple?" At that time Master Sawan Singh was Sick because He was paying off the karma of that same dear one who had asked that question. Master Sawan Singh replied, "No this is the Karma of one of my disciples." Many times I have said this, that many times it happens that the Master is paying off the karma of some dear one and the same dear one feels bad and starts having doubts about why the Master has to suffer so much. Satguru is a very gracious Being; He is very merciful. He will extend all feasible help to you even without you asking for it. Like the mother becomes pleased only after feeding her child, in the same way our Master becomes satisfied or pleased only after taking care of us. Learn to be receptive Regular attendance at the Satsang meetings is very useful and helpful. It keeps the mind on the spiritual track. Avoidance of undesirable society is still another necessary factor, and all of these are extremely important in the beginning. A sapling needs water and nourishment. These factors go to nourish it, until it grows into a big tree which mighty elephants cannot shake. The outgoing faculties are to be invented and the mind stilled. For this the remedy has already been given to you. Consider how great a blessing of God you have received. You can develop it while living in the world. Be brave. You cannot run away. That is the work of a coward. But there is one important thing to note. Try to 191

192 surrender completely to the Master and under the cover of His power, protection and grace, you will wade through the waters of life unscathed. The loving Father will protect you like a baby, in the might of His strong arms, and pass you scotfree from the fires of life without a burn. Everyone errs. Through these errors you have to grow into a pure and lustrous soul. Weed out the shortcomings, one by one. The diary is a necessity and must be used for this purpose. It helps you to keep an eye on your ethical side of life, for this must be developed along with the spiritual growth. Remember that the Father wants to embrace His child. If the child's clothing is soiled with dirt or mud, He will not forsake him, but cleanse the child and take him or her into His lap. He is always with His children whom He loves, a hundred times more than the proverbial love of a mother. I am glad you felt the Master walking with you...to shake off your great load of anxiety and paralyzing nervous reactions of the wrongs done to you by others and that it toned your spirits. As long as you live in the world, you must be up and doing. You must work with ambition and whole-heartedly, and therein lies all beauty. All of creation is beautiful. You love God. As He is immanent in every form, you must love all His creation. But be not be attached. Just as you go to a garden, you enjoy the beauty of the flowers and the verdure of the bushes, but you do not pluck the flowers or uproot the plants, otherwise the gardener would take you to task. You cannot have the results according to your desires or expectations. So always do your best and leave the results to the Master overhead and whatever the results are, take them with good cheer. They are always beneficial to the initiated, because the Master-Power working overhead knows that is best for His ailing child. Married life is no bar to spirituality, provided it is led in accordance with the scriptural injunctions. You may seek a companion for your earthly sojourn, one who is of your way of thinking, and anxious to seek a higher worldly life. It would be helpful to both of you. My best wishes are always with you. You may go where you like, live anywhere, and do anything that may serve to help your inner progress. Anything that may retard your inner progress will not be in your interest. Should you get a chance to come to India on any assignment and are able to be near me, I will be glad to see you. The effect of personal aura and personal environments cannot be underrated. But while it is sp, the Master is not limited by time or space. He is always with you even though He be thousands of miles away. Please learn to be receptive to His grace and feel His kindly presence riding with you on the buses, chatting with you in the street, sitting with you in the park, by your office desk, accompanying you every morning to the office, slowing down 192

193 by the lily pond to check the new flowers and walking with you in the evening all the way back by the new moon. Master is always with the disciple and never leaves him or her until the end of the world. The Father will never disown His children. The choice is yours I convey my love and best wishes to each one of you on this auspicious birth anniversary of Hazur Maharaj Baba Sawan Singh Ji. You are fortunate to have the man-body which is the highest in all creation. I wish you all to live a life worth living the life in the Spirit. master used to say that there is little use of talking about or writing about it words without actions are empty and futile. One should learn to live such a life in the true sense of the word. It is not what we say that matters. It is what we are and how we live. Let the words and thoughts we have read so far become a part and parcel of our whole being. He enjoined that we should live up to them from day to day. What we have lived in our lives goes along with us an illiterate man cannot become learned after death. We should be constantly on the watch that we do not stumble and fall when obstacles come on the way. Even if you fall, never allow such falls to throw you off balance in any way. Pick yourself up and continue on your way with patience and perseverance with full trust in the Master working over your head. Kabir says: "Anyone who falls while walking is not to blame; but if he remains fallen, a long journey is still ahead of him." Make up your mind whether you would like to conform to the dictates of your mind or to the commandments of the Master. The choice lies in your own hands. You are free to choose; no one else can make the choice for you. the world may condemn you, who choose the Master's way. You need not worry because you have taken up the right way. Master is the "Word-made-flesh." He is Light, Life and Love. If you live and move in Him, He will be your very life and give you more Light and Love. The Word is the "Bread of Life" and "Water of Life." When you are hungry and thirsty, enter into the inner stillness and receive amply of these, which give the life eternal. This is within you, none is barred from it. Forget the past, forget the future relax fully. Be still, be alone to your own self, giving yourself wholly to the Master Light and Love will be generated through you to all the world over. 193

194 Every day and every time convey thanks to the Master the God in Him, Who has put you on the way and for all other gifts you enjoy. In this way you will be aware of the Master all the time. Without Him you can do nothing and with Him you can do all things. The more time you will spend with the Master, your everyday life will become smoother. Kabir says: "If the initiate lives this side of the ocean and Master lives across, direct your surat (attention) to Him. You will receive all blessings, because the Master is 'Word-made-flesh' and is everywhere." When one is initiated the Master-power resides in him and does not leave him till the end of the world. Kabir says: "Always be conscious of the Master-power within you and live up to His commandments. You have nothing to fear in the three worlds. The opportunities to sing praises and meditate more and have love and faith Appreciating the concern the dear ones have for my health and age. I would like all the dear ones to know that this poor soul has the support of Master Kirpal and this body is functioning only on His support of Master Kirpal and this body is functioning only on His support. My beloved Master has given me this order that I do the Satsang as long as I can move in the bed. We are very fortunate ones that He has chosen us for His devotion and we should spend every single breath in His remembrance. There is a saying in the Punjabi language: "May I breathe my last breath on the bed of my beloved." The dear ones should not worry, and wholeheartedly prepare for my coming on tour. Even though the Master knows everything, He is not allowed to make prophecies. There is no room in Sant Mat for prophecy. I am sure that Master Kirpal will shower His grace and will allow us many opportunities to be together in His remembrance. Instead of worrying, the dear ones should meditate more, and have love and faith in Master. I send my love and best wishes to all the dear ones. Ajaib Singh about bhajans and praises I thank God Almighty Sawan and Kirpal for giving us this opportunity to sing Their glory. It is only due to Their grace that we are sitting here singing Their praises. Regarding the bhajans I have always said that these are the expressions, these are the words full of yearning which have come out from the hearts of the devoted disciples. If we were to tell the Master to His face all the good qualities He has, or if we were to praise Him, He would not listen to us, He would not like that. If we tell Him, "You are God Almighty, You are the all-owner, You are capable of doing everything," He would not allow us to do that because all this is the worldly name and fame. He does not like to hear that. But when we 194

195 sing Their writings, when we sing the bhajans written by Them, then we can make all kinds of prayers to Him, we can say whatever we want to Him. He listens to our prayers and He answers them. So this is a very golden opportunity for the disciples to express what they have in their heart for the Master and also to receive the grace of the Master. Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj told His Master, Guru Ramdas, "Even if I were to call you 'Sultan, the Emperor of Emperors,' still I would not be praising you enough." Dear ones, when the Shabd Guru (Higher Self Within, the Supreme) gets manifested within us, when we go within after crossing the stars, moon and sun, and manifest Him within us, over there our tongue stops working. There is nothing to praise over there because we cannot say anything. So it is all the grace of Beloved Master Kirpal that we have the opportunities to sing His praises, to sing the bhajans. Simran cuts the Simran Questions and Inspiring Answers Question: If Kal takes the form of the Master in dreams and the initiate cannot repeat the Simran in the dream, how can he protect himself? How can he know whether that dream was a spiritual dream and if that was Kal, or truly the Master who appeared and how can we have the confidence in the words that He said? Second, some Catholic people (non-initiates) say that they sometimes have deep feelings of infinite peace and love and in such moments they feel God is very near to them. What are such experiences really? Answer: I have often said about this that when our soul comes down from the eye centre, only then do we have dreams. And regarding dreams of the Master I have often said that Master never comes down from the eye centre. We do not know about the inner planes because we do not go there in the state of consciousness, in the awakened state. But sometimes when our thoughts are pure and concentrated, then Master graciously pulls our soul up. That is very loving and beautiful experience and it should not be counted as a dream because it is not a dream, it is the Grace of the Master. If you have developed the habit of doing the Simran during the daytime then you will find no difficulty doing the Simran during such kinds of experiences where the Master has pulled your soul up. In the nine openings there is filth and dirt, it is a very dirty place; but the Master who is very pure and holy will not come down into the nine openings; He always remains at the eye centre. And whenever He graciously pulls our soul up, and if we have such kinds of experience, we should take advantage of it as I have said earlier. We should try to utilize that vision of the Master in doing our 195

196 meditation because the intoxication and happiness which we have experienced at the time of that vision, remains for many days and we can take good advantage of it by utilizing it in the meditation. Regarding the other question, it does not matter if one is Catholic, or Hindu, Moslem, Christian, or Sikh all the people who believe in the religion say that they feel near God and they feel the love and peace of God. But their condition is like that of a person who does not collect material to cook halva, but in his thoughts he makes the halva, and only in his thoughts he eats that halva; and he tells people that he has eaten and tasted it. But in reality he has not eaten the halva and he is not satisfied. In the same way, people who say they "feel the love of God, or they feel nearer to God" - are not feeling any love of God, and they are not any nearer to God because they don't even know where God resides. In the beginning, before I got the Initiation into the first two words, since I was born into a Sikh family I used to do all the Sikh rites and rituals. I was devoted to the Sikh religion and I had this firm belief that he does the devotion of Lord, all his desires are fulfilled and God always takes care of him. Once when I was living in Shimla, I became sick and the army sent me to Patiala for treatment. One of our companies was also stationed in Patiala and since I was very devoted, everyone knew about my devotion, and they all respected me. So those people came to see me in the hospital. Some people would bring food, some people would bring money and they would leave the money under my pillow. I didn't know that because I was having a very high fever. After a few days I had recovered from my sickness and was about to leave the hospital; as I was packing I saw there was a lot of money there and I was very surprised. I did not realize that it was from all the people who had come to see me, I thought maybe that was a miracle of God. I thought, "Since I do the devotion of God and I am a very good devotee, maybe God wanted to give me something because I am sick and cannot earn money." I became very happy and that intoxication remained with me many days because then I started thinking, "I am a very good devotee, I am very close to God." I felt a lot of love and peace coming from God at that time. When I went back to Shimla, after a few days I started thinking about that again and then I came to the conclusion that it was not anything God had done, because why would God want to give me any money? It was good that God had given me my health back, why should He give me any money? Then I came to the conclusion that it was my friends who had left the money. When that company came back to Shimla, I told them that all those who had given me money should come and take it back. I was very grateful that they left the money for me, because I thought that it was from God and that gave me intoxication which helped me to continue with my devotion for some days. So just imagine, it was a very small thing, but for many days I felt that I was very close to God, 196

197 that I was the perfect devotee of God, and in a way I felt a lot of love and peace coming from God. This was an interesting question and I would like to tell you a very interesting story in response to this question. Once there was a person whose name was Sheikh Tilli and he was a very humorous man. He used to make many plans but would do nothing about those plans. Once a policeman wanted someone to carry a container of oil to the nearby; he saw Sheikh Tilli there and told him he would him half a rupee to carry the container for him. Sheikh Tilli became very happy, because that was a lot of money at that time. He carried that container on his head and while he was going to the city he went on making plans. First he thought, "When I get this half rupee from the policeman I will go and buy some eggs and those eggs will hatch some hens and later on I will sell them and I'll get some more money. And then I will buy some buffaloes, cows, and other animals and then I will do the business of buying and selling cattle and then I will get some more money." It went on and on like that and then finally he came to a point where he had collected a lot of money and he got married. Because in India it is a very affair to get married. So after he had collected all that money in his thoughts he got married. Then he thought, "When I get married I will have a couple of children, and then my children will come to call me for dinner. They will come and say, 'Father came and eat' and I will shake my head and say, "No, I don't want to come.'" So in that way he nodded his head and the container of oil fell onto the ground. Then that policeman became very angry at him and he said, "You have lost so much oil and you will have to pay for this." But Sheikh Tilli was worried for his own self, and he said, "Well you are talking about your oil, but what about my children, my buffalo?" So I mean to say that all those so called religious people, in reality they have nothing like Sheikh Tilli who did not have any wife, who did not have any children, but still he was worried for them. In the same way those religious people don't know where God resides. God resides in our within but they have never thought of going in the within, so how can they realize God? I myself have done a lot of rites and rituals and I have not found any peace, any love coming from God outside. Whenever the love and peace will come, whenever anyone feels close to God, it is only when he goes within. Look deeply into the religions which prevail in this world and you will find that the Master in whose name that religion was started emphasized the necessity of a living Master, and you will find in His writings, in His teachings, that He also realized God only by going in the company of the living Master. 197

198 Question: Master when I sit to meditate I cannot keep my mind still, even when I am saying Simran my mind is going. I cannot get to the eye centre either, what can I do about this? Answer: When you are sitting for meditation you should not allow your mind to work too much. Even when you are not meditating you should try to keep your attention at the eye centre and you should try to do Simran, because when we allow our attention to drop down from the eye centre we lose a lot of our spiritual energy. Those people whose mind works too much during the daytime, even when they are not sitting for meditation, those who always go on thinking useless things and who always get involved in useless pursuits, only those people have difficulty concentrating at the eye centre. They should make the habit of keeping their attention at the eye centre even while they are doing their worldly work and they should always try to do the Simran. Now you people have left your worldly homes behind, very far away from this place. Even if nobody tells you to go back, still your attention will go there by itself. And even if you try to stop your attention from going there, it will not be stopped; it will go there by itself, because that is your home and you are attached to it. In the same way, when we make our eye centre as our real abode, then even if the other impressions and the other forces try to keep us away from the eye centre, our attention will not be stopped, it will go straight back to the eye centre if we have made it our real home. The birds don't have much intellect, but even they have the knowledge of their home. If they have spent a couple of nights at some place, or if they have got food from some place, they understand that place as their real home and they come back to that place in the evening. In the same way, if you will make the eye centre as a place for your mind to live, as the place for your mind to stay because at the eye centre there is peace and love so if you will make the eye centre as the seat of your mind, then your mind will always feel the necessity of going back to the eye centre and you will have no difficulty concentrating there. Question: Sant Ji are there different gradations of parshad? Is it all right to take a bag of parshad in to be blessed for the sangat and does that have the same value as parshad that the Master gives you of His own Will? Answer: The thing is that we do not get anything by trying to split hairs. We should not allow our mind to have so many thoughts going on within us. As far as parshad is concerned it all depends upon your faith. It does not make any difference whether you have brought something to be blessed or if the Master is giving you something of His own. Sometimes it happens that if people bring their own things one part of their mind says that it is all right because they paid 198

199 for that food and it is all right because Master has just given the blessing to that food. Sometimes when they receive the parshad from the Master one part of the mind says that it does not belong to them because they have not paid for it, it is Master's food, Master has given that and then also they are bothered. But I would say that it all depends upon the faith. As far as the grace of the Master is concerned, it is all the same, whether you bring the food to be blessed or if He gives the things of His own. Master wants to take you to such a place where illusions are removed; where you would not find any difference between you and others. Question: Master I have a question about praying for a soul that has left the body at the time of death and not having any real connection to the person but knowing their family. Say for instance, I know their son and out of my love for their son I pray for them when they die and I ask for their protection. Is it okay or is it better to leave? Answer: First of all a Satsangi should stand on his own feet. And when we can stand on our own feet, we can become independent. Only when we rise above the level of the mind and organs of senses will we get absorbed in the Shabd Naam. And when you have become absorbed in the Shabd Naam then you will not need to pray for such things because you will have the direct connection with your Master and you can tell him right then and there to protect the souls. Masters have written the prayers or benedictions only after going within and They have prayed to Their Master, face-to-face, internally. When we people pray for the protection for the other souls, the problem is that our mind is not completely present there so sometimes it doesn't work. Question: Master, please will you tell us how to die while living? Answer: Well, every day I try to make you people prepare for that. Every day in the morning and evening. But still I will try to explain some things to you. You know that our soul, after coming down from the eye centre, has spread in all the cells of the body. And it has not only spread in the body, it has also spread outside the body. It has gone into religions, communities, societies, in the family, in friends; it has spread all over. Saints ask us, "Why are we born again and again into this world?" Because we do the Simran, or remembrance, of the world and because of the Simran of the world we are born into this world again and again. Whatever thoughts we have at the time of death, according to that we get our birth in the next lifetime. Most of the time we come back into the same family, into the same homes, and if not there then we might go somewhere in the neighbourhood. 199

200 It is a personal experience of the Saints that Simran cuts the Simran and the Contemplation cuts the contemplation. The Simran given by the Master is the only thing which can cut down the Simran or the remembrance of the worldly things and the Contemplation of the Form of the Master is the only thing which can make us forget the contemplation or the remembrance of the worldly things. Saints tell us that when we give up doing the Simran of the world, when we do the Simran given by the Master, gradually the Simran of the world goes away and then whom do we see? On whom do we contemplate? We contemplate on the Form of the Master who has given us the initiation and the forms of the world go away. The Simran of the world is also going on at the eye centre. You know whenever you try to remember anything, whenever you try to visualize the form of anybody or try to remember anyone's face, at once your attention goes to the eye centre. It is not like you are putting your attention at some other part lower than the eye centre and thinking about some person. Always your attention is at the eye centre whenever you are trying to remember something or some form. So at the eye centre the rosary of the Simran of the world is going on twenty-four hours a day. So when sitting at this place if you are doing the Simran of the world, for instance, if you are remembering your father, your mother, your son, your daughter, your wife, your husband, what will happen? Since all those people are outside your body, your attention will go outside your body and you will become extroverted, and because we have been extroverted for many births, we have never thought of becoming introverted and that is why we find it difficult for our attention to go within. When the Master gives us the Initiation what does He tell us? He tells us, "The Master is within you; God is within you." He gives us the Simran to do internally. He tells us that all the things are within us and we have to come to the eye centre. So when we do the Simran given by the Master, since the Master is within our soul, and God is also within us, when we start stilling our attention at the eye centre, when we start sitting there, then that beautiful Form of the Master is manifested over there and then not even for one moment will we take our attention away from that beautiful Form of the Master. The Master who has given us the Initiation is not different from Almighty God. The Formless Lord has taken up the Form of the Saint and He resides within us. So when the Master gives us the Simran and we do it honestly, in the beginning we find it difficult to bring our attention inward because we have become extroverted.. But when we do it, when we still our attention at the eye centre, Master is there, God is also there, and when we see His Inner Form even once, then we won't like to come outside. 200

201 In the Satang s as well as at the time of Initiation we are told that by doing the Simran we can withdraw our attention from all the outer things and from our body and come to the eye centre. In that process when our soul starts to withdraw from our body, first it is withdrawn from the outer world and when it comes to withdraw from our body we feel as if ants are biting our feet. When the soul goes upward then the body below becomes numb and finally when the soul comes to the eye centre we feel as though the body below the eye centre is not there; it is all numb and we lose feeling of it, and then we feel that it is like a rented house, it does not belong to us. In the process of death also the same thing happens. Those people who have made their Simran very strong, for them it is easy to withdraw from the body, it is very easy for them to bring their soul to the eye centre. For them it is like pulling a hair out of butter. But some people who have not perfected their Simran and who meditate occasionally, if their soul tries to leave the body they find it very difficult. They find it very painful, like the process of death, and sometimes people get so frightened that they don't like to sit for meditation again. On the last tour, at Sant Bani Ashram, one person who was getting Initiated was sitting on a chair doing the meditation. At once his soul left the body and it was very painful for him because it was the first time he had meditated. He fainted and fell down off the chair. Earlier I had told Russell Perkins and Pappu about such happenings, because sometimes when the soul is pulled up like this the person feels a lot of pain and even faints. But if the that happens, we should not worry; if we give a massage to the back of the neck then the soul comes back into the body and the person does not feel any pain. And when that person fell down, they both gave him a massage and he came back into the body and he did not feel any pain. All Saints have said, "Those who want to do the meditation of Naam should make their heart like iron." One day everybody has to die; why not do that thing which we have to do one day while we are living? Why not die while we are living? Guru Nanak Sahib also says, "The place where we have to go after death, why not go there while we are still in the body?" Since the soul is spread throughout all the cells of the body, when it is withdrawn from all those cells and goes upward, it is natural for us to feel pain; because in the process of the soul's withdrawal the lower chakras are broken. When they are broken it is natural for a person to feel the pain. But if we have been meditating almost a life long, or practiced the Simran given by the perfect Master, if we have the grace of the Master, then we should not find it difficult. In the beginning when I had the Initiation into the first two Words, many initiates of Baba Sawan Singh who had the full Initiation of the five words 201

202 would come to meditate with me. We were about ten or twelve people and they were very loving, devoted souls and they would come to meditate with me. And we always had one person standing up, while the others were meditating, to check the other people. If anyone was falling asleep in meditation or if he was trying to move, the person who was in charge at that time was told to slap the person on both sides. So I mean to say that only the brave courageous people can do meditation and only those who have real love and faith can become the real meditators. No one was allowed to make tea, no one was allowed to sit in meditation after drinking tea, and no one allowed to bring any kind of food to be distributed as parshad. Because it was a very strict period of meditation and we used to think, "He who brings parshad and he who distributes food to the other people wants to take away the meditation of others and that is not fair." And that time I did not sit on any kind of cushion; I had only some sticks or hay underneath me, and I never even put a gunny sack under me; sometimes I sat on a flat wooden platform. You would have read in the Book written by Mr.Oberoi [ Support for the Shaken Sangat ], the stories of Sunder Das, who was an Initiate of Master Sawan Singh. With him I used to have sittings of eight hours at a stretch. In that you would have read about how we can die while living. Once when we were meditating we had some fire going on and his leg had fallen into the fire and he did not know his leg was burning, because he was so much absorbed in the meditation. When he got up from that meditation, he told me, "The intoxication that I have received today in meditation, I have not got that any time before." Imagine to what plane he must have gone in that meditation. If he was in the body you know that even if we get a little bit of pain, we move but he was not in the body that is why he did not even know that his leg was burning. Mr.Oberoi did not write all those stories only from hearsay, he tried to find every possible person who had meditated with me and after meeting them and confirming all the things with them, he wrote down the stories. Usually when the western dear ones have the yearning and longing to do the devotion, they also have a feeling of hurry. They want to get results right away and in that they do not become successful. Master Sawan Singh Ji also used to say, "Western dear ones have this habit that when they have the yearning to do the devotion, they sit for meditation, but they want the results right then, and it does not work like that." We should do our devotion, our meditation, with love and faith, and patiently we should wait for the results. 202

203 The Cosmos is filled with and consisting of an immense torrent of living light (Jyoti), the whole moving, moving onward, without relativity, a restless onward sleep of a vast sea of light. Meditation is a process by which one comes in contact with the Light and Sound already within oneself. The current of Light and Sound reverberates in all creation and is within us. By meditating on this current, one can transcend physical body-consciousness and journey to explore inner spiritual regions. The only way by which we can effectively evaluate the comparative spiritual value of each yogic form and so escape the present state of confusion, is by adopting as our standard the very highest form of yoga, whose potency is absolute and not merely relative. This standard is provided by the Surat Shabd and Jyoti Yoga also known as Sant Mat (or the path of the Sants or Masters of this mystic school), the veritable Crown of Life. By following its practices under proper guidance even by reading Master s books, applying its teaching and guidance provided, the adepts have reached realms not known to other mystic schools, and have finally merged with the Supreme Lord in His Absolute, Nameless and Formless State. They have, in their compositions, repeatedly affirmed the incomparable superiority of this Yoga of the Sound Current and, while describing through direct inner perception the varying spiritual range of other yogas, have gone on to expound the absolute nature of their own. 203

204 Sufism and its Lineages Testimony of Scholars on the science of Tasawwuf and its Depths Tasawwuf (eng. Sufism) is among one of the most important diciplines of Islamic knowledge, it is just as compulsory knowledge as any others are. An endless ocean. Sufi Practices Meditation Tamarkoz or Muraqaba is the word used by many Sufis when referring to the practice of meditation. The Arabic word literally means to observe, guard or control one's thoughts and desires. In some Sufi orders, muraqaba may involve concentrating one's mind on the names of God, on a verse of the Qur'an, or on certain Arabic letters that have special significance. Muraqaba in other orders may involve the Sufi aspirant focusing on his or her murshid, while others (such as the Azeemia order) imagine certain colors to achieve different spiritual states. Dhikr Dhikr (Zikr) is the remembrance of God commanded in the Qur'an for all Muslims. To engage in dhikr is to have awareness of God according to Islam. Dhikr as a devotional act includes the repetition of divine names, supplications and aphorisms from hadith literature, and sections of the Qur'an. More generally, any activity in which the Muslim maintains awareness of God is considered dhikr. 204

205 Hadhra Hadhra is a dance associated with dhikr practiced primarily in the Arab world. The word Hadhra means Presence in Arabic. Sometimes the sufi songs, or dances are performed as an appeal for the Presence of God, his prophets, and angels. Sama Sama or Sema' (Arabic "listening") refers to Sufi worship practices involving music and dance (see Sufi whirling). In Uyghur culture, this includes a dance form also originally associated with Sufi ritual. Khalwa Khalwa refers to a form of retreat, once widespread but now less common. A khalwa may be prescribed by the shaykh (spiritual advisor) of the murid or talib (student). Muslims believe that most of the prophets, and also Maryam (Mary) the mother of Issa (Jesus), lived in some form of seclusion at some point in their life. Muhammad س لم ع ل يه هللا ص لى),(و for example, used to retreat to the cave where he received his first inspiration - but had been going there for many years prior to his meeting with the angel Gabriel. Similar examples include Moses' going into seclusion for 40 days in a cave in Mt. Sinai. Foreword One of the important functions of the Sufi lineage is to prevent half-trained dervishes from setting themselves up as teachers. No one can set themselves up as a sheikh without formal certification from their own sheikh. A sheikh will not fail to inform overly ambitious dervishes that they have more inner work to do. Sometimes sheiks point out the dervishes' faults directly. At other times, they tell stories or anecdotes that make clear the level of spiritual attainment it takes to become a sheikh. This stage (the stage of the inspired nafs) can be the most dangerous stage of development of the nafs. For the first time, we are capable of genuine spiritual experiences and insights. However, if these experiences and insights are filtered through the ego, we can become tremendously inflated. This can be observed among creative artists, writers, musicians, and scientists. Such people may experience inspired states and creative breakthroughs. The danger is that they may think that they themselves are the source of inspiration. Most therapists and spiritual guides have to struggle with issues of inflation and the desire for fame and fortune. In evaluating psycho-spiritual guides, we need to use our intuition and our best powers of discrimination and discernment to 205

206 distinguish the sincere from the phony, the gifted from the charlatans, the knowledgeable from the half-trained. A particular danger is that people at this stage believe they are finished, done with the need for any more spiritual training. There are many charismatic but misguided self-appointed spiritual leaders who decide they are fully enlightened when they achieve this state. The heart is the wellspring of our deepest motivations, a container for love. The goal of Sufism is to develop the capacity of the heart the capacity to hold all the complexities of life in a matrix of love and to discover the divinity inherent in all of creation. Sufism is not a religion in the sense of being a system of beliefs, separable from other religions, but a school of experience focused on the cultivation of the heart and the deepening of awareness through the practice of prayer, meditation and spiritual inquiry. Though there are many Sufi schools and lineages, the Sufism of the Inayati Order is universalist in its acceptance of all people and paths leading to the unfoldment of the light and power latent in the human being. The Sufi Message proclaims the knowledge of divine unity of all peoples, all religions, and all existence and the religion of the heart awakened to the beauty in all creation. An Opinion on Sufism There are two types of sufism (or perhaps: two extremes). The one extreme is a sufism that is firmly based on and limited to Islam, islamic law and muslim culture. This is the traditional stance, in many respects. The other extreme is a sufism that is universal in practice and outlook. This is a type of sufism that has traditionally flourished in India and Pakistan. Given that India has the second largest community of Muslims in the world (Indonesia has the most), thus universal sufism is not as controversial in Islam as some websites suggest. As I'm not interested in promoting sectarian viewpoints this EBook has been enriched not only with sufi-writings from the more universal traditions, but also with material from the tradition of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky: the Fourth Way. The main concern of this EBook is the value of sufi-thought for contemporary spirituality. My choice in articles and stories reflects this preference. Contemporary spirituality (in the west) focusses on inner growth and community sense, sufism has a lot to offer on both counts. Every spiritual discipline has its strengths and weaknesses. The weaknesses being usually those places where strength is not. Sufi wisdom has its main strength in its practical, sane, down to earth mentality. The stories, for instance, don't point to transcendent realities, won't give you bliss-like experiences, but 206

207 will help you face your own, very human nature - while guiding you to God, the Supreme, Divine Mind (or Allah). Sufi Lineages One of the important functions of the Sufi lineage is to prevent half-trained dervishes from setting themselves up as teachers. No one can set themselves up as a sheikh without formal certification from their own sheikh. A sheikh will not fail to inform overly ambitious dervishes that they have more inner work to do. Sometimes sheiks point out the dervishes' faults directly. At other times, they tell stories or anecdotes that make clear the level of spiritual attainment it takes to become a sheikh. This stage (the stage of the inspired nafs) can be the most dangerous stage of development of the nafs. For the first time, we are capable of genuine spiritual experiences and insights. However, if these experiences and insights are filtered through the ego, we can become tremendously inflated. This can be observed among creative artists, writers, musicians, and scientists. Such people may experience inspired states and creative breakthroughs. The danger is that they may think that they themselves are the source of inspiration. Most therapists and spiritual guides have to struggle with issues of inflation and the desire for fame and fortune. In evaluating psycho-spiritual guides, we need to use our intuition and our best powers of discrimination and discernment to distinguish the sincere from the phony, the gifted from the charlatans, the knowledgeable from the half-trained. A particular danger is that people at this stage believe they are finished, done with the need for any more spiritual training. There are many charismatic but misguided self-appointed spiritual leaders who decide they are fully enlightened when they achieve this state. List of Sufi Saints Sufi saints or Wali (Arabic:,ولو plural ʾawliyāʾ ياء (أول played an instrumental role in spreading Islam throughout the world. In the traditional Islamic view, a saint is portrayed as someone "marked by [special] divine favour... [and] holiness", and who is specifically "chosen by God and endowed with exceptional gifts, such as the ability to work miracles." Abdūl-Khāliq Ghujdawanī Abdūl-Qādir Gilanī ( ) Abdul Razzaq Jilani Syed Abdus Salam Ibrahim ash Shadhili Sheikh Gālib Shiblī 207

208 Zinda Shah Madar Abūl-Khāyr Abul Hasan Hankari Afaq Khoja Ahmad Ghazālī Ahmad al-tijani ( ) Ahmadou Bamba Xadimou Rassoul Ahmed Yasavī Ak Shāms ūd-dīn Akhundzada Saif-ur-Rahman Mubarak Al-AjamAli i Al-Aydarus Al-Badawi Imam Al Fassi Al-Ghazālī Al-Hallaj Ali Hujwiri ( ) Ali Mahimi ( ) Al-Hashmi ( ) Ali Shah Pir Baba ( ) Ali-Shir Nava'i Al-Khārāqānī Al-Qāsim Al-Qayṣarī Al-Qunawī Al-Qushayri Al-Tirmidhī Amīr Khusrow ( ) Suhrawardī Abū Hāfs Umar Abū'n-Najīb Abdūl-Qādir Suhrawardī Shahāb al-dīn al-maqtul Sharfuddin Shah Wilayat ( ) Shaykh Syed Mir Mirak Andrabi ( 921A.H A.H) Sultan Bahoo ( ) Sultan Walad Surkh Bukharī ( ) Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari ( ) Taşlıcalı Yahyâ Telli Baba Yahya Efendi Yahya Maneri ( ) Yemeni Tamimi Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Wahid Yunus Emre Youza Asouph Zahed Gilanī Baha-ud-din Zakariya ( ) Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki ( ) Zarruq Zū'l-Nūn al-misrī Ajan Fakir Abd al-karīm al-jīlī 208

209 Amīr Kulal Ansarī Ardabilī Ata Allah Auliya ( ) Azan Pir (17th century) Bābā Eliyās Bābā Fakr ūd-dīn ( ) Baba Kuhi of Shiraz ( CE) Baba Shadi Shaheed (17th century) Badr ūd-dīn Bāhā ūd-dīn Naqshband Balım Sultan Bande Nawāz ( ) Bākuvī Bāqī Billāh ( ) Bayazid-i Bastamī Ben Issa Bhita'ī ( ) Bibi Jamal Khatun (d. 1639) Bu Ali Shah Qalandar ( ) Bursevî Bulleh Shah ( ) Chirag-e-Delhi ( ) Dara Shikoh ( ) Daud Bandagi Kirmani ( ) Dawud al-ta i Dehlawī 209 Sadati Bure (Ethiopia) Notable Modern Sufis Abdal Hakīm Murad Abdalqadir as-sufi Abdūl-Khāqeem Arvāsī Abdullah Ibn Umar Badheeb Al Yamani( )[4] Ad-Dağhestānī Ahmad al-alawi Imam e Ahle Sunnat Hazrat Ahmed Raza Khan Fazil-e-Barelvi ( ) Al-Harari Meer Ahmadh Al-Kabeer ( ) As-Sagheer ( ) Al-Shaghourī Ali Hujwiri (Daata Ganj Bakhsh, Persian/Punjabi: ) Amadou Bamba ( ) Arshadul Qaudri ( ) Meer Amjad * Ata Hussain Fani Chishti ( ) Azangachhi Shaheb (1828 or ) Babajan ( ) Baba Rexheb Baba Qamar ( ) Barkat Ali Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

210 Shah Ghulam Ali Shah Waliullah ( ) El-Desoukî Erzurumī Al-Masjid an-nabawī, is the mosque, shrine and resting place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Farid al-din Attar Farīd ūd-dīn Ganjshakar ( ) Fuzûlî Gharīb Nawāz ( ) Ghulam Farīd Gül Baba Hāfez-e Shīrāzī Haji Huud ( ) Hajji Bayram Hajji Bektash Ibn Adham Ibn ʿArabī Ismail Hakki Bursevi Haddad Hamedānī Abū Yāqub Yusūf Ali ( ) Hansvī Harabatī Baba Harooni Hujwirī Iraqī ( ) 210 Esad Erbili Esad Coşan Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi ( ) Feisal Abdul Rauf Ghulam Mustafa Fethullah Gülen (1942 )[4] Mian Bashir Ahmed (1923 ) Haji Imdadullah Muhaajir Makki ( ) Hilmi Işık Hisham Kabbani Ibrahim Niass ( ) Idries Shah Inayat Khan ( ) Jaunpurī Kayhan Dede Kuşçuoğlu Maizbhanderī (founder of the Maizbhanderi Sufi Order) ( ) Maula Shah ( ) Meher Ali Shah of Golra Sharif ( ) Shaykh Muhammed Mehmet Adil ar- Rabbani Mohammad Badshah Qadri ( ) Muhammad Malikī Muhammad Mushtaq Qadri of Burhan Distt Attock Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil al-

211 Jabir ibn Hayyan Ja'far al-sadiq Jahanara Begum Sahib ( ) Jahaniyan Jahangasht ( ) Jamī Jan-e-Jānāān ( ) Jaunpurī Jazoulī Jilani Dehlvi ( ) Jilī Junayd Baġdādī Khâlid-i Baghdâdî Kākī Kaliyarī Karkhī Khan Jahan Ali (d. 1459) Lal Shahbaz Qalander ( )[24] Magtymguly Pyragy Maharvī ( ) Mahmud Hüdayī Mir Ahmed Ibrahim Ash Shadhili Mir Amjad Ibrahim Ash Shadhili Mian Mir ( ) Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani Mir Shams-ud-din Mohammad Tartusi Moinuddin Chishti Haqqani ar-rabbani ( ) Pir Naseer-uddin-Naseer of Golra Sharif ( ) Noor Inayat Khan ( ) Nooruddeen Durkee Nuh Keller Nuri Topbaş Omar Shah Pir Fazal Ali Qureshi (d. 1935) Qalander Ba Ba Auliya ( ) Qibla Fultali Reshad Feild Saalim Al-Madhar ( ) Sai Baba of Shirdi ( ) Said al-chirkawi Said Nursī Shams Ali Qalandar Saheb Qibla Fultali (Rh.) ( ) Salekur Rahman Rahe Bhanderi ( ) Shah Abdul Aziz ( ) Shah Inayat Qadiri (d. 1728) Shah Nazar Ali Kianfar Shah Niyaz ( ) Syed Mohammed Asrarullah (1856) Shah Nooranī Sayyid Sahib Husayni of Tekmal ( ) Shah Syed Hasnain Baqai Safipur 211

212 Mubarak Makhzoomi ( ) Muhammad Al-Makki Muqaddam Nāimī Nājm ūd-dīn Kubrā Nasīmī Nasir Khusraw Nasreddin Nathar Vali Ni'matullāh Wali Saint Nurī Sirri Saqti Omar Khayyám Osman Fazli Otman Baba Pir Baba Pir Sultan Qahistanī Qutb ūd-dīn Haydār Qutb ūd-dīn Shīrāzī Rabbānī (ca ) Rabia Basri Rāzī Fakhr ad-dīn Najm al-dīn Rifa'ī Rukn-e-Alam ( ) Rumi Sayyid Mir Jan Shah Saheb Kabuli- Naqshbandi ( ) Sheikh Mustafa ( ) Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan Syed Shujaat Tahir Allauddin ( ) Taj ud-dīn Baba of Nagpur ( ) Ullah Shahab Ustaosmanoğlu Waheed Ashraf Waris Ali Wasif Ali Wasif ( ) Zaheen Shah Zauqi Shah ( ) Zaheer Husain Jafari (Ahmedabad) 212

213 Saadī Sabakhī Sachal Sarmast ( ) Sahl al-tustari Salim Chishti ( ) Salman al-farisī Sanai Sarı Saltuk Sarmad Kashani (d. 1661) Semnanī ( ) Shadhilī Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai ( ) Shah Badakhshi ( ) Shah Gardez ( ) Shah Jalal ( ) Shah Hussain ( ) Shah Paran (14th century) Shāms-i Tabrizī Sheikh Edebali An Example of Lineage Saints of the Golden Chain In Sufism, as in any serious Islamic discipline such as jurisprudence (fiqh), Quranic recital (tajwid), and hadith, a disciple must have a master or sheikh from whom to take the knowledge, one who has himself taken it from a master, and so on, in a continuous chain of masters back to Muhammad. According to Carl W. Ernst: Within the Sufi tradition, the formation of the orders did not immediately produce lineages of master and disciple. There are few examples before the eleventh century of complete lineages going back to the Prophet Muhammad. Yet the symbolic importance of these lineages was immense: they provided a channel to divine authority through master-disciple chains. It was through such 213

214 chains of masters and disciples that spiritual power and blessings were transmitted to both general and special devotees. This means that a Sufi master has met and taken the way from a master, and that during his lifetime he has explicitly and verifiably invested the disciple whether in writing or in front of a number of witnesses as a fully authorized master (murshid ma dhun) of the spiritual path to succeeding generations of disciples. Such spiritual transmission from an unbroken line of masters is one criterion that distinguishes a true or connected Sufi path (tariq muttasila), from an inauthentic or "dissevered" path, (tariq munqati a). The leader of a dissevered path may claim to be a Sufi master on the basis of an authorization given by a master in private or other unverifiable circumstance, or by a figure already passed from this world, such as one of the righteous person or Muhammad, or in a dream, or so on. These practices only warm the heart (yusta nasu biha) but none meets Sufism s condition that a Sufi master must have a clear authorization connecting him with Muhammad, one that is verified by others than himself. Without such publicly verifiable authorizations, the Sufi path would be compromised by the whims of the people. The chain of spiritual transmission is not tied to a country, family or political appointment, but is a direct heart to heart transmission, at or after the time of death or burial. It is also considered that the appointed sheikhs will be in some communication with past sheikhs. All are joined by their common spiritual allegiance to the master of spiritual lineages, Muhammad. Naqshbandi (an-naqshbandiyyah) is one of the major tasawwuf orders (tariqa) of Islam. The order is considered to be a sober order as many following the Naqshbandi Sufi way have chosen the silent dhikr (remembrance of God) of the Heart, rather than the vocalized forms of dhikr common in other orders. The Naqshbandi Order is the only Sufi order that claims to trace its spiritual lineage (silsilah) to Muhammad Rasulullah PBUH through Hazrath Abu Bakr (R.A), the first Caliph and The Prophets companion. In contrast, most other turuq trace their lineage to Hazrath Ali (R.A), The Prophets (PBUH) cousin and son-in-law and the Fourth Caliph. The word Naqshbandi ین ق ش ب ند is Persian, taken from the name of the founder of the order, Hazrath Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Some have said that the translation means related to the image-maker, some also consider it to mean patternmaker rather than image maker, and interpret Naqshbandi to mean Reformer of Patterns, and others consider it to mean Way of the Chain or Golden Chain. 214

215 The origin of this order can be traced back to Khwaja Ya qub Yusuf al- Hamadani (b. 1140), who lived in Central Asia. It was later organised by Baha uddin Naqshband ( ) of Turkestan. Baha uddin is widely referred to as the founder of the Naqshbandi tariqah. Khwaja Muhammad al- Baqi Billah Berang, whose tomb is in Delhi, introduced the Naqshbandi order to India. The essence of this order was insistence on strict adherence to the shari ah and nurturance of love for the Prophet. It was patronized by the Mughal rulers, as its founder was their ancestral pīr (spiritual guide). The conquest of India by Babur in 1526 gave considerable impetus to the Naqshbandiyya order. Its disciples remained loyal to the throne because of their common Turkic origin. With the royal patronage of most of the Mughal rulers, the Naqshbandi order brought about the revival of Islam. The Naqshbandis earned their living by designing patterns printed on cloth. Sub-orders There is no single authority for the Naqshbandi Order today. Rather, there are numerous sub-orders which operate in autonomy. Among them are the Maqsoodia, Sardaria, Owaisiah, Haqqani, Aslamiya, Hijazi, Mujarradiya, Tahiri, Mujaddidi, Saifi and Tauheedia branches. All the Sub-orders have altered the ways to suit the needs of the different communities thus making them into Naqshbandia Mujadidiyyah. Naqshbandi Maqsoodi Branch This branch belongs to Qayyum e Zaman Hazrat Dr.Professor Muhammed Maqsood Ilahi Naqshbandi also known by murids as Mahbob Saeen. Hazrat Shaykh is based in Karachi, Pakistan. Hazrat has thousands of Murids and students in Pakistan, South Africa, England and India, and Hazrat has taught Dhikr to lots of people around the world. Hazrat teaches Qalbi Dhikr and Muraqbah and it is claimed that within days of doing the dhikr one s heart will become alive with the nur (light) of Allah. Naqshbandi Tahiri Branch In Pakistan, this is the most prevalent branch of the Naqshbandi Order. Previously known as Ghaffari branch, the Naqshbandi Tahiri order belongs to a Shaikh of Pakistan, Muhammad Tahir Abbasi Naqshbandi Mujaddidi, better known as Mahboob Sajjan Saeen. The headquarters of this branch is at the Dargah in Allahabad, near Kandiaro, in the province of Sindh. Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Saifi Branch This is one of the prevalent branches of the Naqshbandi Order. Hazrat Khwaja Akhundzadah Saif al-rahman Mubarak Sahab is the current Spiritual Master of this branch. Saifi disciples number in the hundreds of thousands and are spread 215

216 across the globe. This Sufi branch is distinguished from most others due to its strict compliance with Shariah according to the Sunni Hanafi Matarudi School, and complete adherence to the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his true followers). The Grand Shaikh, Sarkar Mubarak Sahab, is based in Lakhoder, in the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan. Saifi Zikr gatherings are held there every day, as well as at Khanqahs throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan, wherever his successors are located. Out of all silslas this silsla is one of the most spiritul as they do not only practise naqshbandi lessons they also do chichtiya, qadari and solwodi. Naqshbandia Owaisiah Branch Naqshbandi Order has another famous branch called Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order. The method of spiritual instruction is quite close to the Mujaddidiyyah branch. However, there are two main differences. Firstly, Naqshbandia Owaisiah order uses the Pas Infas method of zikr. Secondly, the method of spiritual instruction is Uwaysi, which means that the Shaikh can impart spiritual instruction regardless of physical distance and even difference of time period. Seekers of Naqshbandia Owaisiah can obtain spiritual blessing from their Shaikh regardless of their location in the world. The Owaisiah connection is also useful in obtaining spiritual blessings from Sufis of the past. The Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order is based in Pakistan and its modern founder was Shaikh Allah Yar Khan. The branch s current shaikh is Major M Ahasan Baig Sahab and Hz sayed bunyad hussain shah sahab and hz mulana abdulgafoor sahab late. The headquarters of this sect is in Murshadabad, Miyawali, Pakistan. Naqshbandi Haqqani Golden Chain The Naqshbandi Golden Chain is a lineage of Khalidiyya-Naqshbandiyya. It passed from Iraq under Khalid al-baghdadi to Daghestan, where it remained through seven generations of Sufi masters, to finally return to the Middle East in Damascus with the emigration of Sharafuddin ad-daghestani and his spiritual inheritor Abdullah al-fa iz ad-daghestani, and then to Cyprus under Nazim al- Qubrusi, who is now the leader of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani order worldwide. Notable scholars who are Naqshbandi Haqqani, thus under the spiritual guidance of Shaykh Nazim, include Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, Shaykh Adnan Kabbani and Shaykh Gibril Haddad, to name but a few. Khufiyya Branch Hua Si Gongbei in Linxia City, the center of the Khufiyya orderkhufiyya (or, properly, Khafiyya) is the Chinese branch of Naqshbandi Sufism, established by Ma Laichi, a Hui Muslim from Hezhou (now, Linxia) after his return to China 216

217 from studies in Bukhara, Yemen, and Mecca in Khafiyya s teachings emphasize active participation in the society, veneration of saints and seeking inspiration at their tombs, and silent dhikr. Headquartered at Ma Laichi s mausoleum (Hua Si Gongbei) in Linxia City, Gansu, the order has over 20 subbranches (menhuan), operating mosques not only in Gansu and Ningxia, but also in Xinjiang, Yunnan and Beijing. Tauheedia Naqshbandia Branch In 1955, Hazarat Kawajah Abdul Hakeem Ansari, along with his only caliph Hazarat Abdul Sattar Khan (accompanied by Kawajah Sattar s wife and daughter), founded a new branch of the Naqshbandia Mujadidiah Order. He named it Tauheediah, with a focus on unity (Tauheed), truthfulness and love; making it more practical for modern Westernized society, and aiming towards the unification of ummah and development of humanity. It has a base in Lahore, and disciples throughout the world. Spreading of the Order The Naqshbandi order owes many insights to Yusuf Hamdani and Abdul Khaliq Gajadwani in the 12th century, the latter of whom is regarded as the organizer of the practices and is responsible for placing stress upon the purely silent invocation.[5] It was later associated with Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari in the 14th century, hence the name of the order. The name can be interpreted as "engraver (of the heart)", "pattern maker", "reformer of patterns", "image maker", or "related to the image maker". The way is sometimes referred to as "the sublime sufi path" and "the way of the golden chain." The path's name has changed over the years. Referring to Abu Bakr as-siddiq, it was originally called "as-siddiqiyya"; between the time of Bayazid al-bistami and Abdul Khaliq al-ghujdawani "at-tayfuriyya"; from the time of 'Abdul Khaliq al-ghujdawani to Shah Naqshband the "Khwajagan" or "Hodja"; from the time of Shah Naqshband and on "an-naqshbandiyya". Afterwards, a branch or sub-order name was added. From 'Ubeydullah Ahrar to Imam Rabbani, the way was called "Naqshbandiyya-Ahrariyya"; from Imam Rabbani to Shamsuddin Mazhar "Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddadiyya"; from Shamsuddin Mazhar to Mawlana Khalid al-baghdadi "Naqshbandiyya- Mazhariyya"; from Mawlana Khalid onwards "Naqshbandiyya-Khalidiyya" (Khalidi) and so on. The way or school connected to the late Shaykh Sultan ul-awliya Moulana Sheikh Nazim, who lived in Northern Cyprus, is undoubtedly the most active of all Naqshbandi orders with followers in almost every corner of the World. It is referred to as the "Naqshbandi-Haqqani" way. According to some estimates 217

218 there are over sixty million disciples, and centres in almost every country of the world. It also had the largest internet presence. There are disciples in almost all of Europe including the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, and in the United States of America, the Middle East, Africa, India, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, etc. It is most active in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. As well as being the most prevalent Sufi Order in the west. The Prince of Malaysia, Raja Ashman Shah was a disciples of this order. India Aurangzeb was a member of the Naqshbandi Sufi order. The Naqshbandiyya order became an influential factor in Indo-Muslim life and for two centuries it was the principal spiritual order in India. Baqi Billah Berang (No. 24 in the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Golden Chain) is credited for bringing the order to India during the end of the 16th century. He was born in Kabul and brought up and educated in Kabul and Samarqand, where he came in contact with the Naqshbandiyya order through Hazrat Khawaja Amkangi. When he came to India, he tried to spread his knowledge about the order, but died three years later. Among his disciples were Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi (No. 25 in the Naqshbandi- Haqqani Golden Chain) and Sheikh Abdul Haq of Delhi. After his death, his student, Sheikh Ahmad primarily took over. Sheikh Ahmad was born in 1561 and his father Makhdum Abdul Ahad was from a high Sufi order. He completed his religious and secular studies at the age of 17. Later he became known as Mujaddad-i-Alf-i-Thani. It was through him that the order gained popularity within a short period of time. Sheikh Ahmad broke away from earlier mystic traditions and propounded his theory of the unity of the phenomenal world. In particular, he spoke out against innovations introduced by Sufis. For instance, he opposed Emperor Akbar's views on Hindu and Muslim marriages. He stated, "Muslims should follow their religion, and non-muslims their ways, as the Qur'an enjoins 'for you yours and for me my religion'". Also he did not believe in keeping the state and ruler separate and worked hard to change the outlook of the ruling class. After his death, his work was continued by his sons and descendants. In the 18th century Shah Wali Allah played an important role in the religious sciences, particularly the hadith and translated the Qur'an into Persian. He also looked at a fresh interpretation of Islamic teachings in the light of the new issues. Furthermore, he played a significant role in the political developments of the period. 218

219 During the 19th century two Naqshbandiyya saints made significant contributions to the chain (silsila) by restating some of its basic ideological postures. Syria and Palestine The Naqshbandiyya was introduced into Syria at the end of the 17th century by Murad Ali al-bukhari, who was initiated in India. Later, he established himself in Damascus, but traveled throughout Arabia. His branch became known as the Muradiyya. After his death in 1720, his descendents formed the Muradi family of scholars and sheikhs who continued to head the Muradiyya. In 1820 and onward, Khalid Shahrazuri rose as the prominent Naqshbandi leader in the Ottoman world. After the death of Khalid in 1827, his order became known as the Khalidiyya, which continued to spread for at least two decades. In Syria and Lebanon, the leaders of every active Naqshbandiyya group acknowledged its spiritual lineage, which had retained the original Naqshbandiyya way. Later a strife between Khalid's khalifas led to disruption of the order, causing it to divide. When political leader Musa Bukhar died in 1973, the pre-mujaddidi line of the Naqshbandiyya in Greater Syria came to an end. One of the only branches to have survived till recently is the one based in the khanqah al-uzbakiyya in Jerusalem. The number of its members had increased at the end of the 19th century. The Farmadiyya branch, which practices silent and vocal invocation, is still present in Lebanon and is named after Ali-Farmadi. We shall speak about the Great Grandsheikh Abdullah Fa'izi ad-daghestani (d. 1973), and quote a small passage from his Biography written by Sheikh Hisham Kabbani: Sheikh Abdullah moved to Homs, where he visited the mosque and tomb of the Companion of the Prophet, Khalid ibn al-walid. He stayed briefly in Homs. He moved to Damascus, in the Midan District, near the tomb of Sa`d ad-din Jibawi, a saint from the family of the Prophet. There he established the first zawiya for the branch of the Naqshbandi Order which had gone to Daghestan. With him the Golden Chain of the Naqshbandi Order which had gone from Damascus to India, Baghdad, and Daghestan, now returned to Damascus. His two daughters were married, Rabiha had four children, three girls and one boy. Madiha was married to Shaykh Tawfiq al-hibri, one of the great Islamic scholars of Lebanon. Soon people began to crowd into his zawiya. They arrived there from all over the city: Sufis, government people, businessmen, and common people. Murids were coming every day to sit at the door of his khanqah. Daily they served food to hundreds, many of whom also slept there. 219

220 Then he received a spiritual order to move to the Mountain of Qasyun. It is the highest point in Damascus, from whose vantage the entire city can be viewed. With the help of his two senior murids, Shaykh Muhammad Nazim `Adil and Shaykh Husayn `Ali, he built a house. This house and the mosque next to it still stand, and the mosque is the site of his maqam (shrine). He saw in a vision, while he was building the mosque, that the Prophet, with Shah Naqshband and Sayyidina Ahmad al-faruqi, came and put posts to mark the shape and location of the walls of the mosque. As soon as the vision ended, the markers were visible, and everyone present saw them. At that mosque, over the years, hundreds of thousands of visitors were received: for healing, for prayers, for training, for all kinds of external and internal knowledge. It was in Damascus, Syria, that Grandsheikh Abdullah Fa'izi ad-daghestani, preached from, and also died. His blessed tomb is to be found in Damascus. It is estimated that a massive crowd of about 400,000 people attended his funeral ( see Sheikh Hisham Kabbani's book on the Forty Grandsheikhs of the Naqshbandi Sufi path ). Lately the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order was led by his successor Nazim Al-Haqqani and might still be very active in Syria. Daghestan, Russia Naqshbandi silsilah beginning from Muhammad is passed in chain till Ismail Kurdumeri (who is No. 31 in the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Golden Chain). After Ismail Kurdumeri the chain has split in two as he had two Ma'zuns, i.e. Muhammad Salih Shirwani (No. 32) and Khas Muhammad Shirwani. From Khas Muhammad Shirwani the chain goes to Muhammad Yaraghi ad- Daghestani (in Daghestan), and from him to Jamaluddin al-ghumuqi ad- Daghestani, who had three Ma'zuns, i.e. Mamadibir ar-rochi ad-daghestani, Imam Shamil ad-daghestani (both had no Ma'zun), and `Abdurrahman Abu Ahmad as-sughuri ad-daghestani.[citation needed] According to Shuaib Afandi Bagini ad-daghestani, `Abdurrahman as-sughuri had two ma'zuns, i.e. Muhammad Haji `Obodi ad-daghestani and Ilyas Tsudakhari ad-daghestani (d AH). Both had no ma'zuns, and thus the split chain coming from Khas Muhammad Shirwani has ended here.[citation needed]. There are strict requirements as to who gives the permission, how it is given and received. The chain from Muhammad Salih Shirwani (No32) on the other hand, is continuous and goes all the way to Mahmud Afandi, Hasan Hilmi Afandi and the rest of the Daghestani Ma'zuns.[10] The Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order has roots in Daghestan through Muhammad al-madani, the successor of Abu Ahmad as- Sughuri and his successor Abdullah Fa'izi ad-daghestani and his successor and Grandshaykh of the order Nazim al-haqqani. 220

221 Egypt During the middle of the 19th century Egypt was inhabited and controlled by Naqshbandis. A major Naqshbandi khanqah was constructed in 1851 by Abbas I, who did this as a favour to Naqshbandi sheikh Ahmad Ashiq. Ahmad Ashiq headed the order till his death in Ahmad Ashiq's was a practicer of the Diya'iyya branch of the Khalidiyya. In 1876 sheikh Juda Ibrahim amended the original Diya iyya, which became known as al-judiyya, and gained a following in al-sharqiyya province in the eastern Nile Delta. During the last two decades of the 19th century two other versions of Naqshbandiyya spread in Egypt. One of these was introduced by a Sudanese, alsharif Isma'il al-sinnari. Al-Sinnari had been initiated into the Khalidiyya and Mujaddidiyya by various sheikhs during his time in Mecca and Medina. Initially, he tried to obtain a following in Cairo but was not able to, therefore he resorted going to Sudan. It is from there that the order spread into Upper Egypt from 1870 onward under Musa Mu awwad, who was al-sinnari's successor. Muhaamad al-laythi, son of al-sinnari, was the successor after Mu awwad's death. The Judiyya and the Khalidiyya branches spread in the last decades of the 19th century and continued to grow and are still active today. Khalidiyya of Muhammad Amin al-kurdi is headed by his son Najm a-din. The Judiyya split into three main branches:one led by the founder's son Isa, another led by Iliwa Atiyya in Cairo, and another led by Judah Muhammad Abu l-yazid al-hahdi in Tanta. Unfortunately, none of the early orders survived far into the 20th century. The longest living group of khanqah based Naqshbandis lived in the khanqah of sheikh Ahmad Ashiq, which closed in This is when all the khanqahs in Egypt were closed and the awqaf supporting these establishments were taken over by the Ministry of Awqaf. The buildings were either assigned a different function or demolished as part of urban renovation programs. China Ma Laichi brought the Naqshbandi ق ش ب ندي ة) (ن 納克什班迪 order to China, creating the Khufiyya ف يه) (خ 虎夫耶 Hua Si Sufi 华寺 ; ("Multicolored Mosque") menhuan. Ma Mingxin, also brought the Naqshbandi order, creating the Jahriyya ة) (جهري 哲赫林耶 menhuan. These two menhuan were rivals, and fought against each other which led to the 1781 Jahriyya Rebellion, Dungan revolt, and Dungan Revolt (1895). Some Chinese Muslim Generals of the Ma Clique belonged to Naqshbandi Sufi menhuan including Ma Zhan'ao and Ma Anliang of the Khufiyya Naqshbandi 221

222 menhuan. Ma Shaowu, and Ma Yuanzhang were other prominent leaders from the Jahriyya Naqshbandi menhuan. Many disciples of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order remain in China today. Views of the Scholars of External Knowledge in Support of the Precedence of the Scholars of Internal Knowledge Iman Abu Hanifa ( AH/ CE) Imam Abu Hanifa (r) (85 H.-150 H) berkata, Jika tidak karena dua tahun, saya telah celaka. Karena dua tahun saya bersama Sayyidina Ja far as-sadiq dan mendapatkan ilmu spiritual yang membuat saya lebih mengetahui jalan yang benar. Ad-Durr al-mukhtar, vol 1. p. 43 bahwa Ibn Abideen said, Abi Ali Dakkak, seorang sufi, dari Abul Qassim an-nasarabadi, dari ash-shibli, dari Sariyy as-saqati dari Ma ruf al-karkhi, dari Dawad at-ta i, yang mendapatkan ilmu lahir dan batin dari Imam Abu Hanifa (r), yang mendukung jalan Sufi. Imam berkata sebelum meninggal: lawla sanatan lahalaka Nu man, Jika tidak karena dua tahun, Nu man (saya) telah celaka. Itulah dua tahun bersama Ja far as-sadiq. Imam Malik ( AH/ CE) Imam Malik (r): man tassawaffa wa lam yatafaqah faqad tazandaqa wa man tafaqaha wa lam yatsawwaf faqad fasadat, wa man tafaqaha wa tassawafa faqad tahaqqaq. (Barangsiapa mempelajari/mengamalkan tasauf tanpa fikh maka dia 222

223 telah zindik, dan barangsiapa mempelajari fikh tanpa tasauf dia tersesat, dan siapa yang mempelari tasauf dan fikh dia meraih kebenaran). (dalam buku Ali al-adawi dari keterangan Imam Abil-Hassan, ulama fikh, vol. 2, p. 195 Imam Shafi i ( H./ CE) Imam Shafi i : Saya bersama orang sufi dan aku menerima 3 ilmu: 1. Mereka mengajariku bagaimana berbicara. 2. Mereka mengajariku bagaimana meperlakukan orang dengan kasih dan hati lembut. 3. Mereka membimbingku ke dalam jalan tasawuf [Kashf al-khafa and Muzid al-albas, Imam 'Ajluni, vol. 1, p. 341.] Dalam Diwan (puisi) Imam Syafii, nomor 108 : Jadilah ahli fiqih dan sufi Jangan menjadi salah satunya Demi Allah Aku menasehatimu. Imam Shafi ( AH/ CE) The biography of al-shāfi i is difficult to trace. Dawud al-zahiri was said to be the first to write such a biography, but the book has been lost. The oldest surviving biography goes back to Ibn Abi Hatim al-razi (died 327 AH/939 CE) and is no more than a collection of anecdotes, some of them fantastic. A biographical sketch written by Zakarīya b. Yahya al-sājī was later reproduced, but even then, a great deal of legend had already crept into the story of al- Shāfi i's life. The first real biography is by Ahmad Bayhaqi (died 458 AH/1066 CE) and is filled with what a modernist eye would qualify as pious legends. The following is what seems to be a sensible reading, according to a modern reductionist perspective. Al-Shāfi ī belonged to the Qurayshi clan of Banu Muttalib, which was the sister clan of the Banu Hashim, to which the Islamic Nabi (Arabic:,ن بب و Prophet) Muhammad and the Abbasid caliphs belonged. This lineage may have given him prestige, arising from his belonging to the tribe of Muhammad, and his great-grandfather's kinship to him. However, al-shāfi ī grew up in poverty, in spite of his connections in the highest social circles. Al-Shāfi was born in Gaza by the town of Asqalan in 150 AH (767 CE). His father died in Ash-Sham while he was still a child. Fearing the waste of his sharīf lineage, his mother decided to move to Mecca when he was about two years old. Furthermore, his maternal family roots were from Al-Yemen, and there were more members of his family in Mecca, where his mother believed he would better be taken care of. Little is known about al-shāfi ī's early life in 223

224 Mecca, except that he was brought up in poor circumstances and that from his youth he was devoted to learning. An account states that his mother could not afford to buy him paper, so he would write his lessons on bones, particularly shoulder-bones. He studied under Muslim ibn Khalid az-zanji, the Mufti of Mecca then, who is thus considered to be the first teacher of Imam al-shāfi ī. By the age of seven, al-shāfi ī had memorized the Qur an. At ten, he had committed Imam Malik's Muwatta' to heart, at which time his teacher would deputize him to teach in his absence. Al-Shāfi ī was authorized to issue fatwas at the age of fifteen. Apprenticeship under Imam Mālik Al-Shāfi ī moved to Al-Medinah in a desire for further legal training, as was the tradition of acquiring knowledge. Accounts differ on the age in which he set out to Medina; an account placed his age at thirteen, while another stated that he was in his twenties. There, he was taught for many years by the famous Imam Malik ibn Anas, who was impressed with his memory, knowledge and intelligence. By the time of Imam Mālik's death in 179 AH (795 CE), al-shāfi ī had already gained a reputation as a brilliant jurist. Even though he would later disagree with some of the views of Imam Mālik, al-shāfi ī accorded the deepest respect to him by always referring to him as "the Teacher". The Yemeni Fitna At the age of thirty, al-shāfi ī was appointed as the Abbasid governor in the Yemeni city of Najran. He proved to be a just administrator, but soon became entangled with factional jealousies. In 803 CE, al-shāfi ī was accused of aiding the 'Alawīs in a revolt, and was thus summoned in chains with a number of 'Alawis to the Caliph Harun ar-rashid at Raqqa. Whilst other conspirators were put to death, al-shafi'i s own eloquent defense convinced the Caliph to dismiss the charge. Other accounts state that the famous Hanafi jurist, Muḥammad ibn al-ḥasan al-shaybānī, was present at the court and defended al-shāfi ī as a wellknown student of the sacred law. What was certain was that the incident brought al-shāfi ī in close contact with al-shaybānī, who would soon become his teacher. It was also postulated that this unfortunate incident impelled him to devote the rest of his career to legal studies, never again to seek government service. Apprenticeship under Al-Shaybānī, and exposure to Hanafī Jurists Al-Shāfi'ī traveled to Baghdad to study with Abu Hanifah's acolyte al-shaybānī and others. It was here that he developed his first madh'hab, influenced by the teachings of both Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik. His work thus became 224

225 known as al Madhhab al Qadim lil Imam as Shafi i, or the Old School of al- Shafi'i. It was here that al-shāfi'ī actively participated in legal arguments with the Hanafī jurists, strenuously defending the Mālikī school of thought. Some authorities stress the difficulties encountered by him in his arguments. Al-Shāfi'ī eventually left Baghdad for Mecca in 804 CE, possibly because of complaints by Hanafī followers to al-shaybānī that al-shafi'i had become somewhat critical of al-shaybānī's position during their disputes. As a result, al-shāfi'ī reportedly participated in a debate with al-shaybānī over their differences, though who won the debate is disputed. In Mecca, al-shāfi'ī began to lecture at the Sacred Mosque, leaving a deep impression on many students of law, including the famous Hanbali jurist, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. Al-Shāfi'ī's legal reasoning began to mature, as he started to appreciate the strength in the legal reasoning of the Hanafī jurists, and became aware of the weaknesses inherent in both the Mālikī and Hanafī schools of thought. Departure to Baghdad and Egypt Al-Shāfi'ī eventually returned to Baghdad in 810 CE. By this time, his stature as a jurist had grown sufficiently to permit him to establish an independent line of legal speculation. Caliph Al-Ma'mun is said to have offered al-shāfi'ī a position as a judge, but he declined the offer. In 814 CE, al-shāfi'ī decided to leave Baghdad for Egypt. The precise reasons for his departure from Al- Iraq are uncertain, but it was in Egypt that he would meet another tutor, Sayyidah Nafisah bint Al-Hasan, who would also financially support his studies,[3] [4] and where he would dictate his life's works to students. Several of his leading disciples would write down what al-shāfi'ī said, who would then have them read it back aloud so that corrections could be made.[9] Al-Shāfi'ī biographers all agree that the legacy of works under his name are the result of those sessions with his disciples. Death At least one authority states that al-shāfi'ī died as a result of injuries sustained from an attack by supporters of a Maliki follower named Fityan. The story goes that al-shāfi'ī triumphed in argument over Fityan, who, being intemperate, resorted to abuse. The Governor of Egypt, with whom al-shafi'i had good relations, ordered Fityan punished by having him paraded through the streets of the city carrying a plank and stating the reason for his punishment. Fityan's supporters were enraged by this treatment, and attacked Shafi'i in retaliation after one of his lectures. Al-Shafi'i died a few days later. However, al-shāfi'ī 225

226 was also known to have suffered from a serious intestinal illness, which kept him frail and ailing during the later years of his life. The precise cause of his death is thus unknown. Al-Shāfi'ī died at the age of 54 on the 30th of Rajab in 204 AH (20 January 820 CE), in Al-Fustat, Egypt, and was buried in the vault of the Banū Abd al- Hakam, near Mount al-muqattam. The qubbah (Arabic:,ةبببة dome) was built in 608 AH (1212 CE) by the Ayyubid Sultan Al-Kamil, and the mausoleum remains an important site today. Legacy Al-Shāfi ī developed the science of fiqh unifying "revealed sources" the Qur an and ahadith with human reasoning to provide a basis in law. With this systematization of shari'a he provided a legacy of unity for all Muslims and forestalled the development of independent, regionally based legal systems. The four Sunni legals schools or madhhabs- keep their traditions within the framework that Shafi'i established. Al-Shāfi ī gives his name to one of these legal schools Shafi'i fiqh - the Shafi'i school - which is followed in many different places in the Islamic world: Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen as well as Sri Lanka and southern parts of India. Saladin built a madrassah and a shrine on the site of his tomb. Saladin's brother Afdal built a mausoleum for him in 1211 after the defeat of the Fatamids. It remains a site where people petition for justice. Imam Ahmad IBN Hanbal ( AH/ CE) احمد (Arabic: Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ḥanbal Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-shaybānī CE/ AH), often referred ;الشيبانو هللا ع بد اب و ح ن بل ب ن محمد ب ن to as Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal or Ibn Ḥanbal for short, or reverentially as Imam Aḥmad by Sunni Muslims, was an Arab-Iraqi Muslim jurist, theologian, ascetic, and hadith traditionist. An enormously influential and vigorous scholar during his era, Ibn Hanbal went on to become "one of the most venerated" and celebrated personalities in the tradition of Sunni Islam, within which he was often referred to by such reverent epithets as True Shaykh of Islam, Proof of the Faith, and Seal of the Mujtahid Imams. He has been retrospectively described as "the most significant exponent of the traditionalist approach in Sunni Islam," with his "profound influence affecting almost every area of" orthodox Sunni thought. One of the foremost classical proponents of the importance of using hadith literature to govern Islamic law and life, Ibn Hanbal is famous for compiling one of the most important Sunni hadith collections, the celebrated Musnad, an enormous compendium of prophetic traditions that has continued to 226

227 wield considerable influence in the field of hadith studies up to the present time. Additionally, Ibn Hanbal is also honored as the founder of the Hanbali school of Sunni jurisprudence, which is one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam. Having studied fiqh and hadith under many teachers during his youth,ibn Hanbal became famous in his later life for the crucial role he played in the Mihna, the inquisition instituted by the Abbasid Caliphate al-ma'mun towards the end of his reign, in which the ruler gave official state support to the Mutazilite dogma of the Quran being created, a view that contradicted the orthodox doctrine of the Quran being the eternal, uncreated Word of God. Suffering physical persecution under the caliph for his unflinching adherence to the traditional doctrine, Ibn Hanbal's fortitude in this particular event only bolstered his "resounding reputation" in the annals of Islamic history. Throughout Islamic history, Ibn Hanbal was venerated as an exemplary figure in all the traditional schools of Sunni thought, both by the exoteric ulema and by the mystics, with the latter often designating him as a saint in their hagiographies. The fourteenth-century hadith master al-dhahabi referred to Ibn Hanbal as "the true Shaykh of Islām and leader of the Muslims in his time, the ḥadīth master and Proof of the Religion." In the modern era, Ibn Hanbal's name has become controversial in certain quarters of the Islamic world. This is due to the influence some[who?] believe he had upon the Hanbali reform movement known as Wahhabism, which cites him as a principal influence along with the thirteenth-century Hanbali reformer Ibn Taymiyyah. However it has been argued by certain scholars that Ibn Hanbal's own beliefs actually played "no real part in the establishment of the central doctrines of Wahhabism," as there is evidence, according to the same authors, that "the older Hanbalite authorities had doctrinal concerns very different from those of the Wahhabis," rich as medieval Hanbali literature is in references to saints, grave visitation, miracles, and relics. In this connection, scholars have cited Ibn Hanbal's own support for the use of relics as simply one of several important points upon which the theologian's opinions diverged from those of Wahhabism. Education and work Ahmad Ibn Hanbal studied extensively in Baghdad, and later traveled to further his education. He started learning jurisprudence (Fiqh) under the celebrated Hanafi judge, Abu Yusuf, the renowned student and companion of Imam Abu Hanifah. After finishing his studies with Abu Yusuf, ibn Hanbal began traveling through Iraq, Syria, and Arabia to collect hadiths, or traditions of the Prophet Muhammad. Ibn al-jawzi states that Imam Ahmad had 414 Hadith masters whom he narrated from. With this knowledge, he became a leading authority on 227

228 the hadith, leaving an immense encyclopedia of hadith, the al-musnad. After several years of travel, he returned to Baghdad to study Islamic law under Al- Shafi'i. He became a mufti in his old age, but is remembered most famously, as the founder of the Hanbali madhab or school of Islamic law, which is now most dominant in Saudi Arabia, Qatar as well as the United Arab Emirates. Unlike the other three schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, and Shafi), the Hanbali madhab remained largely traditionalist or Athari in theology. In addition to his scholastic enterprises, ibn Hanbal was a soldier on the Islamic frontiers (Ribat) and made Hajj five times in his life, twice on foot. Death Ahmad Ibn Hanbal died on Friday, 12 Rabi-ul-I, 241 AH/ 2 August, 855 at the age of in Baghdad, Iraq. Historians relate that his funeral was attended by 800,000 men and 60,000 women and that 20,000 Christians and Jews converted to Islam on that day. Mysticism As there exist historical sources indicating patently "mystical elements in his personal piety" and documented evidence of his amiable interactions with numerous early Sufi saints, including Maruf Karkhi, it is recognized that Ibn Hanbal's relationship with many of the Sufis was one of mutual respect and admiration. As such, early sources state: "[Ibn Hanbal] used to greatly respect the Sūfīs and show them kindness and generosity. He was asked about them and was told that they sat in mosques constantly to which he replied, 'Knowledge made them sit.'" Furthermore, it is in Ibn Hanbal's Musnad that we find most of the hadith reports concerning the abdal, forty major saints "whose number [according to Islamic mystical doctrine] would remain constant, one always being replaced by some other on his death" and whose key role in the traditional Sufi conception of the celestial hierarchy would be detailed by later mystics such as Hujwiri and Ibn Arabi. It is, in fact, reported that Ibn Hanbal explicitly identified Maruf Karkhi as one of the abdal, saying: "He is one of the Substitute- Saints, and his supplication is answered."of the same Sufi, Ibn Hanbal later asked rhetorically: "Is religious knowledge anything else than what Maruf has achieved?" Additionally, there are accounts of Ibn Hanbal extolling the early ascetic saint Bishr the Barefoot and his sister as two exceptional devotees of God, and of his sending people with mystical questions to Bishr for guidance. It is also recorded that Ibn Hanbal said, with regard to the early Sufis, "I do not know of any people better then them." Moreover, there are accounts of Ibn Hanbal's son, Sālih, being exhorted by his father to go and study under the Sufis. According to one tradition, Sālih said: "My father would send for me whenever 228

229 a self-denier or ascetic (zāhid aw mutaqashshif) visited him so I could look at him. He loved for me to become like this." As for the Sufis' reception of Ibn Hanbal, it is evident that he was "held in high regard" by all the major Sufis of the classical and medieval periods, and later Sufi chroniclers often designated the jurist as a saint in their hagiographies, praising him both for his legal work and for his appreciation of Sufi doctrine. Hujwiri, for example, wrote of him: "He was distinguished by devoutness and piety... Sufis of all orders regard him as blessed. He associated with great Shaykhs, such as Dhul-Nun of Egypt, Bishr al-hafi, Sari al-saqati, Maruf Karkhi, and others. His miracles were manifest and his intelligence sound... He had a firm belief in the principles of religion, and his creed was approved by all the [theologians]."both non-hanbali and Hanbali Sufi hagiographers such as Hujwiri and Ibn al-jawzi, respectively, also alluded to Ibn Hanbal's own gifts as a miracle worker and of the blessedness of his grave.[ For example, Ibn Hanbal's own body was traditionally held to have been blessed with the miracle of incorruptibility, with Ibn al-jawzi relating: "When the Prophet's descendant Abū Ja'far ibn Abī Mūsā was buried next to him, Ahmad ibn Hanbal's tomb was exposed. His corpse had not putrified and the shroud was still whole and undecayed." Although there is a perception that Ibn Hanbal or his school were somehow adverse to Sufism, scholarship has revealed that this opinion is more partial than objective, for there is no proof that the Hanbali school "[attacked] Sufism in itself any more than any other school," and it is evident that "during the first centuries some major Sufis [such as Ibn Ata Allah, Hallaj, and Abdullah Ansari]... followed the Hanbalite school of law." By the twelfth-century, the relationship between Hanbalism and Sufism was so close that one of the most prominent Hanbali jurists, Abdul Qadir Jilani, was also simultaneously the most famous Sufi of his era, and the tariqa that he founded, the Qadiriyya, has continued to remain one of the most widespread Sufi orders up till the present day. Even later Hanbali authors who were famous for criticizing some of the "deviances" of certain heterodox Sufi orders of their day, such as Ibn Qudamah, Ibn al-jawzi, and Ibn Qayyim al-jawziyya, all belonged to Abdul Qadir Jilani's order themselves, and never condemned Sufism outright. Relics As has been noted by scholars, it is evident that Ibn Hanbal "believed in the power of relics," and supported the seeking of blessing through them in religious veneration. Indeed, several accounts of Ibn Hanbal's life relate that he often carried "a purse... in his sleeve containing... hairs from the Prophet." Furthermore, Ibn al-jawzi relates a tradition narrated by Ibn Hanbal's son Abdullah, who recalled his father's devotion towards relics thus: "I saw my 229

230 father take one of the Prophet's hairs, place it over his mouth, and kiss it. I may have seen him place it over his eyes, and dip it in water and then drink the water for a cure." In the same way, Ibn Hanbal also drunk from the Prophet's bowl (technically a "second-class" relic) in order to seek blessings from it, and considered touching and kissing the sacred minbar of the Prophet for blessings a permissible and pious act.[48] Ibn Hanbal later ordered that he be buried with the hairs of the Prophet he possessed, "one on each eye and a third on his tongue." As for other traditional reports, al-dhahabi relates that Ibn Hanbal "used to seek blessings from the relics of the Prophet."Citing the aforementioned report of Ibn Hanbal's devotion towards the Prophet's hair, al-dhahabī then goes onto staunchly criticize whoever finds fault with the practices of tabarruk or seeking blessings from holy relics, saying: "Where is the quibbling critic of Imām Ahmad now? It is also authentically established that Abd Allāh [Ibn Hanbal's son] asked his father about those who touch the pommel of the Prophet's pulpit and touch the wall of the Prophet's room, and he said: 'I do not see any harm in it.' May God protect us and you from the opinion of the dissenters and from innovations!" Imam al-muhasibi (D. 243 AH/857 CE Imam Al-Hārith ibn Asad Al-Muhāsibī was born in the city of Basrah and lived and died in the city of Baghdad in the year 243 after the Hijrah. He was one of the Pious Predecessors (Salaf) of this Ummah and a contemporary of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. He was called Al-Muhāsibī due to his constant reckoning of himself, taken from the word Muhāsib that means One who takes account of something. Imam Al-Muhāsibī was most famous for his purity of faith and righteousness. And he is an example of a true Sūfī as understood in its true and original meaning, not as understood by many today as being one who worships dead people, or whirls in circles for hours on. He was a scholar in all of the traditional Islamic Sciences: Aqīdah, Fiqh, and Tasawwuf (i.e. Iman, Islam, and Ihsān), and he excelled at each one of them. He is believed to have met and studied with Imam Shāfi ī and followed his madhhab (School of Law). Imam Al-Muhāsibī despite enjoying such prestige wasn t free of opposition from certain scholars of his time due to the fact that he took an approach that was different from many of the scholars of his age. The second and third centuries of Islamic History was the era of hadīth documentation and the development of the hadīth sciences. So most of the major 230

231 scholars of the time were focused on the preservation of hadīth and distinguishing fabricated and weak reports from those that were sound. Imam Al-Muhāsibī on the other hand, was inspired to focus on the purification of the heart and understanding the human psyche. So he would question his students about their thoughts and inclinations, try to understand them and how to cure those that were mischievous, and then he would write books inspired only by spiritual intuitiveness as opposed to what came in the form of scripture. For this reason, some of the scholars of his time severely criticized him, and cautioned people against reading his books. For instance, when Abu Zur ah Al- Rāzī was asked about him and his books, he said: Beware of these books Innovations and deviances. Be obliged by what is transmitted. For verily, you ll find in it what will avail you from these books. It was then said to him, But there is useful consideration ( ibrah) in these books. He replied, Whoever doesn t have useful consideration in the Book of Allah, then he has no useful consideration in these (books). Has it reached you that Mālik, Thaurī[, Auzā ī, or any of the Imams wrote books about insidious notions (khatarāt) and mischievous whisperings (wasāwis) and these things? These are people who have gone against the People of Knowledge. They come to us sometimes with Al-Muhāsibī, other times with Abdur-Rahīm Ad- Dayabalī, and other times with Hātim Al-Asamm. Then he said, How quick are people to innovations! Anyone who is acquainted with the writings of Imam Al-Muhāsibī will quickly realize that these comments made by Imam Abu Zur ah are unjustified and clearly shows the intolerance of those traditionally termed as Ahlul-Hadīth for anyone who took an approach different from theirs. If there is any bid ah (innovation) that Al-Muhāsibī is guilty of it is merely that he didn t take the same approach as that of those like Abu Zur ah, while it escaped the Imam (Abu Zur ah) that his approach was also a bid ah, since it was something that neither the Prophet nor his companions embarked upon. So not every bid ah is blameworthy. As for Imam Ahmad s contention with Al-Muhāsibī, it isn t totally clear except that scholars have given a few different reasons. Some say that Imam Ahmad criticized Al-Muhāsibī because of the books that he wrote in refutation of some deviant sects of Islam like the deniers of the divine decree (Qadarīyah). The problem was that in his books he would thoroughly explain or at least mention some of the arguments posed by the deviant groups. So he forbade people to read Al-Muhasibī s, so they wouldn t be exposed to the deviant doctrines. 231

232 Some say that Imam Ahmad took issue with Al-Muhāsibī s statement that Allah speaks without words or sound. Ahmad s view was that such additions shouldn t be made. Rather, one should limit one s self to saying that Allah speaks and has the attribute of speech, since the Salaf didn t go into detail about such matters. Al-Muhāsibī s position on the other hand was the natural result of his debates with deviant sects who equated Allah s speech to the speech of his creatures by saying that it is with letters and sound. And Allah says, ((There is nothing like unto Him)). So in defense of orthodox doctrine he indulged in such matters. So it was merely a difference in approach that resulted from the urgency of the situation. Another version has it that Imam Ahmad merely forbade people from reading Al-Muhāsibī s books, because he knew that most people could not walk the steep path that he was on as Imam Al-Khatīb Al-Baghdādī reported with a sound chain that Imam Ahmad heard the words of Al-Muhāsibī during a lecture he gave to some of his students, and Ahmad said to one of his companions, I ve never heard about the realities (of things) the like of this man. My opinion is that you shouldn t accompany them. Ibn Hajar says, He only forbade him from accompanying them due to his knowledge that he was below their state. For verily, he was in a straitened state that every one cannot pursue. And it is feared that the one who pursues it will not give it its due. But whatever the reason Imam Ahmad may have objected to the writings and approach of Al-Muhāsibī, from one Salaf to another, each was entitled to his own opinion, especially since the days of revelation had already passed. Only Allah can settle the dispute between the two of them. For this reason, Imam Tāj al-dīn Ibn Al-Subkī says after commenting on what happened between these two great scholars, It is proper for you O ye seeking direction to travel the path of discipline with the past Imams, and not look at the comments of some of them about others unless he brings clear proof. Then if you are able to give an interpretation and entertain a good opinion, then obligingly do so! Otherwise, ignore what happened between them. For verily, you haven t been created for this. So be preoccupied with what concerns you, and leave off what does not concern you. And the seeker of knowledge remains noble in my eye until he indulges in what has happened between the Past Predecessors, and he judges in favor of some of them over others. 232

233 So beware! Then beware to turn your attention to what unexpectedly happened between Abu Hanīfah and Sufyān Al-Thaurī, between Mālik and Ibn Abī Dhi b, between Ahmad ibn Sālih and Al-Nasā ī, between Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Al- Hārith Al-Muhāsibī, etc. until the time of Izz al-dīn ibn Abd al-salām and Sheikh Taqī al-dīn Ibn Al-Salāh! For if you become preoccupied with that, I fear your destruction. The men are distinguished Imams. And there are ways of construing their words. Perhaps, some of them weren t understood. So we have no right but to be pleased with them and to keep silent about them as is done regarding what happened between the Companions (Sahābah) may Allah be pleased with them. Imam al-qushayri (d.465 AH/1072 CE) 'Abd al-karīm ibn Hūzān Abū al-qāsim al-qushayrī al-naysābūrī, (Persian: أب و ط لحة ب ن ال م لك ع بد ب ن هوازن ب ن ال كري م ع بد : Arabic /یریةش میع بدال کر (also Kushayri) was born in 986 CE (376 AH) in Nishapur (ال ق ش يري ال قا سم which is in Khorasan Province in Iran. This region was widely known as a center of Islamic civilization up to the 13th Century CE. As a young man he received the education of a country squire of the time: adab, the Arabic language, chivalry and weaponry (istiʿmāl al-silāḥ), but that all changed when he journeyed to the city of Nishapur and was introduced to the Sufi shaykh Abū ʿAlī al-daqqāq. Daqqāq later became the master and teacher of the mystical ways to Qushayri. He later married the daughter of Daqqāq, Fatima. After the death of Daqqāq, Qushayri became the successor of his master and father-in-law and became the leader of mystic assemblies in the madrasa that Abu Ali al-daqqāq built in 1001 CE, which later became known as al-madrasa al-qushayriyya or "the school of the Qushayri family". In later years Qushayri performed the pilgrimage in the company of Abū Muḥammad al-juwaynī (d. 438/1047), the father of Imam al-haramayn al-juwayni, as well as traveling to Baghdad and the Hijaz. During these travels he heard Hadith from various prominent Hadith scholars. Upon his return he began teaching Hadith, which is something he is famous for. He returned to Baghdad where the Caliph al-qa'im had him perform hadith teachings in his palace. After his return to Khurāsān, political unrest in the region between the Ḥanafī and Ashʿarī-Shāfiʿī factions in the city forced him to leave Nishapur, but he was eventually able to return and lived there until his death in 1072/465, when the Seljuq vizier Nizam al-mulk re-established the balance of power between the Ḥanafīs and the Shāfiʿīs. He left behind six sons and several daughters between Fatima and his second wife and was buried near al-madrasa al-qushayriyya, next to his father in-law Abū ʿAlī al-daqqāq. Laṭā'if al-isharat bi-tafsīr al-qur'ān is a famous work of al-qushayri that is a complete commentary of the Qur'an. He determined that there were four levels 233

234 of meaning in the Qur'an. First, the Ibara which is the meaning of the text meant for the mass of believers. Second, the ishara, only available to the spiritual elite and lying beyond the obvious verbal meaning. Third, laṭā if, subtleties in the text that were meant particularly for saints. And finally, the ḥaqā iq, which he said were only comprehensible to the prophets. This text placed him among the elite of the Sufi mystics and is widely used as a standard of Sufi thought. His fame however, is due mostly to his Risala, or Al-Risāla al-qushayriyya, or Al-Qushayrī's Epistle on Sufism. This text is essentially a reminder to the people of his era that Sufis had authentic ancestral tradition, as well as a defence of Sufism against the doubters that rose during that time of his life. Al-Qushayri repeatedly acknowledges his debt to, and admiration for, his Sufi master throughout his Risala. Daqqaq was instrumental in introducing Qushayri to another outstanding Sufi authority of Khurasan, Abu 'Abd al-rahman al-sulami (412/1021), who is quoted on almost every page of the Risala. It has sections where al-qushayrī discusses the creed of the Sufis, mentions important and influential Sufis from the past, and establishes fundamentals of Sufi terminology, giving his own interpretation of those Sufi terms. Al-Qushayrī finally goes through specific practices of Sufism and the techniques of those practices. This text has been used by many Sufi saints in later times as a standard, as is obvious from the many translations into numerous languages. Imam Ghazzali ( AH/ CE) Until recently, Islamic thought as propounded by al-ghazali constituted the predominant school with regard to the theory and practice of Islam (and, in particular, Sunnite Islam). With his immense intellectual stature and his encyclopaedic knowledge, al-ghazali has influenced Islamic thought and defined its practice for nearly nine centuries. He was a representative of conciliatory Islam. Over the past three decades, a new current of combative Islam has appeared and grown rapidly, and is attempting to gain control of the Islamic world. Some observers see this trend as anew revival movement, while others perceive in it a threat not only to the Islamic countries, but to the entire world, and a source of destabilization, taking Islam and Muslims back fourteen centuries.this new movement derives its intellectual foundations from the teachings of Abu-l-A là al-maududi, Sayyid Qutb and Ruhollah Khomeini, as well as their hard-line followers active in any number of countries. It advocates the proclamation of society as impious, the forcible elimination of existing regimes, the seizure of power and a radical change in social life-styles; it is aggressive in its rejection of modern civilization. The adepts of this trend hold that Islam, as professed and practise dover many centuries, provides the solution to all the political, 234

235 economic, social, cultural and educational problems facing the Arab and Islamic world, and indeed the whole planet. The struggle between the thought of al-ghazali and that of al-maududi is still under way and may turn out to be one of the most important factors in shaping the future of the Arab and Islamic world. Whatever the outcome of this struggle, al-ghazali remains one of the most influential philosophers (although he objected to being described as such) and thinkers on education in Islamic history. His biography-as a student in search of knowledge, as a teacher propagating knowledge and as a scholar exploring knowledge-provides a good illustration of the way of life of students, teachers and scholars in the Islamic world in the Middle Ages. The life of Al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali was born in A.D (A.H. 450) in or near the city of Tus in Khurasan to a Persian family of modest means, whose members had a reputation for learning and an inclination towards Sufism. His father died when he was young, having entrusted one of his Sufi friends with the education of his two sons. The friend undertook that task until the money be queathed by the father ran out, whereupon the friend advised the two brothers to enter a madrasa, where they would beaf forded board and instruction. Al-Ghazali appears to have begun his elementary education at approximately age 7, studying Arabic, Persian, the Koran and the principles of religion. He went onto intermediate and higher education at a madrasa, where he studied fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), tafsir (Koranic exegesis) and hadith (Prophetic tradition). Towards the age of 15, al-ghazali moved to Jurjan (a flourishing centre of learning at thattime, some 160 kilometres distant from Tus) to study fiqh under Imam al-isma ili. Such travel insearch of learning to study under famous masters was traditional in Islamic education. The following year, he returned to Tus, where he remained for three years, memorizing and endeavouring to understand what he had taken down from the masters, and continuing the study offiqh. He then moved to Nishapur, where he studied fiqh, kalam (scholastic theology), logic and,possibly, some philosophy under Imam al-juwaini, the most illustrious Shafi ite (one of the four Sunnite Schools of Law) faqih (jurist, scholar of Islamic religious law) of the day. At that time, al-ghazali was 23 years of age. He continued to study for five years under Imam al-juwaini and to assist him with teaching. He also began to write and to study Sufism under another shaikh, al-farmadhi. Al-Ghazali s period of apprenticeship ended with the death of al-juwaini 1085 (A.H. 478); he was now about 28 years old, becoming involved in politics and mingling with the ruling circles. He travelled to meet Nizam ul-mulk, the Seljuq minister, and remained with him in his camp forsix years, during which time he lived the life of a court jurist. He took part in political and learned disputes 235

236 and wrote books until he was appointed as a professor to the Nizamiya madrasa at Baghdad, the most celebrated and important centre of science and teaching in the Mashriq (IslamicEast) at that time. He worked there for four years, and composed a number of works on fiqh,which he also taught, together with logic and kalam; the most important of those works were the Al-Mustazhiri [The Exotericist] and Al-Iqtisad fi-l-i tiqad [The Golden Mean in Belief], bothworks of a political nature on fiqh. Al-Ghazali was a protagonist in three vehement political and intellectual controversies which were raging in the Islamic world at that time: the struggle between philosophy and religion (between Islamic and Greek culture), in which he took the side of religion against philosophy; the struggle between the Sunnites and the Shi ites, in which he defended the Abbasid Caliphate against the B_t*inites; and the struggle between revelation and reason and between fiqh and Sufi mysticism. While resident as a professor at the Nizamaya madrasa in Baghdad, al-ghazali made a thorough study of philosophy (Greek philosophy, in particular that of Aristotle, Plato and Plotinus, as well as Islamic philosophy, in particular that of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and al-farabi) in order better to refute it. The basic problem facing al-ghazali was that of reconciling philosophy with religion. He resolved this conflict by maintaining that philosophy was correct in as far as it agreed with the principles of (Islamic) religion, and was flawed wherever it was at variance with it. As a prelude tohis attacks on philosophy, he wrote a book in which he summarized the fundamentals of philosophical thought as known in his time, Maqasid al-falasifa [The Aims of the Philosophers]. That was followed by his famous work, Tahafut al-falasifa [The Incoherence of the Philosophers]. He summed up his opposition to the philosophers in twenty major points, dealing with God, the universe and man. For al-ghazali, the world is a recent creation, bodies are resurrected into the hereafter along with their souls, and God knows both particulars and universals. The Tahafut al-falasifa caused a great stir and had a profound effect in the Islamic world. Indeed, its influence was felt as far afield as Christian Europe. Al-Ghazali and his Tahafut contributed to the weakening of Greek philosophical thought in the Islamic world, despite severalattempts to defend philosophy by Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and others.3 As military and intellectual confrontation flared up between the Sunnites and the Shi ites, and between the Abbasid Caliphateand the Fatimid State and its partisans and adherents in the Mashriq, al-ghazali joined the fray. He wrote a series of works on the subject, the most important of which was Fada ih al-batiniya wa-fada il al-mustazhiriya [The Infamies of the Esotericists and the Virtues of the Exotericists]. Batinite esotericism is based on two fundamental principles: the infallibility of the imam, the obligatory source of knowledge, and an esoteric interpretation of 236

237 shari a (the revealed law of Islam) by the imam and his representatives. Al- Ghazali aimed his attacks more against the principle of the infallibility of the imam than against the esoteric interpretation of shari a. He also endeavoured to defend and justify the existence of the Abbasid Caliphate-even if only as a symbolic entity, since the Caliphate was then in an extremely weak state-to ease the conditions of admission to the imamate and to confer legitimacy on the Seljuq sultans, the real military and political force at the time, a juridical and political problem which had been tackled byother Muslim fuqaha, in particular al-mawardi. However, al-ghazali s attack against esotericism was not as successful as his attack against the philosophers. In 1095 (A.H. 488), at the age of 38, al-ghazali suddenly underwent a sixmonth-long spiritual crisis, which may be briefly described as a violent internal conflict between rational intelligence and the spirit, between this world and the hereafter. He began by doubting the validity of existing doctrines and schools (knowledge as such), and eventually came to question the efficacy of the tools of knowledge. This crisis brought on a physical illness which prevented him from speaking or teaching, and, having attained the truth by means of the light with which God had illuminated his heart, finally caused him to leave his post and renounce wealth, fame and influence. Al-Ghazali classified the prevailing doctrines of his day into four main groups: scholastic theology, based on logic and reason; Batinism or esotericism, based on initiation; philosophy, based on logic and proof; and Sufism, based on unveiling and receptiveness there to. He also held that the means whereby knowledge could be attained were: the senses, reason and revelation. In the end, hecame to prefer Sufism and revelation (inspiration), and since it was difficult or impossible to reconcile the imperatives of this world with those of the here after, he left Baghdad under the pretence of making a pilgrimage to Mecca, and went to Damascus. Sufi influences were many and powerful in the life of al-ghazali, and a number of factors caused him to lean in the direction of Sufism. It was a period in which Sufism had become prevalent; his father had been favourably disposed towards Sufism; his tutor had been a Sufi; his brother had turned to Sufism at an early age; his professors had been inclined towards Sufism; the minister, Niam ul- Mulk was close to Sufism; and finally, al-ghazali himself had studied Sufism. However, Sufism is not a theoretical science that can simply be studied from books or learnt from a master; it is also an activity, a practice and a mode of conduct, with its own rules, including withdrawal from the world, seclusion and itinerancy. This is what al-ghazali did, spending nearly two years in seclusion and wandering between Damascus, Jerusalem and Mecca. It was during this period that he began work on his most important book; Ihya Ulum ad-din [The Revival of the Religious Sciences], which he may have completed later. This 237

238 work is divided into four parts,dealing with devotional practice, social customs, the causes of perdition and the means of salvation, and while al-ghazali hardly says anything new in it, its four volumes totalling some 1,500 pages constitute a compendium of Islamic religious thought in the Middle Ages. With its comprehensiveness, clarity and simplicity, it occupies a unique position in the history of Islamic thought. Al-Ghazali returned to Baghdad in 1097 (A.H. 490) and continued to live the life of a Sufiin the ribat of Abu Sa id of Nishapur opposite the Nizamiya madrasa. He took up teaching againfor a short time, expounding his Ihya Ulum ad-din. He then went to his birthplace, Tus, where hecontinued to live as a Sufi and to write. It is apparently during this period that he completed the Ihya Ulum ad-din and several other works of a clearly Sufi nature. After ten years of absence, al-ghazali went back to teaching at the Nizamiya madrasa at Nishapur in 1104 (A.H. 498), at the request of the Seljuq minister Fakhr ul-mulk. However, he continued to live as a Sufi and to write until 1109 (A.H. 503),6 when he left Nishapur to return to his birthplace, Tus, to devote himself to the life of an ascetic Sufi and to teaching. Near his house he built a khangah or Sufi hermitage, and it was in this period that he wrote Minhaj al- Abidin [ThePath of the Worshippers], which appears to be a description of his way of life and that of his pupils: renunciation of this world, seclusion and cultivation of the innermost self. And so he continued until his death in 1111 (A.H. 505). The Philosophy of Al-Ghazali The main theme of al-ghazali s philosophy, and indeed of Islamic philosophy in general, is the concept of God and His relationship with His creation (the world and mankind). Although al-ghazali initially followed the mainstream of Islamic fiqh, and in particular of Ash ari (traditional Sunnite) kalam, in describing the essence and attributes of God, and Sufi undercurrents in defining the relationship between God and mankind, he then proposes his own conception of the essence, attributes and actions of God. Like many legal experts and philosophers, al-ghazali divides the universe into the transient world and the eternal hereafter. This world, or temporary existence, is subject to the will of God; itis not governed by a set of scientific laws, but is maintained, governed and driven by the direct and continual intervention of God (rejection of causality). God is not only the creator of the universe and of its attributes and laws (or the cause of existence); He is also the cause of every event in the world, great and small, past, present and future. In this universe lives man, a creature with an immortal soul and a mortal body. Man is neither good nor evil by nature, although his natural disposition is closer 238

239 to good than to evil. Furthermore, he operates within a constrained framework, within which there is more compulsion than freedom of choice. He is not so much meant for this world,in which he toils, as for the here after, which he must aspire to and strive to achieve. Society is composed of human beings, and in al-ghazali s view cannot be virtuous. His is a society in which evil outweighs good, to such an extent that man may acquire greater merit by shunning society than by living in it. Society can only change for the worse, and individuals have rights and duties with respect to society. However, the existence of the individual is insignificant compared with the existence and strength of the group. It is a class society divided into a thinking and rulingélite, and the masses, whose affairs are entirely in the hands of the élite. Religious and doctrinal questions are left to the scholars, and worldly things and matters of State come under the authority of the rulers. The common people have no choice but to obey. Lastly, it is a society that is completely subject to the authority and guidance of God; it has no other goal than that of upholding the religion of God and of affording people the opportunity of adoring Him. Awareness and knowledge are the most important characteristics of man, who derives knowledge from two sources: the human attributes of the senses and reason, which are deficient, allow man to know the material world in which he lives; while the divine properties of revelation and inspiration enable him to discover the invisible world. These two types of knowledge must not be equated, whether with respect to their source, method or reliability. True knowledge can only be unveiled once the self has been cultivated through learning and exercise for what is engraved on thewell-guarded Tablet (the contents of the Holy Koran) to be imprinted on it. The more the self comprehends such knowledge, the better it knows God, the closer it comes to Him, and the greateris the happiness of man. The man of virtue, in al-ghazali s view, is he who renounces this world, turns towards the hereafter and prefers seclusion to the company of his fellow-men. Poverty is preferable to wealth, and hunger to a full belly. The comportment of the man of virtue is governed by reliance on Godrather than an urge to achieve supremacy, and his habits are more those of patience than of struggle. It is remarkable that at the same time as the ideal of the man of virtue was beginning to change in Europe, where the warrior monk was taking over from the monk in the cloister, theattire of the man of virtue was also changing in the Arab East. While Peter the Hermit was rallying the European masses to join in the crusades, al-ghazali was urging the Arabs to submit to their rulers or to turn away from society. Thus the thinker and philosopher helped to mould society and change the course of history. 239

240 Aims and principles of education Al-Ghazali s philosophy of education represents the high point of Islamic thinking on education, in which al-ghazali s inclination towards reconciliation and the integration of various intellectual schools is apparent. Here he achieves a synthesis of legal, philosophical and mystical educational thinking. Al-Ghazali was not a philosopher of education (even though he did work as a teacher atthe beginning of his career); he was a philosopher of religion and ethics. When he had completedthe outlines of this great philosophical edifice, and begun to put it into practice, al-ghazali foundhimself turning to education and teaching, in the same way as the great philosophers before him haddone. Al-Ghazali s philosophy was more an expression of the spirit of the age in which he lived than a response to its challenges; his thinking on education, as indeed his philosophy, favoured continuity and stability over change and innovation. For Al-Ghazali, the purpose of society is to apply shari a, and the goal of man is to achieve happiness close to God. Therefore, the aim of education is to cultivate man so that he abides by the teachings of religion, and is hence assured of salvation and happiness in the eternal life hereafter. Other worldly goals, such as the pursuit of wealth, social standing or power, and even the love of knowledge, are illusory, since they relate to the transient world. Man is born as a tabula rasa, and children acquire personality, characteristics and behaviour through living in society and interacting with the environment. The family teaches the children its language, customs and religious traditions, whose influence they cannot escape. Therefore, the main responsibility for children s education falls on the parents, who take credit for their probity and bear the burden of their errors; they are partners in everything the children do, and this responsibility is subsequently shared by the teachers. Al-Ghazali stresses the importance of childhood in character formation. A good upbringing will give children a good character and help them to live a righteous life; whereas, a bad upbringing will spoil their character and it will be difficult to bring them back to the straight and narrow path. It is therefore necessary to understand the special characteristics of this period in order to deal with the child in an effective and sound manner. It is important that boys should begin to attend maktab (elementary school) at an early age,for what is learnt then is as engraved in stone. Those entrusted with the education of the boy at school should be aware of how his motivations develop and interests change from one period to another: a fascination with movement, games and amusement, followed by a love of finery and appearances (in infancy and childhood), then an interest in women and sex (adolescence), a yearning for leadership and domination (after the age of 20), and finally delight in the knowledge ofgod 240

241 (around the age of 40). These changing interests can be used by educators to attract the boy to school, by offering first the lure of ball games, then ornaments and fine clothes, then responsibilities, and finally by awakening a longing for the hereafter. In the elementary stage, children learn the Koran and the sayings of the Prophet s companions; they should be preserved from love poetry and the company of men of letters, both of which sow the seeds of corruption in boys souls. They must be trained to obey their parents, teachers and elders, and to behave well towards their classmates. They should be prevented from boasting to their peers about their parents wealth or the food they eat, their clothes and accessories. Rather, they should be taught modesty, generosity and civility. Attention is drawn to the potentially pernicious influence of the children s comrades on their character. They must therefore be advised that their friends should possess the following five qualities: intelligence, good morals, good character, abstemiousness and truthfulness.18 Education is not limited to training the mind and filling it with information, but involves all aspectsintellectual, religious, moral and physical-of the personality of the learner. It is not enough to impart theoretical learning; that learning must be put into practice. True learning is that which affects behaviour and whereby the learner makes practical use of his knowledge. The children s tutors must devote attention to religious education. First, the principles and foundations of religion are instilled into them such that by the age of about 7 they can be expected to perform the ritual ablutions and prayers, and to undertake several days of fasting during Ramadan until they become accustomed to it and are able to fast for the whole month. They should not be allowed to wear silk or gold, which are proscribed by the Faith. They must also be taught everything they need to know about the precepts of religious law, and must learn not to steal, eatforbidden food, act disloyally, lie, utter obscenities or do anything which children are prone to do. Naturally, at this early age they will not be able to understand the intricacies of what they are taught or expected to practice, and there is no harm in that. As they grow older, they will come to understand what they have been taught and what they are practising. At times, al-ghazali the Sufiover shadows al-ghazali the educator: for instance, he advocates cutting the boy off from the world and its temptations in order for him to renounce it, and accustoming him to a simple, rough life in poverty and modesty. And yet the educator quickly reappears, for he feels that once the boy has left the school premises, he should be allowed to play suitable games in order to recover from the fatigue of study,and be freed from the constraints imposed upon him. However, he must not tire or overtax himself at play. Preventing the boy from playing and burdening him constantly with learning can only weary 241

242 his heart and blunt his mind, spoiling his life and making him so despise study that he resorts to all manner of tricks to escape it. If the boy obeys his tutors, has good morals, shows excellence and makes progress in his studies, he should be honoured and praised in public so as to be encouraged and to incite others to imitate him. If he makes a mistake, but appears to be aware of it, the tutor should not mind, for the boy may have understood his mistake and be determined not to repeat it. If, however, he commits the same error again, his tutor should give him a small reprimand in private. The teacher may sometimes need to punish his pupils with a light beating, the purpose of which should be chastisement rather than physical injury. The teachers should take into account the differences in character and ability between pupils, and deal with each one of them appropriately. The teachers should not push the pupils beyond their capacity, nor attempt to bring them to a level of knowledge that they cannot absorb,since that is counter-productive. By the same token, they should not keep a bright pupil back at thelevel of his/her schoolmates, for then the teacher would be in the position of someone who would feed an infants on flesh which they cannot eat, digest or benefit from, or someone who would give a strong man human milk, which he has long outgrown. To feed someone with the right food is to give life; to burden someone with what is not right can only cause ruin. Obscured by his borrowings from philosophers (Ibn Miskawayh in particular) or by their influence, al-ghazali the faqih and Sufi returns to the fore when, in addressing the arts and artistic education, he deals with the general principles of education. He begins well by defining beauty and goodness as the perception of a thing in its entirety, but his Sufism quickly gets the better of him and he condemns listening to music and singing because they are associated with gatherings where wine is drunk. The only kind of singing to be allowed, in his view, is that of religious and heroicsongs, or those sung at official festivities (religious festivals, celebrations, banquets, etc.). Such songs revive one s spirits, rejoice the heart and help one to carry on the work of this world and the next. However, an excess of music and singing should be avoided: as with medicine, they should be taken only in prescribed doses. The same is true of dancing, which may be practised or watched in the appropriate places, as long as it does not arouse desire or encourage sinful acts. Al-Ghazali attacks drawing and painting vehemently, in conformity with the aversion of the fuqaha, particularly in the early days of Islam, to the depiction of man or animals, which was associated with the veneration of idols or icons. He therefore rules that pictures should be removed or defaced, and he recommends not working as an engraver, goldsmith or decorator. With regard to 242

243 poetry, al-ghazali advises men not to waste their time with it, even if the composition or recitation of verses is not forbidden. Thus, al-ghazali adopts a strict position that is in agreement with that of the most rigorous legal experts. He divides the arts into the categories of licit, reprehensible and forbidden. The licit arts are those dealing with religion or which inspire fervour. Arts intended for pleasure or entertainment al-ghazali tends to declare either reprehensible or forbidden. In any case, he paysscant attention to the arts or artistic education. However, we should no doubt do al- Ghazali an injustice if we were to disregard the criteria and ideas of his day and age and judge him solely by the standards and concepts of our time. Al-Ghazali advises marriage as soon as the sexual urge appears and maturity is reached. But he also stresses that marriage and the founding of a family is a great responsibility, which one should be properly prepared to assume. Al- Ghazali advises that those unable to marry should endeavour to cultivate and discipline themselves and curb their impulses through fasting and spiritual exercises. The concept of methods and knowledge of teaching With the emergence of the new religion (Islam) and the civilization that arose with it, a set of religious and linguistic disciplines came into being, among which were those dealing with the Koran, hadith, fiqh, linguistics, the biographies of the Prophet and his companions, and the military campaigns of the Prophet, which were designated the Arab sciences. With the growth of Araband Islamic culture, and through contact and interaction with and borrowing from foreign cultures, another set of disciplines arose, such as medicine, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, philosophyand logic, which were called the non-arab sciences. From these native and borrowed sciences a flourishing scientific movement grew rapidly, although a conflict soon arose between the religious sciences and the disciplines of philosophy and the natural sciences, or between the fuqaha and the philosophers. Al-Ghazali and his Tahafut al-falasifa was one of the elements in this struggle, which ended with the victory of the fuqaha (and Sufis) over the philosophers and scientists. Andyet the religious sciences emerged from this battle weakened and lacking in vigour, especially after the gate of independent inquiry was closed and the method of relying on earlier authorities gained supremacy: Arab civilization and science thus went from an age of original production, creativity and innovation to one of derivation, imitation and compilation. As a scholar and teacher, al- Ghazali was interested in the problem of knowledge: itsconcepts, methods, categories and aims. True knowledge, in al-ghazali s view, is knowledge of God, His books, His prophets, the kingdoms of earth and heaven, as well as knowledge of shari a as revealed by His Prophet. Such knowledge is thus a 243

244 religious science, even if it includes the study of certain worldly phenomena. Disciplines relating to this world, such as medicine, arithmetic, etc., are classed as techniques. The purpose of knowledge is to help man to achieve plenitude and to attain true happiness-the happiness of the hereafter-by drawing close to God and gazing upon His countenance. The value of learning lies in its usefulness and veracity. Hence, the religious sciencesare superior to the secular sciences because they concern salvation in the eternal hereafter ratherthan this transient world, and because they contain greater truth than the secular sciences. This is not to say that the secular sciences should be completely ignored; they have their uses, and are needed by society. Examples of such disciplines are medicine and linguistics. The Muslim philosophers and scholars (al-kindi, al-farabi, Ibn an-nadim, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and others) had a passion for classifying the sciences, and were influenced in thisrespect by the Greek philosophers, in particular Aristotle. Al- Ghazali has several classifications of the sciences: he first classifies them according to their nature into theoretical (theological and religious sciences) and practical (ethics, home economics and politics), and then according to their origin into revealed sciences, taken from the prophets (unity of God, exegesis, rites, customs, morality) and rational sciences, produced by human reason and thinking (mathematics, natural sciences, theology, etc.). There is no contradiction, in al-ghazali s opinion, between the revealed sciences and the rational sciences. Any apparent conflict between the prescriptions of revelation and there quirements of reason stems from the incapacity of the seeker to attain the truth and from his faulty understanding of the reality of revealed law or the judgement of reason. In fact, the revealed and the rational sciences complement-and indeed are indispensable to-one another. The problemis that it is difficult, if not impossible, to study and understand them together. They constitute two separate paths, and whoever takes an interest in the one will be deficient in the other. Finally, al-ghazali classifies the sciences according to their purpose or aim, dividing the minto the science of transaction (governing the behaviour and actions of human beings-the sciences of rites and customs) and the science of unveiling (pertaining to the apprehension of the reality and essence of things), an abstract science which can only be attained through unveiling a light which illuminates the heart when the heart is purified, a light which is ineffable and cannot be contained in books. It is the supreme science and the truest form of knowledge. The eleventh century (fifth century A.H.) witnessed the triumph of the religious science sover philosophy and the natural sciences. al-ghazali s violent attack on 244

245 philosophy was one of the factors that contributed to its weakening in the Islamic East. Al-Ghazali divides the philosophical sciences into six categories: mathematics, logic, natural sciences, metaphysics, politics and ethics. Mathematics, logic and the natural sciences do not contradict religion, and may be studied. The problem is that whoever studies them may go on to metaphysics and other disciplines which should be avoided. Metaphysics is the science which is most dangerous and at variance with religion. Politics and ethics are not incompatible with the sciences and principles of religion, but here again, whoever studies them may slide into the study of other, reprehensible sciences. Curiously, although al-ghazali attacked philosophy and the natural sciences, and was influential in persecuting and weakening them, he also helped to restore them to the curriculum atal-azhar at the end of the nineteenth century, where the head of that university, Muhammad al-anbabi 1878 (A.H. 1305) adduced al- Ghazali s writings on the natural sciences in order to demonstrate that they were not contradictory to religion and to authorize their teaching. The Islamic educational system was divided into two distinct levels: elementary schooling was dispensed in the kuttab for the common people, and by men of letters in private houses for the children of the élite; higher education took place in various Islamic educational institutions such as mosques, madrasas, houses of science and wisdom, Sufi hermitages, brotherhoods, hospices, etc. The elementary curriculum had a pronounced religious character, and consisted mainly oflearning the Koran and the fundamentals of religion, reading and writing, and occasionally the rudiments of poetry, grammar, narration and arithmetic, with some attention being devoted tomoral instruction. At the beginning of Islam, the higher curriculum was purely religious and included the sciences of tafsir, hadith, fiqh and kalam, and disciplines designed to aid in their study, such as linguistics, literature and poetry, as well as branches of knowledge which had developed in the margins of the religious sciences, such as narratives, the military campaigns of the Prophet andhistory. As Islamic civilization developed and assimilated Greek science, there arose alongside theislamic curriculum a new curriculum, in which philosophy and science (mathematics, logic, medicine, astronomy, natural sciences, etc.) were studied. It was not easy to combine these two types of knowledge; only a small number of students and scholars succeeded in doing so. Owing to the weak position of philosophy and science, and the strength of the attack against them, they gradually began to disappear from the curriculum in the eleventh century (fifth century A.H.), to be taken up again only in the early nineteenth century, albeit primarily in independent scientific institutes. It should be noted that in Arab and Islamic civilization, curricula were not rigidly defined, but were flexible and allowed students the freedom of choosing the subjects they wished to study and the masters they wished to study under. 245

246 Al-Ghazali distinguishes clearly between two types of curriculum: (a) obligatory sciences,which must be studied by everyone, including the religious sciences and related or ancillary disciplines such as linguistics and literature; (b) optional sciences, which are studied according to the wishes and capacities of the student. These are in turn divided into: (i) revealed sciences, of which there are four: the fundamentals (the Book, sunna, ijma and the teachings of the companions of the Prophet); the branches (fiqh and ethics); means (linguistics and grammar); andthe accessories (reading, tafsir, the sources of fiqh, annals and geneology); and (ii) non-revealed sciences (medicine, mathematics, poetry and history). The criterion governing the choice of subjects is their usefulness for the student and for society. Hence religious subjects are preferred, since they are conducive to the godliness of the eternal hereafter rather than the mediocrity of this transient world. Al-Ghazali clarifies his conception of the contents and methods of teaching by classifying the subjects students may choose into three categories: Knowledge which is praise worthy whether in small or large amounts (knowledge of God,His attributes, His actions, the Law which He established in His creation, and His wisdom ingiving pre-eminence to the hereafter over this world). Knowledge, which is reprehensible whether in small or large amounts (witchcraft, magic,astrology). Knowledge which is praiseworthy to a certain extent (tafsir, hadith, fiqh, kalam, linguistics, grammar, etc.). He recommends beginning with the fundamental sciences: the Koran, followed by sunna, then tafsir and the Koranic sciences. These are to be followed by applied ethics-fiqh, then the sources of fiqh, etc. Al-Ghazali then divides each branch of knowledge into three levels: elementary, intermediate and advanced (primary, secondary and higher), and he lists the books which may be studied at each level of the various sciences and subjects of study. In Al-Ghazali s eyes, education is not merely a process whereby the teacher imparts knowledge that the pupil may or may not absorb, after which teacher and pupil each go theirseparate ways. Rather, it is an interaction affecting and benefiting teacher and pupil equally, theformer gaining merit for giving instruction and the latter cultivating himself through the acquisitionof knowledge.al-ghazali attaches great importance to the climate in which teaching takes place, and tothe kind of relations that are desirable; in doing so, he continues and reaffirms the Islamic traditions of education. For him, the teacher should be a model and an example, not merely a purveyor or medium of knowledge. His work is not limited to the teaching of a particular subject; rather, it should encompass all aspects of the personality and life of the pupil. The pupil, in turn, has a duty t oconsider the teacher as a father, to whom he owes obedience and respect. Among the principles governing the art of teaching, al- Ghazali stresses that teaching should be linked to concrete situations and 246

247 emphasizes the need for various types of knowledge and skills. Whenever a particular knowledge or skill is needed, it should be taught in such a way as to meet that need and be functional. He also stresses that learning is only effective when it is put intopractice, and is aimed at inculcating the right habits rather than simply memorizing information. Al-Ghazali comes close to the idea of proficiency learning when he recommends that the teachershould not move on from one subject matter to another without first ensuring that the pupil has mastered the first subject matter, and to the concept of the complementarity of sciences when he advises that the teacher should pay attention to the interconnectedness of knowledge and the relations between its various branches. Finally, he counsels a gradual and patient approach in teaching. With respect to religious education, al-ghazali recommends an early introduction to the fundamentals of religion through inculcation, memorization and repetition, there being no need for understanding at first. A subsequent stage involves explanation, understanding and consciouspratice. Here too, al-ghazali continues the Islamic traditions of education, in which the Koran was first to be memorized without being explained, the fundamentals of religion inculcated without clarification and practice was enjoined before the emergence of commitment rooted in conviction. Scholars, teachers and pupils As Islamic society evolved, numerous changes took place in the nature of the educated élite and it srole in society. At first, this élite was essentially made up of religious scholars; there then appeared writers and philosophers, followed by Sufis. Each group represented a specific category of social leaders, who at times co-existed peacefully, but at other times had violent and bloody clashes over the principles or interests of their respective groups. These clashes, in turn, helped to shape Islamic society and civilization, and ended in the eleventh century AD with the victory of the alliance of the fuqaha and Sufis over the philosophers and scholars. Things remained thus until the end of the eighteenth century, when a new intellectual leadership appeared, that of the modern, secular,western-educated scholars, who imposed themselves in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Al-Ghazali is greatly concerned by the problem of the scholarly élite. In his criticism of the scholars of his time there may be an element of self-criticism since, before undergoing a spiritual crisis, he first immersed himself in politics and academic disputes seeking fame and social advancement, subsequently foresaking the wealth and influence he had enjoyed, and retreating into seclusion and asceticism.al-ghazali represents the traditional Islamic approach in his insistence on the importance of scholars (the inheritors of the prophets) in society. He defines the role of the scholar in society as:(a) 247

248 seeking to attain the truth; (b) cultivating his innermost self and acting in accordance with the knowledge which he has attained; (c) disseminating the truth and teaching others without desire or fear. Whoever learns, acts and teaches shall be mighty in the kingdom of heaven, for he is as the sun, whose resplendence illuminates other bodies, or as musk, whose fragrance perfumes other objects; in undertaking to teach, he accomplishes a great and momentous task, and must therefore be mindful of his rules of conduct and functions. 45 The scholar who does not use his knowledge, but who withholds it and does not disseminate it shall be punished. The standing of scholars isdetermined by the standing of the sciences they work in. Since the religious sciences are moreimportant than the temporal sciences, fiqh more significant than medicine, medicine more noble than witchcraft, the sciences of unveiling more important than those of transaction. Al-Ghazali is critical of the scholars of his age (and of himself), particularly in view of their avidity for wealth and influence, their proximity to the rulers, their failure to abide by their own teachings, their interest in the traditional sciences, which help them to gain high office (e.g. fiqh), and their neglect of useful sciences (such as medicine). Although al- Ghazali places the Sufis above the ulama (fuqaha and philosophers), he does not spare them from his criticism or attacks. In his view, most Sufis have strayed far from the essence of Sufism and only aspire to the social position that Sufism confers on them. Al-Ghazali is faced with two important questions: the relationship of the scholars to the common people and to the rulers. The function of the scholar is to seek the truth and disseminate it; teaching is a duty for the scholar. Al-Ghazali is very close to the idea of the society of teachers and learners. In his opinion, teaching is not the duty of scholars and teachers alone; anyone who learns something has a duty to teach it. However, that does not mean that the scholar or teacher must teach everybody everything. The scholar must take into account the differences between the common people and the élite, and between licit knowledge and that which is to be with held from those unworthy of it. He musteven keep secret truths that cannot be divulged for fear that they may have a harmful effect on people or cause them to doubt their own faith or reason. Al-Ghazali practised this himself and recommends it in many of his books, in particular Ihya Ulum ad-din. This position was the result of the persecution and intellectual terrorism prevailing at that time, which led to the assassination of a number of thinkers and the burning of their books. As a reaction against his previous habits and experience, al-ghazali stresses the need for scholars to practise asceticism, to shun authority and rulers, and to counterbalance the power of the rulers, in order to prevent the corruption of society. If it were not for the existence of unscrupulous judges and scholars, sovereigns would be less corrupt, for fear of rejection. In order to preserve their 248

249 independent judgement, it is best for the scholars to remain aloof from the rulers and to refrainfrom visiting them or undertaking any work for them, such as teaching them or their children, and to refuse any salary or material compensation from them, because most of their wealth is ill-gotten. However, social necessities may force scholars to work and they are consequently compelled to accept State remuneration. It is therefore licit for them to receive payment from public funds. In the early days of Islam, there was a category of mu allimin, who taught the younger generation reading and writing in makatib. Similarly, the elder companions of the Prophet, reciters of the Koran, transmitters of hadith, narrators of epics and fuqaha gave instruction to adults in the mosques. In the Umayyad period, there arose a new category of mu addibin (educators, tutors),who tutored the children of the élite at home; they grew in numbers and influence in the Abbasidperiod. There also appeared a further category of mudarrisin of higher education, who engaged inresearch and university teaching; this coincided with the growth of specialized educationalinstitutions (mad_ris, etc.). In Islamic civilization, school-teachers and professors had a certain prestige springing from the religious nature of teaching and the eagerness of students to seek knowledge directly from the master. And yet, the social standing of Koranic school-masters was rather low, unlike that of venerable religious authorities and scholars. There thus emerged a clear concern in Islamic society to draw up rules governing the work of schoolteachers. Al-Ghazali considers the seeking of knowledge as a form of worship, and teaching as aduty and an obligation, and indeed a most excellent profession. Teachers are indispensable to society.54 Sufi influence is clearly in evidence in his writings, particularly with regard to the need for schoolteachers and the qualities they should possess, which include erudition, renunciation of the world, spiritual accomplishment, devotion, frugality, morality, etc.55 Al-Ghazali proposes a professional code of ethics for teachers, who, he says, should practice what they preach, and be an example to their pupils and to people in general. O Disciple! How many sleepless nights have you passed reading science and poring over books-but I do not knowits purpose. If it was for worldly ends, to gain its baubles, win its honours and to boast over your contemporaries andequals, woe to you, and again woe! But if your purpose was to vitalize the Sacred Law of the Prophet, to develop yourcharacter and break the soul commanding evil, then blessing on you and again blessings. In such eloquent terms does al-ghazali define the aim of study and learning. He then proceeds to advise students (especially those in higher education) to divide their days in the following manner, spending from dawn to sunrise in invocation of God and private worship; from sunrise to midmorning seeking knowledge from one s 249

250 professors; from mid-morning to mid-afternoon in writing notes and making fair copies; from mid-afternoon to sunset in attending learned gatherings or in performing rites of invocation, begging forgiveness or glorification of God. The first third of the night should be spent in reading, the second third in prayer, and the final third in sleep. Finally, he proposes a code of ethics whereby students should: 1. Ensure that they are spiritually pure before they undertake the quest for knowledge; 2. Divest themselves of their worldly possessions, detach themselves from hearth and home, and devote themselves to the search for knowledge and the pursuit of the hereafter; 3. Respect the rights of their teachers and behave in a civil manner towards them; 4. Beware, especially at the beginning of their studies, of paying too much attention to doctrinal controversies; 5. Master the fundamentals of the praiseworthy sciences (linguistics, tafsir, hadith, fiqh and kalam), and then specialize by studying one or more of those sciences in greater depth; 6. Choose useful subjects in which to specialize, especially those that are conducive to salvation in the hereafter; 7. Study each subject thoroughly before going on to another, bearing in mind the logical sequence and interconnectedness of the various disciplines; 8. Have as their main goal in their search for knowledge the cultivation and perfection of the innermost self in this world, and proximity to God in the hereafter, rather than theat tainment of high office or the acquisition of wealth or fame. These recommendations bear the stamp of Sufism, and represent al-ghazali s later thinking. The above applies to the education of boys; girls are treated differently by al-ghazali, andindeed by other Islamic philosophers of education. Despite the fact that Islam is concerned with improving the social status of women and devoting attention to their education, the later hadith and the social and educational principles derived therefrom accorded women an inferior position. Al-Ghazali exemplifies this negative tendency regarding the methods in which women are to be considered, dealt with and educated. In his view, women are for the most part of dubious morality and limited intelligence; a 250

251 virtuous woman is a rare phenomenon. He places women at alower rank than men, and he enjoins them to obey men and to remain inside the home. Although he holds that girls may claim from their parents, and wives from their husbands, the right to be educated, such education is very limited. It is enough for a young girl to learn the fundamentals of religion. She should not endeavour to acquire any loftier forms of knowledge, nor should she, except with the permission of her husband, go outside the home to seek knowledge, as long as he performs his duty to educate her. If, however, he does not educate her, she may go outside the home to seek education, and the man who would prevent her from so doing is at fault. In his treatment of education, al-ghazali draws on numerous and varied sources: Heborrows from Ibn Miskawayh and the Ikhwan a-afa [Brethren of Purity], as well as from the fuqaha. As was his custom, he brings together various disparate and contradictory elements, and his writing is a combination of fiqh, philosophy and Sufi mysticism, in which the Sufi element is nevertheless dominant.the impact of Al-GhazaliAl-Ghazali died at the age of 55 (according to the Hegira calendar), after a life that was not as long as it was productive, wide-ranging and influential. He is rightly considered to be one of the most important and profound Islamic thinkers, who was aptly called the renovator of the fifth century A.H.. Al-Ghazali s influence may be witnessed by a number of factors, such as: The profundity, power and comprehensiveness of his thought, contained in some fifty different works, the most important of which are Ihya Ulum ad-din, Tahafut al-falasifa and al-munqidh min a-alal, which are still studied today. The fact that his views were well-suited to his age and milieu, and were more a reflection of that age than a response to its needs and requirements-they constituted more an element of continuity and conservatism than a factor of renewal and change. After al-ghazali, Islamic society and thought entered into a long period of stagnation and decline, and produced few other great minds. Al-Ghazali has thus remained alive and influential. The influence of al-ghazali on Islamic thought may be summed up as follows: He reinstated the principle of fear in religious thinking and emphasized the role of the Creatoras the centre around which human life revolves, and an agent intervening directly and continuously in the course of human affairs (once the principle of love had gained supremacy among the Sufis). He introduced several principles of logic and philosophy (despite his attacks on those subjects)into the disciplines of fiqh and kalam. He reconciled shari a and Sufi mysticism (the fuqaha and the Sufis) and contributed to the spread of Sufi brotherhoods. He defended Sunnite Islam against the tenets of philosophy and Shi ism. He contributed to the weakening of philosophy and the natural sciences. Al-Ghazali s influence was not limited to the Islamic world, for he also had an impact on Christian European thought. In the late eleventh century A.D., and 251

252 especially in the twelfth century, a large number of works in Arabic on mathematics, astronomy, the natural sciences, chemistry, medicine, philosophy and religion were translated into Latin. Several books by al-ghazali, and in particular Ihya Ulum ad-din, Maqasid al-falasifa (which some scholars mistakenly took to represent al-ghazali s thought rather than a compendium of the philosophical principles current in his age), Tahafut al-falasifa and Mizan al- Amal. A number of European scholars knew Arabic and thus became acquainted with al-ghazali s views in the original. The influence of al-ghazali is clearly perceptible in the works of numerous philosophers and scholars of the Middle Ages and the early modern period, especially St. Thomas Aquinas, Dante and David Hume. In his Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas Aquinas ( ) draws heavily on al-ghazali s ideas contained in Ihya Ulum ad-din, Kimiya-yi Sa adat and Ar-Risala al-laduniya. The works of Dante ( ) show clear Islamic influences from al-ghazali and from Risalat al-ghufran [The Epistle of Forgiveness] by al-ma arri. The influence of al-ghazali is also apparent in the writings of Pascal ( ), especially in the primacy he gives to intuition over reason and the senses, and Hume ( ) in his rejection of causality.al-ghazali had an even deeper influence on Jewish than on Christian theology. Many Jewish scholars in the Middle Ages knew Arabic well, and some of al-ghazali s books were translated into Hebrew. Mizan al- Amal, in particular, was widely read by Jews in the Middle Ages; several translations of it were made into Hebrew, and it was recast for Jewish readers by replacing verses of the Koran with passages from the Torah. One of the greatest Jewish thinkers to be influenced by al-ghazali was Maimonides (In Arabic: Musà Ibn Maimun; in Hebrew: Moshe ben Maimon) (A.D ), whose Dalalat al- Ha irin [Guide for the Perplexed] (originally composed in Arabic) is one of the most important books of medieval Jewish theology.62 Al-Ghazali s writings on education constitute the high point of thinking on the subject in the Islamic world. The theory of education which he elaborated is the most complete edifice relating to the field; it clearly defines the aims of education, lays out the path to be followed, and themeans whereby the objectives can be achieved. From the twelfth to nineteenth centuries A.D. (sixthto the thirteenth centuries A.H.), Islamic thinking on education was heavily influenced by al-ghazali. Indeed, theoretical and practical educators, with few exceptions, hardly did anything other thanborrow from al-ghazali and summarize his ideas and books. In support of this claim, it is sufficient to note some of the writings on education that have come down to us: The work by Az- Zarnuji (died A.D. 1175; A.H. 571) entitled Ta lim al-muta allim Tariq at- Ta allum [Teaching the Student the Method of Study] is basically a compilation of passages from al-ghazali s Ihya Ulum ad-din and Mizan al- Amal reproduced literally, with a few minor additions: This work, which is noted for 252

253 its conciseness, simplicity of style and liveliness, was one of the most widely circulated books on education. The indirect influence of al-ghazali is found in the writings of At-Tusi (died A.D. 1273;A.H. 672), one of the foremost scholars of the Middle Ages, the author of a vast and variedoutput of over 100 books on philosophy, logic, ethics, mathematics and astronomy. His most important works on education were Akhlaq-i Nasiri [Nasirean Ethics] (in Persian) and Adabal-Muta allimin [Rules of Conduct for Students]. In the former, he was influenced by IbnMiskawayh s Tahdhib al-akhlaq wa-tathir al-a raq [The Refinement of Character and thepurification of Races] and Greek philosophy. The latter is merely a resumé of Az-Zarnuji sta lim, which in turn was influenced by al-ghazali. Similarly, Ibn Jama a (died A.D. 1332; A.H. 733), the author of Tadhkirat as-sami wa-l- Mutakallim fi Adab al- Alim wa-l-muta allim [Memorandum for the Pupil and Master on the Rules of Conduct of the Scholar and Student] was directly influenced by al-ghazali, as well asby Az-Zarnuji and At-Tusi, both of whom borrowed from al-ghazali. He lived in Egypt, Palestine and Syria and worked variously as a teacher, preacher and judge. His book is noted for its simplicity and orderliness, and contains an abundance of hadith, and Prophetic saying sand stories. He deals in a traditional manner with themes that had become familiar in Islamic education, such as the merit of knowledge and the rules of conduct for scholars, teachers and pupils. A chapter is devoted to the rules of conduct for boarders at mad_ris (which had become widespread at that time), and a further chapter deals with the art of using books. The work by Ibn al-hajj al- Abdari (died A.D. 1336; A.H. 737), Madkhal ash- Shar ash-sharif [Introduction to the Sublime Revelation] is practically in the same mould as Ihya Ulum ad-din, but reflects the great difference between the Islamic civilization of the fifth century A.H.and that of the eighth century A.H.. The author mentions al-ghazali frequently, and appears tobe well acquainted with his ideas and writings on both general topics and on education. In the sixteenth century A.D. (eighth century A.H.) we find Ibn Hajar al-haitami, the author o ftahrir al-maqal fi Adab wa-ahkam wa-fawa id Yahtaju ilaiha Mu addibu-l-atfal [The Liberation of Discourse on the Rules of Conduct and Moral Advantages Required by the Educators of Children], an Egyptian who studied and taught at al-azhar before moving to the vicinity of Mecca. His writings are typical of the thought and literature of the Ottoman era. He concentrates on teaching in katatib and the situation and statutes of schoolteachers. He quotesal-ghazali and refers to him frequently. Islamic (particularly Sunnite) educational thought followed the course mapped out by al-ghazaliand this influence has remained valid even after the influx of Western civilization and the emergence of a modern, contemporary Arab civilization. 253

254 Imam Nawawi ( AH/ CE) Imam Nawawi said, in his Letters, al-maqasid, "The specifications of the Way of the Sufis are five: 1. To keep the Presence of Allah in your heart in public and in private; 2. To follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) by actions and speech; 3. To keep away from dependence on people; 4. To be happy with what Allah gives you, even if it is little; 5. To always refer your matters to Allah, Almighty and Exalted." [Maqasid at-tawhid, p. 20] Imam Fakhr ad-din ar-razi ( AH/ CE) Imam Fakhr al-din al-razi was one of the outstanding figures in Islamic theology. Living in the second half of the sixth century ah (twelfth century ad), he also wrote on history, grammar, rhetoric, literature, law, the natural sciences and philosophy, and composed one of the major works of Qur'anic exegesis, the only remarkable gap in his output being politics. He travelled widely in the eastern lands of Islam, often engaging in heated polemical confrontations. His disputatious character, intolerant of intellectual weakness, frequently surfaces in his writings, but these are also marked by a spirit of synthesis and a profound desire to uncover the truth, whatever its source. A number of his metaphysical positions became well known in subsequent philosophical literature, being cited more often than not for the purposes of refutation. His prolixity and pedantic argumentation were often criticized, but he was widely considered the reviver of Islam in his century. Theology and Philosophy Fakhr al-din al-razi was born in Rayy near present-day Tehran in ah 543 or 544/ad Like his predecessor al-ghazali, he was an adherent of the Shafi'i school in law and of the theology of Ash'arism (see Ash'ariyya and Mu'tazila). He was attracted at an early age to the study of philosophy, in which he soon became proficient. In his late twenties, he visited Khwarazm and Transoxania, where he came in contact with some of the last theologians in the Mu'tazilite tradition. Although he endured hardship and poverty at the beginning of his career, on returning to Rayy from Transoxania he entered into the first of a series of patronage relations with rulers in the east which contributed to his reputedly considerable wealth and authority. Al-Razi's skill in polemic ensured that controversy followed him in his subsequent sojourns in Khurasan, Bukhara, Samarqand and elsewhere (he is said 254

255 to have visited India). He consequently made several dangerous enemies, including among them the Karramiyyah (an activist ascetic sect, staunch defenders of a literal interpretation of scripture and of anthropomorphism), the Isma'ilis, and the Hanbalites, each of whom apparently threatened his life at various points. Al-Razi settled finally in Herat, where he had a teaching madrasa built for him, and where he died in ah 606/ad In the religious sciences, al-ghazali had legitimized the use of logic, while at the same time attacking those key metaphysical doctrines of the philosophers which most offended against orthodox doctrine. This move prepared the ground for the subsequent incorporation of philosophical argumentation into theology. It was through al-razi that this marriage was most completely effected in the Sunni world. His major theological works all begin with a section on metaphysics, and this was to become the pattern for most later writers. The problem of how far al-razi should be considered a philosopher (rather than a theologian) is complicated by changes of view during the course of his life, and by his highly disputatious and often intemperate personality, which he himself acknowledged. His style is marked by an extensively ramifying dialectic, often ending in highly artificial subtleties, and is not easy to follow. The relentlessness and sometimes obvious delight with which al-razi used this method to home in on his victims earned him among philosophers the sobriquet of Iman al-mushakkikin (Leader of the Doubters). Nevertheless, al-razi was scrupulous in representing the views he set out to criticize, manifesting his concern to lay out a rigorous dialectic in which theological ideas could be debated before the arbitration of reason. This predictably brought him under subsequent attack from those who believed that upholding orthodox doctrine was the primary task of theology, one of whom remarked that in al-razi's works 'the heresy is in cash, the refutation on credit'. One of al-razi's major concerns was the self-sufficiency of the intellect. His strongest statements show that he believed proofs based on Tradition (hadith) could never lead to certainty (yaqin) but only to presumption (zann), a key distinction in Islamic thought. On the other hand, his acknowledgement of the primacy of the Qur'an grew with his years. A detailed examination of al-razi's rationalism has never been undertaken, but he undoubtedly holds an important place in the debate in the Islamic tradition on the harmonization of reason and revelation. In his later years he seems to have shown some interest in mysticism, although this never formed a significant part of his thought. Al-Razi's most important philosophical writings were two works of his younger days, a commentary (sharh) on the physics and metaphysics of Ibn Sina's Kitab al-isharat wa-'l-tanbihat (Remarks and Admonitions) (see Ibn Sina) and another work on the same subject, al-mabahith al-mashriqiyya (Eastern Studies), which 255

256 is based in large part on the latter's al-shifa' and al-najat as well as al-isharat, but in which al-razi frequently preferred the views of Abu 'l-barakat al- Baghdadi (d. after ah 560/ad ). Also of great philosophical interest is his theological text Muhassal al-afkar (The Harvest of Thought). Perhaps al-razi's greatest work, however, is the Mafatih al-ghayb (The Keys to the Unknown), one of the most extensive commentaries on the Qur'an, running to eight volumes in quarto and known more popularly as simply al-tafsir al-kabir (The Great Commentary). As its more orthodox detractors have been happy to point out, this work, which occupied al-razi to the end of his life and was completed by a pupil, contains much of philosophical interest. The person who did the most to defend Ibn Sina, and philosophy in general, against the criticisms of al-razi was Nasir al-din al-tusi, whose commentary on the Kitab al-isharat was in large measure a refutation of al-razi's opinions. Al- Tusi also wrote a Talkhis al-muhassal al-afkar (Abridgement of the Muhassal alafkar), where he likewise undertook a criticism of many of the philosophical criticisms in the Muhassal al-afkar. Metaphysics Al-Razi was associated by later authors with the view that existence is distinct from, and additional to, essence, both in the case of creation and in the case of God, and that pure existence is merely a concept (see Existence). This view is at variance with the Ash'arite and Mu'tazilite positions, as well as with that of Ibn Sina and his followers. Al-Razi only departed from this view in his commentary on the Qur'an, where he went back to a more traditional view that in God essence and existence are one. Another challenge to the philosophers for which al-razi achieved fame was his refutation of the emanationist principle ex uno non fit nisi unum (only one can come from one.) In Ibn Sina's formulation, if an indivisible single thing were to give rise to two things, a and b, this would result in a contradiction, for the same single thing would be the source of both a and of not-a ( TeX equation). Al- Razi's refutation was based on the claim that the contradictory of 'the emanation of a' is 'the non-emanation of a', not 'the emanation of not-a'. On a related point, he originally denied the possibility of a vacuum, but in his Mafatih he argues for its existence, and for the power of the Almighty to fill it with an infinity of universes. The philosophers, following Ibn Sina, held knowledge to be an inhering in the knower of the form of the thing known, and that consequently God knew only universals and not particulars, knowledge of the latter implying inadmissible changes in God's essence as particulars changed (see Immutability). For the most part theologians were opposed to thus restricting God's knowledge, on the grounds that he was omniscient (see Omniscience). Al-Razi upheld the 256

257 theological side of the debate through postulating that knowledge involved a relation between the knower and the thing known, so that a change in the thing known would produce a change in the relation but not in the essence of the knower. This notion of a relation involved the substitution of a philosophical term, idafa (relation), for a theological one, ta'alluq (connection), in an argument about the attribute of knowledge which belonged essentially to Abu 'l-husayn al-basri's Mu'tazilite school. In ethics, al-razi held that God alone, through revelation, determines moral values for man, it being these which give rise to praise and blame. God himself was beyond the moral realm and acted from no purpose extraneous to himself, be it out of pure goodness or for the benefit of his creation. Following al- Ghazali, and before him al-juwayni, al-razi's solution to the problem posed for divine subjectivists by God's threats of punishment and reward was to acknowledge a subjective rational capacity within man allowing him to understand what causes him pleasure and pain and thus enabling him to perceive where his advantage lies. In his 'Ilm al-akhlaq (Science of Ethics) al-razi built upon al-ghazali's ethical writings, particularly from the Ihya' 'ulum al-din, providing a systematic framework based on psychology, again under the influence of al-baghdadi (see Ethics in Islamic philosophy). On the question of free will, al-razi took a radical determinist position and rejected outright the Ash'arite doctrine of kasb (acquisition). Al-Razi postulated two factors necessary for the production of an action: the power to do it or not to do it, and a preponderating factor, the motivation, which leads to the action being performed or not. Once the preponderating factor exists together with the power, either the act comes about necessarily or else it becomes impossible. Al- Razi pushed this essentially Mu'tazilite thesis, which is also similar to Ibn Sina's thinking, to its logical conclusion, arguing that both the power and the preponderating factor had to be created by God for the result to exist necessarily, and hence that all human actions have been produced through God's determination. We thus appear to be free agents because we act according to our motives, but in reality we are constrained. A consequence of this theory when it is applied to God's own acts is that since God acts through his power, he must himself either act through constraint (if there is a preponderating factor in this case) or else by chance (if there is not), both of which conclusions violate the central Sunnite position that God is a totally free agent. Those who came after al-razi felt that he had never adequately solved this difficulty, and he himself confessed that, whether from the point of view of reason or of tradition, there was in the end no satisfactory solution to the free will problem (see Free will). Al-Razi held the Ash'arite position that God could re-create what had been made inexistent, and this formed the basis of his literal understanding of bodily resurrection. However, he also expressed views which were influenced by the 257

258 theory of the late Mu'tazili Ibn al-malahimi, who held the contrary position on the restoration of non-existence, that the world did not pass into non-existence but its parts were dissociated, and that the essential of these parts were reassembled on the resurrection. This ambivalence on al-razi's part perhaps reflects the changes in his position on atomism, which he vehemently denied in his earlier purely philosophical works but of which he was more supportive towards the end of his life. Ibn Khaldun ( AH/ CE) Muslim historian, famous as the first systematic theoretician of the social, economic, psychological, and religious forces that determine human history and society. Born in Tunis into an aristocratic and scholarly family that had left Seville for Northwest Africa almost a century ear lier, he received the thorough education customary among the Muslim middle and upper classes. Entering government service shortly after he lost his parents and many of his teachers to the Black Death, he soon left Tunis and in 1354 arrived in Fez, where he was well received by the Marinid ruler but also had to suffer the customary tribulations of political involvement. The Northwest African period of his life included a sojourn of a little over two years in Andalusian Granada (December 1362-February 1365), during which he un dertook a diplomatic mission to Christian Seville, and over three years of quiet retirement from active politics ( ) in rural Qal'at Ibn Salamah (province of Oran). There he started work on his great history of the world (Kitab al-'ibar) and completed its "introduction," the Muqaddimah, in Returning to his native Tunis in order to complete the history, he reentered government service but soon felt that his position at court was shaky. Under the pretext of going on the pil grimage to Mecca, he left Tunis in October 1382 for Egypt. There he spent the rest of his life as a college professor and administrator and achieved the zenith of his career with an appointment to the prestigious and influential Malik! judgeship. His religious experience was enlarged by a pilgrimage to Mecca ( ) and, in particular, a visit to the holy cities of Palestine (1400). A meeting with the Mongol ruler Timur in Da mascus early in 1401 was another noteworthy event of his Egyptian period. He died unexpectedly in Cairo on 17 March Ibn Khaldun's approach to religion was conditioned by the fact that he lived in a Muslim society and was a prominent member of its religio-juridical establish ment. Both as an enormously complex institution and as a powerful religious force in society, Islam is always present in his work and his thought. The encyclopedic outline of Muslim civilization in the Muqaddimah con tains brief and factual sketches of the religious sciences and institutions; these sketches are admirably persua sive and have proved useful, for Muslims and 258

259 non Muslims alike, as a first introduction to the subject. The historical development of the sciences connected with the Qur'an, the prophetic traditions (hadith), and juris prudence is analyzed in a deceptively simple manner, and the great political-theological problems agitating Muslim society, such as the character of the caliphate and the ever present messianic expectations, are dis cussed astutely. A matter of vital concern in Ibn Khaldun's life and time was the religious and social meaning of the rela tionship of Islam, in its dominant traditional manifes tation as a sum of fundamentalist theology and law, to the individual and group emotionality of internalized religion represented by Sufism (tasawwuf, "mysticism"). He is credited with a legal responsum (fatwa) and historical description and discussion of theories on mysticism, that expands on the chapter devoted to Suf ism in the Muqaddimah. He supports traditional Sufism and rejects its ecstatic, seemingly antinomian forms, while being fully aware of their great impact on society. Other supernatural sciences, that were taken very seri ously throughout medieval Islam, such as sorcery, as trology, and "scientific" attempts at divining the future, are discussed as to their compatibility with the tradi tional religious outlook. In general, Ibn Khaldun ap plies a sense of realism to his basic concern with the forces governing human society. His approach to the re ligious/political institutions and religious sciences of Is lam is predicated upon the assumption that human ra tionality, different though it is from revealed religion, affects them as it does all other cultural activity. Even where psychological or supernatural factors appear to be involved, man's task is to rely on reason, seconded by observation and experience, for understanding and explaining his world. This approach raises the question of how Ibn Khal dun reconciled his views on the normal course of hu man affairs with the dominant religious traditions and beliefs. The importance of his work results from his re markable attempt to explain the historical processes in human terms, assumed by him to possess universal va lidity. Culture, equated with human life, is seen as de pendent upon population density, a natural assumption in premodern times possibly confirmed for people in the fourteenth century by the devastation of the Black Death. Man's innate psychological need to belong and give political support to a group dominated by one or more leading personalities, for which Ibn Khaldun chose the code word 'asabiyah, translated approxi mately as "group feeling," is instrumental in producing the circular ebb and flow of concentrations of political power necessary for all civilization; religious convic tions are beneficial, at times even indispensable, for an 'asabiyah to achieve its potential. Economic factors-to a large extent controllable by proper human manage ment, provided that the wisdom and will for it are pres ent-complete the picture of human society, or soci eties, as based upon reason, numbers, and psychology. 259

260 What role, then, belongs to the principal religious tenets of Islam, such as God, prophecy, and the other world? Ibn Khaldun could not disregard this question. He takes for granted the undeniable reality of the vast metaphysical structure set up by traditional Islam. Al though he argues that prophecy cannot be proved by logical means, and he explains prophecy, on the human side, as depending on an extraordinary power of the soul, he accepts as a matter of course the existence of a succession of chosen human beings who are transmit ters of the divine message, culminating in the prophet Muhammad. Metaphysical forces are seen to have exercised a large, and often lasting, influence in certain ages, particularly at the origin of Islam. The potential for divine interference in human affairs at any given time continues to exist. Such interference, however, as in the form of miracles whose occasional occurrence cannot be denied, constitutes an interruption of the or dinary and need not be reckoned with in studying hu man society and the rules governing it. The widespread speculation about the end of the world concerned him only inasmuch as it was a belief that tended to conflict with political realities. There was practically no need for him to discuss life after death, which he accepted as a powerful belief. It is tempting to ascribe to Ibn Khaldun a kind of sec ularism and even claim for him a tendency to separate religion from politics and sociology. This view is anach ronistic and disregards Muslim reality. Ibn Khaldun was not an original religious thinker, but he showed a deep and no doubt genuine appreciation of the impor tance of Islam and religion in general. As befitted his position in life, he was sincere in his reverence for tra ditional Islam and the dogmas and practices it had pro duced. His individual religious views were not such as to cause much of a stir among his contemporaries, and there was little reason for later generations to pay at tention to them. It was his way of looking at history that deeply impressed succeeding historians, especially among the Ottoman Turks. The full significance of his achievement began to find worldwide appreciation in the nineteenth century. Tajuddin as-subki ( AH/ CE) "May Allah praise them [the Sufis] and greet them and may Allah cause us to be with them in Paradise. Too many things have been said about them and too many ignorant people have said things which are not related to them. And the truth is that those people left the world and were busy with worship.they are the People of Allah, whose supplications and player Allah accepts and by means of whom Allah supports human beings" [Mu'eed an-na'am p. 190, the chapter entitled Tasawwuf]. Jalaluddin as-suyuti ( AH/ CE) 260

261 (ال س يوطو ال دي ن ج الل (Arabic: Imam Jalaluddin Al-Suyuti.c) AD) also known as Ibn al-kutb (son of books) was an Egyptian writer, religious scholar, juristic expert and teacher whose works deal with a wide variety of subjects in Islamic theology. He was precocious and was already a teacher in In 1486, he was appointed to a chair in the mosque of Baybars in Cairo. He adhered to the Shafi'ie Madhab and is one of the latter-day authorities of the Shafi'ie School, considered to be one of the Ashabun-Nazzar (Assessors) whose degree of Ijtihad is agreed upon. Name, lineage and birth His full name was Abu al-fadl 'Abd al-rahman ibn Abi Bakr, Jalal al-din al- Suyuti. Al-Suyuti is an ascription to a town in Upper Egypt called Asyut. One of his grandfathers built a school there and donated money for it. His father, Al- Kamaal was born there in Asyut, so that is why Jalàl al-din ascribes himself to that town. Both his grandfathers were men of leadership and prestige and his father was from the Jurist of the Shafi'i Madhhab, as Al-Suyuti stated in Husnul-Muhaadarah. When his father died, Al-Kamaal Ibn Al-Hamaam, a Hanafi jurist, was one of the people that his father left Al-Suyuti entrusted to.] He was born in the month of Rajab 849H [1445 AD] in Cairo (Egypt), and was raised as an orphan after his father died while he was only 5 years old. He memorized the entire Qur'an when he was barely eight. Then he went on to memorize "Al-Umdah" and "Minhaaj Al-Fiqh wal-usool" and "Alfiyyah Ibn Malik." He began to engross himself with knowledge starting from 864H (i.e. when he was 15). Education He took knowledge of Fiqh and Nahu (Arabic grammar) from a large group of Shaykh's. So he studied the laws of inheritance at the hands of the great scholar, who was the most knowledgeable on this subject during his time, Shaikh Shihaab-ud-Deen Ash-Shaar Masaahee, who lived to a very old age. He studied his explanation of "Al-Majmoo" under him. He accompanied 'Ilm al-din al-balqini studying Fiqh under him until he died. Ilm-ud-Deen Al-Balqeenee, authorized ijaazah (religious authorization) him to teach and give fatwa in 876H. Likewise, he accompanied Shaikh Sharaf-ud- Deen Al-Manaawee and benefited from him in the fields of Fiqh and Tafseer. (Al-Suyuti moved on to study under Al-Manawee after the death of Ilmud-Deen Al-Balqeenee in 878H. Ironically, Sharaf Al-Deen Al-Manaawee was the grandfather of Abdur-Ra'oof Al-Manaawee, the scholar that wrote the work Faid-ul-Qadeer, which was an explanation of As-Suyuti's Al- Jaami'-us-Sagheer.) 261

262 He studied the sciences of Hadith and the Arabic language under the Imam, Taqee-ud-Deen Ash-Shumnee Al-Hanafi, who wrote some eulogies for him. He also attended the gatherings of the great scholar, Al-Kaafeejee, for the length of fourteen years and learned from him the subjects of Tafseer, Usool, and Ma'aanee. And he received ijaazah (religious authorization) by him. He also benefited from the classes of Saif-ud-Deen Al-Hanafi on Tafseer and Balaagha (eloquence). The number of teachers whom he received ijaazah (religious authorization) from, studied under and heard from reaches one hundred and fifty shaykhs, as has been compiled by Al-religious authorization himself and his student after him, Al-Dawoodee, who arranged them in alphabetical order. (In his book Husn-ul-Muhaadarah, Al-Suyuti gives the number of teachers who narrated to him from those he heard from and those who gave him the ijaazah, saying: "As for my teachers who narrated to me, whom I heard from and who gave me the religious approval (ijaazah) then they are many. I have mentioned them in the lexicon I have compiled about them, and I counted them to number about 150.") Imam As-Suyuti traveled to Sham, Hijaz, Yemen, India and Morocco, and settled down towards the end of his life in his homeland of Egypt. Death Al-Suyuti withdrew from the people and remained in his house, busying himself with knowledge, research and writing until he caught a sickness that lasted for seven days, ending in his death. This happened in Jumada al-ula, 911 AH. Character He was modest, kind, righteous, fearful of Allah, satisfied with what sustenance he received from his scholastic life. And he would not extend his eyes out to anyone. The leaders and rich people would go to visit him and would present him with valuable wealth, but he would return it to them. Career (Al-Suyuti held various positions in his lifetime such as that of teacher of the Arabic language in 866H, he was authorized to give fatwa in 876H and he taught and dictated hadith at the University of Ibn Tuloon.) He was one of the most prolific writers, and is perhaps the most well-known author of the latter times. He has left behind at least a book in every branch of Islamic science that include both short monographs of few pages and tomes spanning volumes. Some of his books are also first of their kind - and standards 262

263 for those that were written after. Many of his books are published; they are easily and widely available. The first book he wrote was "Sharh Al-Isti'aadha wal-basmalah" in 866H, when he was seventeen years old. Ibn Ímād writes: "Most of his works become world famous right in his lifetime. His ability to write was phenomenal. His student Dāwādi says: "I was with the shaykh [Suyūţi] once, and he wrote three volumes on that day. He used to dictate annotations on ĥadīth, and answer my objections at the same time. He was the most knowledgeable scholar in his time of the ĥadīth and associated sciences, knowledge of the narrators including the uncommon ones [shādh], the text of the ĥadīth [matn], its chain of narrators [asānīd], the derivation of ruling from ĥadīth [istinbaţ]. He has himself told me, that he had memorized a hundred thousand ĥadīth." Students The most famous of Imam Al-Suyuti's students and it is possible to say the most outstanding student to graduate from the school (madrasah) of As-Suyuti was the Imam, the historian, Al-Dawoodi (died 945H) - author of the book Tabaqaat Al-Mufassireen and other works. Then there was his other student, the famous historian, Ibn Iyaas, author of the book Badaa'i-uz-Zuhoor (died 930H). Some other of his students were the Imam, the Haafidh Ibn Tuloon Al-Hanafi (died 935H), author of the three "Fahaaris" (indexes) as well as many other works and the Imam Ash-Shi'raanee, author of the book At-Tabaqaat (died 973H). Ibn Taymiyya ( AH/ CE) Ibn Taymiyya was a staunch defender of Sunni Islam based on strict adherence to the Qur'an and authentic sunna (practices) of the Prophet Muhammad. He believed that these two sources contain all the religious and spiritual guidance necessary for our salvation in the hereafter. Thus he rejected the arguments and ideas of both philosophers and Sufis regarding religious knowledge, spiritual experiences and ritual practices. He believed that logic is not a reliable means of attaining religious truth and that the intellect must be subservient to revealed truth. He also came into conflict with many of his fellow Sunni scholars because of his rejection of the rigidity of the schools of jurisprudence in Islam. He believed that the four accepted schools of jurisprudence had become stagnant and sectarian, and also that they were being improperly influenced by aspects of Greek logic and thought as well as Sufi mysticism. His challenge to the leading scholars of the day was to return to an understanding of Islam in practice and in faith, based solely on the Qur'an and sunna. 263

264 Ibn Taymiyya was born in Harran, Syria, and died in Damascus in ah 728/ad He lived in a time when the Islamic world was suffering from external aggression and internal strife. The crusaders had not been fully expelled from the Holy Land, and the Mongols had all but destroyed the eastern Islamic empire when they captured Baghdad in ah 656/ad In Egypt, the Mamluks had just come to power and were consolidating their hold over Syria. Within Muslim society, Sufi orders were spreading beliefs and practices not condoned by orthodox Islam, while the orthodox schools of jurisprudence were stagnant in religious thought and practice. It was in this setting of turmoil and conflict that Ibn Taymiyya formulated his views on the causes of the weakness of the Muslim nations and on the need to return to the Qur'an and sunna (practices) as the only means for revival. Although Ibn Taymiyya was educated in the Hanbali school of thought, he soon reached a level of scholarship beyond the confines of that school. He was fully versed in the opinions of the four schools, which helped lead him to the conclusion that blind adherence to one school would bring a Muslim into conflict with the letter and spirit of Islamic law based on the Qur'an and sunna. Similarly, he had acquired a deep understanding of philosophical and mystical texts. In particular, he focused on the works of Ibn Sina and Ibn al-'arabi as examples of philosophical and mystical deviation in Islam, respectively. Both of these trends had come to exert strong influence on Muslim scholars and lay people alike. Ibn Taymiyya placed primary importance on revelation as the only reliable source of knowledge about God and about a person's religious duties towards him. The human intellect ('aql) and its powers of reason must be subservient to revelation. According to Ibn Taymiyya, the only proper use of 'aql was to understand Islam in the way the Prophet and his companions did, and then to defend it against deviant sects. When discussing the nature of God, he argued, one must accept the descriptions found in the Qur'an and sunna and apply the orthodox view of not asking how (bi-la kayf) particular attributes exist in God. This means that one believes in all of the attributes of God mentioned in the Qur'an and sunna without investigating the nature of these, because the human mind is incapable of understanding the eternal God. For example, one accepts that God is mounted upon a throne above the heavens without questioning how this is possible. This same attitude is held for all of God's attributes such as his sight, his hearing or his hand. This view is very much opposed to the philosophical view of God as First Cause and as being devoid of attributes. Thus the philosophical argument that the oneness of God precludes a multiplicity of attributes was not acceptable to Ibn Taymiyya, because God says that he is one and that he has various attributes. This denial of the attributes of God based on rationalism was adopted by the 264

265 Mu'tazila (see Ash'ariyya and Mu'tazila), of whom Ibn Taymiyya was especially critical. Even the more orthodox views of the Ash'aris, who accepted seven attributes basic to God, were criticized by Ibn Taymiyya. However, he did not go so far as to declare these two groups heretical, for they deviated only in their interpretation of God's nature. But he did not spare the label of apostate for those philosophers such as al-farabi and Ibn Sina who, in addition to the denial of God's attributes, also denied the createdness of the world and believed in the emanation of the universe from God. Ibn Taymiyya attacked the idea of emanation not only in its philosophical but also in its mystical context, as adopted by the Sufis (see Mystical philosophy in Islam). He felt that the beliefs and practices of the Sufis were far more dangerous than were the ideas of the philosophers. The latter were a small elite group that had little direct effect on the masses. The Sufis, however, were widespread and had a large popular following. However, Ibn Taymiyya saw a link between the ideas of the philosophers and those of the Sufis, even though apparently they had little in common. The main tenet of Sufi thought as propounded by Ibn al-'arabi is the concept of the oneness of existence (wahdat al-wujud). Through this belief, Sufis think they are able to effect a merging of their souls with God's essence. That is, when God reveals his truth to an individual, that person realizes that there is no difference between God and the self. Ibn Taymiyya saw a link between the Sufi belief of wahdat al-wujud and the philosophical concept of emanation. Although the philosopher would deny that a human soul could flow into, and thus be, the First Cause, the mystical experience of the Sufis took them beyond the realm of intellectual discourse. According to the mystic, a merging occurred but could not be expressed in rational terms. For Ibn Taymiyya, both the philosopher and the mystic were deluded, the former by reliance on a limited human intellect and the latter by excessive emotions. Ibn Taymiyya's argument against the Sufis is on two levels. First, there is the theological position that God has attributes and that one of these attributes is God as creator. Ibn Taymiyya believed that the Qur'an firmly establishes that God is the one who created, originated and gave form to the universe. Thus there exists a distinction between God the creator and the created beings. This is an absolute distinction with no possibility of merging. He then went on to say that those who strip God of his attributes and deny that he is the creator are just one step away from falling into the belief of wahdat al-wujud. This is the basis for the second part of his argument. Ibn Taymiyya believed that a Sufi is simply someone who is overcome by an outburst of emotion. For example, someone may deny God's attributes but could then be overwhelmed by a feeling of love for God. However, the basis of that person's knowledge is not the authentic information from the Qur'an, and so their weak intellectual foundation collapses 265

266 with the onslaught of emotion. For according to Ibn Taymiyya, sense perception and emotions cannot be trusted, and the likelihood of being led astray by them is compounded when one has a basis of knowledge which is itself errant and deviant. One holds a proper belief in God and maintains a proper relationship with him, Ibn Taymiyya argued, by establishing a foundation of knowledge based on the Qur'an and authentic sunna. Ibn Taymiyya says about the Term 'Tasawwuf' "Alhamdulillah, the pronunciation of the word tasawwuf has been thoroughly discussed. From those who spoke about it were not just the the Imams and Shaykhs, but also included were Ahmad bin Hanbal, Abi Sulayman ad-daarani, As-Sirr as-saqati, al-junayd, M'aruf al-karkhi, Abdul Qadir Jilani, Bayazid al- Bistami and many others. This is a term that was given to those who were dealing with that kind of science [tazkiyyat an-nafs and Ihsan]. And it is like when one uses the term "from the Quraishi family" or from the Madani people or from the Hashemi family. It is a lineage (nasab), just as we say Hashemi for the descendants of the Prophet (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam) or Quraishi for his tribe and Madani for those of his city, we say Sufi (nisbatan) indicating the relationship of those people to that science." He continues: "the majority of the scholars (jumhour al-'ulama), did not deny that science since it complies with the Shari'ah and the Sunnah and they were supporting it." Ibn Taymiyya says: "thumma at-tasawwuf 'indahu haqaiqun wa ahwaalun...[man saffa min alqadari wa amtala'a min al-fikri wasstawa 'indahu adh-dhahab wal-hajjar. At-tasawaffu kitmaanul ma'ani wa tarku-da'awi'" "Tasawwuf has realities and states of experience which they talk about in their science. Some of it is that the Sufi is that one who purifies himself from anyting whihc distracts him from the remembrance of Allah and who will be so filled up with knowledge of the heart and knowledge of the mind to the point that the value of gold and stones will be the same.to him. And tasawwuf is safeguarding the precious meanings and leaving behind the call to fame and vanity in order to reach the state of Truthfulness, because the best of humans after the prophets are the Siddiqeen, as Allah mentioned them in the verse: 'Fa-ula'ika ma`a alladheena an'amm-allahu `alayhim min an-nabiyyin was-siddiqeen wash-shuhada'i was-saaliheena wa hassuna 'ula'ika rafeeqa" 266

267 (And all who obey God and the Apostle) are in the company of those on whom is the grace of Allah: of the prophets, the sincere lovers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous; Ah! what a beautiful fellowship.'" (an-nisa', 69,70) Ibn Taymiyya continues: "as-sufi hua fil-haqiqa naw'un min as-siddiqeen. Fahua as-siddiq alladhee ikhtassa bil-zuhadiwal-'ibada." This translates: "And the Sufi is in reality a kind of Siddiq (Truthful One), that Siddiq who specialized in zuhd and worship." Ibn Taymiyya continues: "some people criticised Sufiyya and Tasawwuf and they said they were innovators, out of the Sunnah, but the truth is they are striving in Allah's obedience [mujtahidin fi ta'at-illahi], as others of Allah's People strove in Allah's obedience. So from them you will find the Foremost in Nearness by virtue of his striving [as-saabiq ul-muqarrab bi hasab ijtihadihi]. And some of them are from the People of the Right hand [Ahl al-yameen mentioned in Qur'an in Sura Waqi'ah], but slower in their progress. For both kinds, they might make ijtihad and in that case they might be correct and they might be wrong. And from both types, some of them might make a sin and repent. And this is the origin of tasawwuf. And after that origin, it has been spread and (tasha'abat wa tanawa'at) has its main line and its branches. And it has become three kinds: 1. Sufiyyat il-haqa'iq - the True Sufis 2. Sufiyyat il-arzaaq - the Professional Sufis (those who use Sufism for personal gain) 3. Sufiyyat il-rasm - the Caricature Sufis. (Sufi by appearance only). Imam Ibn Taymiyya about Saints and Sainthood Imam Ibn Taymiyya mentions in the volume already cited, page 190: A servant of Allah, Almighty and Exalted, cannot be considered a saint unless he is a true believer. Allah mentions in Qur an, Surat Yunus, 62-63: Now surely, on the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve; those who believe and guard against evil. He then quotes the famous hadith from Bukhari: My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he 267

268 hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him. He explains the phrase, Whoever comes against one of My saints is challenging Me to fight thus: It means that Allah is expressing: I will seek revenge against anyone who comes against My saints like an aggressive lion. (p. 314) Imam Ibn Taymiyya About Miracles of Saints It is said that after the Seal of Prophets (s), revelation does not descend upon anyone else. Why not? In fact it does, but then it is not called revelation. It is what the Prophet (s) referred to when he said, The believer sees with the Light of God. When the believer looks with God s Light, he sees all things: the first and the last, the present and the absent. For how can anything be hidden from God s Light? And if something is hidden, then that is not the Light of God. Therefore the meaning of revelation exists, even if it is not called revelation. From Rama s Fihi ma fihi. Ibn Taymiyya continues in the same book, Majmu a Fatawi Ibn Taymiyya: What is considered as a miracle for a saint is that sometimes the saint might hear something that others do not hear or see something that others do not see, not while asleep, but in a wakened state of vision. He can know things that others cannot know, through revelation or inspiration. In another book, Mukhtasar al-fatawa al-masriyya, published by al-madani Publishing House, 1980, page 603, he writes: The miracles of saints are absolutely true and correct, and acknowledged by all Muslim scholars. The Qur an has pointed to it in different places, and the Hadith of the Prophet (s) have mentioned it, and whoever denies the miraculous power of saints are innovators or following innovators. He continues quoting the Prophet s saying about the saints: You are the witnesses of Allah on earth. Imam Ibn Taymiyya About the Unveiling of Appearances He said (volume 11, page 313): Allah Almighty will unveil to his saints states that have never been unveiled before and He will give them support without measure. If that saint begins to speak from the things of the unseen, past or present or future, it is considered from the viewpoint of Bab al-cilm al-khariq, miraculous knowledge. Anything that a saint does which is from the unseen, for 268

269 people or for listeners, of healing or teaching knowledge, it is accepted and we must thank Allah for it. Imam Ibn Taymiyya Mentions some Great Shaikhs of Sufism In the volume entitled cilm as-suluk, ( The Science of Travelling the Way to God ), which consists of the entire 775 pages of volume 10 of Majmaca al- Fatawa, he says (p. 516): The great Sufi shaikhs are well known and accepted, such as: Bayazid al-bistami, Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, Junaid ibn Muhammad, Hasan al-basri, al Fudayl ibn al-ayyad, Ibrahim bin al-adham, Abi Sulayman ad-daarani, Ma ruf al-karkhi, Siri as-saqati, Shaikh Hammad, Shaikh Abul Bayan. Those great Sufis were the leaders of humanity, and they were calling to what is right and forbidding what is wrong. Ibn Taymiyya s Qadiri Lineage as a Sufi Shaikh At present we are in a position to go much further than saying that Ibn Taymiyya simply praised Sufism. We can say with definitiveness that he was an aspirant in the Sufi Way who belonged to more than one tariqat, primarily to the Qadiri Tariqat, of Shaikh Abdul Qadir al-jilani. In a unique manuscript of the H anbali Yusuf ibn cabd al-hadi (d. 909 H./1503 CE), entitled Bad al-culqa bi labs al-khirqa, uncovered in the Princeton University Library, Ibn Taymiyya is listed in a Sufi spiritual genealogy with other well-known Hanbali scholars. The links in this genealogy are, in descending order from cabdul Qadir Jilani: Shaikh cabdul Qadir Jilani (d. 561 H./1165 CE) Abu cumar b. Qudama (d. 607 H./1210 CE) Muwaffaq ad-din b. Qudama (d. 620 H./1223 CE) Ibn cali b. Qudama (d. 682 H./1283 CE) Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 H./1328 CE) Ibn Qayyim al-jawziyya (d. 751 H./1350 CE) Ibn Rajab (d. 795 H./1393 CE) Furthermore, there is another unique manuscript, also found in the Princeton Library, of the work of Ibn Taymiyya himself, in a book named, Targhib al- Mutahabbin fi labs Khirqat al-mutammayyazan by Jamal ad-dan al-talyani. Here are Ibn Taymiyya s own words, as quoted from a work of his, al-mas ala at-tabraziyya: I wore the blessed Sufi cloak of Shaikh cabdul Qadir Jilani, there being between him and me two Sufi shaikhs. 269

270 In another manuscript he said, I have worn the Sufi cloak of a number of Sufi shaikhs, belonging to various tariqats, among them Abdul Qadir al-jilani, whose tariqat is the greatest of the well-known ones, may Allah have mercy on him. After him, the lineage continues on to his student, Ibn Qayyim al-jawziyya, and his student Ibn Rajab. The references for what we have mentioned are: al-hadi manuscript in Princeton Library, Yahuda Collection, fol. 154a, 169b, 171b-172a; at-talyani, manuscript, Chester Beatty, 3296 (8) in Dublin, fol. 67a. The Sufi Cloak Before proceeding any further, it may be useful to say something about the wearing of the Sufi cloak. In view of the trustworthy, there are three categories of shaykhs: 1. The shaykh of the cloak 2. The shaykh of the dhikr 3. The shaykh of guidance Normally the shaykh of guidance, is accepted as possessing real authority. When that shaykh passes away, the disciples must renew their initiation with his successor. Answer to Shaikh Adly, response by Hisham Mohammed Kabbani To our respected brother Shaikh Muhammad Adly, and to our dear internet readers, we would like to present our final conclusions of the "debate" between myself and Shaikh Adly in the following two parts. In the first part we will discuss Ibn Taymiyya's views on Tasawwuf. In the second part we will mention some of the views of the Salaf and Khalaf scholars, as well as some relatively modern scholars on the subject of Tasawwuf. About Ibn Taymiyya and Tasawwuf Orientalists and Modern Islamists have contributed to the misrepresentation of Ibn Taymiyya as an enemy of Sufis. This has been propounded even more strongly lately by the scholars of the "neo-salafi" school, whose followers claim to strictly adhere to Ibn Taymiyya's teachings, but who in fact have severely deviated from them in this area of understanding. However, regardless of the desires of one group or another, the facts provide a clarification of reality: that Ibn Taymiyya accepted Tasawwuf on the condition that it follows shari'ah, and that Ibn Taymiyya himself was not only a Sufi 270

271 follower, but was adorned with the cloak (khirqa) of shaikhhood of the Qadiri Order. Let us look more closely at the facts: 1. Ibn Taymiyya's supposed anti-sufism sentiment is a clearcut misrepresentation of the truth. To conclude that Ibn Taymiyya opposed Sufism/Tasawwuf as a whole, simply because he considered particular activities or statements by some individuals and groups as unacceptable in shari'ah, is like concluding that he opposed the Science of Fiqh because he criticized the viewpoints and practices of certain fuqaha (jurists). This would be more than an exagerration, it is completely inaccurate. 2. Ibn Taymiyya received iniation as a Sufi shaikh. The fact that Ibn Taymiyya himself was a Sufi has been conveniently ignored by those who chose to misrepresent him, and with good reason: how could someone say that Ibn Taymiyya opposed Sufism/Tasawwuf and that he was a Sufi/mutasawwif in one and the same breath? Hence the corollary statement to Ibn Taymiyya's alledged anti-tasawwuf stance is that "he could certainly not have been a Sufi," compounding inaccuracy with speculation. Clear proof that most of the great 'ulama and the major figures of the Four Schools of Islam were trained in Tasawwuf exists in the specialized biographical books known as "Tabaqat." Tasawwuf was part and parcel of the complete education of a Muslim scholar, from the beginning of the formation of the Islamic curriculum until the gradual weakening and dismantling of the institutions and figures of Islamic higher education in the twentieth century. This resulted in the replacement of the Islamic 'ijaza system (being "licensed" or receiving permission to teach from one's own teacher), with the modern doctoral system of degrees, inherited from the West. Far from denigrating or attacking the Sufi component of the Islamic sciences like of some of our contemporaries who claim him as their reference, Ibn Taymiyya in fact praised it in his time, endorsed it, participated in it, and acheived its highest formal level, which is to receive the khirqah, the equivalent of the 'ijaza or permission in Sufi terms, from a Sufi shaikh. The khirqah, representing the cloak of the Prophet (s), is passed to a student of a Sufi shaikh, only when he is seen to be fit and fully qualified to pass on the teachings he has acquired from his shaikh in turn to students of his own. In this he as simply one of many among the Hanbali 'ulama who both educated him or were educated by him, to undergo the expected training and instruction in the various disciplines of Tasawwuf appropriate to the scholarly vocation. 271

272 Many well-read specialists of Islam are to this day still surprised to hear that the Sufis al-ansari al-harawi (d. 481 H.) and 'Abdul Qadir al-jilani (d. 561 H) were both very strong Hanbalis. When one refers to their biographical notices in Ibn Rajab's [student of Ibn Qayyim] "Dhail 'ala Tabaqat al-hanabila," one finds al- Ansari referred to as "as-sufi" and Jilani referred to as "az-zahid." Ibn Rajab's use of these terms in close proximity, indicates their interchangeability. Ibn Rajab's two volume biographical work covers a period of three centuries, from the middle of the 5th century Hijri to the middle of the 8th.. Identifiable as Sufis are over one-third of all the Hanbalis scholars treated by Ibn Rajab and other sources from the same time period. The theory, presented by some Orientalists, that Abul Faraj Ibn al-jawzi (d. 597 H) and Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 H), were antithetical to Tasawwuf does not stand up to scholarly scrutiny. In fact neither of these Hanbali doctors of law qualifies as in any way antithetical to Tasawwuf. Let us examine their record. Ibn al-jawzi's work Talbis Iblis is perhaps the most important single factor in keeping alive the notion of this hostility towards Sufism. In reality, this work was not written against Tasawwuf as such at all, nor against Sufis alone. However, it was an indictment of all unorthodox doctrines and practices, regardless of their sources, and opposed any which were innovations in the rule of shari'ah--i.e. not found in the Qur'an and Sunnah, wherever found in the Islamic community, especially in Ibn al-jawzi's time. It was written against specific innovated practices of many groups, including: philosophers (mutakallimoon), theologians, traditionalists ('ulama al-hadith), jurists (fuqaha), preachers, philologists, poets and Sufis. It is in no way an indictment of the subjects they studied and taught, but was an indictment of specific introductions of innovation into their respective disciplines and fields. Ibn al-jawzi has written other works which are not only in favor of Tasawwuf, but present its greatest figures in the most complimentary light. Two works considered as pillars in the field of Tasawwuf are Safwat as-safa and Minhaj al- Qasidin wa Mufid as-sadiqin. In addition, full length biographies in praise of the early Sufis have been penned by Ibn al-jawzi, including Fada'il Hasan al-basri (The Gracious Character of Hasan al-basri), and Manaqib Ibrahim bin Adham, (The Good Qualities of Ibrahim bin Adham), Manaqib Bishr al-hafi, Manaqib Ma'ruf al-karkhi, "Manaqib Rabi'a al-adawiyya. In sections of his book al- Muntazam many biographical notices may be found in praise of Mutasawwifeen. Ibn Taymiyya's Donning of the Qadiri Cloak As for Ibn Taymiyya, one would search in vain to find in his works the least condemnation of Sufism as a discipline. He opposed the seemingly pantheist 272

273 descriptions of certain Sufis, known as "ittihadiyya," but he showed his great admiration for the works of the Sufis Junayd Baghdadi, Sahl at-tustari, Bayazid al-bistami, Abu Talib al-makki, al-qushayri, 'Abdul Qadir Jilani and Abu Hafs as-suhrawardi. At present we are in the position to go much farther and show that this allegedly great opponent of Sufism was himself a Sufi, who belonged to more than one tariqat, but especially to that of 'Abdul Qadir Jilani. In a manuscript of the Hanbali 'alim, Shaikh Yusuf bin 'Abd al-hadi (d. 909H), entitled Bad' al-'ula bi labs al-khirqa [found in Princeton, Sorbonne and Damascus], Ibn Taymiyya is found in a Sufi spiritual genealogy with other wellknown Hanbali scholars, all except one (Say. Jilani) heretofore unknown as Sufis. The links in this genealogy are, in descending order: 1. 'Abdul Qadir Jilani (d. 561 H.) 2.a. Abu 'Umar bin Qudama (d. 607 H.) 2.b. Muwaffaq ad-din bin Qudama (d. 620 H.) 3. Ibn Abi 'Umar bin Qudama (d. 682 H.) 4. Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 H.) 5. Ibn Qayyim al-jawziyya (d. 751 H.) 6. Ibn Rajab (d. 795 H.) (Both Abu 'Umar b. Qudama and his brother Muwaffaq received the khirqa directly from Abdul Qadir Jilani himself.) Further corroboration of two links separating him from 'Abdul Qadir Jilani comes from Ibn Taymiyya himself, as quoted in a manuscript of the work al- Mas'ala at-tabriziyya (manuscript, Damascus, 1186 H): "labistu al-khirqata mubarakata lish-shaikh 'Abdul Qadir wa bayni wa baynahu 'than" "I wore the blessed Sufi cloak of 'Abdul Qadir, there being between him and me two." Ibn Taymiyya is quoted by Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-hadi, affirming his Sufi affiliation in more than one Sufi order: "have worn the Sufi cloak [khirqata at-tasawwuf] of a number of shaikhs belonging to various tariqas [min turuqi jama'atin min ash-shuyukhi], among them the Shaikh 'Abdul Qadir al-jili, whose tariqa is the greatest of the well-known ones." 273

274 Further on he continues: "The greatest tariqa [ajallu-t-turuqi] is that of my master [sayyidi], 'Abdul Qadir al-jili, may Allah have mercy on him." [found in "Al-Hadi" manuscript in Princeton Library, Collection fol. 154a, 169b, 171b-172a and Damascus University, copy of original Arabic manuscript, 985H.; also mentioned in "at-talyani", manuscript Chester Beatty 3296 (8) in Dublin, fol. 67a.] Additional evidence of Ibn Taymiyya's connection to the Qadiri silsila (lineage) is found in his lengthy commentary on the seminal Sufi work by his grandshaikh, 'Abdul Qadir Jilani, entitled "Futuh al-ghayb." [this is found in a Princeton manuscript, uncataloged, also in Leipzig University Library, Arabic manuscript #223, and Istanbul University, Turkish translation, "Futuh ul-gayb Hakkinda Yorum"] The essence of his commentary on "Futuh al-ghaib" is to show that Sufism, when orthodox, is completely in consonance with the Qur'an and hadith and the consensus of the community [ijma'a]. A Tasawwuf not based on the revealed law is heretical. In his commentary, Ibn Taymiyya upholds ilham, or Sufi inspiration, as evidence stronger than weak analogy [qiyas], or a weak tradition [hadith,] or istis-hab cited by those who are immersed in fiqh, or divergences of the law [khilaf], or the principles and sources of the law [usul al-fiqh]. He places inspiration [ilham] on the level of legally valid evidence on which to base a preference for one action as against another when all other sources fail. Perfection of the soul, says Ibn Taymiyya, does not consist in mere knowledge. On the contraray, along with the knowledge concerning Allah, there must necessarily be love [mahabba] of Allah, worship of Allah, and the turning back to Him in repentance. Real tawhid consists in worshipping no one but Allah, and worship calls for perfect love [kamal al-hubb], perfect veneration [kamal atta'zim], perfect hope, fear, reverence, and respect [kamal ar-raja' wal-khishya wal-ijlal wal-ikram]. We intend to publish a translation of that lengthy commentary by Ibn Taymiyya on Futuh al-ghaib in the future. Ibn Taymiyya's Discussion of Tasawwuf in His Majmu'a Fatawa What Ibn Taymiyya Says About the Term `Tasawwuf' Here we will mention what Imam Ibn Taymiyya, mentioned about the definition of Tasawwuf, from Volume 11,"At-Tawassuf" of "Majmu'a Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya al-kubra," Dar ar-rahmah, Cairo, "Alhamdulillah, the pronunciation of the word Tasawwuf has been thoroughly discussed. From those who spoke about Tasawwuf were not just the the Imams and Shaikhs, but also included were Ahmad bin Hanbal, Abi Sulayman ad-daarani, As-Sirr as-saqati, al- 274

275 Junayd al-baghdadi, Hasan al-basri, Ma'aruf al-karkhi, Abdul Qadir Jilani, Bayazid al-bistami [one of the grandshaikhs of the Naqshbandi Tariqat] and many others. This is a term that was given to those who were dealing with that kind of science [tazkiyyat an-nafs and Ihsan]." Imam Ibn Taymiyya says: "Tassawuf has realities and states of experience which they talk about in their science. Some of it is that the Sufi is that one who purifies himself from anything which distracts him from the remembrance of Allah and who will be so filled up with knowledge of the heart and knowledge of the mind to the point that the value of gold and stones will be the same to him. And Tasawwuf is safeguarding the precious meanings and leaving behind the call to fame and vanity in order to reach the state of Truthfulness, because the best of humans after the prophets are the Siddiqeen, as Allah mentioned them in the verse: '(And all who obey God and the Apostle) are in the company of those on whom is the grace of Allah: of the prophets, the sincere lovers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous; Ah! what a beautiful fellowship.'" Ibn Taymiyya continues: (an-nisa', 69,70) "as-sufi hua fil-haqiqa naw'un min as-siddiqeen. Fahua as-siddiq alladhee ikhtassa bil-zuhadiwal-'ibada." which translates: "And the Sufi is in reality a kind of Siddiq (Truthful One), that Siddiq who specialized in zuhd and worship." He continues about the Sufis, "some people criticised Sufiyya and Tasawwuf and they said they were innovators, out of the Sunnah, but the truth is they are striving in Allah's obedience[mujtahidin fi ta'at-illahi], as others of Allah's People strove in Allah's obedience. So from them you will find the Foremost in Nearness by virtue of his striving [as-saabiq ul-muqarrab bi hasab ijtihadihi]. And some of them are from the People of the Right hand [Ahl al-yameen mentioned in Qur'an in Sura Waqi'ah], but slower in their progress. For both kinds, they might make ijtihad and in that case they might be correct and they might be wrong. And from both types, some of them might make a sin and repent. And this is the origin of Tasawwuf. And after that origin, it has been spread and (tasha'abat wa tanawa'at) has its main line and its branches. And it has become three kinds: 1. Sufiyyat il-haqa'iq - the True Sufis 2. Sufiyyat il-arzaaq - the Professional Sufis (those who use Sufism for personal gain) Not recommended. 275

276 3. Sufiyyat il-rasm - the Caricature Sufis. (Sufi by appearance only). Discriminate. Sufi Mysticism - Conclusion The original Sufi were basically mystics - people who followed a pious form of Islam and who believed that a direct, personal experience of God could be achieved through meditation. Sufi mysticism endeavoured to produce a personal experience of the divine through mystic and ascetic discipline. The term Sufi appears to be derived from the Arabic word "suf" meaning "wool" in the sense of "cloak", referring to the simple cloaks the original Sufis wore. Some initiates are given a specially designed, coloured wool vest which is symbolic of the woolen robes of poverty worn by ancient dervishes, and signifies the loving commitment of the dervish to serve humanity. It is not Sufism if it does not perform its function for you. A cloak is no longer a cloak if it does not keep a man warm. 276 Idries Shah, Thinkers of the East Sufism in now to be found in many parts of the Muslim world as, across the centuries, many people have felt drawn toward the more emotional and personal ways of knowing God promoted by Sufi mysticism. Today there are literally hundreds of mystic orders with millions of adherents. They are most prevalent in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Arabia. Sufism has come to mean those who are interested in finding a way or practice toward inner awakening and enlightenment. This movement developed as a protest against corrupt rulers who did not embody Islam and against the legalism and formalism of worship which paid more attention to the form rather than content of the faith. Many of the sufis became ascetics, began to gather disciples around themselves and developed into religious orders, known as dervishers. Others forsook the orders and became mendicants, traveling around the country side, living off the charity of others. Many sufis were outstanding men of saintly stature. Not all sufis were accepted by the more conservative elements of Islam due to their unorthodox habits and beliefs. Mainstream Islam has tended to regard Sufism with some suspicion because of a perceived extremism in beliefs which Sufi mysticism is prone to. Jalaluddin Rumi was the author of The Masnavi, an immensely influential work, which is celebrated for its spiritual profundity by many across the Islamic world.

277 Rumi lived , (by the western calendar). A BBC "Culture" web page of April, 2014 said of him:- The ecstatic poems of Jalal ad-din Muhammad Rumi, a Persian poet and Sufi master born 807 years ago in 1207, have sold millions of copies in recent years, making him the most popular poet in the US. Globally, his fans are legion. One of the many significant quotes attributable to Jalaluddin Rumi being:- "Would he had been less full of borrowed knowledge! Then he would have accepted inspired knowledge from his father. When, with inspiration at hand, you seek book-learning, your heart, as if inspired, loads you with reproach. Traditional knowledge, when inspiration is available, is like making ablutions in sand when water is near. Make yourself ignorant, be submissive, and then you will obtain release from your ignorance." The World has Changed The world has changed in many profound ways. Developments over the last two or three decades have been, in many cases, quite remarkable notably the tremendous reduction in global poverty and offers hitherto undreamt of opportunities. But all is far from well. We have banished all the old scourges like tuberculosis, cholera, smallpox, plague. We have created enormous riches. But man was never poorer of heart, more devoid of pity and compassion. We have no time to breathe, to relax, to ponder, to remember God and appreciate His beautiful universe. Life is full of care and we feel so lonely and abandoned because no one belongs to no one. Living in a harsh world we have developed cynicism and hatred. In the chaos that prevails around us the most authentic hope comes from Sufis, whose philosophy combines the virtuous message of formal religion with the transcendental values of love and harmony. The acclaimed modern Sufi Inayat Khan says: The secret of life is balance and the absence of balance is life s destruction. Sufism, the source from which the mystical world springs, enables an individual to purge his mind of all toxic emotions and helps restore balance and harmony. The finest exponent of this luminous philosophy was Rumi (which means daylight), the great 13th century Sufi mystic whose spiritual message has become the defining credo for many business titans, economic wizards and heads of financial juggernauts. Rumi for instance, sought freedom for his soul through a mystical connection with the divine. Not every wayfarer who sets out on the path may attain the goal, but for Rumi it is the Sufi path, which offers the best potential of attaining to true knowledge. 277

278 Sufism is a mystical Islamic belief and practice in which Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God. It consists of a variety of mystical paths that are designed to ascertain the nature of humanity and of God and to facilitate the experience of the presence of divine love and wisdom in the world. Sufism is in fact the confluence of the noble virtues of all the great prophets of Islam. The all-pervading and tolerant spirit of the Sufis is not surprising when we consider their sources of inspiration. Although the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is their ultimate model, other spiritual figures which include Abraham, Moses and Jesus also mold them. This is enunciated in The Eight Qualities of the Sufi by a well-known Sufi master, Junaid of Baghdad: In Sufism, eight qualities must be exercised. The Sufi has: 1. Liberality such as that of Abraham; 2. Acceptance of his lot, as Ismail accepted; 3. Patience, as possessed by Job; 4. Capacity to communicate by symbolism, as in the case of Zachariah; 5. Estrangement from his own people, which was the case with John; 6. Woollen garb like the shepherd s mantle of Moses; 7. Journeying, like the travelling of Jesus, the man of Nazareth; 8. Humility, as Muhammad had humility of spirit. Karen Armstrong, one of the foremost contemporary scholars on theology and mysticism concludes at the end of her admirable and deeply penetrating study, A History of God, that the long and arduous training a mystic needs to become conscious of God s reality does not readily appeal to the broad public. This is of course, true, yet a mystical perspective remains meaningful for many people. Dr H J Wittevee, the former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, an accomplished, Sufi says that we all have a divine spark in us and we can experience glimpses of the divine when we forget our limitations in the beauty of nature, or art, or in deep love. Pursuing such experiences, and letting them grow deeper, he says, can lead us into the cosmic realm and enable us to celebrate celestial love. As the well-known Persian poet Saadi says: Every soul is born with a certain purpose and the light of that purpose is kindled in his soul According to Sufi teachings, the path to experiencing the Divine Presence starts within. It is said that one who realises oneself realises the Lord. God is present, but individuals cannot see the Almighty because curtains of ignorance veil their eyes and rust encases their hearts. The average person is ego-centric. Only after 278

279 he or she has polished the heart and purified the self will the curtains lift, the rust fall away, and the eyes become able to see God. Through years of effort, Sufi masters developed a scientific approach to achieving such refinement. They discovered that in addition to the mind, human beings have other centres of consciousness that serve as inner faculties for attaining knowledge. Foremost among these centres is the heart. With diligent practice, teachers of Sufism perfected techniques that activate the heart, cultivating profound intuition and realisation. The polished heart becomes a mirror that catches the light of truth and reflects it in one s consciousness. With this light dawns the understanding that beyond material phenomena, there exists a Being of which everything in the universe is a reflection. One s own being itself reflects the higher Being. The Sufis brought with them the egalitarianism of Islam, shorn of its aggressive, proselytising zeal. Their appeal is both individual, offering a salvation ethic based on submission to the divine love of the saint; as well as social, based on the brotherhood of all men, cutting along the dividing lines of caste and creed. Sufis consider the spirit and body to be one whole. They believe in integration, not dichotomies. What we do in our physical lives affects our spiritually, and vice versa. We cannot look at our lives in a vacuum. Our lives are integrated with our environment, ethics, and family. A well-known Sheikh Muzaffar says, Keep your hands busy with your duties in this world, and your heart busy with God. Our faith has to be practised daily within our corporate lives. As Sahi, an eminent Sufi mystic exhorts: A man should be in the marketplace while still working with true reality. Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing has followed the Sufi path. Some of her later works bear the imprint of her interest in Sufi mysticism, which she has interpreted as stressing a link between the fates of individuals and society. In an essay on Idries Shah, the great Sufi master, she explained its attraction: Sufi truth is at the core of every religion, its heart, and religions are only the outward vestments of an inner reality. She writes further: Sufis claim that all kinds of notions we think of as Western achievements were part of Sufi knowledge long ago: evolution, for instance, or the power locked in the atom. Their sociological and psychological insights are far in advance of our current ideas. These are most skilled and versatile servants. I have been a student for three decades, and am continually being surprised by what I learn. I have found nothing as informed, subtle, comprehensive, perceptive, anywhere else. 279

280 Sufism s message of compassion, humility and universal love is attractive and inspiring. But what is a youngster, soaked in the materialist urban milieu in which television provides the greatest input, to make of Sufism? How would he or she understand the Sufi stories? The following tale from the celebrated Mathnawi of the greatest of Sufi master, Rumi, illustrates the point. A disciple seeking the Sufi path finally feels he has mastered it and arrives to announce this to his master. He knocks on the door and when asked Who is there? answers I. The master says, Go away, you have not yet acquired knowledge. He leaves to return after he has performed more spiritual exercises, and this time when asked who is knocking says Thou. Come in, says the master. There is no room for two in this house. This Sufi story illustrates the layers of understanding that lie in Sufism: the obliteration of the ego, the need for the master who will help the quest for knowledge along the divine path, and the search for the true way, the way of God, however difficult and esoteric. These stories are allegories, metaphors, stories within stories, and like the layers of an onion they require patience to peel; they sometimes end in tears. Several Sufis feel that the time was approaching when their esoteric knowledge, their maps of the unconscious, accumulated over centuries, would be spread to the west, which was now a spiritual desert. While the west has been developing its technological prowess, the dervishes have developed a sophisticated type of inner technology and spiritual engineering, their practices a way of moving towards self-realisation. The Sufi ideal is to combine the inner and outer life to be active in the world, for example, as an economist or a politician, and at the same time to be inspired by attuning to the divine ideal. The important thing is the balance between these two aspects of like so that the inner light can motivate and shine through worldly activities. Sufism is the message of digging out that water-like life which has been buried by the impressions of this material life. There is an English phrase: a lost soul. But the soul is not lost; it is only buried. When it is dug out divine life bursts forth like a spring. Where is God to be found? He is to be found in the heart of man which is His shrine. But if this heart is buried, if it has lost that light, what does this heart become? It becomes like a grave. In a popular English song there is a beautiful line which says, The light of a whole life dies when love is gone. That living life giving element in the heart is love. It gets overlaid by the dense fog of our worldly pursuits and vain ambitions. Not every wayfarer who sets out on the path may attain the goal, but for Rumi it is the Sufi path which offers the best potential for attaining true knowledge. What exactly does Rumi understand by Sufism and the quest? How does this 280

281 mystical way relate to the path of Sharia, or religious law? Neither a separate religion nor a sect of Islam, the Sufi path (Tariqa) is rather a mode of religious observance and a method of self-training and purification, the goal of which is to orient the believer to a religiously-informed spirituality of experience. Rumi s Sufism rests upon traditional practices like prayer, fasting and pilgrimage. There is great emphasis on control of baser impulses. Following the example of the prophet Rumi saw everything in existence as continually revealing the Beauty, Intelligence, Generosity, Grace and Love of the Divine Being. Rumi was awestruck and blissfully intoxicated with this love-drenched Oneness. Gradually, Rumi also regained a sobriety expansive enough to contain this ecstatic intoxication and in the course of his life left us a literary legacy that has earned him the title the Shakespeare of mystics. Rumi advocated an individual and interior spirituality, and it is the love, rather than the fear, of God that lies at the heart of his message. He attempts to merge the spirit of the human with the ideal of a god of love, whom Rumi locates within the human heart. Rumi s first biographer, Aflaki, tells of a man who came to Rumi asking how he could reach the other world, as only there would he be at peace. What do you know about where He is? asked Rumi. Everything in this or that world is within you. Because God can best be reached through the gateway of the heart, Rumi believed you did not necessarily need ritual to get to him, and that the Divine is as accessible to Christians and Jews as to Muslims: Love s creed is separate from all religions, he wrote. The creed and denomination of lovers is God. All traditions are tolerated, because in the opinion of Rumi anyone is capable of expressing their love for God, and that transcends both religious associations and your place in the social order: My religion, he wrote, is to live through love. Yet for all this, Rumi himself always remained an orthodox and practicing Sunni Muslim. As Lewis rightly notes, Rumi did not come to his theology of tolerance and inclusive spirituality by turning away from traditional Islam, but through immersion in it. Historically, there are a couple of features about Sufism that rankle the fundamentalists. One is that Sufism, many feel, encourages a kind of fatalism and withdrawal from the real world. The second is that Sufism looks a little like Christianity. Sufis believe in intercessors (in Arabic wali or auliya) people with special spiritual access, who can help a person s prayers be heard by God. Mainstream Islam rejects intercessors, since it holds that every Muslim is equal before God. (Even the Prophet Muhammad is not prayed to but prayed for.) 281

282 Rumi s masterpiece, the Mathnavi, is a six-book epic poem that he wrote toward the end of his life. Its fifty thousand lines are mostly in Persian, but they are studded with Arabic excerpts from Muslim scripture. It is heavily informed by Islamic thought, and frequently alludes to Qur anic anecdotes that offer moral lessons.the work has been nicknamed the Persian Qur an. Rumi himself described the Mathnavi as the roots of the roots of the roots of religion meaning Islam and the explainer of the Qur an. And yet little trace of the religion exists in the translations that sell so well in the United States. Sadly the translators have stripped the poetry of its Qur anic ethos. This is totally against the convictions of Rumi. In an authentic quatrain composed by him, he tells us: I am the servant of the Qur an as long as I have life. I am the dust on the path of Muhammad, the Chosen one. If anyone quotes anything except this from my sayings, I am quit of him and outraged by these words. (Rumi s Quatrain No. 1173, translated by Ibrahim Gamard and Ravan Farhadi in The Quatrains of Rumi ) To understand Rumi without the Qur an is like reading Milton without the Bible. Even if Rumi was heterodox, it s important to recognise that he was heterodox in a Muslim context and that Islamic culture, centuries ago, had room for such heterodoxy. Rumi s works are not just layered with religion; they represent the historical dynamism within Islamic scholarship. The dilemma of Sufism is best summed up in this lovely quote: Today Sufism is a name without a reality. It was once a reality without a name. (Abu l-hasan Fushanji, quoted in Lings, Martin, What is Sufism?, The Islamic Texts Society, 1999) Moin Qaziis the author of Village Diary of a Heretic Banker. He has spent more than three decades in the development sector. 282

283 More about Sufism Early Sufis in the Chishti Order The Chishtī Order (Persian: یچ شت - Čištī) (Arabic: ىششى - Shishti) is a Sufi order within the mystic Sufi tradition of Islam. It began in Chisht, a small town near Herat, Afghanistan about 930 CE. The Chishti Order is known for its emphasis on love, Many people think that Khwaja Mo inuddin Chishti is the founder of the Chishti order. This is not correct, so in the following article I intend to tell something about his spiritual ancestors and briefly something about their teachings. The Chishti order of the Sufis derives its name from Chisht (pronounce: Chesht, hence Cheshti). Chisht is a small town near Herat in Afghanistan. When travelling and arriving in Herat I intended also to visit Chisht, but it was said that the road was not safe, because of dacoits, so I abandoned the idea. The first one to call himself Chishti was Abu Ishaq Shami. As the name Shami implies he came from Syria or even from Damascus (ash-sham). He met a Sufi who directed him to settle in Chisht and from that day on he is known as Abu Ishaq Shami Chishti. He died in 940 C.E. in Damascus and lies buried on mount Qasiyun, where later on also Ibn al- Arabi was buried. Looking at the date of his 283

284 death we can say that the Chishtiyya order is one of the oldest, if not the oldest now still existing Sufi order. Some of his sayings are: 1. Starvation excels all in bliss (this shows the ascetic character of classical Sufism). 2. The worldly people are impure while the dervishes are pure in their souls. These two different natures cannot therefore mingle. The spiritual successor of the founder of the Chishtiyya order, Khwaja Abu Ishaq Shami Chishti, is called shaykh Abu Ahmad Abdal Chishti. The father of the shaykh for some time tried to keep him back from the Sufi path. He of course did not succeed as his son became an eminent Sufi. It is related about the shaykh that he did not sleep for thirty years. He was absorbed in meditation. He breathed his last on the 3rd of Jamada II at the age of ninety-five in 356 A.H. (corresponding to the 16th of May 967 C.E.). He was buried at Chisht in Afghanistan. One of his sayings is: Fire does not affect the true believer in God. Shaykh Abu Muhammad Chishti was invested as the head of the Chishtiyya order by his father Abu Ahmad Chishti about whom we have already reported. The appointment of a son as a successor is an exception with the Chishtis, but in case of genuine spiritual capacities there is nothing against the appointment of one s son. When succession from father to son becomes an automatic procedure, then of course Sufism degenerates. The shaykh passed away from this world on the 4th of Rabi II at the age of seventy (lunar years) in 409 A.H. (which corresponds to the 18th of August 1018 C.E.). His sayings: 1. Cherish music to enlighten your heart. 2. Indulgence in sama (audition of Sufi music) for a moment is as prolific as the penitence for hundreds of years, but the worldly people do not realise it. Khwaja Abu Muhammad Chishti was the maternal uncle of Khwaja Abu Yusuf Chishti who became his successor. He was a descendent of the prophet Muhammad (Allah s blessings and peace be upon him). He breathed his last on the 3rd of Rajab at the age of 84 in 459 A.H. (20th of May 1067 C.E.). He was buried in Chisht, the cradle and the grave of the early Chishtiyya. 284

285 Saying: Sayings: Indulgence in sama (audition of Sufi music) achieves more than long enduring penitence. The next in the silsila of the Chishtiyya is Khwaja Mawdud Chishti. He had learnt the Qur an by heart and could recite it very melodiously at the age of seven. Afterwards he learned the other things. When he was only 26 years old his father s life came to an end. According to the will of his father he became his successor. He was the first to salute others and used to stand out of respect to others. He was famous for his hospitality. He was kind to his servants. He bade farewell to this world in the month of Rajab at the age of 97 in 533 A.H. (March 1139 C.E.). He was buried at Chisht like many of the early Chishtiyya. 1. The lover of sama (Sufi music) is a stranger to the outside world, but is a friend to God. 2. The mysteries of sama are inexplicable. If you reveal them you are liable to punishment. Khwaja Mawdud Chishti visited Balkh (the place of birth of Jalaluddin Rumi) and Bukhara, a place mentioned in the famous line of Hafez : If that Turk of Shiraz would take my heart in his hand, I would give for his Hindu mole both Bokhara and Samarqand. Khwaja Hajji Sharif Zindani, his successor, renounced all and everything. He led a life of strict seclusion for forty years and hated society. He used to live on the leaves of trees. Although several of the Chishtiyya stressed the value of asceticism, in general they say that seclusion and ascetic practices is for short periods of time only. You should live in the midst of society and then keep up your spiritual ideals. Khwaja Hajji Sharif Zindani passed away from this world on the 10th of Rajab at the age of 120 in 612 A.H. (4th of November 1215 C.E.). Zindani means from Zindana. He was also buried in Zindana. I do not know where this place is situated. How about you? The following saying is very characteristic of him: Riches are the enemy of a dervish; they should be shunned. 285

286 The successor of Khwaja Hajji Sharif Zindani has been Khwaja Uthman Haruni. Here is a poem translated from the Persian: I do not know why at last to have a longing look, I dance! But I feel proud of the fondness that before the Friend, I dance! You strike the musical instrument and see, everytime I dance! In whatever way you cause me to dance, o Friend, I dance! Come o Beloved! See the spectacle that in the crowd of the intrepid and daring, With a hundred ignominies in the heart of the market, I dance! Blessed is recklessness that I trample underfoot the very many acts of virtue. Hail to piety, that with the robe and the turban I dance. I am Uthman-e-Haruni and a friend of shaykh Mansur, They revile and rebuke and on the gallows I dance. Khwaja Uthman Haruni came from Harun in Iran. According to some people he was born on 526 A.H./ C.E.). There are others however who hold that he was born in 510 A.H./1116 A.D. He received the name Uthman at birth, but his nickname is Abu Nur. He was also called Abu l Mansur. As is the custom among the Muslims when he attained the age of four years, four months and four days his Bismillah was performed. At this function the child recites some portion of the Qur an and is sent to school. He became a hafiz, one who has committed the Qur an to memory. He met an absorbed person, a majdhub, called Chirk. This meeting proved to be the turning point in his life. He went in search of spirituality and asked Khwaja Hajji Sharif Zindani to be enrolled as his mureed. The shaykh accepted his request and with his own hand placed a four-edged cap on his head. He gave this explanation of this four-edged cap: First is the renunciation of the world Second is the renunciation of the world hereafter Third is the renunciation of the desires of the self Fourth is the renunciation of everything other than God. 286

287 Khwaja Uthman Haruni lived in the company of his shaykh for over thirty years. Thereafter he undertook long tours and travels and also performed the hajj. His close disciple Khwaja Mo inuddin Hasan Chishti was with him for more than twenty-two years. In order to help his mureeds Khwaja Uthman Haruni gave discourses in order to guide them. He died on the 5th of Shawwal in the year 617 A.H. (3rd of December 1220 C.E.). His tomb in Mecca nowadays no longer exists. Khadim Hasan visited it in the beginning of this century, but it is said to be destroyed thereafter. I do not know if this had to do with the anti-sufi attitude of the Wahabi movement or if there were other reasons. Khwaja Uthman Haruni made a prophecy about his own grave stating that it would not remain in tact, but the grave of Mo inuddin would remain until the Day of Judgment. Once he disclosed the secret that when the Friend becomes your friend then the whole universe in fact becomes yours. But it is necessary then that you should be unmindful of everything else and be ever with the Friend and follow Him faithfully and assiduously. At another time he showed contempt for those mendicants who ate to their hearts content and took themselves to be mendicant and wore the khirqa the robe of the dervishes. If you feed the hungry, God will fulfil your thousand wants and will free you from hell fire. For you a house is built in heaven. The lover of God should be charitable like the river, generous like the sun and hospitable like the earth. He indeed is close to God, who is ever steeped in His submission, Who interprets every event as coming from God, And who is content with it and who takes it as a blessing. This is the main object of all prayers and worship. The history of the Chishtiyya Sufi order continues with the successor of Khwaja Uthman Haruni: Khwaja Mo inuddin Hasan Chishti. It is therefore clear that Mo inuddin Chishti is not the founder of the Chishtiyya. He is the one who brought the order to India and there is no doubt that he is the most outstanding wali of the sub-continent of Indo-Pakistan and Bangla Desh. Maybe I ll return to him in another article. He belonged to the house of the prophet Muhammad (s.a.) both from the paternal side (He is Husaini) and the maternal side (He is Hasani). He is closely related to shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani. 287

288 His great grand-father, Khwaja Ahmad Husain, migrated from Usqar (Iraq) to Sanjar. His father Khwaja Ghiyasuddin Hasan was well-educated and trained. He was an accomplished man and a great Sufi of his time. His mother, Bibi Mah Nur, alias Ummul Warah, was the daughter of Dawud ibn Abdullah al-hambali. Khwaja Mo inuddin Chishti was born in Isfahan in the year 530 A.H. Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (= Helper of the poor) as Mo inuddin Chishti was known received his early education at home. When he was 9 years old he committed the Qur an to memory. Subsequently he was admitted in a maktab (school) in Sanjar. He concentrated mostly on hadith and fiqh. His father passed away in 1150 C.E. Gharib Nawaz was hardly fifteen years old then. One day in the same year when he was watering his garden a mystic named Ibrahim Qanduzi all of a sudden entered the garden. Mo inuddin Chishti was very courteous towards him and offered him a bunch of grapes. Ibrahim Qanduzi was very pleased with his behaviour and wanted to repay him. He took out a piece of oil-cake and chewing it, gave it to the young man. As soon as he ate it, he underwent a strange transformation. He felt disgusted with mundane affairs and was enamoured of a higher life. He had inherited from his father a grinding-stone and a garden, which constituted his source of income. He sold them and distributed the proceeds thereof among the poor. In pursuit of knowledge he visited Khorasan first. Then he proceeded to other centres of Islamic learning like Samarqand and Bokhara. You may be reminded of the famous line of Hafez: If that Turk of Shiraz would take my heart in his hand, I would give for his Hindu mole both Bokhara and Samarqand He stayed there for about five years, i.e. from 1150 up to 1155 C.E. He continued receiving his education up to the age of twenty years. He counted as his teachers two outstanding scholars of his time, namely Maulana Hissamuddin of Bokhara and Maulana Sharafuddin. What happened afterwards to him? What happened to the Chishti Sufis who succeeded him? This can be found in the other articles in this section. It so happens that from now on the most interesting time for the Chishti Sufis starts 288

289 About the Editor Philippe L. De Coster is leading Meditation Groups, holding meetings and correspondence courses since 1960s. The groups were first Meditation Group for the New Age, and Creative Meditation Group (advanced). The groups were the initiative of the late Dr. Roberto Assagioli, MD, Psychologist, Firenze, Italy. He invented psychosynthesis worldwide practiced. The headquarters were located in UK: Sundial House, Nevill Court, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The directors were the late Michal Eastcott and Nancy Magor (authors). I had also church activities until 2010 ending. Inter religious minded, I attended a one year theological course in 1979 at the Great Mosque in Brussels (Arabic), and made profession of faith September 6, same year. It made possible for me to attend Sufism in Ghent, for a number of years until my physical incapacity in the legs. It meant I could no longer perform prayers the Islamic way unless sitting on a chair. Today, I am still teaching meditation privately (Gayatri Meditation Centre where everybody is welcome) and on Internet as I do successfully on Facebook and other sites. Meditation is part of my life, my daily life, entering the mystical vision of the soul, the Higher Self Within. It is also the power to love and to go out to that which is other than the self. Through meditation you reach the ability to sense the unknown, the desirable and the desired; the power to sense, register and record the good, the beautiful and the true. Finally, the urge to discover and to penetrate to the secrets of your Higher Self Within, the Supreme, and of nature. 289

290 Supplement about the Islamic Prayers essential in Sufism As you know, in all Muslim countries Azan is called aloud five times a day and you must have heard it. Have you ever wondered how it started? Story of Azan A long time ago when the Muslims migrated from Mecca to Madinah they used to agree about a fixed time for the congregational prayer. They found it difficult to remember the time fixed for the prayer sometimes, especially when they were busy doing their work. One day Prophet Muhammad(saw) and the Muslims discussed the matter of calling the people for the congregational prayer at the exact time. Some of the believers suggested the use of something like the bell of the Christians, others suggested the use of a horn like that of the Jews, but Umar(ra) suggested sending someone to announce the prayer. Then Allah's Messenger(saw) appointed Bilal(ra) to call the people to prayer. But it seems through the study of hadith that the method was not satisfactory. Then Prophet Muhammad(saw) agreed to use a Naqoose (a conch), something like the bell of Christians but he was not happy to use it because of its similarity with the Christians. After Prophet Muhammad(saw) had ordered a bell to be made so that it could be struck to gather the people to prayer; on that same day a companion, Abdullah bin Zaid bin Abd Rabbihi,said, "I was sleeping when I saw a man carrying a naqoose in his hands, and I said, Servant of Allah will you sell this to me?' When he said what I would do with it? I replied, that we would use it to call the people to prayer. He said 'Shall I not guide you to something better than that?' I replied, 'Certainly', so he told me to say : 'Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, hadu an la ilaha illal lah, ash hadu an la ilaha illal lah, Ash Ash hadu an-na Muhammadar resulul-lah, Ash hadu an-na Muhammadar rasulul-lah, hayya 'alas, salah, hayya 'alas salah, hayya 'alal falah, hayya 'alal-falah Allahu Akbar; Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illal lah.' After the Azan the stranger kept quiet for a while and then said, When the congregation is ready you should say:- Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Ash hadu an la lilaha illal lah, Ash hadu an-na Muham-madar rasalul-lah, 290

291 hayya 'alas salah, hayya 'alal falah, qad qama tis salah, qad qama tis salah, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, la ilahillallah. When I told Allah's Messenger (saw) in the morning what I had seen, he said, "It is a true vision, insha-allah, so get up along with Bilal, and when you have taught him what you have seen let him use it in making the call to prayer, for he has stronger voice than you have". So I got up along with Bilal(ra) and began to teach it to him, and he used it in making the call to prayer. Umar bin al-khattab heard this when he was in his house, and he came out trailing his cloak and said, 'Messenger of Allah(saw), by Him who has sent you with the truth, I have seen the same kind of thing as has been revealed.' To this Allah's Messenger(saw) replied, 'Praise be to Allah!' (Ahmad, Ibn Majah, Ibn, Tirmizi) So from that day on to the present day Azan is said to gather people for the congregational prayer. The Muazzin A person who calls people for the congregational prayer is called a Muazzin. Before saying the Azan he should stand facing Ka'bah in Mecca. He should raise his hands to his ears putting the tips of forefingers into his ears and call in a loud voice. When he says "Hayya 'alas, Salah" he should turn his face to the right and when he says "Hayya 'alal Falah" he should turn his face to the left. Text of the Azan A person who calls people for the congregational prayer is called a Muazzin. Before saying the Azan he should stand facing Ka'bah in Mecca. He should raise his hands to his ears putting the tips of forefingers into his ears and call in a loud voice. When he says "Hayya 'alas, Salah" he should turn his face to the right and when he says "Hayya 'alal Falah" he should turn his face to the left. Text of The Azan Allahu Akbar - Allah is the greatest Allahu Akbar - Allah is the greatest Ash hadu an la ilaha illal lah - I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah. Ash hadu an la ilaha illal Lah - I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah. 291

292 Ash hadu an-na Muhammadar rasulul lah - I bear witness that Muhammad (saw) is the messenger of Allah. Ash hadu Anna Muhammadar rasulul lah - I bear witness that Muhammad (saw) is the messenger of Allah. Hayya 'alas salah - Come to Prayer Hayya 'alas salah - Come to Prayer. Hayya 'alal falah - Come to your Good liayya 'alal falah - Come to your Good. Allahu Akbar - Allah is the greatest Allahu Akbar - Allah is the greatest La ilaha illal Lah - There is no deity but Allah. Azan for Fajr An additional phrase is included twice in the Azan for the Fajr prayer after the second 'Hayya 'alal Falah' As salatu Khayrum minan nawm - Prayer is better than sleep. As salatu Khayrum minan nawm - Prayer is better than sleep. Listening to The Azan 1. When the believers hear the Azan they should listen to it in silence and repeat each phrase of the Azan in silence immediately after the Muazzin has finished saying the phrase. 2. When the Muazzin says:- Hayya 'alas salah and Havya 'alal falah - the listener should say in reply:- Lahawla Wala quw-wata Illa Bil-lah. 3. When the Azan has been completed, the listener and the Muazzin recite Darud unto Prophet Muhammad(saw) followed by a Du'a. Darud after The Azan "Allah humma sal-li 'ala Muhammadin wa 'ala ali Muham-madin kama sal-layta 'ala Ibraheema wa 'ala ali Ibraheema innaka hameedum majeed. " "Oh Allah, let your peace come upon Muhammad(saw) and the family of Muhammad(saw) as you have sent peace upon Ibrahim (A.S.) and his family. Truly you are praiseworthy and glorious." 292

293 "Allah humma barik 'ala Muhammadin wa 'ala 'ali Muham-madin kama barakta 'ala Ibraheema wa 'ala 'ali Ibraheema innaka hameedum majeed." "Oh, Allah, bless Muhammad(saw) and the family of Muhammad(saw) as you have blessed Ibrahim (A.S.) and his family. Truly you are praiseworthy and glorious." Du'a of Azan Allah humma rabba H'azhi hid da'wa tit t'am mati was sal'atil Qa imati 'Ati Muhammada nil waseelata wal Fazeelata wab 'ath-hu maqamam mahmuda nil lazee wa ad tahu. '' "Oh Allah! Lord of this complete prayer of ours, By the blessing of it, give Muhammad(saw) his eternal rights of intercessions distinction and highest class (in paradise). And raise him to the promised rank you have promised him." Jabir(ra) reported Allah's Messenger(saw) as saying, "If anyone says upon hearing the Azan, 'O God, Lord of this perfect call and of the prayer which is established for all time, grant Muhammad(saw) the Wasila and excellency, and raise him up in a prism worthy position which you have promised', he will be assured of my intercession."(bukhari) Iqamat Iqamat is the second call to prayer and is uttered immediately before the beginning of the obligatory prayer offered with congregation. Text of Iqamat Allahu Akbar Allah is the greatest Allahu Akbar Allah is the greatest Ash hadu an la ilaha illal lah I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah. Ash hadu an-na Muhammadar rasulul lah I bear witness that Muhammad(saw) is the messenger of Allah. Hayya 'alas salah - Come to Prayer Hayya 'alal falah - Come to your Good Qad q'amatis sal'ah - Jama'at is ready Qad q'amatis sal'ah - Jama'at is ready 293

294 Allahu Akbar - Allah is the greatest Allahu Akbar - Allah is the greatest La ilaha illal Lah - There is no deity but Allah. This text of Iqamat is the same as that mentioned in the hadith of Abdullah bin Zaid bin Abd Rabbihi who was the first to have vision about Azan. Salat Muslim Prayer Five times each day Muslims bow down to Allah in prayer. Learn about the intentions, the words and movements, and the timings of Islamic prayer. How to Perform the Daily Muslim Prayers 1. Make sure your body and place of prayer are clean. Perform ablutions if necessary. Make the intention to perform your obligatory prayer. 2. Standing, raise hands up and say "Allahu Akbar" (God is Most Great). 3. Standing with hands folded over chest, recite the first chapter of the Qur'an in Arabic. Then recite any other verses of the Qur'an that you would like. 4. Raise hands up, saying "Allahu Akbar." Bow, reciting three times, "Subhana rabbiyal adheem" (Glory be to my Lord Almighty). 5. Rise to standing while reciting "Sam'i Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa lakal hamd" (God hears those who call upon Him; Our Lord, praise be to You). 6. Raise hands up, saying "Allahu Akbar." Prostrate on the ground, reciting three times "Subhana Rabbiyal A'ala" (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High). 7. Rise to a sitting position, saying "Allahu Akbar." Prostrate again in the same manner. 8. Rise to a standing position, saying "Allahu Akbar." 9. This concludes one rak'a (cycle or unit of prayer). Begin again from Step 3 for the second rak'a. 10. After two rak'as, one remains sitting after the prostrations and recites the first part (depending the school of thought) of the Tashahhud in Arabic. At-taḥiyyātu lillāhi, wa -ṣ-ṣalawātu wa -ṭ-ṭayyibātu. As-salāmu ʿalayka ayyuhā n-nabīyyu wa-raḥmatu llāhi wa-barakātuh. Assalāmu ʿalaynā wa-ʿalā ʿibādi llāhi ṣ-ṣāliḥīn. Ašhadu an lā ilāha illā llāhu wa-ašhadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa-rasūluh. 294

295 "Salutations to God and prayers and good deeds. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of God and his blessings. Peace be on us and on the righteous servants of God. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger." 11. If the prayer is to be longer than these two rak'as, one now stands up and begins again to complete the prayer, sitting again after all rak'as have been completed. 12. Recite the second part of the Tashahhud or Salawat in Arabic. (Depending the school of thought.) Allahumma salli `ala Muhammadin wa `ala ali Muhammadin kama sallaita `ala Ibrahima wa `ala ali Ibrahima Innaka hameedun Majid Allahumma barik `ala Muhammadin wa `ala ali Muhammadin kama barakta `ala Ibrahima wa `ala ali Ibrahima Innaka hamidun Majeed. O Allah, let Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. 13. Turn to the right and say "Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah" (Peace be upon you and God's blessings). 14. Turn to the left and repeat the greeting. This concludes the formal prayer. Tips: 1. There are five daily prayer timings. Formal prayers can be done during a window of time between the start of one prayer and the start of the following prayer. 2. If Arabic is not your native tongue, learn the meanings in your language while trying to practice the Arabic. 3. Online tutorials are available that can help you learn the correct positions and Arabic pronunciations. Better yet, pray with other Muslims to learn. 295

296 A quick illustrated overview 296

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300 Al-Fatiha A few short Surahs to learn as a start Transliteration: Bismillah ir-rahman-ir-raheem Al-hamdu-lillah ir Rabbil `alamin Ar-Rahman ir-raheem; Maliki yawmid-deen Iyyakan'a buduwa 'iyyaka nust'a`aeen Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqeem Siratal ladhina 'an 'amta 'alayhim Ghayril-maghdubi `alayhim wa la-dhaalleen. Ameen 300

301 Translation: In the name of Allah (God), The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord (Who is the Creator, Sustainer and Guide) of all the worlds. The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful; Sovereign of the Day of Judgment. Thee (alone) do we worship, And from thee (alone) we seek help. Show us the straight Path, The Path of those (who fear Allah) and on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings. Not of those (committing wrongs deliberately) On whom Thou art angry, Nor of those who (Having wrong opinions) go astray. Ameen Surat Al-Ikhlas (Qur'an 112) 301

302 Bismillah Ir-Rahman Ir-Raheem Qul hoo Allahu ahid Allahu som-med Lem yellid wa lem yoo lid Wa lem yakoon la hoo kufuwun ahid Translation: In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Say: He is Allah, the One and Only! Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him. Surat Al-Falaq (Qur'an 113) 302

303 Bismillaah irrahmaan irraheem Kul a uthu bi rabbil-falaq Min sharri ma khalaq Wa min sharri ghasiqin ithawaqab Wa min sharri annaffathatifil auqad Wa min sharri haasidin ithaa hasad Translation: In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the Daybreak From the evil of that which He created; From the evil of the darkness when it is intense, And from the evil of malignant witchcraft, And from the evil of the envier when he envies. Surat An-Naas (Qur'an 114) 303