States of the subtle centres of the created world

Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) says: “A time comes upon the intellect of the Hereafter ('aql-e-ma'ad) when longing for nearness to and union with the tranquil self (nafs-e-mutma'inna) overpowers it, to such an extent that this longing brings the intellect of the Hereafter to the station of the tranquil self. At that time reasoning and remembrance also become connected with the lump of the heart (mudgha-e-qalb); at that time the heart is its own interpreter, and the gnostic's affair becomes connected with the bodily frame (qalib). And that element of fire from whose nature the cry “I am better” came forth also turns towards obedience, and

gradually it is honoured with the distinction of true Islam (islam-e-haqiqi), and, being brought to the original station of the tranquil self, it is made its substitute.

In short, in the bodily frame the deputy of the true heart is the lump of flesh, and the substitute of the tranquil self is the fiery part. The airy part bears an affinity with the spirit; therefore the seeker (salik), in the station of ascent and arrival, sometimes takes this part to be the Real and becomes captive to it. Thus in the station of the spirit this very witnessing (shuhud) takes place and the seeker remains captive.

Some of the masters (mashaikh) have said: “For thirty years I worshipped the spirit as God.” And when he passed beyond that station, truth was separated from falsehood. This airy part, on account of its affinity with the station of the spirit, becomes the substitute of the spirit in this bodily frame and takes on the status of the spirit in certain matters.

And the watery part bears an affinity with the reality of the comprehensive heart; this is why its grace reaches all things. The Lord says: “And We made from water every living thing.” Its return too is to the lump of the heart.

And the earthly part (the part of dust), which is the greatest part of the bodily frame, after being purified from the defilement of lowliness and baseness, which are among its essential attributes, becomes dominant and ruling in this very bodily frame, acquires the status of whatever is in the bodily frame, and becomes coloured with its colour. This is because of its complete comprehensiveness: all the parts of the bodily frame are in reality its parts. This is why the globe of the earth became the centre of the elements and the heavenly spheres, and its centre the centre of the universe. At this point the affair of the bodily frame also reaches its completion, the end of ascent and descent is realized, and perfection and the perfecting of others (kamal wa takmil) are attained. This is the end that has a return to the beginning.

Bear in mind that although the spirit, with its ranks and dependents, may have reached the place of rest by way of ascent, yet since the training of the bodily frame is still pending, attention towards this world is necessary. And when the affair of the bodily frame has been completed, the spirit, the secret (sirr), the hidden (khafi), the most hidden (akhfa), the heart and the self, together with the intellect, turn towards the Holy Court, complete turning away from this bodily frame is attained, and the bodily frame too turns completely towards the station of servanthood ('ubudiyyat).

In such a case the spirit, with its ranks, becomes firmly established in the station of witnessing and presence, and turns away completely from seeing and knowing anything other than Allah, and the whole bodily frame becomes firmly rooted in the station of obedience and servitude. This is the station of separation after union (farq ba'd al-jam'). Bear in mind that I have taken most of the information regarding the subtle centres (lata'if) from Hazrat Mujaddid's (may his secret be sanctified) book Mabda' wa Ma'ad.

The Second Distinctive Feature of the Ahmadi Path

Three sainthoods (wilayat) are unveiled to the seekers of the Mujaddidi path: (1) the Lesser Sainthood (wilayat-e-sughra), (2) the Greater Sainthood (wilayat-e-kubra), (3) the Supreme Sainthood (wilayat-e-'ulya). The first is also called the sainthood of the saints, the second the sainthood of the prophets, and the third the sainthood of the Highest Assembly (mala'-e-a'la).

The Lesser Sainthood

It should be known that when the seeker has traversed the circle of contingency (da'ira-e-imkan), the circle of the shadows (zilal) of the Names and Attributes becomes witnessed by him. This is the circle of the Lesser Sainthood; it is the circle of the principles of individuation (mabadi-e-ta'ayyunat) of all contingent beings, except the noble prophets and the noble angels, for the principles of individuation of these exalted ones are the Names and Attributes, as will come shortly.

Shadows

Zilal is the plural of zill, which means shadow; but here “shadows” means the subtle realities of created beings which have complete affinity with the Names and Attributes of the Real, Glorified is He. Because of this affinity, these shadows became the intermediary for the conveying of the grace of existence and of the concomitants of existence.

Allah Most High is the Absolutely Independent; He has no affinity of any kind with creation. Grace reaches created beings through the intermediary of these very Names and Attributes and their shadows, whether the grace be of existence or of the concomitants of existence. Thus every person's individuation is either a branch of his existence or existence itself. In short, every person's principle of individuation, or fixed archetype ('ayn-e-thabita), or his reality, is that very shadow through which grace reaches him.

Let it be known that just as the Attributes of the Real, Glorified is He, are infinite, so too the shadows of these Attributes are infinite. Therefore, if a seeker journeys through the levels of the shadows in the Lesser Sainthood, this journey will never come to an end; but each person journeys through the levels of the shadows only as far as has been decreed for him.

Bear in mind too that a shadow also has a shadow, and the shadow of the shadow also has a shadow, at the second, third or fourth level, as far as Allah Most High wills. Thus the seeker ascends through the levels of progress until he is joined to his origin and annihilated in it; then, progressing from there, he is joined to the origin of that origin; in this way he traverses the levels of the shadows one after another until he has traversed this circle of shadows. Then, if divine favour is with the seeker, he is granted entry into the circle of the Names and Attributes, which is the origin of the circle of shadows, that is, of the circle of the Lesser Sainthood.

There are many noble saints who, when their journey takes place in this circle of shadows,

take these shadows to be the Attributes and regard the Attributes as the very Real; and in the state of intoxication (sukr) various kinds of words issue from their tongues. When they progress from their principle of individuation and reach the origin of the shadow, then the reality is unveiled.

It should be known that the principles of individuation of the common people, the noble saints, the great prophets and the noble angels, the mutual differences among these exalted ones, and the matters related to this, I have described in detail in my book Kanz al-Irfan, which is under preparation. Whoever wishes may refer to it.

Perfections of the Lesser Sainthood

The manifestation of the Ahmadi perfections, Sayyiduna Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi (may his secret be sanctified), says that in this sainthood the journey takes place in the shadows of the Divine Names. This is the station for attaining attraction (jadhba). In this very place, the attractions and overpowering states of the affiliation (nisbat), burning and longing, cries and sighs, tenderness and weeping, spiritual taste and arrival, finding the Goal, the stripping away of the attribution of actions from servants, unity of action (tawhid-e-fi'li), the lightning-like theophany (tajalli-e-barqi), witnessing unity in multiplicity, and other states of intimacy and estrangement, agitation and bewilderment become the ready coin of the moment (that is, are attained).

If the heart is seeing, the secret of [divine] togetherness (ma'iyyat) and encompassing (ihata) is also disclosed; otherwise the togetherness of the Real, Glorified is He, is perceived through one's inner feeling (wijdan). Absorption (istighraq), intoxication and ecstasy, the severance of attachment in knowledge and in love, ignorance and forgetfulness of everything other than the Real, and the heart's safety from passing thoughts (khatarat) to the extent that no passing thought penetrates the heart — all this is attained in this very station. Annihilation of the heart (fana-e-qalbi), which means attaining permanent unawareness of everything other than the Real, is granted in this very place.

Kinds of Annihilation

Annihilation (fana) has four kinds: (1) annihilation of creation, in which hope and fear of anything other than Allah cease; (2) annihilation of desire (hawa), in which nothing remains in the heart except longing for Allah Most High; (3) annihilation of will, in which the quality of wanting and wishing departs from the seeker as it departs from the dead; (4) annihilation of action, in which “Through Me he sees, through Me he hears, through Me he speaks, through Me he grasps, through Me he walks, through Me he understands” becomes the ready coin of the moment.

It should be known that arrival at the station of sainthood can only be conceived when the ten well-known stations have been attained, namely: repentance (tawba), turning back to Allah (inaba), renunciation (zuhd), contentment (qana'a), scrupulousness (wara'), gratitude (shukr), patience (sabr), reliance on Allah (tawakkul), submission (taslim) and contentment with Allah's decree (rida). Yes! It is certainly true that even if the seeker does not gain a firm footing in these stations, passing through them once is necessary. This much ease too exists only in this exalted order, because its affiliation is one of attraction and is concise (ijmali); by contrast, in the other orders the detailed acquisition of these stations is necessary, because in them the journey is detailed and by way of the path (suluk).

Fitness for Authorization

It should be known that from the words of the early great masters of this noble order it appears that perfection is that the habit (malaka) of presence becomes firmly rooted and that annihilation and subsistence (fana wa baqa) are attained. They say that in the end it is a matter of waiting. So if the seeker is honoured with permanence of presence and breadth of the heart's affiliation, and the presence encompasses the six directions, and the attention becomes without modality (be-kayf), and, contenting himself with this, he keeps practising it, then he will certainly reach the degrees of presence that have been described, will be counted among the friends of Allah, will be immersed in the ocean of Oneness, and will become fit for authorization (ijazat) in the path.

But in the exalted Mujaddidi path, as long as the seeker has not reached annihilation of the self and the perfections of the Greater

Sainthood, he is not fit for unrestricted authorization (ijazat-e-mutlaqa). Bear in mind that in annihilation of the heart, the passing thoughts connected with the heart come to a stop, but the passing thoughts connected with the brain end only after annihilation of the self. Where passing thoughts arise from after the annihilation of the heart and of the self is a matter for wonder. Bear in mind too that the removal of passing thoughts from the heart and the brain is beyond the comprehension of the people of reason; for this some other intellect is needed. The way of the friends of Allah, the saints, is beyond reason and speculation.

Benefit

Knowing the station of the heart completely is easy for the people of unveiling and gnosis. Yes! For those who have only inner feeling and taste it is somewhat difficult; for them it will become known only if there is inspiration and casting (ilqa) from the Divine Court, or if the masters (may Allah sanctify their secrets) tell them; there is no other way.

Yes! It may be that its signs become apparent, through which it becomes known: for example, breadth and expansiveness are attained in the lights of the affiliation, and it is felt as though the chest is filled with lights just as a cup is brimming with water; the direction of “above”, which is imagined during attentive watching, becomes hidden; and simplicity arises in the presence.

Annihilation and Subsistence of the Subtle Centres

Allama Nur Bakhsh Tawakkuli says: “The subtle centres of the World of Command attain annihilation and subsistence in this circle of shadows. Thus, when the seeker in this journey reaches the shadow which is his principle

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The heart, the spirit, the secret, the hidden and the most hidden.

of individuation, he will attain annihilation through the manifestation of the theophany of the Action of the Real (that is, bringing into being (takwin), which is the principle of individuation of Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him)); then he will attain subsistence through this very theophany. [The heart], which is an isthmus (barzakh) and a comprehensive reality, has complete affinity with the relational attributes (sifat-e-idafiyya) of the Real, Glorified is He (action and bringing into being), which are like an isthmus between necessity and contingency. For this reason, when the theophany of the Action of the Real manifests upon the heart, the heart will attain annihilation; in this annihilation the seeker's action will be negated and he will find himself stripped of action; thereafter he will subsist through the Action of the Real alone, and he will find his own action to be the Action of the Real.

The sign of annihilation of the heart is that no attachment of knowledge or of love to anything other than the Real remains; that is, the heart forgets everything other than Allah so completely that even if it tried with effort for years to remember another, it could not. At that time, when knowledge of things departs from it, love of things departs all the more. When the seeker is honoured with annihilation of the heart, he enters the company of the saints; all the perfections of sainthood branch out from annihilation of the heart.

After annihilation of the heart comes annihilation of the subtle centre of the spirit. The subtle centre of the spirit is more subtle than the heart. Its annihilation takes place through the manifestation of the theophany of the affirmative attributes (sifat-e-thubutiyya) of the Real, Glorified and Exalted is He (which, compared with the Action, are one step nearer to the Presence of the Essence, Glorified is He); then subsistence takes place through these same attributes. In this station the seeker will find his attributes stripped from himself and the attributes of all creation stripped from them; rather, he will know them to be attributed to the Holy Presence.

After this subtle centre comes annihilation of the subtle centre of the secret, which is more subtle than the subtle centre of the spirit. Its annihilation takes place through the manifestation of the theophany of the essential modes (shuyunat-e-dhatiyya) of the Real, Glorified and Exalted is He (which, compared with the affirmative attributes, are one step nearer to the Presence of the Essence, Glorified is He); then subsistence takes place through these same modes. In this very station the seeker finds his own essence

effaced in the Essence of the Real, Glorified is He.

After this comes annihilation of the subtle centre of the hidden, which is more subtle than the subtle centre of the secret. Its annihilation takes place through the manifestation of the theophany of the transcendent attributes (sifat-e-tanzihiyya) of the Real, Glorified is He (which are above the essential modes); then its subsistence takes place through these same attributes. In this station the seeker finds the Essence of the Real stripped of all manifestations (mazahir).

After this comes annihilation of the subtle centre of the most hidden, which among the subtle centres of the World of Command is the most subtle, the most beautiful, the most comely, and the nearest to the Presence of Absoluteness (hazrat-e-itlaq). That which annihilates this subtle centre is a holy rank which is like an isthmus between the rank of transcendence and the stripped Oneness (ahadiyyat-e-mujarrada) of the Essence of Allah Most High, and its subsistence too takes place through this holy rank. In this station the seeker becomes adorned with the character traits of Allah.” (Tadhkira, abridged.) When the seeker reaches this station, the circle of the Lesser Sainthood is completed.

The Greater Sainthood

When the seeker completes the circle of the Lesser Sainthood, the circle of the Greater Sainthood becomes witnessed by him. This is the third circle. In this circle three circles and one arc (qaws) are witnessed by the seeker. Of the three circles, the lower half of the first comprises the Names and the additional Attributes (sifat-e-za'ida), and the upper half the essential modes. The ascent of the subtle centres of the World of Command extends only to the end of this circle of Names and Modes.

Above the circle of Names and Modes is the second circle, which comprises the origins of the Names and Modes; the third circle comprises the origins of those origins; and the arc comprises the origins of the origins of the origins. This circle is the circle of the principles of individuation of the noble prophets and the great angels. In the Names and Attributes there are two considerations: one is the aspect of their existence in themselves, which is called manifestation (zuhur);

the other is the aspect of their subsisting through the Essence of Allah Most High, which is called inwardness (butun).

Thus the Names and Attributes, in respect of manifestation, are the principles of individuation and the nurturers of the noble prophets; arrival up to this station is called the Greater Sainthood and the sainthood of the prophets. And these same Names and Attributes, in respect of inwardness, are the nurturers and principles of individuation of the angels; arrival up to this station is called the Supreme Sainthood and the sainthood of the Highest Assembly. From this explanation it becomes clear that the sainthood of the angels is higher, and nearer to Allah, than the sainthood of the noble prophets. But the stations of the angels are fixed; beyond them they cannot attain progress or ascent. The Mighty Quran says: “There is none of us but has a known station.”

By contrast, for the noble prophets (blessings and peace be upon them) there are progressions, both in comparison with the angels and also beyond that, namely the Perfections of Prophethood, the Perfections of Messengership, the Perfections of the Resolute Ones (ulu al-'azm), and so on. It is from this aspect that the noble prophets became superior to the great angels, as is the belief of the Ahl al-Sunnah. In short, the journey of the Greater Sainthood is the journey of the Name al-Zahir (the Manifest).

Perfections of the Greater Sainthood

The knower of manifest and hidden secrets, Sayyiduna Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi (may his secret be sanctified), says: “Presence and watchfulness, ascent and descent, and attractions, just as they were in the station of the heart, are present here too; indeed, the attraction gradually envelops the whole body, and the lights of the affiliation pervade the body. Compared with the station of the heart, the states and conditions here are flavourless and have little relish; but when this affiliation gains strength, the earlier states are forgotten.

The primary recipient of grace here is the subtle centre of the self. This is the station where true annihilation

and the reality of Islam and the expansion of the breast (sharh-e-sadr) are attained. The wealth of perpetual gratitude and of contentment with Allah's decree (rida) is also granted here, in such a way that all questioning of “why” and “how” regarding the decrees of destiny (qada wa qadar) ends completely, and in accepting the obligations of the Shari'ah no need for proof remains at all; here what was known by reasoning becomes self-evident. Tranquillity is attained from the tumults of the station of attraction; the strength of certainty in the promises of Allah Most High increases; and absorption and effacement occur like snow melting before the sun. He attributes existence and the concomitants of existence to the Real, Glorified is He, and applying the word “I” to himself becomes very difficult.

In this station the seeing of one's own shortcoming (did-e-qusur, that is, regarding one's deeds as little) so overpowers the seeker that he sees nothing in himself except evil and fault, and he sees no sincerity in his own intention. Refinement of character, which is the fruit of the path, and purification (tazkiya) from vices such as greed, miserliness, envy, rancour, pride, love of status, self-admiration and the like, are granted in this lofty station.”

Bear in mind that the sign of the completion of the circle of the Greater Sainthood is that the matter of inner grace, which until now was connected with the brain, now becomes connected with the chest. Then at that time the expansion of the breast is attained, whose sign, by way of inner feeling, is that all questioning of “why” and “how” regarding the decrees of destiny is lifted entirely.

Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) says: These three origins of the Names and Attributes that have been mentioned are mere considerations (i'tibarat) in the Presence of the Real, Glorified is He, which became the principles of the Attributes and Modes. The attainment of the perfections of these three origins is specific to the tranquil self; the self attains tranquillity in this very station, and in this very station the expansion of the breast

is attained and the seeker is honoured with true Islam. This is the place where the tranquil self is seated upon the throne of the breast and progresses to the station of contentment (rida). This place is the culmination of the Greater Sainthood, which is the sainthood of the prophets (blessings and peace be upon them). When I had carried the journey up to this point, the thought occurred that perhaps the work had been completed! A call came: “All this was the detail of the Name al-Zahir (the Manifest), which is one wing of flight; and the Name al-Batin (the Hidden) still lies ahead, which is the other wing for flight in the Holy Realm.”