The Rekindling of Yearning (Iqāḍ Al-Himam):
A Commentary on the Kitab Al-Ḥikam of Ibn Ata’ Allah Al-Iskandari
by Aḥmad Ibn ʿAjiba
Chapter One: Teaching One
“A feeling of despair when you fall is a sure sign that you have been relying on your
own actions. “
THE COMMENTARY
[THE ARGUMENT OPENS WITH A DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF ACTIONS]
“Actions,” according to Sufi teaching, take place on three planes1: Shariʿah, Ṭarīqah, and
Ḥaqīqah .2 This tripartite division is replicated in various dimensions:
Shariʿah Ṭarīqah Ḥaqīqah
actions of beginners actions of those in actions of those in
intermediate stages advanced stages.
actions of surrender actions of faith (imān) actions of virtue (iḥṣān)
(islām)
actions of worship actions of pure service actions of pure freedom
(ʿibādah) (ʿubūdīyah), (ʿubūdah)
In Shariʿah, you worship Allah; in Ṭarīqah, you direct yourself exclusively towards Him;
and in Ḥaqīqah, you enjoy uninterrupted vision of Him.
In Shariʿah, your external actions undergo a process of purification and balance. This is
1
Since the earliest days of Islam there have been discussions on the problem of free will and determinism,
whether the human is author of his own deeds, or whether all events, including human choices and
decisions, are predetermined. There have, of course, been many intermediate positions. In this Sufi
context, the problem is seen not horizontally, as either/or, but rather vertically, as reflecting the stage of
the individual's spiritual ascendance. Ibn ʿAjibah's commentary opens on the side of determinism, taqdīr.
2
Formally, Shariʿah refers to prescriptive legislation, Ṭarīqah to the Sufi path, and Ḥaqīqah to knowledge of
the Real. The deeper significance of these terms, which will not be translated, is elaborated at length
below.
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done through avoiding that which is proscribed and complying with that which is
required, and reaches its fullest expression in permanently turning away from past sins
(tawbah), being conscious of Allah (taqwah), and consistency in following Allah’s
guidance (istaqāmah).
In Ṭarīqah, your heart undergoes a process of purification and balance. This is done
through liberation from desires and attachments, and the acquisition of virtues and
positive characteristics, and reaches its fullest expression in fidelity (ikhlās), truthfulness
(ṣidq), and serenity(ṭamānīyah).
In Ḥaqīqah, your soul3 is purified. This is done through graceful surrender, deep
humility, and discipline, and reaches its fullest expression in the daily practice of
reflection upon all your deeds (muḥasabah); active contemplation on the Divine
Manifestations in order to contemplate on the One 4 (tafakkur); passive contemplation --
you wait and observe what God places in your soul (murāqabah); awareness of Allah’s
infinite presence (mushāhadah )5; and gnosis (maʿarifah). When the soul is pure and
balanced, it is filled with light.
* * * *
If your initial station was radiant, so too will be your subsequent levels. You cannot
advance to a higher station (maqām) until you have mastered the one that precedes it.
Thus you cannot proceed to Ṭarīqah until you have acquired the purified and balanced
actions of the Shariʿah and trained your limbs to perform them, so that you meet the
required conditions, mentioned above, of tawbah, of taqwah, and of istaqāmah. That
3
The Arabic word used here is Sarā’ir. Translated variously as the Secret, spirit, innermost awareness, the
site of contemplation of God.
4
As, for example, in “How is Allah working through this phenomenon, at this moment?” One does not
contemplate on the Essence.
5
There are three levels of mushahadah: the momentary glimpse that touches your soul (mukashafah) ; the
eye of the heart—this lasts a little longer, and you can return to it (muʿayanah) ; and the unending presence
(shahid).
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involves emulating the deeds, words and states of the Messenger ﷺ.
Only after the outward is purified and has been illuminated by the Shariʿah is it possible
to move to the higher realm of Ṭarīqah, in which you purify your heart (nafs) from its
base attributes. Once you are thus freed from them, you are adorned with the attributes
of higher spirituality, that is, the acquisition of Divine Attributes. Spiritual discipline
(adab) is the way to reach this station.
Then the limbs find perfect rest from needless turmoil, and all that remains is further
refinement of adab.
One of the Sufis said, "Whoever reaches the fullest expression of Shariʿah will
consistently perform good actions. Whoever reaches fullest expression of Ṭarīqah will
not engage in any action unless it be for the sake of Allah. Whoever reaches fullest
expression of Ḥaqīqah does not turn to anything except Allah.
[THE ARGUMENT MOVES FROM DESCRIBING ACTIONS TO DEFINING THE NATURE OF RELIANCE, TRUST]
“Relying” on something means that you are sustained by it, that you place your trust in
it. In traveling through these stations (maqāmāt), you, the disciple (murīd), should not
put your trust in your nafs6 , in your actions, in your strength and abilities, or even in
your spiritual states and experiences, but, rather, in the generous blessings of Allah,
His promises of just rewards (tawfiq), His loving guidance, and his purifying grace.
The Qur’ān states: "Your Lord creates and chooses whatever He wishes. The choice is
not theirs." (28:68); and "If your Lord had wanted to, He would have made mankind into
one community but they persist in their differences, except upon those your Lord has
6
The ego, or the lower self. This term will not be translated.
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mercy on." (11:118) The Prophet ﷺsaid (in the Hadith): "None of you will enter the
Garden by virtue of his actions." They asked him, "Not even you, Messenger of Allah?"
He replied, "Not even me, unless Allah envelops me in His mercy."
Trusting in your nafs is a sign of wretchedness and despair. Likewise, trusting in your
actions comes from a lack of inner certainty about the outcome of things. 7 Trusting in
the miraculous and gifts of spiritual states and ecstasy comes from not keeping the
company of fellow [sober] Sufis. On the other hand, trust in Allah comes from full
expression of the gnosis of Allah.
A sign of trust in Allah is that your hopes are not lessened when you are negligent or
asleep, nor are they increased when you remember and are awake. That is, your fear is
not greater when you are negligent, just as your hope is not increased when you are
awake.
Fear and hope are always equally balanced 8; the one comes from of witnessing Divine
Majesty (jalāl), and the other from witnessing Divine Beauty (jamāl). Just as Divine
Majesty and Divine Beauty are not subject to increase or decrease, so are the spiritual
stations on witnessing them.9 However, fear and hope do fluctuate if you put your trust
in your own good deeds since, when these are few, hope is diminished; and when they
are numerous, it increases as a result of your (imagined) partnership (shirk) with Allah.10
If you were to reach the station of effacement (fana’a) of your lower self (nafs) and see
that only the Divine presence remains (baqa'a), then you would find rest from inner
turmoil and achieve gnosis of Allah.
7
A connection is established between trust and taqdir.
8
This is the level is the perfected human being who has realized all the Divine Attributes, the insān kāmil.
9
A distinction is made between spiritual stations (maqāmāt) , which are permanent and achieved through
ongoing inner work, and spiritual states (aḥwāl) , which are ephemeral experiences, and about as a gift, or
grace.
10
Shirk is imagining that you are the author of your own deeds; it flows from ignorance (jahal).
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[FINDING A SPIRITUAL TEACHER]
You must have a realized spiritual teacher (sheikh) who will lead you out of the inner
turmoil (the opposite of certainty) of your nafs into a state of perfect peace in which you
can witness the Divine Presence.
The sheikh gives you rest from inner turmoil, and does not direct you to it. Whoever
directs you exclusively to the material world, cheats you. Whoever directs you
exclusively to outward pious action, exhausts you. But whoever guides you to Allah has
been faithful to you, as Sheikh Ibn Mashish11, r.a., said, "Guidance to Allah is teaching
you to forget your lower self (nafs). When you learn to forget yourself, you remember
Allah. As the Qur’ān says, 'Remember your Lord when you forget.' (18:24)" The cause
of inner turmoil is preoccupation with the self and being perpetually concerned with its
demands. But the one who is able to forget the self, only he has perfect peace (rāḥā ).
The Qurānic verse "We created man in trouble" (90:4), refers to the people of the veil
(ahl-ul-ḥijāb), to those who are attached to keeping their lower selves alive and well by
remaining attached to the material world.
On the other hand, the verse, "If he is one of Those Brought Near, there is solace and
sweetness and a Garden of Delight" (56:88) refers to those who have died to their
lower selves. They will find the solace in Divine Union and the sweetness in divine
beauty in the Garden of Perfection. As the Qur’ān states "They will not be affected by
any weariness there" (15:48). This state of peace is only obtained after a long struggle
with the lower self, and final success is only obtained after much striving in the path of
Allah. "The Garden is surrounded by things that are disliked."
O lover, if you want to uncover the mystery of my beauty,
11
ʿAbd as-Salam ibn Mashish (d. 1228) was the spiritual guide and master of the founder of the
Shaḍḍuliyyah order. Her considered the axis of his age. He is the author of the prayer that is recited by all
of the ṭariqah of the Shaḍḍuliyyah order.
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Know, my dowry is very dear:
A body gaunt with hunger, a soul filled with pain and yearning,
Eyes that barely taste sleep, and a heart emptied of everything but me.
If you are willing to pay that price, forever efface yourself in me.
Your every effacement will bring you nearer to That Effacement
Remove your two sandals when you approach my abode.
The Sacred Presence is there.
Cast off both worlds, the here, and the hereafter,
Remove whatever lies between Me and me.
Then, whenever you are asked, "Whom do you love?"
Say, "I am the One I love and the One I love is me." 12
In the book The Solving of Riddles we read "You must travel six stages in order to
reach intimacy with the Divine Presence. The first is reining in the limbs from wandering
from the path of Shariʿah; at the completion of this stage you may look down upon the
founts of wisdom. The second is reining in the nafs to train it to break away from habits;
at the completion of this stage you may look directly into the secrets of knowledge
imparted from the Divine Presence. The third is reining in the heart to keep it from
excessive frivolity; at the completion of this stage the signs of the intimate
conversations with the Divine appear to you. The fourth is reining in the nafs to keep it
from rank impurities; at the completion of this stage the lights of intimacy descend upon
you. The fifth is the reining in the spirit from fetid sensuality; at the completion of this
stage the lights of the manifestation of Divine Love appear to you. The sixth is reining in
the intellect from illusion and flights of fancy; at the completion of this stage you
descend to the meadows of the Sacred Presence in the world and there you will do
without the humanly subtle meanings of dense sensory things that you had previously
12
Lines 7-9 refer to a Sufi interpretation of the Quranic description of Moses at the burning bush (XX:11-
12). The final couplet is of Mansur al-Ḥallaj.
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witnessed. 13
[DETERMINATION AND FREE WILL]
When He desires to single you out and select you, He will give you a sip from the cup
of His love. That sip will increase your thirst, as taste will increase your yearning,
nearness will intensify your quest, and intoxication will increase your restlessness."
Even a student of great discrimination can be confused by the apparent contradiction
between the Qur’ānic verse, "Enter the Garden for what you did" (16:32), and the
statement of the Prophet ﷺin the Hadith, "None of you will enter the Garden by
your actions." The resolution is that in some places the Qur’ān and the Hadith each
speak of prescriptive legislation (Shariʿah), and at other times they speak of the Real
(Ḥaqīqah). The Qur’ān may legislate on a specific issue while the Hadith speaks of the
Reality (Ḥaqīqah) on the same issue, and the opposite also occurs. Another example
would be of the Qur’ānic verse, "But you will not will unless Allah wills" (81:29), which
refers to the Real, while the Hadith, "When one of you has a good action, a good action
is written for him," which relates to prescriptive legislation. Thus the verse, "Enter the
Garden for what you did,” refers to prescriptive legislation, for the people of free will, the
people of the Shariʿah; whereas the Hadith "None of you will enter the Garden by your
actions,” refers to Realization (Ḥaqiqah), for the people of determinism (Tadqīr).
In short, the Qur’ān and the Hadith complement each other. You must look through two
eyes: one eye looks at the Real, the Ḥaqq, and the other at the legislative, the Shariʿah.
If in one place the Qur’ān legislates, in another it relates to the Real, and the reverse is
true. Thus there is no contradiction between the two sources, the verse from the Qur’ān
13
In the “arc of descent,” the world now looks different. The Divine Presence is there, as it was before, but
our perception of it is now unencumbered.
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and the Hadith. There is no room for confusion.
There is another resolution, found in another verse: "We have sent down to you the
Reminder so that you can make clear to mankind what has been sent down to them."
(16:44). : when Allah initially called upon ordinary people to accept both inner tawḥid
(Ḥaqiqah), and outward obedience (Shariʿah), they were incapable of doing so without
desire [for heaven], and so He promised them that their actions would be rewarded. It
was only after they were well established in outward compliance (Shariʿah). that the
Prophet ﷺraised their station to ʿubūdiah, to actions of pure service (Ṭarīqah), and
then to the highest station, which is the station of the Real, the station of Ḥaqiqah.
Then he told them, "None of you will enter the Garden by his actions." Allah knows
best. At this level the perspective of the people of Shariʿah, of outward compliance, is of
no value. When someone moves from outward actions to inward actions, the
consequences are still manifest in the limbs. The Qur’ān states, "When kings enter a
city, they lay waste to it." (27:34) The appearance of its effects is divestment, or
withdrawal (tajrid).
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