Prayer according to the People of Shariah, Tariqah and Haqiqah

i) According to the people of shari`ah
According to the people of this group, the prayer is composed of three sub‑divisions, namely actions or movements, the method of their performance and those things from which one should abstain. Each of these sub‑divisions may be further divided into two aspects, namely the obligatory (fard) and the strongly recomآ­mended (sunnah). The total number of combinations of the above amounts to five thousand three hundred and sixty‑three; we are not in a position to enumerate them all here. We shall, however, describe these divisions and aspects in relation to what is deآ­manded of the Muslim in just one of the cycles of the prayer and with respect to just the movements and their manner of performance. The rest may be deduced upon a moment's reflecآ­tion.
The obligatory movements in the first cycle of the prayer are thirteen in number: the standing, when able (or another position which takes its place when one is unable), the intention, the saying of the takbirat al‑ihram (Allahu Akbar) which signals the beginning of the state of the prayer, the reciting of the Qur'an, the bowing, the first prostration and the tasbih during it proclaimآ­ing the glory of God (the saying of the subhan Allah...), the raising up of one's head, the second prostration and the remembrance of Allah during it, and finally the raising of the head again. The manner and aspects of the performance are eighteen in number: the making of the intention immediately before the takbirat alآ­ihram and the keeping in mind of this intention until the end of the prayer, the correct pronunciation of the words Allahu Akbar (God is Great), the reading of the al‑Hamd surah (the Fatiha or opening) together with another surah (if one is able to recite one) of one's choosing, the reading aloud when the recitation should be done aloud and the reading silently when it should be done silently, the remaining at ease for a moment during the bowing and the like when standing up straight again, the prostrating in such a way that one is touching the ground with seven points of the body ‑ the forehead, both hands, both knees and the toes of both feet ‑ the remaining at ease for a moment in the first prostration and the straightening up after it, the like for the second prostration. In this way the total number of movements and aspects amount to thirty‑one.
The second cycle of the prayer is the same except for the making of the intention and the takbirat al‑ihram, together with the manner and aspect of the performance of these two, which are four in number ‑ leaving twenty eight for this cycle. This number together with the number for the first cycle makes a total of fifty‑eight different movements and aspects of perforآ­mance. To this number, six things are added, namely the sitting for the saying of the tashahhud (the witnessing that Allah is One) and the being at ease in this, the two (the bearing of witness that Allah is One and that Muhammad is His messenger) toآ­gether with the sending of blessings on the Prophet and his family.
Thus, with the above‑mentioned the total becomes sixty-four movements or actions. If the prayer is that of the morning, then the saying of the taslim or salutation is added to this; if it is the midday, the afternoon or the evening prayer, then the like is also added. The reading of another surah apart from the al‑hamd is also omitted, thus leaving sixty actions and aspects of perforآ­mance. The total thus becomes one hundred and twenty‑four actions and aspects of performance. This is the nature of the prayer according to the people of the shari`ah, with respect to the way of the Shiahs and with regard to the exoteric. The inward dimension is connected to the people of tariqah and will now be considered.

ii) According to the people of tariqah
According to this group, the prayer is proximity or a drawing near to the Real. It has been reported that the Prophet has said, `Prayer is the sacrifice whereby every believer comes closer to Allah.' What is meant here is the proximity of spiritual station rather than the proximity of physical place. It has also been narrated that `the prayer is service and drawing closer and joining; the service is the shari`ah and the drawing closer is the tariqah and the joining is the haqiqah.' It has also been said that `The shari'ah is that you worship Him, the tariqah that you come into His presence and the haqiqah that you witness Him.'
The coming close to the Real requires real prostration,which is the station of prayer known as annihilation ‑ either by way of the annihiآ­lation of the attributes in those of the Real; this being particular to the people of tariqah, or by way of the annihilation of the essence in that of the Real, this being particular to the people of haqiqah. Allah refers to this when He says, `And make obeisance and draw night (to Allah)', that is, `Annihilate your essence and your existence in the Essence and Existence of the Real and abide with Him for ever and ever; and this is the station of the people of haqiqah (which we shall describe immediately after this section). We shall now consider what one of the gnostics has said with respect to the `form' of the prayer before returning to the question in hand.
Know that the prayer has been given a specific form by the Lord of Lords, just as He has given a specific form to the animals. The soul or spirit of the prayer is the intention, sincerity, and awareness of the heart; the various actions or movements repreآ­sent the body of the prayer; the original or basic `limbs of the prayer' are the pillars or principles and the `limbs of perfection' are the parts or divisions. Sincerity and intention are analogous to the spirit; standing and the sitting are analogous to the body; the bowing and the prostration are analogous to the head, the hand and the legs; the bowing and prostration are perfected by the stillness of the heart and limbs; the words of remembrance and glorification prescribed in the prayer are analogous to the organs of perception.
Know that your drawing nearer to Allah in the prayer is comparable to the approach of some attendants of the sultan to offer him a young servant lad. Thus the lack of intention or sinآ­cerity in prayer is like offering a servant who lacks the breath of life: the gift of a dead person would be an insult to the sultan and would merit the death penalty. Omission of the bowing and the prostration is analogous to the lack of limbs; omission of the pillars or principles is analogous to the loss of both the servant's eyes and truncation of his nose and ears; lack of awareness of the heart and the paying of no heed to the meanings of the Qur'anic recitation is like the loss of the faculties of sight and hearing, although the eye socket and ears remain.
The reader is hardly unaware of what' would happen to the person who gives a lad of such a description to the sultan. Know then that prayer which is deficient is not acceptable as a means of drawing closer to Allah and of obtaining the noblest of spiritual ranks; indeed the one who offers such a prayer would almost certainly be refused or hindered in his goal. Moreover, the basis of the prayer is veneration and respect of the Real Sultan; neglect of the courآ­tesies of prayer contradicts the nature of veneration and respect. How can a person's prayers be accepted and how may that person draw closer and attain a spiritual rank of distinction if these things are neglected?
Thus it is incumbent upon every person to perform the prayer as we have indicated above, that is in such a way as to preserve the spirit of the prayer. In other words, sincerity and awareness of the heart should be maintained throughout the prayer and the heart itself should take on the very qualities mentioned in the Qur'anic recitation. Thus no prostration or bow is made without the heart of the person prayآ­ing being humble and submissive, in harmony with his outer reality. What is desired is submission of the heart rather than of that which contains the heart. The person praying should not say Allahu Akbar while there still remains something greater than Allah in his heart; he should not say `I have directed my face... unless his heart is fully facing Allah and turned away from that which is other‑than‑Him; he should not say `Praise belongs to Allah' unless his heart is overflowing with gratitude for His blessings on him and full of happiness on account of these blesآ­sings; he should not say 'Thee alone I worship and Thee alone do I ask for help' unless he feels his own weakness and incapacity and that neither he himself nor anyone else is of consequence. This is referred to by Allah when He says to His Prophet: `You have no concern in the affair.' One should thus be in a similar state for all the words of remembrance and the movement of the prayer; `Allah does as He wills; He cannot be questioned concernآ­ing what He does and they shall be questioned.'
If the above has been fully understood, then the reader should also realize that what is meant by the prayer of the people of this group is that they first direct their hearts to the real qiblah and the Ka'bah of inner meaning; these latter are in fact expresآ­sions for the real or true heart, which is also called the House of Allah or the Haram. Allah refers to this in His, words, `Neither the earth nor the heavens can contain Me but the heart of the believing slave;' likewise the Prophet said: `The heart of the believer is the House of Allah.' Perfect spiritual awareness is mentioned in the words of the Prophet, `Prayer is only acceptable when the heart is aware;' Allah also refers to this when He says, `Now surely, sincere obedience is due to Allah (alone)' and further with His words, `Say: surely my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the worlds.'
The person praying then says the takbirat al‑ihram, thereby forbidding his self from doing anything which 'Might conflict with the command of Allah or go beyond the bounds of His pleasure, be it in speech or in action. He then begins the reading of the Qur'an, namely `All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds;' with these words he gives thanks for His blessings and favours by making fitting praise of Him; he is also thereby affirmآ­ing his duties of worship ‑ in all their different forms ‑ and affirming Oneness in the station of gatheredness, neither straying to the way of excess nor to the way of negligence. The words 'Thee alone do we worship' express the unity of action and 'Thee alone do we ask for help' express the unity of attribute. It is for this reason that following these two statements are the words, `Guide us to the straight path, the path of those You have blessed': blessings are here associated with the prophets and saints, indeed with all who follow the way of Islam ‑ and this is perfection of real unity in Allah (tawhid). This straight path of those blessed by Allah, namely the prophets and the messengers, is emphasized by contrasting it with the way of those with whom Allah is angry and those who have gone astray. It has been said that these words refer to the Jews and Christians; this is correct in the first instance, but they also apply to all those who are astray from the straight path, which is the middle way, neither tending to excess, on the one hand, nor negligence on the other. It is the middle way because it is based on the principles of wisdom, chastity, courage and justice. If these words did not mean `Keep us firmly established... on, the straight path we are now on', then they would be devoid of meaning and even flippant, since all are in agreement that the prophets and the saints are on the straight path, as are all the believers and Muslims who follow them. This is affirmed in the words of Allah, `And We chose them and guided them into the right way.' If these words referred to a request for guidance towards the straight path, it would necessarily imply that they were already astray and this would inevitably lead to a fallacious interpretation. This, however, is not permissible with respect to the prophets and messengers and so we are left with the alcove‑mentioned explanation.
The person performing the prayer then makes the bow, thereby indicating his submission to Allah; in doing so, he also returns to his self with humility, submission and need. This is because the bowing is a return backwards to his original state of non‑being and its essential contingency: the horizontal movement is asآ­sociated with the animals just as the standing position is asآ­sociated with man. It can mean nothing other than a return backwards to his original creational form.
Thereafter follows a more pronounced movement downwards, namely that of prostآ­ration, since this latter is associated in particular with the plant kingdom, the plants of their nature always inclining downwards. This downward inclination is an indication of the return to oriآ­gins. Thus the person praying descends from uprightness and the movement associated with man to the station and movement of the animals and finally to the station and downward inclination of the plants. This is so since in the world of form, man has ascended from the plant to the animal and finally to the station of man.
This is referred to in Allah's words, `Certainly We created man in the best image. Then We render him the lowest of the low.' The `best image' according to the consensus of opinion is the true form of man and the `lowest of the low' is the return to the level of the animals and then to that of the plants. This return is also referred to in His words, `Turn back and seek light.' The light mentioned here is situated `backwards', because perfection is only attained after a return to its source, both in the realm of form and inner meaning. The following words of Allah bear witness to this, `O soul that art at rest! Return to you Lord, well pleased (with Him), well pleasing (Him).' Man is reaches this station by witnessing of the self' dependency and humility, through annihilation in the outer and" inner.
Thus when the person witnesses the grandeur of the Creator and the baseness of his self in comparison, he sets about magnifyآ­ing the glory of Allah to the utmost degree ‑ both by his spiritual state and in his outward speech saying `Glory be to my noble Lord and all praise is His.' The fruit of this glorification, after witnessing his humility and submission and his original state of non‑existence, is firmness and uprightness. He witnesses his state with the Real and the state of the Real with him through an exchange of his qualities with those of the Real and by a refinement of his behaviour by His influence. This station conآ­tinues until the person says `Allah hears the one who praises Him' which signals his witnessing of the Real together with all created beings; thus Allah hears the speech of all things without let or hindrance ‑ especially speech addressed to Him. He Himself hears the words of this person praying in the same way as the person praying hears Him, as in the saying of the Imam: `I would repeat the ayah until I could hear the One who had said it;' the words of the Prophet, `Whoever knows Himself knows his Lord' clearly bear witness to this mutual contact.
There are other secrets concerning this direct relationship beآ­tween man and Allah, although it would not be fitting to mention them here. Suffice it to say that Allah has described this matter in His Generous Book: `Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that He is a witness over all things? Now surely they are in doubt as to the meeting of their Lord; now surely He encompasses all things' and it is expressed in a qudsi hadith: `I was his hearing and his sight and his tongue and his hand and his foot ...' This notion is in no way far‑fetched in the light of the words of Allah, `And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.' When we consider that this mutual communication was permitted the bush of form ‑ in His words, `And when he came to it, a voice was uttered from the right side of the valley in the blessed spot of the bush, saying: O Moses! Surely I am Allah, the Lord of the worlds' ‑ we realize that this bush and blessed spot are none other than man and his essential form. This meaning is also contained in the words of the Prophet, `Whoever sees me has seen the Truth;' this is because witnessing the Truth in a fitting manner is not possible except in the form of man. Shaykh Shibli with his words, `I say and I hear and is there anyone in the two worlds besides me?' thereby affirms that he too was in this station. The words of the gnostic Ibn al‑Farid also bear witness to this: If my state were as low as the point of the (Arabic letter) `ba' I would have risen to a point never reached by you despite your skill.
These words indicate annihilation and return to the original state of non‑existence and then arrival and abiding in the world of sanctity, also known as the Divine Presence, which is described in His words, `Surely those who guard (against evil) will be in gardens and rivers, in the seat of honour with a most Powerful King.'
The person praying then prostrates, that is, he returns again to his origin in a backward descent until he reaches the rank of the plant world. The prostration involves the covering of the noblest and most exalted part of man, namely his face, with the basest of things in existence, namely the earth; this covering in dust indicates the breaking of the prostrating self and its humility. The submission and humility of the second spiritual level is annihilation of the annihilation after the annihilation: the first annihilation was of the attributes and human characteristics, but this annihilation is of existence and the essence. just as the drawing close in the realm of Truth is dependent upon the annihiآ­lation of attribute, so arrival in the realm of Truth is dependent upon the annihilation of the essence ‑ which is particular to the people of haqiqah as we have already indicated. As long as the spiritual traveler remains in the station of multiplicity, witآ­nessing the outward manifestations of the Attributes, then he is distant from Allah; he is worshipping Allah in a restricted sense, rather than worshipping Him, the Absolute.
When, however, he arrives at the Unity of the Essence, he frees himself of this and says with the tongue of the spiritual station, `Glory be to my Lord, the Sublime and all praise is due to Him.' The word `sublime' here indicates his worship of a Lord; higher than the Lord worshipped in a restricted sense. It is evident that this notion of restricted Lords is dependent upon the Absolute Lord. It is for this reason that Allah says to His Prophet, `And that to your Lord is the goal.' Thus, in reality, his Lord is none other than the Absolute Lord, the goal of all other lords and the goal of all things. This is so because the Absolute Lord is the manifesآ­tation of the name Allah, which itself is the Greatest Name; it follows, therefore, that the manifestation of what is the greatest must be the greatest. This point must be carefully considered and understood: if this were not the case, then it would not be true to say that He was `the Lord of the lords' nor the `Best of Creators.' Other studies of this matter have been made and may be investigated with respect to the Names and their manifestaآ­tions.
The person praying then says the taslim or salutation, thereby surrendering the whole affair to Allah and moving on from an advance of his self to an advance in Him; this is the station of abiding which is obtained by contentment and submission and by joining the unity of action with that of attribute. The Real Himself indicates this with His words, `But no! By your Lord! They do not believe in (reality) until they make you a judge of that which has become a matter of disagreement among them and they do not find any straightness in their hearts as to what you have decided and they do not submit with entire submission.' The following verse also bears witness to the truth of this matter: I have handed over all my affairs to the Beloved.
So if He wishes, He may give me life, and if He wishes, He may destroy me.
Consider also the words of Allah: `And it behooves not a believing man and a believing woman that they should have any choice in the matter when Allah and His Apostle have decided a matter and His words: `You have no concern in the affair.' Further proof of the validity of this notion is found in the words: `And all We relate to you of the accounts of the apostles is to strengthen your heart therewith; and in this has come to you the truth and an admonition and reminder to the believers;' and Allah is more Knowing and more Wise; He it is Who says the truth and guides to the straight path.

iii) According to the people of haqiqah
The prayer of the people of this group refers to the station of arrival and witnessing in the realm of truth. This station is higher than that of drawing near mentioned above. We have already shown this to be the case in the classification of the people of this science which states that `the prayer is service, intimacy (or drawing close) and arrival.' We have shown too that service is analogous to the shari`ah, intimacy to tariqah and arrival to haqiqah.
There is also a still clearer definition of these three divisions, according to the language of the people of this science: they divide worship in three ways and attribute to each group a particular way, namely `Worship is utmost humility for the comآ­mon people, it is servitude for the elite who have made good their relationship with Allah by the sincerity of their journey along His path towards Him, and it is bondage for the elite of the elite who have witnessed themselves as existing only by Him in their worship.' The latter worship Him in the station of the `Oneness of separation after the gathering' and are the people of haqiqah in the station of bondage rather than servitude ‑ a term reserved for the people of tariqah who are among the elite and the people of the middle way.
There is obviously a great difference between the people of servitude and the people of bondage and between the elite and the elite of the elite. Briefly, the prayer of the people of this group refers to their contemplation of the Beloved with the eye of the Beloved Himself and no other. This is affirmed in the words of the Prophet, `I saw my Lord with the eye of my Lord and I knew my Lord by my Lord.' When the Prophet was asked about the meaning of ihsan (beneficence), he replied,' Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, for even if you do not see him, He sees You.'
One of the gnostics has spoken about the real meaning of the prayer and the attainment of the station of witnessing thereby; since it is relevant to this station, we shall mention it before going on to other matters: `The words of the Prophet: "I have been given coolness of the eye in prayer" refer to divine contemآ­plation . This is because the prayer is a spiritual dialogue between Allah and His slave, as His words "Therefore remember Me and I will remember you" affirm. Moreover, the prayer is an act of worship which is divided between Allah and His slave; this is referred to in the authentic qudsi hadith mentioned earlier, namely "I have divided the prayer between Me and My slave, one half being for Myself and one half for My slave and the slave is given what he asks for. When the slave says, `In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful,' Allah says, `My slave is making remembrance of Me.' When the slave says, `All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds,' then Allah says, `My slave is making praise of Me.' When the slave says, `The Beneficent, the Merciful,' Allah says, `My slave is extolling Me.' When the slave says, `Master of the Day of Judgment', Allah says; `My slave is glorifying Me.' When the slave says, 'Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we ask for help,' Allah says, `This is between Me and My slave and My slave shall be given what he asks for.' " Thus there exists in this ayah an interrelationship which is not present in those preceding it which are purely diآ­rected to Allah. When the slave says; `Keep us on the straight path. The path of those upon whom Thou has bestowed favours. Not (the path) of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray,' then Allah says: `These are for My slave and my slave shall be given what he asks for.' Thus these ayat are reserved for the slave just as the first are reserved for Allah. It is because of this that the reading of al‑Hamd is underآ­stood to be obligatory; whoever does not recite it, has not perآ­formed the prayer which is shared between Allah and His slave. Since the prayer is a dialogue it is also a remembrance; whoever makes remembrance of the Real keeps company with the Real and the Real keeps company with him. There is an authentic qudsi hadith in which Allah says: "I am sitting with the one who remembers Me." Thus whoever sits with the One he is invoking and is keen of sight will see the One with whom he is sitting; this seeing is witnessing and vision. If, however, the person is not of keen sight, then lie will not see Him. It is in this way that the rank of the person praying is known ‑ on the basis of whether or not he sees the Real during the prayer.'
The gnostic goes on to say: `In the words, "I have been given coolness of the eye in prayer" we learn that the Prophet is being given this coolness and does not give it to himself; indeed this emanation of the Real within the person praying is dependent upon Allah and not upon the person praying. Allah does not specifically mention that this quality of coolness emanates from him since the Prophet is commanded to perform the prayer irrespective of whether he receives this emanation from Allah.
Thus just as this emanation is a gift from Him, so too the witnesآ­sing is obtained in the same way. His words "I have been given coolness of the eye in prayer" refer to nothing else but the conآ­templation of the Beloved by the eye of the lover who draws near in the stillness of prayer. On seeing the Beloved, the eye too becomes stilled and it ceases to look at anything other than Him in all things. It is for this reason that the person praying is forbidden to turn away (from the qiblah ) during the prayer: it is during this turning away that Satan (Shaytan) is able to furtively steal away the heart of the slave who is praying and thus prevent him from witnessing his Beloved. Indeed if the lover were heedful in the prayer, he would never turn his face from the qiblah.
`Every man knows his own state: he knows whether or not he is of this spiritual rank and station. Man is surely aware of his own self "even though he presents excuses (to the contrary)." Thus the person praying is aware when he is being sincere or not within himself ‑ indeed no existent being is unaware of its own state ‑ and the state of the person praying is that of spiritual tasting.'
The gnostic then goes on to say: `Know that the seeing, hearing and witnessing of the Real on the part of the slave in prayer can occur by virtue of the strength of his faith and certainty. His certainty may be so clear that it resembles the faculty of sight and hearing. It can also occur by the sight of the heart that is by the light of insight or discernment and understanding, or by the light emanating from the Divine Attributes within the heart such that knowledge becomes actual and experienced. It can also occur by vision of physical perception whereby the Real appears to him by emanation and is witnessed with his own eyes; when this happens the Real also shares the prayer between Himآ­self and His slave. We have knowledge of these various states by way of the narrations telling of the divine emanations on the Day of Resurrection and how they vary in accordance with the belief of each believer.'
The gnostic then says: `Examine the exaltedness of prayer and where it may lead the person praying; anyone who does not attain to the rank of vision in prayer has not reached its final goal and has not felt the coolness of the eye.' This is because he does not see the One with Whom he is 1having the spiritual dialogue. Whoever does not hear what the Real is communicating to him during the prayer is not of those "who lend an ear." Thus whoever is not present with his Lord during the prayer ‑ inasآ­much as he neither hears nor sees Him ‑ cannot in any cirآ­cumstances be considered to be in a state of prayer, nor is he of those "who lend an ear while he is witnessing." The Real Himself has indicated this kind of witnessing with His words, "Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that He is a Witness over all things. Now surely they are in doubt as to the meeting of their Lord; now surely He encompasses all things." The Prophet has also referred to it with his words, "You will see your Lord as (clearly as) you see the full moon at night." The Commander of the Faithful ('Ali) likewise indicates this station of witnessing when he says; "Should I then worship something I cannot see?" and with his words, "The Truth is clearer and more manifest than that which is seen by the eye," then with his words, "And he shall be of a certainty as (clear as) the light of the sun" and with his words, "Even if the veil were lifted, it would not increase my certainty." '
Thus it is true to say of them that in such evident states of witnessing and in a state of true prayer, they are witnessers during their prayer. This is because on investigation we realize that continuous prayer is nothing but the witnessing of the Real in the above‑mentioned manner, namely the prayer particular to the greatest of the slaves and the elite of the saints (awliya'). We ask Allah by His generosity to make us one of them for it is He who has gathered all these states in the perfect slave, the slave of Oneness. Therefore we ask Allah to bestow upon us arrival at the rank of these slaves and pray that He join us with those of His slaves upon whom he has bestowed other, even greater perfections.
Having established that what is meant by the prayer of the people of haqiqah is a witnessing of the Beloved, we shall now begin a study of the order of their prayer and the nature of its principles, in the light of their special rank.
Know that their prayer ‑ given that they establish the prayer of shari`ah and tariqah ‑ refers to the gnostic carrying out that which he has been commanded to do, namely to persevere upon the path of uprightness in the realm of divine unity (tawhid). This is referred to in Allah's words, `So persevere (upon the straight path) as you have been commanded.'
This perseverance and uprightness in the station of perfection and the journeying by Allah after completion of the journey to Allah and the journey in Allah ‑ that is the oneness of separation after the gathering ‑ is a sign that he has moved on from the presence of action and attribute (called the Presence of Oneness and the Presence of Lordship) to the Presence of the singleness of Essence which is the qiblah of the gnostics and the Ka'bah of the man of realization.
The takbirat al‑ihram (uttering the words Allahu Akbar ) means that he is forbidding himself from approaching any door but His door and from doing any action without His pleasure. This is referred to in His words, `Say, surely my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; surely I have turned myself, being upright, wholly to Him Who originated the heavens and the earth, and I am not of the polytheists.'
He then reads the al‑Hamd in the manner we have indicated, namely with the awareness that the prayer is shared between Allah and His slave. During the recitation he should also see with the clear witnessing, indicated in Allah's words concerning Abraham and other prophets, `And thus did we show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth that he might be of those who are sure.'
He then makes a bow ‑ that is he humbles himself before Allah ‑ and in doing so the mulk (the earthly realm) and the malakut (the spiritual or angelic realm) humble themselves with him, since man is entrusted with the caliphate of Allah in both these realms and everything in existence needs, and indeed folآ­lows, him by virtue of the perfections contained within him.
He then makes a prostration, and in doing so the existence of all existent and created beings together with his own creation is annihilated. This very annihilation is brought to annihilation when he actually witnesses the meaning of `Everything (in creآ­ation) must pass away and there will endure for ever the face of you Lord, the Lord of glory and honour.1 He then magnifies Allah with praise and reverence in the above‑mentioned moveآ­ments, thereby elevating Him above all imperfection. In doing so he actually witnesses the meaning of `Glory be to my Lord, the Almighty, and to Him all praise is due', in the first movement and the meaning of `Glory be to my Lord the High' in the second.
He then performs the shahadah, or profession of faith, attesting that the Absolute Essential Oneness and Pure Solitary Existence necessarily negates all phenomenal and contingent existences. This is in accordance with Allah's words ‑ and those of the most perfect of His slaves ‑ `Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and (so do) the angels and those possessed of knowledge, maintaining His creation with justice, there is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise.'
He then submits to this vision of unity from his heart and his spirit in accordance with the words of Allah, mentioned above, `And they do not find hardship in themselves concerning that which You have decreed and they submit with a total submission' and His words, `Surely Allah and His angels bless the Prophet. O you who believe! Call for (divine) blessings on him and salute him with a (becoming) salutation.' Submission to Allah is only valid by means of a submission of His Prophet. Likewise, submisآ­sion to His Prophet is only valid by submission to His deputy or wali referred to in the Qur'an as one of those in authority: `Obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those in authority from among you.' Allah refers to the Prophet in the words, `Say: if you love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you.' A great deal more space would be needed to enumerate all the secrets conآ­nected with this subject. However we shall restrict our study to the above and trust others will discover the rest of these secrets from the people of Allah ‑ for surely such secrets are not hidden from the people of Allah.
Thus there is a group of people whose belief in the roots and branches of Islam is of the intensity we have been describing to the reader. It should be realized that their perception and underآ­standing of divine realities is truly to a most profound degree and their establishment of the shari`ah, the tariqah and haqiqah is to a most elevated level.
How, one may ask, can one possibly attribute to them any lack of belief with respect to the roots and branches? How can one attribute to them any lack of observance of the divine ordinances and prophetic laws? May they be eleآ­vated above such a notion! Such an idea has in fact come about because the majority of the scholars of the exoteric and all those of imitation amongst the common people have only to listen to the ignorance Sufis talking about unrestricted license and the neglect of religious duties for them to believe that this is also what the people of tawhid believe; on hearing such things, they immediately think that anyone who arrives at Allah is exempted the duties of the shari'ah and the acts of worship prescribed in Islam. May Allah protect us from such things; we seek refuge in Him from attributing such things to these people.
All are in agreement that anyone who arrives at Allah or to a certain rank within His presence possesses a greater degree of obedience and his worship is sublimer and his striving corresآ­pondingly more intense, as was the case with the Messenger of Allah. This is evidence from the narration of `A'ishah which demonstrates that the Prophet would rise in the night and pray until his feet become swollen from standing. `A'ishah said, `O Messenger of Allah, has it not been revealed to you "that Allah may forgive your past faults and those to follow?" ' The Mesآ­senger then replied to her saying, `Am I not then a grateful slave?' meaning "If Allah's blessings on me are so great, then surely I should be a grateful slave." ' The words of Surah al‑Muzآ­zammil `O you who have wrapped up in your garments! Rise to pray in the night except a little... or lessen it a little' were only revealed to the Prophet as a result of struggle and spiritual striving, standing in prayer, enduring thirst and rising before dawn. Moreover, it will be well known to the reader that the spiritual stations of the other prophets and messengers were similar.
If we now consider the matter with respect to the saints (awآ­liya) and spiritual inheritors, then we may understand their station by considering that of the Commander of the Faithful. The latter would immerse himself in prayer and in the witnessing of the Real during the prayer. So intense was his state that if his children wanted to draw an arrow‑head from his leg, they would wait until he was engaged in prayer' before drawing it; although they would pull it (hard), he would feel no pain, so deep was his immersion. Again, on three occasions, the sun was brought back from its position of setting in the west ‑ twice in Madinah and once in the region of Babul ‑ in order that he might perform the prayer at the right time. To this day there exists a Mosque dedicated to him called the mosque of the Sun. The sun was also sent back for Sham'un, the spiritual inheritor of Jesus. It is clear that were it not for the great importance they attached to the prayer, they would not have possessed this exآ­treme degree of yearning to perform it and Allah would not have accepted their supplication to the degree He did. It has been narrated that one the progeny of 'Ali, the infallible imam Zayn al‑`Abidin used to pray a thousand cycles of prayer every day and night and used to say, `I would be content if all these prayers equalled just two cycles of prayer of the Commander of the Faithآ­ful.' The like has also been narrated from every single one of his progeny.
Up to this point we have been discussing the matter in relation to the saints; if we now consider the matter in relation to the shaykhs of the people of Allah and their elite, then the reports about them may be divided into two categories: namely with respect to their speech and with respect to their actions.
As for their speech, then some have said that the perfect person is he who does not extinguish the light of his gnosis by his scrupulousness; his direction is towards complete perfection, namely that attained by combining true gnosis and total scrupulآ­ousness. It is absolutely necessary for the one of perfection to combine these two for it is only by doing so that he achieves perfection. Whoever arrives at complete gnosis, and then goes astray because his light burns up his knowledge, is not a man of perfection, nor has he fully realized perfection or the light of gnosis. In this way the light of scrupulousness, obtained by careآ­fully avoiding that which Allah has forbidden, is extinguished by the light of gnosis.
The same applies to anyone who relies on the light of scrupulousness to the detriment of the light of gnosis: if he abandons gnosis for the perfection of scrupulousness ‑ without arriving at the realities of witnessing ‑ he is also not one of the perfected, nor has he attained to the station of perfecآ­tion. The secret of this combination derives from the coordination of the outer and the inner and the knowledge obtained as a result of this joining. This procedure which has been expounded by the gnostic whose words we have already cited, demonstrates the falsehood of the accusations leveled at the people of this science.
The gnostic goes on to say, `The final point of arrival at Reality is abandoning any perception of action.' The gist of his words is that the one who arrives at Reality does not recognize any action as his own nor any Actor other than Allah. This does not mean that action must be avoided, for the gnostic's perception of non-آ­action does not negate the actions of others. It would not be appropriate to go into details at this point; and we have deliberآ­ately omitted them for fear of overburdening the reader. Howآ­ever, one should pay great attention to this idea since by it all the false claims of the libertines and the heretics may be rejected.
Concerning the actions of the saints, it has been narrated that Shaykh Junayd has said, `Uncertainties have vanished and all signs have disappeared; the only thing of benefit to us is the prayer we perform in the depth of the night.' It has been reported that the perfect Shaykh Sa'ad al‑Din al‑Hamawi would pray each day and night a large number of cycles of prayer; the truth of this may be known from his famous awrad (litances of invocaآ­tions) performed at the end of each prayer.
The same is true of Shaykh Shihab al‑Din al‑Kabir al‑Suhrawardi and Abu Yazid al‑Bastami, who was a cup‑bearer in the house of Ja`far ibn Muhammad al‑Sadiq. The same is also true of Shaykh al‑A'zam Muhyi al‑Din 'Arabi who would pray two cycles of prayer for every prophet and saint, after performing all the obligatory cycles of prayers. He would also do this during his visits to the shrines of Morocco, Sham (Syria, Lebanon and Palestine), Egypt (and in particular) Alexandria, Makkah, Madinah and the al‑Aqsa Mosque; this we know from the section entitled `The secrets of prayer' in his work Al‑Futuhat.
Our aim in all this is to show that the people of this gnostic science are in no way like the scholars of the exoteric and the ordinary people of imitation suppose. In fact those who make false accusations about them are the descendants of men from the time of the Messenger of Allah who would make fun of the people of Allah and the masters of divine unity and Qur'anic exegesis. Such people would wink at each other in jest at the people of Allah; they would deny the validity of their way, in those days as in the present age. This is affirmed in the Qur'an when they say `Surely we found our fathers on a course and surely we are followers of their footsteps.' We seek refuge in Allah from them and from those like them. This is most pertiآ­nently expressed by the poet of the following verse: If you knew what I was saying, you would excuse me; If you knew what you were saying, I would rebuke you.
You are not aware of what I am saying, so you rebuke me; And having discovered that you are unaware, I excuse you.
One of the gnostics has noted that anyone who is devoid of a certain quality of excellence will not even admit the existence of that quality, rather he will firmly deny it. The people of Allah are in the station of perfect adherence to the Prophetic exemplar, indicated in His words `Certainly you have in the Apostle of Allah an excellent exemplar.' By its nature the notion of an excellent exemplar does not admit of any difference of opinion: thus how one may ask can anything come pass by the hand of the people of Allah, that is in opposition to this exemplar? And how is it that the ignorant and common people suppose the things they do about them? ‑ `And that was as a result of your evil thoughts which you entertained about your Lord that you tumbled down into perdition, so are you become of the lost ones.' On investigation we realize that the relationship between these people of Allah and this particular group is analogous to that of Abraham with the people of Moses and Jesus ‑ since the latter claimed that Abraham was one of them and not of the Muslims. Allah, however, rejects their claims saying: `Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian but he was an upright man, a Muslim.'
Some people associate such gnostics with deviation, disbelief and heresy, while others associate them with belief in incarnation, union with the divine and the ascription of human characteristics to Allah. The truth of the matter, however, is that they are far removed from such false assumptions and lying fantasies ‑ just as Abraham was far removed from the assumptions and fantasies of the Jews and Christians. The words of Allah in the qudsi hadith `My saints (awliya') are hidden beneath My dome, no one knows them but Myself' allude to these gnostics.
They are also referred to in Allah's words, `Then Allah will bring a people, He shall love them and they shall love Him, modest before the believers, mighty against the unbelievers, they shall strive hard in Allah's way and shall not fear the censure of any censurer; this is Allah's grace, He gives it to whom He pleases, and Allah is Ample‑giving, Knowing.' Again they are referred to in the saying of the Comآ­mander of the Faithful, `O Allah, surely the earth will never be without those who maintain (living) proof of the (truth) of Allah, either in a manifest way and known amongst the people or hidden for fear (of the injustice of men).' They exist in order that Allah's proofs and guidance ‑ as ‑ expounded in the Qur'an ‑ be protected from corrupt interpretation or negligence.
How many are they and where do they exist? By Allah these people are few in number and vast in rank; by them Allah preآ­serves His proofs and words of guidance, until they in turn entrust these proofs and words of guidance to men like themselves, implanting this knowledge in their hearts. It is by way of them too that one may grasp the true meaning of reality; they possess the spirit of certainty and find easy what those living in ease and luxury find difficult; they gain intimacy and friendship with that which arouses horror in the ignorant; physically, they keep company with the world while spiritually, they are conآ­nected to the higher realm; they are the caliphs of Allah on His earth who call others to His way.
The poet has said the following about them: To Allah beneath His dome of glory belongs a group of men Whom He has hidden from the eyes of others out of reverence to them.
They are the sultans in tattered garments Who have drawn apart from the kings of the earth.
They have accepted other clothes and abstained from food, Moving with humility across this green sphere.
Not even the prophets or messengers of Allah have escaped from the tongues of the detractors. The latter have accused them of being, amongst other things, poets, magicians, soothsayers and madmen: `Said he: Most surely your Apostle who is sent to you is mad' and also: `This is most surely a manifest enchanter.' Thus it is not surprising that the gnostics have failed to escape their criticism. Indeed the prophets are also exemplars in this respect for as those of this science have pointed out, `Tiial is a part of (the life of the) prophets, of the saints and also of those like them.' This idea is also expressed in following verse: No one, not even the purified Prophet, can escape their tongues.
Thus if a person is courageous, they call him reckless.
If a person is generous, they call him wasteful.
If a person is quiet, they call him dumb; And if he is loquacious, they call him a prattler.
If a person stands in prayer at night while fasting, They call him an exhibitionist and reject him.
If a person stands in prayer at night while fasting, They call him an exhibitionist and reject him.
Thus do not worry if the people rebuke you or praise you but rather fear no one but Allah for Allah is greater than all.
Thus we come to the end of our study of the prayer with respect to the three groups. We shall now begin on the subject of fasting with respect to these same groups; and by Allah is all security and success.