hidayat_trn
TRANSCRIPT
-
7/27/2019 hidayat_trn
1/7
Hidyat al-Tlibeen
Guidance for SeekersH a d r a t H a f i d h S h a h A b u
S a e e d D e h l a v i (1196 AH - 1250 AH)
6/7/2013
Translated by Safwan Ahmad
This English translation is based on the Urdu version of Shaykh Abu Saeeds magnum opus Hidayat al-
Talibeen (published in 2011 by the Khanqah Sirajia Kundian Sharif, Mianwali, Pakistan). As with all
translations, the goal is to carry over the source content to the target language minimizing the loss of
the message. However, when Sufi technical terminology is at the core of the content localization,
faithfully carrying over the message is much more difficult and an element of personalized
interpretation is unavoidable. In many such instances, original Persian or Urdu phrases have been
quoted within brackets.
-
7/27/2019 hidayat_trn
2/7
1
Introduction
Verily, on the Friends1of Allah is no fear nor are they amongst the grievers.
Th constantly guard against evil.
After praise and salutations, it is stated that this worthless dervish, or rather the
shame and disgrace of dervishes, Abu Saeed (Mujaddidi2 by virtue of spiritual lineage) was
approached by some of his close associates with the request to compile an account of thespiritual transformations I encountered while traversing the Path3, divine visitations and
mystical secrets unveiled through mediation of our venerable spiritual masters4 and the
various invocations5 and contemplative meditations6 this servant benefited from on this
journey, so that it may serve as a precedent to be employed for benefit.
This servant, in return, referred them to the Maktubat7of Imm Rabbn Shaykh Ahmad al-
Sirhind and the many works authored by his successors which comprehensively deal with
issues relating to the Sufi way, and are a chest of spiritual treasures for both the common
people and the elite to take benefit from, and also journals of the temporal pole8 our
Grandshaykh Abdullah Shah Ghulam Ali, though concise, are sufficient for seekers of Truth.
1Awliya, sing. wali. This term, which in Arabic means close friend or protg, is usually translated into Western
languages as saints; in what follows we shall translate this word as friend(s) of God. 2
The Mujaddidi sub-order of the Naqshbandi Chain traces its spiritual lineage through Mujaddid Alf-i- Thani
Shaykh Ahmad al-Sirhind (15641624)3
The path consists of journey towards God (Sair illallah), journey in God (Sair f il-lah) and journey from God (sair
min Allah).4Shuyukh; sing. shaykh. In what follows this term will be translated as either elder or *Sufi+ master.
5Dhikr, literally remembrance or recollection *of God+, a common spiritual practice among the Sufis involving
the repetition of the Names of God, formulas taken from hadith texts and verses of the Qur'an. Dhikr is usually
done individually, but in some Sufi orders it is instituted as a ceremonial activity.6Muraqaba; This Sufi term may mean both self-examination by the Sufi of his inner thoughts and intentions and
his constant awareness of God observing him. See Chittick, Sufi Path of Knowledge, p. 348.7
Maktubat refers to a collection of letters8
Qutb al-Aqtaab: Pinnacle of the Sufi cosmographical hierarchy. The station of the temporal pole is occupied by
the saint most fully manifesting the Muhammadan Reality in every era and therefore, perfected in divine attributes
(al-insan al-kamil). The Qutb of the age is the axis around which the spiritual universe revolves.
-
7/27/2019 hidayat_trn
3/7
2
But, due to their close devotion to this worthless one, they insisted and said : O our Shaykh!
Amongst the traditions is that people take back relics from their elders as tabarruk9 after a visit
and we would like to take this [the manuscript under discussion] as a token of blessing from
you when we return to our homes.
They kept on insisting and I saw no way out; however, due to busy schedules, this request
could not be entertained at that time. Coincidentally, when I moved to Lucknow for a short-
stay, I managed to take out time for this endeavor. Therefore, whatever has been granted to
this weak one through spiritual transmission10 by the elders is being put down in writing as a
token of gratitude, expressing thankfulness itself being a religious duty11. Whatever is
written in this journal are the spiritual unveilings manifested on this servant through divine
grace and through the spiritual focus10 of Hadrat Pir Dastgir (Grandshaykh Abdullah Shah
Ghulam Ali); but in some places where Ive gone into details, Ive also written from my own
knowledge. However, these should also not be considered mere imitation and book-
knowledge; And verily, Allah is my witness on this point and He is the best Guardian.
Initiation & the first PresenceOn 7th of Muharram 1225 AH divine grace sparked on this servant in Delhi Sharif when he got
the opportunity to kiss the feet [literal translation] of the King of Perfected Guides, the
Reviver of religion in this Era and the Revealer of the Secret of the Path; the Verifier of the
State of Perfection, the Inheritor of Prophetic Knowledge, Hadrat Ghulam Ali Shah Dehlavi
Naqshbandi Mujadidi [May Allah sanctify his secret]. Hadrat blessed us immensely by
initiating us in his circle of lovers and instructed us in the Dhikrof the personal divine name
(Ism al-Dhat12) and recollection using negation & affirmation (Nafi wa-l Ithbat13) and also the
meditations of Divine Oneness (Muraqaba al-Ahadiyya) and Divine concomitance (Muraqaba
al-Maiyya) and he activated my five subtle-energy faculties (lataif14) belonging to the realm
of command (alam al-amr) by making spiritual concentration on them.
9Source of blessing
10Tawajjuh ; a concentrated Sufic transmission from a teacher to a student during which the master affects a
seeker by his inner states. In what follows this term will be translated as either spiritual transmission or
*spiritual] focus.11
The Messenger of Allah is reported to have said: He who does not thank people does not thank Allah. (Abu
Dawud; Tirmidhi)12
Dhikr Ism al-Dhat: By orally reciting and silently remembering the name of the divine essence i.e. Allah13
Dhikr Nafi wa-l Ithbat: By mentioning la-ilaha illa allah There is no god but God; negating the false reality of the
ego while mentioning no god and the affirmation of but God to submit to the Divine Reality14
These subtle centres of psychospiritual consciousness on the human chest are responsible for extrasensory
perception.
-
7/27/2019 hidayat_trn
4/7
3
Journey towards the Source beginsIn just a few days, my lataif started attracting [and absorbing] divine energy (jadhba
ilhiyya), thus, beginning journey to their origin, which is related to a non-spatial dimension
located above the Divine Throne and I was exalted to a state of annihilation (i.e. non-
existence) through divine attraction. After completing my journey in the sphere of universal
possibilities (daira-i imkan), I ascended towards the origin of the origin (asal al-usul) which
lies in the sphere of lesser sainthood (daira-i wilayat al-sughra); I attained the states of
annihilation (fana) and subsistence (baqa) and became a receptacle to the secrets of both
spheres and their divine lights engulfed me to the full of my capacity. Wal-hamdulillah ala
dhaalik.
Now that the journey in these two spheres has been outlined, it becomes important to
explain the mechanism of the lataif (subtle-energy centers) in some detail.
The - Faculties of psychospiritual experienceAccording to [the cosmological & psycho-spiritual model developed by] Mujaddid Alf-i-Thani
and his followers, the human being comprises of 10 subtle energy centers. 5 of these belong
to the realm of command (alam al-amr) and the other five to the realm of creation (alam al-
khalq).
Lataif of the metaphysical Realm of Command
The spheres of consciousness belonging to the realm of command in order of increasingsubtlety are:
Heart (Qalb) Spirit (Ruh) Secret (Sirr) Hidden (Khafi) and The Most Hidden (Akhfa);
Lataif of the physical Realm of Creation
The rest of them belonging to realm of creation are: individual consciousness of self (Nafs)
and the four cosmic elements (water, fire, air, earth) collectively denoted by Latifa Qalib.
-
7/27/2019 hidayat_trn
5/7
4
The Two Realms & the Circle of universal possibilitiesThe realm of command is metaphysical and was created by
resonance of the divine command: Kun (Be!) while the realm of
creation is temporal [exists within spacetime] and was created inphases.
Added together, the
realm of command and
the realm of creation
form the complete
sphere of universal possibilities (daira-I imkan)
which contains within it the sum total of all
present, past and future possibilities.
The lower hemisphere of the circle of possibilities
extends from the Divine Throne to the lower
limit (and covers the lataif of the realm of
creation) while the upper hemisphere extends
from the Divine Throne to the upper limits (and
cover the lataif of realm of command) [refer to figure].
Mapping the Lataif to the human bodyWhen Allah fashioned the physical body, He caused each of the five energy centers from the
realm of command to be intimately linked to a general area of the human body.
Therefore, the Heart latifa was linked to the
area approximately two finger widths below
the left nipple, the Spirit latifa to the area
approximately two finger widths below the
right nipple, the Secret latifa is located in level
with the left nipple approximately two finger
widths towards the center of the chest, the
Hidden latifa is located level with the right
nipple approximately two finger widths
towards the center of the chest and finally the
Most Hidden latifa is located at the mid-point of
the chest.
-
7/27/2019 hidayat_trn
6/7
5
This intimate link evolved to such an extent that these lataif, along with their heavenly
origin, which is in fact, nothing but unfathomable oceans of divine lights [of different energy
vibrations], formed a bond of extreme love (taluq ishqi) with the material body and
exhausted their spiritual aspirations on this murky model of dust (the human physicality).
Activating the Lataif Core spiritual excercisesWhen the Truth decides to favor any servant, He guides them to the threshold of one of His
friends. Then that Wali, according to the capacity of the seeker, instructs him on striving
with exercises of spiritual purification that assist reformation of the inner-self (tazkiya nafs),
assigns invocations (adhkar) and contemplative exercises (afkar) to set the lataif spinning
towards their origin.
Naqshbandi Principle of moderateness in worship
Because spiritual determination (himma) of seekers in this era have become diminished,
therefore, Naqshbandi guides usually instruct them in dhikr immediately after initiation andinstead of difficult spiritual exercises and excessive worship, instruct them to be moderate in
their religious deeds and take care to set appropriate limits for moderation in all times and
states, and they [the teachers] use their power of spiritual transmission [which they have
attained at the expense of lengthy seclusions] to advance the spiritual progression of their
disciples.
Naqshbandi preference for silent Dhikr
And [the Naqshbandi Shaykhs] stress the importance to follow the Prophetic traditions and
avoid reprehensive innovations and dont allow exceptions to this rule. They employ silentremembrance (Dhikr al-Khafi), as hadith traditions establish the unambiguous superiority of
silent dhikr over loud dhikr by 70 times (Musnad Abi Yala) and there there are three
prominent spiritual practices prevalent in the [Naqshbandi] way.
DhikrThe first spiritual practiceThe first core exercise is remembrance of God (Dhikr); it consists of the dhikr using
Essential Name (Ism al-Dhat i.e. Allah) and dhikr of negation & affirmation (Nafi wa-l-
Ithbat i.e. la-ilaha illa allah). First, the disciple is instructed in the Dhikr of the Essential
Name. Its method is that the seeker should empty his heart from all attentions,
imaginal conversations and thoughts about the past and the future and invoke the
Lord in a humble manner. To expel other thoughts, the seeker should visualize the
face of the spiritual guide. Visualizing the Shaykh in front of the heart or inside the
-
7/27/2019 hidayat_trn
7/7
6
heart reaps the full effect [of spiritual attraction] and visualization in this manner is
also known as bonding (Dhikr Rabita).