This dazzling nocturnal vision was Blakean in its sacred power. I fully expected ranks of angels to descend from the white heavens and was tempted to step out from the edge of the precipice onto the soft illusory cloud cover and walk across the sky. I lifted my hands in awe and takbir, looking out on the dreamlike spectacle before me – a sign on the horizon – and began a cycle of prayer that would take me to dawn on this white celestial night bathed in the living illuminated presence of the departed saint.
“Firmly root us and support us
and subjugate to us this Sea
As You subjugated the Sea to Moses
And You subjugated the Fire to Abraham
And You subjugated the Mountains
and the Iron to David
And you subjugated the Wind
and the Demons and Jinn to Solomon.
So subjugate to us every Sea of Yours
on the Earth, in the Skies,
the Dominion and the Celestial Kingdom
And the Sea of this World
and the Sea of the World to come…”
Shaykh Abu’l Hassan Al Shadhili*
EPILOGUE
“God brings every stranger back to his homeland.”
Moulay Al ‘Arabi 'Ad-Darqawi*
FULL CIRCLE
Forty years have passed since I began this path. My guides have gone. I’ve been alone, holding to the rope of remembrance, keeping company when I can with like-minded seekers, clinging to the memories of saints, hoping for God’s Forgiveness and Mercy and secretly longing for illumination in spite of all my many shortcomings and wrong actions.
I wrote this book to remind myself of the gifts I’ve received along the Way and to nurture the love for the men of God that have crossed my path and touched my heart. In the process of gathering my thoughts and recording my memories I’ve been reminded of my weakness and my need. As I have aged, the aspirations that seemed so remote and unreachable in my youth now seem like near imperatives. As life quickens and rolls up like a scroll, the world has lost its pull. The act of remembrance has become my anchor and my solace and as love for the world has faded within me, the need for proximity, illumination and an opening has taken hold of my heart.
When Shaykh Mohamed ibn Al-Habib died at the age of 100 in 1972 he left no successor. The great saints of the order, his obvious heirs, had all refused acclamation, and the pretenders – the men of false claims – were exposed and rejected. I’d been initiated into the Habibiyya immediately after the death of Ibn Al-Habib and spent my first years as a novice in the occasional company of his great disciples in Morocco but without the guidance of a living Shaykh of Instruction. Indeed, I really had no idea what the relation between spiritual master and disciple was like until I reached Makkah Al-Mukarramah, sat with great masters of the Way and found my shaykhs in Sayyid Omar Abdullah and Habib Ahmad Mashhur Al-Haddad. When they passed away, I felt cut adrift, clinging to the wisdom and practice they imparted to me, like a life preserver or a fragment of wreckage that could keep me afloat.
Years ago I was relieved to learn that Moulay Hashem Balghiti had emerged, after a 25 year gap, as the living Shaykh of the Habibiyya Order. Long ago we’d been told by the saint Sidi Mohamed Sahrawi, that Moulay Hashem was a hidden saint. This was an astonishing revelation for at the time he displayed no outward signs of sainthood. His acclamation as heir to Ibn Al-Habib had been confirmed by the greatest living saints of the Habibiyya Order, including Si Fudul Al-Hawari and Sidi Mohamed Bil Kurshi.
I was living at the far end of the Middle East at the time and still engaged in the practice of my shaykhs. Writing this book became the catalyst that propelled me to Morocco and the company of Moulay Hashem.
It had been a quarter century since I’d last visited Meknes. I arrived in Morocco on Eid Al-Adha and on the third day of the Eid made my way to Meknes. I didn’t quite know what to expect. I remembered Moulay Hashem well from my time as a novice 40 years ago. He was an elegant, affluent young businessman, the son of a great Sufi saint, who was tremendously generous and who hosted many nights of invocation in his beautiful home.
Moulay Hashem's son and deputy (muqaddam) Moulay Abdul Kabir met us in the center of Meknes and guided us to his father’s home. My companions and I were ushered into a long rectangular room (iwan) off the main closed multi-storied atrium courtyard in his large traditional town house.
To describe Moulay Hashem as understated would be something of an understatement. He was disarmingly unceremonious and self-effacing. He seemed the embodiment of the statement of Dhu’l Nun Al-Misri:
"The Gnostic (Arif) is more lowly every day, because he is approaching nearer to his Lord every moment.”*
I felt instantly at ease in his company, as if I’d always known him and was just dropping by casually for lunch. He served us delicious, perfectly prepared lamb. Although we had intended to find a hotel, once we were inside the house, there was no question but that we would stay with him. Everything about him was completely natural and relaxed.
After lunch I came right to the point. I explained that I’d been on the Path for 40 years, first as a disciple of Ibn Al-Habib and later under the guidance of Al-Haddad who had passed away many years before. "I'm on my own now. I've reached a point in my life where I’ve lost all interest in the world. The only thing I want to do is to remember God, overcome my passions and attain real knowledge and illumination.” After saying this I expected to be let down gently – to be told to lower my expectations, that I had a long and difficult road ahead of me. Instead, when I finished, he leaned forward, smiled, looked me straight in the eye and said one word: "Sahel" ("It's easy").
And I knew, for the first time in my life, that he was right, that in spite of everything, the goal was within reach.
We prayed together, recited the glorious litany of Ibn Al-Habib together and ate together. Moulay Hashem said, "It is through the prayer on the Prophet Mohamed, peace be upon him, and love of the Prophet that you receive knowledge and an Opening.” He admonished us to balance the invocation of the Great Name ("Allah") with Prayer on the Prophet (Salat An-Nabi). "The Name of God is hot," he said. "The Prayer on the Prophet cools the heart.”
He said, "Do what you like, but you will regret every hour that you have not remembered God.”
He told us that at the beginning of the path the master holds the disciple like a baby close to his heart, protecting him. Then, when he has matured and is ready, the master turns him away toward the Light of God, and an Opening.
I realized that all the years I was with my two shaykhs, Sayyid Omar Abdullah and Habib Ahmed Mashhur Al-Haddad, that I was like a baby in their arms, that they were holding me close, protecting me as I raised my family and made my way in the world. Now I yearned for the Opening.
He spoke of the relationship between master and disciple. He said that the master cannot take a disciple unless he recognizes him; that is, he has known him in the unseen, from before Time. After he said this, he fell silent.
I leaned toward the shaykh, smiled and said, "Let me ask you something. Do you recognize me?" He laughed and said, "That depends on you." I laughed and was about to say, "That's not fair, you can’t turn the tables on me after saying what you just said,” but before I had the chance, he said to me, "Are you ready?"
"Yes."
He motioned me to sit beside him. When he took my hand and began a recitation for me to repeat, I disappeared.
When I returned I wept.
I had come full circle. I had come home.
“To the extent that the disciple snuffs himself out in the shaykh, he disappears into the true God.”
Shaykh Ahmad ibn ‘Ajiba*
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mchael Sugich is a native of Santa Barbara, California and studied at UCLA and the California Institute of the Arts. He was initiated into a traditional Sufi order in 1972. Since that time he has studied Sufi doctrine and practice with spiritual masters across the Arab and Islamic world. He lived for 23 years in th
e precincts of the sacred city of Makkah Al Mukarama where he kept company with many men of knowledge and illumination. His Muslim name is Haroon.
GLOSSARY
A Note on Terms
Although I have tried to make the language and references as accessible and easy to understand as possible, there are necessarily some technical terms that require explanation.
Allah: God
I have used the Name Allah and God interchangeably in the text. For the purposes of this exposition, there is no difference whatsoever.
Arifbillah or Arif: Knower of God or Knower; most commonly translated as Gnostic. The Arifbillah is the possessor of direct knowledge of God.
Awtad (singular Watad): Literally Pillars. In Sufi metaphysics, the Awtad are four living masters, who, in the unseen, preserve the spiritual order, including the Qutb or Pole of the Universe who is the spiritual representative of the Prophet Mohamed, peace and blessings be upon him.
Baqabillah or Baqa: Literally, ‘to remain with or subsist in God’. This is the supreme state of spiritual enlightenment where the slave has full awareness of duality, but sees phenomena as not other than God. The concept was first articulated by the 9th century Sufi master Abu Sa'id Al-Kharraz in Book of the Secret.
Bid’ah: Literally, "something new", an innovation in Islam that is not part of the Sunna of the Prophet Mohamed, peace be upon him. Scholars classify bid’ah in two categories: good innovation (bid’ah hasanah), which is harmonious with the Qur'an and Sunnah, and bad innovation (bid’ah sayyi’ah), which conflicts with the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Burnoose: A cloak.
Da’i: One who calls people to the Truth, to Islam, to the Path. A da’i is a communicator who should embody the message he delivers.
Dervish: The Persian term for a follower of the Sufi Path. The Arabic name is most commonly Faqir, or poor man.
Dhikru’llah: Remembrance of God – the linchpin of all Sufi practice, indeed of all Muslim practice, is the act of remembrance or invocation of God (dhikru’llah). I would argue that the practice of invocation or remembrance is essential to all religious practice from Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist traditions and the traditions of all true faiths. The recitation of the Qur'an, Bible, Torah, Vedas, Sutras, Upanishads and other sacred books is a form of remembrance. The Sufis consider recitation of the Qur'an the highest form of remembrance of God. In the Holy Qur'an there are many references to remembrance of God.
Diwan: a collection of odes, usually in rhymed couplets. Each ode is called a qasida (plural: qasa’id). In the Sufi tradition the diwan is composed by a teaching shaykh or spiritual master.
Djellaba: a traditional Moroccan robe. The Moroccan djellaba has a hood. The Egyptian robe, without a hood, is called a gellabiyya. In the Gulf countries the robe is called a thobe.
Dua’a: Supplication.
Eid: The feast or celebration marking the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting (Eid Al-Fitr), and the culmination of the annual Pilgrimmage (Eid Al-Adha).
Fanafillah (Fana): Literally annihilation in God. This is the goal of the seeker, when the self is obliterated in Divine light. Again, this doctrine was first articulated by Abu Sa'id Al-Kharraz (see Baqabillah).
Faqir (plural Fuqara): Literally a poor man (female, faqira) or, in plural, the poor. In Sufism faqir refers to a man on the Sufi Way in reference to the disciples having "renounced all things external and internal, and have turned entirely to [God]” . One of the Sufis explained that "the faqir is not he whose hand is empty of provisions, but he whose nature is empty of desires.” In Eastern Sufism the word used is Dervish, or Darwish.
Ghusl: Full ritual ablution, performed after the act of sex or in preparation for a sacred act, such as the performance of Hajj or Umrah.
Hadra: Literally "Presence", this is an auditory practice that in Western Sufism takes the form of a dance where devotees invoke the Names of God, usually standing in a circle, hands joined, often swaying or moving to the rhythms of the invocation and the collective breath.
Haik: A traditional cloth head-cover worn in Northwest Africa over the turban ('imamah) and wrapped around the neck. The haik is similar to the ghutra or shummagh worn in the Arabian Gulf but worn differently.
Hajj: the Greater Pilgrimage to Makkah Al-Mukarramah, one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
Ihram: The two pieces of seamless white cloth prescribed for male pilgrims to wrap around their waists and cover their upper torso during the greater and lesser pilgrimages (Hajj and ‘Umrah).
Imara: Literally 'to fill up'. Another term used to refer to the sacred dance or hadra of the Sufis, particularly in North Africa.
Jadhb: Literally ‘attraction’, an ecstatic state where the worshipper is overwhelmed with the presence of God.
Janazah: Muslim funeral. Salat Al-Janazah is the Muslim funeral prayer, also called Salat Al-Mawt (prayer for the dead).
Ka’aba: The House of God, built by the Prophet Abraham and the epicenter of Islam. All Muslims pray toward the Ka’aba.
Kashf: Unveiling, literally raising of a curtain or veil. The term refers to an opening of spiritual intuition or insight.
Khalifa: Literally "one who stands in place of. In Sufism a khalifa is a designated representative of the shaykh.
Khalwa: Spiritual retreat.
Ksar: Literally a "castle" (classical Arabic: qasr). In North Africa a ksar is generally a fortified village or desert fort.
Laylat Al-Fuqara: Literally "Night of the Poor"; a gathering of Sufis for the remembrance of God.
Ma’arifa: Direct spiritual knowledge of God; gnosis.
Mabkhara (plural Mabakhir): Incense burner.
Majdhoub: One who is ecstatic, God-intoxicated, overwhelmed by jadhb (rapture) to the point of madness; sometimes described as a Holy Madman. When the great ancient Sufi Shibli was accused of being mad, he answered: "In your eyes I am mad and you are sane. May God increase me in my madness and increase you in your sanity!"
Majlis: Literally "Place of Sitting"; a gathering for remembrance or learning.
Mas’a: The track between the mounts of Safa and Marwa where Sayyida Hajar ran in search of water for her infant, the Prophet Isma’il, peace be upon them.
Mataf: The circular area around the Kaaba where pilgrims and worshippers perform the Tawaf or circumambulation of God’s House.
Mawlid: Celebration of the birth of the Prophet Mohamed, peace be upon him.
Minza: A public traditional sitting area in an Arab house or zawiya, akin to a living room or salon.
Mu’adhin: One who calls worshippers to prayer (makes the adhan).
Muqaddam: An appointed deputy of a spiritual master. The muqaddam of a Sufi order is generally a more experienced disciple who has been assigned by the Shaykh to help guide disciples and administrate the practice. The title does not indicate spiritual knowledge.
Murid: The root meaning of this word relates to willpower and in Sufism refers to a disciple or follower of a Shaykh. In one sense the murid surrenders his will to the Shaykh. In another sense the murid exercises his will by taking the path to God.
Murshid: Literally, "one who guides", which in Sufism refers to a true spiritual master.
Mutawif: Literally one who makes Tawaf or circumambulation of the Kaaba but in common usage the word refers to one who guides pilgrims during the Hajj. This entails the organization of accommodation, food and transport during the pilgrimage. Originally the mutawifeen (plural of mutawif) were learned men who guided pilgrims from their home countries to Makkah and helped them perform the Hajj rituals. In Saudi Arabia the position became hereditary and commercial until the government restructured the Mutawifeen into organizations, serving specific countries and regions.
Pir: The Persian Sufi term for master or guide. The generic Arabic term would be Shaykh or Murshid (one who guides).
Qari: One who recites the Qur'an.
Qasida (plural Qasa’id): An ode, usually in rhymed couplets. Qasa'id have been written by great Sufi saints for the
purpose of imparting wisdom teaching and spiritual knowledge and as a form of dhikru’llah. One of the earliest composers of qasa’id in the Islamic tradition was the Companion Hassan bin Thabit.
Qibla: Direction Muslims face in prayer toward the Holy Kaaba in Makkah Al Mukarramah.
Qutb: Literally the ‘Pole’ or Axis’, and refers to a living saint who is the highest spiritual authority of his age and the axis of the unseen hierarchy of living saints. At times the Qutb is well known, as was the case with Shaykh Abu Madyan Al-Ghawth and Imam Abu’l Hassan Al-Shadhili, at other times the Qutb is hidden. The hidden Qutb of this time was revealed to the Shaykh Moulay Hashem Balghiti in an encounter at Moulay Idris Zerhoun.
Ru’ya: A true visionary dream.
Sadaqa: Alms.
Sa’ee: The seven circuits between the mounts of Safa and Marwa Muslims must walk as part of the ‘Umrah to commemorate Hajaar's search for water. Literally Sa'ee means "effort".
Salaf: Those who believe that Muslims should return to the essential practice of the first Community at the time of the Prophet Mohamed, peace be upon him, and reject all other subsequent historical iterations of Islam. Many follow the teachings of Ibn Taymiyya and Mohamed ibn Abdul Wahhab. Salafis completely reject Shi'aa Islam and Sufism as innovation (bida’a). In the media Salafis are often described as fundamentalists or Islamists. Sunni extremists who advocate violence claim to be Salafis. However, not all Salafis are extremists.
Salat Al-Mawt: Literally, prayer for the dead.
Shariah: Literally "The Road"; Islamic canonic law, based upon the Qur'an and Prophetic traditions.
Suhba: Spiritual companionship.
Sunna: The practice of the Prophet Mohamed, peace be upon him, based upon hadith literature.
Tasbih: A Muslim rosary, or prayer beads. Also called Sibha.
Talqin: In Islamic tradition Talqin is sitting at the side of a person’s deathbed reciting with them the kalimah tayyiba (the shahada), and awakening hope and good expectation in the dying person’s heart. In the terminology of Tassawuf, talqin is the formalized method of transmission of awrad and adhkar, usually with the recipient knee-to-knee, facing the transmitter and most often holding his hand.
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