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    This document is an introduction to the spiritual guide "Hidāyat al-Tālibeen" by Hadrat Hafidh Shah Abu Saeed Dehlavi. It discusses how the author was asked by associates to write about his spiritual experiences and transformations on the Sufi path. While referring them to other works, he was persuaded to write his own account. It describes his initiation into the Naqshbandi order in Delhi and the spiritual practices of dhikr and meditation he was taught. It provides an overview of the subtle energy centers or lata'if in the human being that correspond to spiritual states and realms according to Sufi cosmology.

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    Hidayat TRN

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    This document is an introduction to the spiritual guide "Hidāyat al-Tālibeen" by Hadrat Hafidh Shah Abu Saeed Dehlavi. It discusses how the author was asked by associates to write about his spiritual experiences and transformations on the Sufi path. While referring them to other works, he was persuaded to write his own account. It describes his initiation into the Naqshbandi order in Delhi and the spiritual practices of dhikr and meditation he was taught. It provides an overview of the subtle energy centers or lata'if in the human being that correspond to spiritual states and realms according to Sufi cosmology.

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    This document is an introduction to the spiritual guide "Hidāyat al-Tālibeen" by Hadrat Hafidh Shah Abu Saeed Dehlavi. It discusses how the author was asked by associates to write about his spiritual experiences and transformations on the Sufi path. While referring them to other works, he was persuaded to write his own account. It describes his initiation into the Naqshbandi order in Delhi and the spiritual practices of dhikr and meditation he was taught. It provides an overview of the subtle energy centers or lata'if in the human being that correspond to spiritual states and realms according to Sufi cosmology.

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    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    108 views7 pages

    Hidayat TRN

    Uploaded by

    Alvi
    This document is an introduction to the spiritual guide "Hidāyat al-Tālibeen" by Hadrat Hafidh Shah Abu Saeed Dehlavi. It discusses how the author was asked by associates to write about his spiritual experiences and transformations on the Sufi path. While referring them to other works, he was persuaded to write his own account. It describes his initiation into the Naqshbandi order in Delhi and the spiritual practices of dhikr and meditation he was taught. It provides an overview of the subtle energy centers or lata'if in the human being that correspond to spiritual states and realms according to Sufi cosmology.

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    of 7

    Hidyat al-Tlibeen

    Guidance for Seekers


    H a d r a t H afid h S h a h

    A b u

    S a e e d

    D e h l a v i
    6/7/2013

    (1196 AH - 1250 AH)

    Translated by Safwan Ahmad

    This English translation is based on the Urdu version of Shaykh Abu Saeeds magnum opus Hidayat alTalibeen (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.

    Introduction

    Verily, on the Friends1 of 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 the spiritual 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 Maktubat7 of Imm Rabbn Shaykh Ahmad alSirhind 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.

    Awliya, 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 fil-lah) and journey from God (sair min Allah). 4 Shuyukh; sing. shaykh. In what follows this term will be translated as either elder or *Sufi+ master. 5 Dhikr, 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. 6 Muraqaba; 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 letters 8 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.

    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 shortstay, 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 bookknowledge; And verily, Allah is my witness on this point and He is the best Guardian.

    Initiation & the first Presence


    On 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 Dhikr of 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.

    Source of blessing Tawajjuh ; 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. Allah 13 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 Reality 14 These subtle centres of psychospiritual consciousness on the human chest are responsible for extrasensory perception.
    10

    Journey towards the Source begins


    In 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. nonexistence) 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 experience

    According 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 alkhalq). Lataif of the metaphysical Realm of Command The spheres of consciousness belonging to the realm of command in order of increasing subtlety 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.

    The Two Realms & the Circle of universal possibilities


    The 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 in phases. 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 body


    When 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.

    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 excercises


    When 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 and instead 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 silent remembrance (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.

    Dhikr
    The first spiritual practice
    The 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-lIthbat 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

    heart reaps the full effect [of spiritual attraction] and visualization in this manner is also known as bonding (Dhikr Rabita).

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