Sufi experience of God: A SEEKER'S GUIDE

By Ahmad Javid (Sarwari Qaderi) MD FAAP

Sufi Experience of God by Faqir Dr. Ahmad Javid Sarwari Qaderi takes us through the journey within. Like long cherished wisdom from a dear and intimate friend, Ahmad Javid with uncanny insight, captures the many forms and stages of love towards God. His poetry like writing mimics the stages of the mystic's path towards God. Filled with perso

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rustik Haws LLC
• Release date: Sep 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781951147433

Ahmad Javid (Sarwari Qaderi) MD FAAP

Dr. Ahmad Javid is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Born in Pakistan and raised in a traditional religious and spiritual household, he has experienced the reality of Sufism from an early age. In fact, he is a twelfth-generation Sufi with ancestral lineage going back to Syed Muhammad Al Hussaini Gisudiraz, the famous saint of Decan, who was descendant of Imam Hussain (may God be pleased with him), son of Hazrat Ali Ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him), the fourth caliph of Islam, leading to the fountainhead of all spirituality, Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). He received his medical degree from Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan, in 1973. He is Diplomat in Pediatrics from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow, and the University College Dublin, Ireland. He spent seventeen years in Iran where he extensively studied Sufi literature and poetry. He came to the United States in 1993 and finished residency training in Pediatrics from Columbia University, New York, where he served as a chief resident as well. He has been invested with khirqa (cloak) in the Sarwari Qaderi order. He is the author of 'Sufi light: the secret of meditation' and 'The Spirit of a Sultan,' 'Sufi Prayer and Love,' all of them are available on Amazon.com.

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INTRODUCTION

The ray of light of the intellect

Makes you witness his nearness to you.

The eye of the intellect

Makes you witness your nonbeing as due to His Being

The Truth of the intellect

Makes you witness His Being,

Not your nonbeing, nor your being.

Ibn Ataullah

I bear witness that there is no god but God, the one—He has no partner who is equal and He has no peer who is His like. If one looks to the attributes of divinity there is no god but Him, and if one ponders existence, nothing exists but Him. I bear witness that the most special of the special ones, the chosen of the chosen ones, the master of messengers, the most imminent of creation is His most praiseworthy Hazrat Muhammad (May God bless and cherish him), His most glorious emissary, His dearest beloved, and His noblest friend, may God bless and cherish him, all his family and companions, all progeny and all the righteous.

This book may be the most unusual book I have written. It is about the unusual encounters (experiences) that I and various individual Sufis have had with God that changed absolutely everything about my life – my thought life changed, and my world view also experienced radical transformation, as I have positioned myself to see the Big picture through God’s eyes. For me perhaps the biggest paradigm shift came in relation to the loving kindness of God and my ability to feel His infinite love for His creation.

The remarkable truth is that those with the experience (visions) of God are pretty normal people, not one of them is unusually gifted for such an encounter. Their gift is Allah Himself. But that changed and transformed everything with the touch (favor) of Allah upon their lives. Each has weaknesses, for sure, as we all do. What is more important is that each one of them possess a love for Allah that dominates everything they are and everything they do. It is their simple submission to Allah that stands out above other feature in their lives. Allah is the light of heaven and earth. The most interesting outcome is what happens to those who receive this light. They become light. This truth is quite profound. The way Allah touches us changes who we are and what we are capable of doing through Him.

Union with the Divine is the goal of Sufis in this life. The question is in what sense is it possible for human beings to achieve union with the Divine Beloved, and how does one achieve such union? Sufis generally assert that union (ittisal) is possible and they map out a detailed program for its attainment. This is described by the Arabic terms ittisal or wasal – as union, communion, and contact, connection, attaining or reaching the Divine. These terms denote the very purpose of religious life.

The term ittisal/ittihad in fact represents two ways in which union with the Divine had been described by Sufis: as ittisal— contact, communion or union –and as ittihad, an identification of natures. According to Sufis, the seeker divests himself more and more of his own human attributes, gradually taking on the qualities of the Divine Beloved until he or she becomes that beloved, perceiving an identity or unification (ittihad) of the two natures. Some Sufis disagreed for it implies that there are two independent entities that could be united, an affront to the absolute unity (tawhid) of the one Divine Reality.

Some mystics use the term ittisal /ittihad to suggest a less embracing union. According to them the passive human intellect unites not with God, but with the First Intellect (Divine Wisdom), thereby becoming a fully actualized intelligence, knowing all that it is possible for a human mind to know. Sufis describe a downward path whereby the unknowable Divine Essence emanates through attributes, names, acts, and effects. However, there is also an upward spiritual path by which a soul yearning to return to the One could strive to attain union.

Many books have been written and continue to be written about the experience of Allah. This book will give you an idea how to connect, encounter, and experience God inside the center of one’s self, to experience Allah’s presence inside one’s own heart.

What is God’s presence like?

There is that sacred space inside every human being that longs for the divine, the spiritual part of our beings. It is the space where the human and divine meet. The focal point where the soul and divine becomes one, is an amazing secret of the soul. You become what you behold, an experience like no other. Allah is the lover of all souls. If you want Allah to reveal Himself to you, you must love and obey Allah. Therefore, we are to love, worship and love Allah.

In the course of our lives, we hope and pray for a lot of things to materialize only to have disappointment immediately set in when things do not turn out as expected. But appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes, it takes a while to realize on a conscious level that we don’t always know what is best for us. Prayers are answered in the most unusual ways. Even our failures turn out to be blessings in disguise, giving us a whole new and possibly more enlightening perspective and direction. Having trust in Allah is the ultimate lesson – yet trust is the one ingredient most of us lack while praying. I have come to realize that when I resisted something, it usually persisted until I self-corrected and made a better choice. When things go wrong, it seems to be God’s way of saying, You are off your path. Now get back on and things will start falling into place again.

My father once told me, if you have lost something and you are not sure where to look for it. It is always a good idea to start searching right where you are rather than in far off places. Like many, I had the experience of wandering around the house looking for my eye glasses, only to find that they were sitting on my nose unnoticed the whole time. This experience can be applied to finding meaning and truth in life. The truth is that what each of us truly longs for without consciously realizing it is the coming back to the One (Allah) – which is undoubtedly Allah. It is the source of everything in existence, for the One (Allah) is the root and ground of Being and also beyond Being (wara-ul-wara).

We are all seekers. Everyone is looking for something, ceaselessly, passionately and at times desperately. There is no end to the number of different things people seek. In all of the seeking, the underlying longing is common to all. What if the seeming multiplicity of the cosmos is just an illusion and the inner vision of the heart could see the unity that underlies all this multiplicity? Then the search for any particular thing would be in reality, a search for that one thing (Allah).

The Divine is truly experienced within, on a plane of consciousness closer to the ultimate reality than searching for it in the outward physical existence. That which gives life meaning is to be found as close to one’s self as could be possibly imagined; right within one’s being (center of consciousness). As Rumi has alluded to:

You who seek God apart, apart,

The thing you seek, thou art, thou art;

Why then search for what you have not lost?

Searching for what’s not lost, distrust, distrust!

Thou art the letters, names and the book,

Prophets and angels your word undertook;

Just sit still, this futile search let go,

You are the house, master and foe,

Essence and form, celestial and from earth,

Always eternal, in death and at birth.

Sometimes a brief encounter with Allah/ divine wisdom can shift your whole world where nothing is ever the same again. It can happen momentarily or several times in a life time, necessitating adjustments along our life path – our spiritual journey.

This book is not an intellectual exercise but a path to the reality. I am writing here what has been stored in my soul as if I am copying straight out of a book. Even though I work full time and have a very busy schedule, I also carry other duties and have many concerns but I never let slacken my attention that is inwardly focused towards Allah. Spiritual knowledge is gained by direct experience not second hand repots. It is therefore more important to actually tread the path that leads to the ultimate reality, than to have an intellectual understanding of what lies along the path.

The path that leads to the ultimate realty (Allah) have always been, is now, and always will be open and that path is contemplation on the Essence (muraqba e Dhat). All that changes is how those who have treaded this path attempt to describe the indescribable experience of reaching the goal. It is only through contemplation (muraqba e dhat) that an accurate reflection both of the nature of the ultimate reality and the means by which it is possible to know this highest truth. In muraqba e dhat the goal is to discard from consciousness all that is not God, what remains is logically, the One – divine Reality. The direct experience of Allah is the union between Allah and the soul, not merely an intellectual understanding of it. Thus in muraqba (contemplation) we turn the act of awareness inward and insist that it holds attention there. Muraqba is a silent conversation between a seeker and the sought and is alive, open ended, full of possibilities, a meeting of the soul with its creator in the present moment. Muraqba can be defined as to embark on a journey of exploration into uncharted territory in search of the Hidden treasure. It describes the soul’s journey through these realms, descending to materiality from spiritual regions and returning through muraqba (contemplation) to its original home. Only one thing remains to be said, and it is clear that no amount of imagination and metaphor can convey the experience of God present in one’s own soul.

For reasons known only to an All-Knowing God, I have written this book in an attempt to share a passion to love God and know Him. I will continue to express my obsession in one way or another as long as Allah wills. The book you hold in your hand is my attempt to articulate my own personal journey towards Allah.

I am hopeful that this small book will help the practice of muraqba come alive for you, as they have for me. I shall help you with my prayers, poor as they are, and I pray to Him for you.

PART ONE

Sufi Experience of God

How can the heart be illumined

While the forms of creatures are reflected in its mirror

Or how can it journey to God

While shackled by its passions?

Or how can it desire to enter the Presence of God

While it has not yet purified itself

Of the stain of forgetfulness?

Or how can it understand the subtle points of mysteries

While it has not yet repented of its offences?

-Ibn Ataullah.

CHAPTER ONE

And your God is One God

"The hour has drawn close and the people do not increase except in (their) craving for the world: they do not increase except in distance from Allah."

Hadith narrated by Ibne Masud.

The basis, center and goal of Sufism is to unite one’s soul with Allah, the One and infinite, whose essence can never be reached, rather should never be the theme of thought and discussion, as Mualana Rumi says:

Whatever you think is perishable,

That which enters no thought, that’s God (M 3107).

And yet this God manifests Himself everywhere, for His splendor is self-standing, His brilliance self-sustaining, and His kingship everlasting. To come close to His essence one must become more than human and transcend every human trait. Spirituality has everything to do with the spirit. Nothing else matters, especially the material world – therefore, spirituality means leaving behind all physical sensations and thoughts of materiality. We should focus and contemplate (muraqba) on the Essence of Allah and embrace it as a way of life and not just an intellectual belief. As Rashid al-Din Maybudi writes in Kashf al Asrar (The unveiling of the mysteries)

This world is goodly only through His name, the afterworld goodly through His pardon, and the Garden goodly through His vision. If not for the message and name of God in this world, how could it be servant’s home? If not for His love and generosity in the afterworld, the servant’s work would be difficult. If not for the heart brightening vision of Him in paradise, what would make a servant happy?

No matter what we do in this life is pretty much worthless if we are not in touch with our real beings (self). This world is like a child’s play beholding what we see, not realizing that it is temporary and fleeting. However important this play seems to us when we are young and impressionable, with coming of maturity these things are seen for what they really are.

This life is like dream, illusionary and transient. Whatever beauty and goodness it seems to possess is a reflection of the true beauty. Hence it is extremely important to pursue knowledge above all else. If we do not know what really is, how can we make the correct choice about what to do? That is why the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (May God bless and cherish him) said:

"O Allah show me the reality of all things as it (really) are."

Knowledge and love are intimately connected, because the ultimate truth is also the ultimate good – the One (Allah) is also the Good. The key to achieving eternal bliss is realizing the ultimate Truth. To be in love is wonderful but it should be directed towards the Real (Allah). All that we see in the outward (zahir) are shadows of the Real. No matter how much beauty and charm they seem to possess, they are not real. To be in love with the objects and or a person would be akin to that of a man who embraces his beloved’s shadow. How senseless it would be for him to fell upon the floor, to passionately grasping at the vague image of the eternal beauty (divine beloved) while the beloved is already before his eyes. He would never have the bliss and company of the beloved nor will be able to know and love unless he turns from the shadow to the reality. Therefore, nothing here can truly satisfy us because nothing here truly is. We are in love with reflections. We are starving for reality but continue to dwell in darkness. This phenomenal world is completely devoid of sustenance for the soul; therefore, deep inside we feel emptiness. We need to move towards Allah (the One) for this is our source and it alone will fulfill and satisfy us.

Worship God sincerely, dedicating faith to Him alone. Quran (39-2).

Al-Qushayri mentions love in his book, Subtleties of Mystical Allusions saying,

The worshiper’s love of God is a subtle state that he finds within himself. The state moves him to accept His command for him gladly, without aversion, for that state demands from him preference for Him, may He be praised over everything and everyone else. Love stipulates that there never be in it any thought of one’s own lot, for whoever has not ceased thinking of his own fortune will not have even a sliver of love. God’s love for His worshiper is His desire to be charitable and kind to him; His desire to bestow a special grace.

Returning to the One (Allah) is not just making this intention intellectually but is embarking on a journey to an unknown higher level of consciousness and entering an unfamiliar domain that is beyond matter, sensation, reason and all that is known to us. The soul thus needs a guide to the realm of ultimate truth and eternal bliss. We must contemplate, close our eyes and exchange our outer vision for the inner vision. We must awaken the inner vision in order to see the Real.

Muraqba (contemplation) is an act of living in a genuinely spiritual way, thus is the foundation of an experiential way of realizing Allah (the One) rather mere recitation of His names. In other words our coming back to Allah is to know ourselves first as a soul, then as a spirit, and finally Allah, as the source. This leads us from multiplicity to unity. Our goal is to be one, not many. Because truth is one, not multiple. As is said:

If we come to be one with ourselves, and no longer split ourselves into two, we are simultaneously one and all. Together with God who is quietly present, and we stay with him as long as we are willing and able.

In contemplation on Allah (muraqba) we need to get rid of what we have within our minds by stopping what we habitually do, that is by eliminating all thoughts, emotions and perceptions. In order to experience the One, the best thought is the idea that leads to no thought, the best emotion is the feeling that leads to no further emotion and the best perception is the sensation that leads to no further perceptions. Thus spirituality is the elimination of all material thoughts, emotions, and perceptions and simply observing what is remains. Therefore, elimination of what is physical and personal leaves what is spiritual, non-material and universal. It is not possible to know Allah without absolute surrender. One has to surrender everything that is other than Allah. Since Allah is formless reality those seeking to know this ultimate reality must become formless by stripping away all human attributes. Formless though is not the same as nothing. As a matter of fact, Allah lacks any specific form precisely because He contains all forms. Remember that He is one in Essence, one in attributes, rid of causes, incomparable, praised by all expressions, fitting for all allusions, the creator of time and hours, the determiner of instants and moments. His artisanry has no defect and His description no likeness.

The uniquely one God is unique in worthiness. He is incomparable with everyone and separate from everything. Nothing is as His likeness. (42:11). No one is like Him and nothing is similar to or resembles Him. Resemblance derives from partnership, and Allah has no associate or partner. He is without equal and without need.

Allah is the ultimate truth and above any and all beliefs. The Real is nameless and formless but at the same time, the source of names and forms. The source (Allah) is completely separate from its creation, in the same sense as consciousness is separate from thoughts, emotions, and perceptions. When we cease to think, feel, and sense, we are very similar and close to our source. Therefore, a person who wants to achieve union with the One (Allah) must transcend all considerations, forms and concepts about God, and leave them behind.

He is neither a name nor an attribute. Rather, it is an allusion to Being. It means that our Lord is, He is fitting to be, and He has been – beyond location and transcendent in attributes.

Shurayah Abid narrated, "I saw a dervish in the mosque of the sanctuary (Kaaba) calling upon God saying, ‘O He who is He! He other than whom there is no He! Forgive me.’ A voice came from the Unseen: ‘O dervish, you received so much reward for saying that the first time that the angels will be writing it out until the resurrection.’"

A dervish in a state of rapture was asked, What is your name? He answered, He. They said, Where have you come from? He said, He. They said, What do you want. He said, He. They said, Perhaps you mean God. When the dervish heard the name of God, he gave his soul to the name and left this world.

The soul (nafs) resists giving up all it presently has and all it considers itself to be because nothingness appears to be scary and absolutely ridiculous of attaining Allah. Union (ittihad) with Allah, the goal of all spiritual quests, means near absolute identity. Whatever is other than Allah cannot be united with Him. Whatever possesses some form cannot merge with the formless. Therefore, love for Allah means putting aside all other concerns. Whatever Allah is that is also what we want to be by stripping away all human attributes – physical, mental or spiritual. If there exists anything between us and Allah SWT, union is impossible. Just as lovers embrace tightly, their desirous bodies separated by as little as possible, so does the soul yearn to unite even more closely with the Divine Beloved. Those who hope to see Him face to face do not put aside struggle in service (Shariah). The All-merciful nurtures the bodies and hearts of His friends with infinite blessings from His presence. That is why the world’s Paragon said,

I spend the night at my Lord; He gives me to eat and drink.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (May God bless and cherish him) did not eat delicious food or sweet drinks. He said, I have been made so drunk by the wine of union that I have no concern for your worldly drinks. He added,

I have a moment with God embraced by no proximate angel, nor any prophet.

It was said, This drink is specific to him in whose road the greatest signs were disclosed to his eyes, but he stayed with the courtesy: ‘The eye sight did not swerve, nor did it trespass. (53:50).

Faith is not in anything particular that can be encompassed by the limited grasp of the senses and reason but rather in existence of the ineffable, unlimited, and incomprehensible One.

The Messenger has faith in what was sent down to him from his Lord, and the faithful. Quran (2:285). Both the messenger and faithful have faith, but how far apart they are! The faith of the faithful is by way of inference and contemplation, and the faith of the Messenger is by the way of union and face to face vision. The following has been narrated from him, "I saw my Lord with my eyes on the night of Miraj. My Lord said to me,

"O Muhammad! The Messenger has faith in what was sent down to him from his Lord.’

"I said, ‘Yes.’

"He said, ‘Who else?’

"I said, ‘and the faithful. Each one has faith in God, His angels, His books, and His messengers, we make no distinction among any of His messengers, unlike the Jews and the Christians.’

"He said, ‘and what do they say?’

I said, ‘They say, We hear your words and we obey your command."

"He said, ‘You have spoken the truth. Ask, and it will be given to you.’

"I said, Thy forgiveness, our Lord. And to Thee is homecoming.’

"He said, ‘I have forgiven you and your community. Ask, and it will be given to you.’

"I said, ‘Our Lord, take us not to task if we forget or make mistakes.’

"He said, ‘I have removed mistakes and forgetfulness from you and your community. And what is it that you dislike?’

"I said, ‘Our Lord put not upon us a burden such that Thou hast put on those before us.’

"He said, ‘That belongs to you and your community.’

"I said, ‘Our Lord, and do not burden us with what we do not have the strength to bear.’

"He said, ‘I have done that for you and your community. Ask, and it will be given to you.’

I said, Our Lord, and pardon us against engulfing, and forgive us against casting, and have mercy upon us against deforming. Thou art our Patron, so help us against the people of the unbelievers. (The references here are to the ill fates of evil doers recounted in the Quran: being engulfed by the earth (28:81) having terror cast into their hearts (33:26), and being deformed (36:67).

He said, ‘I have done that for you and your community.’

The Prophet was asked, What was your recompense on the night that you were taken up?

He said, "I was given the opening of the Book and the concluding verses of the Sura of the Cow, and these are among the treasures of the All-Merciful’s Throne that were given to no prophet before me."

Sufis believe that return to God is along the path of the via negativa (the negative way). Shahadah confirms this statement. There is no god but God. By negation of everything else one can arrive at the confirmation of Allah. In fact Shahadah is the description of the One Lord, the One Creator and King. He is one in magnanimity and governance, one in forbearance and beautiful-doing, one in generosity and peerlessness, one in loving kindness and servant-caressing. Every magnificence is the mantle of His majesty, and in that He is one. Every tremendousness and invincibility is the shawl of His Lordhood, and in that He is one. He is one in essence, one in attributes, one in deed and mark, one in loyalty and compact, one in gentleness and caressing, one in love and friendship. (Rashid al-Din Maybudi).

The material world is at the opposite pole of the cosmos from the spiritual

Reviews for Sufi experience of God

[Fahiem Petersen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What makes this book is who wrote it , only a true man of God can describe the way to God in such detail . I have read Sufi lights and spirit of a sultan as well , Hazrat Ahmad Javid’s explains very beautifully and also makes it very easy to understand the spiritual path. truly a great guide for those who are beginner seekers too , Hazrat Javid goes directly into the essence of seeking and explains clearly how to achieve Union with the absolute.
My Allah Almighty increase His blessings upon Hazrat Javid and all the readers ,
Ameen .
❤️??