Sufi Light: The Secret of Meditation

By Ahmad Javid (Sarwari Qaderi) MD FAAP

For many people, to connect with their inner self and the divine source is an irresistible desire for their restless souls. Sufi Light will take you on a spiritual journey in the ocean of oneness into the presence of the divine. Well acquainted with the world of differences, the author presents a manual for Suu meditation that is laced with

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rustik Haws LLC
• Release date: Oct 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781951147440

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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Dedication

This book is dedicated to my grandfather Faqir Nur Muhammad Sarwari Qaderi, my father Faqir Abdul Hamid Sarwari Qaderi, my mother Bibi Zarina Gul, and my wife, Sara, who have always been there for me and have made my life more meaningful in many ways.

Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter One

Humble Beginnings

Chapter Two

The Mystery of Creation

Chapter Three

Remembrance of God, The Loving One

Chapter Four

Meditation on the Name of Allah

Chapter Five

The Way of the Heart

Chapter Seven

The Power of Giving

Chapter Eight

Mercy unto the Worlds: The Praised One

Chapter Nine

The Living Word of God

Chapter Ten

Order of the Greatest Help

Chapter Ten

Order of the Greatest Help

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE INFINITELY GOOD, THE BOUNDLESSLY MERCIFUL

Introduction

When my servants inquire from thee

concerning Me,

O Prophet tell them that I am near.

I respond to the call of the caller

when he calls Me.

So should they respond to Me, and have firm

faith in Me,

That they may be rightly guided.

(Quran 2:187)

In this book I will present Sufi teachings on meditation. Before I begin, however, I would like to tell you something of myself and of the circumstances into which I was brought into this world.

I was born into a somewhat illustrious Sufi family in Bannu, a small district in the Khyber–Pukhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. Bannu is one hundred and twenty miles from Peshawar, the provincial capital, and is inhabited by Bannuchi Pashtuns, who, according to a legend, trace their ancestry to Bani-Israel (Jews). Bannuchis are Sunni Muslims; however, the area has become a breeding ground for orthodox militancy and Taliban insurgency.

Bannu strategically borders South Waziristan and Afghanistan. The whole territory is rugged terrain. Bannuchis are a proud and brave people, and fighting has been an integral part of their culture and way of life for centuries. This is why they are famous as undefeatable warriors.

When I was six years old, we went to our native village, Kulachi, with my mother and other siblings during our summer vacations. One day, I was playing outside with the other children and wandered off to the nearest well. As Kulachi is a dry, hot place with no running water, deep wells are dug to get to the underground water, which is still not drinkable due to its high mineral content and hardness. We used this water mostly for cleaning purposes, such as washing cloths and dishes. There was no electricity in our village at that time, so the well was operated by the circular motion of an ox journeying eternally to nowhere, trudging around and around to rotate the large wooden wheel over the well. The wheel was fastened to a belt made of ropes descending to the very bottom of the chasm, to which large earthen buckets were attached. As the wheel rotated, it sent down the belt, along with the buckets, into the well water, filling the containers to their brims. The water then poured into a wooden gutter leading to a large tank.

I was following the ox—which, like a bovine moon orbiting a black hole—was circling along on its journey, and just for fun was dipping a stick into the buckets. At one point I became lulled into a distracted state, perhaps by the hypnotic repetitiveness of the environment, and was standing by the very edge of the well, not knowing that the ox was coming up right behind me. Because the ox was walking in a confined space, and perhaps more than a little bored, and I was in its way, the animal gently nudged me forward with its horns. I lost my balance and fell headlong into the darkness.

With my head plunging downward and my feet in close pursuit—as if I were diving into a pool from a height—I should have hit the water soon. Miraculously, however, I stopped—with the top of my head barely an inch above the water. Somehow, my left hand had become tangled in the rope belt while my body was still hanging upside down. I could see the surface of the dark water, which was more than twenty feet deep, just below the crown of my head. I knew that if I fell into the water, the chances of my survival would be almost zero. I would have drowned, pulled deeper by the water’s undercurrent, and never been found. Yet, there I hung, floating upside down in the air above the water, holding onto the rope with my left hand.

As soon as I disappeared into the well, all the children present became frightened. They began screaming and running away. At that very moment my mother’s uncle, Jahangir, was ambling along. One of the children ran up to him and told him of my fate. He rushed to the rim, peered down, and beheld my topsy-turvy dangling. Hold on, he shouted, I’m coming down! He was trying to reassure me so that I did not panic. On the contrary, I was quite calm and was not at all frightened. My mind was absolutely blank and my heart was unruffled and fearless.

Uncle Jahangir cautiously descended by placing one foot on the rope belt and the other on the side wall of the well, which had steps carved on the inside for workers to go down for repairs and emergencies. He slowly loomed into view, seized ahold of my foot with one hand, and hoisted me upwards as he struggled his way back to ground level.

In the meanwhile other passersby arrived to help, and soon I was out—back on terra firma. By that time the news had grapevined to my mother and family members, who were all gathered around, crying and sobbing. My mother prostrated to God and thanked Him for my safety. We all walked home with Uncle Jahangir, and my rescue was celebrated with love and joy. The news of my fall into the well soon spread like wildfire through the rest of the village. Everybody considered it a miracle for me to be alive after a twenty-five-foot freefall into that dark place. I believe, I was saved by Divine grace. Perhaps, I thought, I was not destined to die in the well water but instead to be drowned, later, in the deep ocean of Divine Oneness.

That early experience serves as a metaphor for everything of any real significance that has happened in my life since that time. It seems that God had asked me in very physical terms, In this life, Little Boy, are you going to plunge blindly into the dark currents of material existence or somehow float magically above them?

The following chapters are my answer.

§

What you will find in the following pages is neither an exhaustive and scholarly history of Sufism nor a collection of Sufi thought. Today a vast trove of literature is available on these subjects, both in the East and in the West. World-renowned scholars have penned profound expositions on Sufi metaphysics. Translations of classical Sufi works are now readily available in various languages. Excellent in-depth analyses of Sufi traditions have been written.

Of course, such writings have long been available in the East. During the last few decades in the West, authorities on Islam have written extensively on Sufi teachings. In this regard the names of Annemarie Schimmel, Seyyed Hossain Nasr, William Chittick, Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burkhardt, Martin Lings, Carl Ernst, Kabir Helminski, Robert Frager, and many more stand out. These authors have presented to Western seekers the inner teachings of Sufism and its basic tenets in a contemporary and scholarly manner. However, most of these wonderful works are concerned mainly with theoretical aspects of Sufi doctrine—with metaphysics, with teachings, and with historical accounts. There is no doubt that these scholars have performed a great service to the cause and popularity of Sufism and have enlightened many hearts seeking truth. I personally congratulate these authors from the bottom of my heart on their selfless efforts and dedication.

In no way am I trying to proclaim myself an authority on spirituality or, for that matter, a Sufi master. Neither can I speak for the efficacy of Buddhist, Jewish, Christian or other methods of meditation that center on Divine Names in their respective languages and lead their followers to a Divine and luminous silence. This short treatise is not meant for experts on these subjects, but is simply an attempt to interpret the Divine Name, Allah, in a radically different perspective—as it was taught to me as a boy in a small town isolated from Western influences and ways of thinking. Thus, I concern myself herein mainly with the practical teachings of Sufism as my grandfather and father imparted them to me. Necessarily, then, I leave aside complex philosophical doctrines for some other time.

By practical teachings I mean, I have made a humble effort to shed light on the most useful aspects of Sufi teachings. It is my hope that this book will serve as a manual that will guide the wayfarer on the spiritual journey into the presence of the Divine Essence.

The main object of this book is to discuss and explain the simplest ways to achieve the real purpose of life—union with God.

§

The Quranic verse, We have come from God and will return back to Him (Quran 2:156), clearly states that we were with God in the beginning and that there was no separation between ourselves and God’s Being. In other words, we were part of the Divine. We came into this world and became separated from our real source. We are here in this material world for a short period and will eventually return to our eternal abode and be united with our source once again. Thus, our lives are like raindrops that will ultimately fall back in the ocean of Divine Oneness. Every single thing returns to its source. However, here in the world of matter, our separation from our source in the spirit world is the root cause of all pain and suffering. The further we move away from our Creator, the more we suffer and endure pain.

The purpose of life is found in God’s words: I created man to know and understand Me. He created the creation so that He could be known and loved. This God realization or God consciousness is our primary goal in life, and it comes with self-realization. A hadith is a narrative about the words of the Prophet, Muhammad (May God bless and cherish him). In the words of one hadith, If you know yourself, you know your Lord. Hence it is of vital importance to know who we really are, where we came from, and where are we headed. We came from a Divine source, and traces of Divinity are present within each one of us. We are to represent Him, be like Him, and assimilate His attributes of love, forgiveness, generosity, and compassion: in the words of the Quran, God the Most High said, I created man in the best of molds and to be My vicegerent on earth.

God created us for a purpose; each one of us has a specific destiny in life and a unique part to play in the grand scheme of creation. Nothing in the universe is at random or by accident. Everything has been planned perfectly with great precision. As the Quran says, The Creator creates nothing without purpose or in play or in vain. As the great twelfth-century theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazali has said, Dear friend, know that man was not created randomly but fashioned out carefully to fulfill his destiny. That destiny is to attain union with God through complete surrender and annihilation of the self in the source with love and knowledge, and Sufism is one way to do that.

Sufis are passionate lovers of the Divine, and the Sufi way is the way of the heart and the way of unconditional love. Sufis are thus preoccupied with commemoration, concentration, and meditation on the personal Name of God, Allah, every moment of their lives. Through this one supreme action they have become completely absorbed in the Divine and are in the constant presence of God. As Sultan Bahu has said,

Love flourishes in the heart in which glows the Name of God.

The love of God is the fragrance, even a thousand wrappings cannot hold it in.

Or like the sun, which cannot be hidden behind one’s finger.

Or like a river that cannot be stopped in its course.

My Friend is in me, in my Friend am I, there is no separation between us.

The quest for Absolute Truth has preoccupied Sufis for more than fourteen hundred years. Truth is the attribute and essence of God. The Divine Truth lives in the lover’s heart, as the Prophet Muhammad (May God bless and cherish him) has said, The heart of the believer is the sanctuary of God, and nothing but God is allowed access there. Sultan Bahu, writing of Truth, has pronounced in his abyats (verses), Those who do not attain Truth are wretched in both realms, Lovers drown in Divine unity, Bahu, see their incredible end.

Who, then are these truth seekers known as Sufis? The origin of the word Sufism is disputed. According to some it refers to the early mystics’ preferences to wear rough clothing made of wool (suf). Others proclaimed that the word is derived from the Greek word sophia (wisdom). Yet the word may be linked to devout dervishes (Ashab e Suffa) at the time of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (May God bless and cherish him) who were Divine lovers and were absorbed in commemorating God, contemplating God, and meditating on God alone—thus devoted to exploring the mysteries of fana (annihilation of self in God), baqa (subsistence through God), surrender, and Divine love. Describing such a state of love, Sultan Bahu wrote,

When the Lord revealed Himself to me, I lost myself in Him.

Now there is neither nearness nor union, there is no longer a journey to undertake, no longer a destination to reach.

Love attachment, my body, and soul, and even the very limits of time and space have all dropped from my consciousness.

My separate self has merged in the whole;

In that, O Bahu, lies the secret of the unity that is God.

Such surrender is the very essence of Sufism. In this regard, it is stated in a legend that Rabia al-Adwiyah—the first Sufi woman poet to introduce the doctrine of Divine love—prostrated one thousand times a day before the Lord, begging and seeking His pleasure without asking for any reward. On another occasion she said, O my Beloved, if I love you out of fear of hellfire, throw me therein and let me burn, if I love you for the reward of paradise, deprive me of that, but if I love you for Who You are, then do not take away the pleasure of union with You from me. In the same vein, Sultan Bahu confessed,

Neither does my heart ask for Hell, nor is it content with fondness for paradise.

Unless you attain union with God, Bahu, this world is but a game.

Beyond this game, Sufism emphasizes the Divine unity of all life, which is realized after the attainment of a perfect knowledge of the ultimate truth concerning the Absolute. At that stage a mystic observes oneness in multiplicity and multiplicity in oneness. The unlimited attributes and beauty of God are expressed in the creation of the universe and everything that exists therein.

Humans, of course are one of God’s creations. God created human beings solely as mirrors to reflect the splendors of His Divine beauty. Out of all God’s creation, it is only the human heart that can know, understand, and love Him. Sufism is a name for such love interaction between human and Divine.

Regarding such love, Abdul Rahman Jami narrated a story about a student who requested a dervish to guide him to God. Complying with his request, the dervish replied, Go away you careless soul, fall in love, once you have experienced the pain of love, then come again and talk to us.

Similarly, Sultan Bahu beautifully explained the superiority of love over faith:

Everyone asks for firmness in faith, but few for firmness in love.

They ask for faith and are ashamed of love, such arrogant hearts.

Faith has no idea of the place where love can transport you.

I swear by my faith, Bahu, keep my love firm.

Similarly rhapsodizing about love, the great poet Rumi has said to this effect,

If in thirst you drink from a cup, you see God in it. Those who are not in love with God will see only their own faces in it.

Thus the main object of this book is to highlight the importance of adoration: of recollection, concentration, and meditation on the beautiful Names of God, and especially on what Sufis see as His supreme personal Name, Allah. Such adoration serves as a means to achieve oneness and to come closer to the light of God.

The original idea of meditation on His Personal Name, Allah, was first described by Hazrat Sultan Bahu some four hundred years ago. He wrote extensively on this subject in almost one hundred and forty of his works, emphasizing the connection of the name and the named. A prolific writer in the Persian language, he discussed in great depth the Sufi way of meditation on the word Allah, which, in Sufism, is synonymous with the Essence of God and the root cause of all that exists.

The central theme of his spiritual teachings is meditation on that very personal Name of God, Allah, and only secondarily on the ninety-eight other attributive Names of God, on the formula of faith, on Quranic verses, and on the blessed name of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (May God bless and cherish him).

The Sufi meditates on that Name before all others, because when an alert heart concentrates on something with singleness of purpose, that thing is manifested sooner or later, and thoughts turn into reality. The personal Name for God, Allah, is thought by Sufis to be the most powerful word in the cosmos, because Sufis believe it to be God Himself. God does not have a body, a shape, a color, or a form. He is neither matter nor created. However, He is the first and the last, the visible and the invisible, the manifest and the concealed, and He is cognizant of everything (Quran). For Sufis, manifesting the reality of God is through his Name, and the closest thing to the Essence of God is His personal Name, Allah, which indicates His Essence and signifies His totality. In order to achieve mystical union with God, we need to keep Him forever in our hearts by meditating and contemplating on His Name, Allah. Meditation on His supreme Name, Allah, is the single most effective method to concentrate the heart on nothing other than God. Such concentrated love of God is the highest station on the path. It is attained by meditating on His supreme Name, Allah, in the heart, thus filling it with the light of Divine love so that nothing is more lovable than Him.

How does this process of making God actual through meditation on his Name take place? Sufism teaches that the word Allah has to be inscribed in the heart with the power of the imagination. Yet, meditating on the Name Allah requires time and practice if it is to be inscribed on the tablet of the heart. Recollection of the Name Allah with the tongue, gazing at the written word Allah, and writing Allah at least sixty times daily on a paper, all help one significantly to be successful in this endeavor.

In practice, at times it seems impossible to fix Allah in the heart. For Sufis, Allah is the uncreated supreme Name of His Essence, and it is impossible for a created being to get ahold of His Name. Rather it is the exact opposite, His personal Name, Allah, will grab hold of your heart, and once it permeates your entire being, it will never let you go. As the meditative efforts take effect, His personal Name, Allah, will illuminate your heart, mind, soul, eyes, and all body parts.

Yet, there are other expressions that can be used to meditate on God. All the ninety-nine Names of God, the formula of faith, "La Ilaha Illallah" (There is no deity worthy of worship save Allah), and the name of the Prophet, Muhammad (May God bless and cherish him), can be employed for the purposes of meditation and concentration upon the heart. Each of these has a specific characteristic and spiritual effect that is transferred to those who meditate on it. In addition, when the Name of God, Allah, in Arabic, is broken down into its three component letters—Lillah, Lahu, and Hu—one by one, it still signifies His Essence only. These component Names—Lillah, Lahu, and Hu—are also meditated upon, along with the other beautiful Names of God. However, although meditation on other words brings merit, according to Hazrat Sultan Bahu, concentration and meditation on the personal Name of God, Allah, is the best form of prayer and remembrance. One should become so absorbed in meditation that one loses awareness of everything else other than Allah.

Meditation is God’s eternal blessing unto mankind and is primarily based on Quranic teachings. In specific forms that are at the heart of Sufi teachings, the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (May God bless and cherish him) taught remembrance and imaginative contemplation (meditation) to his close companions. According to an authentic tradition, it was in the cave of Thaur, a mountain below Mecca, that the Prophet (May God bless and cherish him) taught Hazrat Abu Bakr (May God be pleased with him) the method of silent remembrance of God (Dhikr I khafi) and meditation on the Divine Names. Meditation is thus a sacred and illuminative science that opens one’s awareness to the source of radiant lights and ocean of direct vision. This science is a process of inner transformation that turns all attention and focus towards God. After all, God is near and not far, as Allah says: I am near and with you wherever you are (Quran 57:4).

Although God is near, He cannot be seen with the eyes nor understood with the help of the intellect. God’s face is hidden behind the veil of the universe and all that it contains within it. Yet, God can be found, seen only through this veil, for He is present in everything and is everywhere. As one line of Quranic verse has it, Wherever you see, there is the face of God (Quran 2:115). Meditation is an excellent mode of unveiling that barely hidden; One Reality that exists in everything and thereby lifts the veil from the face of God. It is used to achieve focused concentration on the Divine Beloved and provides a direct method of invoking Him.

The Quran is remembrance of God, and so are all the acts of devotion and worship. Remembrance is in fact to acknowledge what we know from pre-eternity about the covenant that we made with God on the Day of Alast to remember Him. Such remembrance is done by uttering and repeating the Quranic verses. Words and sentences are the means to express the Divine secrets, although in only a limited way, whereas the scope of meditation (imaginative contemplation) is infinite. What imagination can grasp, words cannot. Meditation not only brings one closer to God in this life but is a means of eternal bliss in the life of the next world. The only thing that God loves is to be remembered and glorified by human beings, and those who do so are the ones on the straight path and will be truly successful in life with God for all eternity.

For Sufis, the human soul is in fact a reflection from His Essence and separated from its Divine source for a time. Our lives here are so short that in comparison they can be called mere blips in eternity or sparks in time, and we will eventually be reunited with our source, which is the highest possible goal of human existence. The suffering and searching of the human soul for the precious moment of proximity with God can be realized through meditation on the word Allah.

Visualization of the word Allah in different parts of the body and especially the heart is the crucible of mystical experience, because in the human makeup it is only the heart that attracts Divine love. Therefore, the personal name of God, Allah, should be inscribed in the heart, which will invariably result in intense attraction towards God.

When you become annihilated in the Name (Allah) you will become merged with the source of all that exists. You will gradually assume the traits of the Divine Name as your own, and you will find all the creation including the Throne, Chair, Heavens, and Earth within your soul.

Meditation on the personal Name of God, Allah, will certainly result in Divine bliss, which is an endless outpouring of His grace that will continue for all eternity. It will lead the wayfarer to the realization of the experience of the Divine in the here and now. The special technique of meditation on the personal Name of Allah revealed in this book will remove the thickest layers of veils, will bring you face to face with the One Reality and is a means of an intimate conversation with God.

In the coming chapters, I have given an overview of the different meditation practices and how they differ from the meditative technique described in this book. Each chapter begins with selected verses of the Quran or with hadith (sayings or narratives about the Prophet Muhammad (May God bless and cherish him)—the celestial beauty upon which this entire work revolves. It is my hope that this book will be both instructive and enlightening to the seekers of the Truth in their quests for the Sacred.

Chapter One

Humble Beginnings

Man is my secret and I am his secret. The knowledge of inner being is one of my secrets.

I have put this in the heart of my servants, and no one is aware of it other than Me.

—Hadith qudsi, quoted by Hazrat Syed Sheikh

Abdul Qadir Jilani in Sirr-ul-Asrar.

The main objective of this book is to explore the secrets of human and Divine love, their relationship, and their interaction through meditation on the personal Name of God, Allah. Such meditation is a portal to draw upon and receive the ever-shining light and a means to live in the Divine presence.

When I was a child, as far as I can remember, probably at the age of four years, I became fascinated with the questions of life and death and this amazing chain of creation—the universe. At night I would gaze up into the sky and behold the countless stars flickering and shimmering in the immense darkness. I understood that there is a God who exists neither in one exclusive place nor in one exclusive moment and yet that there is no place, nor time, where He is not present.

We lived in a small, two-story house adjacent to a large mosque. Almost every day, I climbed up to the rooftop of our home and from there would jump over to the roof of the mosque. The roof of the mosque was huge, almost equivalent to a small soccer field, with four towering minarets that looked simply majestic. The shining sun above and the birds that nested at the very top of the minarets were spellbinding. As long as I was up there, I