Sulouk (Sufi Meditation)- The Spiritual Journey

[Yusz]

By getting involved in the above-mentioned practices, a disciple gradually passes through a process of the purification of the soul that consists of three stages.

a) The Carnal soul or “Nafs al ammara”:
Nafs al-ammara is the tendency in man to disobey God, and to take pleasure in evil deeds and thoughts. A disciple gradually develops an attitude of indifference towards such temptations and attains purification of the body, tongue, mind and the heart.

b) The reproaching soul or “Nafs al lawwama”:
Once a disciple subjugates the carnal soul or “nafs al-ammara”, he enters into the second stage of purification in which his ‘conscience’ takes charge of his decision making process. As a result, he starts developing qualities that reflect the compassionate nature of God.

c) The contented soul or “Nafs al mutma’inna”
Once the second stage has become firmly established in him, he enters the third stage of the contented soul or “nafs al-mutma’inna”. In this stage, the Sufi lives in harmony with his divinity and his soul finds perfect satisfaction and contentment within and without. Here the Sufi becomes truly free from fear and grief. As it has been said in the Quran, “ Lo, indeed, the friends of God have no fear, nor are they grieved.”

 

[Shia Islam]

By getting involved in the above-mentioned practices, a disciple gradually passes through a process of the purification of the soul that consists of three stages.

a) The Carnal soul or “Nafs al ammara”:
Nafs al-ammara is the tendency in man to disobey God, and to take pleasure in evil deeds and thoughts. A disciple gradually develops an attitude of indifference towards such temptations and attains purification of the body, tongue, mind and the heart.

b) The reproaching soul or “Nafs al lawwama”:
Once a disciple subjugates the carnal soul or “nafs al-ammara”, he enters into the second stage of purification in which his ‘conscience’ takes charge of his decision making process. As a result, he starts developing qualities that reflect the compassionate nature of God.

c) The contented soul or “Nafs al mutma’inna”
Once the second stage has become firmly established in him, he enters the third stage of the contented soul or “nafs al-mutma’inna”. In this stage, the Sufi lives in harmony with his divinity and his soul finds perfect satisfaction and contentment within and without. Here the Sufi becomes truly free from fear and grief. As it has been said in the Quran, “ Lo, indeed, the friends of God have no fear, nor are they grieved.”

May Allah guide us to purify our selves.

 

[sandandfoam]

Obviously I am not a sufi but I do aspire to follow the sufi path.
Every night before I go to sleep, I sit down, thank God for every breath and repeat the name of Allah for 15 minutes. I feel like I am gaining a lot from this practice and as the days go by I hope to increase my mindfulness of God and the time I spend reciting His name.
It makes me feel 'right'

 

[Yusz]

Obviously I am not a sufi but I do aspire to follow the sufi path.
Every night before I go to sleep, I sit down, thank God for every breath and repeat the name of Allah for 15 minutes. I feel like I am gaining a lot from this practice and as the days go by I hope to increase my mindfulness of God and the time I spend reciting His name.
It makes me feel 'right'

Usually for the basics breathing technique, we doing like this:

1.Close your eyes

2.Recite silently:

'Ya' (take a deep breath in)

'Allah' (breathe out slowly)

Do in 10-20 minutes... Insyallah, you'll feel the different

 

[sandandfoam]

Usually for the basics breathing technique, we doing like this:

1.Close your eyes

2.Recite silently:

'Ya' (take a deep breath in)

'Allah' (breathe out slowly)

Do in 10-20 minutes... Insyallah, you'll feel the different

Thank you. I'll try this from tonight.

 

[sandandfoam]

Usually for the basics breathing technique, we doing like this:

1.Close your eyes

2.Recite silently:

'Ya' (take a deep breath in)

'Allah' (breathe out slowly)

Do in 10-20 minutes... Insyallah, you'll feel the different

I feel the difference, thanks for the pointer

 

[Yusz]

I feel the difference, thanks for the pointer

You are welcome

 

[Monotheist 101]

Hey if there are any practicing Sufi's on this thread, I would like you to please answer the following quesitons:

Was Sufi Meditation practiced at the time of Muhammad or the Sahabas?

Where and when did these Sufi practices start? Who are the Great Sufi Scholars and Practicioners who have furthered our understanding of Sufism?

What is the main aim of Sufism?

How Important is the Sufi teacher and his Tareeqah?

Thanks Appreciate your help, I would like to know first hand the motivations and goals behind these practices and the character and teachings of the Sufi teacher and his Tareeqah.

Cheers

 

[Yusz]

Hey if there are any practicing Sufi's on this thread, I would like you to please answer the following quesitons:

Was Sufi Meditation practiced at the time of Muhammad or the Sahabas?

Where and when did these Sufi practices start? Who are the Great Sufi Scholars and Practicioners who have furthered our understanding of Sufism?

What is the main aim of Sufism?

How Important is the Sufi teacher and his Tareeqah?

Thanks Appreciate your help, I would like to know first hand the motivations and goals behind these practices and the character and teachings of the Sufi teacher and his Tareeqah.

Cheers

Greetings...

May I know first, what do you understand about sufism?

 

[Monotheist 101]

I understand that it is Islamic Mysticism.
I was looking into some esoteric concepts in the light of Islam but didn't find useful information on the third eye except from some Sufi sources, What I wanted to understand was that are the concepts derived from greek and hindu pantheist religions? Does the Sufi Mystic think it is possible to see God or become one with Allah?

 

[Yusz]

First let me say this first, Sufi is a title like imam, ustad, mufti, ulama, etc... Each title have their own role, and Sufi is Islamic Mystical teacher.. And the word 'Sufism' is belief in the teaching of Sufi...

Was Sufi Meditation practiced at the time of Muhammad or the Sahabas?

Of course there are... in the ordinary school we have stage right? from kindergarten to elementary school, from elementary school to secondary school, and it continued to university... This thread i have post before about stage in Islam http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/islamic-sufism-dir/142735-four-spiritual-stations.html. And Yes, at the time Muhammad also have this meditation practice but it's only for Muhammad Family and among intellectual (such as Sahaba).

Where and when did these Sufi practices start? Who are the Great Sufi Scholars and Practicioners who have furthered our understanding of Sufism?

Where? of course at home mostly, because Sufi practice is an individual practice not grouping. but for the beginning, we need teacher to guide us, to show us, what we should do... So, if we just learn about sufism from book and internet alone and wanna do mediation without teacher, it's not a good idea, because you will learn nothing... it's different, learn with teacher and without teacher. If you wanna learn sufism more deeply, i suggested you must and need to find a real Sufi at your area. I can't say whose better or whose great among Sufis, because it's involve mystical and unseen thing, only God knows whose better.

What is the main aim of Sufism?

Of course is closer to God more deeply, to learn know yourself more and learn how to perform miracle thing.. What a miracle thing is? it's hard to explain from here, but from Tareeqa teaching for the basics, you will learn how to khusyuk(khushoo) more deeply in Salat, such as not hearing a single bit sound around you (except sound of imam, of course) and much more.

I was looking into some esoteric concepts in the light of Islam but didn't find useful information on the third eye except from some Sufi sources, What I wanted to understand was that are the concepts derived from greek and hindu pantheist religions? Does the Sufi Mystic think it is possible to see God or become one with Allah?

The concept third eye, only can be learn at Haqiqa And Marifa level. Especially at Marifa because it's more to miracle thing, esoteric and on the other word is 'magic'. Is possible we can see God? you learn first, and only you can answer this question .



Let me tell you one important thing my friend. 'Pray is for God and Meditate is for ourself' . Meditate is road to know yourself and what you really capable of. Meditate is not just sitting silently and bla bla bla, it's more than that.

Feel free to ask me or just PM me for advance or sensitive question.

 

[Monotheist 101]

The concept third eye, only can be learn at Haqiqa And Marifa level. Especially at Marifa because it's more to miracle thing, esoteric and on the other word is 'magic'. Is possible we can see God? you learn first, and only you can answer this question .

Bro I have already answered that question for myself . I have formed the following opinion on this subject.

There is a concept of the created and the uncreated, The created is everything we percieve and other creations that are mentioned in the Quran. The uncreated is Allah, with no beginning and end. Based on this I have reached a conclusion that it is not possible to see Allah or be One with him, to do that would mean, we have to believe that the uncreated has become part of the creation. I hope you can see my logic in the above?

Now as you have given me permission to ask more advanced or sensitive questions, may God bless you for that. I wanted to go a bit off topic but it is still linked to Mysticism.

1. The Jinn.
Brother your profile says you are an exorcist, I would like to ask you a few questions about this, I myself with the help of Allah was able to exorcise some jinn from my friends body.
I have found that there is alot of confusion regarding this subject in mainstream Islam. People dont like talking about it or if they do it is mostly inaccurate hearsay.
My findings are that the only legal way to perform ruqya is by verses of the Quran and level of Eman of the person reading it. I have come across alot of exorcists who claim to have "good muslim jinn" I can be certain that they fool themselves and their followers. It is Haram for us to contact the Jinn, It was only for Sulaiman, The good ones out of them know that it is Haram for them to contact us, so they will never. The ones that do are infact disguised as something good when indeed they are evil.

2. Third eye.
I have naturally had an active third eye since I got into my early teens, I have realized that nothing good can come of it, it is a tool to communicate with the Jinn, and that was only for Sulaiman to do.

Please let me know if I am wrong in my findings

Cheers and God Bless

P.S My bad I missed the part where you said PM.

 

[Yusz]

It's a good conversation we had here brother

1. The Jinn.
Brother your profile says you are an exorcist, I would like to ask you a few questions about this, I myself with the help of Allah was able to exorcise some jinn from my friends body.
I have found that there is alot of confusion regarding this subject in mainstream Islam. People dont like talking about it or if they do it is mostly inaccurate hearsay.
My findings are that the only legal way to perform ruqya is by verses of the Quran and level of Eman of the person reading it. I have come across alot of exorcists who claim to have "good muslim jinn" I can be certain that they fool themselves and their followers. It is Haram for us to contact the Jinn, It was only for Sulaiman, The good ones out of them know that it is Haram for them to contact us, so they will never. The ones that do are infact disguised as something good when indeed they are evil.

The word UNSEEN THING is big. God, angel, devil, demon, jinn, etc etc, all are unseen. If you think if we have a third eye just can contact one creature, like you said 'jinn', than it is not. There's a more than thousand type of unseen thing, maybe more, some are good and some are bad.. it's same like we living in this world, there are good human, bad human and also thousand type of animal, good and bad... That's why if we unprepare or the other word, not knowledgeable about unseen thing, we will have a problem dealing with them. If you not good enough, when you dealing with bad one and more strong, they will fool you with anything. They can say ' hey i'm a Muslim Jinn' if you Muslim, and if you christian, they can say 'i'm a christian Jinn'. They can manipulate you, if they see you are more weaker then them. It's not haram if you just wanna talk to jinn, but it will become haram if you use them to do something bad

2. Third eye.
I have naturally had an active third eye since I got into my early teens, I have realized that nothing good can come of it, it is a tool to communicate with the Jinn, and that was only for Sulaiman to do.

My advice is, you need to find a teacher that can teach you how to contain your eyes, how to adjust your sight. most of naturally active third eye, Yes! they will see, not a good one first . Find a teacher that can teach you not only about third eye but to teach you how to release an inner energy on your body to strengthen your inner body and mind. Only Sufi master and Arif can teach you at this time, other than that maybe they can't answer your weird question . You can perform exorcism right? then it's easy to you to learn it


P/S: and PM me if you wanna ask me more weird question

 

[Monotheist 101]

My advice is, you need to find a teacher that can teach you how to contain your eyes, how to adjust your sight. most of naturally active third eye, Yes! they will see, not a good one first . Find a teacher that can teach you not only about third eye but to teach you how to release an inner energy on your body to strengthen your inner body and mind. Only Sufi master and Arif can teach you at this time, other than that maybe they can't answer your weird question . You can perform exorcism right? then it's easy to you to learn it

Bro even if it is easier for me to learn it, I fear that it is taking me away from God and the Fundamental concept of the Oneness of Allah. The core belief system behind any Mystical practice is the belief that God manifest himself through his creations. I am afraid I can never accept that, that will not be honoring Allah's true attributes.

Also I have mastered controlling my inner energy, through thinking good clean thoughts and having clean intentions towards all of Allahs creations. I have a six month old dog at home, he really helps me realize when I am getting off balance, He gradually starts to gain the upper hand .

I am open to reading and listening to everyone's opinions, but I get the Gut feeling that the third eye, astral projection, magick is all different names for the same core thing, the knowledge that was revealed at ancient babylon by Harut and Marut, and by taking part in this we are infact distancing ourselves from Allah.

You also said talking to them is not Haram? What is the reason you talk to them? To gain knowledge and understanding of the Unseen? If you look at the narrative in the Quran about King Sulaimans death you will realize that only Allah possesses this knowledge. I believe the core motivation behind even simply talking to them is a deviation from Islam.

Personally I believe I have found many truths which apply to me and my reality. I strictly hold the belief that even the act of talking to them is forbidden without reason (exorcism). I have gained this insight from the following authentic Hadith of the Prophet and some ayat from the Quran.

Bukhari 449. It is related from Abu Hurayra that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Last night an 'Ifrit of the jinn suddenly appeared before me - or words to that effect - attempting to interrupt my prayer but Allah gave me power over him. I wanted to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque so that you could all see him in the morning, but I remembered the words of my brother Sulayman, 'O Allah, give me a kingdom which no one after me will have!'."

"Will you then take (Iblis) and his offspring as protectors in preference to Me, although they are an enemy to you?"​

(Qur’an 18:50)




Thus, have We made, for every Prophet, an enemy, the shaytan of mankind and Jinn, inspiring one another with, adorned speech by way of deception."​

(Qur’an 6:112)




"Whoever withdraws himself from the remembrance of (Allah) most gracious, We assign to him a Shaytan to be his comrade."​

(Qur’an 43:36)




"Satan has no authority over those who believe and place trust in their Lord."​

(Qur’an 16:99)



​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]The Noble Qur'an - Saad 38:35-39[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]35. He said: "My Lord! Forgive me, and bestow upon me a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after me: Verily, You are the Bestower."[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]36. So, We subjected to him the wind, it blew gently to his order whithersoever he willed,[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]37. And also the Shayâtin (devils) from the jinns (including) every kind of builder and diver,[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]38. And also others bound in fetters.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]39. [Saying of Allâh to Sulaimân (Solomon)]: "This is Our gift, so spend you or withhold, no account will be asked."[/FONT]

Quran 72.6 [FONT=Helvetica, Arial]'And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the masculine among the jinns, but they (jinns) increased them (mankind) in sin and disbelief.

In the light of my personal understanding of the above, I am never going to seek a Sufi teacher to teach me this path, which to me feels wrong.
[/FONT]

 

[Yusz]

Bro even if it is easier for me to learn it, I fear that it is taking me away from God and the Fundamental concept of the Oneness of Allah. The core belief system behind any Mystical practice is the belief that God manifest himself through his creations. I am afraid I can never accept that, that will not be honoring Allah's true attributes.

Also I have mastered controlling my inner energy, through thinking good clean thoughts and having clean intentions towards all of Allahs creations. I have a six month old dog at home, he really helps me realize when I am getting off balance, He gradually starts to gain the upper hand .

I am open to reading and listening to everyone's opinions, but I get the Gut feeling that the third eye, astral projection, magick is all different names for the same core thing, the knowledge that was revealed at ancient babylon by Harut and Marut, and by taking part in this we are infact distancing ourselves from Allah.

You also said talking to them is not Haram? What is the reason you talk to them? To gain knowledge and understanding of the Unseen? If you look at the narrative in the Quran about King Sulaimans death you will realize that only Allah possesses this knowledge. I believe the core motivation behind even simply talking to them is a deviation from Islam.

Personally I believe I have found many truths which apply to me and my reality. I strictly hold the belief that even the act of talking to them is forbidden without reason (exorcism). I have gained this insight from the following authentic Hadith of the Prophet and some ayat from the Quran.

Bukhari 449. It is related from Abu Hurayra that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Last night an 'Ifrit of the jinn suddenly appeared before me - or words to that effect - attempting to interrupt my prayer but Allah gave me power over him. I wanted to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque so that you could all see him in the morning, but I remembered the words of my brother Sulayman, 'O Allah, give me a kingdom which no one after me will have!'."

"Will you then take (Iblis) and his offspring as protectors in preference to Me, although they are an enemy to you?"​

(Qur’an 18:50)




Thus, have We made, for every Prophet, an enemy, the shaytan of mankind and Jinn, inspiring one another with, adorned speech by way of deception."​

(Qur’an 6:112)




"Whoever withdraws himself from the remembrance of (Allah) most gracious, We assign to him a Shaytan to be his comrade."​

(Qur’an 43:36)




"Satan has no authority over those who believe and place trust in their Lord."​

(Qur’an 16:99)



​

[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]The Noble Qur'an - Saad 38:35-39[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]35. He said: "My Lord! Forgive me, and bestow upon me a kingdom such as shall not belong to any other after me: Verily, You are the Bestower."[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]36. So, We subjected to him the wind, it blew gently to his order whithersoever he willed,[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]37. And also the Shayâtin (devils) from the jinns (including) every kind of builder and diver,[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]38. And also others bound in fetters.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]39. [Saying of Allâh to Sulaimân (Solomon)]: "This is Our gift, so spend you or withhold, no account will be asked."[/FONT]

Quran 72.6 [FONT=Helvetica, Arial]'And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the masculine among the jinns, but they (jinns) increased them (mankind) in sin and disbelief.

In the light of my personal understanding of the above, I am never going to seek a Sufi teacher to teach me this path, which to me feels wrong.
[/FONT]

Then it's up to you brother.. in the end it's only you decide for yourself not Madzhab or anything... The other just only can advise, nothing more. Because the one who will face God is you, not others .

 

[Monotheist 101]

Thanks for your help though, Appreciate it. I hope you can understand where I am coming from and my reasoning behind this. If you see any flaws in my knowledge or logic please do share..

Peace !