Restoring soul to the state of first witness

Sidi Rizk el-Sayed Abdo said

Sufism is as old as the creation
“Restoring soul to the state of first witness”
They have been dilating on Graces (Blessings) (Karamat); yet it is easy; Allah originated Adam from mud (earth), upon Adam’s being made up of mud Allah said:
“There surely came over man a period of time when he was a thing not worth mentioning. “ [76:1]

When Providential Solicitude destined him to emerge from the circle of ignorance to that of selection, Allah said to the angels:
“So when I have made him complete and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down making obeisance to him” [15:92]

Accordingly making obeisance to Adam; prostration before him happened after he had been inspirited into. That was the light that changed the corpus, which was as stone. When that light has been breathed into, its features have changed and became not only alive but also one of the most complicated and highest creatures. Thus soul was the addressee in the command of making obeisance.

It has been the power that changed the features of that stone. Accordingly as long as it has managed to change the properties of stone, as what happened, then it is capable of transcending the conceivable; going beyond what is ordinary to make alterations in that universe as nothing is greater than turning stone to Man.

Man is divided into soul and corpus; soul has been enveloped by that earthly corpus that restricts it from its diffusion and eclipses it from its secrets as it has acquired from Divine lights when Allah manifested on in the world of motes as Allah says:

“And when your Lord took from the children of Adam, from their backs, their descendants, and made them bear witness of their selves
‘Am I not your Lord?’
They said, ‘Yes! We bear witness.’
Lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘Surely we were heedless of this’ [7:172]
That is why we find the Sufis strive for restoring soul to the state of first witness. The Shaykh, The Knower by Allah and the perfect friend of Allah who has been granted both the Divinely Revealed Law (Shari’ah) and the Reality (Haqiqah) has to guide the adherent (Murid) in one’s struggles against the lower self (Nafs), spiritual practices and worships until he gets him to the state of first witness. This is what Sufism does mean in Islam.

Soul overlooks Angelic World (the World of Essence reflected in attribute). So if Man could - by strives and struggles against the lower self - open a door to soul so as to get out of the corporeal prison, the extraordinariness would be evident, irrespective of one’s religious beliefs such as Hypnotism and extraordinariness worked by those who perform spiritual practices such as Yoga, Poor Indians, Buddhists, those gifted with ESP, telepathy and so on. All of these have been proved right by modern science and has become a reality, which is beyond doubt!

If those who don’t follow the right religion have such extrasensory abilities, what do you think of those who believe in Islam will be? The difference between the former and the latter lies in the good ending!

The Koran sets an example of the Soul’s power. In the story of Asef Ibn Barkhia who brought the throne of Bilqis in a wink of an eye – not only disobeying the laws of motion, velocity and power but also exceeding the jinn in their faculties - as soul has laws which are other than the known laws of matter, Allah said:
“One audacious among the jinn said: I will bring it to you before you rise up from your place, and most surely I am strong (and) trusty for it. One who had the knowledge of the Book said: I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye. Then when he saw it settled beside him, he said: This is of the Grace of my Lord that He may try me whether I am grateful or ungrateful; and whoever is grateful, he is grateful only for his own soul, and whoever is ungrateful, then surely my Lord is Self-sufficient, Honored.” [27.39-40].

If envy goes in contradiction to what is familiar to people of material causes; yet it is true, the envious grudge with the envy of their lower selves even if they don’t look with their own eyes; Does envy of lower self go beyond the ordinaries while spiritual purity does not!

Some may wonder what is the difference between the friends of Allah in their spiritual illumination and those who perform spiritual practices mentioned before. To those we say there is a vast difference between them; the aim of the friend of Allah is to have access to know Allah and if they pay attention to their way to Graces or spiritual phenomena or what manifest itself of worlds to them, they will be eclipsed from their ultimate end and demoted from their stations. As for those who perform spiritual practices referred to, they seek for attaining mastery over nature to become supernatural people to govern and not to be governed by it, there is vast difference between the two ends.

Furthermore, their spiritual illuminations are limited due to being enclosed by darkness for their polytheism or atheism, God save us from that! On the other hand the spiritual illuminations of the friends of Allah are limitless and the above mentioned example from the Koran on the story of Asef Ibn Barkhia is an indication of that; there are capabilities that can’t be acquired but in faith, as they are gifts and presents to the believer; and the worshipping lights increase spiritual purity and their lights are above another as Allah says:

“Is he who was dead then We raised him to life and made for him a light by which he walks among the people, like him whose likeness is that of one in utter darkness whence he cannot come forth? Thus what they did was made fair seeming to the unbelievers.” [6.122]
And He also the Exalted says:
“… And to whomsoever Allah does not give light, he has no light.” [24.40]
And that light increases gradually. Allah says:
“…Their light shall run on before them and on their right hands; they shall say: Our Lord! Make perfect for us our light…” [66.8]
And says:
“He it is Who sends His blessings on you, and (so do) His angels, that He may bring you forth out of utter darkness into the light; and He is Merciful to the believers." [33.43]
And says:
“… He will give you two portions of His mercy, and make for you a light with which you will walk, and forgive you, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful” [57.28]
And says:
“What! is he whose heart Allah has opened for Islam so that he is in a light from his Lord (like the hard-hearted)? Nay, woe to those whose hearts are hard against the remembrance of Allah; those are in clear error.” [39.22]
And their light is associated with them even in the hereafter as Allah says:
“On the day when the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women will say to those who believe: Wait for us, that we may have light from your light; it shall be said: Turn back and seek a light. Then separation would be brought about between them, with a wall having a door in it; (as for) the inside of it, there shall be mercy in it, and (as for) the outside of it, before it there shall be punishment.” [57.13]

Those who attained spiritual illuminations through a way other than Islam as previously mentioned have limits in spiritual unveiling that they don’t exceed in working supernatural phenomena. On the contrary, a believer whose spiritual was unveiled to him through worships, means of getting closer to Allah of voluntary practices and others, the saying of the Truth in the Holy Saying; is applicable to him:
“I have prepared for my Sound worshippers what has been never sawn, heard, or crossed to the mind of any human being.”

Soundness is a degree and standing which when reached, one deserves its allocations of (what has been never sawn, heard, or crossed to the mind of any human being). Don’t you comprehend the saying of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him “Pay the wage of the hireling before his sweat dries up.” Whoever reached by his struggles against lower self to be inserted among the Sound becomes a man that is beyond the level of mind, moreover, he gets from Allah whatever he wants “they shall have what they please with their Lord” [39.34] and accordingly to the saying: “A folk that when their eye-brows are raised, their requirements are fulfilled”. This is greater than a Grace. That is why Sidi Abu-l-Hassan ash-Shadholi said “Blindness has gone, sight has become.” This means meditate Allah, He is a shelter to you, if you look that is by Him, if you hear that is from Him, if you exist your existence at Him, and if you don’t nothing exists but He.

The distinction between a miracle (of a prophet) and a Grace (of a friend of Allah) is challenge; a miracle is associated with challenge for the truth of prophethood, a prophet does it intentionally while the friend of Allah does not have the intention to do the Grace; he does not expect it; he even hides it; it may seem unintentionally, moreover he seeks forgiveness of Allah from it as the sin doer does lest he should be drawn near (to destruction) by degrees.

Chivalry does not lie in showing Graces, Actually it lies in hiding them, the chivalrous friend of Allah restrains and hides a Grace. This is the case with the high degree ones among the friends of Allah. A Grace is given to the friend of Allah in his beginning, the higher he gets the more reticent he will be unless he is ordered to reveal it for an extra matter required by The Exalted Truth, then he can do nothing but surrender and flowing astream according to destinies as Sidi Ibn Ata’ Allah as-Sakandary said “Mighty zeal doesn’t penetrate the walls of destinies” and Sidi Abu-l-Hassan said “Oh our Allah, Your judgement on Your worshippers cannot be rescinded either by the zeal of the knower or the seeker. Yet open to us the door of Your Hidden Infinite Tender Mercy that shield, and fortify us from every misfortune. Cause us to enter by Your Graciousness into those citadels; Oh You, Who says to a thing, ‘Be and it Is’.”

May Allah bestow us with love, knowledge and selection. May He protect us from being drawn near (to destruction) by degrees, on which The Greatest Sincere Sidi Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said “I don’t feel secure from Allah's plan even if one of my feet is into the Paradise.”