نامه‌ها بر مسیر معنوی

Letters on the Spiritual Path is the culmination of many years effort to present for the first time a complete rendering into English, or any other western language of all 272 letters of spiritual guidance written by the renowned Sufi teacher of eighteenth century Morocco, Mulay al-Arabi al-Darqawi al-Hasani (d. 1239/1823). These letters are a living example of an educative process that provided the wayfarer on the Sufic path with an integral vision of the principles, attitudes, and conduct that constitute Islamic spirituality itself and of the self-effacing comportment that leads to the experiential knowledge of the Divine (ma'rifa). They offer rare insight into the teacher/student relationship within the circles of Islamic mysticism. The letters are singularly personal and touch upon nearly every conceivable aspect of the Sufic path, depicting the Shaykh as a human being living among other human beings, and portraying how, for a person of God such as Mulay al-Arabi, everything that happens can be seen as infused with the Divine Presence. In this regard these letters are his response to those, like himself, who sought to negotiate the currents of the times without compromising themselves and their values, and are as relevant today as they were to those who so ardently sought copies of them during the lifetime of Mulay al-Arabi himself. The translation is in clear accessible English, and holds true to the intention of the translators to, keep in mind the fact that they were written in an intimate register of Arabic that could be grasped by most of the Shaykh s disciples. The text includes an in depth introduction, is well annotated with hadith and textual referents cited, and has both detailed biographical and topical indexes. This long awaited translation is a must for the library of every serious student of Sufism and provides excellent examples of Sufi literature for the university classroom. Front Cover Dedication Contents North-West Morocco Translators' Introduction The Shaykh and his land The Darqawiyya and the Sultan of Morocco The Letters Some Distinctive Themes of the Letters The Darqawi message today Previous translations and our work on these letters A final word concerning the letters Acknowledgements The second page of letter 271 from a manuscript The Shaykh Al-Darqawi's introduction to his letters 1. On maintaining the obligatory and the confirmed sunna 2. Learning enough formal knowledge to accomplish the obligatory and confirmed sunna; the true meaning of Sufism 3. The true meaning of the invocation and encouragement towards it 4. Purifying servanthood from all else but God 5. Concerning the manners of begging, wearing the patched robe, and their true meaning; the Way of the folk 6. On slaying the ego and occupying oneself with the Creator rather than the creation 7. Letting God defend you 8. The life of the heart is in giving up the love of this world and in the death of the ego 9. Concerning tajrid and dependence on God 10. On not going to extremes in breaking norms 11. Caution against the deceptions of this lower world, and the people who love it, regardless of their knowledge and practice 12. The reality of the soul 13. The necessity of a shaykh; the mystery of permission; the invocation of the Name 14. Concerning the reason for repeating some of these teachings 15. All goodness is in the invocation of God; being occupied with it alone to the exclusion of all else; keeping a distance from the mundane world 16. The true meaning of the world and renunciation 17. The true nature of the world and encouragement to detach ourselves from it 18. On the invocation of blessings upon the Messenger of God in all situations and with the best comportment 19. Antagonism towards the Sufis 20. Finding a reflective state in the recitation of the Qur'an 21. Choosing a shaykh 22. The ailment of the heart 23. Leaving work that causes tribulation 24. On visiting the Shaykh and other issues 25. Not words, but states 26. To someone confused about his situation 27. The results of sincerity with God 28. Keeping a distance from people 29. Do not foster all that your heart conceives 30. The signs of loving God 31. Things are hidden in their opposites 32. If we abandoned the world 33. The bride of incomparable beauty 34. Strength 35. The Shadhiliyya Path 36. Turning to God 37. The true meaning of invocation 38. Constancy in asking God's blessings upon the Prophet 39. Avoiding involvement with people 40. Good deeds done in private and public 41. Concerning the one who says he has never tasted anything from his practice 42. Getting rid of illusions 43. The sign of one devoted to God 44. Both the spirit and the ego are fashioned from the Prophet's Light 45. Rigor and beauty 46. The Robes of reverent fear 47. Putting ourselves in God's Hands 48. Know God and all creation will know you 49. Do not defend yourselves 50. On seeing the Prophet in the waking state 51. The best advice 52. On the spirit and the self 53. The sensory dimension 54. Turning towards your Lord 55. Veneration 56. The man who became impressed with his spiritual knowledge 57. On moderation in practice and the completion of sanctity 58. To a disciple whose state wavers 59. Repelling demonic thoughts 60. On receiving the rain of divine inspiration 61. The inward and the outward 62. The worst disease 63. On the value of intention 64. Detachment from the world 65. About detachment from the workaday world 66. Caution against trespassing the limits of the Law 67. The face of freedom 68. A little worship done with a good state is better than a lot done with a bad state 69. The Shaykh's call; the mystery of permission; God's speech 70. Benefitting from Spiritual Instruction 71. Having high aspiration 72. A little practice with a pure heart is better than much without 73. Putting the limbs in accord with the heart 74. A letter to certain fuqaha opposed to the Way 75. Realize your true attributes and God will support you with His Attributes 76. Visiting the masters of the Tariqa; recognizing the shaykh 77. Opposing the ego and its desires 78. The livelihood of the faqir 79. A true sharif is noble in character 80. Weaning the ego 81. Caution against being deluded by exoteric knowledge and its scholars 82. Concerning his master, Sidi 'Ali al-Jamal 83. Not being deceived by those who act like Sufis 84. On removing the garments of this world 85. Avoiding worldly people 86. The vision of God 87. Veneration towards God and His saints and encouragement to make Qur'anic exegesis extensive 88. Seeking knowledge 89. Finding strength in servanthood 90. A saying of Sidi Abdallah al-Makudi 91. Receiving spiritual teachings; the beauty of God 92. Spiritual dialogue 93. The ego's whisperings 94. Know whatyou are doing 95. Silence and hunger 96. A long letter concerning formal knowledge and God-given knowledge, humility, and other subjects 97. A time each day for remembrance; more on the saying of Shaykh Zarruq 98. The proximity of God 99. A dream 100. Caution against imitating worldly scholars 101. Integrity 102. Respect for the masters of the Way 103. Companionship through correspondence 104. A great mercy will spread through creation 105. Knowing God both in hardship and ease 106. Imagination 107. In the remembrance of God resides all good 108. The danger of being naive; knowing your place in creation 109. The path of return 110. Sobriety and rapture 111. The sensory and the spiritual 112. Let your discourse be about what slays the ego 113. Our Lord and Protector 114. The man who kept quiet 115. Silence 116. Dig in one place 117. Avoiding pretenders 118. Caution against conjecture 119. Some of the states of the Sufis 120. A small amount of devotion with the heart 121. Majesty and Beauty 122. The marriage of the spirit and the self 123. The way of inner and outer tajrid 124. Receiving the litany 125. Following a shaykh 126. Respect for the shaykh 127. Placing our hardships in the Hands of God 128. Do not defend yourself; let God defend you 129. Drawing near to the Prophet 130. Being in contact with the Shaykh 131. Caution against breaking norms in ways that contravene the Law 132. Contemplation 133. Seeing God in all things 134. Trials 135. The fruit of invocation 136. Surrendering to the Divine decree 137. Being with creation and being with the Creator 138. A question in the oC,rawiyyin Mosque 139. Sanctity and the saint 140. The death of the ego 141. The soul is like the earth 142. Striving against the ego and its desires 143. Why a devil is given some power over people of the Way 144. Inviting people for gatherings of invocation and teaching 145. Being open to "the breezes of the spirit"; visiting saints, both living and dead 146. Caution against making begging a worldly pursuit 147. The blessing of anonymity 148. Concerning the judge who insulted some of the fuqara' 149. Invoking the Supreme Name and keeping silent except to mention the good 150. Concerning al-Khidr 151. Servanthood 152. The spiritual work of women; transmitting the litany 153. The effects of too much talk, food, and social contact 154. A letter summing up the Way 155. Encouragement to a certain faqir and what it means to be "just like other people" 156. Seeing what is between you and the Creator rather than you and creatures 157. The litany and "the breezes from your Lord" 158. Proper comportment with God;sunna practices 159. To a faqih who treated a Sufi harshly 160. Warning fuqara' against having circles of invocation in the marketplaces 161. Aspire only to God 162. The example of the People of the Porch 163. The possibility of seeing God 164. Good character 165. Concerning those who disregard the law 166. Avoid being foolish 167. Good character 168. The people of God in the Next World 169. Letter to those teaching for the sake of God 170. Who is a saint? 171. Speak of esoteric knowledge only to those who can understand it 172. Visiting the saints 173. An encounter at the shrine of Mulay Idris in Fes 174. A vision while teaching children 175. A vision at the beginning of the Way 176. The faqir with a patched shirt 177. The verse on a tablet 178. The First and the Last, the Inward and the Outward 179. When his shaykh removed his headcloth 180. When he removed his prayer cap 181. The incident concerning the zawiya of Sidi Abdallah al-Aghzawi 182. Pre-emption 183. The villagers who had intended harm towards the fuqara' 184. The plowshare and pressing need 185. A crying enfant and pressing need 186. The crippled enfant 187. The woman seized by spiritual ecstasy 188. The two men who wanted to marry the same woman 189. A powerful state in the mosque 190. The lost ox 191. Two men who wanted to marry the same woman 192. The man who wanted to flee the authorities 193. A man who learned the hard way 194. An incident at a funeral 195. The man who laughed in the mosque 196. The man who talked too much and the hand-mill 197. A request denied 198. A conversation about the harvest 199. The pretender who came to the zawiya 200. The best vocation 201. News of a death 202. A debt to a butcher 203. The squash 204. Letting God defend you 205. Seeing al-Khidr 206. The fuqara' who were too busy 207. The man who asked that his son leave the state of tajrid 208. The sharif who harangued him for begging 209. The man who struck his relative 210. An incident in the marketplace 211. When rain flooded the mosque 212. Another Prayer for rain 213. A letter to the Sultan that did not get sent 214. A wild boar 215. A prayer for rain and for the Sultan 216. The man who sought a cure for his wife 217. The afflicted man from the Bani Akhmas 218. The woman who was brought to the shrine of Sidi Ahmad ibn Yusuf 219. A vision while making the ablution 220. The lost mule 221. The lost cow 222. A vision of Sidi al-Shutaybi 223. A green dove 224. The Pole 225. The stork and the prayer cap 226. "Here comes sincerity!" 227. When the Shaykh needed paper to continue writing 228. When he said, "Go forth" to the faqih 229. Casting away the ego 230. Chatting when others are in worship 231. Repair what you have ruined 232. The true elixir 233. Stories of those who opposed their egos' desires 234. The Prayer of seeking God's choice 235. The blessed man who wrote down his answers 236. The incident of the oxen 237. The greatest affliction 238. Passing through a threshold 239. The source of joy 240. The remedy for confusion 241. Being lowly like water 242. A definition of Sufism 243. Advice for a woman who is afflicted by whisperings 244. Advice on receiving guests 245. The Prayer 246. Some of the saintly men he met and his teachers 247. On correct comportment and aspiration 248. Breaking normal habits; seeing the Prophet 249. A strong foundation 250. On keeping the Prayer in its time 251. Brief counsel 252. Practices of the heart 253. Pretenders and people with the hearts of Prophets 254. Returning to the saying of Shaykh al-Zarruq 255. You will be your own shaykhs 256. Speak only about what is clear; visions at the beginning of his way 257. Expecting miracles 258. The man who said, "Nothing has appeared to me" 259. "The unique one" 260. The Prayer 261. Respect for the shaykh 262. More concerning the Prayer 263. The last words of his shaykh 264. The excellence of knowledge 265. Caution against sharing these writings with everyone 266. What knowledge is most useful 267. Offering the Prayer on time 268. Finding rest in the remembrance of God 269. Rejoice if something in the world is taken from you 270. Invoking the Supreme Name 271. The one needful thing 272. Final words about the Remembrance Biographical Index Bibliography Works in Arabic Works in English and French General Index A B C D E F G H I J K, L M N 0 P Q R S T U, V, W, Y Z Back Cover "Letters on the Spiritual Path is the culmination of many years' effort to present for the first time a complete rendering into English, or any western language of all 272 letters of spiritual guidance written by the renowned Sufi teacher of eighteenth century Morocco, Mūlay al-ʻArabī al-Darqāwī (d. 1239/1823)" -- back cover