Shaykh Nurjan Mirahmadi
Sufi Meditation Center
Assalamu `alaykum warahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
3 Levels of Spiritual Development
Secrets of Atii-Allah, atia Rasul wa ulu amri minkum., Power in the Number 3
From The Teachings of Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
The number 3 is a very significant number in spirituality.
Recently, the Sultan of Saints, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani, declared that we are entering into the 2nd phase out of 3 phases, and as with everything that our beloved Shaykh says, these 3 phases are hinting at a tremendous ocean of reality filled with precious jewels for those who
want to dive further. The master-divers within these oceans of saintly knowledge are known as the “arifeen”, the “knowers”, those who have delved deep into the spiritual secrets of all Holy Books. Thus, from just one description of a reality by the Sultan of Saints, Mawlana begins to open many realities:
· The 3 levels of obedience (Allah, Rasul, Ulu amr’)
· The 3 levels of spiritual development (Islam, Iman, Ihsan)
· Husband, wife and child
· Hajj, Prophet Abraham (as) and the reality of 3
As we have discussed previously, the number 3 is associated with the formation of the soul and our “Adamic Reality,” which is our true self in the world of light. Thus, our real existence has to do with the secrets of the creation of Adam, who was fashioned by God’s own hands, and blown into from His spirit. This is a tremendous reality which many people never stop to contemplate, but it is something that the arifeen have understood completely. What is this power that the Divine has dressed upon the hearts of human beings? It was something so majestic that the angels in Paradise were ordered to bow down, even though they knew that humans would spread bloodshed upon the earth.
*3 Levels of Spiritual Development*
Then there is the importance of the 3 levels of obedience, and its relationship with the 3 tiers of faith described in the Hadith of Gabriel. The 3 levels of obedience are described in the Holy Qu’ran:
Atii-Allah, atia Rasul wa ulu amri minkum.
Obey God, obey the Prophet and obey those in authority.* (Women, 4:59)*
The number 3 is also found in the Hadith of Gabriel, who came to the Prophet (s) and his companions in the appearance of a man and asked certain questions about the religion the Prophet (s) had brought. When the questions had been answered, this man mysteriously left, and the companions asked the Prophet “who was that person?” to which the Prophet (s) replied, “that was the angel Gabriel. He came to teach you about your religion.” The answers that Prophet (s) gave were a description of the 3 tiers of spiritual development: Islam, Iman and Ihsan. These are Arabic terms, but when translated into English they describe the stations of submission, faith, and moral excellence.
When people hear the term “Islam”, they immediately think that it is something foreign to them, but in reality the word “Islam” is an Arabic verb which in English simply means “submission.” It is not a noun or a religious label. Rather, it is an action, and the Prophets were all teaching that actions mean more than words. Someone can call themselves pious and still lie and cheat people, because the label of piety is meaningless. It is the actions which matter. Sayedina Isa (as) said, “Judge a person by the fruits of their actions,” and Sayedina Muhammad (s) was teaching that all religion is based upon the same principle, which is submission to the Divine Will. “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done.” This is an action, not a label. Whether we call ourselves Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, if these are labels that we are using to separate and divide people then what is the benefit? Sufism comes to remind people to follow the teachings of all the Prophets and to think outside the box. In the world of light, all that exists is the light! You cannot take these labels into that realm. You cannot take your Gucci with you, and say “I’m wearing Gucci, so let me in.” The only thing that counts in Divine Presence is the action of submission, meaning the degree to which we are submitting our will to God’s Will. Therefore, if a Buddhist is praying in the Tibetan language, and his prayer in that language is for his or her will to be brought down, and to follow the will of the Divine, then that is Islam.
So the first phase of development on the path is the phase of learning to submit our will and to bring down our egoistic desires so that we may begin to bring out the light from within the heart. That 1st phase is from the 1st level of obedience to those in authority, and can only be perfected through following someone who has been granted spiritual authority, which are the Saints. Then, once we are in obedience to the spiritual authority, we move to the 2nd level of obedience, which is obedience to the Prophets and the reality of Iman or faith. It means that the station of faith is achieved by following the life and example of the Prophet, but it is not something easy. The Bedouin came to Prophet (s) and said, “We believe!” to which God revealed to Prophet (s), “They do not yet have faith. They have merely accepted the existence of a Creator.”
This is an important distinction. It is one thing to accept that there is something greater than us at work in this vast universe, but to reach the station of faith which was exemplified by the Prophets is much more difficult. That level requires a tremendous amount of testing to determine the quality of that faith. If there is any inconsistency or hypocrisy hidden within us, that testing will bring it out. Divine is saying in all Holy Books that we will be tested with our money, with our family, with our
health, with our life and with our death. At every level we will be tested throughout our lives to see if our faith in the Divine is shaken, or if we stand firm - and if we stand firm then at that time we will reach our reality in Divine Presence, which is the station of moral excellence (Ihsan).
*Phase of Spiritual Development:*
Islam (Submission)
Iman (Faith)
Ihsan (Moral Excellence)
*Obedience to:*
Ulu amr’ (those in Authority)
Prophet (s)
God
Man, Woman and Child*
The number 3 also describes the relationship between man, woman and child. This has to do with the spiritual significance of the creation of Adam and Eve. According to holy traditions, Sayedina Adam (as) was created by God’s two hands, yet he was lonely and desired companionship. So the Divine
created Hawwa (Eve) from his rib, which is to symbolize the equality between man and woman. Adam represents the physical body and submitting the body (Islam), while Eve represents the soul and faith. When body and soul come together they give birth to your reality (Ihsan). It means that if you don’t achieve the station of faith nothing will be born from your submission, you will simply remain at the surface level. It is an enormous struggle to reach that reality, just like the struggle of marriage. One partner wants something and the other partner wants something different. The body desires something, the soul desires something different, and in each case the shaykhs always advise us to compromise and to find a balance. In that balance we will find success -in marriage as well as in spirituality. Just as we compromise and find a balance with our spouse, we must also find a balance between what our body needs and what our soul needs. If we give too much to either one, we find ourselves becoming extreme and either going to Las Vegas or leaving everything and going to live in the woods. But the Naqshbandi way is to find a balance so that even though you are amongst people, your heart is always connected with Divine Presence.
*Creation:*
Adam (Ibrahim)
Eve (Haggar)
Child (Ismael)
*Phase of Spiritual Development:*
Islam (Submission)
Iman (Faith)
Ihsan (Moral Excellence)
As this 2nd phase is now opening, those who are submitting should see the light of faith open in their hearts. A faith that is hidden and doesn’t produce anything is a sign that there is a problem. When you have submission along with faith, it should produce moral excellence and the perfection of character. If not, then there is a problem. Similarly, when a husband and wife come together out of love, their union should result in a child, which is a symbol of that love. If there is a medical condition that is something different, but generally speaking, if there is no child it is a sign that there is a problem within the relationship. Also, when there is that love for Mawlana, then there must be some physical action or physical manifestation of that love. Either through a growing community of fellowship, or eventually the birth of a Sufi center which represents the collective love of the community for Mawlana and which allows these teachings to spread.
*Hajj and the Reality of 3*
The reality of the number 3 is also related to the pilgrimage and the story of the Prophet Abraham (as). Pilgrimage is the door of gnosticism; it represents a migration towards reality, and the rituals performed during the pilgrimage contain tremendous spiritual significance. One important sign for us is that the pilgrimage is not completed until you reach Mt. Arafat, the mountain of araf, the mountain of the arifeen. It means that your spiritual pilgrimage to your reality is not complete until you reach
the station of knowing. The pilgrimage in Sufi tradition is based upon the story of the Prophet Abraham (peace and blessings be upon him), known as the “father of faith”. He was an extremely generous person who gave all of his life, until a test came that shook him to his very core.
After many years without a son, his prayers were finally answered when Haggar gave birth to his first child, Sayedina Ismael (as). As the child grew and became a boy, Sayedina Ibrahim (as) had a dream that must have felt like a nightmare, asking him to sacrifice the boy. He woke-up thinking “this can’t be”, went back to sleep and dreamt it again. Then he woke-up again, fell back to sleep, and the dream came a third time. At that moment he knew it was real, for it is said that if a dream repeats 3 times it is from truth (al-haqq), and so he accepted and prepared for the sacrifice. From the knowledge of the arifeen, they are teaching us that his acceptance to follow the Divine order represents physical submission, the first station on the spiritual path.
Then, as he is hearing and obeying, the Devil approaches his wife and says, “do you know what your crazy husband is preparing to do?! He has lost his mind and is going to sacrifice your only child!” The wife again symbolizes the soul and the station of faith, and she knew in her heart that Sayedina
Ibrahim (as) was a Prophet and he was getting his coordinates from his Lord. If he heard it, her faith told her that it must be true. This is important in our development because as our physicality comes into submission, don’t think you have arrived! Your soul is going to come under heavy attack from evilness which wants to shake your faith and prevent you from reaching your reality, where the full power of the light within heart can be unleashed.
Another important point to be made here is that if you are missing something from the first level, the level of submission, then you cannot be confident in your spiritual coordinates and what your heart is inspiring. That submission means that you are performing what the Divine has ordered to be performed, not out of a sense of hardship, but from a Heavenly Wisdom that these practices and disciplines provide a vital protection from the attack of negative energy which seeks to prevent the seeker from attaining their Heavenly station. Sayedina Ibrahim (as) was in perfect submission and
could therefore be confident in his spiritual connection, but we are not at that level of submission.
Mawlana is saying that this life is like a game of football. You can’t say “I don’t agree with the rules,” or “I don’t want to play this game.” When you were born you were given a jersey and sent onto the field, and your goal is only to reach the end zone and score. It means the goal is to achieve Divine satisfaction. But anyone who watches football knows that the other team isn’t going to just let you stroll across the finish line unchallenged, and similarly this negative energy is not going to let you walk into Divine Presence. They come looking to crush you and prevent you from getting anywhere, and because of that these football players must wear a lot of protective padding.
The physical disciplines are the spiritual version of protective padding. You can’t say “but now we are modern. We don’t need to do these practices anymore.” That is like a football player saying they are going to march down the field with the ball but they don’t see the importance of wearing a helmet or any padding. That person is going to find themselves in big problems very quickly! The importance of the physical disciplines is that they seal the body from these attacks and empower the soul, and any deficiency in these practices will create a hole through which negativity can attack. For example, it is important to maintain your wudu throughout the day and night. If you wash and then pray two rakahs sunnah of wudu, it creates a shield of light around the body which protects from these electromagnetic energies.
All of the prayers, fasting, dietary requirements etc. build the soul and provide a protection. Unfortunately, we see that many so-called Sufi “masters” or teachers now have left the physical discipline. Not understanding the importance, they instead place all of their focus on the spiritual and esoteric aspects and leave themselves open to attack from negative forces, and that is why you see many of the fake ones smoking and drinking and missing prayers. For normal people it is something else, but for a supposedly spiritual person to be intoxicating and sickening their breath by smoking is a sign that they have not achieved perfection. That perfection is only achieved by following the practices of the Prophets who have been dressed by perfect submission to their Lord. In our times there are no more Prophets; therefore we look to their inheritors, the Saints, who are reflecting that perfection in our times.
Returning to the story of Prophet Abraham (as), he represents the physicality and the station of submission. He heard the order and he obeyed, even though he was shaking and crying at the thought of losing his son. Then his wife represents the soul and the station of faith. That faith will be tested, as she was tested when Satan began to whisper to her against her husband, but her faith was strong and she could not be persuaded. Seeing that he had failed to change her heart, Satan then tried to whisper to the boy, and the boy spits on him. The boy represents the station of moral excellence because of the innocence of youth, and by spitting the Divine is showing us that evilness has no chance with someone at the station of moral excellence because it is the station of perfection. That is why the Saints are described as being like children, not because they are naive - for they are filled with wisdom - but because they have purified themselves to a state of youthful innocence and no longer possess bad desires.
Peace & Blessings
Eternally
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