Intimacy

Two citations separated by over a millennium illustrate the consistency of the ultimate aim of the Sufi path. The first is a holy tradition (hadith qudsi) by the prophet Muhammad, while the second is a soliloquy by the eminent Sufi master Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi. Both describe what Sufism is all about, one from God’s point of view, the other from the Sufis’ perspective. Sufis regard the message of this holy tradition as constituting the ultimate aim of the spiritual experience and the cornerstone of mystical knowledge. Speaking through the Prophet, God says:

“Nothing is more pleasing to me, as a means for my servant to draw near unto me, than worship which I have made binding upon him; and my servant ceases not to draw near unto me with added devotions of his free will until I love him; and when I love him I am the hearing wherewith he hears and the sight wherewith he sees and the hand whereby he grasps and the foot whereon he walks.”

It is this intimacy with divinity that underpins the Sufis’ vision, aspirations, and devotional practices. In the following soliloquy, the late Damascene Sufi master al-Nabulusi, an ardent follower of Ibn Arabi, shows how the prophetic tradition is personalized in the mystical experience. Al-Nabulusi writes:

My Lord said to me: “you are good for me.” I said: “how can I be good for you while I am perishable?” He said: “nothing is good for me except the perishable.” I said: “how can I be good for you when my character is bad?” He said: “I complement it with my good Character.” He then said to me: “O my
servant, I am you, but you are not me; O my servant, I am who exists, not you; O my servant, all people are the servants of my benefaction (nima), whereas you are the servant of my Self (dhat).” I said: “but how am I the servant of your Self?” He said: “you are the servant of Being (al-wujud), not the servant of a being (al-mawjud). Being is me, while a being is other than me, because beings are by me and I am by my Self. This is the reason why I said to you I am Being.” He then said to me: “O my servant, do not fear other than me, because I am that other. I am your Lord, appearing unto you by my subsistence in you. There is no divinity if it be not me, and no one is adored other than me. In any state, if by me that I make you rich, truly, then, I have made you rich; but if I do so by other than me, I then have made you poor; there is no divinity if it be not me.” I said to him: “O Lord, how am I in your regard?” He said: “you are to me amongst those who are drawn near (almuqarrabin), and so is everyone who loves you: I love you and love everyone that loves you.” I said to him: “O Lord, what is the sign of your loving me?” He said: “it is my guiding you to what I love and am pleased with.” I said to him: “O Lord, people are harming me.” He said to me: “all of this is of benefit to you; look within yourself for the result of their harm, you become nearer to me, and inevitably you will rise above them.”