Spiritual Practices

The Prophet ﷺ said, ''When any group sits together to remember Allāh, the angels surround them, mercy covers them, peace and contentment descend upon them and Allāh mentions these people amongst those drawn near." Here are described both the merits of dḫikr, how to do it, different forms and ways, and its aim: fanāʾ. 

The first command of Allāh when He wished to revive ʾIslām some 1400 years ago was, “Recite!” (ʾIqraʾ!), when the Angel Jibʾrīl embraced the Prophet ﷺ and pressed him to his bosom and taught him to read from mouth to ear, heart to heart. Thus from then until now one’s teacher has learned it from the lips of his (or her) teacher and he from his (or her) teacher until, as with all the spiritual teachings within ‘Islam, it traces back to the Prophet ﷺ, who learned it from Jibʾrīl (ʿalayhi-s-salām) .

This essay explores both the process of learning to read and some of the openings, blessings and insights that can result from the steadfast study of the Qur’ān. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Stick to the recital of the Qur’ān because it is Light in this life and Provision in the Final Life.”

A collection of different names of Allāh to be recited numbers of times, awakening various centers in the being. The beautifully calligraphed names are interspersed with duʿāʾ from Sḫaykḫ Ibrahim al-Baṭṭawi. A wonderful exercise for awakening body and soul.

There exists a Divinely revealed synergistic series of acts of worship in the form of various practices, exercises and devotions. When put into practice, these exercises or disciplines have the possibility – not a direct certainty but a tested possibility – of bringing about or eliciting in the practitioner a state of timeless spirituality which, from another perspective, might be seen as a state of complete transparency. This paper discusses both how these practices can lead to the timeless transparent state and some aspects of that effulgent state of being.