In the Name of Allah, All Merciful, Most Merciful
You should know that this journey of the heart towards God requires observance of certain rules (adab), some of which are related to the outward (zahir)and certain others to the inward (batin). The first principle relating to the outward is that the wayfarer should give up material possessions and means and detach himself from worldly engagements. He should not have any engagement except the service of his Master and obedience to Him and His remembrance. God, the Exalted, said:
Remember the Name of thy Lord, and devote thyself unto Him very devotedly. [73:8]
The second principle consists of seclusion and detachment from people, especially from
everyone who hinders one from approaching God. And God has said to the Prophet (S):
Keep away from them and avoid those who call upon everything other than God.
The third principle is that the wayfarer (salik) should protect the seven organs of his body from what is abominable to his Master, God. They are as follows: The eyes should be shut from looking at what is prohibited and is not beneficial for one; the ears should not listen to slander, vilification and obscene words, and the like; the tongue is to be protected from the same kind of errors and the lips should be sealed from speaking what is devoid of benefit. And some `urafa’ have said, one’s speech should be in remembrance of God, one’s silence should be an effort to contemplate, one’s looking at things should be for deriving a lesson. The salik should also protect his belly from unlawful and suspect things, and in the case of lawful things also he should not consume greedily, lustfully in a state of being oblivious of God; rather, while eating food he should be awake and aware of God’s presence. In the same way, he should protect his feet and hands as well as his sexual organs from what is unlawful and abominable.
The fourth principle is that salik should oppose his carnal self (nafs), that is, fight against its
urges in desiring good food, good drink, good clothing, sensuous acts, and possessing a
good mount for riding, etc. This is the jihad akbar (the higher struggle) about which the
Prophet (S), the supreme leader of mankind, said:
You have returned from jihad asghar (the minor jihad) to the jihad akbar (the major jihad).
And this jihad is more important and its fruits are more comprehensive than fighting against infidels (kuffar), for infidels, in war, seek wealth and are subject to the urges of their carnal self (nafs) which lead them to their everlasting perdition and eternal privation. According to the `urafa’, subordination to the nafs is just like throwing firewood into flames, and the seeker (talib) and the salik, in order to get rid of his nafs, should extinguish that fire in himself.
The fifth principle is that the salik should seek out an aware, perfect and wise shaykh in order to guide him on the path of attaining perfection so that he may attain to Haqq; for the seeker is like a patient who is surrounded by various maladies and evils and afflicted by numerous diseases and ailments. The salik is unaware of them, and even if he is aware, he does not know how to cure his nafs. So he has no option but to seek out a compassionate and friendly physician who can diagnose his diseases and help him to recover and overcome his maladies. In other words, the salik is like a traveller in a perilous and dreadful desert, who has no choice but to find a guide in order to be led to his destination.
The sixth principle is that the salik should not busy himself with a medley of supplications, remembrances (adhkar, pl. of dhikr) supererogatory prayers (nawafil) and different kinds of practices, but should devote to a single form of dhikr and perform all the obligatory prayers and prescribed forms of worships (fara’id wa sunan). Only then he should immerse himself into the remembrance of God. It is said that dhikr is the key to the hidden world (alam al-ghayb) and the lamp of the inner world. Without a key one cannot enter a house and without a lamp a dark house is not illuminated. Hence the salik should remember God in the way a lover remembers his beloved, and the remembrance must never leave him. Then he must so much persevere in dhikr that dhikr gets attached to him, not leaving his heart empty of dhikr even for a moment. When he continues in this dhikr, it is transformed from human dhikr into celestial and holy (qudsi) dhikr.Human dhikr’ is that which is done with the help of sounds, letters and numbers, while the dhikr qudsi is that which is free from numbers, letters and sounds. After this stage, the dhakir (doer of dhikr) loses his identity and is submerged within the object dhikr. He becomes unaware of his dhikr as well as his own being. There are many degrees of dhikr, some which are superior to the others, which are hard to begin; but gradually hardship and labour disappears and dhikr becomes the nature and habit of the salik.
The seventh principle is to keep constant fast, for this act signifies opposition to and suppression of the carnal self, which is the root cause of all veils, the ground of separation and remoteness from Haqq. If a salik reduces his food gradually, it is permissible. This is the way which has been followed by some Sufi masters (mashayikh). It is also proper if one adopts a middle path, i.e. observes moderation. Muhammad (S) said:
Keep your self (nafs) in a sound state, because it is what carries you about (markub); you should be kind to it and take care of it.
The Prophet (S) further said:
Whoever makes his faith extremely austere for himself, his nafs overwhelms him and subordinates him.
If it happens that the salik has to break his non-obligatory (mustahabb) fast in order to please his guest or at the signal of his spiritual guide (murad), he should not let the self enjoy to its full, but take food in minimum quantity and eat lesser than he is used to eat on the days when he keeps fast, so that he may deprive his nafs from two pleasures (one is the breaking of fast and the other is the pleasure of taking food to the heart’s satisfaction). Moreover, he should not always take bread along with stew (but be content with bread only), for this practice is considered abominable by Sufi masters (mashayikh), particularly if stew is prepared with meat.
The eighth principle is taking care of bodily cleanness, for such cleanness is the weapon of a believer and it evokes inner enlightenment. The Prophet (S) said:
Wudu’ (ablution) performed on wudu’ shall be as light upon light on the Judgement’s Day.
The ninth principle is to keep vigil in nights. This practice is considered to be one of the most important acts of the salik. In the praise of the virtuous (abrar), God, the Exalted, says:
They used to sleep but little of night ….[51:17]
It means that they sleep little at night, and the night is the time of supplication for the
awliya’and the pure.
The tenth principle for the salik is that he should strive his best to get lawful (halal)means
of livelihood. God, the Exalted, has said:
Eat of the good things We have provided you… [2:172]
And the Prophet (S) said:
After the obligatory duties, it is obligatory to seek lawful livelihood
that is, after the duty of faith it is the most obligatory of one’s obligations. The lawful earning makes the inner being (batin) illuminated, and unlawful earning darkens the heart. The `urafa’ have said: Whoever is nourished by lawfully earned things for forty days, God will illuminate his heart. In case the absolutely lawful is not available due to the prevailing dubious character of that which is earned, he should eat that which is less susceptible to doubt, and that too is to be taken according to one’s minimum necessity and not to one’s need and satiation. If the seeker acts with negligence in this regard, he will not be in a position to benefit from the fruits of the tree of `irfan. The author of the treatise (may God have mercy upon him) says, a disciple (murid) should not, even in the days of hardship and need, take even a grain of sesame that is doubtful, to say nothing of taking such a thing during normal and easier circumstances. The root cause of corruption of the world’s people is their carelessness regarding this matter, as well as their lack of abstinence from unlawful and doubtful food. The Messenger of God (S) said:
The criteria of religion are piety and fear of God, and faith is corrupted because of greediness.
Here end the outward rules prescribed for the salik. There are also many inward rules followed by the people of the spiritual path (tariqah )