Muraqabah

Decorum and etiquette

Etiquette

One of the sentiments of philosopher and theologian Al-Ghāzālī (d. 505 AH/1111 CE) centers around the God-consciousness of Muraqabah: he stated that it is the obligation of the creation to be in constant awareness of its creator. Once one understands this, they must follow a level of etiquette and protocol which are but not limited to:

• Having humility (ar. tawāḍuʾ) and modesty (ar. ḥayāʿ).
• Staying silent and only speaking when appropriate, as it is mentioned in the narration, “the one who believes in Allah and the Last Day should only speak good or stay quiet”.
• Resolve to do the best that one can in every action.
• Rush to do good deeds and avoiding sin.
• To be content with what one must deal with daily (ar. al-raḍāʿ bi al-qaḍāʿ).
• Continuous reflection on one's internal state and the world around them.
• Standing up for the truth.

Practice

The physical practice of murāqabah is similar to standard meditation. Metaphysically speaking, the intended result of murāqabah is to refrain from any actions divorcing one from God, and ultimately maintain one's mindfulness in a state that God is pleased by. To progress in murāqabah one must be consistent for a lengthy period of time to experience the aforementioned benefits.

Stages

According to the writings of the Azeemiyyah sufi order, which specializes in the history and practice of Muraqabah, the stages (Maqamat) of Muraqabah are divided into three sections.

Irfan of Self

Ghanood

This refers to a sleeplike trance, which generally fades away quickly. With the passage of time, the person remains in this state between sleep and wakefulness for longer. The person eventually starts experiencing an increase in Dejavus, and gets more in touch with their awareness of the unconscious.

Idrak

Eventually when the trance decreases, the unconscious is said to become part of wakeful awareness, and the person can receive the spiritual knowledge from his unconscious, developing some form of unconscious cognition.

Wurud

When unconscious cognition deepens, it is entirely assimilated into the wakeful state. While the concentration of Muraqabah is sustained, the unconscious takes over, and one is said to start receiving visions. This is regarded as the first step removed from oneself.

Irfan of the Universe

Kashf

This stage is regarded as the first step towards detachment: one's self-awareness is annihilated into a newfound hidden awareness of the universe, which is not apparent via normal cognition.

Shuhud

Essentially described as an out-of-body experience, in which one can see, hear, smell and touch any particular place in the universe.

Fath

Retaining the state experienced during the out-of-body experience in everyday life, laid out as a kind of universal consciousness.

Irfan of Allah

Sair

In this stage, one starts to be guided by universal consciousness in ways that bring him closer to God, one's conscious will starts to become sublated.

Fanaa

Here one's own personhood becomes annihilated, the individual attains a completely monistic, undivided God-consciousness.

Baqaa

This stage is described as a subsistence of the annihilated state within one's personhood in day-to-day life.