Tassawuf

Ihsan (Arabic: احسان), also ehsan (persian) or ahsan is an Arabic term meaning "perfection" or "excellence," which is related to the word "goodness" (Ara. husn). It is a matter of taking one's inner faith (iman) and showing it in both deed and action, a sense of social responsibility borne from religious convictions.In Islam, ihsan is the Muslim responsibility to obtain perfection, or excellence, in worship, such that Muslims try to worship God (Arabic Allah) as if they see Him, and although they cannot see Him (due to the belief that Allah is not made of materials), they undoubtedly believe that He is constantly watching over them. That definition comes from the hadith (known as the Hadith of Gabriel) in which Muhammad states, "[Ihsan is] to worship God as though you see Him, and if you cannot see Him, then indeed He sees you." (Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim).

Ihsan, meaning "to do beautiful things," is one of the three dimensions of the Islamic religion (Ara. ad-din): islam, iman and ihsan. In contrast to the emphases of islam (what one should do) and iman (why one should do), the concept of ihsan is primarily associated with intention. One who "does what is beautiful" is called a muhsin. It is generally held that a person can only achieve true ihsan with the help and guidance of Allah, who governs all things.

Some Islamic scholars explain ihsan as being the inner dimension of Islam whereas shariah is often described as the outer dimension:

From the preceding discussion it should be clear that not every Muslim is a man or woman of faith (mu'min), but every person of faith is a muslim. Furthermore, a Muslim who believes in all the principles of Islam may not necessarily be a righteous person, a doer of good (muhsin), but a truly good and righteous person is both a muslim and a true person of faith.

Ihsan "constitutes the highest form of worship" (ibadah). It is excellence in work and in social interactions. For example, ihsan includes sincerity during Muslim prayers and being grateful to parents, family, and God.

Ehsan or Ihsan is also a male and female(Ihsane) name among Muslims.

Noor is the link which binds being to knowledge in Sufism.^{[citation needed]} The word itself means light. Each particle of light that is reflected of the "mirror of the heart" projects spiritual knowledge according to distinctive types of colors.

Noor is the spiritual light of a person.It is considered positive energy, or energy from God, which is supposed to clean a person's inner spiritual being ,It emanates primarily from the heart, but can bloom to the whole body.A person's spirituality can be judged by the Noor emanating from him.Noor is descended from the heavens, reaching the Kabatulallah in mecca. From there it is distributed to all the Mosques.There it manifests in those that are spiritually inclined.

Maqaam ( the station ) is one's spiritual station or developmental level, as distinct from one's hal, or state of consciousness. This is seen as the outcome of one's effort to transform oneself, whereas the haal is a gift. "Maqam" is also terms for “scale” .These are the topmost foundations of ‘’walaya:’’ the moral distinctions and spiritual degrees accorded to the men of the Way. They constitute the stabilizing element of liberating experience. According to Ibn 'Arabi, ‘’ al-yaqîn ’’ (certainty) the apex of the maqamaat .

Haal (Literally "state" or "condition", plural ahwal) is a special-purpose, temporary state of consciousness, generally a product of spiritual practices, recognised in Sufism.

A haal is by nature transient and one should not attempt to prolong it. It results from psychological or spiritual influences which effect the man of the Way during his progress towards God. Related concepts are Ecstasy (wajad), Annihilation (istilam) , Happiness (bast) , Despondency (qabd) , Awakening (sahû) Drunkenness (sukr) , etc. They arise like flashes on the horizon, blinding flashes of lightning which disappear immediately. However, these stages are necessary for the liberating experience of Man; thanks to them He may distinguish the contingent from the consciousness anything except that which is destined to endure. According to Ibn Arabi, ‘’Fanaa (al-fanâ)’’ (extinction) is the apex of the ahwal.

Muraqaba

Muraqaba (Arabic: مراقبة) is the Sufi word for meditation. Literally it is an Arabic term which means "to watch over", "to take care of", or "to keep an eye". It implies that with meditation, a person watches over or takes care of his spiritual heart (or soul), and acquires knowledge about it, its surroundings, and its creator.

Stages of Muraqaba

Following are the maqamat (Arabic: مقامات stages) in which sufis have broadly categorised their journey of ascension. This categorization is an arbitrary one, and each level is generally further divided into several sub-levels. During the process of enlightenment, some stages can merge or overlap each other.

Gnosis of self

Ghanood (Somnolence)

This is the starting level of meditation. When a person starts meditation, he enters into a somnolent or sleep state often. With the passage of time, the person goes into a state betweensleep and wakefulness. So the person can remember that he saw something, but not specifically what it is.

[Adraak

(Arabic: إدراك - cognition) With continuous practice of meditation, the sleepiness from meditation decreases. When the conscious mind is not suppressed by sleep and is able to focus, the person can receive the spiritual knowledge from his subconscious mind. At this stage, the person is unable to see or hear anything, but he is able to experience or perceive it.

Warood

(Arabic: ورود coming, beginning) When adraak (experience) becomes deep, it is exhibited as sight. The stage of warood starts when mental concentration is sustained and somnolence is at its minimum. As soon as the mind is focused, the spiritual eye is activated. The conscious mind is not used to see through the spiritual eye, so concentration comes and goes. Gradually, the mind gets used to this kind of visions and the mental focus is sustained. With practice, the visions/experience becomes so deep that the person starts considering himself a part of the experience rather than considering himself an observer.

Gnosis of the universe

Kashaf' / Ilhaam

Kashaf, or Ilhaam (Arabic: كشف/الهام unveiling of arcane knowledge) is the stage where man starts getting information that most people are unable to observe. In the beginning, this condition occurs suddenly without personal control. With practice, the mind gets so energized that it can get this knowledge by will.

Shahood

(Arabic: شهود evidence) When a person can get any information about any event/person with his will, this condition is called Shahood. This stage is broadly categorized according to activation of the senses:

1. The person can see things anywhere in the universe

2. The person can hear things anywhere in the universe

3. The person can smell things anywhere in the universe

4. The person can touch things anywhere in the universe (hadith)

Fatah

(Arabic: فتح opening, victory) The peak of Shahood is called Fatah. At this stage, the person doesn't need to close his eyes for meditation. Here the person is freed from both space and time. He can see/hear/taste/touch anything that are present anywhere in time and space.

Gnosis of the creator

Fanaa

Main article: Fanaa (Sufism)

(Arabic: فناء extinction, annihilation) Through a series of stages (maqamat) and subjective experiences (ahwal), this process of absorbation develops until complete annihilation of the self (fana) takes place and the person becomes al-insanul-kamil, the "perfect man". It is the disintegration of a person's narrow self-concept, social self- and limited intellect (feeling like a drop of water aware of being part of the ocean). The stage is also called Fana fit tawheed ("extinction with the unity"), and Fana fil Haq (Extinction in the reality).

Sair illallah

(Arabic: سيرٌ الى الله journey towards the God) Here the person starts his spiritual journey towards the ultimate reality of the universe, i.e. God. Also called Safr-e-Urooji

Fana fillah

(Arabic: فناء في الله Extinction of the self in God) One of the important phases of mystical experience which is attained by the grace of God by a traveller on the mystical path is the state offana fi Allah, "extinction of the self in God". This is the state where the person becomes extinct in the will of God. It is important to mention that this is not incarnation or union. Most Sufis, while passing through this experience, have preferred to live in the greatest depth of silence which transcends all forms and sounds, and enjoy their union with the beloved.

The highest stage of fana is reached when even the consciousness of having attained fana disappears. This is what the Sufis call "the passing-away of passing-away" (fana al-fana). The mystic is now wrapped in contemplation of the divine essence. (Nicholson, The Mystics of Islam, p. 60).

Since it is a state of complete annihilation of carnal self, absorbation or intoxication in God, the pilgrim is unable to participate in worldly affairs, he is made to pass into another state known as Fana-al-Fana (forgetfulness of annihilation). It is a sort of oblivion of unconsciousness. Since two negatives make one positive, the pilgrim at this stage regains his individuality as he was when he started the journey. The only difference is that in the beginning he was self-conscious, but after having reposed in the Divine Being, he regains that sort of individuality which is God-consciousness or absorbation in God. This state is known as Baqa-bi-Allah — living or subsisting with God. (Alhaj W.B.S. Rabbani, Gems of Sufi Gnosticism)

Sair min allah

(Arabic: سير من الله journey from the God) Here the person comes back to his existence. Also called Safr-e-Nuzooli.

No one can subsist with The Supreme Creator and to believe as such is shirk. What really happens is the person's awareness of Allah increases so much so that he forgets his own self and is totally lost in Allah's magnificence.

Baqaa billah

(Arabic: بقاء بالله eternal life in union with God) This is the state where man comes back to his existence and God appoints him to guide the humans. This is a state in which the individual is part of the world, but unconcerned about his or her rewards or position in it. This doctrine is further explained in an authentic tradition of the prophet which states that God said:

And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks.

There is another verse from Qur'an , that is used to explain this concept.

We (Allah) are nearer to him (man) than his jugular vein.(50:6)

When Sufis have come out of the Fana fillah state and enter Baqa billah, many of them have produced works of unsurpassed glory, especially in the fields of philosophy, literature, andmusic. These works have crowned the culture of the entire Islamic world and inspired Sufis and non-Sufis for generations. As the great Persian Sufi poet, Hafiz of Shiraz, who is fondly remembered as the "tongue of the unseen", said centuries ago: "He whose heart is alive with love, never dies.". Allah says about these people in the Qur'an:

"Lo, indeed, the friends of God have no fear, nor are they grieved."

Types of muraqaba

There are many different kinds of muraqaba that are practiced in various Sufi schools in different parts of the world. Following is a list of the ones commonly practiced.

Beginner level muraqabas

1. Muraqaba of light

These are usually used for beginners, or for cure of various diseases.

§ Violet

§ Indigo

§ Blue

§ Turquoise

§ Green

§ Yellow

§ Orange

§ Pink

§ Red

2. Ehsan

3. Noor (Invisible Light)

4. Haatif-e-Ghabi (Unhearable sound of Cosmos)

5. Names of God -- For getting acquaintance with attributes of God

6. Allah (Proper name of God) -- Final level of Muraqaba of names of God. In Universal Sufism this concentration is on their own panentheist concept of God.

Middle level muraqabas

1. Maot (Arabic: موت Death) -- For getting acquaintance with life after Death

2. Qalb (Arabic: قلب Heart) -- For getting acquaintance with Spiritual Heart

3. Wahdat (Arabic: وحده Unity) -- For getting acquaintance with the reason behind cosmic unity i.e. God's will

4. La (Arabic: لا Nothingness) -- For getting acquaintance with material lessness, or non-material universe

5. Adam (Pre-existence) -- Next level of Muraqaba of Nothingness.

6. Fana (Arabic: فناء Annihilation) -- Annihilation of Self, getting acquaintance with the alpha and omega of unive

7. High level muraqabas

1. Tasawwur-e-Sheikh (Arabic: تصور الشيخ Focusing mind on master) -- To facilitate the transfer of spiritual knowledge from master to student.

2. Tasawwur-e-Rasool (Arabic: تصور الرسول Focusing mind on prophet) -- To facilitate the transfer of Faiz (arcane spiritual knowledge) from prophet to student. This focussing of mind is done on Muhammad.

3. Tasawwur-e-zat-e-Ilaahi (Arabic: تصور الذات الإلاهي Focusing Mind on God) -- With the help of this Muraqaba, the student experiences the Tajalli-e-Zaat of God.