Ranks of the Divine Seekers

Ovamir Anjum, Ph.D. (2008), University of Wisconsin-Madison, is Professor and Imam Khattab Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Toledo. His publications include numerous articles and a monograph Politics, Law, and Community in Islamic Thought (Cambridge University Press, 2012).

5 The Station of Oft-Returning

 1 Reform

 2 Fulfillment

 3 State



6 The Station of Remembrance

 1 Conditions of Benefitting from Admonition

 2 Contemplating the Qurʾan

 3 Five Things that Corrupt the Heart

 4 Endless Desires for Worldly Things

 5 Attachment to Things Other Than God

 6 Gluttony

 7 Sloth



7 The Station of Holding Fast

 1 The Meaning of Holding Fast

 2 The Holding Fast of the Elite



8 The Station of Fleeing

 1 Fleeing from the Ego

 2 Fleeing from All Other Than the Truth



9 The Station of Disciplining

 1 The Disciplining of the Elite of the Elite]



10 The Station of Listening

 1 Against Music

 2 The Prohibition of Singing and Music

 3 The Arguments of Those Who Permit Singing

 4 First Principle: Scripture is the Judge of Mystical Knowledge

 5 Second Principle: All Disagreements Are Judged by Scripture

 6 Third Principle: The Weighing of Harm and Benefit

 7 Spiritual Taste

 8 Levels of Audition

 9 The Audition of the Elite

 10 The Audition of the Elite of the Elite



11 The Station of Grief

 1 Levels of Grief



12 The Station of Fear

 1 Kinds of Fear

 2 Fear of Self-deception

 2 Balancing Fear and Hope



13 The Station of Trembling



14 The Station of Humility

 1 Putting Out The Fire of Ego

 2 Recognizing the Lesions of One’s Soul and Deeds

 3 The Third Level

 4 Humility and Attentiveness in Prayers



15 The Station of Meekness

 1 Being Blind to People’s Opinions



16 The Station of Renunciation

 1 Is Renunciation Possible in These Times?

 2 Parting from All Longings

 3 Renunciation of Renunciation



17 The Station of Scrupulousness

 1 Levels of Scrupulousness

 2 The Web of Divine Stations



18 The Station of Devotion



19 The Station of Hope

 1 The Excellence of Hope

 2 Levels of Hope



20 The Station of Desire



21 The Station of Shepherding

 1 Levels of Shepherding

 2 Shepherding of Time



22 The Station of Watchfulness

 1 Ranks of Watchfulness

 2 Watchfulness of the Elite of the Elite



23 The Station of Venerating God’s Prohibitions

 1 Is God Worshipped for Fear of the Fire and Love for the Garden?

 2 Conditions of Displaying One’s Good Deeds

 3 Venerating Scripture on Divine Attributes

 4 Protecting the Divine Opening



24 The Station of Purification

 1 Levels of Purification

 2 The Second Level

 2 Purification and Truthfulness



25 The Station of Refinement and Correction

 1 Second Level

 2 Third Level



26 The Station of Standing Firm

 1 Exclusivity

 2 The Soul of All States

 3 Levels of Steadfastness

 4 The Second Level

 5 The Third Level



27 The Station of Trusting Reliance

 1 Meaning of Tawakkul

 2 Levels of Reliance

 3 The Level of Joyful Contentment

 4 Separating Relegation from Inaction and Negligence

 5 Relating Reliance in God to the Beautiful Divine Names

 6 Limiting Reliance to Unworthy Pursuits

 7 Returning to al-Harawī on Trusting Reliance

 8 The First Level according to al-Harawī

 9 The Blemish of Asking of Creation

 10 Third Level



28 The Station of Relegation

 1 Second Level

 2 Third Level



29 The Station of Trust in God

 1 First Level

 2 Second Level

 3 Third Level



30 The Station of Submission

 1 The Defects of Submission

 2 Second Level



31 The Station of Patience

 1 The Literal Meaning

 2 Kinds of Patience

 3 Patience according to al-Harawī

 4 First Level

 5 Third Level

 6 Patience and God



32 The Station of Joyful Contentment

 1 Contentment versus Patience in Suffering

 2 Contentment and Tranquility

 3 Three Levels of Contentment

 4 The Three Conditions of Contentment

 5 Second Level

 6 Differentiating Normative and Ontological Commands

 7 God’s Wisdom in Creating the Devil

 8 Sixty-Two Virtues of Contentment and Indifference to Pleasure and Pain

 9 Returning to al-Harawī

 10 Third Level



Index