The Garden of Truth: The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam's Mystical Tradition

Also by SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR

A Young Muslim 5 Guide to the Modern World An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines Ideals and Realities of Islam Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization Islam and the Plight of Modern Man Islamic Art and Spirituality Islamic Life and Thought Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present Islamic Science: An fllustrated Study Knowledge and the Sacred Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis of Modern Man Muhammad: Man of God The Pilgrimage of Life and the Wisdom of Rumi Poems of the Way Religion and the Order of Nature Science and Civilization in Islam Sufi Essays The Islamic Intellectual Tradition in Persia The Heart of Islam The Need for Sacred Science Three Muslim Sages Traditional Islam in the Modern World

•

The Vision·and Promise of Sufism, Islam 5 Mystical Tradition

SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR

•

Harper One An Imprint ofHaxperColliruPNb/Jshers

•

HarperOne

THE GARDEN OF TRUTH: The Vision and Promise if Sufism, Islam's Mystical Tradition. Copyright © 2007 by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Publishers, IO East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022. HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information please write: Special Markets Department, HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022. HarperCollins Web site: http:/ /www.harpercollins.com HarperCollins®,. ®,and HarperOne™ are trademarks ofHarperCollins Publishers. Map spread on pages x-xi by Topaz Inc. FIRST HARPERCOLLINS PAPERBACK EDITION PUBLISHED IN 2008

Library if Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. The garden of truth : the vision and practice of Sufism, Islam's mystical tradition I Seyyed Hossein Nasr. -Ist ed. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-06-I6i599-2 I; Sufism-Doctrines. 2. Sufism-Customs and practices. I. Title. BPI89.3.N364 2007 297.4-dc22

o8 09 IO

11

I2 RRD(H)

IO 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I

In the Name

of God, the Infinitely

•

Good, the All-Merciful

CONTENTS

List of Transliterations

ix

Map of the Islamic World Introduction

x

xiii

PART ONE One~ What

It Means to Be Human

J.Vho Are~ and J.Vhat Are J# Doing Here?

3

PART TWO Tw~Truth

The Knowledge That Illuminates and Delivers from the Bondage of Ignorance 'Jlu.ee~Love

29

and Beauty

The Fire That Attracts and Consumes, the Peace That Calms and Liberates

vii

59

Four~ Goodness and Human Action To Do His Will, to Conform to the Divine Norm Five~How

8I

Do We Reach the Garden of Truth? The Path to the One

103

PART THREE Six~Access

to the Center

Sufism Here and Now

139

PART FOUR

Appendix One~ The Sufi Tradition and the Sufi Orders Reflections on the Manifestation of Sufism in Time and Space AppendixTw~The Tradition

and Gnosis Notes

ofTheoretical Sufism 209

235

Glossary ofTechnical Terms

239

Selected Bibliography of Works in· English Index

viii

163

249

24 7

LIST OF TRANSLITERATIONS

Arabic and transliterated Roman characters

"y ~

~

b

j;,

t th

t

)

J 1). kh d dh r

j

z

~

c

t .)

~

t J J .!l

J

gh f

Jl

Persian letters added to Arabic alphabet p ~ ch (t zh ; g

s

1

h

4

ii

'i

q

m

~

'...?

a

k

n

sh

~I

J

iJ

.J' ~

?

i

J

J'

.;

long vowels

j,

short vowels a ...!.. u ~

-;w y ah; at (article) al- and '1

ix

diphthongs aw ai (ay) ~...!.. (.>-;- ayy (final form 'i) ' uww (final form ii) )'-

J..!..

.

The Islamic World

INTRODUCTION

The present book is the result of over fifty years of both scholarly study of and existential participation in Sufism. Providence has made it possible for me to visit many Sufi sites from the Atlantic to the Pacific, to encounter numerous Sufi masters, to participate in almost countless Sufi gatherings, and to read and study many Sufi works and scholarly writings about Sufism by scholars of both East and West. My goal in this book, however, is not to present a history of Sufism or just an academic work on the subject, although I have sought to be scholarly to the best of my ability. My aim is rather to present to the reader a Sufi text written in English and using contemporary language. In purely academic works, one relies only on written sources or field reports based on external observation, whereas this book, while using written historical sources, issues from the lived reality of Sufism, the experience of Sufi spirituality, the all-important centuries-old oral tradition, and truths that are metahistorical. I felt obliged to write this book because I believe that after some two centuries of study of Sufism in the West, with the appearance of many translations, analyses, histories, and some profound expositions of Sufi metaphysics, and given an ever greater interest in Sufism by certain Westerners, it is necessary to write, not just

Xlll

another book about Sufism, but a Sufi book. It is necessary to present the reality of Sufism as did the authorities of old but in a manner accessible to the present-day serious Western seeker or Western-educated Muslim seeker, even if such a person has no previous knowledge of the subject. In this book I have dealt with universal truths of interest to those attracted to the life of the Spirit and in light of the human condition in general, presenting them from within the spiritual and intellectual universe of Sufism while providing a means of access to that universe and revealing some of its riches. Until a few decades ago a few fine studies ofSufism as well as competent translations ofSufi works were available in European languages, but no introductions to the subject written from within the Sufi tradition. During the last few decades some outstanding works dealing with the heart of Sufism and written from its perspective have appeared, such as Sufism: Veil and Quintessence by Frithjof Schuon, An Introduction to Sufism by Titus Burckhardt, and What Is Sufism? by Martin Lings. All of these exceptional, masterly works presume, however, some knowledge of Sufism as well as of traditional metaphysics. William Chittick's Sufism: A Brief Introduction, also written from the Sufi point of view, is more of an introduction but couched in scholarly language, being more about Sufism rather than being a Sufi treatise. Then there are works ofWestern Islarnicists, sympathetic to Sufism but not participants in its practices. Of this genre the well-known book Mystical Dimensions of Islam by Annemarie Schimmel stands out, and more recently there has appeared The Shambhala Guide to Stifism by Carl Ernst. By contrast, the present book seeks to introduce the reader to the inner teachings of Sufism in the manner of classical Sufi works but in a contemporary language. Like classical Sufi texts, this work is interspersed with Quranic citations, sayings (badiths) of the Prophet of Islam, and poetry. Where not indicated otherwise, the translation of these quotations is my own. The verses of the Quran are of course indicated, but since I learned the badlths and many of the poems through oral tradition, no references are given for most of them. Still, to guide the reader to the major scholarly and poetic sources, references are provided for some of the quotations. My hope, however, is that the text will be read by those seeking to study Sufism from within or with a teacher as well as by those drawn to spirituality in general, and not considered simply as a scholarly work.

,

:xiv

I N T R0 D U CT I 0 N

That is also why the spiritual teachings in this book are addressed directly to the seeker without hiding behind the garb of scholarship. The title of this book, The Garden of Truth, is drawn from the traditional Islamic symbolism of the garden. The traditional Islamic garden is an earthly reflection ofParadise, and the word paradise itself comes from the Middle Persian word pardls, meaning garden, and is also the origin of the Arabic word firdaws, meaning paradise and garden. Using the symbol of the garden, the Quran refers to Paradise itself as the Garden. Moreover, the Sacred Text speaks of levels of Paradise. The Sufis have drawn from this symbolism and speak of the Garden as designating not only the various levels of paradisal realities but also the Divine Reality beyond Paradise as usually understood. The highest Garden is associated with the absolute Truth, which is one of the Names of the Divine Essence. Hence, we can speak of the Garden ofTruth as that reality wherein all the spiritual realities are gathered. The Sufis also speak of the Gardener as God in His absolute and infinite Reality, and of}annat al-Dhat, or Garden of the Divine Essence. I therefore also make occasional use of this symbolism in the pages that follow. Sufism is a vast reality that provides the means for those who follow its tenets to reach the Garden of Truth. It is the path to the Garden and, on the highest level and in its inner reality, the "content" of the Garden as well as the means of reaching the Presence of the Gardener. The Sufi tradition contains a vast metaphysical and cosmological set of doctrines elaborated over a long period by Sufi teachers and masters of gnosis. It contains methods of spiritual realization that address nearly all the different spiritual possibilities on the levels of action, love, and knowledge. It has preserved over many centuries and going back to the Prophet a regular chain of transmission of initiatic power (walayah/wilayah) and the grace (al-barakah) necessary for the spiritualjourney.And above all, it can enable men and women to reach the state of sanctity. Sufism has manifested itself in vast expanses of time and space, from the first century of Islamic history, that is, the seventh century, to now, and from Senegal and Morocco to Indonesia and China. Sufi orders are found in all Islamic lands as well as in India, China, Russia, nonMuslim Africa, and since the twentieth century in many Western countries. Sufism has also produced in several languages some of the greatest mystical poetry ever written and has created some of the most interiorizing music ever heard. Within the Islamic world it has influenced

INTRODUCTION

XV

ethics and social behavior, philosophy, theology, some of the natural sciences, and nearly all the arts from calligraphy and miniature painting to architecture and urban design. It has, moreover, played a crucial role in the encounter and dialogue between Islam and other religions and cultures. Although attacked since the nineteenth century by both modernists and puritanical reformists in the Islamic world, Sufism is still very much alive in most Muslim countries. Although denatured, diluted, and distorted in certain circles in the West, it is now also present in a serious form in many parts ofAmerica and Europe. In both the Islamic world and the West, Sufism will continue to play an important role in bringing about understanding across religious borders, in addition to its central role in providing an authentic spiritual path for those who seek to reach in this life the Garden of Truth and ultimately the Gardener. In the Islamic world Sufism is the most powerful antidote to the religious radicalism called fundamentalism as well as the most important source for responding to the challenges posed for Islam by modernism. In the West it is the most .accessible means for understanding Islam in its essential reality. Sufism constitutes also a central link between the spiritual traditions of Islam and the West. In this book, however, I am concerned not so much with the cultural and civilizational role of Sufism as with the souls of men and women in quest of the Truth. I therefore seek to present the realities of Sufism while keeping in mind the concrete spiritual and intellectual needs of contemporary men and women in both East and West. May_ the book be a humble guide for those who seek. In conclusion, I wish to thank the Radius Foundation and Katherine O'Brien for making possible the preparation of the manuscript of this book for publication, and to Eric Brandt,.Laurie Dunne, and others at HarperOne who have made its publication possible. Seyyed Hossein Nasr Bethesda, Maryland May 14,2007

xvi

INTRODUCTION

One

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN Who Are u.-e and What Are J.fe Doing Here?

"Am I not Your Lord?" They said, "Yea, verily we bear witness." Quran 7:172

After extinction I came out, and I Eternal now am, though not as I. And who am I, 0 I, but I. 1 'All Shushtari

THE UNAVOIDABLE QUESTION

Wherever we are and in whatever time we happen to live, we cannot avoid asking the basic questions of who we are, where we came from, what we are doing here, and where we are going. In everyone's life, especially when one is young, these basic questions arise in the mind, often with force, and demand answers from us. Many simply push them aside or remain satisfied with established answers provided by others in their family or community. In traditional societies such answers always came from the teachings of religion, and to a great extent they still do for the majority of people in many parts of the world. But there have always been and still are today the few who take the question "who am I?" seriously and existentially and who are not satisfied with answers provided by others. Rather, they seek to find the answers by themselves, trying with their whole being to delve into the inner meaning of religion and wisdom. They continue until they reach the goal and receive a response that provides for them certitude and removes from them the clouds of doubt. In any case, how we choose to live in this world-how we act and think and how we develop the latent possibilities within us-depends totally on the answer we provide for ourselves to this basic question of who we are, for human beings live and act for the most part according to the image they have of themselves. Sufism addresses the few who yearn for an answer on the deepest level to the question of who they are and in a manner that would touch and transform their whole being. The Sufi path is the means within the Islamic tradition of finding the ultimate answer to this basic question. and of discovering our real identity. Throughout the ages religions have sought to teach us who we are and through their inner teachings to provide the means of "becoming" our True Self. Islam is certainly no exception. It unveils the complete doctrine of our true nature and also the nature of the levels of reality issuing from the One, who alone is ultimately Real, and provides teachings that, if put into practice, lead us back to the One through a path of spiritual effort combined with joy and felicity. The Quran asserts majestically, "Verily we come from God and to Him is our returning"(2:rs6). The One is of course that Supreme Source and End of all things whom Abraham, Moses, and Christ addressed as the One God and whom the Quran calls by His N arne in Arabic, Allah.

4

THE

'

GARDEN

OF

TRUTH

It is no accident that the Sacred Law of Islam is called the Shan{ah, which means road. It is a road that all Muslims are obliged to travel if they are to die in a blessed state. For most, however, the journey on this road is limited to the plane of action, the performance of good acts, and faith in the reality of God. Few wish to take a step further to discover the ultimate nature of who they are and carry self-knowledge to its end. Sufism, which is the inner or esoteric dimension of Islam, while beginning with the Shari"