As it has already been said, besides the outer appearance of the salat, it has a
reality, and apart from its exterior it has an interior. And, as its outer form
has its formal disciplines and conditions, its interior has its disciplines and
conditions, too, which are to be observed by the salik. Thus, purification has
also its outer form and formal disciplines, the explanation of which is out of
the scope of these pages. The faqihs (jurists) of the Ja'fari sect (may Allah
make high their words and raise their ranks) have explained them. As regards the
inner disciplines and purifications, they shall be explained in general:
It should be noted that the reality of the salat is ascension to the Proximity,
and reaching to the Presence, of Allah, the Almighty and Most high. Thus, to
attain to this great objective and ultimate goal, one should practice certain
purifications which are other than the outer purifications. The thorns of this
road and the obstacles in the way of this ascension are such impurities that if
the salik was marked by one of them, he would be incapable of ascending to the
peak and completing the ascension. Such impurities are the hindrances in the way
of the salat and the plagues of Satan. But what is a help to the salik in his
journey and is a discipline of the Presence is the condition of this reality.
The traveler to Allah has first to remove the obstacles and impurities so that
he may be purified and attain to purity which belongs to the world of light.
Unless all the impurities, outer and inner, open and hidden, are purified, the
salik will have no chance of attending the Presence (of Allah).
Thus, the first kind of impurities is that of the outer instruments and powers
of the soul which may be polluted with obstinacies and acts of disobedience to
"the Benefactor" [waliyun ni'am] This is an apparent snare of Iblis. As long as
man is trapped in this snare, he is deprived of being in Allah's Presence and
attaining to His Proximity. No one may have the notion that without purifying
the outside of his kingdom he can reach the state of the truth of humanity, or
he can purify his inner heart, as this will be a Satanic vanity and of Iblis 's
big tricks. This is because the heart's impurity and darkness will be increased
by disobediences, which mark the triumph [ghalabah] of nature over spirituality.
Unless the salik conquers the kingdom of the outside, he will remain deprived of
inner conquests, which are the big objective, and no way will be opened for him
to happiness. Thus, one of the big obstacles of this suluk is the impurities of
the acts of disobedience, which must be purged and purified with the water of
sincere repentance.
It should also be noted that all the external and internal powers which Allah,
the Exalted, has bestowed upon us from the invisible world are divine deposits
free from all impurities and are purged and purified, and even illuminated with
the light of the God-given disposition, and excluded from Satan's dark and
impure influence. Yet, since they have descended in the dark abode of the world
of nature, and the influential hands of the devil of imagination and fancy have
reached them, they have deviated from the original purity and primary
disposition, and got polluted with diverse Satanic filths and impurities. So, if
the salik to Allah could, by adhering to the care of Allah's wall, repel Satan's
influence, purge the kingdom of the outside and return the divine trusts as they
had been given to him with no treason, he would be forgiven and protected, and,
as far as the outside is concerned, he need not worry, and then he would turn to
the inside to purge it from the impurities of corrupt moralities. This is the
second kind of impurity, which is more corrupt and more difficult to cure, and
thus, it is more important to the people of austerity, because as long as the
inner moralities of the soul are corrupt and encircled by spiritual impurities,
it will not deserve the state of holiness and "the private place of intimacy" [khalwat-i
uns], as the origin of the corruption of the exterior kingdom of the soul is its
corrupt morals and its vile habits. And, unless the salik changes his vile
habits to good ones, he will not be safe from the evil acts. If he is successful
in repentance (while still having vile habits), its stability - which is a
matter of grave importance cannot be achieved. So, the outer purification
depends on the inner purification, besides the fact that the interior impurities
cause deprivation from happiness, and originate the Hell of morals, which, as
the people of knowledge say, is worse and more intense in burning than the Hell
of deeds. This question has frequently been mentioned in the hadiths of the
infallible Ahlul Bayt (AS).
Therefore, it is a must for the salik to Allah to carry out this purgation.
After he has cleansed his soul of the corrupting impurities of the morals with
the pure water of useful knowledge and lawful, good austerity, he will have to
set upon purifying the heart, the capital which, if reformed, all kingdoms will
be reformed, and if it is corrupt, all will be corrupt. The impurities of the
world of the heart are the origin of all impurities, such as being attached to
other than Allah, to oneself and to this world. This is originated by the love
of this world, which is at the head of all sins, and by self-love, which is the
mother of all diseases. As long as the roots of this love are still deep in the
heart of the salik, he will see no marks of the love of Allah in it, and he will
find no way to his destination and objective. So, as long as there are remnants
of this love in the heart, his journey will not be to Allah, but to the self, to
the world, and to Satan. So, being purged of the love of self and of the world
is the first stage of purifying the journey to Allah in reality, because before
this purgation the journey would not be to Allah, and it would be a sort of
carelessness to refer to salik and suluk in this instance.
After this stage there are other stages, after which there will appear a model
of. Attar's Seven Cities of Love, the sayer of which, as a salik, could see
himself at the bend of a lane, while we remain behind walls and thick veils, and
think that those "cities" and "kings" are nothing but of the weavings of our
presumption. I have nothing to do with Shaykh Attar or Mitham at Tammar, but I
do not deny the original (Gnostic) stations, and I cordially love their owners,
and, by this love, I hope to be relieved. You yourself be whom you may, and bind
yourself to whom you like.
The pretender wanted to come to look at the Beloved [Friend],
The hand of the invisible came and pushed off the stranger.1
But I do not approve of disloyalty by brethren in faith and by spiritual friends
to the Gnostic friends, and I will not refrain from offering advice, which is
the right of the believers to one another.
At the top of the spiritual impurities, which cannot be purged even with seven
seas, and which caused despair to the great prophets (AS), is the impurity of
"the compound ignorance" [jahl-i murakkab], which is the origin of the incurable
disease of denying the stations of the people of Allah and of knowledge, and is
the source of doubting the people of the heart. As long as man is polluted with
such impurities, he will not take a step towards knowledge [ma'arif], or rather,
this impurity so often extinguishes the inborn light [nur] of disposition, which
is the light [chiragh] for the road of guidance, and puts out the fire of love,
which is the heavenly horse [buraq] for ascending to high stations, causing man
to eternally stick to the earth of nature.
Therefore, it is necessary for man, through thinking about the status of the
prophets and the perfect holy men [auliya] (SA), and by contemplating their
stations, to wash those impurities away from his heart, and not to be satisfied
with the status he is in, because this satisfaction with the knowledge [ma'rif]
one has, and remaining stagnant, are of the great tricks of Iblis and the
evil-commanding soul. We take refuge from them with Allah. Now as this thesis is
written according to the taste of the common people, I refrain from the three
purifications of the holy men [auliya]. And praise be to Allah.
* Book: Adabus Salat "The Disciplines of the Prayer". By: Imam Khomeini.
1- A poem by Hafiz In the printed copies it is stated: "... the show place of the Secret".