The traveling of the spirit which is much sought after occurs when it is let flow during its communication with God, when it is directed towards the Ka’ba, so as to meet the noble spirit of the messenger (cpth) to couple with it by means of a bond of love and appreciation. Then, the spirit ascends in this company through the Godly light where it witnesses the facts and Godly perfections and lights that make it become absorbed in supreme Godly bliss until it feels adoration for Him, the Almighty, due to its having seen a part of His Perfection and Majesty.
That is the communication with God in its reality; that is, spiritual traveling and spiritual witnessing, which is spiritual rather than physical. That is the heart’s aliment with which the Almighty wants us to feed ourselves during our communication with Him, and to continue having it and sinking into it with our hearts, in order to enjoy only happiness, recovery, and blessings.
He has ordered us to direct our spirits towards Him in our communication with Him and to turn towards the Ka’ba where we can find the spirit and the lofty spirituality of the imam (cpth), who enlightens us and shows us the way that leads to Him, the Almighty.
The Almighty (glory to Him) says, addressing His messenger: “Whichever way you depart, face towards the Holy Mosque: and wherever you are, face towards it, so that people will not overcome you with proof…”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 2, Al-Baqara (The Cow), verse 150
That is what God’s command contains. He orders us to communicate with Him through the messenger (cpth), in order to perform communication correctly. God says: “Al’lah and His angels keep communications with the prophet. You who believe, communicate yourselves with Al’lah through him and fully surrender.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 33, Al-Ahzab (The Combined Clans), verse 56
So, the spirit has its travel, but the sought-after and good kind of travel is that which takes place through Godly light by means of the spirit of the messenger (cpth).
Such travel leads us to ascend and rise within the Godly lights, and communication with God is the ladder of the believer, during which the body does not move, but during which it is the spirit which rises through the worlds of Godly lights and perfection.
To clarify the way in which the spirit travels, we give the following example:
Suppose that there is a man who, while sleeping, dreams that he is by the seashore eating delicious and pleasant things, having fun and playing, laughing and frolicking happily and delightfully moving from one beautiful place to another one, yet more beautiful. I wonder: what is that part of him which feels happy and delighted? What is that part of him which is moved?
It is his conscious self. It is his ‘spirit’. The body lies in the bed with a heart that pulses, a chest that moves up and down, and blood that runs through his veins.
The body does not move, while the spirit is the part of him which travels to the dreamlands during his sleep.
Thus, the right kind of travel is that which occurs through the Godly light in the company of Al-Mustafa, ‘the chosen’ (cpth), and it is accomplished when the spirit is turned towards the Sacred House and when it meets his supreme spirit during communication with God. The Almighty says: “Those that turn (to Al’lah) in repentance, that obey Him and praise Him, whose spirits travel with the prophet, that bow down and prostrate themselves to Him, that enjoin good and forbid evil, and observe the bounds set by Al’lah (these render the achievement supreme). Proclaim the good tidings to the believers”.
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 9, At-Tawba (Repentance), verse 112
By my life, that is the greatest true spiritual traveling which should be sought after. It takes place through the messenger (cpth), through the seas of the Grand God, and that is the real communication with God which is “the ladder of the believer”.
Yet a betrayal of trust in its full sense takes place when the human spirit flows outwards without the Godly light and without the companionship of the noble messenger (cpth), for then it travels into the darkness and sinks in its worlds, being far from the Source of light (glory to His Names). Hence, the devils will catch it and make it imagine untrue, false things, and follow whatever mean deadly whims the devils decide, which will only lead to its destruction.
Thus, there are worlds of reality to which the spirit travels through the Godly light in the company of the intercessor (cpth), so achieving a real link with God. This link makes the believer realize a part of the Godly perfections in his spirit, after he believes in them and pays attention to them and understands them in his thoughts. He also realizes the secret that lies behind the Godly legislation and the benefits that are hidden behind the orders which the Almighty sent down to His messenger in the Holy Qur’an.
Realizing the truth that lies behind the Godly perfections has been accomplished when the communicant witnesses a part of such perfections in a spiritual manner. The communicant views the Godly Mightiness and Justice and witnesses the clemency, the compassion, the sympathy, the tenderness, the favor, the charity and the other attributes that lie behind the Godly Names. Thereby, his or her spirit assimilates these attributes of perfection and perceives them, so that they settle into it and become its own attributes. Thereby the communicant believer becomes clement with all of creation, is merciful, brave, and generous, attains such moralities as are derived from God, and is colored with them through communication with Him. God says: “It is the stain of Al’lah. And who has a better stain than Al’lah’s?...”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 2, Al-Baqara (The Cow), verse 138
As regards realizing the meaning of the Godly orders, this quality can be acquired after watching the good that lies behind them. For example, when a communicant reads the verses relating to the veil, they can see their advantages and understand the benefits they lead to for the woman herself, both with regard to her relatives and for all human beings.
Also, when they read the verses that forbid the drinking of alcoholic beverages, or that relate to gambling, they see the harm that results from these actions and the damage caused by taking part in these activities.
So it is concerning carrion, and the diseases and infirmities which arise from eating it. Communicants witness the benefits of pronouncing the Name of Al’lah over the carcass while it is being slaughtered, which makes the animal enjoy great bliss when meeting God rather than suffering the pain of slaughter. This practice also releases microbes and diseases, and serves the good health of the family and all humankind.
Also, the communicant sees the advantages of fasting, communication with God, pilgrimage and almsgiving (just as the Noble Companions saw these advantages when they became believers, and acquainted the whole world with them). This also goes for the other orders, which they also assimilate into their mind when they hear the verses of the Holy Qur’an during their communication with God.
Thus, with any verse they hear, they see the meanings that it contains on a level that is proportional to the degree to which they are directed towards their Creator; that is, their link with and their nearness to their God.
That is what we mean when we speak about fully realizing the Godly orders. So, this applies to the person who does not see a part of the Godly perfection during their communication, or does not realize the advantages of the Godly commandments or what lies behind the verses of the Holy Qur’an which they read. When performing their communication, such a person should not feel any sense of strangeness if their prayer was to be rolled up and thrown in the air as is done with a shabby garment, since they have got no use out of it, except a little bit, which neither sustains nor satisfies their spiritual hunger.
As regards the way leading to the acquisition of a mind that is illuminated by Godly light, this way is adopted by accompanying and following an imam who is, in fact, the great master Mohammad (cpth). One who prays without being led by that imam will never have their mind illuminated by the light of Al’lah, even if they pray with a hundred bows a day or stay awake all night long just to pray. This is because the utilization and production of the heart will be worthless if it does not uplift the spirit of the communicant.
You may ask about the reason for this and wonder at such a statement. I say: with the eyes in one’s head, the spirit can see things by means of the common light, such as the light of the sun, the moon, the stars, fire, or electricity; whereas it cannot see reality except by the light of Al’lah, which is accessed by means of the messenger (cpth).
Since the mind is the result of the spiritual witnessing and vision that is attained by the communicant, which is stored up inside them until it becomes an inseparable part of their identity, how then can this spirit witness Al’lah’s perfection when it has no light with which to see this perfection?
How will meaning be revealed to it when it has no shining lamp to make it visible, and to illuminate the benefits that lie behind the Godly orders?
Thus, this light is one of the necessities of vision, and this shining lamp is one of the things needed and is a requisite for one who wants to achieve this luminous witnessing with the eye of heart which helps us to distinguish between vice and virtue.
That light or lamp is none but the messenger of God (cpth). God says in reference to this: “Oh prophet! We have sent you forth to be a witness, to be a bearer of good news, and to be a person who warns the unbelievers, calling people to enter into Al’lah’s presence by His leave and as a shining lamp.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 33, Al-Ahzab (The Combined Clans), verse 45-46
Al’lah the Almighty ordered His messenger to direct his face towards the Holy Mosque in order to make his spirit enter into His Presence from that place.
Thereby, we can face it wherever we are in order to be led by him (cpth) in entering into God’s Presence, where he will be a shining lamp for our spirits.
That is the secret and the marrow of the Godly Command. So, turning towards the Holy Ka’ba and facing this Kiblah is one of the pillars of communication for believers. One who prays without concentrating their spirit upon it and entering into God’s presence through the company of this leader will achieve nothing through their prayers. Such a person only prays alone and singly, and therefore Satan will wish to mislead him or her and will hurry to fill this person’s heart with obsessions, scruples and imaginings. The Almighty God (glory to Him) says in His Holy Book: “He that surrenders himself only to God, being righteous, has held on to the firmest tie. To Al’lah all things return.” The ‘firmest tie’ here means the messenger (cpth).
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 31, Luqman (Luqman), verse 22
At the time that you achieve a link with the messenger (cpth), you will feel safe and at peace and remain so until daybreak (i.e. until your death), and God will reveal His miracles to you. So, let him (cpth) – who is “the other of two” – be the one who leads your heart to Al’lah so that you may obtain light and knowledge.
The noble saying states “From among the sheep, the wolf eats but the faraway one.”[9]
God says: “Cling one and all to the Robe of Al’lah and never separate…”: that is, never separate from the prophet Mohammed (cpth).
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 3, Al ‘Imran (The Family of ‘Imran), verse 103
Following on from what we have set forth already, we say: in our communication with God, when we direct ourselves towards the Ka’ba, we do not worship it, and we do not turn towards stones. The truth is that instead of this, we direct ourselves towards God through that sacred Mosque. In the same way, we do not worship the messenger (cpth), but take him to be a leader who aids us in performing our communication with God, and who acts as a shining lamp for our spirits. So whenever our spirits want to enter God’s Presence, they travel to the place where they can find their imam. They thus take him as a guide in order to come close to God through him, for he (cpth) is the best imam and the best companion for our spirits. In this way, they will become illuminated by the Godly light which shines on his spirit (cpth) due to his nearness to Al’lah, and thus he shows them some of the secrets and advantages that are hidden behind His commands.
This explains to us the secret behind the following words that God says: “Al’lah and His angels keep communication with the prophet. You who believe, communicate yourselves with God through him and fully surrender.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 33, Al-Ahzab (The Combined Clans), verse 56
The Almighty has ordered us to communicate with Him ourselves through this noble prophet in order to couple our spirits with him (cpth), so that we can enter God’s Presence in his company and become illuminated by the Godly light which shines on his holy spirit. In this way, our behavior in this life will be set upon the right and safe way forward.
This is the proper link with God, and he who does not take the apostle (cpth) as a leader will not taste the pleasantness of belief.
This is the spiritual travel that has been praised. It is a journey to the Sacred House where the meeting with the leader (cpth) can be held. This link begins with bliss, pleasure and lofty feelings, and it lasts until the spirit witnesses reality and is able to distinguish between vice and virtue. Humanity will then be crowned with the Godly light by which we see goodness and know that it really is goodness, just as we see evil and know that it really is evil, so stopping us from perpetrating it.
This light of the heart reflects happiness onto humanity; besides, our spirits derive the Godly perfection from this, so that blessings and compassion will flow through us, and we will become colored with a stain of the Godly perfection. God says: “It is the stain of Al’lah. And who has a better stain than Al’lah’s?”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 2, Al-Baqara (The Cow), verse 138
Through this connection with God and this communication with Him through His messenger (cpth), the low desires that exist in a communicant’s spirit will be eroded and exchanged for exalted and virtuous ones, and this communicant will be really ‘Human’, that is, ‘humanist’. This is piety (seeing with God’s light). God says: “You who believe: see by Al’lah’s light and believe in His messenger, He will grant you two portions of His compassion and make a light for you by which you can go, and He will forgive you: Al’lah is Forgiving and Compassionate.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 57, Al-Hadid (Iron), verse 28
And it was said: “The hearts of those who know God have eyes which see what the physical eyes do not see.”
That is, they have eyes which see the reality hidden behind appearances. With God’s light they see that which is unseen to those who look with their own bodily eyes i.e. with the eyes of the head.
There is also a world of betrayal, where the Trust borne by humanity has been breached. It is the world of darkness, and the world of devils who are far from the Almighty God. This breach of Trust begins with the travelling of the spirit to the hotbeds of base desire and fiendish phantasms, from which the spirit gets its hellish delights while wearing the garment of its betrayal. This is a spirit that is intimate with the devil, who brings it into the world of darkness: that is, the world of the evil jinns. In this world and using these jinns, the devil allows the spirit to behold the spiritual fantasies with which it fulfills its hellish desires in deep darkness. It turns away from the everlasting source of morality in order to acquire the worst and most beastly of qualities. It declines from a bad state to another that is even worse, and puts on the garment of betrayal in the company of its associate, the devil, who has drawn it into this world.
This betrayal begins with thoughts that are inspired by the devil, which strike a spirit which is in the process of shunning its Provider. Had this person been a believer, these thoughts would not have affected them; and even if they had, this person would not have paid the least bit of attention to such thoughts. Such devilish suggestions may occur to the believer when they are not paying full attention to God, but they will then immediately remember God if they are a true believer. They will remember the messenger (cpth) and his communication with God, and so become immersed in light again. Meanwhile the devil will flee from them, having failed, and he will become lowly with fear of being burned by the Godly light with which the believer becomes imbued and supported. God says: “Those who became illuminated by God’s light when a thought of evil from Satan touched them bring (Al’lah) to remembrance, when lo! They see (the reality of this thought).”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 7, Al-A’raf (The Heights), verse 201
As for those who have forgotten Al’lah, the Almighty, and Doomsday, they plunge into thoughts which find a fertile ground in their minds, until their spirits are travelling through these thoughts. At this point, the devil will be able to steal into such a spirit according to his will, so bringing such a spirit into the world of deception.
This is the second stage, whereby these thoughts turn into deception, in which the spirit flows. Then these dangerous stages develop into dreams during sleep, where the spirit that is far from belief indulges itself in the depths of its own desires during its period of sleep, exactly as it is dissipated by its thoughts while it is awake. At this time, the devil will take hold of it and lead it into the world of darkness, where it actualizes its breaches with righteousness. Step by step, the situation becomes worse and worse, until the spirit lives in deception even while it is awake. This state is called ‘Daydreams’, and through this, the spirit attains the same veiled fornications in its own mind that it attains while it is asleep. These phenomena entail only evil for the spirit.
In fact, during daydreams, people are not asleep, but due to the travel of the spirit, their state becomes the same as the state of one who is asleep, and this is the greatest disaster. Most spiritual diseases start during such a stage, during which our spirits become linked to the world of devils and live in deception and contrariness. After this, in the case that they want to stop following such a path, they become subject to conflict. This is truly a path which is horrible both in this life and in the life to come. However, with repentance and by becoming straight, one can be cured of what bad actions they have attached to themselves and which in turn have caused such diseases.
Through persistence in such a case, the one who turns away from Al’lah becomes one of those who sees the other dark world, ‘the world of devils’. These devils will appear to them while awake, and create deceptions for them while they are asleep. God says: “Rouse with your voice whomever you are able. Make them imagine and muster against them your men. Be their partner in their riches and in their offspring. Promise them; Satan promises them only vanities.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 17, Al-Isra’ (The Night Journey), verse 64
This happens to those who follow the devils and who turn to them, and that is how magic and charlatanism begin. God says: “…and never draw near the fornications openly or in secret…”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 6, Al-An’am (Livestock), verse 151
Remaining in such a miserable situation of terrible, shameful distance from God; plunging into these deceptions and hidden wrongdoings; yielding to the influence of devils and following their instructions and practices, thus becoming a daredevil in disobeying God (by mistaking devils for angels); being driven by these devils without adjusting one’s intentions or seeking repentance for one’s previous wrongful commitments: in this way, a person will fall under the absolute control of the devils and become submissive to their orders. This means that such a person will be obedient to them and will be subject to being used as an effective weapon in their hands. Thus they can use their victim to carry out their own malicious and evil deeds against humanity. This is what is referred to in the Qur’anic verse: “Make them imagine and muster against them your men”; that is, your men who come from the people who are oblivious and whom you employ to serve your aims.
The magician is someone who has fallen under the direction of the devil, and on whom the devil depends to achieve his schemes of causing harm and injury to others. The magicians think that they are only doing whatever they want; in fact, however, their spirits have become filled with wickedness and shun their Creator when accompanied by the devil (with whom they are intimate), and help the devil to fulfill his aims. God says: “Some men of oblivious people have sought the help of some of jinns, but they misled them into further error.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 72, Al-Jinn (The Jinn), verse 6
1) Outwardly: By spitting, the magician drives the devil towards the one who is to be bewitched and uses him to make the latter imagine whatever he wants.
2) Inwardly: The devil uses the magician to reach the one who is to be bewitched and to make him imagine whatever he wants: something that will cause harm and damage.
In some detail, we say: when the magician directs his attention to the one who is to be bewitched, the ray of his spirit flows towards them. The devil seizes this opportunity and penetrates that ray, through which he is able to enter the spirit of the one who is to be bewitched. The devil is blind-hearted; he is unable to flow into the bewitched one’s spirit by himself, but when he rides the rays of the magician’s spirit, he can reach that other spirit. Once he does so, he can make it imagine whatever he likes: for example making ties, committing wrongful breaches or undoing relationships that already exist.
Yet the absolute fact is that the magician will never be given power to drive the devil in this way, nor will the devil be able to use the magician’s spirit, unless the one who is to be bewitched has committed some wrong beforehand, to the extent that they deserve to be afflicted with harm by both the devil and the magician. God says: “…but they can harm none with it except by Al’lah’s leave…”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 2, Al-Baqara (The Cow), verse 102
Thus, the thing that makes our deeds return to haunt us is the wicked desire that is generated in our spirits when we are far from God, and the evil that we cause to come to others following on from this desire. It allows these two malignant partners to have power against us and conjure up magic against us. Yet if someone is a true believer that has a link with God or who, in spirit, accompanies people of righteousness and approaches God, then such a person will not commit any evil, and consequently these malignant partners will not be able to cause any wrong to them.
In Arabic, ‘Satan’ is called ‘Shaitan’, which is derived from the two verbs ‘shatana’ and ‘shata’.
The verb ‘shatana’ means ‘to draw far from righteousness’.
The verb ‘shata’ means “to be burned and cursed”.
So, ‘Satan’ is something that is far from righteousness and is burned and cursed.
Because of his distance from the right path, he has become burned and damned. He is always vanquished and suffers torment, since he has deprived himself of nearness to God. Affliction and misery keep descending upon him continually and in increasing measure. They affect him only due to his distance from God and because of his shunning of God, as ‘shunning and distance from God is the reason behind each affliction and the source of each misery’.
So, the word ‘Satan’ applies to magicians and their leaders, the devils. Thus the magician has become one of the devils among humankind. God says: “Thus We have assigned for every prophet an enemy: the devils of humankind and jinn-kind, who inspire one another…”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 6, Al-An’am (Livestock), verse 112
The Almighty also says: “Say: I seek refuge in the Provider of oblivious people… from the evil of the sneaking whisperer who whispers evil in the chests of oblivious people, of jinn and of oblivious people.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 114, An-Nas (Oblivious Mankind, Oblivious Jinn-Kind), verse 1-6.
The magicians, then, are the devils among people who have descended in spirit into the world of jinn-kind.
As for the devil of jinn-kind, he is one of the jinns who has come out in spirit into the world of humankind. He is a felon that aims to cause damage, aggression, dissension and rancor.
The jinn are charged with bearing Trust just as people are. God says: “I have created humankind and jinn-kind in order but to worship Me.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 51, Adh-Dhariyat (Sun Rays), verse 56
The word ‘jinn’ in Arabic is derived from the verb ‘jan’na’, which means ‘to hide’. The baby hidden in its mother’s womb is called ‘Al-Janin’. Also, the cemetery where dead people’s bodies are hidden and buried is called ‘Al-Mejan’na’ in Arabic.
The Almig