Seven Stages to Wilayat

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

These are the seven stages to wilayat. 

The first step is solicitation and quest.  Unless a seeker arouses and develops this in him, he cannot enter in the field.  Everything starts with an intention.  The desire to seek Allah (s.w.t.) is itself a nafs. 

The second step is ishq, a deep love and desire for Allah (s.w.t.).   For this, the seeker must be so firm in his desire and intentions that he should be prepared and be brave enough to face any grief in this path.  And there will be much grief.  This is the journey of the broken-hearted.  It is the loss of all that is apparent. 

The third step is the attainment of ma’rifat.  This is beyond knowledge; it is the knowing.  This is Granted by Allah (s.w.t.) to the seeker according to his mind and sagacity. 

In the fourth stage, the seeker has to cut off his links with the materialistic world.  Unless and until he does this the seeker cannot succeed in the Path.  If there is any desire of the world in the seekers mind he will not be able to reach up to this level.  The yearning of anything other than Allah (s.w.t.) feeds the Self.  When the Self is present, the Divine is absent. 

Tawhid is the fifth step.  This is the fourth level of tawhid, the dzat.  The seeker has understood tawhid al-ilah, tawhid al-af’al and tawhid al-asma’ wa asw-swifat.  He has reached and recognised these stages when he finds the Oneness of Allah (s.w.t.) everywhere he looks.  The distinction of “me” and “you” vanishes completely.  The state of madness, intoxication, and inebriety overcomes the seeker and he wanders around in this condition.  Within this stage there comes a point when he realises that all his ‘ilm that he had attained throughout the years is limited, he gets astonished and knows there still more to go.  As a reaction he forgets himself and his appearance.  He has seen the Bahr at-Tawhid. 

The annihilation of the Self to acquire the Love of Allah (s.w.t.) is the sixth stage.  All the wants, prestige and ego is wiped away from the seeker.  Having his quest, he becomes a part of the Divine Manifestation.  This position is also known as Fana’ fi Allah.  There are three levels of fana’. 

After this stage is Baqa’ bi Allah.  It is the final stage to attain wilayat.  By now, the seeker will realise that there was no seeker.  Only the Sought.  There was no intention.  Only His Will.  There is no existence.  Only Reality.


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