The Elevation of Seeing the Prophet (s.a.w.) in a Waking State

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Mawlay Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad al-‘Arabi ibn Ahmad ad-Darqawi (q.s.) said he did not believe that a learned man could deny the vision of the Prophet (s.a.w.) in the waking state, until the day he met some learned men in the Qarawiyyin Mosque, and had a conversation with them on this matter.  They said to him, “However is it possible to see the Prophet (s.a.w.) when one is awake, since he has been dead for over 1,200 years?  It is only possible to see him in a dream, since he himself said, ‘He who sees me, that is to say in a dream, sees me in reality, for the Devil cannot imitate me.’” 

He answered, “Of necessity, he can be seen in waking state only by one whose mind- or let us say, whose thoughts - have transported him from this corporeal world into the world of spirits; there will he see the Prophet (s.a.w.) without the slightest doubt; there he will see all his friends.”  They were silent and said not a word when he added, “Indeed he can be seen in the world of spirits.” 

But after a while, they asked, “Explain how this is so.” 

Mawlay ad-Darqawi (q.s.) answered, “Tell me yourselves where the world of spirits is in relation to the world of bodies.”  They did not know what to reply.  And then he continued, “There where the world of bodies is, there also is the world of spirits; there where the world of corruption is, there also is the world of purity; there where is the world of the kingdom, there also is the world of kingship; in the very place where the lower worlds are, there are to be found the higher worlds and the totality of worlds.  It has been said that there exist ten thousand worlds, each one like this world, and all these are contained in man, without his being conscious of it.  Only he whom Allah (s.w.t.) Sanctifies by Absorbing his qualities into His Own, his attributes into His Own, is conscious of this.  Now, Allah (s.w.t.) Sanctifies many of his servants and does not cease from Sanctifying them until their end.”