The Naqshbandi Haqqani Principle of Wuquf-i Qalbi

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The eleventh principle of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order is “Pause of the Heart”, Wuquf-i Qalbi.  Wuquf-i Qalbi is when the heart becomes aware of Allah (s.w.t.).  This marks the awakening of Divine Love.  The individual becomes aware that his existence is an obstacle to his final transformation and he no longer fears to sacrifice it because he sees for himself that he will gain infinitely more than he loses. 

Wuquf-i Qalbi has been described as having two meanings.  One is that the seeker’s heart in the midst of the dzikr is conscious and aware of the Real.  On this point, Khwaja ‘Ubaydullah al-Ahrar (q.s.) said, “Wuquf-i Qalbi is an expression meaning an awareness and presence of heart toward the Real felt in such a manner that the heart feels no need of anything other than the Real.”  This meaning is similar to that of Yad Dasht.  Consciousness of the heart refers to the heart Resting with the Beloved, as if nothing and no one else existed. 

The other meaning is that there is awareness of the heart itself.  In other words, the seeker during the time of the dzikr is attentive to the cone-shaped heart which is the seat of subtlety, and prevents it from becoming unaware during the saying of the dzikr.  Shah Muhammad Baha’ ad-Din an-Naqshband (q.s.) did not consider it necessary to hold the breath during the dzikr as is done in some thuruq, even though he considered that practice to have its benefits; nor did he consider essential the Wuquf-i Zamani and Wuquf-i Adadi.  But according to the Qudsiyyah, he considered the observance of Wuquf-i Qalbi the most important and necessary because it is the summary and essence of the intention of the dzikr. 

“Like an expecting mother bird,

Sit watchfully on the egg of your heart;

Since from this egg will result your drunkenness,

Self-abandoned, uproarious laughter and your final union.”