The Spiritual System (Part 1)

Allah’s Administration System

Allah

Allah is the Nur [Light; Energy] of the heavens and the earth. (Al Nur:35)

I would like to remind you of some facts of Sufism. There is Allah. Allah, for us, is Light. And my interpretation of Light is Energy.

Qul Huwallahu Ahad.
Allahus-Samad.
Lam yalid wa lam yulad.
Wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan Ahad.

1. Say, “He, Allah, is Ahad [Unique],
2. “Allah is Al Samad [The Administrator of All Manifestation].
3. “He does not give birth, nor is He born,
4. “And nothing is equal to Ahad.”

So for me, suratul Ikhlas fits the description of Energy: Energy cannot be created or destroyed. So that is Allah.

Nabuwat

And then there is the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He is the messenger to us, like all the other messengers between humans and Allah. And then there are angels, especially Jibril, alayhi salaam (as), Israfil (as), Mikail (as), Izrail (as).

(The Angel) said, “I am only an angel messenger from your Rab…” (Maryam:19)

Jibril (as) is a messenger like the Prophet (pbuh). His job is to confirm what is revealed to the Prophets. And as Allah says in the suratul Baqara:

(They) make no differentiation among any of His messengers. (Al Baqara:285)

For me, all messengers and prophets come from the same energy block of Allah’s Hadi (Guidance).

Wilayat

Then let us get to the Murshid. Who is the Murshid? Murshid is the one who represents the Prophet (pbuh) on earth. And every Murshid has to have a live connection to his Shaykh on the other side and the Prophet (pbuh). They are actually khalifas [deputies] of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

So this is Murshid. And Murshid can have khalifas [representatives]. They are also shaykhs but communication is not allowed with the higher authorities for these people because they already have a living shaykh. They do not need this, they can ask their living shaykh. So this is the system. There are the khalifas, there are the rehbars [conductors], and wakils [guardians]. Anybody can be wakil. You do not have to have a spiritual status to be a wakil. We need somebody in Maldives, so I say, “Rifath, you are the Wakil there.” When he becomes spiritually developed, then we can say, “You are the Khalifa, etc.”

So this is the spiritual system. There is you, who wants to be close to Allah, and there is your Shaykh(a), and if they are not the Murshid then they have a Murshid, so Murshid is in connection with the superiors, and then their superiors either beat them up or tell them what to do, and this and that. So the system goes on.

O you who believe, obey Allah, and the Messenger, and those in authority among you. If you have a conflict or controversy concerning any matter, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Day of the Hereafter. If you think more deeply even than this, it is more beneficial and a better action (for you). (Al Nisa:59)

Glossary

Alayhi salaam: “Peace be upon him”

Israfil: Archangel Raphael

Izrail: Archangel Azrael

Jibril: Archangel Gabriel

Mikail: Archangel Michael

waliyyan murshid: teacher who guides and protects

This is an excerpt of the Online Saturday Sohbet given on December 10, 2011 by Murshid Shaykh Taner Vargonen Ansari and edited for this article on June 15, 2020. The translation of the Qur’an verses and glossary terms are from Murshid Shaykh Taner Vargonen Ansari.

Watch out for the upcoming Ebook version of The Sun Will Rise In The West where you can read more about the Spiritual Administration (Chapter 6)! Or order a hard copy here…