SUFI HEALING
By Muhammad Zuhri
(Translated By M. M. Medeiros)
Classifying the Causalities
For Sufis, healing is a way leading to the self-realization of the "mercy to the nations (Q21:107)," and in their channelling of the healing power they are not confined to any one standard of methodology. This is because their techniques are derived from each one’s unique experience of self-discovery, often occurring in unplanned and unexpected ways.
According to the Sufis, and indeed to most believers, the power to heal is possessed by Allah alone and is sent down through a variety of channels of causality, one of which is the Supranatural Causality bestowed by God on the Sufis alone.
The Causalities as a whole fall into these categories:
Causalities
(1)Natural__(2)Supranatural
(1)Logical___(2)Magical
(1)Horizontal___(2)Vertical
Clearly the basic causalities we know are two in number: Supranatural and Natural. Natural Causality itself is of two kinds: Magical and Logical, while Logical Causality also falls into the two categories of Horizontal and Vertical.
If Supranatural Causality is facilitated for Sufis, Natural Causality is for the other groups. For example, magic is for sorcerers, paranormals, shamans, and the like. Logical Horizontal Causality has been entrusted to medical doctors, pharmacists, acupuncturists, and traditional healers, while Logical Vertical Causality is the province of psychiatrists and psychologists.
Supranatural Causality
Contrary to popular belief, Supranatural Causality cannot be attained and developed the way Magical Causality can; by means of exercises. Nor, unlike Logical Causality, can it be developed by means of experimentation. The reason is that this facility is a divine grace bestowed on such of His servants as have gone a sufficient distance on the journey of service and coped successfully with all its existential risks. The virtue of the way of devoted service to the Most Perfect God is that it is two-sided, inward and outward in orientation, indicating that throughout the process a transformation of consciousness takes place moment by moment through transcendence and immanence.
Transformation of
Consciousness by Transcendence and Immanence
To enter into this mechanism we need to pass through four levels of transformation of consciousness by imitating the praiseworthy example of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). The first two phases are Existential, and the final two Essential.
| 1. | The first
phase of this transformation is achieving universal
consciousness, thus obtaining the right to be at the
center of the universe. For this we must don the robe of
honor worn by each citizen of the universe, which is
sincerity in being oneself, embracing all one’s
predetermined content (rights) and burdens (responsibilities).
Without this we should wear this robe in suffering. The first step is to seek and find our ultimate identity as servants of Allah. To develop this consciousness requires that we go deeply as servants into the service called the Ritual Prayer of Islam (Salat). After we have become conditioned to sincere firmness of purpose (Ikhlas) within ourselves, our witness will be identical to the witness of every other citizen of the universe. It will be truthful (Siddiq). |
| 2.. | The second
phase of transformation is achieving social (ummah)
consciousness, so that we may gain the right to live in
society as a citizen of the human race. For this we need
loving-kindness (Al-birr), which means paying the poor tax (Zakat), contributing to good causes (infaq),
and giving alms (sadaqat). Doing this will raise our status within the circle of fellow human beings, the peak of which is development of an awareness that all possessions are on loan from Allah as a trust (Amanah). |
| 3. | The third
stage of transformation is achieving the Power of Allah (Qudratullah)
by being God-wary (Taqwa). To accomplish it requires carrying out the
obligatory fast (Sawm) of Islam. The effect will be to obtain extra strength from the Lord of the Worlds (Rabbi-‘l-‘alamin) as a supporting power that will enable us to open channels (makhraj) enabling us to escape from all stagnation. The spiritual happiness felt from achieving this state will require us to give them to others so that they too can also achieve them. This is Tabligh, religious missionary effort. |
| 4. | The fourth
stage of transformation is achieving harmony
between the Divine Will (Iradatullah) by carrying out without the slightest comment
whatever He decrees for us. This is Tawakkal, total trust in Allah, even though that means—by
going on the Pilgrimage (Hajj)—abandoning all that we love, such as our
family and native land, and all our functions and roles
in our social setting. The dissolution of the cravings of the lower soul in the Divine Commandments (Amr) will bring a new condition within us, with the result that whatever we undertake will be certain to take form, in that it is not we who do it, but Allah Himself (Fathonah). |
The conclusion is necessarily that the obligation to possess the qualities of Siddiq (truthfulness), Amanah (trustworthiness), Tabligh (informativeness), and Fathonah (intelligence) does not apply to the Messenger alone, but these qualities are something that must be taken as an example to be imitated by all his followers.
Briefly, the process of self-transformation through Transcendence and Immanence is like this:
1. The Action (Af’al) Orientation:
2. The Name (Asma) Orientation
1. The Attribute (Sifat) Orientation:
2. The Essence (Dhat) Orientation
To the Sufis healing is not a kind of knowledge, a skill, a personal power, or a purposeful action, but the carrying out of the Command (Amr) of Allah.
To the Sufi’s struggle to reach the station (maqam) of Unity (Wahdah) in order to achieve his personal revolution, Allah reacts by bestowing upon him the blessing of a different mechanism, Supranatural Causality, which enables him to reach the station of Universality (Jam’iyah), with the result that his presence in the world is useful, not only to himself, but also to all others.
This brief paper concerns one aspect of the Sufistic concepts which I myself have established upon the foundation of the Islamic shariah (law), which is unshakeable, yet may be delved into very, very deeply without disturbing the harmony of its elements. For me tasawwuf (Sufism) is Islam itself in its higher dimension.
Jakarta, 28 July 1999
