Our Prophet saws has instructed us to “seek knowledge even if you have to go to China” Intriguing statement as he, himself, had never travelled there nor do I know of any residents or visitors in Madinavthat were of Chinese origins. We are left wondering what he truly meant. Let us assume for the moment that he was Divinely inspired to underline the wisdom of the Chinese. That might be hard to believe in the current atmosphere in China which seems to be totally obsessed with the material world and productivity within it.
We do know ,historically,about the traditions of Taoism, Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism each of which contained their own wisdom. In the contemporary world probably the two best-known traditions of Chinese wisdom manifest in Tai Chi and Chiqong which I have studied to a certain extent and now integrate into my daily practice and encourage others to do so. There is now scientific evidence that it contributes to both mental and physical well- being. For the skeptics, they can experience this in an immediate way if they undertake the practice. So I encourage them and you to do so.
Another thing that the Chinese are fond of is numerology. And their favourite number seems to be nine although they appear to like all the odd numbers.This fits well with the Sufi daily practice which I have been developing which includes touching base (remembrance of God) nine times every day.So what are these nine times?
1) Each of the salat times involved in basic Islam. People might object that these are Shariah practices and not Sufi ones. But actually the distinction is more semantic than real. You can generate ‘hal’ and ‘nur’ through these prayers just like with Dhikr providing your intention is getting close to Allah. Just look at your inner state after you have accomplished your prayers with awareness. You may be surprised to find that they are not simply obligations but also stepping-stones to the Divine!
2) The Tahhajud prayer (also called Qiyam)before the dawn prayer in the last third of the night. The Naqhshbandis have a very nice protocol for this which I can share with those who are interested . This is a particularly holy time and all the spiritual traditions including the Hindus, Buddhists and Christians benefit from it.
3)The wird al Aam in the mid-afternoon with the Dhikr of the name after it.
4)The sequence of the Loch Kelly spacious awareness meditation followed by the Dhikr of the Name and Mindfulness of the breath in the evening and lastly
5) The nine phases of Roger Jhanke Chiqong in the morning after breakfast
So there it is- the full program. Nine points of touching base with Allah.Time to get cracking and apply the program. Allah be with you .
Salaam, ya Shaykh Ibrahim! If I may evoke Occam’s Razor, ie, the simplest explanation is the ‘best’ – China is/was the utmost limit for journeying. Therefore the hadith means to exert yourself to your maximum in the pursuit of Divine Knowledge. Again salaam, Abdul Haqq
Good interpretation. Makes sense. Others are possible however such as that underlining the wisdom historically in China. I believe I remember Sheikh Nazim referring to that interpretation and in his inimical way comparing them to the Japanese who he saw as merely imitators of others. He may have been playing to a Chinese audience lol even if only one or two in the room, as was his way.