Notes on the Spiritual Process

Asalamu aleykum,brothers and sisters. . It is so easy to slip in this way! Once we are solidly set in our goals, we may well be free from major sins like zina and alcohol and drug addiction. However the four klesas of desire, anger, fear and doubt are never far away and we have to be vigilant! That is arguably the biggest part of our work!

However, there is another danger that may be greater than either of the two aforementioned ones! And that is “ghafflat” ((negligence, unawareness) and ironically that “ghafflat” may be about what is perfectly halal or even obligatory! Like doing our work or our studies or taking care of our family . Good works, no?! Yes, but only within proper limits.

When I reflect on North American society ,and this is probably true in all “developed “ countries, there is only one virtue left! All the classic ones of piety and modesty and humility and obedience have been put aside. And all that is left is hard work. An excess of that is called “workaholism” in modern psychology. But it is much more common than many people think. For now, my definition is “any productive activity that sucks up all your energy(which may include getting to work and recuperating from work and preparing for work) and leaves your energy tank empty for your relationship with your Creator. More than 100 years ago the sociologist Max Weber wrote about this subject in a famous book called “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”. However this problem now applies to all religions- not just Protestantism. In fact, because of the hegemony of the Anglophone culture first via Great Britain and now via the U.S.A. we could say we are all Protestants lol

So what do I propose here? We must certainly be vigilant. But I will go further and suggest a potential structural solution to this-in two parts. The first being basic Islam and the second being Sufi practices.

1) We have the salat five times daily. However, I would like to reframe this practice -less about obligation and more about opportunity-the opportunity to take a break from work and refocus on our relationship with our Creator (the spiritual project!). Forget about everything else-your worries, your deadlines, your finances) and at five points during the day commune with your Creator. And watch the effects!

2) Dhikr (Sufi practice).Set aside two time periods  in  24 hours  to do your dhikr practices. One of them  should be tahhajjud time and the other a time of your choosing. Some of the Sufis have suggested the time between Asr and Maghrib but that might not work for your schedule. So it could be in the evening-if you have the energy(remember we need to be honest with ourselves as well!).Or after your siesta in the early afternoon. Whatever works for you. The time interval could be anything from one-half hour(least amount to get benefit) to one and a half-half  hours(a total of 3 hours as recommended by the Tijani people and Kundalini Yoga alike).See what you can manage .Build this two-faceted structure into your daily schedule and commit to it -as you commit to your work deadlinesJust don’t slip into ghafflat because your ‘hal’ will definitely suffer for it.

Salaams, keepimg you AND me on our toes lol. Sufi Ibrahim