Sufi Reverberations - Mystical Science

If one were to characterize scientific methodology, one might indicate that it consists of the following sorts of procedures or protocols: (1) empirical observation; (2) the use of instrumentation; (3) recursive methodology; (4) objectivity; (5) a community of expertise; (6) experimental replication, and (7) reliable prediction. My contention is that authentic mysticism gives expression to all of the aforementioned aspects of scientific methodology, and the following discussion seeks to provide something of an overview that lends support to the foregoing contention concerning the scientific nature of mysticism when this existential orientation is properly pursued, and I will use the Sufi path as a specific case study. 

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Mystical Science

Many people today believe that science and religion stand at opposite ends of any process of inquiry. For example, many individuals might claim, among other things, that science is rooted in methodology whereas religion is a function of theology. Or, alternatively, many people maintain that science seeks to provide hard evidence and work out rigorous proofs in support of various claims, whereas religion bases its assertions on professions of faith and speculation.

While I am quite willing to concede that there often is a great deal of truth in the foregoing ways of characterizing and comparing science and religion, I don’t feel that such a perspective necessarily does justice to the discipline of authentic mysticism. Although the impression of some people concerning the nature of mysticism is that it tends to become entangled in notions of flights of fancy of one kind or another, the essential nature of authentic mysticism is quite different from such considerations.

If one were to characterize scientific methodology, one might indicate that it consists of the following sorts of procedures or protocols: (1) empirical observation; (2) the use of instrumentation; (3) recursive methodology; (4) objectivity; (5) a community of expertise; (6) experimental replication, and (7) reliable prediction. My contention is that authentic mysticism gives expression to all of the aforementioned aspects of scientific methodology, and the following discussion seeks to provide something of an overview that lends support to the foregoing contention concerning the scientific nature of mysticism when this existential orientation is properly pursued, and I will use the Sufi path as a specific case study.

(1)The empirical roots of the Sufi path come in many forms. Not only do the normal, external sensory channels provide empirical data, there are internal channels of empirical data as well.

Dreams, hal (that is, mystical states), maqam (spiritual stations), Kashf (mystical unveilings), and ilham (flashes of Divine intuition) also provide infinite sources of empirical data. Furthermore, these internal sources of empirical data come in different manifested forms of intensity and levels of certainty.

As is true in the case of modern sciences, there is a considerable difference between the empirical character of the reports of a trained observer and the reports of an untrained individual concerning the nature of a given observation or experience. For example, not everyone who looks at an X-ray or who examines a photograph of the traces of a sub-atomic event can correctly interpret this empirical data. Similarly, not everyone who undergoes a mystical dream, state, station or unveiling – assuming the experience is veridical -- is able to understand, correctly, the empirical data to which such experiences give expression.

The Sufi path provides an intense program that trains its adherents to be competent, exacting, empirical observers. The intensity and rigor of such a program rivals -- if not exceeds -- anything which modern science offers in the way of training its own observers. 

If an individual were critical of the scientific method but had never tried to engage its procedures or perform any of its experiments, or never worked with any of its instruments, then, a modern proponent of science might be justified if she or he were to say that such a would-be critic should try to acquire some minimal amount of experience concerning such matters before giving voice to an uninformed sort of opposition. Similarly, if a proponent of modern science were to express reservations concerning the potential value of the mystical path without, say, having gone into spiritual seclusion for an extended period of time in order to participate in an essential form of methodology and experimentation concerning the nature of the ego and other dimensions of human nature, then,  a practitioner of the mystical dimension of Islam might well be justified in advising that such a would-be critic of the Sufi path should acquire some first-hand knowledge of the rigorous character of that tradition before trying to pass judgment on that perspective.

(2) Modern science employs a variety of instruments in its pursuit of understanding. On the one hand, there are what might be termed "natural" instruments such as logic, reason, and mathematics. On the other hand, there are different kinds of external, constructed tools or instruments used in the detection and measurement of various physical phenomena.

The physical sciences provide different way of engaging and probing the nature of the universe. For instance, light telescopes, radio telescopes, infrared telescopes, and X-ray telescopes will all gather different information concerning the character of the universe

Like the physical sciences, the Sufi mystical path also employs a number of different instruments that are capable of exploring different facets of existence. To begin with, mysticism shares a common commitment with the physical sciences to the properties of the mind and its qualities of logic and reasoning.

In addition, according to Sufi masters, the heart (the spiritual entity, not the physical object) is the locus of gnosis, or knowledge This provides a direct, conceptually unmediated engagement of different dimensions of Divine reality.

Another instrument spoken of by Sufi masters is the sirr or mystery. The sirr is said to be the locus of spiritual witnessing with respect to whatever God may disclose to the individual and helps to protect the heart from remembering other than, or becoming preoccupied with other than, the presence of Divinity. 

A further instrument of the Sufi path is referred to as the kafi or “the hidden”. The kafi is described as being the locus of manifestation for the spiritual illumination, wisdom, knowledge and understanding which comes through encounters with the Divine lights and colors of a certain realm of God’s Dominion. 

Beyond the kafi, there is further potential for spiritual instrumentation capable of engaging still further dimensions of Reality through the agency of the aqfah – the “more hidden”. These concern certain modalities of Divine mysteries and secrets which are breathed into the essential capacity of human beings through the Spirit of God.

Another modality of mystical instrumentation comes via the ruh or spirit. Sufi masters describe the spirit as being the locus of love for Divinity. When the potential for love that is inherent in the spirit is realized, this enables the individual to experience, know and understand life, identity and one’s relationship with Divinity in a manner which is different from, but supplemental to, the other spiritual instruments of mind, heart, sirr, kafi, and aqfah. 

Of course, in the matter of the physical sciences, one can be like the Church elders during the time of Galileo and refuse to look at reality through the lens of a telescope. Similarly, one can refuse to become trained in the use of, and take advantage of, the instruments to which the Sufi masters allude through which one can engage different dimensions of reality. However, failing to use instruments – whether in the physical sciences or the mystical sciences – does not justify claims that such instruments have nothing to tell one about the nature of Reality or Being.

Finally, the instruments that are used in modern science must all be calibrated to provide reliable readings. This also is the case on the Sufi path. Mystical instruments, like their physical counterparts, only produce reliable results after a process of calibration in which a variety of adjustments are necessary in the use of a given form of instrumentation so that various sources of distortion and inconsistent readings can be eliminated.

(3) Modern science employs a recursive methodology which entails a series of repetitive steps that, hopefully, permits one, to come closer and closer to the true character of some aspect of reality being encountered through experience. In effect, one feeds the results from one cycle of repetitive, methodological activity back into the next cycle of such activity in order to generate improved accuracy, understanding, and so on, over time.

On the Sufi path, recursive methodology plays a key role. One starts out by, if God wishes, cleansing, balancing and transforming the ego or false self through repetitive cycles of prayer, fasting, charity and so on. This constitutes the first set of repetitive steps.

One takes the results from the first application of recursive methodology concerning the ego and proceeds, God willing, to purify the heart through zikr or remembrance of God. This is a second cycle of repetitive steps which builds on the accomplishments of the first cycle.

The next set of repetitive steps involves the sirr or mystery. If God wishes, through a process referred to, by Sufi masters, as emptying the sirr of other than God, the understanding of the individual is further supplemented and complemented.

A further cycle of the process of recursive methodology is encountered when, God willing, the spirit undergoes the perfection of its spiritual potential. Once again, the application of recursive methodology through a process of perfecting the spirit brings the individual, by the grace of God, to a deeper, fuller, richer understanding of different dimensions of the reality of Being.

(4) To be objective, one needs to eliminate as many sources of bias, prejudice, distortion and error as is possible. The search for truth must be freed from all forces which would compromise the integrity of that search.

Sufi masters outline two major expressions of objectivity on the mystical path. The first concerns the condition known as "fana".

Fana occurs when the false self dissolves before the Presence of Divinity. Since the false self is a major source of error and distortion, the condition of fana enhances the degree of objectivity in one’s engagement of Reality.

The second source of objectivity on the Sufi path comes through the spiritual condition of "baqa". This condition occurs when the true self and essential capacity of the individual become established.

In a sense, baqa is a spiritual version of an unobtrusive measure. In baqa one sees by the vision of God and one hears by the hearing of God, and so on. Consequently, there is nothing which one does which intrudes into the engagement of experience and distorts the nature of that experience, and, as a result, one is able to engage Reality according to one’s spiritual capacity to do so. 

In other words, while what one experiences during the foregoing states or conditions is not distorted, nonetheless, it might be limited due to the nature of one’s inherent spiritual capabilities.One cannot experience or know more than one has the capacity to experience and know.

Spiritual capacity, however, does not distort or introduce error. Whatever is experienced is true and real as far as it goes. On the other hand, the spiritual experience, knowledge and understanding made possible, by the grace of God, through the full realization of one’s spiritual capacity do not exhaust what can be experienced, known or understood with respect to Divine realities by those who have been more spiritually gifted by God.

(5) The community of expertise in modern science plays an important role with respect to considerations of methodology, evaluation, and understanding. The community of expertise establishes the parameters of agreement and degrees of freedom concerning disagreement within which the process of science is to be conducted.

There is a similar community of expertise in the Sufi mystical tradition. Unlike modern science, however, the essence of what is agreed upon by the mystical community of expertise has not changed since the inception of such a community.

The Sufi mystical community of expertise consists of all the Sufi masters of the path, both present and past. All of these masters are in agreement concerning the structural character of human beings and what is necessary in order to be able to work toward the full realization of the essential, spiritual potential of being human.

Sufi masters do not always share the same understanding in all matters. Like their counterparts in the community of expertise in modern science, not all Sufi masters are equal in spiritual capacity. First there are the Prophets, and, then, there are those who have followed, and realized, to varying degrees, the way of the Prophets, and, then, there are those who are sincerely and actively seeking the truth and might have realized varying degrees of the truth, and, finally, there are the commonality of believers, each of whom has his or her own potential relationship with Divinity.

Nevertheless, irrespective of whatever differences in spiritual capacity exist among Sufi masters, none of this affects their agreement concerning the general character of what constitutes spiritual progress on the path. One goes from: seeking, to finding, to gnosis or knowledge, to loving, to fana (extinction), and, finally, to unity concerning the relationship between human potential and Reality (i.e., baqa) .

Different people may experience these stages in self-similar rather than self-same ways. However, the essence of Unity remains in the midst of whatever differences might be present.

(6) The issue of replication is at the heart of modern science. If the results of a research project cannot be repeated by other investigators, the original research cannot be confirmed and, therefore, lacks scientific credibility and reliability.

The procedures for setting up and carrying out a given line of inquiry must be clearly stated. This is necessary so that any qualified and competent researcher can follow those procedures and produce a result which reflects, within certain allowable limits of difference, the outcome of the original research.

The process of replication is also central to the Sufi mystical path. Indeed, the nature of the mystical path is itself the process of replication which clearly has been described by all competent and qualified spiritual researchers who have preceded one on that path.

If one follows the procedures and methods indicated, then, God willing, one will arrive at the same sort of outcome and conclusions as did the original researchers. These results are expressions of universal laws concerning the inherent nature of the relationship between human beings and Divinity. 

However, just as many scientists of the physical world work under, and with, the guidance of some senior research leader, so too is this the case with respect to the Sufi path. Until a certain point of investigative sophistication has been reached, a Sufi scientist tends to work with the assistance of someone who has achieved a certain degree of scientific advancement.

(7) Finally, although not all sciences exhibit the capacity to predict, on the basis of known principles, how certain phenomena will unfold over time, mystical science does have this capability. However, for a variety of reasons, Sufi masters often will not indulge others or themselves with public exhibitions of their God given gifts to predict how events will unfold.

There are many well documented accounts of the ability of Sufi masters and Sufi saints to tell what will happen before a given event manifests itself in the physical world. There are also well known accounts of the ability, by the grace of God, of various practitioners of the Sufi path to be able to describe, and, subsequently, have corroborated, what is going on, simultaneously, at considerable distance from them. 

For example, there was a renowned shaykh who was being visited by a woman whose son had gone away and whom she was deeply missing. She kept asking the shaykh to do something about her situation, and the shaykh kept saying that, God willing, her son would return.

On a particular day, the woman had approached the shaykh on a number of occasions concerning her son. Finally, after a number of visits by that woman on a given day, he said: “Go home, your son will be waiting for you,” whereupon the woman quickly left, quite happy with what she had been told.

Later in the day, the woman returned with her son. She introduced her son to the shaykh and thanked him for his assistance.

After the woman left, one of the companions of the shaykh asked the latter how he had known that the son would be at the woman’s house waiting for her given that the shaykh had not left their present location all day? The shaykh is reported to have said: “There is certainty in my prayer.”

Above and beyond such favors of God, there is a precision to the predictive understanding which Sufi masters have concerning the effect on the individual of different spiritual practices, or lack thereof. This understanding comes from the light of God and allows the Sufi master to be able to guide initiates along the Sufi path, with precision, as a result of that understanding.

According to Sufi masters, there are different levels of reality. The lowest realm concerns the world of corporeal bodies. This is known as Nasut.

Next, is the realm of the souls of all created things. This is the level of Malakut.

Beyond this is the realm of Jabarut. This level concerns the Attributes of Divinity.

After the realm of Jabarut, is the level of Lahut. This concerns the fixed forms of non-existence which, if God wishes, are given reflected existence through the Divine command of creation: "Kun! (Be)".

Beyond the realm of Lahut, is Hahut. This is the Divine Essence which makes all the other levels possible.

For the most part, modern science only explores the lowest realm of existence—namely, Nasut, which is the realm of corporeal bodies. Modern physical science, unlike mystical science, has no capacity to explore any of the other realms of Being.

Unfortunately, all too many physical scientists rationalize the foregoing limitation by dismissing the other realms as being irrelevant to the process of science. Mystical scientists (i.e., Sufi masters) indicate that, in a very fundamental way, such realms are not irrelevant to the process of science.

In fact, according to practitioners of the Sufi path, the very first act one must perform in order to seek the truth is to cleanse and purify the self. As such, science, of whatever kind, is, in essence, a moral and spiritual activity.

Scientific methodology has value and appeal precisely because, among other things, it gives expression to a way of trying to preserve the integrity of the scientific process and protect the results of that process from being compromised and rendered unreliable. Mystical science pursues the value and integrity of such methodology to the furthest limits of possibility for human beings.