The Higher Realms

INTRODUCTION This short article is based on the English translation of the Arabic book  Ikseer Al 'Arifeen (The Elixir of the Gnostics). Ikseer Al 'Arifeen is  one of the works of the great Muslim scholar and philosopher, Sadr Al Din Muhammad Shirazi (1572 - 1640), commonly known as Mulla Sadra. The English translation was carried out by William C. Chittick and the book is available as a parallel Arabic-English text. We feel that it is necessary to highlight a few points as an introduction to what follows: This is not a book summary. Rather, it is a selection and presentation of a few of the dozens of points made within the book. In some places we have borrowed the exact text from the book (without quotations). In most locations, we have modified the language or added to the text. Also, in some instances we have made slight modifications to the Arabic translation as it was seen fit. The points discussed below are not necessarily in the order in which they appe...

INTRODUCTION The topic that we will attempt to discuss today is one that we do not see discussed very often. This is mainly because the realities that we will try to touch upon are understood only by true men of God - Muhammad wa aali muhammad and their true followers; the masters of ‘Irfan (Islamic Mysticism); those who are one with the esoteric and who can see and feel what we cannot. They speak from knowledge and experience. Average people who do not possess the baseerah (a higher degree of vision and insight) can only try to learn from what these individuals teach us. Therefore, we will try our best to limit this discussion to the teachings that we have received from the pure source of the prophet (saw) and Ahlulbayt. However, at several points we may try to look at the holy Qur’an and ahadith and try to connect the dots. Anything in this article that comes from other than a true scholarly source is mere conjecture. BACKGROUND When we look at the Quran, the hadith, ...

What is Taqwa? Taqwa is one of the central concepts of Islam and has been repeatedly mentioned in the Holy Quran and the narrations from the prophet and Ahl-ul-Bait. Most people translate Taqwa as fear of Allah, God Consciousness or self-restraint. However, a more concise and linguistically correct definition is as follows. Quoting Shaheed Mutahhari: “ The term   taqwa   comes from the Arabic root “wa-qa-ya” which means “protection” or “support.”   Taqwa   is not meant to mean “fear” or “avoidance”, but because having fear is a prerequisite to protecting oneself from something and to avoid it, it may sometimes refer to having fear.”  “... a person creates a state and power in his soul that gives him a spiritual and moral security. That is, if he does find himself in a situation where the means and causes of sin are around him, that spiritual state protects him and prevents him from committing sins. This is similar to a person who creates a m...