Muraqaba.doc

7/27/2019 Muraqaba.doc

1/4

Sufi Meditation and Muraqaba Naqshbandi Teachings

The Levels of Sufi

MeditationMuraqabah/Sufi Meditation St ep by StepLevel One: Meeting the Shaykh/Mentor in the

Realm of the Spirit

The goal of the

first le vel of muraqabah/Sufi Meditation is to imagine yo urself in the presence o f theShaykh/Mentor, to give him greetings, to converse with him, and to build a relationship with himon a spir it ua l leve l.

After proceeding thro ugh the aforementioned preparatory steps, visualize yourself in thepresence of the Shaykh/Mentor. The o perative word here is visualize. Visualizing is not thesame as imagining. When we imagine somethin g, we create a fictio nal illusion in our mind.What we are concerned with here is reality, and yo u must know that the fo llower is truly in theco ntinual pr esence o f the Shaykh/Mentor, on the plane o f the spirit.

So visualize that reality, projecting it onto the screen of your mind.

Keep your eyes closed.

See the Shaykh/Mentor through the eye of the heart.Do not loo k for his face.

Instead, concentrate on his aura, his spir itual form.

When you begin to perceive the Shaykh/Mentors presence, g ive him greetings. Itis important to maintain proper manners with the Shaykh/Mentor during

Naqshbandi Muhibeen www.nurmuhammad.com As- Sayed Nur jan MirAhmadi nurmir @att.net


2/4


muraqabah/Sufi Meditation, behaving exactly as you would if you were in theShaykh/Mentors physical presence.

Sit still, maintaining a position of respectif it is not too difficu lt for you, kneel.If this is too difficult, then sit cross-legged. Remain fu lly conscious, fully awake,and fully aware of your connection with the Shaykh/Mentor.

At this point, you may allow your soul to converse with the Shaykh/Mentor. In so doingyou define, build, and strengthen your relationship with his reality. Follow what theShaykh/Mentor reveals to your heart about spiritual matters. However, with regard to

worldly matters, any inspiration you receive through muraqabah/Sufi Meditation should beconfirmed with the Shaykh/Mentor before you act on it. Level Two: Connecting YourHeart with the Heart of the Shaykh/Mentor

After mastering the first level of muraqabah/Sufi Meditation, your

next goal is to build a spiritual connection between your heart and theShaykh/Mentors.

To accomplish this,begin as before andvisualize yourself in h is

presence.

After greeting theShaykh/Mentor, ask

permission to connectyour heart to his lightand his heart to yo urlight.

Imag ine a ray of lightextending from theShaykh/Mentors heartto your heart and another extending from your heart to the Shaykh/Mentors. Thiscreates a powerful sp iritual co nnection.

Once this connection is established, recite your daily dhikr, taking care to maintain theco nnectio n between your heart and the Shayk h/Mento rs thro ugho ut (See the Appendix for

details o f the daily awrad and an exp lanation of its secrets).



3/4


Once a Day : Make fresh wudu and pray 2 raka.

3x Shahada [ Kalimatu Shahadah (3 times): Ashhadu an

la ilaha illa-lah, wa ashhadu anna Mu hammadan rasulu-lah]

100-200x Istighfar [Astaghfirul lahal `Atheem wa atubuilayh ]

3x Surah Ikhlas [Qul huwa Allahu ahadu n Allahualssamadu Lam yalid walam yo oladu Walam yaku nlahu kufuwan ahadun ]

Fatiha (read fatiha)]

Minimum 200x seeking support and presence ofMawlana Shaykh (Q): Madad ya Sayyidi, Madad ul-

Haq Ya Mawlana Shayk h Nazim Haqqani Repeating Dhikr

Level Three: Controlling the Breath

The goal of this exercise is to practice consciousbr eathing.

According to Gr andShayk h/Mentor Abdul KhaliqGhujdawani :

The most important missio n for the seeker in thisOrder is to safeguard his breath, and he who canno tsafeguard his breath, it wou ld be said of him, he losthimself.

The name Allah, which encompasses the ninety-nineNames and Attr ibutes, consists o f fo ur letters, alif ( ), lam ( ),

lam ( ), and hah ( ): . The peo ple of Sufism say that theabsolute unseen Essence of Go d is expressed by the last letter,hah ( ).

Shah Naqshband said:

This Order is built on breath. So it is a must for everyone to safeguard hisbreath in the time o f his inhalation and exhalation, and further, tosafeguar d his br eath in the interval between the inhalation and exhalation.

Dhikr is flowing in the bo dy o f ever y single living creature by the

necessity o f its breatheven without willas a sign o f obed ience, whichis part of its creatio n. Thr ough its breathing, the so und of the letter hah ofthe Divine Name Allah is made with ever y exhalation and inhalation, andit is a sign of the Unseen Essence serving to emphasize the Uniqueness ofGod. Therefore, it is necessar y to be present with that breathing in o rderto realize the Essence o f the Creator. Safeguar ding your breath fro m



4/4


heed lessness will lead you to co mp lete Presence, and complete Presencewill lead you to complete Vision, and comp lete Vision will lead yo u toco mp lete Manifestation of Gods ninety- nine Names and Attributes. God

leads you to the Manifestation of His ninety-nine Names and Attr ibutes and all His other

Attributes, because it is said, Gods Attributesare as numerous as the breaths o f human

beings.

It must be known by everyo ne that securing thebreath fro m heedlessness is d ifficu lt forseekers. Therefore, we must safeguard it byseeking forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness will

purify it and sanctif y our breath and prepare usfo r the Real Manifestation of God ever ywhere.

To perform this meditation, prepare as you

would for any other form of muraqabah/SufiMeditation.

Take special care duringablution to ensure that yourhands are clean. Make yourmed itation space as dark as

possible.

Play a r ecording o f Quranicrecitation, prayers on theProphet , dhikr, or someother soothing sound.

Take care to perform even thesmallest details of this for m ofmuraqabah/Sufi Meditation, because they are the foundation of your med itation.

Assume a kneeling position or sit cross-legged in the Lo tus Po sition.

Close your eyes and mouth.

Clench your teeth to gethergently, not hardand keep your tongue pressedfirmly against the roof of yo ur mouth.

Inhale, then ho ld your breath to slow your heart rate and breathing.



The hands carry tremendous secrets, and their po sition in this exercise is impo rtant. Youwill begin to unlock the secrets of the hands in this meditation. God placed Divine Codes on ourhandsthese are activated by rubbing them together (See page Error! Bookmark not defined.et seq.). The hands can also function like satellite dishes, receiving Divine Energies and otheremanations. Position your hands so that the tip of the thumb is touching the tip of the indexfinger , with the other fingers extended straight. This for ms the shape o f the word Allah in Arabicscript.

Now pay attention to your breathing.Breathe in through yo ur nose and exhale through

your mouth.

When you breathe in through yo urnose, say, Hu-Allah.

Exhale through your mouth, sayingHu. As you breathe in, imaginewhite light entering through yourheart.

When you breathe out, imagineblack energy being expelled fro myour mouth.

When we exhale, the carbon monoxide that leaves our bodies contains neg ative energyfrom our bad actions. Therefore the Prophet said, "When you drink (water), do not breathe in


Documents

Muraqaba.doc