Beneficence of Waham (Inward Conversation with Allah)
DEFINITION
Waham (inward conversation with Allah) is spiritual power. It means awakening the senses of the soul, which in turn strengthens its powers. We all know that this physical being is an abode of the soul. In other words, this soul is the reason that man exists. And the body made of four elements is the dress of the soul to protect it in this material world. It is also to recognize an individual. Allah has endowed the human body with the ability to hear, speak, see, and feel.
Similarly, the soul is bestowed with its own set of senses and powers. However, as the soul enters the earthly realm, the allure of physical existence gradually overshadows it. This occurs as the allure of the material world leads man to prioritize the needs and desires of the physical self. This gradually eclipses the soul’s senses and they are relegated to the back burner.
Soul is the inward of Human body
Shaikh-e-Akbar Mohiyuddin Ibn Arabi says:
The outward of human beings is their physical body while the inward is the soul. The physical body is entirely different from the soul, although we treat the referred person as one entity. Now, if we only nourish the body and neglect the soul, ultimately the body will get healthier and the soul weaker. The animalistic tendencies of the body will overshadow the Divine qualities of the soul. Conversely, nurturing the soul (through the invocation and contemplation of Ism-e-Allah Zaat), its Divine attributes will dominate. Thus, the bestial qualities of the body will be subjugated. (Exegesis of Fusus al-Hikam, page 107)
How to strenghten the inward?
A seeker attains spiritual strength by the attention of the perfect and accomplished spiritual guide. Who then blesses the invocation and contemplation of Ism-e-Allah Zaat. Altogether, this blesses a new life to the soul, thus, awakening all its senses. It gains the strength to reach the realm of Divinity (alam-e-LaHoot) which is the station beyond time and space. There it beholds Allah Almighty and converses with Him. In terminology of Faqr, this spiritual blessing is referred to as waham.
Proof of Existence of Waham
Reference in Quran
In Quran and Hadith proofs are available as to waham. Allah Almighty says:
وَمَا کَانَ لِبَشَرٍ اَنْ یُّکَلِّمَہُ اللّٰہُ اِلَّا وَ حْیًا اَوْمِنْ وَّرَآیِٔ حِجَابٍ اَوْیُرْسِلَ رَسُوْلًا فَیُوْحِیْ بِاِذْنِہٖ مَایَشَآئُ ؕ اِنَّہٗ عَلِیٌّ حَکِیْمٌ
Meaning: And every man has not (this) faculty that Allah speaks to him directly. Except that by Revelation (wahi directly sent to the Prophets) or from behind the veil. Or by sending some angel as a messenger to reveal with His permission what Allah may will. Surely, He is the Highest and the Wisest. (42:51)
Revelation and the sending of an angel have ended upon the last Prophet Mohammad. However, the medium of “from behind the veil” continues to date. This is how Allah converses with Fakirs and Mystics. In this verse ‘veil’ means their physical body as Mystics as busy in worldly endeavors, while within the veil of their physical body, lies their soul which is always talking to Allah.
Bayazid Bastami has said,
“I have been conversing with Allah for forty years. However, the people have been misunderstanding as if, I am talking to them.”
Reference from Hadith
The Holy Prophet said about the beneficence of waham;
مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍ اِلَّا وَسَیُکَلِّمُہٗ رَبُّہٗ لَیْسَ بَیْنَ الْعَبْدِ وَالرَّبِّ تَرْجُمَانٌ وَلَا وَاسِطَۃٌ
Meaning: Every believer (Mumin) would converse with Allah. At that time, there would neither be any interpreter nor any intermediator between Allah and His slave. (Which means they would talk directly). (Bukhari, Muslim)
Reference by Sultan Bahoo
Sultan Bahoo says in Risala Roohi Sharif:
- Know! The writer of this fine treatise, Fakir, who is the absolute Divine light, has removed all the veils and has become exactly One with Allah. Allah the glorified! His (Fakir’s) physical body is just like a subtle and minor curtain. Behind this Allah is revealing thousands of strange secrets and rare facts. (Risala Roohi Sharif)
Sultan Bahoo has elaborated on the blessing of waham in many of his written works. He dedicated a book to waham titled Sultan-ul-Waham. He says:
- O dear! waham is the seeing, hearing, speaking, and understanding of the soul. (Sultan-ul-Waham)
- Prophet Moses used to go to Mount Sinai to converse with Allah. But for the true followers of Prophet Mohammad, their being is like Mount Sinai. Thus, they converse with Allah nearer to their jugular vein. Also, they get answers from their Holy Lord through invocation and Divine presence. (Kaleed-ul-Tauheed Kalan)
- The men of Divine presence get inspiration through waham which comes from Divinity. As soon as they enter the state of waham, Allah reveals the solution of their problem upon them. Thus, solving it at once. Also, He exposes the reality of every hidden and evident thing upon them through waham. (Kaleed-ul-Tauheed Kalan)
Reference by Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen
Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen Sultan Mohammad Najib-ur-Rehman also talks about waham in his book Shams ul Fuqara (English: Sufism The Soul of Islam). He says:
- In the terminology of Faqr, waham points to a particular state of the seeker of Allah. The state in which he gets answers from the court of Allah Almighty. He gets answers about whatever queries he faces, in both his outward (zahir) and spiritual self (batin). In other words, waham means having a conversation with Allah Almighty.
- The title of Prophet Moses is Kalimullah, which means the one who converses with Allah. He used to visit Mount Sinai at a specific time and offer two units of supererogatory prayer after ablution. After that, he becomes attentive towards Allah Almighty. Then, in a short time, an aura of engrossment enveloped him and his conversation with Allah started. Even today, Fakirs and Mystics (Arifeen) focus their attention on Allah and converse with Him.
- The spiritual journey of waham is a great status in the path of Faqr. A seeker attains it after the Divine presence. This is the blessing that takes the seeker to the station of annihilation in Allah.
How to achieve Waham?
Waham is the blessing of conversation with Allah. One can achieve it only by the beneficence of the perfect and accomplished spiritual guide. It is after he sanctifies the soul, thus spiritually blessing and strengthening the internal senses of the seeker. In short, waham is not possible without the spiritual attention of a perfectly accomplished spiritual guide. This is the reason why such a spiritual guide is also called Sultan-ul-Waham (meaning the king of waham). As Sultan Bahoo said:
- O dear! This way begins and ends with the blessing of the perfect spiritual guide. As said:
اَلشَّیْخُ اَبْلَغُ فِیْ ھٰذِہِ الطَّرِیْقُ مِنْ کُلِّ شَیْئٍ
Meaning: Only the Shaikh (spiritual guide) is aware of the ups and downs of this way.
A perfect spiritual guide is One with Allah and always converses with Allah. The sign of such a guide is that he opens the inward way of the disciple as well. Thus, leading him toward the spiritual world of waham. Then, the disciple covers the spiritual journey inwardly according to his capability and courage and finds eternal bliss. Here, opening the inward way means giving life to the dark inward and the soul. As said about the spiritual guide:
اَلشَّیْخُ یُحْیٖ وَیُمِیْتُ
Meaning: The Shaikh (spiritual guide) gives life (to the soul) and death (to the inciting innerself).
Significance of Waham
A perfect spiritual guide enlivens his disciple’s soul through his spiritual authority through waham and permanent invocation of Allah. He does it in such a way that he leaves no breath of the disciple without the invocation of Allah. Thus, eternally connecting him with Allah through waham and then keeping him in this state forever. Such a disciple gains an enlightened insight with which he can view all the spiritual worlds. His spiritual guide has now blessed him with the vision of Divine beauty. The Holy Prophet who is the perfect spiritual guide for everyone, points towards the life of the soul or inward. He (peace be upon him) said:
رَاْیِٔ قَلْبِیْ رَبِّیْ
Meaning: My inward (qalb) viewed my Holy Lord.
The following saying of Prophet David also gives the same meanings:
اُوْحِیَ بِرُؤْیَتِیْ اللّٰہِ تَعَا لٰی اَنْظَرِیْ مَعْرِفَتْنِیْ قُلْتُ لَاَرُؤْ یَتُ قَالَ قَلْبِکَ فِیْ شَاھِدَتِیْ وَبِرُ ؤْ یَتِیْ
Meaning: Allah descended a revelation upon me and asked, “Did you have My vision and get My gnosis?” I replied, “No”. Allah said, “Your inward views Me, you can also have My vision inside you.” (Sultan-ul-Waham)
Waham is a Way of Accession towards Allah
Just as in this material world, man progress rapidly in science and electronic media. Similarly, Allah is also revolutionizing the inward and spiritual world. If materialistic people think that the spiritual world is stagnant with no progress and change, are in ignorance and mistaken. Allah has infused the spiritual domain with dynamism, outpacing the developments seen in the physical world. To such an extent that the common man cannot perceive it. The proof is the Holy Prophet’s ascension to Allah in the night of Miraj and the Quranic revelations. The saying of the Holy Prophet
“اَلصَّلٰوۃُ مِعْرَاجُ الْمُؤْمِن”
(meaning: Prayer is the ascension of believers) towards Allah is sufficient proof that proximity, vision, and conversation with Allah are possible. Similar to the way the Holy Prophet accomplished it on the night of ascension.
A believer can achieve the strength and beneficence of waham through the medium of the perfect and accomplished spiritual guide. The imperfect guides do not have the strength of waham, hence keep their disciples void of this beneficence. As they do not have the required strength they tend to call this blessing among impossibilities. Consequently, they misguide people by saying that it is not achievable. Although the proof is available in the Quran, Hadith, and sayings of Saints. Indeed, the spiritual leaders in history were not allowed to openly talk about this beneficence.
Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen blesses the beneficence of Waham
Due to Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen’s remarkable spiritual elevation and excellence, he was specifically granted the privilege of granting waham by the Divine court of Allah Almighty and the Mohammadan Assembly. This authorization was bestowed upon him after subjecting him to rigorous spiritual and physical trials, so he could benefit the Muslim nation.
Consequently, through his focused spiritual attention, Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen guides individuals out of the state of weakness they have long endured. The perfect and accomplished spiritual guide is a medium for seekers to attain Divine proximity. This closeness enables their spiritual senses to perceive Allah, their spiritual hearing to listen to Him, and their spiritual speech to communicate with Him. In the state of waham, seekers gain insight into Allah’s will for them, making it easier to align their actions with His commands. Undoubtedly, this becomes the key to the righteous path.
We confidently assert that in this age of deceit, only Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen’s sacred court imparts waham. No other individual possesses the capacity and spiritual vigor to bestow this blessing upon his disciples. Any contrary claims are merely false and conceit.
Waham is Particular for Qadri Disciple Only
About the disciple of Sarwari Qadri order, Sultan Bahoo said:
“A disciple of other orders may spend his whole life in mystic struggle and exhaust himself in hard devotional exercises. Yet, he cannot reach even the level of the lowest-ranked Qadri disciple. As, for a Qadri disciple, the mystic struggle grants him energy and nourishment, while sleep grants him Divine observation. For the follower of this way, hunger and satiation are the same just as sleeping and awakening are alike. Likewise, his spiritual ecstasy and vigilance are equal and speech and silence are the same”. (Ganj-ul-Asrar)
Disciple of Qadri Way Converses with Allah
“Common people think about the men of Qadri way that they are talking to them. However, they are continuously conversing with Allah, Prophet Mohammad, and al-Ghawth al-Azam Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani. They eat the food of this world (i.e. physically live in this material world). While performing the deeds of that (spiritual) world. Also, their attention, sight, inspiration, and thoughts are completely related to the Divine union. Hence, their reality can never be known and understood by the spiritually blind and distracted ones. The Qadri way rules both worlds because it leads to the level of Fakir being annihilated and immortal with Allah. However, the Qadri Fakir achieves all this through the contemplation of Ism-e-Allah Zaat. That’s why he is titled as the lion, the king, and the man of Divine secrets”. (Ganj-ul-Asrar)
Sultan Bahoo mentioned another key point in Ain-ul-Faqr:
The Sarwari Qadri way is very beneficent and courageous. In other mystic ways, the blaze of Ism-e-Allah Zaat burnt some seekers to death. While others could not bear the burden of Ism-e-Allah Zaat and retreated. In addition to that, some apostatized, which in turn cursed them. (Ain-ul-Faqr)
Use of Waham
Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen has blessed many of the seekers of Allah with the inspired knowledge through his marvel and power of waham. These seekers use this knowledge to preach and invite towards gnosis of Allah. Also, they have written many books and articles for the magazine Sultan-ul-Faqr. Such efforts of his disciples are like a beckon of light for the seeker of Allah’s gnosis. Additionally, he has blessed many of his seekers with ilm-e-dawat (inward communication with the sacred souls of shrines). Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen guides his disciples through his power of waham in the spiritual world as well. So that, they remain well-mannered in that subtle and real world in the court of sacred personalities and remain on the straight path.
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