The Key to Salvation: A Sufi Manual of Invocation

by Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari, Mary Ann Koury-Danner (Translator)

Overview

This is the first English translation of Miftah al-falah, a thirteenth century Sufi text, written by Ibn Ata Allah, one of the great masters of the Shadhili Sufi order. It is considered to be one of his most important works because it sets out the principles of actual Sufi mystical practices, shedding light on the sacred invocations, and associated practices, such as the spiritual retreat. Written in a clear, lucid style, it offers a glimpse into the Sufi world of the 7th Islamic century and allows us to see almost at first hand how the novice was guided by the Sufi Shaykh and, above all, the purpose and preparation involved in engaging in the invocation, dhikhru'llah. Ibn Ata' Allah sets out to define it, to explain its nature and power, to show its results and to prove that it is part of the Prophet's Sunna, or practice. The author goes to great lengths to point out many Qur'anic verses where dhikru'llah is mentioned and cites many noted authorities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780946621279
Publisher:	Islamic Texts Society
Publication date:	05/01/1996
Series:	Golden Palm Series
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Mary Ann Koury-Danner, currently Area Specialist for Middle Eastern Studies at Indiana University Library, has already won two awards for this translation.

Read an Excerpt

Section [2]: On the Invocation According to Traditions of the Pious Ancestors.
Anas ibn Malik (may God be pleased with him!) said, 'The invocation of God is a sign of faith, a liberation from hypocrisy, a protection from the devil, and a refuge from hellfire.'
   Malik ibn Dinar said, 'Whosoever does not prefer the intimacy of discourse with God to that of mankind diminishes in knowledge, becomes blind of heart, and wastes his life away.' In this regards al-Hasan has said,


Seek for sweetness in three things: in ritual prayer, in the invocation, and in reciting the Qur'an. If you have found it, well and good. If not, then know that the door is closed, because every heart which does not know God has no intimacy with the invocation of God and relies not on Him.


   God Most High has said, 'And when God alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter are repelled and when those whom they worship beside Him are mentioned, behold! they are glad.'
   One of the gnostics said:


Sustenance of the outer man comes from the movements of the body; sustenance of the inner man comes from the movements of the heart; sustenance of one's most interior being is through tranquillity; and sustenance of the intellect is through extinction of one's consciousness of tranquillity, so that the servant is tranquil for the sake of God, through God, and with God.


And this has been said: 'Whoever, for the sake of God, carries out the inner reality of the invocation, of the praise of God, and of gratitude, He subjects unto him the universe and all creatures therein.'
   Mutarrif ibn Abi Bakr said, 'The lover never tires of conversing with his Beloved.' And this has been said: 'Whoever does not experience the loneliness of heedlessness will not savour the taste of the intimacy of remembrance.' 'Ata said, 'Lightning will not strike the invoker of God Most High.'
   Al-Hamid al-Aswad said,


I was with Ibrahim al-Khawass on a journey , and we came to a place where there were many snakes. He unsaddled his mount and sat down, so I did likewise. When the night began to cool and the air to chill, the snakes came out. I cried out to the Shaykh, but he said, 'Remember God!' So I did, and the snakes left. Then they returned, and I called out to him but he said the same thing. I did not cease being in that state till morning. When we rose in the morning, the Shaykh got up and walked, and I walked with him. Suddenly a huge snake, which had been coiled around him, fell from the inner folds of his garments. I said to him, 'Did you not feel it?' He answered, 'No, it has been a long time since I have seen a night more pleasant than last night.'


This has been said:


The remembrance of God in the heart is the sword of the novices with which they combat their enemies and repel the afflictions that befall them. Indeed, when tribulation leads the servant astray, if he occupies his heart with God, all that he dislikes leaves him immediately.


And this has been said:


When the invocation takes possession of the heart, if the devil draws near, he is made prostrate the way a man would be felled. As a result, the devils gather about the heart and ask, 'What happened to it?' Some of them respond, 'Intimacy with God has smitten it!'


This has been said: 'Verily, the angel of death consults with the invoker when the time comes to take his soul.' In the Gospel there is this: 'Remember Me when you are angry and I will remember you when I am angry. Be content with My help to you, for My help to you is better than your own help is to yourself.' Dhu'n-Nun al-Misri said, 'Whoever truly remembers God forgets everything alongside of the invocation, while God takes care of everything for him, and is for him a compensation for everything.'

Table of Contents

Translator's Introduction.
Translation:
1. On the Nature of Remembrance
2. Invoking Aloud
3. Benefits of Invocation in General
4. On the benefits of the Invocations Used by the Novice travelling the path
5. On choosing the Type of Remembrance
6. The gradual Advance of the Seeker by Means of the Invocations
7. On the Invocation During Spiritual Retreat
8. The Oneness of God
9. Gnosis
10. What Initiates on the path Must impress upon themselves
11. On Explaining Invocations
12. Remembrance in All Situations and times during the day and the night
13. Incantations.
Appendix I: Key persons mentioned in the text.
Appendix II: Glossary of terms
Appendix III: Silsilah of the Shadhili Order
Bibliography
Index