Haqiqa is a stage in Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam. Sufis strive to perfect themselves and come into the presence of God while still living. They recognize four stages in their pursuit of this: shari’a, tariqa, haqiqa and marifa.
The four stages
Shariat
Shari’a is Islamic law as revealed in the Qur'an and Sunna. The first step in Sufism is following every aspect of the law perfectly. The purpose of this is to prove their love for God, by rigorous self-discipline and constant attention to their conduct. When the Sufi fully lives his or her life according to the Shari’a he or she is ready to progress to the second stage. This conformity to earthly rules is important because it recognizes that the spirit of a man or woman is affected by the actions of the body. In this way, bringing the body under the will of God also purifies the spirit and a pure spirit is essential for the second step.
Tariqat
Tariqa in Arabic means "path" and it denotes a Sufi brotherhood or order. The orders are governed by shaykhs, spiritual leaders that mentor Sufis. Shaykhs are identified by the signs of God's grace that are evident, such as the ability to perform miracles. They take on people, usually male, that are committed to the Sufi lifestyle and want to progress further in their spiritual education. It is common for the shaykh to test a new disciple by ignoring them, assigning humiliating tasks or being rude to them. When the disciple has passed these tests, he is introduced to the awrad, a series of prayers particular to that order. These prayers must be studied before they are recited, because mistakes made in the prayer are sins. When the disciple has studied and recited the awrad for an indeterminate amount of time, he is expected to experience visions and revelation from God. Sufis believe that at this point the disciple is able to see spiritual things that are veiled from most people.(Hoffman, 133)
Haqiqat
Haqiqa is a difficult concept to translate. The book Islamic Philosophical Theology defines it as "what is real, genuine, authentic, what is true in and of itself by dint of metaphysical or cosmic status", which is a valid definition but one that does not explain haqiqa's role in Sufism. Haqiqa may be best defined as the knowledge that comes from communion with God, knowledge gained only after the tariqa is undertaken. For instance, a shaykh that has advanced through tariqa has haqiqa and can see into the lives of his disciples in a spiritual sense. He has knowledge of pregnancies and sicknesses before his disciples tell him. He can see beyond the physical world because of his proximity to God and possession of haqiqa. Haqiqa is less a stage in itself and more the marker of a higher level of consciousness, which precedes the next and final stage, marifa.
Do not confuse the word Aqiqa with Haqiqa. The hadith quoted below has nothing to do with this topic:
Narrated By Abu Musa : A son was born to me and I took him to the Prophet who named him Ibrahim, did Tahnik for him with a date, invoked Allah to bless him and returned him to me. (The narrator added: That was Abu Musa's eldest son.)
Bukhari Volumn 007, Book 066, Hadith Number 380.
Narrated By Salman bin 'Amir Ad-Dabbi : I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "'Aqiqa is to be offered for a (newly born) boy, so slaughter (an animal) for him, and relieve him of his suffering." (Note: It has been quoted in Fateh-AL-Bari that the majority of the Religious Scholars agrees to the Hadith narrated in Sahih At-Tirmidi that the Prophet was asked about Aqiqa and he ordered 2 sheep for a boy and one sheep for a girl and that is his tradition "SUNNA".)
AbuDawud Book 009, Hadith Number 2837.
Chapter : The aqiqah.
Narrated By Buraydah ibn al-Hasib : When a boy was born to one of us in the pre-Islamic period, we sacrificed a sheep and smeared his head with its blood; but when Allah brought Islam, we sacrificed a sheep, shaved his head and smeared his head with saffron.
Marifat
Marifat (Arabic: المعرفة), which literally means knowledge, is the term used by Sufi Muslims to describe mystical intuitive knowledge of spiritual truth reached through ecstatic experiences, rather than revealed or rationally acquired.
Bibliography
Chittick, William C. 1992. Faith and Practice of Islam: Three Thirteenth Century Sufi Texts. Albany: State University of New York.
Cousins, Ewert. 1987. Islamic Spirituality: Foundations. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company.
Encyclopædia Britannica, "Marifa", Encyclopædia Britannica, http://fulla.augustana.edu:2104/eb/article-9474614
Goldziher, Ignaz. 1981. Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Morewedge, Parviz, ed. 1979. Islamic Philosophical Theology. Albany: State University of New York.
Renard, John. 1996. Seven Doors to Islam: Spirituality and the Religious Life of Muslims. California: Reagants of the University of California.
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