Ranks of the Divine Seekers

Ovamir Anjum, Ph.D. (2008), University of Wisconsin-Madison, is Professor and Imam Khattab Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Toledo. His publications include numerous articles and a monograph Politics, Law, and Community in Islamic Thought (Cambridge University Press, 2012).

Winner of the 2021 Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding (category: translation from Arabic into English)

• 5 The Station of Oft-Returning1 Reform2 Fulfillment3 State6 The Station of Remembrance1 Conditions of Benefitting from Admonition2 Contemplating the Qurʾan3 Five Things that Corrupt the Heart4 Endless Desires for Worldly Things5 Attachment to Things Other Than God6 Gluttony7 Sloth7 The Station of Holding Fast1 The Meaning of Holding Fast2 The Holding Fast of the Elite8 The Station of Fleeing1 Fleeing from the Ego2 Fleeing from All Other Than the Truth9 The Station of Disciplining1 The Disciplining of the Elite of the Elite]10 The Station of Listening1 Against Music2 The Prohibition of Singing and Music3 The Arguments of Those Who Permit Singing4 First Principle: Scripture is the Judge of Mystical Knowledge5 Second Principle: All Disagreements Are Judged by Scripture6 Third Principle: The Weighing of Harm and Benefit7 Spiritual Taste8 Levels of Audition9 The Audition of the Elite10 The Audition of the Elite of the Elite11 The Station of Grief1 Levels of Grief12 The Station of Fear1 Kinds of Fear2 Fear of Self-deception2 Balancing Fear and Hope13 The Station of Trembling14 The Station of Humility1 Putting Out The Fire of Ego2 Recognizing the Lesions of One’s Soul and Deeds3 The Third Level4 Humility and Attentiveness in Prayers15 The Station of Meekness1 Being Blind to People’s Opinions16 The Station of Renunciation1 Is Renunciation Possible in These Times?2 Parting from All Longings3 Renunciation of Renunciation17 The Station of Scrupulousness1 Levels of Scrupulousness2 The Web of Divine Stations18 The Station of Devotion19 The Station of Hope1 The Excellence of Hope2 Levels of Hope20 The Station of Desire21 The Station of Shepherding1 Levels of Shepherding2 Shepherding of Time22 The Station of Watchfulness1 Ranks of Watchfulness2 Watchfulness of the Elite of the Elite23 The Station of Venerating God’s Prohibitions1 Is God Worshipped for Fear of the Fire and Love for the Garden?2 Conditions of Displaying One’s Good Deeds3 Venerating Scripture on Divine Attributes4 Protecting the Divine Opening24 The Station of Purification1 Levels of Purification2 The Second Level2 Purification and Truthfulness25 The Station of Refinement and Correction1 Second Level2 Third Level26 The Station of Standing Firm1 Exclusivity2 The Soul of All States3 Levels of Steadfastness4 The Second Level5 The Third Level27 The Station of Trusting Reliance1 Meaning of Tawakkul2 Levels of Reliance3 The Level of Joyful Contentment4 Separating Relegation from Inaction and Negligence5 Relating Reliance in God to the Beautiful Divine Names6 Limiting Reliance to Unworthy Pursuits7 Returning to al-Harawī on Trusting Reliance8 The First Level according to al-Harawī9 The Blemish of Asking of Creation10 Third Level28 The Station of Relegation1 Second Level2 Third Level29 The Station of Trust in God1 First Level2 Second Level3 Third Level30 The Station of Submission1 The Defects of Submission2 Second Level31 The Station of Patience1 The Literal Meaning2 Kinds of Patience3 Patience according to al-Harawī4 First Level5 Third Level6 Patience and God32 The Station of Joyful Contentment1 Contentment versus Patience in Suffering2 Contentment and Tranquility3 Three Levels of Contentment4 The Three Conditions of Contentment5 Second Level6 Differentiating Normative and Ontological Commands7 God’s Wisdom in Creating the Devil8 Sixty-Two Virtues of Contentment and Indifference to Pleasure and Pain9 Returning to al-Harawī10 Third LevelIndex