Invocation, Wazif, adab in Sufi Practice.

(published in Vol I # 1 June Newsletter...Halka al Hazrati, Qadiri Rifa'i Inayati Order of Grass Valley, Ca., talk A)

by Shaykh Ezra Ahmed Muhsin

I want to talk about wazif, the practice and repetition of the Holy Names, and what it means. I think that the most important thing to remember is that these names are not just words.

The names are not supposed to be played around with. It is really neat for a person to be able to take a look in a book, like "The Beautiful Names" by Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi. And there is another one, "The Ninety Nine Names" by Robert Stade, (which is a hard one to find.) It is actually a translation from the writings of Al Ghazali ( one of the greatest Sufis.) But each of the names has a particular effect when it is repeated. If the person has a situation with deprivation in their lives, they don't have enough money coming in, or they don't have access to spirituality, if a person is suffering from lack, the last thing that they want to do is to get hold of a name that will increase their problem rather than diminish it. In other words, each Beautiful Name is a prescription! It is not a good idea to prescribe for oneself, unless a person is advanced on the Sufi path. There are not just the ninety nine that are most given, there are also many names that are on different levels. You don't find them, there may be tens of thousands of names in potential.

There are teachers on the Sufi path who have gone through the series of experiences necessary to give them the insight, knowledge and ability to give these names. They may not necessarily be someone who is a shaykh, it may be a highly advanced hidden Sufi, which is actually a much higher station. A hidden Sufi has advantages, they don't have to get up and take the flack unless they want to. And the hidden Sufis are invariably much better teachers than the ones who have to do it in public. They work mostly with sohbet, which is spiritual companionship. That is the main vehicle for the hidden Sufi to work with.

One of the problems is that a lot of people want to be known. They say to themselves, "I want to get up and do this too." I had somebody say to me, "I don't want to give these stupid little spiritual talks and readings, and these silly classes, I want to do what the Pirs do." I said to him, "Ha! Who wouldn't?" That is all well and good, but you know what happens when you do things like Pir Vilayat does? He lectures for six hours, looks at this sea of faces in front of him, and says, "You don't know! I am talking, but you don't understand, well maybe three or four of you." And this is a room with about four or five hundred people in it. So, maybe his turnout next year will be smaller after that comment...less trouble parking...(that would be one good thing.)

There is a story of Rumi. It is just a very simple statement. When you are in danger of being eaten by a lion, it does not matter whether you are saved by the hand of an important person or an unimportant person. This is just going by appearances. Whether a king or a beggar, and the Sufi is a beggar, a "Treasure in a Ruin ". This is what a hidden Sufi is. Once that "treasure" comes out of the ruin, do you know what happens when you show people your gold? They start biting you to see if you are for real, that is what happens. A person who is calling people to Allah, privately, individually, you can derive a lot more from them, if you are lucky enough to have such a blessing. The ones who do it in public have it harder. The nicest thing would be to be hidden.

Getting back to the names, you have to be careful. The names once given produce a state, this does not take you to a station. But be aware when you are arbitrarily invoking the names of God. Giving the wrong prescription ? If they warn the shaykhs about giving wrong prescriptions, how much more of a warning should be taken by a murid? After you have been on the path you start working with the names under guidance and tutelage, it is just a matter of hooking up with your divine inheritance. It is a learning process.