DISCOURSE: Grand Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al Haqqani {QS} is the worldwide Leader of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order

We usually think of sound and silence as two opposite concepts. In fact, they are notreally opposites of each others. Both sound and silence represent two forms of sounds: sound as we know it represents audible sound. It is the sound of the Known. On the other hand, silence represents non-audible sound. It is the sound of the Unknown. Silence is the sound of the Unknown.

The Unknown is referred to as “HU” in Islamic Spirituality. “Hu” is both a sound and a Holy Name of God. The sound "Hu" is the most basic vibration in the universe. It is thesmallest sound, or the smallest vibration, that is produced whenever an object moves in the universe. Since nothing in creation is in perfect state of rest (electrons are constantly moving around the nucleus), it is safe to say that there is no place in creation where that sound "Hu" is not produced.

Therefore, the real meaning of Silence, which is perfect absence of sound, does not exist in the universe. In this world, when we seek to immerse ourselves in Silence, we are not trying to shut our ability to hear sounds. On the contrary, we are trying to increase our ability to hear a very specific sound: the vibrating sound of the Universe, which is the sound of our inner Soul. That sound is the eternal vibration of "Huuuuuu".

Importance of Sound

A sound represents a Message. When a sound is emitted, some information is movedfrom the person emitting the sound to the person hearing it. At the very first stage ofspiritual development, that Message is the Calling towards Islam, which means submission to the Lord. That initial stage of spiritual development is very critical because it is at that stage that the child in us (the child represents the pure human soul)hears for the first time the sound of his parents’ calling toward a righteous and spirituallife. This is why whenever a baby is born, his parents whisper at his ears some Islamic formulas such as the call to Prayer. These formulas are sounds that the baby can hear long before he can see. Those sounds are reminders for the child. Indeed, they remindthat child of his true Origin in the Presence of the Lord.

Melodious Sounds

Melody is a form of sound. Melody is connected to memory. This is the reason whycertain songs remind us of some past experiences. Melody is also connected to theMemory of our real spiritual past in Paradise, where all human beings were with the firstman, Adam {Peace be upon him} as atoms in his body. The melodies we hear in thisworld refresh this Memory and make us lighthearted and happy, because in Paradise,there are endless beautiful melodies sung by Angels. Therefore, Sufis use melodies toawaken that Divine Memory.

Importance of Silence

There is a voice inside all of us that is hidden and subtle. That subtle voice is the voice ofthe Soul. The voice of the Soul is in love with Silence and it will only manifest itselfwhen its beloved comes. Our purpose on earth is to reconnect ourselves with that Voice,which is the Voice of our inner conscience. In order to attract that voice, we need tosurround ourselves with what it likes the most. The metaphor of the Angels who are attracted to nice smells adequately describes the relation between silence and the voice of the human soul. To attract angels during ourprayers, we usually spray some nice perfume in the room. When angels smell thatperfume, they rush toward it and stay around the person who prays. Similarly, in order to attract the angel of the voice of our inner soul, we need to spray the perfume of Silence around us. When the voice of the soul smells the perfume of its beloved, it quickly comes out of the ocean of the heart and starts speaking to us.Therefore, silence means seclusion from the external world and conversation with theinner spiritual world.

Sound, Silence and the Five Spiritual Stations of the Heart

According to the spiritual Masters of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order, the human heart is a reflection of the spiritual Heart of the Prophetic Reality. This spiritual Heart represents the Divine Ocean of Power (“Barh’ul Qudra”), which is the Origin of all creations. Whoever reaches the Knowledge of the Heart is able to understand the true Prophetic Reality of Nur Muhammad {s}, the Muhammadan Light {s} inhabiting the Ocean of Power.

There are 5 lata’ifs (subtle points of spiritual Energy), or Maqams (spiritual stations), on the human heart. These five stations are, in an ascending order:

• Qalb (“External Structure of the Heart”)
• Sirr (“Secret”)
• Sirr as Sirr (“Secret of the Secret”)
• Khafa (“Hidden”)
• Akha (“Most Hidden”)

The 5 human senses are directly related to the 5 spiritual stations of the Heart. Each sense is a manifestation of a spiritual station of the heart at the level of cognitive perception.

• The first station (Qalb) is related to hearing
• The second station (Sirr) is related to sight
• The third station (Sirr as Sirr) is related to touch
• The fourth station (Khafa) is related to smell
• The fifth station (Akhfa) is related taste

The 5 stations are also manifested as the five fingers of the hand:

• The little finger corresponds to Qalb (1^st Station)
• The ring finger corresponds to Sirr (2^nd Station)
• The middle finger corresponds to Sirr as Sirr (3^rd Station)
• The index finger corresponds to Khafa (4^th Station)
• The thumb corresponds to Akhfa (5^th Station)

The little finger corresponds to Qalb because it is the station of humanity (normal individuals). As humans, we are indeed as weak as the little finger, and in constant need of support.

The ring finger corresponds to Sirr because it is the station of the seal of Faith (Iman) that is engraved on the ring the spiritual seekers symbolically wear. This station is the station of the people of Tariqa who are the true spiritual seekers and who wear the ring of absolute faith in their Guide.

The middle finger, which is the highest of all fingers, represents Sirr as Sirr because it is the station of the most Perfect Representative of Prophet {SAW} who is the highest spiritual Authority. This Representative is given complete and perfect authority over creation and is therefore the highest spiritual human being living at any given era. This highest authority is manifested as the superior height of the middle finger.

The index finger corresponds to Khafa because it represents the Shahada index, that is, the designated finger we raise when we pronounce the Islamic testimony of faith. The Islamic testimony of faith was brought by Prophet Muhammad {SAW} who is the first one to declare the Unity of the Lord. At higher levels of spirituality the Khafa station appears from the Reality of Seydina Muhammad {SAW} (see table below), that is why this station represents the Shahada finger.

The thumb corresponds to Akhfa because it is the only station that is separated from the other 4 stations (Akhfa is related to the Creator while the remaining 4 stations are related to creation). Similarly, the thumb is the only finger that is separated from the other fingers (the thumb is considerably located below the other 4 fingers while these 4 fingers are all the same level).

The 5 Senses and the Journey Towards Union with the Beloved {SAW}. If we look at the way the five senses are assigned to the five spiritual stations of the Heart, we notice a clear movement: the senses describe 5 increasing levels of interaction  between the spiritual student and the object of his desire, which is the Light of Prophet Muhammad {SAW}.

First Level: Hearing the Call to Islam and Believing in the Unseen

At the very first level (the first station called Qalb), the seeker does not know about the spiritual reality of the Light of Prophet {SAW}. In this state of ignorance, the only way the seeker can know about the existence of a Higher Reality is through listening to the call to Islam. Therefore, the notion of Sound plays a particular important role at the first stage of spiritual development. At that stage, the seeker does not see the Higher Reality that is calling him, but he hears about the beautiful description of this Higher Reality. This description of the Beautiful Names and Attributes of the Higher Reality brings faith to the seeker who starts believing in what he does not see yet. The first step in religion is indeed to acquire belief in the Unseen. At this very first level, the seeker cannot see the Higher Reality because of the veil of his ego which stands between him and the Higher Reality. Therefore, his vision is obstructed by the wall of the bad characteristics of his ego.

Second Level: Seeing the Reality after having destroyed the Veil of the Ego

After the seeker has heard about existence of the Higher Reality, he sets on a journey to eliminate the bad characteristics of the ego in order to lift the veil of the ego that stands between him and the Divine Reality. Through the spiritual training of his Shaykh, he is able to “kill” all his bad traits until the wall of his ego crumbles down. At that moment, the seeker can now see the Higher Reality he was believing in. The seeker’s belief in the Message he was hearing (symbolically through the call to Islam and spiritually through the information his Shaykh sends him) made him reach  the second level of the five stations of the Heart, where he is granted spiritual vision. At that stage, the seeker is now a step closer to the Higher Reality because he now has the ability to see and to hear. The next natural step for the seeker is to move closer to the Reality standing in front of him up to the level where he can touch the Reality.

Third Level: Touching the Reality

Through the spiritual power of his Shaykh, the seeker reaches the third level where he is brought close to the Higher Reality of Nur Muhammad {s}, up to the point where he is able to physically interact with the Reality. At that stage, the seeker is reborn as a new baby, free from the bad characteristics of the ego, and pure as a crystal. This purity is the condition to physically interact with the Prophetic Light {s} because this Light can only be touched by a clean and pure heart.

Fourth Level: Smelling the Perfume of the Divine Presence

After the seeker has reaching the level of physical interaction with the Light, his Shaykh brings him even closer to the Light so that he may smell the Perfume of the Light. Perfumes are signs of the Presence of a higher reality, therefore the seeker who is elevated to the stage of Smell is automatically transported in the Presence of the Light of Prophet {SAW}.

Fifth Level: Tasting the Reality

The last step on the way to spiritual realization is union with the Light of Prophet {SAW}. Through the spiritual power of the Shaykh, the seeker moves from smelling the Presence of the Light to disappearing in the Spirituality of Nur Muhammad {s}. At that stage, the seeker does not need any external sensitive sign to interact with the Object of his desire. Hearing, Sight, Touch and Smell are indeed all external cognitive signs of perception while Taste is directly related to the inner soul of an individual. The sense of Taste is the only sense that requires you to be one with a reality in order to interact with it.