Recollection (Islam, Sufism)

A state of consciousness said to be required on the spiritual path is one in which the objective of the journey is continually kept in mind. Traditionally this state is achieved by repeating God's name, or a holy word or formula, either audibly or inaudibly; by repeating symbolic movements or adopting particular postures or by special placement of the hands; and and most difficult of all, by retaining in the mind itself a divine symbol, special condition of awareness, or "memory" of the goal. All these elements are what constitute, in their inner essence, the worship, the liturgy and the rituals of the world's faiths.

In Islam, the dhikr (remembrance) performed by glorifying Allah may be accompanied by appropriate movements and particular breathings. Among the dervishes, music and dancing are associated with dhikr as well. The Islamic fraternities each have their own special dhikr (remembrance ritual). The most usual verbal formula is "La ilaha illa Allah" - "There is no god but God". One peculiar quality of the special state of spiritual recollection, is that conditions are set up for an inner ritual that is taken over and performed "automatically" by the mind. This state is capable of being maintained by the practitioner while he on she is engaged in routine affairs, so that it provides a background of a continual spiritual presence to behaviour and to perception. Everything but the dhikr is seen as tribulation. Detached from the fears and sorrows of the world, the reflections of phenomenal forms veiling the heart are removed. There is no room in the heart for anything but love of God. Attachments are negated, regarded as false, while the love of God is affirmed until the heart is empty of love of things and becomes the essence of God's unity. The reality of the dhikr and the substance of the heart become one - an experience which has been referred to as the trans-substantiation of the heart, when the heart is so full with love for God that there is no room for any other thought. This experience is [tawhid]

, the direct personal experience of reality. It is also related to the state of [qurb]

, when there is experience of approaching one's goal, of nearness to God, the object of love.

According to Shaykh Abu Sa'id ibn Abi'l-Khayr, this is the eighth of 40 stations or maqamat the Sufi must possess for his journey on the path of Sufism to be acceptable.