In this essay I hope to present an outline exposition of the “stations” or “maqamat” that are the special stages described in Jewish spiritual manuals advocating Sufi practice. This essay is merely an outline for those who are unfamiliar with the texts and concepts of the mediaeval Egyptian Pietists who are the models for our Tariqa Eliyahu HaNabi.[i] The essay will open with a brief description of the Suluk al-Khass and will then examine some selected sources and usages of the concept of maqamat in the works of our foundational Jewish-Sufi Masters.
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The Sulūk al-Khass is the Special Way (derekh/tariqa) of the Jewish-Sufi “hasid”.[ii] It runs concurrently with the Common or General way of halakhic Jewish practice that is observed by all Jews—and yet goes beyond it by increasing both focus and practice to the maximum that is believed to be attainable. It expresses the ideal of a perfected humanity (al-kamal al-insani) which all must strive to reach but few can attain, or even approach. As such, it is special because it is elitist.
The Egyptian Hasidim followed a system of ethical and ascetic discipline, the higher levels of which were only fully accessible to a few highly gifted individuals who were thought (presumably, by G-d and not by mankind) to be sufficiently intelligent, educated, and observant to receive various levels of Divine inspiration. To many of us, the oft-expressed (ancient and mediaeval) philosophical concept that it is only the highly educated and intellectually gifted who are capable of full intimacy with the Divine is somewhat distressing. We live in a post-Beshtian era when most spiritual-seekers rejoice that the secrets of the Kabbala and the inner meanings of our scriptures are taught openly in public. For us a more democratic and ostensibly generous concept of accessibilty to “intimacy with G-d” is favoured, All of us are encouraged to scale the heights of Sinai.
Actually, this was always the case, for although the Rambam and his son Abraham had little time for the ignorant, or for intellectual dullards in theory; in practice they tempered their philosophical elitism with praise for the via media and for good intentions. It was not that the heights of Sinai were only to be scaled by an elite (for we all stood/stand there)—but that an ideal level of attainment was being posited for us all to aim at.
The Suluk al-Khass of the Jewish-Sufi ascetic (according to Rabbenu Abraham ben Ha Rambam and his circle) is only to be approached once the aspirant has perfected the observance of the “common way”, by which he means the fundamental observance of the mitzvot.
Like the Islamic Sufi Path(s), The “Special Way” has its own levels of attainment (maqamat)—and in Jewish-Sufi manuals, practitioners range from long term (geo-physical and interior) solitaries to those who are highly active in professional and/or congregational activity but nevertheles practice khalwat dar anjuman (solitude in the crowd, or interior detatchment).
For Rabbenu Obadyah Maimuni (and even more so for Rabbenu David ben Joshua Maimuni) it is clear that the ideal model for the ultimate levels of ascetic and pietist practice is the solitary hermit living in extended (though not permanent) retreat. Nevertheless they also point out that those who are called to such a level on the Special Path are very few and far between.
Countering the charge of discriminatory elitism, it is significant that the Egyptian Pietists accepted members at various lower levels of intensity and (as it were) proficiency in their contemplative or ascetic practice, and yet still accounted them as fellow travellers (salikun) on the same Special Path. It is also significant that, somewhat unusually for their era, women were fully-active practitioners in the movement.[iii] The Egyptian Pietists were thus elitist in so far as they stated the highest levels of Sufic attainment as “ their ideal model” but were welcoming of all levels and many kinds of participation in their shared journey towards that goal. Their circle included “full time” practitioners who promoted the idea of Jewish-Sufi monastic convents for batlanim (permanently residential devotees) — but also businessmen, civil officials, and those who might be considered “cultural hangers-on”.
To support what has been claimed here so far, it will be helpful to quote some relevant source texts. Here is the passage from the Kifaya of Rabenu Abraham ben HaRambam which introduces the two “paths”:
The Torah’s Spiritual Path—which extends far beyond the basic observance of the Law [al-Sharīʿah]— is composed of two paths: the Common (general) Path [sulūk Am] and the Special Path [sulūk al-Khass]. We walk the Common Path when we observe the explicit mitzvot of the Law,performing what is commanded and avoiding that which is forbidden.... The Special Path is that followed by one who—like the prophets and saints— is aware of the essential and implicit purpose of the mitzvot and the hidden meanings which they contain. The one who follows the Special Path is called “holy”[kadosh], “benevolent” [hasid] ,and “humble” [anav]...but the best name for such a one is “hasid” because the term is derived from hesed (benevolence) for, due to his own benevolent desire, he goes beyond what is demanded by the Law.[iv]
We say it is a “special”way because it is not something which every one who observes the Law can fully attain and we say it is “implicit” is because it is not explicitly obligatory...[v]
From the very start of the section in the Kifaya it is clear that the Sulūk al-Khass is an elitist path, but shortly after stating this, and making it clear that all are invited to undertake the journey according to their own level of understanding, Rabbenu Abraham adds:
The range of the Sulūk al-Khass is as broad as the range between East and West, and those who walk its ways are on many distinct levels, even though they all walk on the same identical road. [vi]
The core of the system outlined by Rabbenu Abraham in the Kifaya is a route-map through the various stages of moral and religious development that the seeker on the Special Path must attempt to traverse in order to attain nearness/union with G-d.
In his commentary introducing his translation of the Kifaya, R.Samuel Rosenblatt describes that progress as follows:
“The SULUK or special course which Abraham Maimonides prescribes for those who wish to reach “the goal” corresponds as a whole almost exactly to the طريقة (ṭarīqah) the path of the Sufi, which is also sometimes called [סלוך] سلوك (sulūk) whence the name of those who embrace these paths is in both cases سالكون (sālikūn). Another name ظالب (ṭālib) is also hinted at in the [כפאיה] كـفـايـة (Kifāyah) and has its counterpoint there in the term [קאצד] قاصد (qāṣid ). The [מסאלך רפיעה] مسالك (masālak rafīʿah) or virtues, which mark the stages of this path in ascending order in each one of which man must perfect himself so as to be in complete possession of them, resemble in every way the مقمات (maqamāt) of the Sufi’s طريقة (ṭarīqah) which have been defined as denoting the good qualities which a man acquires through practice and which become to him,as a result of that practice, a lasting moral status. These مقمات (maqamāt) have also been called “scales of perfection” since men must make themselves perfect in one before passing on to the next.”[vii]
It is to the discussion of those maqamat that we shall now turn.
The Stations on the Path
In almost all religions the spiritual life of the contemplative and mystic is commonly described as a journey on a path; as the ascent of a mountain or the climbing of a ladder, all of which represent a progression through various states or stages. (The Carmelite Camino de Perfección and the Subida del Monte Carmelo, and the Carthusian Laddere of Foure Ronges spring to mind from my own past). But in the Sufi tradition in Islam, this progress towards human perfection and union with the Divine is achieved through a progression through States (Ahwal) and Stations (Maqamat) . The precise difference between these two terms is hotly debated in both Jewish and Islamic tradition and there are many overlapping concepts and experiences. But most would agree, with al-Ghazali, that a State (Hal) is a Divinely bestowed (or witheld) blessing whereas a Station (Maqam) may be “worked at” or in some sense “merited” by our own efforts: always assuming that such effort does not magically or automatically open spiritual doors by itself; that all progress requires Divine blessing; and that any progress is dependent on G-d’s Will and purpose— both for the individual and for all Creation.
A Talmudic Maqamat Schema
R.Abraham ben HaRambam insisted that the contemplative curriculum of the Biblical Prophets was hidden in Islamic-Sufi practice. Referring to his personal custom (and that of his circle) of dressing in imitation of the Cairo Islamic-Sufis, he wrote:
“The customary dress of the genuine prophets was such that they would wear tattered garments and other clothing worn by the poor (malbūs al-fuqarā’), in the manner of the clothing of the Sufis in our day ... But do not hold us in contempt for comparing this with the situation of the Sufis, because it was the Sufis who imitated the prophets and walked in their footsteps, not the prophets in theirs.”[viii]
It has been pointed out that the Babylonian Talmud contains two references to what seems to be a progression from one stage of observance and devotion to another in an ascending fashion. One wonders if there might have been some cross-fertilisation between this Talmudic description of the spiritual pathway and the later Islamic-Sufi theory and practice of the maqamat. Perhaps they share a common origin from the “lost” curriculum of the biblical Schools of the Prophets that the Pietists believe to have reclaimed from Islamic Sufism.
The most often quoted of those two Mishnaic texts is to be found in Tractate Sota in the Talmud Bavli:
Torah study leads to care in the performance of mitzvot. Care in the performance of mitzvot leads to diligence in their observance. Diligence leads to cleanliness of the soul. Cleanliness of the soul leads to abstention from all evil. Abstention from evil leads to purity and the elimination of all base desires. Purity leads to piety. Piety leads to humility. Humility leads to fear of sin. Fear of sin leads to holiness. Holiness leads to the Divine Spirit. The Divine Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead.[ix]
Which would give the following schema of maqamat:
THE TWELVE MISHNAIC MAQAMAT OF R. PINHAS BEN YAIR (late 2nd century)
1 | STUDY of the TORAH
|
2 | UNDERSTANDING understanding of/ caring about the mitzvot |
3 | DILIGENT OBSERVANCE of the mitzvot |
4 | CLEANLINESS Of the soul |
5 | ABSTINENCE from evil |
6 | PURITY |
7 | PIETY |
8 | HUMILITY |
9 | FEAR of sin |
10 | HOLINESS |
11 | INSPIRATION/PROPHECY (ruah haKodesh) |
12 | RESURRECTION |
If we now take a brief look at the schemata of spiritual stages in early Islamic-Sufi manuals, we will see from the above that there is more than a merely superficial correlation at work.
Islamic-Sufi Maqamat
One of the widely known Islamic-Sufi statements concerning maqamat comes from Shaqiq Al-Balkhi (d.810) though he refers to them as “manzila”. Al-Balkhi’s manual for Moslem Pietists posits four Stations:
THE FOUR MAQAMAT of AL BALKHI
1: ASCETICISM
involving fasting and a
renewable forty day solitary retreat
2: FEAR/AWE
involving contemplation
on human mortality and on Divine judgement
3: DESIRE
involving the contemplation of blissful Paradise
and including a further forty day retreat
4: LOVE
involving contemplation on Divine Light
and including a further forty day seclusion,
after which the adept becomes “Beloved of God”.
The progress of an aspirant is described in stages that must be attained gradually. It is significant that Al-Balkhi also explains that one may remain at one of these stations for as much as an entire lifetime without progressing higher. Each according to their Divinely determined personal capabilities.
The Kitab al-Luma’ fi‘l Tasawwuf [x] of Al-Sarraj (d.988), develops one of the first lists of Sufi maqamat and presents the following order of progression:
THE SEVEN MAQAMAT of AL SARRAJ
1 | Tawba | REPENTANCE |
2 | Wara‘ | FEAR/AWE OF G-D |
3 | Zuhd | RENUNCIATION (ASCETICISM) |
4 | Faqr | POVERTY |
5 | Sabr | PATIENCE |
6 | Tawwakul | RELIANCE |
7 | Rida | CONTENTMENT |
Closer to Cairo, the cradle of the mediaeval Jewish-Sufi movement, Dhul-Nun al-Misri (Zul the Egyptian- 796-859) the full-time recluse and Sufi Saint, posited lists of eight[xi] and also eighteen stations and Al- Qushayri (d.1072) listed fifty maqamat. It should be remembered that this list appeared in his Risala—a comprehensive manual in epistle form which was certainly available to the circle of Rabbenu Abraham ben haRambam, a copy even being discovered in the Cairo Geniza itself.
Amongst the fifty maqamat of Al-Qushayri[xii] we might note the following, since they re-appear with great frequency in our own Jewish maqamat manuals :
THE MAQAMAT OF THE RISALA—AL Qushayri
1 | Tawba | REPENTANCE “Tawba” being synonomous with Teshuva”. Al-Ghazali and Ibn Arabi also state that this is the first of the stations. |
3 | Khalwa | SECLUSION Referring to isolation retreats of some duration |
4 | ’Uzla | RECLUSION Meaning a general withdrawal from unnecessary and distracting social activity |
6 | Wara‘ | ABSTINENCE Taken to refer to the renunciation of power,fame,and the passions. |
7 | Zuhd | ASCETICISM Which is moderating one’s desire for things that are permitted |
19 | Tawwakul | TRUST in GOD Viewed as a consequent of true faith in G-d, and in total submission to God. One who has attained this state is satisfied with all that G-d sends and experiences equanimity. |
23 | Muraqaba | CONTEMPLATION |
32 | Zhikr | RECOLLECTION of the DIVINE This is a reference to (i) the meditative practice of reciting and contemplating the Divine Names; and (ii) the more general continuous and contemplative remembrance of G-d, but also (as in Al-Ghazali) it refers to (iii) meditating on the Divine Attributes and imitating them. |
42 | Tassawuf | PURITY |
46 | Tawhid | UNITY |
48 | Ma’rifa | GNOSIS |
49 | Mahabba | LOVE Al-Qushayri describes this Maqamat as being a “State”—something that is granted by Divine Benificence and not through human effort. For Al Ghazali, and for the majority of Jewish Sufi Masters, this is the last of the Maqamat, with Shawq being a consequential state it produces. |
50 | SHAWQ | LONGING for “union with/meeting” God |
From this point in time onwards, we find countless Islamic-Sufi lists of maqamat in Sufi manuals, some of which employ hundreds of Stations with detailed sub-units, but most seem to make prominent use of the stages of progress mentioned above. As we will see, the Sufic manuals of the Maimuni dynasty copy both the Islamic lists and their contents heavily. [xiii]
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The Maqamat schema of the Hidaya
—Rabbenu Bahya Ibn Pequda (1050–1120)
Perhaps the most popular manual of Jewish Spirituality/Musar that is contructed on a maqamat framework is al-Hidaya ila Fara’id ̣al-Qulub (Duties of the Heart) of Rabbenu Bahya Ibn Pequda.
Thanks to decades of modern scholarly research, its adoption and borrowings from Islamic-Sufi manuals are no longer a mystery.[xiv] Though Rabbenu Bahya disguised some of the Islamic sources he was using, the text was the first work of Jewish spirituality to be based on Islamic Sufi maqamat, and the first such work to be written in clear admiration of the Moslem Sufi manuals he had studied in depth.
The work was translated into hebrew and heavily edited as Hovot HaLevavot by Ibn Tibbon (c.1150-1230) who was more wary of the borrowings, and who even deleted or re-attributed Islam-sourced passages to Jewish sources. [xv]
The Hidaya opens with a detailed and lengthy exposition of theological and ethical principles, and it is only in the fourth treatise that the maqamat are introduced and discussed. I do not have access to the Judeo-Arabic at the moment but, using the hebrew of Ibn Tibbon, they are as follows:
The Seven Maqamat of the Hidaya (Ibn Pequda)
1 | TRUST IN GOD | Bitahon | בטחון |
2 | WHOLEHEARTED DEVOTION | Yihud ha-maaseh | יחוד המעשה |
3 | HUMILITY/SUBMISSION | K’niyah | כניעה |
4 | REPENTANCE | Teshuvah | תשובה |
5 | SELF RECKONING | Heshbon ha-nefesh | חשבון הנפש |
6 | ABSTINENCE/ASCETICISM | Perishut | פרישות |
7 | TRUE LOVE OF GOD | Ahavat Hashem | אהבת יי |
The Hidaya must have been one of the most important manuals of reference used by the early Egyptian Pietists at the time of HaRambam, and so it is not surprising that its influence is clearly apparent in the Kifaya of Rabbenu Abraham ben HaRambam.
But Rabbenu Bahya’s use of a maqamat schema differs enormously from that of Rabbenu Abraham in its intention. In a crucial manner, they had a very different perspective on the nature and the ultimate purpose of the Suluk al-Khass itself. Before we consider the maqamat of the Kifaya, it will assist our understanding if we first consider some of the points of divergence between the Suluk of Ibn Pequda, and that of Abraham ben HaRambam.
Similarities between the two are apparent as they share common spiritual roots, but the path of the Hidaya differs from that of the Kifaya in both its goal and its method. For example:
-The aim of the Hidaya is to guide each and every Jew towards the most perfect observance of the Law that is possible, an observance which involves both outward thoroughness and inner devotion, and which leads to a deep level of love of G-d. The Kifaya goes much further by outlining a plan for a community and a movement of members aspiring to attain prophecy.
--The Hidaya is critical of external solitude and withdrawal from society, but the Kifaya makes this the ultimate (if rare) ideal practice.
-The Hidaya insists upon moderation in asceticism, the Kifaya warns against excess yet it still stretches its most zealous members to the very limit. The Kifaya’s perceived “elitism” may well have been off-putting.
-The Hidaya’s lasting popularity may (in part) stem from its being easily accessible to all and because it is focussed on the individual whereas the Suluk al-Khass of the Egyptian Pietists was also a community and sectarian path at its heart even though its members practiced extreme forms of solitude.
· But perhaps the most significant difference between the two is that the writings of Rabbenu Abraham were little short of revolutionary in their proposal that the Special Way of the Jewish-Sufi was the restored path of the Sons of of the Prophets, the B’nei ha-Neviím— and that its goal was nothing less than the training of new prophets.
Elisha Russ Fishbane writes:
...the biblical model of Elijah and Elisha, and of the institution of the “disciples of the prophets” more generally, served as the primary mechanism by which the pietist movement sought both to train its disciples in the prophetic path (al-maslak al-nabawī) and, equally important, to perpetuate itself in future generations.[xvi]
An anonymous member of the mediaeval Jewish Sufi community of Rabbenu Abraham writes:
“Moses ordained that the elite (al-khawāsṣ) of Israel ̣—and, in the days of Moses, all of them were of the elite—be guided toward the path of those who experience proximity to [God], may He be exalted ...[God] originally intended that all of them become prophets, as it says “You shall be unto Me [a kingdom of priests and a holy nation]” (Ex. 19:6). We have, however, been promised the same [for the future]: “You shall be called priests of the Lord” (Is. 61:6).”[xvii]
Our twenty-first century Tariqa Eliyahu HaNabi is devoted to renewing the practice of the Suluk al-Khass in hopeful preparation for the time when that same promise will be fulfilled.
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The Maqamat Schema of the Kifaya
—R.Abraham ben HaRambam (1186-1237)
At the time of writing, we are still awaiting the longed-for discovery of the final section of the Kifaya that deals with the ultimate maqam of Contemplation and Prophecy —and the final State of wusul-“Arrival”— but using the translated texts of R. Samuel Rosenblatt and R. Yaakov Wincelberg (for comparison) we can list the maqamat of the Kifaya as follows:
The Twelve Maqamat of the Kifaya (R.Abraham ben Ha Rambam)
| ROSENBLATT’S ENGLISH | WINCELBERG’S ENGLISH | WINCELBERG’S HEBREW |
1 | SINCERITY | PURIFYING THE ACTIONS | TAHARAT HAMA’ASIM | טהרת המעשים |
2 | MERCY | COMPASSION | RAHAMANUT | רחמנות |
3 | GENEROSITY | GENEROSITY | NEDIVUT | נדיבות |
4 | GENTLENESS | CALMNESS | ARIKHUT APAYIM | אריכות אפים |
5 | HUMILITY | HUMILITY | ANAVAH | ענוה |
6 | FAITH | RELIANCE | BITAHON | בטחון |
7 | CONTENTEDNESS | CONTENTMENT WITH LITTLE | HISTAP’QUT | הסתפקות |
8 | ABSTINENCE | ABSTINENCE | PERISHUT | פרישות |
9 | JIHAD | BATTLE | HAMA’AVAQ | המאבק |
10 | GOVERNMENT OF THE FACULTIES | SELF-MASTERY | KVISHAT HAK’HOT | כבישת הכחות |
11 | SOLITUDE | RETREAT | HITBODEDUT | התבודדות |
12 | CONTEMPLATION... RUAH HaKODESH...WUSUL (ARRIVAL)....PROPHECY......?? |
From the above, the correspondence to both the Islamic-Sufi and Bahyian maqamat is now crystal clear and needs no further demonstration here.
R.Rosenblatt writes:
“The special virtues that make up the SULUK outlined by Abraham Maimonides,...are all paralelled in the path of the Sufi in practically the same sequence and are called by pretty nearly the same names. Both systems require as a necessary preliminary to the assumption of the special higher courses the scrupulous fulfillment of the law الشريعة (al-sharīʿah). Both make it imperative that the novice take a guide to direct him on his journey and that this guide be an experienced teacher, a holy man, who has himself already traversed “the way”. In both cases the end is not reached until the stages have been passed and perfection has been attained in each one.”[xviii]
Rabbenu Abraham himself states that:
“These Paths have an order,with some ahead of others. I do not mean in time;rather I refer to their being above in arrangement and level. Therefore we have arranged the chapters so that each chapter will contain one stage,with each stage more essential to the realisation of Encounter [wusul] with the one in the previous chapter [Nonetheless,acquiring a higher stage] would be worth little without acquiring the previous stage first” [xix]
He also gives the sort of sound advice that teachers of meditation and contemplation give to their students in almost all world religions when he writes:
“When your desire has been aroused for this great thing and this elevated path, “the way of the pious-ones of the Lord and his prophets”, [you should] remove your habits, weaken your [worldly]ties little by little,by degree. Do not run and plunge in at one stroke in such a manner that you would fail and not persevere.”[xx]
This then was the outline route-map presented in the Kifaya. In practice it provided inspiration and guidance to Rabbenu Abraham’s Judeo-Sufic community and we know— from this and his other writings as well as those of his group— that the path involved a clearly explained set of practices. These have been outlined in a previous essay HERE, and include liturgical rituals of ablution and prostration, vigils and fasting, incubation at shrines, and periodic secluded retreats.
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The Maqamat in the Treatise of the Pool
— Rabbenu Obadyah Maimuni (1228–1265)
Although it is one of the most spiritually inspiring manuscripts used by the Egyptian Pietists, Al Maqala al-Hawdiyya (The Treatise of the Pool) of R. Obadyah Maimuni has a focus on specific theoretical and practical aspects of the Judeo-Sufic Path— but it is comparitively unconcerned with the delineation of maqamat and the kind of exposition of one’s progress through them that we find in the other manuals of our movement’s mesora.
As a particularly esoteric text, it also chooses to be sparing in revealing the details of the process of spiritual ascent,[xxi] preferring to encourage each novice to develop their own private intuition For example: commenting on his method of scriptural exegesis (which bears comparison to our own Hegyon HaLev ), in a passage which might well apply to the entire Hawdiyya, R.Obadyah tells us that:
"...the matter to which we have alluded cannot be more overtly expounded...my goal is merely to open the gate and rely upon the disciple’s comprehension. If he be endowed with insight and intuition (dawq), he will then arrive at the true significance through his own resources."[xxii]
Nevertheless, the Hawdiyya restates the classic pietist practices of Equanimity, Moderated Asceticism, and the avoidance of bad company[xxiii] as essential components of the path of one dedicated to the Suluk al-Khass. Most especially, the manuscript is marked by a pronounced emphasis on the importance of khalwa (both external and internal)[xxiv] and on the recommendation of late marriage/celibacy as methods of askesis designed to produce a state of total dedication and intimacy with the Divine.[xxv]
Like Ibn Pequda, R.Obadyah accepts that not everyone is called to extreme asceticism, and the Hawdiyya also gives us further confirmation that the Tariqa (for such a description truly befits the Egyptian Pietist circle ) welcomed people at varied “levels” of pietist practice in the following passage:
“Reflect upon this saying of the Rabbis,may peace be upon them, which also alludeth to the aforementioned diversity of spiritual states among the wayfarers, “Unto Abraham,whose power was strong, (the Angels) appeared as men, whereas unto Lot, whose power was weak, they appeared in the likeness of Angels.”[xxvi]
Though a formal “list” of Stages or States does not feature in this vade mecum for pietists, he follows his father (and every Islamic-Sufi Murshid) by making one point especially clear to us—namely that each stage be approached gradually and given time to settle (as it were) before the murid/novice moves on. He writes:
“It behoveth the wise man not to ascend to a state which is too elevated for him to be aware of the extent of his soul’s (capacity) and advance gradually, as is the wont of nature, which assimilateth things progressively. The Sage said in this respect, “Only he who hath eaten his fill of bread and meat is fit to stroll in the orchard.”[Yesod haTorah IV: 13].”[xxvii]
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The Maqamat in the Guide to Solitude
—R. David ben Joshua Maimuni (1335-c.1414)
By the early fifteenth century, the Egyptian Pietist Movement of Cairo had spread throught Egypt and the Palestine/Syria Region. Though it is assumed that the Kifaya was the primary manual of guidance during the early days of the Tariqa, it is certain that the extensive writings of Rabbenu David ben Joshua Maimuni will have been held in great respect.
His literary output was even more concerned with both mystical theology and pietist practicalities than R.Obadyah’s Hawadiyya. They are certainly the most overtly “Sufic” of the Maimuni manuscripts and they are a rich source of Judeo-Sufi mahshava and encouraging guidance for us to this day.
In fact, in his Murshid (al-Murshid ila al-tafarud va-al-murfid ila al-tagarud —The Guide to Solitary Retreat and Detachment) we have a remarkable Judeo-Sufic manual that is even more focussed on the “States” and on progression through the “Stations” than any previously composed Pietist text. Rabbenu David expresses the core importance of his maqamat schema in al-Murshid as follows:
“Actually, the central theme of this book concerns the stations and states of the soul in its journey on the Divine Path, the ascent towards God and the arrival (wusul) at the final goal, which is passionate love of the One who is Truth itself.”[xxviii]
Like all his Maimuni forebears, he is clearly presenting a system which has the aim of producing a community and a movemental pathway that is geared to the ethical and mystical education of a Tariqa of aspiring prophets, but like Ibn Pequda and Rabbenu Abraham, his true goal is the individual’s arrival at the State of intense and intimate mutual love of the soul and G-d.
Here, then, is a very brief summary of the Maqamat of Rabbenu David ben Joshua as he presents them in chapters 5 to 20 of al-Murshid. From this alone one can see that al-Murshid is undoubtedly the most comprehensive and clearly delineated example of the Jewish-Sufi Maqamat that is available to us.
The Twelve Maqamat of R. David ben Joshua Maimuni
1 | ZEHIRUT | Illumination | |
Rabbenu David presents this term as having two meanings (i)ascetic renunciation of inessentials and (ii) enlightenment. One who reaches this station is called a “Zahir” (Enlightened One). |
2 | ZERIZUT | Zeal | |
He presents two meanings of this term: (i) alacrity and zeal in study, and (ii)concentrated effort and tenacity in maintaining perseverance on the Path. One who reaches this stage is called a “Zariz”, (One who has bound himself intentionally to religious service, possibly by a vow.) |
3 | PERISHUT | Reclusion/Retreat | |
Rabbenu David describes this state as being one of al-‘uzla (signifying seclusion and withdrawal). One who reaches this station is called "Parush" (One who has withdrawn and separated the self from all but G-d.) It is crystal clear from the six reasons that follow in his text that he is not talking here about "seclusion within the crowd" but that he is describing the experience of a solitary recluse in geophysical seclusion that involves actual withdrawal from society. |
4 | NEQIYUT | Integrity | |
This refers to the personal authenticity that comes from being cleansed from faults and self-deception; from reliance on emotion,sensation, and luxury—all this being attained from love and from a desire to be intimate with the Divine. It is a state of being “tam” in thought and in deed. One who has reached this station is called “Naqi” (clean). |
5 | TAHORA | Purity | |
Rabbenu David refuses to expound on this station in detail. We can see,however, that he relates the purity of the seeker to the absolute simplicity and the unique holiness of the Divine. |
6 | QEDUSHA | Holiness | |
He insists that the seeker must be “holy” in order to receive spiritual illumination. He states that fasting and vigils are the specific practices of one who has arrived at this Station and that the one who reaches this Station will have negated and transcended sensible imaginings. |
7 | ANAWA | Humility | |
This is defined as a Station of meekness, modesty, and being humble. Rabbenu David tells us that the one who has perfected humility attracts the attention of the Divine. Once again he deliberately refuses to say more on this. |
8 | YIRA | Fear/Awe | |
Rabbenu David tells us that fear of sin and punishment are secondary and of lower estate than the awe which is born of pure devotion. This Station refers to the latter and he uses the term to describe the spiritual seeker’s relationship of “love and intimacy” with God. |
9 | HASIDUT | Piety | |
Rabbenu David sees this as the station in which the person has arrived at gama‘: the very first of the stages of true union with G-d. From this point on the Maqamat of al-Murshid enter the realm of experience which we assume was also the content of the missing final section of the Kifaya. |
10 | RUAH HAKODESH | Inspiration | |
Rabbenu David chooses to hint at the nature of this station using intimate texts from The Song of Songs. For him the Station is clearly one of the profoundest intimacy with God. He speaks of a “mystical conjunction” and an “arrival” in a manner which is much closer to Islamic-Sufi concepts of unio mystica than the texts of previous Maimuni teachers. This correspondence is even more explicit in chapter 24 On True Love. |
11 | NEVUAH | Prophecy | |
The suluk of Rabbenu David holds that the animal, instinctive and physical attributes of each seeker must be purified and purged if this state is to be reached. He insists that what he calls the “angelic” and “luminous” aspects of the intellect and the soul must overcome and actually obliterate the base aspects. He is clearly referring to the “nafs” of classic Sufism in this. |
12 | AHAVAH | LOVE | |
In describing this station Rabbenu David commences the most inspired and inspiring section of the Murshid. It is a beautiful paen of love written by one who is writing from enraptured personal experience. It glows and it radiates the author’s enlightened perception so much that it truly is beyond the scope of this little essay. Suffice it to say that he is resolute in claiming that mutual intimacy between the human and the Divine is possible despite the doubting criticisms of his detractors. |
| | | | |
Conclusion
Having outlined some of the sources and principal elements of the Maqamat schemata as they appear in the writings of our Tariqa’s principal authors, I will conclude this brief over-view by quoting Rabbenu David ben Joshua when referring to the ultimate purpose of the Maqamat and the final goal of the Suluk al-Khass:
In chapter 22 of al-Murshid, he writes:
“Love is the supreme goal of the Stations and the final degree of all the Stages. There is no Station beyond Love that is not one of its fruits or one of its effects such as desire (shawq), intimacy (‘uns) and satisfaction (rida’). Conversely, there is no Station prior to the [Station of] Love that is not one of its preliminaries.”[xxix]
For Rabbenu David— and for both Islamic and Jewish Sufis —the goal of the maqamat is clear.[xxx]
He writes:
“... during the final Station,
the soul sinks so deeply into love
that it is no longer aware either of itself or of its love.
Indeed, when the lover reaches the stage where he declares:
"I am my beloved and my beloved is I",
he loses awareness of his own self
due to the contemplation of the object of his love,
which occupies him to such an extent
that he perceives nothing
except [that which he perceives] through his Beloved.”[xxxi]
oooOooo
©nachman davies
Safed 15th Feb 2023
This is
a draft chapter for inclusion in “The Mitkarevim”. Please credit it as “Chapter 13 of The Mitkarevim —Nachman
Davies” if you want to use any of its
contents.
[i] Egyptian Pietists: A mediaeval and Middle-Eastern Hasidic movement centred on Egypt and later spreading to the Palestinian and Syrian region, believed to have been in existence at the time of the Rambam (who was not part of the movement). His son and successor (Rabbenu Abraham ben HaRambam) was taught by the movement’s prolific leader, Rav Abraham HeḤasid (Abraham ibn Abi’l-Rabi’) and subsequently became its dynamic leader himself. In 2021 a new Jewish Tariqa “Derekh Eliyahu HaNabi”was founded to renew and develop the aims and practices of this same movement.
[ii] The term “hasid” was used by the mediaeval Egyptian Pietists to denote a devotee member of the Jewish Sufi circle of Rabbenu Abraham ben haRambam. It was not simply a term denoting piety. It referred specifically to one who had elected to follow the Suluk al-Khass. It is used in this essay in that same very specific way.
[iii] See Russ-Fishbane’s exposition and footnote referencing Rabbenu Abraham’s Perushim:- 491 (Ex. 38:8), and cf. Perush, 233 (Ex. 4:24), 277 (Ex. 15:20), and 301 (Ex. 18:22) in E.Russ-Fishbane, Judaism,Sufism,and the Pietists of Medieval Egypt, p.62
[iv] S. Rosenblatt, ed., The High Ways to Perfection of Abraham Maimonides vol. 1,p.134
[v] Rosenblatt vol. 1 p.138
[vi] Rosenblatt vol. 1 p 140
[vii] Rosenblatt vol. 1 p50-52 (I am greatly indebted to Lucas Oro Hershtein for assisting me with the Arabic and Judeo-Arabic in this transcription.)
[viii] Russ-Fishbane’s translation of Rosenblatt vol.2, p320 in: Russ-Fishbane, p. 61
[ix] Mishnah Sota 9 (conclusion), Koren/Steinsaltz translation from Sefaria
[x] See pp204 & foll in Sufism: an introduction; Farida Khanam, Goodword Books, New Delhi, 2006. For Al-Saraj on Maqamat,see Abu Nasr al Sarraj ,Kitab al Luma’ fi’l tasawwuf, ed. R.A.Nicholson, London, 1914(one of the earliest Sufi manuals).
[xi] These included thankfulness (shukr), contentment (rida), fear (khawf ), and hope (raja)
[xii] This information is presented and discussed in Sufism; Carl W.Ernst, Shambala,Boulder, 2011,p104
[xiii] In his Deux traités de mystique juive, Paul Fenton has identified countless borrowings from Islamic sources in the Murshid of Rabbenu David ben Joshua. He provides clear evidence from comparisons with manuscripts by Al-Hallaj, Al-Qushayri, Al-Saraj, Ibn Sina,and most especially—the lhya’ ‘ulum ad-din of Al-Ghazali, and the Ishraqi works of Suhrawardi.
[xiv] Islamic-Sufi sources used by Ibn Pequda include manuals by Sulami, Abu Nuaym, al Qurayshi, and al Muhasibi. See especially: D. Lobel, A Sufi-Jewish Dialogue: Philosophy and Mysticism in Bahya ibn Paquda’s Duties of the Heart ,Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007.
[xv] See Menahem Mansoor’s introduction in: The Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart, trans Menahem Mansoor, Littman/Liverpool University,2004
[xvi] Russ-Fishbane, p.130
[xvii] From manuscript: TS Ar. 16.60a, ll. 18–19, 25–7 translated in Russ-Fishbane, p.131
[xix] Wincelberg.Y, The Guide to Serving G-d, Feldheim, Jerusalem,2008 p 533
[xx] Rosenblatt vol. 2, p252
[xxi] See also Fenton, P. The Treatise of the Pool: Al-Maqala al-Hawdiyya. (London: The Octagon Press, 1981). chapter XII page 96
[xxii] Fenton, (Treatise of the Pool, chapter IV) ,page 80
[xxiii] See Fenton, (Treatise of the Pool Chapter XIV exhortation), p102 and p107
[xxiv] See Fenton, (Treatise of the Pool Chapter XVIII), pp 110&foll.
[xxv] See Fenton, (Treatise of the Pool Chapter XI),pp94 &foll.
[xxvi] See Fenton, (Treatise of the Pool Chapter IX) p. 91
[xxvii] See Fenton, (Treatise of the Pool, Chapter III ) p. 80
[xxviii] Fenton, P. (al-Murshid, chapter 20), in Deux traités de mystique juive (Lagrasse: Éditions Verdier, 1987). p273(As we are eagerly awaiting the publication of his English translation,I have translated al-Murshid quotations from Professor Fenton’s French in Deux traités.)
[xxix] Fenton: (Murshid ch. 22) in Deux traités, p. 277
[xxx] It is clear from this concluding section of Al-Murshid that R.David ben Joshua would have understood and shared the unitive experience of Al-Hallaj (858-922).[Those who know will understand]
[xxxi] Fenton: (Murshid ch. 24) in Deux traités, pp. 288-289 (translated from the French)
