This As-salaamu `Alaykum article features a khutbah given in both Carbondale and Germany this Spring by one of Sheikh Din's students. The khutbah was inspired by the theme of our upcoming Spiritual Intensive, “Obedience and Discipline: Protection for the Spiritual Aspirant,” which will be held this September, 1-4 in Carbondale, Illinois. This talk is intended only to begin to scratch the surface of this very profound subject.

Today’s topic is obedience and discipline. This topic feels ripe and timely for me in my personal process, as well as in the collective process of our Community. This topic is very deep and very intimate because it cuts to the core of our very being, our very own “I”, which is the most subtle level of our attachment to the small self. The subject of obedience is found intertwined in the vulnerable heart of the student/Teacher relationship. As I am writing these words, Murshid just happened to come by and comment on what a big topic this is, and he is absolutely correct. For this, inshaa'allah, I hope simply to wet your appetites and plant some provocative seeds for reflection, trusting that Murshid will take us deeper into these matters during our Spiritual Intensive in September. As well, please forgive any thing that is said here that may be incorrect, as these mistakes come from my own shortcomings, and if there is any wisdom or insight that comes through today, may credit and thanks be given to Allah.

Before delving into the books, I went inside myself to reflect on the subject of obedience. I went into my childhood to see if I could connect with my earliest experiences or understanding of obedience. Of course, the first place obedience shows up is in our relationship with our parents, but I couldn’t specifically remember or conjure up a visceral experience of my parents demanding obedience. Instead, my connection to obedience came through the concept of discipline. Interestingly, the first of the three Oaths of Initiation in our tariqat is “Obedience and Discipline.” We’ll take a closer look at this a little later in the khutbah. Noting, however, that obedience and discipline come together in this first oath between the Teacher and the student gave me a sense of affirmation regarding the relationship between them in my childhood experience. Both of my parents were the oldest children in their respective families and both were bred to be perfectionists, for better and for worse. Thus, discipline was an essential part of their nature and was conveyed to their children, five daughters in this case, through their every thought, word and action. Consequently, obedience was conveyed to us through the medium of being disciplined to be, and do, as they believed was best, and in so being and doing, we were in turn obeying their wishes. So from a very young age of 4 to 5, we were given clear expectations and standards that our thoughts, words and actions had to meet.

Now, if this discipline is conveyed in a positive way, then we learn the true meaning of discipline that, in Murshid’s words, is “remembering what we truly want.” In turn, the practice of obedience becomes a form of discipline, which through our willingness will deliver us to that which we truly want. On the spiritual path, the practice of obedience to the Teacher also provides protection for the spiritual aspirant. With this understanding, obedience and discipline should not be such scary propositions.

When we turn to the Holy Qur’an, we will not find the concept of discipline explicitly referred to, but rather it is implied in only a few places. Instead, the Qur’an focuses explicitly on the practice of obedience, which appears many times throughout the text. In Arabic, there are two words for obedience. The first, taa`a, refers to obedience with compliance, submissiveness or subjugation, while in the plural taa`a refers to a pious deed. The second word is Tawaa`iya referring to being obedient voluntarily, of one’s own free will. Both words are from the same root verb tau`, which in the depth of its meaning includes the whole range of expressions from volunteering of one’s own accord without being asked, to following by consent, to obedience as subjugation. I found this very interesting and profound, that within the essence of the root verb lies the spiritual paradox which obedience instigates, between the confrontation of the ego that resists and the heart that longs and volunteers itself in service. I believe we all have an intimate experience with this paradox that creates tremendous inner struggle. In Arabic, this inner struggle is referred to as the Jihad al-Akbar. As we explore this topic today, we will see how the Qur’an and the spiritual relationship between student and Teacher address this confrontation and power struggle. In Surah 4, al-Nisaa (the Women), Ayah 59, we are strongly commanded to this practice of obedience.

Bismillah hir rahman nir rahim. Oh ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and (obey) those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and Allah’s Messenger, If ye do believe in Allah and the last Day: That is best and most suitable for final determination.

I chose this verse from among the many which call us into obedience, because it gives specific directions and a reference standard by stating that we are best advised to obey Allah, the Prophets and in addition, “those charged with authority among (us) you.” This, of course, includes our Sheikh and our elders. It is “obeying the authority among us,” however, that has tested our egos for time in memoriam, and like a drawing salve reveals our ego attachments. Especially in this day and age, we can hardly stand obeying authority figures.

But before we go down the dark road of what gets in the way of our willingness to obey, let’s look at what inspires us to obey. We can sum it up in three power packed words — Love, Trust and Respect. These attributes are the foundation of relationship between a child and parent, and likewise between the student and the Teacher. If any one of these three attributes is not present in the relationship between the student and Teacher, the discipline of obedience will be, dare I say, impossible to practice. For even when a student fully loves, trusts and respects the Teacher, the path of surrender through the practice of obedience is still incredibly difficult. We, as students, must go within to find a place of willingness to follow the instruction of the Teacher no matter what: no matter if it makes sense in our minds; no matter if we agree, no matter if the instruction is in accordance with our desires or preferences, or our opinions or expectations. Our job is to attune ourselves to the frequency of the Teacher’s transmission. We must fully embrace a paradigm shift deep within our being such that rather than focusing on what we think about something, our focus is on what does my Teacher think about this, and how does my Teacher see this. We must inquire about what our Teacher sees as the greater context in each situation, and what our Teacher considers when making decisions. In order to make this paradigm shift, we must be willing not only to put our previous thinking and ideas aside, we must be willing to let them die. This sounds threatening and dramatic to our ego, of course, but if we want to be free this is where we have to be willing to go.

The Holy Qur’an explicitly addresses the struggle that the followers had with the Messengers of Allah, which is non-different than the struggle that current students have with obedience to the instruction of the Spiritual Teacher. Again in Surah 4, Ayah 64 - 66:

We sent not a Messenger, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the Will of Allah. If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah’s forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, They would have found Allah indeed Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. But no, by the Lord, They can have no real Faith until they make thee judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls not resistance against thy decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction.

If Allah had ordered them to sacrifice their lives or to leave their homes, very few of them would have done it: But if they had done what they were actually told, it would have been best for them, and would have gone farthest to strengthen their faith.

This passage speaks to both the implicit and explicit nature of the chain of transmission from Allah to the Rasuul to the Sheikh. It clearly relates the importance and the intimacy of how we are to be engaged in relationship with God through our relationship with the Teacher. Again from the verse, If they had only . . . come unto thee and asked Allah’s forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed oft-Returning and Most Merciful. Here, we see the connection or the chain of transmission between Allah and the Messenger, and in turn the Teacher and the student, and how by engaging in this relationship we have greater access to Allah’s Mercy. In addition, there is something subtly and profoundly essential in our willingness to humble ourselves, to surrender into the flow, to take our place in the chain of life. When we look into nature, we see that everything is intimately interconnected. On the gross level, we see the essential connection between animals in the food chain. On the micro level, we can see how genetically even the littlest things are passed to us from our ancestors such as our laugh or our handwriting. On an even more subtle plane, the conscious reflective energy that emanates from a spiritual person or spiritual presence is experienced as a wave of spiritual transmission. This verse gives us insight into the important role that the Teacher/Messenger plays, and how if we engage in relationship with the Teacher, the alchemy of this relationship will help us to be receptive to God’s Grace and Mercy that is always present.

In the next part of the verse, But no, by the Lord, They can have no real Faith until they make thee judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls not resistance against thy decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction. Here we are told specifically that we must rely on Allah, and not only let go of all of our resistance to what appears in our lives by God’s Will but more so, we must embrace what we are given wholeheartedly with gratitude. What strikes me particularly is the phrase accept them with the fullest conviction. The idea of embracing the decision or instruction of the Teacher with full conviction is very powerful and challenging, until we are able to come into the loving spirit of the relationship. For example, when Murshid describes with such devotion, when Baba Dayemullah would give him an instruction, rather than be defensive, Murshid would inquire within himself with a spirit of wanting to understand how Baba saw the situation and what was the greater context that he was considering. This willingness to inquire, rather than defend, is certainly something we can all learn from.

And in the last part of the verse, If Allah had ordered them to sacrifice their lives or to leave their homes, very few of them would have done it: But if they had done what they were actually told, it would have been best for them, and would have gone farthest to strengthen their faith. It is made clear here that few of us will actually obey Allah when it impacts our personal worldly belongings and attachments. The Qur'an assures us, however, that if we would obey, if we would follow the instructions, it would be in our best interest on all levels, because Allah holds the big picture and can “see” far beyond where we can see. The story of Moses (as) and Khidr (as) is a great example of our struggle with obedience, whereby Khidr instructed Moses not to question his behavior as they traveled together, but Moses could not control himself and questioned Khidr’s apparently horrific behavior. In the end, however, Khidr revealed the bigger picture, the greater context from which he made his decisions. With this, Moses realized his shortcomings and saw that the scope of compassion and wisdom that his Master had was greater than his own. Alhamdullilah, it is encouraging to know that even the great Prophets had Teachers and struggled with the practice of obedience.

In fact, this whole verse reflects the oath of obedience between the Teacher and the student — God/Allah being the ultimate Teacher. Because it is overwhelming or abstract to think of being in relationship with Allah, or practicing obedience to Allah, the intimacy of a relationship with a living spiritual Guide provides us the opportunity to practice obedience with the ultimate intention of learning to obey Allah as an expression of our surrender to Allah’s Will.

As mentioned earlier, in our Tariqat there are three Oaths of Initiation, the first of which is Obedience and Discipline: Of my own free will I promise to be willing to follow, absolutely to the best of my ability, the complete instructions of the Spiritual Guide for the use of the practices and the protocol on the path, and to seek advice from the Guide for all decisions of consequence in my personal life – spiritual chivalry as a code of living.

This practice of obedience, as mentioned earlier, is the first step for the muriid in the journey for Truth. Thus, it is fundamental to the oath of allegiance between the student and Teacher, in Sufism known as bay`ah. Through this oath, the muriid makes a promise and the conscious intention to obey the instructions of the Muraad, Sheikh or Master. The Sheikh, in turn, promises to train the student for his quest of Truth. This exchange paves the road to God-realization. Qur’an describes the Oath of Fealty or Bay`ah al-Ridwan, the Oath of Allah’s Good Pleasure, in Surah 48, al-Fath, Ayah 10.

Verily those who plight their fealty to thee do no less than plight their fealty to Allah: The hand of Allah is over their hands: then anyone who violates his oath, does so to the harm of his own soul, and anyone who fulfills what he has covenanted with Allah – Allah will soon grant him a great Reward.

This verse specifically refers to the historical event when the Companions pledged their oath of fealty to the Prophet (saws) as he sat under a tree in the plains of Hudaibiya north of Mecca awaiting word from the Quraysh, who threatened to attack them if they entered Mecca to make their `umrah (pilgrimage) to the Holy Ka`bah. It is from the inspiration of this historic event that the great Sufi Masters have passed down the practice of initiation in the Sufi tradition. This is how the silsilah (chain or lineage) is transmitted. In taking the hand of the Sheikh, we are reminded that we are also taking the hand of the Prophet (saws), and in taking the hand of the Prophet, we are taking the hand of Allah. This verse goes further to warn us that if we violate our oath with the Teacher, we are also violating our oath with Allah, and in so doing we harm our own soul.

So far, we have explored the beauty and importance of the practice of obedience, what inspires us to obey, and the intimate and integral part that it plays in our relationship with the spiritual Teacher. Along with this inspiration and instruction, however, we must take to heart the warnings and look at what gets in the way of our being able to practice obedience.

In a recent sohbet that Murshid gave while we were in Bangladesh he said, “If you want to know the Truth, the first step is to practice obedience, because this will make us confront our egotism and arrogance.” These two, obedience and arrogance, are somehow inextricably intertwined. Murshid pointed out how in the search for Truth all of the great Prophets had to confront their egos and digest this paradox in order to surrender to God and fulfill their callings as Messengers of Allah. So too, we will have to confront our egos in our journey for Truth, and the practice of obedience is the perfect method to raise up our ego attachments so that we can see them, feel them and then make a conscious choice to let go of them. Only then can we think, speak and behave in a more enlightened way.

In Surah 2, al-Baqarah, Ayah 34, we see the pure unquestioning obedience of the angels juxtaposed to the arrogant refusal of Iblis, when they were asked by Allah to bow down to Adam.

And behold, Allah said to the angels: “bow down to Adam”: and they bowed down: not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: he was of those who reject faith.

Here we see the inception of our separation and the beginning of our long journey back to Unity and Truth. As well, we see the interface of complete surrender through obedience versus the result of staunch arrogance that we are better or know better. The latter creates a great deal of suffering because through the ignorance of our arrogance, we have become self-consumed. Out of fear we have made ourselves separate.

When we are in this contracted and fearful place, we become defensive and haughty. Though we may speak as if we believe in something greater, the reality is that we leave satsang or jumu`ah and fall asleep immediately. We become consumed in our self-interest, and we look for others to commiserate with us. We seek to pull others down to the lowest common denominator, rather than stay connected with a higher standard. On the spiritual path, engaging in the practice of obedience to the Teacher provides us with a way to stay connected to a higher standard. Surah 4, Ayah 80-81 describes this phenomenon.

He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah; but if any turn away, We have not sent thee to watch over their (evil) deeds. They have “obedience” on their lips; but when they leave thee, a section of them meditate all night on things very different from what thou tellest them. But Allah records their nightly (plots): So keep clear of them, and put thy trust in Allah, and enough is Allah as a disposer of affairs.

This verse reiterates the sacred connection and transmission between Allah and the Messengers: He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah. This verse is very powerful because it not only tells us that by obeying the Teacher we learn to obey Allah, but literally by obeying the Teacher, we are obeying Allah. Thus, we see again the power of the chain of transmission. It is not the job of the Messenger or Teacher to babysit us to make sure we obey. The verse makes clear that we must take personal responsibility to practice obedience, rather than give lip service saying, “Yes, Baba, yes, Baba,” and then go do what we want, or what we think is better to do anyway. In Surah 40, Ghafir, Ayah 35, again our personal spiritual arrogance is pointed out when we question Allah’s plan as if we know better.

(Such) as dispute about the Signs of Allah, without any authority that hath reached them. Grievous and odious (is such conduct) in the sight of Allah and of the Believers. Thus doth Allah seal up every heart – of arrogant and obstinate transgressors.

How many times in our lives have we questioned why? We rail in anger at God, or even worse, rail at our loved ones for what we have been given in life – that we grew up poor, our health is poor, we lost our loved ones in some tragic way or our calling in life made us the object of ridicule and rejection. Imagine how the Prophets felt. All of this resistance is really a reflection of our arrogance and our self-centeredness, for who are we to think we know better than Allah?

When we cycle through these rounds of self-consumption, our heart becomes hard and we lose our connection to that which is greater than us. In our arrogance, we forget that Allah is the one who brought us into this life and, in turn, Allah can extinguish our life in a moment's notice. We are reminded of this in Surah 14, Ibrahim, Ayah 19:

Seest thou not that Allah created the heavens and the earth in Truth? If Allah so will, Allah can remove you and put in your place a new Creation?!

Well, it could not be stated more directly than this. So, let us humble our selves and embrace the tools we have been given through the Mercy of Allah. May we humble ourselves and accept the handhold of Allah through the hand of our Sheikh. May we embrace the practice of obedience trusting the Mercy that comes as we surrender our ego attachments. May we come to understand that this practice of obedience is our protection on the path, and through our willingness and discipline may we come into eternal Remembrance of that which we truly want. Alhamdulillah hir Rabbil Alamin.