Hekam Ibn Ata-Ellah -- Part 4
(50) Do not direct the intention of your resolve [to seek something] to other than Him. For hopes cannot pass by the most Generous. Do not ask other than Him what [only] He brings to you. How can anyone ask other than Him, what [only] He gives?
There is no giver other than God, so why ask other than Him? Answers to all hopes, eventually, will have to find their way to Him since He is the Sustainer and the only Giver of all of man's needs. There is no one, not oneself or any other manifested creature who can satisfy one's needs. And the Lord gives to all: "Of the bounties of thy Lord We bestow freely on all - These as well as those: The bounties of thy Lord are not closed (to anyone)." [Quran 17:20].(51) Who cannot satisfy his own needs, how can he satisfy others' needs?
Man did not create himself or design how his organs work. Man does not have any control on how tiny particles gather to make him up or any say on how did galaxies form and planets shaped the way they are. Man did not decide the time of his birth. The most essential needs of man are things that he cannot provide or prepare for himself, he just found himself with everything ready for his existence. Being so dependent on such things to go on working as they are supposed to, with regards to how he is made up and his body is sustained, how far can a man, or any creature, provide or satisfy needs of other creatures who are in the same situation?In what appears to be a similar way, the Quran states that there is no such thing that can harm or benefit a creature except according to what is written and in exactly with the amount that is written at an exact time.
"Yet have they taken, besides Him, gods that can create nothing but are themselves created; that have no control of hurt or good to themselves; nor can they control Death nor Life nor Resurrection." [Quran 25:3].
It is only the Creator of all things Who has total and absolute control over all things: "For God hath power over all things." [Quran 2:20], "It is (only) God who prevails over all things." [Quran 18:45].
Yet, religion encourages a believer to help others in need. It is just that one should not believe he is doing it on his own and with his own power and wits and start feeling some pride for what he has done. Rather, one should not think much of what good he has done. A believer is to try his best to help, but without forgetting that he is just part of a manifestation and be thankful that within manifested events he was in a position to help.
One can ask for help too and thank whoever provided the help but without forgetting that who provided help is just as dependent on God as he is. Thus, there does not seem to be a good basis for being desperate and begging for help of creatures. Refraining from asking for help out of pride is not being in a better position either. In both cases there is a strong attachment to elements of the veil that needs to be penetrated or transcended, according to Sufis. Some Sufis started the path with forcing themselves to beg for food just to break that pride in oneself. Ibn Ajeeba, in his autobiography, said that he did not have much problem following his Sufi teacher's (Al-Bozedi as I recall) directions to sweep streets and sell drinking water to people in the souk. Jobs that only the very poor would take. However, as he said, the most difficult thing for him to do was when his teacher told him he should stand with poor people out of a Mosque after prayers and beg for money. Awareness can get stuck on a certain level, and what Sufi masters try to do is to open a path for a student to higher levels (Sentence 67 below, discusses levels of awareness).
So, if I understand Sufis, asking for help is out of being a creature with needs and not asking for help is because of certainty that, eventually, nothing has the power to help, it is only God, the Creator of all things, Who helps and gives. In both cases there is no room for feelings of attachment or directing one's attention to other than God. Also in both cases being cordial, by accepting and thanking for help, and being generous to others, by helping them in every possible way towards good ends, is needed. Since, having the best manners when dealing with others is essential for advancement on the path.
What Ibn Ata-Ellah appears to be pointing to is basically to penetrate the veil and not to stop and be overwhelmed with outer appearances. It seems to be the constant underlying theme of Sufi teachings.
(52) If you do not think well of Him for His Qualities, then think well of Him for how He treats you. Did He not make the good [things] ordinary [in your life]? And did He not give you plenty [of what need to be thankful for]?
Some people need to see some positive signs to express their approval of something. Sufis say it is inappropriate to think well of God only when one sees the good things about his personal life.(53) It is strange, very strange, of someone to run [or try to run] away from what he cannot disengage from, and to seek [to stay with] what cannot remain with him, "Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their breasts." [Quran 22:46].
God is constantly present at all phases of one's existence. Everything changes as time goes by. So, it is probably a better perspective to recognize and give appropriate consideration to what is constant and to what is transitory in nature. Trying to run away from what one cannot disengage from and clinging to what cannot remain all the time without change, appears to Ibn Ata-Ellah as blindness of the heart. Again, it is trying to see through and beyond one's surroundings that is being talked about here.(54) Do not move from one world to another and be like a mill animal, the place it moves to is the place it has just left [going around in circles], but move from all the worlds to the Maker [of the worlds], "That to thy Lord is the final Goal" [Quran 53:42]. And look at his [the Prophet's] saying, peace be upon him: 'whose travel [more like: leaving one's home for good towards a destination] was towards Allah and His Messenger, then his travel was towards Allah and His Messenger. And whose travel was for earthly gains or a woman to marry, then his travel was for what he traveled to.' Understand his saying, peace be upon him: 'then his travel was for what he traveled to' and ponder this matter if you have the understanding [of Sufis].
Hekam Ibn Ata-Ellah -- Part 5
(55) Do not accompany whose situation does not stimulate you [awaken or advance one further on the path], and whose saying does not lead you to God.
Ibn Ata-Ellah says one should try to find the religious teacher who is able to take one's hand and show him the 'path' to God. It is probably not just the teachings that are the special mark of such a teacher. Since the basic teachings of religion are the same. What distinguishes the teacher Ibn Ata-Ellah is recommending, is something about the personality of the teacher himself. He is someone who has 'known' the 'path'. 'His situation' stimulates something deep inside a student. 'His sayings lead' the student to God. Sufis emphasize that just being close to someone 'knowledgeable' is bound to stir some deep changes in a student. I read once that it is like sitting under a tree full of fruits, just sitting there one will receive some fruit sooner or later.(56) You might not be [or think you are not] doing very well [on the path], then He shows you that you are doing better than you thought [when you realize that] through your companionship with someone whose situation is worse than yours.
One might think that a certain person would be helpful in one's path, but then discovers that he was wrong. Here, Ibn Ajeedba warns Sufi students from associating with people who claim they know about religion when they do not know much. That is why, being with them does not lead one to the destination sought by Sufis.(57) It is not little the deed coming from a heart that has renounced [worldly matters], and it is not a lot the deed coming from a heart attached [to worldly matters].
According to Ibn Ajeeba, renouncing something is when there are no more attachment in one's heart towards it. It starts with attachment to Money. And the sign that one is no longer attached to money is when there is no difference in one's heart between gold and dust, between silver and rock, between being rich or being poor, between having something or not having it. Next comes one's social status. Here, to a heart that is not attached to social appearances, it is equal to be praised or criticized, to be a person of high status or not, to be well-known or not. Then comes one's inner status. Here, to a heart that is not attached to inner appearances, there is no difference between hope and fear, strength and weakness. Last thing is when one has renounced existence as it is, one is able to see through it all and not affected by the particular point he is at. One has to be at a particular point with all its characteristics (physical, personal, social, psychological, location and time), it is being able to transcend it with all its characteristics, whatever they are, that is important from a Sufi perspective. So, it is not to seek to be poor or to flee from social commitments that makes one a Sufi, that would be like running from a world to another world as Ibn Ata-Ellah said earlier. It is to 'get out' of all the worlds towards the maker of the world that is being sought by Sufis.Ibn Ajeeba says that deeds coming from someone who has renounced worldly matters are never minor or little in value even when they are not much. Again, as I understand it, renouncing does not seem to mean leaving worldly matters altogether, rather it is for worldly matters to have no effect on one's heart, enough to feel the same to be rich or poor etc., because one has 'seen' what is beyond such appearances, hence the value most people attach to being rich or fear from being poor are no longer there in one's heart.
When Sufis intentionally leave worldly matters at the start of the journey on the path, it is because one might typically be too attached to them. In that case, one's feelings for worldly matters could be sort of stiffened and there might be a need to shake things a little in order to get one psychologically ready to move on. Once 'realization' has been reached, worldly matters are no longer in one's way to 'see'. And where in a social hierarchy one is, is no longer as important as it is to most people. However, the goal is not so simple to reach, and the path is full of temptations to go back and immerse oneself in worldly matters. That is probably why Sufis tend to select an austere life style. If it is not for themselves, then at least for those around them who look up to them as role models. By the way, in Islamic history there were several caliphs and kings who lived an austere life even though they could have quite easily lived very comfortably.
(58) Goodness of deeds are results of goodness of [inner] states [Hal], and goodness of [inner] states are out of realizing, on stations [levels of awareness: Makamat] one has been taken to.
Another sentence with deeper Sufi meanings. I should mention that the following is an outsider's view talking about Sufis and what they might be going through based on what I have read and think I have understood, and I guess one has to ask real Sufis to know for sure.Sentence 58 is interesting. I think it points to Causality in a mystical sense. It is because one is to reach a certain level of awareness [Makam] that he realizes what deeds are needed to sustain the realization of that level of awareness.
It is supposed to be that, effort leads to intermittent realization [Hal] of the awareness level. A realization that gradually stabilizes and solidifies and becomes a Station [Makam]. And this is what Sufi teachings take students through, step by step leading to Stations of awareness. Yet, Ibn Ata-Ellah appears to be saying that only because one is supposed to reach a certain level of awareness that the needed causes take place leading to the result. In other words, an outcome is a cause for causes to occur leading to the outcome. Or, a destined event attracts all the required ingredients for it to appear, in exactly the way it was actually manifested. The teleological nature of existence seems to be an important concept in mystical literature. Again, it is important to note that Sufis do emphasize the importance of effort and striving towards the goal, because it is not for us to know how events will transpire eventually, even though it is known (through Revelation) that they have a predestined shape.
Another point to note, regarding predestined events. A person might stop sometimes and try to understand how and why a certain event occurred, and that would be perfectly normal. However, sometimes a person might concentrate only on an event's immediate physical particularities and ignore other factors that might be relevant. According to Sufi view of existence there are too many factors that gather for an event to happen that might be out of one's awareness at any certain point, especially when one's mind is preoccupied only with material aspects. There are physical as well as spiritual factors involved at several levels including personal, community level, humanity level, planet earth's level or even beyond. There are also phases of existence and a span of time that is just too long for a human to take into account. Given the comprehensive Sufi view of existence, every and each event, from the tiniest to the most huge, is tied to a specific point of time and space, and there is never an event that does not have its reasons to occur in exactly the way it did. Existence has more than just the material aspect and is far more tightly interconnected for perception of events to be confined to immediate material particularities. The view that takes only immediately measurable factors into account in analyzing events is not wrong, it just appears to be considering a smaller set of factors compared to what Sufis consider. Based on a Sufi view of existence, the Sufi opinion rules out any chance of accidents or unexpected events big or small. Sufi's way to reach such conclusions is not through theories or logical analysis. It is exactly through silencing all kinds of mental guesswork, systematic or otherwise, in addition to other preconditions Sufis advise, that awareness transcends physical aspects, and a view is realized that is not cluttered or tainted with any prejudgments or preconceptions. Some Sufis reach a point of realization where it is just so obvious to them why events could not have gone any other way. Al-Ghazali used to repeat: "It cannot be more perfect than what it already is."
Concerning the value of effort, one's understanding of existence will always be limited (whether a person is religious or not). A religious person has all the tools available to a non-religious person regarding thinking and taking decisions, yet for a religious person, reliance on God (Tawakkul) is another important concept. By improving one's relationship with God and relying on Him to protect and guide on what to do within existence, that He created, a religious person is relieving himself from worrying too much. And of course that does not mean not to exert any effort in studying, planning and taking decisions or not to be responsible for actions socially and morally. However to a religious person marching towards the future is accompanied with confidence in God. With faith and reliance on God, the fear of the unknown lessens until it disappears. At a certain awareness level, a point is reached of no grief or fear.
Coming back to the three stages of: effort, intermittent states (Hal), and stable awareness (Makam). Sufis have no doubt that an advanced level of awareness is possible to attain and retain. It starts with purifying one's heart, intentions and consciousness, being honest and serious about treading the path. After exerting good efforts, given the required conditions are present, and only by the grace of God, one starts to feel, then see glimpses of higher level concepts. This is the Hal. It is not constant, it comes and goes. It may come suddenly with a surprising and sometimes a shocking psychological effect. That is probably another reason why Sufi students remain close to a Sufi master who keeps an eye on them, until they are in a stable level of awareness that is reached when sustained efforts transform the Hal into a Makam. So, exerting effort and going step by step is indeed what happens and goes on in a Sufi's progress, even though Ibn Ata-Ellah says it is the Makamat that are reflected in what Hals one would experience after personal effort one would start with.
Makamat and their related Hals are many, as listed in Sufi writings. Ibn Ajeeba gives as an example, renouncing worldly matters. He says it starts with personal effort to overcome one's preference for satisfying his cravings. With better and better control on desires and improved manners, one starts to reap the benefits of his effort, physically and psychologically. However, that is not the final goal. One should look further to where desires have no effect on one's behavior and transitory benefits are transcended and what is beyond starts to be realized. Witnessing improvements in one's inner state and feeling and sensing fine spiritual aspects is still not reaching the Makam stage.
(59) Do not quit Remembrance [of God] for your unmindfulness of God [not feeling His presence while meditating or remembering], because no remembrance [of God] is worse than your remembrance with unmindfulness. He might raise your level from remembrance with unmindfulness to remembrance with alertness, and from remembrance with alertness to remembrance with presence [Feeling the presence of God], and from remembrance with presence to remembrance with total absence of all but the Remembered, "Nor is that (at all) difficult for God" [35:17]
Remembrance is quite essential in the Sufi way. Ibn Ajeeba says if one does not know what to do or how to start, one should start with Remembrance of God. Prescriptions of how and how many times and what to recite are too many. They can be found in Hadith and in recommended 'Awrad' of Sufi scholars.In sentence 59 Ibn Ata-Ellah offers words of encouragement to Sufi students. It might take a student some time without 'realizing', and here Ibn Ata-Ellah advises not to stop.
Another point that is probably relevant to this sentence, is that effort on the path is important but it is tied to how prepared the student is. Even when the effort is the same, differences in the levels of mindfulness, resolve, and the depth of faith, can have a consequence on how far a Sufi student can go regarding realizing results on the spiritual path.
Hekam Ibn Ata-Ellah -- Part 6
(60) Some of the signs of [spiritual] death of the heart, is not to be sad over religious deeds that were missed, and to stop regretting your errors.
To be totally careless about religious deeds and not to mind deviating from religious guidelines are signs of a low level of spiritual liveliness in one's heart. An attitude that if continues can lead to total coldness towards the spiritual aspect of existence. The further in this attitude a person goes the harder it might be to 'feel' and 'sense' the 'light' that remains dormant but ready to be turned on whenever proper conditions gather and the environment is conducive.(61) Do not let a sin become too great in your eyes, enough to prevent you from thinking well of God. For whomever has known his Lord would see his sin little beside His Generosity.
It is minor errors that Ibn Ata-Ellah means here. Some Sufi students, out of keenness not to make any mistakes that might hinder their progress, can become very sensitive about making errors. However, to err is human, and as the Prophet said 'All of Adam's sons make errors, and the best of those making errors are those who repent'. Some might consider being so sensitive about errors as part of piety, but Ibn Ata-Ellah is concerned about being preoccupied with anything that might prevent one from progressing. Making an error has a cure which is to repent and trying one's best not to repeat the same error. It is being consumed in feeling of guilt that is an incorrect attitude because it might raise a doubt in one's mind that God might not forgive him. In other words it might lead one to think ill of God, which is a worse mistake than making the error itself.(62) There is no minor [sin] if He met you with His Justice, and there is no major [sin] if He faced you with His Grace.
Every deed big or small is recorded. Basically everyone is subject to meet God's Justice and be responsible for every single deed. However, believers who are earnestly trying to abide by religious guidelines, repenting and thinking well of God, have a better chance of facing God's Grace.(63) No [good] deed has more chance to [improve the state of] the Heart [essence] than a deed you do not see [forget], and you do not care much that it exists.
Being conscious of deeds and how good or inadequate they might be, is being busy from 'seeing' and 'sensing' God's Presence. One needs to do the best of course, it is just that concentrating on the literal or the physical aspect of doing the deed might affect realizing the more important goal of the deed. The Prophet said something to the effect that 'All some people get from Fasting is feeling hungry'. In other words, being busy only with the details of the physical side of fasting, they did not realize what fasting is about or what it can lead to, spiritually. They missed the point.Following religious guidelines blindly and just because they exist, is one of the strongest criticisms Sufis have about 'outwardly' practicing religious duties. When religious duties become personal habits or nothing more than social events, they start to lose their original raison d'etre.
The Sufi criticism is not about ignoring the immediate personal and social benefits of religious deeds, which normally will appear and have a positive effect anyway, but it is about the importance of 'seeing' where they are leading to, and indeed 'realizing' the results of practicing the deeds.
Most religious people, typically wait for the fruits of religious deeds to be realized in the hereafter. Sufis seem to have no doubt that certain fruits of religious deeds are to be realized right here, right now, especially 'to know God'.
Regarding sentence #63, Ibn Ajeeba talks about an advanced level of Sufi awareness. What I have understood is that at that stage, religious guidelines (while being followed to the letter) are not seen and not thought much about because of reaching a level of awareness of God beyond the normal. Feeling the presence of God, appears to make things pale and have less chance of catching one's attention even though awareness of them is not lost in the level of 'seeing the Gathering [Jam'a] and the Distinction [Farq]' aspects of existence at the same time, which is contrasted with having either the Gathering view (more like sensing the unifying aspect of existence) or the Distinction view (the normal view of man of seeing the separate 'appearances' of 'things'). This point is covered better later on in the Hekam.
Ibn Ajeeba continues by saying that a (spiritually) alive heart is now ready to receive Divine Lights. Ibn Ata-Ellah uses a word that might be translated literally as 'the incoming' (Wa-rid) to point to the Divine Light entering the heart. And there are three types of incomings as follows in the next three Hekam.
(64) He only provided 'the incoming' to you so you would head towards Him.
According to Ibn Ajeeba, this is the first type and it is for 'Seekers' or probably beginners. This incoming or Divine Light 'awakens' the seeker and lets him know where he should be heading.(65) He provided 'the incoming' to save you from 'Changes' [sensed and subtle aspects of existence] and to free you from being a slave of the 'Traces' [any left signs of existing things in one's heart].
As Ibn Ajeeba says, this is the next type of Divine Light. It comes as a person progresses to a higher level than he was at when he experienced the first type. It immerses a person who is deep into Remembrance of God. In this stage the 'captivating' effect of desires and material measures on awareness is lost. 'Changes' and 'Traces' are seen and experienced but have no confining effect on awareness, and seeing through them and beyond them is gained. They lose the glitter they used to have and their 'authority' appears far limited than it used to be.Ibn Ata-Ellah describes the normal situation of man's awareness as similar to being a slave who has lived all his life in captivity, has no notion of what freedom is and has no option but to obey the masters who are the cravings, temptations, material appearances and the immediately sensed. Divine Light first awakens and opens the eyes so a person realizes that actually there is something more than what the 'Changes' and 'Traces' show the eyes and that there is more to existence than the immediately sensed. Once that realization stabilizes then the next type of Divine Light comes in acting as a liberator saving awareness from 'the thieves' and grants it freedom from them.
In both cases what is obvious is that the role of the Sufi on the path is to prepare the ground for Divine Light to enter the heart and do its miracle. It is a gift from the Divine to worshipers and not something worshipers can grant for themselves, probably because the movement from one stage to the next is more like a sudden leap (caused by Divine Light) in awareness that needs holding one's hand rather than a gradual progress one can go through on his own.
(66) He provided 'the incoming' to get you out of the prison of your existence to the vast space of your sight [of Him].
To be liberated from the clutch of Changes and Traces, as emancipating as it is, is still far less of an experience than the sight of God. Seeing the universe is no longer an obstacle, but seeing oneself remains the last obstacle and it is a bigger obstacle than seeing the universe according to Ibn Ajeeba. Seeing one's existence, at a certain level of awareness, becomes like seeing the last confining walls that once disappeared (sight of anything including oneself) then the highest level of freedom and knowledge is realized. And this is the result of the third type of Divine Light entering the heart, according to Ibn Ajeeba's comment.A Sufi returns back to seeing oneself, the Changes and Traces, but it is hardly the same anymore. Sufi poets like Ibn Al-Farid have written hundreds of verses trying to describe what this experience is like.
After listing the types of Divine Light and what they do, Ibn Ata-Ellah then talks further about This Light.
(67) The Lights are [like] riding animals [like horses] for the Hearts and the Secrets.
Ibn Ajeeba describes the Essence of man as subtle, divine and luminous. The Essence, that is stored in human body, is called different names by Sufis according to the particular situation or level of awareness it is experiencing. The names are: Self, Mind, Heart, Soul and Secret.
As I understand, the Self is the essence when one is very attached to sensuous matters and has some negative qualities and a limited awareness about religious guidelines. The Mind is the essence when one recognizes the need to restrain desires and cravings and to apply sensible measures generally in one's life. The Heart is the essence when one starts to appreciate finer meanings and begins to sense higher levels of awareness but it is still not a steady realization. At this stage it is also possible for a person to 'see' and understand deeper Concepts. The Soul is the essence when one reaches a sort of a peaceful and serene state and at that stage satisfying normal needs is not much different from not satisfying them, probably because a far greater and deeper satisfaction has already been realized. The Secret is the essence at its highest purified state. At this stage one becomes able to perceive what is 'unveiled'.
Notes on what I think are some of the implications of Ibn Ajeeba's description of the awareness levels that the essence goes through:
* Divine Light (the incoming) is what takes the Heart and the Secret to the Presence of God according to Ibn Ajeeba. Which probably means that that is possible only once one has progressed spiritually beyond the Self and Mind levels.
* Moving from the first level to the highest, one experiences decreasing attachment to sensuous matters as one becomes gentler and his appreciation of finer meanings improves. It seems to me that at the Self level the sense of 'I' is strongest and it weakens as one moves up the ladder.
* Just as being aware of sensuous matters is not lost when moving from the Self level to the Mind level, the same can probably be said about sensuous matters and mental reasoning when one moves to the Heart level and onwards. Awareness of them is not lost, they just are seen and appreciated differently. In other words, just as by moving to the Mind level, cravings are kept within a certain context characterized by more responsibility and better judgment while the limits of dealing with them are clearly seen, by moving to the Heart level and beyond, mental reasoning is not dispensed with, rather seen and dealt with within a certain context in which its limits are noted and appropriate use is considered.
(68) The Light is the army of the Heart, just as the Darkness is the army of the Self. When God wants to render his servant victorious, He lets more soldiers of the Light [to reach him and help him] and prevents soldiers of the Darkness and Changes [from reaching or affecting him].
Ibn Ajeeba says that the struggle between the Self and the Heart symbolizes the difficulty of moving from the Self level to the Heart level.The Heart level is probably the most important, since at this level one starts to feel and sense (but not yet 'see unveiled') what is beyond and at the same time he is not too far from the level of the Self. Those who have moved to higher levels are relatively safer from 'falling back', while those who have not reached the Heart level yet have some way to go.
The Light reveals the true reality of what is experienced and the Darkness tries to obscure or at least de-emphasize that same reality through deception of false appearances and encouraging selfish desires. The choice is crucial when the two sides of an 'argument' are active at the same time. And this situation of having a choice appears to be realized only after reaching or seeing glimpses of the Heart level of awareness. When desires and appearances win, it is a victory for Darkness and a loss for man. When taking a decision, is based on revealed reality, it is a victory for Light and a win for man.
(69) The Light reveals, the Inner Sight judges and the Heart comes closer or goes away.
According to Ibn Ajeeba, the Light reveals matters, clarifies the picture and shows good and bad. Judging whether what appears is good or bad is the job of Inner Sight. Taking the decision to come closer to a good thing or leave a bad thing alone is for the Heart to make.Without the Light all one can do is try to guess what is bad and what is good. The Light turns on and does its job when one is honestly progressing on the path: "O ye who believe! If ye fear God, He will grant you a Criterion (To judge right and wrong)" [Quran 8:29]. Ibn Ajeeba says that the Criterion here means the Light. Also, "Can he who was dead, to whom We gave life, and a Light whereby he can walk amongst men, be like him who is in the depth of darkness?" [Quran 6:122]. Yusuf Ali comments on this verse as follows : "It was God's grace that gave him spiritual life, with a Light by which he could walk and guide his own footsteps".
(70) Do not let the worship delight you because it came from you, but be delighted that it emanated from God towards you- "Say: 'In the Bounty of God, and in His Mercy- in that let them rejoice': that is better than the (wealth) they hoard" [Quran 10:58].
Following religious guidelines and practicing religious duties in an honest way, appears to be the cause for Light to enter the Heart. Yet, one should not think that his worship was 'the real cause' for Light to come in, rather attention is to be directed towards God whose bounty was what caused worship to come from a person so that Light would enter his Heart. Causality in a mystical sense (discussed above) seems to be pointed at here.Ibn Ajeeba says that there are three types of worshipers mentioned in sentence #70. The first, are pleased with their worship, they are aware of themselves and hoping that their efforts will lead to happiness in the hereafter. This type is referred to in the phrase 'Do not let the worship delight you because it came from you'. The second type of worshipers see their worship as a gift from God and a cause for closeness to Him. They do not see themselves having any power to worship or do anything, just see the Eternal Power taking them and guiding them. This type is referred to in the phrase 'but be delighted that it emanated from God towards you'. Ibn Ajeeba says that there is a huge difference between the first and second type of worshipers, yet, there is a third type that is even more advanced. The third type of worshipers are delighted by God, not because of their worship, regardless of how much. They do not see themselves or that their deeds are coming from themselves, yet they do not worship less than others (in fact they tend to worship more than an average religious person) and if an error 'appears' coming from them they repent out of keeping the best manners with God.
I think an interesting point to note is that Sufis respect the Cause and Effect level of awareness even when they are seeing through it. This is again an indication of the balanced view Sufis maintain between Appearances and Reality of Appearances.
