CHAPTER THREE

PSYCHOLOGY AND THE MALAY WOLDVIEW

INDIVIDUISM AND PRE-ISLAMIC SOCIETY

Jung believed that Individuism was used in tribal society as a way for the shaman to

transcend the shaman sickness and attain special gifts of the psyche as the wounded

healer. Through doing this he would be able to contribute to the collective after

returning from his hero’s journey. The maturation process was assisted by ritual and

especially through rights of passage or initiation

Archetypal self

“The Archetypal self was seen originally by Jung as the totality of consciousness &

unconsciousness. This was later viewed by Jung as ordering, regulating, harmonizing

& giving meaning to the psyche. The self is the centre point of the psyche, the origin

of the psychic development & goal of wholeness. And its totality cannot be fathomed

by the ego. The goal of individuation as a process is that the archetypal self evokes

images and fullness of potential and unites the personality as a whole. The unifying

principle of the whole is the archetypal self which has the psychic life and in the

process of individuation, much like the idea of the “spirit of a God like quality”. The

archetypal self is never really experienced directly; it is seen through representations,

by images. Those images are Symbols of self, Symbols with extra ordinary

nominosity, as if before a God image, images of God around the world, which are

projections of the archetypal self.

This perception is a way of viewing the universal soul as “God” of “Godhead”

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of the polytheistic pantheon as perceived b y the Hindu’s as “Brahma” and the Malays

as Batara Guru. The same situation exist with the Germanic Polytheist who view this

“Powerful “Being” as Odin the granter of “Wunsche” (Wishes, desires, and victory)

Odin was also believed to grant “Megan” or Semangat, spiritual energies capable of

giving victory and success in all things. This common perception that the elementals

of the “Godhead” can grant all things is explained psychologically by Jung1. The two

layers are: The personal unconscious and the collective unconscious The

collective unconscious is were the archetypes are to be found, according to Jung they

are “potential” constructs of the collective unconscious which manifest by the will of

the individual who wills them into existence through the concept of the “Psychoid”. It

is exactly this “Psychoid which, shape matter in nature and produce what the ancients

perceived as theurgy2.

In order to produce the “Psychoid” or spirit, the Malay and Germanic magic

users needed as times to summon up their faith and energies through the use of

symbolism. It is this use of symbolism which most directly affected the Malay social

world via the use of magic or “Psychoid” manipulation.3 However the psyche is

1The idea of the collective unconscious is introduced and its role in the process of transference

in psychotherapy is discussed. Guidance for the existence of the collective unconscious is found in an-cient myths and primitive religions. Robert Mayer's discovery of the conservation of energy is pre-sented as evidence of the workings of the transpersonal unconscious, and of the manner in which the archetypes or primordial images may contribute, at times, to our intellectual advancement. On the other hand, the harmful effects of introjection and projection are also pointed out. The transition between the two stages of life, instinctual and cultural, is examined in terms of Heraclitus' psychological law of enantiodromia or the force of opposites. Calrle Gustove Jung, A study in the process of individuation. Collected Works of Carle Gustove Jung, v. 7: The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious: Two Es-says on Analytical Psychology), 64-79.2

Another aspect of modern physics brings us back to the meaning of intelligence and conscientiousness themselves. The study of a particle like the electron means to relate, in a much more direct manner than in classical physics, the intelligence of the agent which knows to that which is known. ....mans conscientiousness must be seen even in physics as an integral part of that reality which the physicist seeks to study, to the existent that Eurgene Wigne, one of the founders of quantum mechanics, calls conscientiousness the first absolute reality and outward reality secondary reality. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein.. Knowledge and the Sacred. (The Gifford Lectures, Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 115.

3 “In his early work, Jung was convinced that the archetypes are “Psychoid” , that is, “they shape matter

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viewed in Islam as only a part of the soul and it should be understood that in

presenting this aspect of the soul we are not negating the other aspect. However due to

the limited space in this paper we will have to summarize by advocating the position

presented in brief below and that it is equally applicable to the Malay and all peoples

of the world.4

Jung, Energies, and Healing

Dr. Jung’s view of a higher state of thought was drawn from his views of Samadhi

and Mosksha, ideas pioneered by Buddhism and Hinduism come close to Sufism in

their interpretation of the Sufi concept of annihilating the destructive elements of the

nafs which spring from the animal nature or as Jung calls them the ego. When the ego

become subservient to the true self as Jung calls it the perfected state occurs. This is

of course in the Sufi view a pre-gnosis state missing only the specific views of

monotheism5.

Theoretically this is believed to be possible by some Sufis; however it gives

rise to a number of questions. First of all if one can achieve this state through Jung’s

method a problem arises in that Islam believes that one can only arrive at salvation

through monotheism due to the fact, that, shirk or attributing the mode of deliverance

(nature) as well as the mind (psyche). Houston smith, Forgotten Truth: the common vision of the world's religions,(San Francisco, Calif. : HarperSanFrancisco, repr 1992, 1976), 40.4 Thus the psyche (the inner senses) is just one part of a larger totality of the feminine principle of the

soul, incorporating the outer senses, which moves on the mystic… Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 20.

5 The church dream which followed represents the attempt to seek refuge from this fear in the shelter of

a church religion. The third dream, in speaking of the “transformation of animals into human beings,” obviously continues the them of the first one, that is, the ape is reconstructed merely for the purpose of being transformed later into a human being….the man two thousand years ago would have rejoiced in the hope of a magical rebirth and renewal of life. But our modern attitude looks back proudly upon the mist of superstition and of medieval or primitive credulity and entirely forgets that it carries the whole living past in lower stories of the sky-scraper of rational consciousness. Jung, Carl Gustov. Psychology

and Religion, (Yale University Press, Binghamton. New York, 1966, 1st printing 1938), 40-41.

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to any other source rather than Allah is association something with him; which under

the concept of Tawhid is impossible, since there does not exist in Tawhid and

disconnectedness between man and Allah. However, if a person could actually achieve

such a state through Jung’s method, the state of true self would make the distinctions

in religion and in dogma irrelevant due to the fact that it would no longer be relevant

to distinguish between dogmas of various religions and therefore only the oneness of

Tawhid would exist for the true self6.

The debate whether this is possible continues around the world. However, here

we are more concerned with the fact that Jung’s method gives us a strong

psychological method through which to judge the experience of dreams, the true self,

and the archetypes we associate with our traditions via the subconscious mind and

collective subconscious. As has been illustrated in the sections found above and in this

thesis we see that the archetypes of both the Bumi and the Irmani have indeed gone

through the process of taping into the spiritual energies which Jung believed to have

been drawn from the psyche78 via symbolism that formed Mandalas from the

6 They forgot their promise, they forgot their source, their way home….But people who

remembered Him, who turned toward Him, people who wished to return to their divine origin, people who arrived at their origin, became fewer and fewer with time….the two must become one. Truth cannot be attained only through the tangable knowledge of the senses, of the material universe. ….True worship necessitates both religion and wisdom. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), p.7-97 In his early work, Jung was convinced that the archetypes are “Psychoid” , that is, “they shape matter (nature) as well as the mind (psyche). Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), p . 20.

8 Descriptions, interpretations and examples of the manifestation of the spirit archetype in the

form of an animal are presented. The assumption of animal form is seen as significant in that it shows the psychic contents in question to be beyond human consciousness, in the sense of the superhuman/demoniac or the subhuman/bestial. Thus in many fairytales helpful animals appear with a knowledge superior to man's, or wicked ones with superior power. A detailed analysis of one fairytale demonstrates the functioning of the animal figure in terms of its relationships with other archetypal symbols such as wholeness and polarity, and the privileged number of the quaternity. The implication for psychology of triad and quaternity symbolism is discussed in terms of the four functions of consciousness, three of which are susceptible to differentiation, while one remains connected to the unconscious and inaccessible to the will. The complex relationships among these functions and their striving toward wholeness are seen to correspond admirably to the structure of the fairytale in question; this correspondence is seen as natural, given that fairytales as a whole are unusually naive and

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collective unconscious and projected into the world. The traditional tribesmen called

them “spirits” or “Dewa”, “Alfar” etcetera, and Jung called them archetypes, the Sufis

call them Jinn, angels, Divine essence and many others, categories in accordance to

their usage by Tawhid or Allah. And so then, having found that they exist under many

names and are in fact metaphysical in nature, it becomes clear that we may refer to

them generally speaking by the term “Energies”9 10. These energies affect the Body of

humans, animals, and all life on earth, each has a give amount and variety of energy

and that energy interacts with other energies in a variety of ways. The manner in

which these energies interact with the human body, mind, heart, and soul however is

the primary focus of this section. Because the body, mind, heart and soul of humans

are affected by these energies, it becomes of great importance in our examination of

the healing process and the role of all ritual specialists mentioned in this thesis. The

role of the Dokun’s important in several ways. First, the manner in which he treats the

body, the mind, and heart in other words, the human soul. The manner in which he

treats contains connotations as to the origins of his energy, the level of its potency and

uncontrived products of the psyche. Carle Gustove Jung, Collected Works of C.G. Jung, The phenomenology of the spirit in fairytales. IV. Theriomorphic spirit symbolism in fairytales. Gerhard Adler, R. F.C. Hull, Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.9 Part 1: The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious , C. G. Jung, Books 230-242.9

Thaumaturgy (from the Greek words θαῦμα thaûma, stem thaumat-, meaning "miracle" or "marvel" and ἔργον érgon, meaning "work") is the capability of a saint or magician to work miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as Wonderworker....The English name for a practitioner, thaumaturge, implied in the adjective thaumaturgical (recorded in 1621), derives from thaumaturgus, the Latinized form of the Greek word thaumatourgos, meaning wonder-worker.the name was ascribed to a number of Christian saints. .... [including] Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea, also known as Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus, Saint Nicholas of Myra [santa clause] , and Saint Andrew Corsini (1302-1373. In medieval times, miraculous powers such as healing were ascribed to persons (as well as things) ....The word was first anglicized and used in the magical sense in John Dee's book Mathematicall Praeface to Euclid's Elements (1570), about an "art mathematical" called "thaumaturgy... Thaumaturgy <www. Wikipedia.com>

10 Extraordinary things proceed to the realm of nature due to three principles. The first is the above-mentioned psychical dispositions. The second is the properties of terrestrial bodies, such as properties of the magnet to attract iron by means of a force that belongs to the magnet. And the third is the relation between the celestial powers and the mixtures of terrestrial bodies that are specifically disposed to a certain position.....Magic is of the first kind. Prodigies, miracles worked by saints, and incantations are of the second kind. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al-Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn arabi(Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 106-107.

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the stance he takes as far as religion or spiritualism is concerned. Secondly we see that

number one directly affects how he interacts with the community and whether or not

the community accepts his healing arts; three, the different ways in which the skills he

employs by using these energies and how they affect the body, mind, heart, and soul.

While a treatment may assist the body and mind, what effect do they have on the soul?

And while one remedy may assist the healing of the mind, does it adversely affect the

soul? Here we arrive at the pinnacle of this debate, which is of course “what” role

does “religion” play in the transference of energies from one point in Tawhid to the

human being who is ill?

While many dogmatist and conservative ultra-orthodox religious people will

tell you the usage is completely un-acceptable, this was obviously not the case among

the Irmani and Bumi for the first 400 years of their development from animist to

monotheist. Furthermore one could competently argue that it remains an important

part in the spirituality of both cultures. Point in case, both Amish of Germanic descent

and Malay of today make use of the art of Talismana for protection from “evil spirits”,

both make use of herbs for healing, both employ monotheist mystics for all areas of

metaphysical energy usage for the betterment of their communities.11 However both

are extremely monotheistic. How can this be if the conservatives are correct? First of

all the dogmatist have a distorted view of spirituality, this includes those who are

celibate and live in monasteries, but also extends to those who seem to think that they

can hide behind the reality of sacred scripture to institute their own views of sacred

11 Rather than contemplating the infinite the endless mirrors of the world of creation that reflect

the divine attributes and qualities, man turns to the material world….with the result that it transforms the order of nature into chaos and ugliness we observe so painfully today…spiritual creativity is replaced….this misdirecting of yearning of the soul for the infinite to the material world…change the direction of the arrow of progress….only traditional religions, with their roots sunk in the divine and their means of directing the soul to its ultimate goal, that can provide a real cure for t illusion of a centerless soul seeking the infinite in the multiplicity of nature… Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature. (Oxford University press, 1996), 270.

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laws and force the rest of us to live in a world ruled by fear rather than reason, this is

not the way in which a profession should approach the study of religions and is

symptomatic of a mental disability in the case of the dogmatic fundamentalist,

therefore rendering his judgments immaterial due to his state of ‘Majnun’ or mentally

incompetence.12

Therefore let us end once and for all that argument that interacting with nature

is “Haram” if it is interpreted culturally, and in many cultures the symbol of nature

and fertility is a woman; women are not Haram and the human body is not Haram.

While many exstreemist and misguided supposedly “religious people” around the

world seem to believe that outer appearances equal iman, they are wrong. Therefore,

the attack upon cultures that respect both females and nature is nothing more than the

symptom of this neurosis and their own individual lack of understanding of the tenets

of their own religion1314. It should be noted here that Sufism as a branch of Islam as

well as Islamic science both see the creative spirit of existence as a feminine principle,

12 An old man stands at the door…. The old man at the door tells me [about those who enter]….

when they leave they are pure.’ …Religion is not a tax, which thou payest in order to get ride of the woman’s image, for this image is indisputable. Woe to those who use religion as a substitute for the other side of the souls life…Religion is no substitute, but it is the ultimate accomplishment added to every other activity of the soul…the dreamer is inclines to use religion as a substitute for the “image of the woman,” …the “woman” refers to the anima. …. the anima is the “other side,” as I explained before…..You try religion in order to escape from your unconscious. You use it as a substitute for a part of your souls life. but religion is the fruit and the culmination of the completeness of life, that is, of a life which contains both sides…Being like that meant a neurosis for this man, and it means the same for a great man other people. Jung, Carl Gustov. Psychology and Religion, (Yale University Press,

Binghamton. New York, 1966, 1st printing 1938), 42-52.13 This religion [of Islam] is very easy, and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in his way. So you should not be exstreemist,...(Al-Bukhari)….My Whenever Allah’s messenger was given the opportunity to choose between two things, he would always choose the easyer and the more convenient things (Al-Bukhari)….My followers [i.e. Muslims] are excused for [unintentional] erro, forgetfulness and that which they have been forced to do against their will. (at-Tabarani) al-Arabi Abu Hamzah Abu Hamzah;edited by Abdul Rahman Abdullah (42:13). A Glimpse at the Beauty of Islam, Darussalam,(Riyadh : Darussalam, 1999), 4.

14 …Our signs came to them, that should have opened their eyes, they said: “this is sorcery manifest!” And they rejected those signs in inquity and arrogance, though their souls were convinced thereof: so see what was the end of those who acted corruptly! The Holy Qur’an, Abdulah yusuf Ali, 27:13-14.

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not a masculine one and that the two complement each other in a similar manner to the

way it is mention here by Jung15. When we examine this relationship in the Jungian

method we will discover that the view of synchronicity and the others mentioned

provide solid proofs of the irrationality of removing these arts from the scientific

study of the natural realm and of humanity. Next we will turn our attention to

examining how Jung’s views on this can be taken by people who accept the existence

of the Natural and Sublime realm existing in metaphysical balance as a reality related

to and as an incremental part of their own cosmology16.

Jung’s view of the cosmology of the oriental mind can be seen in two examples

that of Yoga and that of the I-Ch’ing. The example of the I-Ch’ing and Yoga can be

summarized in the form of a synopsis and furthered by my own interpretation: Jung’s

examination of the relationship between the natural realm, the realm of the mind, and

physics began when Jung, Albert Einstein and Wolfgang Pauli all came together in

cooperation. Jung attended several lectures by Einstein and then met him for quit

some time to discuss the relationship between physics, metaphysics and psychology.

The meetings were very productive and Jung set out to formulate new theories with

the help of Wolfgang Pauli. The result was the law of Synchronicity as presented in

his book “An Acausual connection principle1718. In layman terms synchronicity is

15 The soul, the feminine principle of the reflective moon within, is united with Spirit or

Intellect, the masculine principle of the sun within….then the ‘desire’, which sought knowledge, becomes known. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 18.

16 Aspects of this argument are an abridgment of the views of J.J. Clark in the book Jung and eastern thought, other thought are my own and are freely combined into the section you see here.17

…one which breaks down absolute barriers between entities and between space and time, but also between observer and observed …between mind and matter…in other words…a Holistic concept of being. J.J. Clarke, Jung and eastern thought: a dialogue with the Orient, (London : Routledge, 1994), 98.

18 In a foreword to "Ostasien denkt Anders" (East Asia thinks otherwise) by Lily Abegg (1950),

differences between Eastern and Western psychology are discussed. Knowledge of Eastern psychology is said to be a helpful basis for criticizing Western psychology and understanding Occidental

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“meaningful coincidence”, however for our study it is much more precise as I will

explain. Synchronicity is the simultaneous occurrence of meaningful, but not causality

related events. Jung’s example of the Egyptian scarab, which simply appeared outside

his office window during a session with a patient who only a moment before was

talking of an Egyptian scarab is a fine example. Many authors quote the event,

however what most western psychologist won’t tell you is that when Jung caught the

scarab and took it to the zoologist they couldn’t identify it. Then he took it to an

Egyptologist who was in wonder and gleeful happiness to see what he thought was an

extinct species of “Egyptian scarab”. Now let us ask ourselves a question “how does

an Egyptian scarab” fly all the way from Egypt to Europe and find its way to the

exact window of Jung at exactly the right time, or was it Coincidence? It would seem

to stretch the term “coincidence” to this existent would be extremely illogical.

Therefore we must postulate that there is some higher order at work in the events,

which took place. Dr. Jung saw them as “Synchronicity” controlled by the law of

nature and the workings of the psyche. This brought into being Jung’s conception of a

new view of reality in contrast with that of the “Modern “Scientific” view, and

challenged traditional physics. Jung drew from the new concepts of Einstein’s physics

of relativity and quantum physics he presented synchronistic events as a

complimentary form of events not in conflict with the casual principle but one, which

was complimentary.

Using philosophies of classical Germanic philosophers such Kant,

prejudices. A parallel is noted between the Western unconscious psyche and the manifest psyche of the East. Our Western unconscious has a demonstrable tendency to ward wholeness. In the East it is consciousness that is characterized by an apperception of totality, whereas in the West a differentiated and onesided awareness has developed. With it goes the Western concept of causality, as contrasted with the Eastern one of synchronicity, which is said to be the key to understanding the Eastern apperception. Psychology and religion. Herbert Reed, Michael Fordham, and Gerhard Adler (eds.); William McGuire, exec. Edt., The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, , Foreword to Abegg: "East Asia thinks otherwise." ("Ostasien denkt anders.") In: CW v. 18: The Symbolic Life: miscellaneous writings ( London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1953, Princeton, N.J. Princeton Univesity Press, 1967), 654-655

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Schopenhauer, and Newton, he presented a new way of viewing reality which was in

balance with the old way of the Germanic tribesmen and yet was understood on a

much higher intellectual level and in a intricate manner of explanation; nonetheless

mirroring the same views of natural law manifesting into the physical realm aspects of

the sublime realm. The unifying element in Jung’s examination into this subject was

the I-Ch’ing; the I-Ch’ing added an understanding of the organic unity of the physical

and non-physical world as larger nexus of interrelated meanings. Or as I would put it

“Wholeness” a Holistic world of significant aspects all interaction according to laws

of nature that run parallel yet do not conflict. The oneness of the Tao as seen in the I-

Ch’ing and other esoteric aspects of eastern traditions shed light on the role of

synchronicity for Jung.

So essentially what we have here is an agreement by Jung that the microcosmic

and macrocosmic elements of reality are in balance and function together in the

physical and metaphysical realm to produce what we refer to as “reality”. Jung’s

reality however reflects the importance of the metaphysical aspects of reality, which

“Modern Science” refuses to accept due to their incomplete understanding of physics.

Only when one accepts Einstein’s theories on relativity and those of on quantum

physics and all of these when combined with other significant theories of examination

into the overlapping realms of physics and metaphysics, only then can modern science

come to grips with the totality of “true reality”. The downfall of modern science will

be if they refuse to accept the concept of “true reality”. This having been said we turn

to the examination into the relationship between the Runes and the I-Ching. Both the

Runes and the I-Ching are Oracles, which purport to have the ability to foretell the

future. There is no doubt that the use of fortune telling falls into the realm of practices

frowned upon by orthodox Islam; however there are other ways of seeing Oracles. For

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example Jung saw the I-Ching as a unifying form, which gave philosophical order to

the Chinese form of cosmology. It should be noted here that the I-Ching is based upon

the magic square of the Chinese ancient oracle casting, that has its bases in the Aryan

runes of the Tocharian and Taklamakhanians of the western area of china, once

referred to as the Central Asian kingdom of Khourisan and is directly connected to the

Caucasian community of the conch Daria river area of east Turkistan. The same truth

can be seen in the unifying form of nature as seen organically by Malays.

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CHAPTER FIVE

THE SCIENCE OF TALISMANS, SYMBOLS AND

PSYCHOLOGY

UNIVERSAL AND PARTICULARIZED SYMBOLS IN RELATION TO HYDROPHANES

The use of symbols in the ritual, protection, and daily life style of magic users from

the tribal to the polytheistic periods in development are roughly equivalent among all

peoples in the world. However in the case of the Germanic and Malay peoples there is

an even closer parallel in their use of symbols. This is attributed directly to the way of

perceiving symbolism as related to Nature and the elemental powers of spirits, which

reside in nature. In my view symbolism is not just nature, but also link to the divine

essence within man19.

Organic Unity in Nature

The above understanding was held by the tribal Malay, with the exception of not

having a complete understanding of both Tawhid and the methodological

19 It is through symbols that one is awakened; it is through symbols one is transformed; and it is

through symbols that one expresses…..Symbolism is perhaps the most sacred of Sufi sciences, for it is through seeing symbols that one continues to remember, to invoke…..Symbols are vehicles of transmission of divine realities, which transform us by carrying us to the higher states of being which they originate. Known as a world unto them selves known as (‘alm-i-mithal), they are the place of encounter between the world of archetypes or intelligible and the sensible, phenomenal world…..“Everything in creation is a symbol: for everything perceived by the outer senses may be conceived through the inner senses as a sign of a higher state of reality….the light is the knowledge of illumination, which arises after the mystic has passed through the divine law, gained the knowledge of certainty through knowledge of the doctrines of Sufism, seen through the inner meaning of practices and rites with the eye of certainty, and reached the center …….the cosmic mountain, Qaf, refers to the renewal of the world, the rejuvenation of the universe…the mountain symbolizes the infinite expanse of the sky, the single and highest place in space. It is the source of the whole of the cosmos, and yet only a point in the divine infinity. As one descends towards the lower states of being, the horizontal dimension expands. …one is moving away from the centre. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 25-26).

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understanding of Tawhid, which would be brought to the Malay via such scholars of

Islam as Hamzah Fansuri and others. The knowledge of Islamic scholars such as Ibn

Arabi, al-Jilani and others have their roots in Arab and Central Asian cultures which

was to a certain existent visible in their cosmological outlook in reference to the

natural realm. However the concept of a Omni present and all powerful God is not and

never has been the exclusive property of the Semitic intellect; an intellect whose

cosmological outlook was affected early in it’s development through interaction with

the Aryans. The belief in such a God as Omni Deus existed among the Aryans long

before they brought this God to the Semites of the Fertile Crescent area of the Middle

East in the dawn of the Proto-Elimites and Sumeria2021. The effects of both these

cultures and their cosmological outlook can be seen visibly in the adoption of Sufism

in its esoteric aspect and the compatibility of Sufism with their own cultural view of

cosmology, phenomenology and the natural realm. Due partly to this position and

view of nature, with the arrival of Sufism we see Sufism and in particular Islamic

Mysticism gaining ground in the conversion of Hindu/Animistic Malays of the 1400s.

It was the respect for nature as the Qur’an of creation, their understanding of

metaphysics, and the patience which Sufis displayed that made them a magnet to the

20 Aryan peoples first emerge from the gloom of prehistory on the northern border of the Fertal Crescent of the ancient East. …To the east lived the elimites…and pssesed a high civilization of their own….Our sources give us no indication of the precense of Aryans within their purview down to 2,000 BC…. But by the middle of the II millinium we find Aryan princes installed within the fertile crescent. Gordin child, The Aryans, ( Routledge, New York, NY, 1st printed 1926, 1996), 9-10.

21 Accepted by Gunter and Dumezil were by it comes from the Indo Aryan root uer “to Bind”….Their supreme God “creator of the earth”….”the most high master”….add to the term turem the qualification of “Great”, “Luminus”…”White”, …”Lord master my father”…light from on high, and so on. In prayers and in written text the sky God is often called “father”…….he who makes the world fruitful. ….that is to say universal sovereign. …in the titles of God the notion of… commander, is clear….As creator, knowing and seeing all, guardian of the law …ruler of the cosmos; ….The Summerian term for divinity (Dingir was translated into Akkadian [Semitic] as ellu, “Bright, shinning”)….Eliade, trans. Rosemary Sheed, patterns in comparative religion, (Sheed and Ward, 3rd ed. 1993), p.64-70.

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Pre-Islamic Malays2223. Having already gained a foothold in Ache Indonesia and

Malacca, the Sufi mystics and scholars such as Hamzah Fansuri and al-Raini were

able to expose Malays to a more scientific understanding of nature and spirituality

through its relationship to Allah as the divine essence and lord of all worlds. By using

ideas like man as the microcosm, the Organic Unity of the natural realms, the sublime

realm of the jinn and that angelic realm, the Sufis were able to amaze and give awe to

the stories they told of Sufi saints and greatly interest Malays in this wonderful new

Science, the Islamic science of Malay Thaumaturgy, a monotheistic form of

understanding all worlds. The earliest form of worship among the Malay peoples was

that of panentheism not strict animism. Syncretism with early Bronze Age remnants

of the Neolithic panentheism, not animism but indeed an earth God form of Neolithic

panentheism. The above understanding was held by the tribal Malay, with the

exception of not having a complete understanding of both Tawhid and the

methodological understanding of Tawhid, which would be brought to the Malay via

Islamic scholars or Hakim who sent emissaries to Malaya. It was the respect for

nature as the Qur’an of creation, their understanding of metaphysics, and the patience,

which Sufis displayed, which made them a magnet to the Pre-Islamic Malays. By

using ideas like man as the microcosm, the Organic Unity of the natural realms, the

22 Sufism had already been well laid in Malacca as early as 1488 for we hear of the sultan himself

being a disciple of a mystic….Winstedt rightly acknowledges…the skill with which these Malays with a vocabulary lacking in abstract terms were able to grasp and introduce Sufi mysticism to their world is remarkable…in no other field has the Malay mind ever displayed such intellectual ability and subtlety. Syed Naquib Al-Attas, Edited by Shirle Gordon. Some Aspects of Sufism, (Malaysian Socialogical Research Institute LTD. Singapor, 1963), 21-24.

23 In return the Malay magician let Islam affect his pretensions and his technique. It led him often to try

to emulate the living Muslim saint, to whom folk resort for advice ….Originally to become a shaman he had kept vigil beside an open grave or waited in the dark forest for the coming of a tiger familiar; he would now sit fasting and shrouded to hear the prayers for the dead read over him and he would repeat the name of Allah 5,000 times until hysteria brought nightmare visions of tiger or serpent to be succeeded by visions of angels and saints instructing him in mystic knowledge. Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt, M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 72.

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sublime realm of the jinn and that angelic realm, they were able to amaze and give

awe to the stories they told of Sufi saints and greatly interest Malays in this wonderful

new way of magic, which was in reality a fist look at the transcendence of magic to

Science, Islamic science, a Monotheistic form of understanding all worlds. Islam was

carried to Malaysia via Sufi scholars, as well as a small number of Indian and Arab

traders. These traders brought the Arab socio-cultural view of life, a view that is

intertwined with the Islamic faith. This Arab/Islamic view of life had strong moral

implications, which lasted at least until the Umayyad Dynasty.

‘THE ASCETICS ASCENSION’

The Murid’s challenges

The following Is an examination into the ‘hero’s journey’ as described by Dr. Joseph

Campbell in comparison to the stations of development of the Sufi in the form of what

is generally referred to as the ‘path of Wilaya’2425. The states of the Sufi journey to

enlightenment or gnosis are comparable to the ‘hero’s journey’. The Khalwah will be

compared to the wizard in the western tradition and the Wali’s journey will be

examined in the forthcoming examination of the Sufi states. In conclusion we will

24 The word tussually translated as “saint,” wali, means “someone who is under special protection, friend”: it is the the attribute given by Shiites to ‘Ali, the wali of Allah par excellence….a wali is one whos affairs are led …by God….The concept of wilaya developed during the early centuries of Sufism. An authority of the early tenth century, …defined the saints as “those recognizable by the lovliness of their speech, and fine manners, and submission, and generocity, showing little opposition, and accepting the excuse of everyone who excuses themselves in front of them, and perfect mildness towards all creatures, the good as well as the bad”…thus the ideal Sufi is called wali. The wilayat ‘amma, the “general saintship” commone to all the sincier faithful…, is usually distinguished from the wilaya khassa, that of the advanced mystics, “who have become annihilated in God…. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1975), 199.

25 Descibing the four pillars or rules in terms of how they are understood by the aspirant (murid) and the verifier (muhaqqiq), he speaks of them as spiritual state (hal) and a

spiritual statiopn (maqam) and a bearing of fruit in a particulare domain of spiritual knowledge (ma’rifa). ....True Governance (hukm) is the fruit of wisdom (hikma), and True

Knowledge (ilm) is the fruit of Gnosis (ma’rifa). Thus one who does not posses wisdom, has no true governance. while one who does not posses Gnosis has no true knowledge.

one who posseses true governance and knowledge (al hakim al-alim) belongs [utterly] to God firmly existent (lillah qa im) , were as one who posseses wisdom and Gnosis (al

hakim al arif) existe through God, halted (billah waqif). Those with true govenance and knowledge are the people of the latter [letter] lam, and those with wisdom and Gnosis are

the people of the [letter] ba.

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examine how the training of young adepts who become apprentices of the wizard and

Khalwah respectively is trained and how symbolism plays a major role in their

Theurgy and thaumaturgy respectively.

The heroes’ ascension is one which is symbolic, metaphorical and spiritual. It

is a metaphorical ascension of the tree of life, this ascensions is one which begins long

before the ascetic leaves the society in which he is a member. It begins at childhood

and becomes a pre-ordained destiny picked for the ‘hero’, one which he has to decide

to accept or deny. Often a hero denies his destiny for many years until God test him

severely, hounding his mind body and spirit with unhappiness or emptiness, through a

deep seated need for answers; answers which the world cannot provide, springing

from emptinessof the soul, which only God can fill. God places the young man in a

position so very insane that he can either accept the challenge or be who he was born

to be or he can go insane. One of the best examples of this is the case of Oedipus who

was orphaned at a young age, lost everything, and went through a truly ‘rags to riches’

life. Through accepting the challenge of the ‘heroes journey’ in purely physical sense

and in the exterior form of consciousness though he denied the interior aspect of the

challenge; never truly understanding that he had been picked for a spiritual journey he

failed to see the metaphorical nature of his journey. This is seen metaphorically in his

physical blindness and failures in life which sprung from his inability to grow

internally and ultimately led to the total destruction of his life and the life of those he

loved. This was Oedipus’s ‘fall from grace. Oedipus’s story is a classic example of a

‘hero’s journey’ that did not end with ascension but rather with failure in life and

sorrow. Even in the end he could not escape his destiny, after all was lost, Oedipus’s

ego was utterly destroyed. The empirical life was lost to him completely, and he leaft

the social world in complete ruin becoming a blind ascetic beggar. The end of this

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story inferres that eventually, weather we like it or not, God will accept no

competition, he is the only goal in the life of the hero or ascetic.

The first stage in the ‘hero’s journey’ is usually ‘acceptance of destiny’. In

Sufism this is called the ‘gate’ or the ‘door’, it is the door through which all ascetics

and mystics must pass through before they can ascend the tree of life. Among the

traditional Muslims this is signified by the Shihadah or profession of faith, however

for the Sufi the ‘gateway’ is the point of full acceptance of total submission to God in

every aspect of his life and goes beyond the basic practices of the typical Muslim,

making it truly a ‘heroes journey’. The hero’s acceptance of this is his acceptance of

the path of Willayah; a path which takes him through many states and stations. States

are metaphysical experiences which can effect the murid or the adept in many ways,

visions, astral projection, psychic occurrences etcetera. These experiences are similar

to the effects of states however do not indicate levels in iman or spiritual elevation,

and are temporary effects of prolonged Dthikr or prayer coupled with profound faith26.

Stations on the other hand are permanent levels of spirituality which remain, once the

person has experienced them they are at that level of spirituality until they rise again.

It is through states that the Sufi raises in the ascension of the tree of life. These states

and stations have been recorded by many Sufi sheiks and Walis.

In the second stage, the stage of ‘quest for the grail’ the heroes in western

legend are called upon to quest for a sacred object which will save the kingdom and

restore the fertility to the earth; this quest also brings a gift of untold riches. However,

the untold riches are usually not the physical gold that the every day person would

26 But the distinctive ritual of the Sufi is Dhikr …the remembrance of recollection of God—a

recollection that can be performed either silently or aloud ….The Sufi practices were founded upon the Koranic order, “and recollect God often” (Sura 33:40), for, as another word attest, “ the recollection of God makes the heart calm” (Sura 13:28). Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1975), 167.

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expect, but rather spiritual treasures of the soul’s ascension. To reach these riches the

hero must subdue or destroy the ‘great dragon’ a serpent that is always guarding the

treasure and gnawing upon the tree of life. This is best known in Germanic mythology

as the dragon nidgogg of the Elder Eddas, also known as Fafnir and regin in other

renditions of the tale. Nidhogg gnaws at the roots of Yggdrasil the world tree. This

destructive act towards the tree of life is symbolic of the damaging of faith and the

destruction or the subduing of the ’great Dragon’ is seen in Islamic culture as the

subduing of he animals soul by the true soul27. Once the dragon symbolic of the

animal soul or spirit has been subdued, the hero is able to continue on his path through

the woods at the base of the mountain. The motifs of the woods symbolize coming out

of the darkness of ignorance and is in some cultures represented as a cave as in Plato’s

analogy of ‘the cave’ Orpheus’s ascension into the underworld in some ways not

unlike the journey of the prophet Khalid into the cave of death. The mountain is of

course the celestial mountain as in Qaf in Sufism or Olympia in Greek myth. In

Germanic mythology this is Asgard and can only be found by crossing the rainbow

bridge, the rainbow bridge is the Axis-Mundi by another form of symbol as seen in

many shamanic cultures around the world. In fact all of the symbolic motifs seen in

the hero’s journey are found to be universal symbols, although many have undergone

the transformation of particular symbolism in the peripheral aspects related to the

primary motif. The mountain is symbolic of the foundation supporting the Axis-Mundi

27 Look well upon these two Dragons, …which sages have not dared to show to their own children. He which is undermost without wings , he is the fixed or the male, that which is uppermost is the volatile, or female, black and obscure, which goes about to get the domination for many months….these serpants and Dragons which the ancient Egyptians have pained in a circle, the head biting the tail….are so full, that there is no philosopher that ever was, but he hath written of it, from the time of the truth; telling Hermes Trimegistus… pythogorious…even unto myself….These are the two serpants wrapped and twisted about the Caduceus, or rod of Mercury, with which he excersiseth great power, and transformith himself as he listeth. Syyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Alchemy and the western world, in: Science and Civilization in Islam, (Harvard University press, 1968, 2nd ed. Islamic text society, Cambridge, UK, 1987), 288-289.

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or the tree of life which the hero must ascend. As such the mountain with the tree at

the top symbolizes not only the foundation of the ascension it’s self but also

symbolizes the the attainment of the treasure at the end of the journey. At this moment

I would like to digress briefly to explain two primary symbolic motifs which are very

important to the examination at hand, that is the sword and the chalice. First of all the

sword in western mythology symbolizes the Axis-Mundi and is seen in its other

variations as the staff, the wand and the Kris; it is the point through which the wizard

directs his energy and it is the object which the hero must poses as his weapon against

the dragon28. Therefore symbolically the one who poses the sword or staff posses the

means to subordinate evil or base nature within the kingdom, which is symbolic of the

self via the microcosm macrocosm reflection theory. Therefore the symbol of the

sword or staff is extremely significant in its role as found in western legend and in

Germanic Talismana as Ingwaz the rune of the tree of life. The eastern equivalent of

this is of course the lngam or the Kris which is the eastern version of the Axis-Mundi

as found by H.G. Qartich Wales and other scholars of religious history. The chalice or

grail is symbolic of the divine feminine principle which is believed in Islamic science

to give birth to the empirical world. The symbol of the feminine giving birth to the

world is a universal symbol which takes on many differing forms through regional

particularization. In Germanic tradition it was originally seen as the talisman runic

symbol pethro representative of meinen and natural fertility. During the medieval

28 Khidr took him to a ruin in the desert and said, ‘stay here and don’t leave this place’. He remained

there for three years. Every year Khidr would appear to him and tell him to remain were he was….. At the end of seven years I heard a voice at night: ‘O Abdul Qadir, you are now permitted to enter Bagdad….In the year of 560 I was at the school of Hadarat ‘Abdul Qadir. One day I saw him leaving his house with his staff in his hand. I said to myself ‘I wish he would show me a mirical with that staff!’ He looked at me and smiled and struck the staff into the sand. Instantly it turned into a beam of intense light rising out of sight into the sky, illuminating everything for an hour. Then he held that beam of light. It turned back into an ordinary staff. He looked at me and said, ‘O zayal, is that all you wanted?,’ Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (Islamic text society, 1992), XXXI.

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period the Celtic mabingong was written down from oral tales going back into an

updatable Celtic time of antiquity. At this time, the strong Christian influence can be

seen in that the Celts adopted a method of disguising their sacred symbolism which

later came to the point of combining symbolism as in the Celtic cross a product of

later syncretism. Sacred symbolism of the Celts was also disguised in the form of

Christian legends which were interwoven with pagan tales in the Arthurian legends of

the grail. Another contributing factor was the fact that the grail itself may have been a

part of mystery cults of the Roman Empire which were adopted by the roman

Christians before arriving in Europe. Thus when these tales were adopted into the

realm of Germanic legend they were wedded to Germanic legends by writers such as

von eishenbach. Thus in Germanic and other European mythology and later literary

works such as the Arthurian cycle we see the sword and the chalice or grail as the

symbolic equivalent to the Hindu Lingam and Yoni.

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CHAPTER 6

GERMANIC TRIBAL NATURALISTIC WORLDVIEW

THE IRMANI COMMUNAL CULTURE AND CHARLESMAGNES ETHNOCIDE

The ancient Germanic people called Irmani were a part of the Saxon tribal

confederation. The Irmani were originally an agricultural people, the word Irmani is a

Germanic equivalent of the Malay word Bumi or children of the earth; more precisely

Irmani mean ‘children of Irminsul’, the ‘lord of the earth’. Irmin is another form of

Ingwaz, from which the earliest Saxons get their name the Hirmanoni also called the

Irminoni or Irmani. This name can be traced as far back as the time of Tacitus in the

first century CE.

The Irmani had within their holiest of holies a holy tree, which they called

Irminsul or the tree of life. Irminsul was venerated as a direct symbol of Irminsul and

as such was sacred because of its symbolic representation of the God’s power over

fertility and life293031.

29 The name Tiwaz [of Aryan linguistic descent] is related to the Greek Zeus, and to the roman Jupiter (who was originally Dyus pitar, father Dyus). All three are thought to be derived from dius, the Indo-Germanic word for god, which stands also for the shining heaven and the light of day. It is probable that Tiwaz was the suprem sky god of the germans....At the time of Tacitus, the Semnones [Irmani], live between the rhine and the Oder. They worshiped a god called Ruler of All (Deus Regnitor Omnium). Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, H.R. Ellis Davidson, p. 57-59.

30 The grove is the center of their whole religion. It is regarded as the cradle of the race and the dwelling place of the suprem god to whom all things are subject and obediant. Tacitus the agricola and germania, penguin books, 1970, p.134.

31 Alanus has unquestionably arisen by sheer mistaking of the first few strokes, out of Manns, i.e. the Mannus of Tacitus. This Mannus stands at the head of the Teutonic race, exactly as Woden does at that of the Anglo-Saxon. It means man in all Teut. tongues: Goth, man, mann, manna, AS. mon, ON. madhr, gen. manns ; so does its derivative mannisk, mannisco, mensch. Perhaps the thinking being from the verb man, munum : an apt designation for God as well as God-created man, and certainly of high antiquity. I do not find it as a by-name of OSinn or Woden, but one of his ancestors is Itermon, of which the first part iter, itr may be considered an intensive epithet: homo praestans, hominum praestantissimus. Ace. to that, Mannus and Woden stand for the same thing. I throw out the guess, that in heathen songs the god might be called by either name. 1736 APPENDIX. Lastly, we turn to Mannus s own father, the earthborn Tuisc-o. What if the word be formed like mannisco, and abbrev. from tiudisco ? The O.Fr. Tydios was shortened to Thyois, Tyois, Tiois, Thiodonis-vi\l& [Dieten-hofen] to

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Irminsul was cut down deliberately, in an attempt by the Christians to destroy

the faith of the Irmani, which failed. The Irmani were the only tribe to refuse to

capitulate with the Christians long after all other Saxons and Germanic tribes had been

Christianized. It is among the Irmani that we find the strongest traces of the green man

myth among the Germanic tribes. All of the names mentioned above are in one way or

another linked to the cult of Woden or Odin. In fact each name is from a root word

Irmin which is one of his names. The true names mentioned above do not include the

suffix Vones which is from the Roman language and means ‘sons of,’ it is a Roman

translation. It is fairly certain that Germanic tribesmen named their tribes, according to

cult affiliation and clan orientation. Thus Irmani were a clan and tribe that were

dedicated to Odin. We find evidence to support this fact in that three tribes gave birth

to a confederation of tribes known later as Saxons; one of these three was the Irmani.

From the year 100 to around 800CE the Irmani remained a part of the Saxons as a

whole. This clan and cult affiliation underwent drastic changes in during the time of

Thion-ville. In Gothic dialect the god would be Thiudiska, in OHG. Diutisco, the offspring of the people (thiuda, diot) itself. And the national name Teuto, Tiuto (OHG. Dieto) might be near of kin to Tiudisco. But an entirely different derivation, suggested by Lachmann, seems preferable: Tuisco = Tuisco, the twin, S/Su/Ao?, OHG. Zuisco, meaning perhaps one of the Dios-curi,... The form Tuisto least of all lends itself to explanation, though there are some derivatives in -st, -ist ; and to connect AS. Taetwa with Teuto or Tuisto ...it is enough to have proved that in Tacitus s German theogony we see an unmistakable connexion with later traditions.....Wunsch, wisli, seems akin to Sansk. Vdngksh, vanch Opto, desidero, Bopp Gl. 315*. …Wunsch is god of bliss and Love, who wishes, wills and brings good to men. We still speak Of God as the giver of all good, all gifts, Kl. Schr. 2, 327-9. ….Mit wunsch, by divine power, WODAN. 1329 Tifc. 347 ; and conversely verwilnsclien to annihilate, wunschen Lernen, to learn conjuring, Miillenh. 395. 402….P. 141.] ….figuring, imaging, thinking, faculty, Hence also imagination, idea, image, figure. There is about Wish Something inward, uttered from within : der Wunsch tihtef, Tr.oj. 3096, uz tiefer sinne grunde erwunschet mit dem raunde 2960. …Yapiviv atreikacre, but, as God imparts wishing, it is said of Hermes : o… Ovrafet, Od. 15, 319. ….P. 145.] As Wuotan sends wind and weather, and stills the Stormy sea, it is said of the Christian God : daz er uns alle tage Dienet rnit weter ioch rnit wint, Diemer 89, 18…. Perhaps the rushing god himself, as we know that osinn Bears the surname Yggr, and is always figured as the rider in the Air, the furious hunter. In that case Yggdrasils askr (Pref. Li.) Is The stormful god s ash. ....To Saxo s Othinus os pileo obnubens answers His surname Grimnir larvatus, from grima. As Grimnir he 1332 WODAN. Shews himself to men in the guise of a beggar to try them, e.g. To Geirrosr ; as Gestr blindi to hersrekr, as gangrivsr to Vaf- J?Ru&quot;Snir. Compare the German marchen of the old Beggarwoman, KM. 150, whose clothes begin to burn, as Grimm s did. Grimm, teutonic mythology, p. 1334…. The sentence in the Prol. Legis Salicae : Mercurius Trismegistus Primus leges ^Egyptiis tradidit, comes from Isid. Orig. 5, 3. Tervagan, Teruigant may have to do with Trebeta, Gesta Trev. (Pertz 10, 131). P. 154.] …Grimm, teutonic mythology, p. 1334.

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Wittican due to his war with Charles de-grosse. Charles de-grosse or charlesemagne

was a usurper of the Merovingian kings of the Istaovonies, later called Franks.

However while the other tribes went along with the Franks and submittmed to their

power, and converted to Christianity, it was the Irmani refused. Waging guerrilla

warfare against the Franks they refused to “Bend a knee¨ to the Frankish Christian

invaders. The

Franks wanted to destroy the Irmani religion; as is seen clearly in

Charlemagne’s deliberate attack upon their most sacred place, the holy tree Irminsul.

It is also clear from the above statement that the Irmani who lived in the coastal area

of Schleisveg-Holstein were of the Hirmanoni tribal group while the inland Hirminoni

were called Irminoni (Irmani). The Hirmanoni were children of the Hof or the Grove,

which they lived in, worshiped in and were most deeply moved by. It is clear from the

previous statement that the Irmani who lived in the coastal area of Schleisveg-Holstein

were of the Hirmanoni tribal group. The Hirmanoni or Hirmanduri were children of

the Hof or the Grove, it was the Hof/Grove, which they lived in, worshiped in and

were most deeply moved by32. To be certain there was a time when all Germani

worshiped in the groves, however it is the Irmani who continued the practice and

became almost certainly the forefathers of the modern Herbal healer of Europe. Their

knowledge of growing things and the groves make the most likely candidate for the

bases of such myths as the Merseburg charms healing by Odin, the Great Lacunas

opening incantations to Odin the healer and many others which look to the assistance

of the Irmin, Ing, Odin for the healing powers that only he the Green man master of

32 Islam sees the doctrine of unity (al-Tawhid) not only as the essence of its own

message but as the heart of every religion….assertion of al-Tawhid and all religions are seen as so many repetitions in different climes and languages of the doctoring of unity. Moreover, wherever the doctrine of unity may be found, it is considered to be of divine origin.”(Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred,( Albany0 University or New York University Press, 1989) p. 71).

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the groves and father of the Irmani could give. To be certain there was a time when all

Germani worshiped in the groves, however it is the Irmani who continued the practice

and became almost certainly the forefathers of the modern healers and sages of

Europe. Their knowledge of growing things and the groves make the most likely

candidate for the bases of such myths as the Merseburg charms healing by Odin, the

Great Lacunas opening incantations to Odin the healer and many others which look to

the assistance of the Irmin, Ing, Odin for the healing powers that only he the Green

man master of the groves and father of the Irmani could give. As such, his priest or

shamans were also healers.33 The first healers among the Germanic tribes to gain wide

spread popularity as great healers were the Irmani of the Hof groves, children of the

Green man; their belief in holy groves of the Hof and the Lord of the grove, Irminsul

refered to as “Lord of all” in their definition or as they call him “All-father”. It was

just this, a “Common faith” which was the binding connection between Saxons,

something far more profound and heart felt that politics. Jacob Grimm discusses the

truth of Odin’s connection to the green man and Irminsul34. The Germanic form of

Green man and wild man of the groves are both related to the earlier cult of Germanic

shamanism among Again, the Halstat cultures that are credited with the Neolithic

33 If rightly used, would enable them to annul and destroy the machinations of evil spirits, and bring to naught the works affected by them, and even alter the course of natural phenomenon….“magic” has been given , and through primarily the word “magic” only described the learning of the priest and sages of the Medes and Persians, ….for the use of it a man ceases to be a supplicant of the Gods….as time went on those who applied this natural wisdom to the relief of suffering of humanity magnified their office, and introduced into their operations incantations…astrology, and at a latter period alchemy….During the nineteenth century the craft of the herbalist fell into disrepute, chiefly because of men’s minds…endeavoring to establish a scientific system of pharmacology. Jerry Stannard, Herbs and Herbalism in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, (Ashgate Variorum, Brookfield USA, 1999), chapter 1: Divine Origin of Herbcraft,P.2

34 Among the GermanicGermanic tribes, the veneration of the trees and the use of wood

in their burials can be traced back to their Siberian roots and was easily accepted by the newer GermanicGermanic tribes of the migration period. This tradition is clearly manifest in the Saxon symbol “Irminsul” or “the tree of “Irmin”. Irmin is another name for the Saxon God Odin. Irminsul has also been considered by many scholars such as Professor H.R. Ellis Davidson as the “Axis mundi” of the GermanicGermanic world. Mircea Eliade, Archaic Techniques of ecstasy, (Bollingen series LXXVI, Princeton University press, N.J. Princeton University Press, 1974.) p. 3

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Luo-Shu geometric symbols were also related to the Germanic tribes; these symbols as

can plainly in the plate are the Runes. Later Celtic peoples used a different form of

symbolism called Ogam. Apparently when the Halstat culture split, the half or section

of the tribe which used Runes stayed and became the people who intermarried with the

ancestors of the Germanic tribes, thus imparting the use of the runes as semi-

Pythagorean geometric and numerological symbols of mystic value. There were then

according to tradition carried north by Odin.

Because of Odin’s own animistic views on the sacredness of trees, And

because of the location of these beliefs it is very likely that this was linked to an over

abundance of wooded areas in north-central Germany. The runes which can be seen in

the image of Irminsul are ehwaz the hanged man, Inguaz or the tree, and Gebo the

coming together of male and female, the Germanic symbol for “so above as below”.

Just as the roots and branches of a tree mirror each other, the wedge and challace

mirror each other and in Gebo they both come together as the victory over duality.

Through these runes we can assume that the historical Odin had some idea of the

relationship of these runes to the Tree of Life and that this transcendence is the

symbolic nature of Irminsul he was contemplating, otherwise all the elements of self

sacrifice, the ancient hourglass symbol, the raven & Eagle as his helpers, the

identification with Mercury (Hermes Trimagarious) & Gold, the alias of Yulnir, to

name only a few are extremely strong proofs as to the transcendental experience of

Odin actually taking place, although when and were remains a mystery; which makes

logical sense when one considers that Northern Germany was where the Bronze Age

Wodan archetype originated. As a further development of the animistic or shamanistic

form of spirituality of Germanic sages of the period it is logical to hypothesize the

woods and groves of the Hof would have been their primary place of contemplation.

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Tacitus attests to this in his remarks on the religion of the Germanic tribes when he

says that they held the Groves to be Holy.

While the persona of Khidr is not represented entirely without degeneration,

there are indeed aspects of his memorate in the form of his archetypal persona that can

be seen among the Germanic tribes, this is especially true of the archetype as viewed

by the Irmani.

Origin of Odin the Allfather archetype

In examining the archetype of the most important of the Norse Gods, Odin, the

archetype used is that of a shaman or wizard sky God who rules as king among a

pantheon of other lesser Gods. Odin, he is first historically mentioned through the

retelling of ancient oral teachings of Germanic priest in the Ynglinga saga’s tale. This

tale explains his migration to Europe with his tribe whom he brought to Europe from

the east of Gariktha which is roughly equivalent to modern day Turkey; therefore we

can only assume it was central Asia or the Russian steppes. After viewing the

overwhelming evidence to support the concept we must accept that the Odin

Archetype began its evolution at this point. In addition if we look closely at the wizard

like behavior and the earliest connections to the Historical Odin or person whom the

myth has sprang up around, we will see that he was in fact , originally, a Sage from

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Central Asia, and most probably a Taklamakhanian Chieftain353637

When examining pantheistic as a term and the personas of Odin archytype we

may find that these subjects are related to the degeneration of pre-Mohammaden

Prophetic teachings given to the Malay, we must first realize that the earth father is

archytypically related to the cult of Osirus as the earliest example of sky god

penetraiting the earth and creating fertility and through the Djed (tree of Life) which

brought about the communion between sky and earth, father and mother.

In the view of Islamic science, this duality is charectoristic of degenerated

prophetic teaching infected with aspects of anthropomorphism and fertility cult views

in the first stage of degeneration. This can also be seen inn Tius, Zeus, Tiuwos [from

Deowas Aryan root of I.E. Deus], and all forms of the Aryan Godking archetype. One

of the oldest is that of Pan, Pan obviously retains aspecfs of shamanism within his

persona. In fact the very term “Pan”-thesitic is reflective of its meaning; the God pan

among the Greeks was in fact none other than the green man in another version of the

Odin archetype. Furthermore pan was Never, a form of “Lucifer”, he cannot be

compared with Lucifer or the so called “Devil” because of the fact that pan pre-dates

35 Yggdrasil [Irminsul], that is, at the “centre of the world”. We even hear of nine

subterranean levels; …a giant professes to have obtained his wisdom through descending the “nine worlds below”. Here we have the Central Asian cosmological schema of seven or nine hells corresponding to the seven or nine heavens…. Mircea Eliade, Archaic Techniques of ecstasy, (Bollingen series LXXVI, Princeton University press, N.J. Princeton University Press, 1974.), 2.

36 The well-preserved desiccated Caucasoid human remains unearthed from these tombs had deep-set eyes, pointed noses, thin lips, and light brown hair over their shoulders.….The skulls were definitely Europoid and closely resemble the Proto-European pattern with some Nordic features. Susan Nacev Skomal and Edger C. Polome, ed., Proto-Indo European: The Archeology of a Linguistic Problem Studies in Honor of Marija Gimbutas, vol. 23, Prehistoric Caucasian Corpses of the Tarim Basin (Washington, D.C.: Institute For the Study of Man, 1995), 291.

37 This type of skull has rarely ever been found outside of Europe back around 2000 BCE, except in the Western Russian Steppes and in the Eastern European Caucus region. So it is clear from those physical features that “the early inhabitants of the Tarim Basin were primarily Caucasoid. Ibid, Proto-Indo European: The Archeology of a Linguistic Problem Studies in Honor of Marija Gimbutas, vol. 23, Prehistoric Caucasian Corpses of the Tarim Basin (Washington, D.C.: Institute For the Study of Man. , 1995) 292.

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these Christian manufactured persona38 Therefore the attempts by fundamentalist to

link the two are nothing more than the newest angle of pseudo-historical conjecture.

The existence of anthropomorphic elements found in deviant fertility cults does

not invalidate the value of Pre-Mohammaden Prophetic teachings. According to the

Qur’an Allah has not abrogated any of these teachings. Therefore from the perspective

of Islamic science, all Prophetic teachings must be preserved, examined, and gleaned

in order to separate anything altered erronusly and keep for the good of humanity all

that is correct according to the Divine books of revelation. In refrence to the personas

of archetypes we must examine thoughly in what way has the persona developed in

order to illustraite its part in myth, society, and the degenerative affects of

anthropomorphism when superimposed upon Prophetic teachings and memorates.

Thus, when we find that the name “Pan” means “all”, that is to say pan-theism

38 The notion of the Devil and of devilish spirits, which has by degrees acquired so wide a

compass and struck such deep root even in the popular religion, was unknown to our heathenism…An all-pervading idealistic distinction between a good and an evil spirit, Ormuzd and Ahriman, …is known neither to the Indian and Greek theologies, nor to the Teutonic. Before the might of the one all-governing God the kakodæmon's power fades away. Then out of this unity there grow up trilogies (Brahma, Vishnu, Siva; Zeus, Poseidon, Pluto; Wuotan, Donar, Frô; Hâr, Iafnhâr, Thriði), …. The Jewish monotheism accorded to its Satan only the subordinate part of a tempter and traducer, as is plainly shewn in the book of Job, and confirmed by the Greek term diaboloj …and New T. use alternately with satan, satanaj (Arabic shaitan) or daimonion (usually for Hebr. shéd). After the Captivity the Jews were more familiar with the idea of Dualism, and in N.T. times their whole demonology had largely expanded… Thus what the Christians believed about the Devil received at the hands of the Heathen a twofold enlargement: heathen Gods and spirits already malign and gloomy in themselves readily dropt into the Christian category of devilish beings; … the transmutation of the good Gods of old into spectres and demons. In this process names for the most part got suppressed or disguised; myths and stories were not so easily to be abolished…..….All these influences so diverse in kind have joined to produce such popular notions of the Devil's being and character, as have existed from the N.T. to our own times. The Devil is Jewish, Christian, Heathen, a false God, an elf, a giant, a spectre, all in one…. the legends of our Mid. Ages by the intrusion of an all-too positive Devil, we see that the contrast comes out not so much in the original texture of the popular beliefs, which is everywhere the same or similar, as in the colour laid upon it;…. Oðinn taunts the Vala with being 'þriggja þursa môðir,' Sæm. 95b. …. As in that passage of Wernher's Maria (p. 1006) which describes the Devil as chained in hell, so through the Mid. Ages in general he seems to have been imagined as lying bound till the dawn of the Judgment-day; then he will get loose, and appear in company with Antichrist. …Deut. sag. no. 9. In other tales a noose of bast is slipt over his head, which like the chained wolf he is unable to break, and in that state is mauled on the anvil with a hammer, which leaves him lamed…so Loki is bound; not only in Germany, but in Scandinavia the expression 'the Devil is loose,' Nethl. 'de duivel is los,' has been handed down through many hundreds of years in the people's mouth. Jacob Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, Vol. III – The Devil (George Bell & Sons, London: 1888), 1-6.

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means that one believes that the God (Pan) who is supposedly one with all and all is

one with him, and that the world is God, in every particulare object, they find God in

totality. This is a Greco-roman God anthropomorphically identified with all of nature

and is therefore not identical with the Odin Archetype. However the two personas are

not entirely identical; while Odin reflects more of the memorate, pan reflects more of

the mythological aspects of a perrsona rather than a complete archytype. This fact will

be proven in later chapters. Allow me to look at the statements of a more recent

scholar of Pagan studies, Oberon Zell Raven-heart, and founder of the neo-Pagan

movement in the North America, who says that the Odin archetype, pan and Fanus are

all aspects of the same All-father archetype who ruled over the Earth39.

Apart from the obvious missing Orinic aspects of a solar deity, the Germanic

term God comes from the Germanic word Gud or Guod originating in the word

Guodan another form of Odin. According to Germanic mythology Odin was the all-

powerful pantheistic God. However Pan and Odin are not the identical, they are two

variations on the ancient Aryan idea of Godhead, as is the case with Brahman in

Hinduism (also from the Aryan root archetype Omnis Deus).40 The fact that Odin was

a Germanic Godhead as found in Germanic mythology and that he alone was the one

who could grant Wunsche or ‘The granter of ‘all wishes’. Thus, when taken together

with the above implies that he was indeed the equivalent of pan in Greek mythology,

yet more in alignment with the original Aryan root archetype Omni Deus. That is to

say, there may have been a time when aspects of Odin as a later version of Tius (Deus-

39 Florus the Green man, is the masculine aspect of the vegitable kingdom….Fanus is often called the horned one – pan and cernunnos (which means horned one) …he is the masculine personification of the spirit of all animals, and thus he wears a crown of hons…Fanus is the God of fields, and sheperds, and prophecy….called pangenitor “all-begetter.” Oberon zell Ravenheart, Grimoire for the apprentice wizard, (New Page Books, US (2004), 63-64.

40 According to this Wuotas, Odin would be the all powerful, all penetrating being, qui omnis permeat . Jacob Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, Vol. III – The Devil (George Bell & Sons, London: 1888), 132.

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Omni) were the victom of anthropomorphic projection. This would have taken the

form of identifying Godhead with a historical prophet and with aspects of fertility cult

worship that would have superimposed upon his meorates a false persona of Pagan

Godhood and myth.

Mythology however is not history, but rather contains memorates or elements

of historical memory which have degenerated, often into panthentheism and the

archytypes related to nature as pseudo-hyrophanies. It is the archetype as a memorate

which we are concerned with our selves with here. As a part of this archetype the

historical persona of Khidr can be seen in continuance as a memorate that takes the

form of an archetypal persona after anthropomorphic projection of both the oneness of

nature and godhood upon a historical figure, in this case a prophet. As we see here the

scholars are in agreement with the fact that Odin was as an archetype indeed a ‘pan-

like’ all powerful all penetrating Godhead of the Groves and the animal kingdom, in

the view of pagan Germans. Once this was accomplished the manner in which the

Germanic people viewed Prophetic teachings was indeed degenerated. The name

Irmin is the Name of the Odin archytype which is used to referr to the lord of Wunch

and Fertility mentioned above. Irman which means “Green Man” is in all probability a

memorate of the Germanic prophet Khidr. Thus it becomes important to know just

exactly who Irmin was and who were his people the Irmani?

When we examine the practices of the Irmani, we will see that, it was in fact

originally the prophet Khidr who first taught the science of thaumaturgy to the

Germanic tribes. The Irmani are the best example of this, for the Irmani were the

original ancient Germans and formed one third of the Germanic peoples from the 2 nd

century BCE to the 1st century CE. We will established in chapter 6, that the Irmani

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were the origin of the Green man archetype among the Germanic tribes, and that the

Irmani were animist believing in the sacredness of the Lord of beast and nature ‘the

all powerful God’ they worshipped and referred to as Irman or wunsche, they we’re

priests or shaman, healers. The priest of the Irmani performed healing among the

Germanic tribes, and belonged to a select group of theurgist referred to as Gothr. Let

us see now how they affected the other Saxons and Germans.

Here we have firmly established that the Irmani (translated as Irminoni and

Irmanduri by the Romans) and their fellow Saxons have the right to be called Irmani

or people of the woods or groves as members of the cult of Nature or the “Earth”, or

more properly and specificly the people of the natural realm of fauna, spirits and

animals.

The Irmani were as a part of the Saxon confederation of tribes’ refered to as

Seubi; however originally all Saxons were known by the name Irmani41.None the less,

the other Germanic tribes share in this heritage. One example of this can be found

among the Goths who where of the oldest Germanic tribes and whose dialect of

Germanic is thought by many scholars to be the root of all Germanic dialects as it is

the closest to Aryan. The Goths too claim descent from the Irman (Odin the green

man) from the time when they inhabited the same area of the Irmani homeland and are

in likelihood the link which establishes the kinship of all Germanic tribes to the

Irmani through their worship of Irminsul42 in one manner or another. It was the

language of runic, reputed to have been brought to Europe by Odin that brought these

cult groups into communion with each other. When taken in combination with the

41 The three GermanicGermanic cult-groups is well known. These were the ingvaeoni, irminonim and istvaoni….They were cult-groups, and to that end to a common feeling of origin may be attributed any concept of unity that existed. Owen, Francis (1990). The GermanicGermanic people: their origin, expansion, and culture. New York: Dorset Press. 87.

42 This can be seen linguistically and historically in place, object and surnames e.g. Erminnac (Irmans son) in Gothic was the name of a Gothic king.

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earlier citation from Cornelius’s Tacitus Germania, the above information makes

clear that, the kinship of all Germanic tribes were in fact in one way or another

Irmani. This is clearly proven above, and shows that all Germanic people are Irmani

or people of the Earth and therefore the European parallel to the Malay term ‘Bumi’.

An important note here is that Irmani is synonymous with later connotations of the

Volsung clan and their filial-piety to the green man.

The most prevalent aspect of Germanic paganism which existed throughout all

of these periods was also the most prominent symbol; the life tree (Yggdrasil) which

translated means literally “Odin’s horse”. Yet we know quite clearly that the name of

Odin’s horse was sleipnir. What then is the meaning of the term “Odin’s horse”?

Symbolically it has been suggested by H. R. Ellis Davidson in her book “Viking and

Norse mythology” that this may imply that the world tree was Odin’s means of

transcendental travel from this world to the world of the dead through a type of

Shamanic meditation. Although I accept a slightly different hypothesis concerning the

type of meditation used, I do agree with the basic concept. Odin’s horse implies

through symbolism, a vehicle for some sort of transcendental meditation4344.

43 The figure and myth of Odin - …sovereign and great magician – displays several

strangely “shamanic” features. To acquire occult knowledge of runes, Odin spends nine days and nights hanging in a tree. Some Germanists have seen an initiation rite in this; Otto Hofler even compares it to the initiatory climbing of Siberian shamans. The tree in which Odin “hanged” himself can only be the cosmic tree….as Hofler supposes, that slypnir is the mythical archetype of a many footed hobbyhorse that played an important role in the secret cult of men’s society. But this is a magico-religious phenomenon that goes beyond the bounds of shamanism….indeed, we may ask if Odin’s two ravens Hugnin (“thought”) and Munin (“memory”) do not represent, in highly mythisized form, two helping spirits in the shapes of birds, which the great magician send (in true shamanic fashion!)…. Mircea Eliade, Archaic Techniques of ecstasy, (Bollingen series LXXVI, Princeton N.J., Princeton University press, 1974), 1.

44 A variation on the disc was the swastika, used as a symbol in many parts of the world at different periods. . . It is a major symbol on some of the splendid funeral urns. . . It is likely that it was linked with the cult of Woden (Odin). . . For the first time we see clear traces of a deity or deities connected with the sky …. Governed by the movements of the sun. H.R. Ellis Davidson, Viking and Norse Mythology. (Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1996), 55.

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However it is my view that the world tree (as the Axis-Mundi) for Germanic

paganism was not a physical vehicle, but, rather a meditative motif for a historical

Germanic sage named Odin in a similar fashion to the sage Sakamoni Buddha who

went to India. This symbol was probably used as a symbolic meditative focal point

similar to a primitive Mandala or Yantra.

When he looked at the tree during meditation it summoned a type of Chi

(energy) this is referred to as Megan in Irmani and Semangat in Malay. The value of

this symbol to Odin

May have been due to his views, on nature, and the sacredness of trees.

Mandalas as they appear among the Malays of the animist and modern age were

utilized in a similare

Fashion, let us examine Jung’s view of shamanism.

The Mandala was seen by Jung as the Axis-Mundi of the archetypal self. He

believed the Mandala to be the special symbol of the archetypal self. The word comes

from the Sanskrit word for magic circle. In the context of this particular usage the

Madala also act as a Yantra or a spiritually awakening symbol. The symbol was

believed by Jung to be a form of symbol which created a process of integration,

balancing, and harmonization of opposites. In short, the elemination of dualitaty

transcended to the oneness of Cosmic Unity. Projection of the archetypal self

represented the potential for wholeness and the potential of the archetypal self on both

cosmic and personal levels. The Mandala appears before people who are fragmented

psychically and helps to stabilize people who are distraught during crisis. The Yantra

furthers this process to Cosmic Unity through awakening the Origin of Cosmic Unty,

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the True Face or Self. The sage uses this sort of ritualistic tool, by having the patient

lay or sit inside of the Mandala during the cleansing process, healing or meditation. Its

use is that of central orienting one. This gives the patient reconstruction of the psyche

through the safety and comforting affect of the Mandala on the psyche. As the Axis-

Mundi of the archetypal self the Mandala provides a sense of safety and order. Jung

believed that it is possible to find meaning in living your own myth, and through

taking orientation from the inner centre of the psyche, the archetypal self and its

symbolic representation is of course the Mandala making it quite indispensable for

that purpose considering its importance to the wholeness of the psyche. This Mandala

of sorts could conceivably have been seen as a metaphor of the tree of life as seen in

the Kabala of ancient Hebrews. If this is in fact true or a similar process took place,

then ancient rune Stafr of pictographs found in Germanic lands depicting a cross or x

shape in the form of having tree roots and limbs at both ends would make sense.

Sybolically these pictographs resemble a Mandala when place in what Germanic

sages refer to as Hex , Hex are created in the same fundmental orientation as Mandala

and Yantra . When taken in the context of possibly being used as a type of tree of life

the Mandala performes the function of a metaphoric symbol in a simailar way to the

concept of ascention to oneness or Tawhid by the murid through stages and states.

When such a process occurs, it is viewed through symbolism, but it fuctions through

the mystical aspects thaumaturgy to cleance the heart. This is done by knowing the

self or psyche and its relationship with the Cosmos in its entirety as Tawhid. This has

profound connotations as to the immense value of Irminsul to the ancient Germanic

sages45. It cannot be claimed that the” so above as below” hourglass symbol didn’t

45 The symbol of the mandala is described and numerous examples of mandalas from various parts of

the world are offered. The Sanskrit word mandala, meaning "circle," is identified as the Indian term for the circle drawn in religious rituals. The function of the mandala is described as a narrowing down of the psychic field of vision as an aid to intensification of concentration. The goal of the Yogi in

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exist among the Aryans, for this symbol has been found on Proto-Sumerian reliefs

carved in stone dating back to the 5th millennium BCE , as well as artifacts found

among artifac Halstat Kultur dating back to 2,000 BCE. When Odin looked at the tree

during meditation would have summoned a type of Semangat (energy) which the

Germanic Wizards called Megan. It should be noted here that the I-Ching is based

upon the magic square of the Chinese ancient oracle casting, that has its bases in the

Aryan runes of the Tocharian and Taklamakhanians of the western area of china, once

referred to as the Central Asian kingdom of Khorasan and is directly connected to the

Caucasian community of the conch Daria river area of east Turkistan. This is not the

only archeological or geometric evidence linking the Tocharians who spoke a dialect

of Saxon. Furthermore as we stated at the start of this chapter, Odin brought his

people to Europe from Tocharia46.

To be certain we are speaking of a very gradual transitions and which requires

a great deal of explanation as to the complexity of the evolution into a almost Hindu-

like form of Paganism, and then to Occultism. Unfortunately the detailed explanation

contemplating the processes depicted in the mandala is to become inwardly aware of the deity; through contemplation, the practitioner may realize himself as God, and return from the illusion of individual existence into the universal totality of the divine. The basic psychological motif of the mandala is of a center of personality to which everything is related, by which everything is arranged, and which itself is a source of energy. The energy of the central point is manifested in the compulsion to become what one is, this desired presence may be called the self. The self is surrounded in the mandala by an area containing the paired opposites that make up personality; the totality of the mandala contains consciousness, a personal unconscious, and an indefinitely large area of collective unconscious whose archetypes are common to all mankind. Some of these archetypes are within the scope of personality and may acquire an individual stamp, such as the anima, the animus, and the shadow. Other religious mandalas and mandalas spontaneously produced by patients during the course of analysis are discussed. The production of mandalas in a therapeutic context is felt to occur in states of chaos or panic as a rearranging of the personality toward a new center. Patients are said to appreciate the soothing effects of these pictures, which emphasize wholeness, order and balance. It is noted that the reality of the collective unconscious is often first impressed upon a patient by means of his mandala productions. Numerous mandalas drawn by patients are reproduced and described. . Herbert Reed, Michael Fordham, and Gerhard Adler (eds.); William McGuire, exec. Edt., The Collected Works of C. G. Jung , Concerning mandala symbolism: v. 9.1: The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, ( London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1953, Princeton, N.J. Princeton Univesity Press, 1967), 355-384.46 This also belonged to Odin by virtue of his position as All Father, the high God, which he appears to have usurped from Tiwaz. H.R. Ellis Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, (Pelican books, New York, New York, 1964), 153.

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of that transition and evolution are beyond the scope of this paper.

The shamanistic characteristics of the God Odin are very solidly represented in

Norse mythology. In the Prose and elder Eddas we see Odin performing many

shamanistic deeds such as transcendental meditation, spirit travel to the under world

and other places in the nine worlds. Other abilitys which link him to shamanism

are ,control of the elements, travel through the sky, his talent as a healer(Merseburg

charm), his shape shifting ability’s which he shared with his followers, especially

Berserkers. The berserks or Berserkers were a group of young men who spent most

of their young lives devoted to the worship of Odin, Wizadry and warfare.

In the ancient myths and legends we often see Odin take on the semblance of

an eagle or raven, but the most popular of all Odin’s forms was his identity as Harbard

or Grey beard, an old man who generally appeared humbly dressed yet extremely

wise;47 it is in fact the meaning of Harbard, which translates in meaning rather than

literally as ‘Wise One’.

In the archetype of Odin, we also see the ability to see the future, which

is often found in most magic workers regardless of their specialty skills. In literature,

the use of prophecy is as old as literature itself, and Odin is one of the first to use it in

a variety of ways. As we move along in history we see that there are many forms of

Galdr which were used by the Germanic Wizard in his various forms of healing. This

is of course combined with Herbalism to form the earliest form of holistic healing in

the Germanic world. Some of the ways in which this was done for example, earth

runes were graven into cups and steins for protection against drunkenness, for

47 Then Odin turned himself into an eagle,…then the eagle Odin dived in over the wall . . . . Harbard or “Grey beard” is of course Odin in disguise,…Odin’s boast relates to his … magical powers. H.R. Ellis Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, (Pelican books, New York, New York, 1964) p. 145-146.

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protection from the earth, and Thorstein or thunderstone was worn as well as Thor’s

hamirmer for protection against lightning strikes. In this way the use of mythological

and animistic beliefs as a way of warding off the coming of injury or sickness

combines the preventive measure of magical protection with the use of Herbalism for

curing illnesses.

Jacob Grimm discusses the truth of Odin’s connection to the green man and

Irminsul in the following passage. The translation of the last line of the above footnote

in ancient Saxon is: “God [Odin] gave to wish full leave…upon Irminsul …him they

call merchant [God of] (Mercurious) [and] on Irminsul they buried him”. The tale of

Odin sacrificing himself on the great tree Yggdrasil is common knowledge among

students of Germanic mythology. More clearly illustrated here is the fact that, Odin as

Osci and Irmin is both the Mercury mentioned by Tacitus and the God of Irminsul or

Green man. His sacrifice on Yggdrasil and on Irminsul can easily be attributed to

dialectical tribal differences between the northern Viking version of the myth and the

Saxon (Irmani) version. Therefore there is no doubt that Odin is in fact Irmin lord of

Irminsul and therefore also the green man lord of fertility, lord of the wild beast,

merchants and cargos, healing and wisdom, Wunsche (wish granter), ect. In addition

further proofs will be presented presently to illustrate that he was also the lord of the

animals or lord of the woods and that through his persona of the “lord of the wild hunt

and lord of fertility he is in fact the “Guod or God” or “all Being” Godhead of the

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Germanic tribes4849. Here in we see from perspective of Islamic science similare

degeneration to that of the Hindus.

In the death of Odin on Irminsul and Yggdrasil, and his rise from death, we

find a resurrection tale which is identical to the archetype of the green man as

illustrated by the writings of Frazier in his golden Borough. Thus proving that Odin is

in fact both the Lord of May or May king, Green man, Straw man, Wild man of the

wood, etcetera. And that this archetype originated from the Irmani, Germani, and

other tribes as a primordial memorate that developed independently among the Irmani

into the specific type of archetype that we see in the green man. Therefore it would be

safe to extrapolate that the Irmani are the best candidates for the origin of the “Green

man” archetype in Europe50.

Fraziers tale presented here are a compilation of three out of hundreds of such

48 In the oldest glosses, Wotan is put for Tyrannus…proofs of the general extension of Wodan’s worship presents themselves,…in the passages collected in the preceding chapter on Mercurious, and again in the testimony of Jonas Bobbio…, which deserves to be studies….if we are to sum up in brief the attributes of this God, he is the all pervading creative and formative power, who bestows shape and beauty on men and all things, from whom proceeds the gift of song [chanting of Valgalre] … whom at the same time depends the fertility of the soil, nay, wishing and all highest gifts and blessings…to the heathen fancy Wuotan is not only the world ruling, wise ingenious God ….a gloss on Jonas Bobbio, who had rightly identified him with Mercury [Hermes]… Jacob Grimm. Teutonic Mythology, Vol. 1, (London: George Bell & Sons, 1888 ) P. 132-133.

49 This belonged to Odin by virtue of his position as all father, the highest God, which he appears to have usurped from Tiwaz [Deus] ….perhaps we should regard stories of the living being shut inside the mounds of the dead as something connected with memories of…the cult of Odin….temporary forgetfulness from Odin…[lesser gifts from other Gods] belief in rebirth…protective strength…were not in themselves sufficient to a silence the threat of the dragon and the monsters….Odin represented the other side of life, inspiration granted to…the poet, and the secret wisdom won by communication with the dead….In his cult and in the religion …the emphases on mans powers to reach out beyond this harsh and limited world. H.R. Ellis Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, (Pelican books, New York, New York, 1964) p. 153-212.

50 In Saxony and Thuringen there is a “fetching the Wild Man out of the wood.”; the Wild Man… The executioner announces that the leaf-clad man has been condemned to death, and cuts off his false head. a Artificial neck, with an artificial head and a false face on the top of it. Then the riders race to the May-tree….Then a May-tree is cut, generally an aspen or beech about ten feet high; and being decked with colored handkerchiefs and ribbons it is entrusted to a special “May-bearer.”…he [wild man/green man] becomes to life again. At his they rejoice, and, binding him fast on a wagon, take him to the village, where they tell all the people how they have caught the Wild Man, At every house they receive a gift. Sir James Frazer, The Golden Borough , (NY, the Macmillan Company, 1954, Toronto, Canada) p.301-311.

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traditions among the Germanic tribes. This one in particular is directly related to the

Irmani and is from the area of Thuringia which was a part of Hesse in Germany and

belongs to the land and culture of the ancient Irmani.

Hessians are Saxons of the Irmani line as are several other areas of modern

Saxony. The persona which the Odin or Allfather archetype is mentioned in above is

that of the “Green man and the “Wildman of the Groves”, the name of the Green man

is obvious exemplified in his name, he is the persona which dealt directly with the rule

of the earth and faunna, but that of the “Wild man” can seem to some to vague.

Therefore I will explain the relationship between the two and how they relate to the

Allfather archetype directly as his later manifestations or personas of Irminsul.51 The

Old Norse form of Irmin was Jormund and interestingly, just like Ygg, it was one of

Odin’s names52. Each of these names is an attribute of God, and may very well prove

to be remnants of the primordial religious tradition maintained in a degenerated and

anthropomorphic form among the Irmani from the perspective of Islamic science.

ODIN THE GERMANIC KHIDR

When and where did the two personas of the Odin archetype develop into the two

respective manifestations of that archetype? Let us firstly define the nature and role of

the original versions of each and then move on to their function in Germanic culture,

51 As the Chronicon Norvegiae attest, the latter was known to the Nordic magicians, and

if we take the other exploits into consideration we may conclude that there is a quite marked resemblance to Siberian shamans….we shall do more to than mention the “wild beast warriors”, the berserker who magical appropriated animal “fury” and transformed themselves into beast of prey. The technique of martial ecstasy, attest among the other Indo-European peoples and parallels to which have also seen found in extra-European cultures…. Mircea Eliade, Archaic Techniques of ecstasy, (Bollingen series LXXVI, Princeton University press, N.J. Princeton University Press, 1974.) p. p. 3.

52 Yggdrasil [Irminsul], that is, at the “centre of the world”. We even hear of nine

subterranean levels; …a giant professes to have obtained his wisdom through descending the “nine worlds below”. Here we have the Central Asian cosmological schema of seven or nine hells corresponding to the seven or nine heavens…. Mircea Eliade, Archaic Techniques of ecstasy, (Bollingen series LXXVI, Princeton University press, N.J. Princeton University Press, 1974.) p. . 2.

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and then thirdly explain how they came to develop into their final form.

The Green man as the one of the final forms of the Odin archetype has

developed into a combination or emalgification of the “Wildman of the groves” and

the lord of fertility53.

As we can see from this footnote, there was a time when the green man also

Lord of beast was the primary origin of the “wild man of the groves” persona and has

existed in the mythology of Neolithic cultures around the world. It was this first and

primary form of the earth bound supreme being which developed into the Pan of

Greece and Wunsche persona of the Odin archetype in Germanic lands. This

Emalgification will be examined as the final stage of the development of the two.

Once the two become one they are completely considered one and as a later

manifestation of the Odin archytype. The Green man began as a two fold God

represented in Germanic society as both Frey lord of the earth in Vanir worship,

which is most likely a reflection of the fertility cult of the agricultural societies we see

in existence in Eastern Europe in 35,000 BCE. The second group is that of the Aesir

cult brought into Europe by the first Germanic peoples to migrate there from the Ural

Mountains of Russia and was represented originally among the Germanic peoples as

“Tuisco” a name etmologicaly derivative of Tiu the Germanic pronunciation of Dius,

who came to be the original chief of the Germanic pantheon, after being

anthropomorphised. Tacitus reports this fact in the first century CE54. Tuisco As well

53 The complex of Lord of the Animals is one of the characteristic elements of this primitive culture and its religion. The lord of the Animals is not a reflexation of a transcendent supreme being. He, who assist man in the hazardous adventure of hunting, so full of unknown and dangers…he and no other is himself mans supreme being, for on him depends, day by day, mans existence, since he has mans life and death in his hand”. pre-history and religion in south East Asia,(London Quartritch Publ. 1957), P. 16, (from pettazzoni, op. cit., p.445).54 “In their ancient songs, their only way of remembering or recording the past they celebrate an earth-born God Tuisco, and his son Mannus, as the origin of their race, as their founders. To Mannus they assign three sons, from whose names, they say, the coast tribes are called Ingaevones; those of the interior, Herminones; H. Mattingly transl., Tacitus: The Agricola and Germania, (Penguin classics, Penguin Books Ltd, 375 Hudson street, New York, New York, 1970.) p. 102).

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as Manus, were names for the original father Gods from which Odin assumes the

mantle of king of the Gods and represents the old Aryan Gods (Deauwas), who are

beginning by this period to be usurped by the cult of Odin. All of the before

mentioned names are cognates of the name Deus5556. From the view of Islamic science

the start of the degeneration of Aryan conceptions of Omni-Deus was prier to their

arrival in Europe through diffusion. This most probably occured shortly after they

came into contact with fertility cults inhabiting Europe around 3,000BCE. Marijah

gimbutqas referes to them as the ‘Old Europeans’.

The Herminoni or Irmani, the Ingaevones, and the Istaevones

The Ingaevones are linked to the cult of Frey through the root of their name

“Ing” who is the “Earth God” of the Ingaevones and therefore represents the survival

of the old Vanir cult of the Tizan and Wullendorf culture. The root of the Herminoni is

Hirmin or Irmin, who has already been described as the original lord of the trees later

identified as Odin. Here we have established that both Odin and Frey were

represented as lord of the earth by two Germanic tribes, one affected by fertility cults

and the other not. However since Odin as an archetype is represented in many ways

and forms, he is like the Brahma Godhead of Hinduism and not a singular entity in

Germanic mythology. Note that the name God comes from the name Gud, from Guat

or Guodan. This can be seen in the use of the word Wunsche which gives him the

identity of all penetrating being identical in usage with the God Pan in Greek

mythology and in the Eddic story of Grimmnir in which he is represented by all of his

55 Jon R. Stone (edt.), The essential Max Muller: on language, mythology, and religion, New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002), 101.

56 This belonged to Odin by virtue of his position as all father, the highest God, which he appears to have usurped from Tiwaz [Deus] ….perhaps we should regard stories of the living being shut inside the mounds of the dead…. H.R. Elis Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, (Pelican books, New York, New York. 1964) p. 153-155.

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many names5758. In addition, the role of Odin as the “Master Wizard” is extremely

intertwined in the Irminsul or Green man legends far too thoroughly to consider Frey

as a candidate. More likely Frey is represative of the Tizan version of Tammuz, cosort

to the “Godess” of European Fertstility Cults. Most likely we are seeing the existence

of a synthesis between the remnants of fertility cults among the Tizan Neolithic cults

and the cult of Odin in respect to the “lord of the earth” archetype we call the Green

man. Furthermore, this ads support to the view of Islamic science that in the absorbion

of these elements of fertility worship we see the degerative affect upon Germanic and

Aryan primordial religious Tradition. This passage in Grimnirssmal when coupled

with the relationship between Odin and Irmin already established above make the fact

that the Odin archetype was indeed the green man apparent. Let us examine these

categories and the relationship between the Allfather archetype and the wizard priest

who emulated him. First and foremost Odin was a Sage and Wizard, his ability to

travel the dreamscape, heal, fight witches and demons is common knowledge to those

acquainted with Germanic studies and literature. In fact no other figure in Germanic

mythology has fought the powers of darkness or sacrificed more than Odin. Odin’s

shamanic and Sagely practices begin with his intimate relationship with trees and

57 I am called Grim, I am called Gangleri, ….and Har,… Grîm and Grimmnir, and Fi lsvid,48. …by one name I never have been called, since among men I have gone.49. Grimnir I am called at Geirr d's, …and Kialar, when a sledge I drew; Thrôr at the public meetings, ….Jafnhâr and Biflindi, Gôndlir and Harbard ….Odin thou now shalt see: draw near to me if thou canst.54. Odin I now am named, Ygg I was called before, before that, Thund, Vakr and Skilfing, Vâfudr and Hrôptatyr, with the Gods, Gaut and Jâlk, Ofnir and Svafnir, all which I believe to be names of me alone. (The Project Gutenberg EBook : Title: The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson, Author: Saemund Sigfusson and Snorre Sturleson, Release Date: January 18, 2005 [EBook #14726], p. 28).

58 As it was, Wuotan or Odin was chosen as the nearest approach to mercury, the

character which they share in common, and which led to their identification, being most likely their love of travelling through the air, also their granting of wealth and fulfilling of the wishes of their worshipers, I which capacity Wuotan is known under the name Wunsche….his travels in Greece and even Tyrkland [Central Asia], and his half historical character as a mere hero and leader of his people, are the result of the latest Euhemerism. Jon R. Stone (edt.), The essential Max Muller: on language, mythology, and religion, New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002), 101.

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specifically with the tree of life5960. Not only was Yggdrasil called the “steed of Ygg

(another name of Odin), but it was also represented as the metaphysical link between

the subtle world and the world of men for the ancient Germanic tribes. In fact the tree

Irminsul was historically thought by ancient Saxons to be the earthly counterpart of

the mythological Yggdrasil.

In addition I submit the following information in order to supplement the

Archaeological record and historical information linking the Germanic tribes with the

Taklamakhanian as seen in chapter six. In addition this assists in forming a basses of

support to the theory which I have just purposed. Through his various “faces” Odin is

capable of presenting a role model to all nobles in the Germanic social world. Odin’s

59 “Otto Hofler …compares it to the initiatory tree climbing of Siberian shamans. The

tree which Odin “hanged” himself can only be the cosmic tree, Yggdrasil [Irminsul] ; … Mircea Eliade, Archaic Techniques of ecstasy, (Bollingen series LXXVI, Princeton University press) p . 33.60

Uprose Odin lord of men and on Sleipnir he the saddle laid; rode thence down to Niflhel. A dog he met, from Hel coming... It bayed and widely gaped at the sire of magic

song:--long it howled. Forth rode Odin--the ground rattled--till to Hel's lofty house hecame. Then rode Ygg to the eastern gate, where he knew there was aVala's grave. To the prophetess, he began a magic song to chant, towards thenorth looked, potent runes applied, a spell pronounced, an answerdemanded, until compelled she rose, and with deathlike voice she said:Vala_. "What man is this, to me unknown, who has for me increased anirksome course? I have with snow been decked, by rain beaten, and withdew moistened: long have I been dead."_Vegtam_. "Vegtam is my name, I am Valtam's son. Tell thou me of Hel:from, earth I call on thee. For whom are those benches strewed o'erwith rings, those costly couches o'erlaid with gold?"_Vala_. "Here stands mead, for Baldr brewed, over the bright potion ashield is laid; but the ئsir race are in despair. By compulsion I havespoken. I will now be silent."_Vegtam_. "Be not silent, Vala! I will question thee, until I know all. Iwill yet know who will Baldr's slayer be, and Odin's son of lifebereave."_Vala_. "Not Vegtam art thou, as I before believed; rather art thouOdin, lord of men!" ...Odin[Vegtam]… "Thou art no Vala, nor wise woman, rather art thou the mother of

three Thursar." The Project Gutenberg EBook : Title: The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson, Author: Saemund Sigfusson and Snorre Sturleson, Release Date: January 18, 2005 [EBook #14726], p. 28, [Line number 6- 13].).

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origin myth tells us that he came from beyond the Russian steppes, in Asia. Odin’s

most prominent traits are that of a Siberian or Central Asian Sage, wandering ascetic,

and warrior king. These attributes are usual displayed under various guises such as

“Vegtam the wanderer”, Grimnir, Oski and others. This particular aspect of Odin has

evolved from a later Norse myth, and is related to the image of Odin in the Volsunga

saga.

ODIN THE GERMANIC HERMIES (MERCURY)

Tacitus tells us very clearly in his Germania and Agricola that Odin was the

figure which the Romans considered to be Mercury. Before Odin was a sage and

called Odin, he was known as Wodan a war leader; however after his ascension on the

tree of life (Irminsul) he became a peaceful and enlightened sage, capable of

performing miraculous feats of white magic. We know that the roman figure Mercury

was associated with Hermes, and that Thoth of Egypt was also almost identical with

Odin in many ways, both are masters of white Magic, wisdom, writing, healing, ect.

Therefore in this section we will present all of the proofs that Odin was in fact a sage,

who was among the Germanic peoples estreemly similare to Mercurious or Hermes in

Greek; the same figure identified by most scholars with none-other than the prophet

Khidr 61; furthermore this historical sage was in fact evolved over the centuries and

suffered numerous forms of mythological degeneration due to anthropmorphic

61 proofs of the general extension of Woden’s worship present themselves, for one thing the passage…on Mercurious [mercury]….all pervading …power…who bestows shape a beauty on men…on whom the same depends the fertility of the soil….we need not be surprised to then find him confounded with ziu or tyr, ….among other eddic names of Odinn, appears Osci, …he who makes men partakers of wunsch, of the highest gifts…the [GermanicGermanic priest/poets] of the 13 th century personify wunsch, of the highest gift…and represent it as a mighty creative being…. Got[Odin] erloubte dem Wunsch Uber in….Uf einir yrminensul[Irminsul] suont ein abgot ungehiure, den heizen sie ir koufman.…Jacob Grimm. Teutonic Mythology, Vol. 1, (London: George Bell & Sons, 1888 ) P. 116-132.

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projection via symbolic and litterary myths that altered his historical character making

it difficult to recognize his original form6263. In short distortion of a Pre-Islamic

Prophet by the degenerative affects mentioned in the previous section.

When we talk about the tree of life, we are referring to the cosmic tree, the

Axis-Mundi. In essence the ideogram of a Universal symbol of ascension. Its potency

is a symbol of authority and a guarded secret in some cultures due to the oppression of

monotheistic zealots. However the ascension up the tree of life is symbolized by a

seraph, snake, serpent, or other mystical creatures such as griffins, dragons, eagles and

ravens, why64? Because they are the guardians of the tree and their role is to turn back

those who are egotistical, greedy and power hungry for the evil use of magic or

miracle and it is those individuals who do not comprehend the potency and

responsibility in the investment of the holy staff symbolic of the tree of life. And it is

those same individuals vwho must not be allowed to hold it, we are referring of course

to Sorceres. Ancient sages have always acerted that these individuals must be turned

away from the tree so that the assume power of divine light would not be misused65.

62 ….Wodan was evidently concerned with trade, for German inscriptions to Mercury in the Roman period bear titles such as Mercator and Negotiator. Among Scandinavian names given to Odin, we similarly find Farmatyre, ‘God of cargoes’. As for learning, Odin was renowned for his discovery or invention of the runic letters….Most interesting of the characteristics of Mercury is his function as psychopompos, .This in particular is the aspect of Odin which must hold our attention when we come to consider him as God of the dead. H.R. Ellis Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, (Pelican books, New York, New York, 1964) p. 141.63

Above all they worship mercury, and count it no sin, on feasting days…..[to make] sacrifices to him. ….Their holy places are woods and groves, and they apply the names of deities to that hidden presence which is seen only by the eye of reverence. H. Mattingly transl., Tacitus: The Agricola and Germania, (Penguin classics, Penguin Books Ltd, 375 Hudson street, New York, New York, 1970.) p. 108-109.

64 n alchemy, the eagle, especially the double-eagle, is a symbol-- along with the raven -- for mercurious, the double natured symbol of the philosophers stone. The eagle is synonomous with the phoenix, ...raven....From this derives the meaning of ‘aqaba as a place that is difficult top ascend. The root also has the meaning of a ‘cheif’ or a ‘lord’. The eagle plays the role of a grand old shaykh. He is adam as first viceregent of God (kalifa). The word ‘uqab is also associated with the prophet muhammad. Arabi, al-Ittihad al-kawni, The Universal Tree and Four Birds, Angela Jaffray, p. 89.

65 Khidr took him to a ruin in the desert and said, ‘stay here and don’t leave this place’. He remained

there for three years. Every year Khidr would appear to him and tell him to remain were he was….. At the end of seven years I heard a voice at night: ‘O Abdul Qadir, you are now permitted to enter

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However for those who love the divine light, whose love the tree, ascend the tree with

the help of the guardians who become their close friends and are capable of ascending

to the sun which is symbolic of the sacred light of arnoch or heaven66. For this reason

the tree of life is forever linked to the swastika, seal of Solomon, the Triskel (three

pronged swastika), and all other symbols of divine light which are particularized

symbols found in each culture for their goal of ascension. All however, have the same

ultimate goal to ascend the tree into the light of heaven, regardless of the root they

come from or the branch that they use to ascend to heaven. For all holy branches of

the tree of knowledge lead to heaven and all rainbow bridges that take one across the

illusionary river separating the world of the empirical and the divine realm. In Islamic

science these various Traditions are seen as branches of the Primordial Religious

Tradition.

When we undertake the task of understanding symbolism in the divine manner,

we are taking a journey through the world of archetypes. This is a world of the

imagination, subtle realm and the empirical world. All three of these worlds are linked

in the view of Germanic tribal cosmology;; they are connected through the existence

of divine and subtle energies, archetypes, universal and particularized symbols. The

best way to illustrate this is through the tree of life as a model.

The tree of life is the symbol of the ascension of the soul from its fundamental

roots in the particularized symbolism of the ancients upwards we travel to the trunk

Bagdad….In the year of 560 I was at the school of Hadarat ‘Abdul Qadir. One day I saw him leaving his house with his staff in his hand. I said to myself ‘I wish he would show me a mirical with that staff!’ He looked at me and smiled and struck the staff into the sand. Instantly it turned into a beam of intense light rising out of sight into the sky, illuminating everything for an hour. Then he held that beam of light. It turned back into an ordinary staff. He looked at me and said, ‘O zayal, is that all you wanted?,’ Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (Islamic text society, 1992), XXXI.

66 Khaqa ni alluded to the sufis “who carry in their water bowle the water of life, like Khidr, and whose rods are as miraculous as the rod of Moses” ….Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1975), 17.

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which represents the symbolism of religion proper, next we come to the branches

which symbolize the many differing religious traditions in the form of the inner

dimension, at this stage all the various religious traditions attempt to make the journey

to the divine experience of coming before God in the ecstatic experience, bathing the

soul in His divine power, majesty, and Omnipotent perfection. For all religions which

make this journey the practitioner can only use the vehicle of love67. The reason for

this is clear, once the mystic crosses the line between the dogmatic and the inner

dimension; he enters a realm which can only be experienced and not spoken. The

language of words can no longer disseminate the higher knowledge which can only be

given from God himself, this knowledge comes in two stages, one the stage in which

God issues to him symbols which enter the mind as epiphanies or subconscious

direction. This direction is not the total meaning in and of itself, but rather signs or

symbols which point the way to his knowledge, from this point which is analogous to

the beginning of the upper branches of the tree, he begins to understand that the higher

truths can only be experienced and begins to pursue to devotions of mysticism in a

manner determined by God himself. He is seeking to destroy the ego, to transcend the

attachment of this world that he may experience the omnipotent reality of the other

worlds through union with the divine. The final stage symbolic of the upper tips of the

highest branches and the meeting with the divine light symbolized by the sun as seen

in the seal of Solomon is the attainment of the goal.68 Almost all magico-religious

67 Islam sees the doctrine of unity (al-Tawhid) not only as the essence of its own

message but as the heart of every religion….assertion of al-Tawhid and all religions are seen as so many repetitions in different climes and languages of the doctoring of unity. Moreover, wherever the doctrine of unity may be found, it is considered to be of divine origin. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred, (Albany University of New York Press, 1989). p. 71.

68 ….and Solomon was not ignorant of the divine knowledge; rather that this knowledge

was of that possession that was bestowed upon Solomon, so that it was not suitable for any other person to be manifested in the universe of witnessing with the same quality. …..the arabic interpretation of these two names is ar-rahman, ar-rahim, which means that the names that Solomon used to mean ar-rahman, ar-rahim, are not the arabic words ar-rahman, ar-rahim, but the arabic words ar-rahman, rahim

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systems use symbolizm to denote this process. The development of the process of

connections made through symbolism know as kryptophany, Hierophany, and

theophany, this has has been seen historically as rising from the merging of pre-city

states (in Mesopotamia and the fertile-crescent) by some researchers.69

Symbolism as connected to theurgy and tribal cosmology is a multi-continental

phenomenon which has several if not many roots. Furthermore the nature of universal

symbolism is a phenomenon known in every culture in the world. Particular

symbolism is also known in every culture in the world, yet has distinct cultural value

and meaning to each particular culture. It is for this reson we distinguish between

particular and universal symblolism.

It is beyond a doubt that the Allfather archetype of Odin has come to be

associated with Jack o Green, Jack o lantern, Jack Barley corn, squire Jack, to name a

few Jack is Odin the youthful Yulnir come to bring the light and the spring into the

natural cycle of the year. Prof. Douglas Frazer devoted an entire chapter of The

Golden Bough to this persona, and was convinced that the many examples of this

persona in Germanic and Celtic culture illustraited a definative example of syncritism

of mythological archytypes. The old man is of course Odin himself in the form of the

same Green man persona of his Archetype who is buried on May 1 as the in the

festival of may called ‘Burying the carnival’ were the old man Odin is executed or

buried and the young Green man Jack is reborn to symbolically bring in the new

are the meanings of these two words that Solomon used. Thus what the sheikh intends, the two compassionate beatitudes were attributed to the Haqq and that Solomon mentioned these two compassions in two names. Fusus Al-Hikam, Muyyadin Ibn al Arabi p.771-773.69

Almost everywhere the religious phenomena we see are complex, suggesting a long historical development….in embarking, therefore, on this study we must choose a few among many religions….This choice, even if confined to the major manifestations, is a delicate matter. If we want to limit and define the sacred, we shall have to have at our disposal a manageable number of expressions of religion. Mircea Eliade, Rosmary Sheed Transl., Patterns in comparative religion,(Sheed and Ward, 3rd ed.1993.. p. 1.

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season. Traditionaly this was the role of Yullnir and Irmin, both epitaphs of Odin.

The heart is the cosmic tree, the tree of knowledge and the story of jack and the

beanstalk is and example. Jacks climb on the tree is symbolically and metaphorically

the ascension through the levels of knowledge which is also symbolic of the story of

creation70. Jack ascends the bean stalk (identified with the tree of life71) with the help

of Odin in the form of an old man, an ascetic like or sagely figure. With the gift of the

magic beans sybolic of the start of knowledge, jack ascends the tree of life and

overcomes many trials symbolic of the trials of the path of a murid seeking divine

knowledge. But why did jack undertake this peralus journey? His mother and he were

starving and the house needed repairs, in short they were destitute. And so jack

undertook the dagerouse jouney for the good of his family, puting his own safty aside

in a selfless gesture, which made his ascention possible. Once in the other world at the

top of the beanstalk or tree of life, what did he find? He found Treasures of various

sorts, each sybolic of divine gifts to the seeker of true knowledge. The golden eggs

symbolic of the renewal of Cosmic oneness of macro-cosm and micro cosm or the

symbol of Regnitor-Deus-Omnium, the Lyre symbolic of singing of Germanic holy

truth in the book of Har, and a magic flute symbolic of the lost note of spiritual

trascendance. His arrival in the realm of the divine was not the end of his journey.

Jack must kill the giant, although it may not be aparent to the untrained eye, but in

many European legends the giant has replaced the dragon as the mythical guardian of

the tree of life; who wants to greedly keep the tree and all of its gifts for himself. As

mentioned before it was nidhog the dragon in ancient Germanic tails who nawed and

70 “Yggdrasil [Irminsul], that is, at the “centre of the world”. We even hear of nine subterranean levels;

…a giant professes to have obtained his wisdom through descending the “nine worlds below”. Here we have the Central Asian cosmological schema of seven or nine hells corresponding to the seven or nine heavens…. Mircea Eliade, Archaic Techniques of ecstasy, (Bollingen series LXXVI, Princeton University press, N.J. Princeton University Press, 1974.) p. 2.71 see the Frazers the Golden Bough

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tortured Yggdrasil. Jacks descent or return to the world of middle earth is also

symbolic of what sufis call the return to sobriety. Away from the beutyful cloud world

of the divine at the top of the stalk, jack must return to middle earth and share the

wealth he has erned, clearly symbolic of the sharing of divine gifts inherant in the

actions of all great mystics who have reached the exsperience of gnosis and retuned to

help the common folk to make the journey. However as is the case in most cultures,

this legend has degenerated into a simple childrens story and lost it’s profound effect

upon the minds of men. This role and acention of the hero is comparable to both the

Buddhist tathagota, and the Sufi Wali.

Jack and the Old man he meets who gives him the seeds for the beanstalk are

both symbolic representatives of the green man. Each is a sybol for one season in the

development of man, youth and elderly, spring and winter, one at the time of Yule

when he arrives and the other just before death at the autumn equinox of Sahween;

and both are represented in the Beltane or Walpurgisnacht celebration of may 1st as

the death and resurrection of the green man which is called burying the carnival. The

use of various folk lore motifs such as gold symbolic of knowledge, and the good

symbolic of the spiritual practices mentioned below are tools of the candidate for

ascension, the story guides the would be student through the ascension process. It is

interesting to note that there is an Ascension feast among the Hessians (aka-Volsungs

in Scandinavian) who are descended of the Irmani, and they, are the human guardians

of Irminsul. In celtic folk lore and legend it is the Griffin that guards the tree, and in

other cultures the seriph, however the precensce of the snake is a later inovation which

usurpted the position of the griffin in Persia; that was not the case among the Celtic

people.

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The Christianization and the hiding of folk myths of Odin made it necessary

for each priest and bishop in each Germanic and Celtic community or province to

“demonize” the archetype of the Allfather in a different fashion, with the coming

together of these many different versions we see an unbalanced and un-uniform type

of syncretism. This syncretism created both the new pseudo archetype of the “Devil”

and the “saints” which represented Germanic Deities. On the positive side there is

little doubt that the Christians could not completely destroy the Odin archetype and so

the people were allowed to keep certain aspects of the archetype such as the saint who

best represented his archetype, “saint” John saint George and others; these saints were

none other than Odin himself in the guise of Christian saints, thus creating yet another

form of persona for this archetype 72 .

In the early middle ages the practice of Sorcery was an un-acceptable practice

for men, but not for women, why? Primarily due to the fact that women of the Celtic

regions were originally wise women of clans, tribes and sometimes even queens or

leaders of clans, such as the famous queen Bodica. In the Germanic world the reason

was similar; the Christians feared the strength of character and independence of the

Germanic woman. Throughout the ages many woman warriors and great sorceresses

have existed and been written about in Germanic culture. For example Brunhild,

Kremhild, the Valkiri’s of Odin, The Amazon’s, all warriors and strong women.

However the Germanic women did not want for women of magic- Freya, Heidi

(author of Volupsa), Guliveg, and many others, powerful sorceresses all. It was this

strength of conviction placed along side of healers, midwifes, and wise women who

all resisted the primitive and restrictive dogmas of early Christianity, and what we

72 (john is Odin) El Khidre in the populare religion of Turkey, f.w. hastuck, Christianity and Islam under the sultans Koranic saints, vol. 2, (Oxford university press, 1929), 319-336.

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have here was a clear cut recipe for trouble.

We have previously examined Odin’s ascension of the tree of life in several

ways, however I would like to illustrate for you two important points which are

implicitly implied and of great importance to the examination of those Wizards who

followed or immolated him. When Odin hung on the tree of life this was a symbolic

gesture of the sacrifice of the ego for the one and only true self, God73. The ancient

scripture of the Elder Eddas are related to us by Saemund Sigfusson a Germanic

Gothar who was trained in astrology and the sciences in Andalusia by the Muslim

Islamic scientist there7475. While reports are scant we have no reason to doubt this due

73 The earliest written forrm of the GermanicGermanic word God comes from the 6th century

Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-GermanicGermanic *Guđan. Most linguists agree that the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form *hu-tó-m was based on the root *hau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke". Main article: God (word), www.wikipedia.com.

74

…Saemund's predilection for the sagas and songs of the old heathen times (even for the magical ones) was so well known, that among his countrymen there were some who regarded him as a great sorcerer, though chiefly in what is called white or innocuous and defensive sorcery, a repute which still clings to his memory among the common people of Iceland, and will long adhere to it through the numerous and popular stories regarding him (some of them highly entertaining) that are orally transmitted from generation to generation.[1] Sوmund died at the age of 77, leaving behind him a work on the history of Norway and Iceland, which is now almost entirely lost….. Sوmund's predilection for the sagas and songs of the old heathen times (even for the magical ones) was so well known, that among his countrymen there were some who regarded him as a great sorcerer, though chiefly in what is called white or innocuous and defensive sorcery, a repute which still clings to his memory among the common people of Iceland, and will long adhere to it through the numerous and popular stories regarding him (some of them highly entertaining) that are orally transmitted from generation to generation.[1] Sوmund died at the age of 77, leaving behind him a work on the history of Norway and Iceland, which is now almost entirely lost….. Sوmund was residing, in the south of Europe, with a famous Master, by whom he was instructed in every kind of lore; while, on the other hand, he forgot (apparently through intense study) all that he had previously learned, even to his own name; so that when the holy man John Ogmundson came to his abode, he told him that his name was Koll; but on John insisting that he was no other than Sوmund Sigfusson, born at Oddi in Iceland,…. one dark night, they betook themselves to flight. No sooner had the Master missed them than he sent in pursuit of them; but in vain, and the heavens were too overcast to admit, according to his custom, of reading their whereabouts in the stars. So they traveled day and night and all the following day. But the next night was clear, and the Master at once read in the stars where they were, and set out after them at full speed. Then Sوmund, casting his eyes up at the heavens, said, "Now is my Master in chase of us, and sees where we are. The Project Gutenberg EBook : Title: The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson, Author: Saemund Sigfusson and Snorre Sturleson, Release Date: January 18, 2005 [EBook #14726].

75 ….the magician must study how to compel these forces by carving images on stones (talismans),

chanting and singing mystical songs, making certain gestures and producing appropriate odours – all of these at astrologically propitious times. Geoffrey Scarre, Witchcraft and magic in the 16th and 17th

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to the fact that this is not something that would readily be claimed in medieval

Christian Europe; such a claim could have easily had Saemund Sigfusson burnt at the

stake. Therefore it is without doubt not something which one would lye about unless

they were either insane or somewhat stupid neither of which charectoize Saemund

Sigfusson. We know from his Elder Eddas he was quit brilliant and skilled in

cosmology. In Saemund Sigfusson’s Edda and in Snorri Sturlesson’s Edda we see that

Odin sacrificed himself to himself, inferring a similar concept of the ‘God within’

spoken of by al Hallaj in his famouse “anal al Haqq” and several other famous Sufis.

How can we be sure of this? First of all, we have seen that there was both a

historical Odin and a Mythological Odin (merged with Deus through syncretism and

anthropomorphism), we have also seen how the mythological Odin took on the mode

of a sky God and earth God through syncretism and came to be called ‘all father’ in a

similar fashion to Brahma in Hinduism. Thus, we know that before hanging on the

tree of life Odin was often referred to as Wodan, Woden, Voden, Vodan and a host war

like names. Many historians believe that these are the names which all originate from

a historical Odin, a living man, who was a great war leader of exceptional high moral

standards who swept into Europe from across the caucus mountains and waged war on

the fertility cults of the Wullendorf and Tizan cultures mentioned by Marija Gimbutas

in her book Bronze Age Cultures in Central And Eastern Europe. In fact several

scholars are convinced that the Tizan or Wullendorf Goddess. As is inferred to in the

title this cult was centered on the idea of a Goddess rather than a father God, who had

a consort. This was a central them in the traditions of the Wullendorf fertility Goddess

complex culture of Neolithic Eastern Europe area which may have spread to central

Asia and northern India76. This was a matriarchal culture in which the male was a

century Europe,( Basingstoke, Eng. : Macmillan, repr 1992, 1987), 7.76

….at any rate we are now confronted with clear evidence of the formation in northern India of a new

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weak male by Aryan standards. Furthermore it has been proven that this religion

survived as a small cult among the Vikings and other Germanic peoples. However it

was the historical Odin who waged war upon them, making incest illegal, orgies

illegal, and the practice of Sorcery illegal for men. We are told in the Eddas that after

Wodin hung on the tree he was called Odin, Harbard, Har, Grimmnir, and a host of

other names, strangely all of these names make inference or directly state a sense of

‘wisdom’ or Weiss in German. That is to say, that, when Woden hung on the tree of

life he was Woden warlord, but when he came down he was Odin the wise, holder of

the numerological and alphabetical, geometrical and mathematical, astrological

‘Runes’. And that it was runes which formed the center of ValGaldre “Heavenly

magic” in Germanic form of Theurgy77.

From this we can clearly see that the tree Irminsul which Odin hung upon was

metaphorical for the ascension of the microcosm to macrocosm, and that when the two

become one, spiritual equilibrium on a Pre-Islamic level was the result. But a

shockingly true fact that further supports this is that the idea of the

macrocosm/microcosm ‘so above as below’ view is seen symbolically among Aryans

before Odin ever came to Europe. In the 5th millennium B.C.E we see a relief

sculpture in Sumeria (the other side of the caucuses) representing the exact same

diagram for microcosm/macrocosm carved on a Sumerian cosmological artifact. This

type of culture organically combining Traditions of the local bronze age civilization and new features clearly connected with…the culture of the first Aryan princedoms….there are indeed links between the culture of eastern Kazakhstan Taklamakhanians] remains and …the timber-grave culture of eastern Europe….in the second millennium B.C …thus in the Indus valley the immense capitals of Harrapan culture, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, …life declined in …centers of habitation….Alone with the decline…there was a transformation of culture rather than a break…” V.M. Masson, the decline of the Bronze Age civilization and movements of the tribes, p. 337.

77 …the runes were usually associated with charms (Galdr), the recital of rhythmic

formulas of magic, sometimes fixed formulas, some times improvised for the occasion. In charms certain numbers with magic significance, and verse-forms based on numbers, played a great part, as among the ancient Indians. Such magic songs were used for various purposes’ to … than heal wounds, abate fire or storm… (Valgaldr) and many others. Haakon Shetelig, and Hjalmar Falk, translated by E.V. Gordon. Scandinavian Archaeology (Oxford: At Claredon Press, 1937). p. 414.

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artifact also has a sun symbol at the center of the macrocosm in one symbol and the

tree of life rune Ing or Inguz (exactly as is seen among Irmani) in the center of

another. Next to these two symbols is another symbol of the solar cross. all are

represented together and illustrate that the Sumerians, who’s language was based upon

proto-Elam a Aryan language akin to the Gothic of Odin, and that they had some

understanding of the concept ‘so above as below’ together with the tree of life and

ascension in some form and that they related these symbols to God.

Thus, we can say without fail, that, the culture from which the historical Odin

came from possessed ‘some sort of knowledge’ a concept of spiritual ascension of the

soul, second that this may have been a common Indo-Aryan spiritual concept, and

third that this spiritual belief of the historical Odin has somehow attached itself to the

mythological Odin archetype and his mythological legend. From these stories all of

which are ‘the hero’s journey,’ we see that it is not through philosophy, but through

mythology and legend that the Germanic through the Indo-European line, Indian

through the Indo Aryan line and Malay through both; through these lines of diffusion

and adaptation we see the roots of the Malay ascension is to be found.

The detailed examination of the symbols within these legends will be

discussed in the next section. The third stage is ‘finding the Divine Gift’ – Once the

hero has left the forest and emerged as in the case of the bharratas in the

Mahabharata (Arjuna and his brothers) he finds another trial, the trial of temptation.

Usually the trial of temptation precedes the trial of battling the great dragon, but in the

case of later form of literature this is reversed. This reversal is due to the lost

understanding and symbolic value of metaphor in the context the spiritual nature of

the treasure (enlightenment) guarded by the dragon. In any event the trial of

temptation is the final trial before the hero ventures to the sacred mountain and the

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tree of life. Ascension of the sacred mountain and the tree of life atop the mountain is

of course the ‘great treasure attained’, that is enlightenment or gnosis.

In Merlin’s words to young King Arthur when he recites his poem of magic

“what if you slept, and what if, in your sleep you dreamed? And what if, in your

dream, you went to heaven and there plucked a strange and beautiful flower? And

what if, when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand? What then?” In this poem

we see the true heart of the Germanic Wizard or Wiseman, that nature and heaven are

one, which the truth of awareness is not in heaven or magic alone, but in the oneness

of Tawhid Like the Malay of the Pre-Islamic period, the Irmani of Germania was also

close to nature.

The closeness of the Germanic people is seen quite clearly in the descriptions

given by Cornelius Tacitus, various Romans and the Celtic travelers who have visited

Germania. All unanimously describe a people united by a form of worship which

approaches animism in their love of nature, but which is also full of devotion to the

Gods; this is especially true of Odin. The priests were extremely powerful, theurgist as

well as priest and humble.78 As mentioned in this dissertation, the Odin archetype is

partially based upon at least one historical figure who may have been a prophet by the

criteria of Islamic science, regardless of whether or not he was a prophet, there is little

doubt that the historical Odin was indeed a Sage of the highest proficiency.

The oneness of Tawhid is established not only in the Qur’an but also in the

statements of the prophet of Islam himself, Muhammad. If we examine the tree of life,

the nature of Tawhid in the signs of Allah to be found in Nature and the oneness which

78 Although the familiar method of seeking information from the cries and flight of birds is known to

the Germans, they have a special method of their own…to obtain omens and warnings from horses. The horses are kept …in sacred woods and groves …; they are pure white and undefiled…the priest and King …walk beside them…, taking note of their neighs…No kind of Omen inspires greater trust, not only among the common people, but even among the nobles and priest, who think that they themselves are but servants to the Gods…. H.Mattingly transl., Tacitus: The Agricola and Germania, (Penguin classics, Penguin Books Ltd, 375 Hudson street, New York, New York, 1970.) p. 109-110.

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is proven to be believed in here; in conjunction with the misapprehension of Devas

being ‘Gods’ rather than angels which have brought the attributes of Allah in

emanation and not original potency, to earth. Then the reality of the word Tawhid

becomes obvious as does the nature of the degeneration of pre-Mohamaadin

monotheistic prophets by both the Germanic and Malay peoples.79 The degeneration

the teachings of these prophets which is in fact largely related to nature as any one of

the examples we may wish to examine, and after the passage of time have come to

represent the core of the independent, yet linked religious tradition80. Therefore what

we see here is that the idea of Tawhid, the messages of prophets who came before

Muhammad; and the message of Muhammad are all equally valid truths. In addition

the idea that Muslims are in some way in a superior position to that of non Muslims

faithful to God (Muk-man), is, in all honesty ‘ridiculous. The fact of the matter is that

by viewing these very verses of Qur’an the most sacred book of Islam becomes clear

that in Islam the followers of the prophet Khidr, Enoch, Moses and Jesus are all

equally guided by God. Therefore, the fact that it was Khidr himself who instituted the

science of thaumaturgy, Philosophy / Neo-Platonism and Talismana, is proof that

79 …and the father of all genies…Luqman al-Hakim[prophet Khidr] ….ending with an invocation to

the spirits of the village, various nature-spirits, the Spectre Huntsman and Siva… This Spectre Huntsman is even known by the various Malay appellations of the Divine Teacher such as "Raja of land-folk," "Raja of Ghosts," and "Gaffer Long Claws." Now Siva, of course, was the Rudra of Vedic times. And it has been pointed out how in Rudra are found the same characteristics that distinguish the German Wodan (or Odin), namely those of a storm-God followed by hosts of spirits, a leader of lost souls, identified both in Malay and German legend with the Spectre Huntsman. The association by Malays of the Spectre Huntsman with Siva clearly corroborates the relationship between Rudra and Wodan and lends colour to the theory of an Indo-GermanicGermanic storm-God, the common source of the Indian and Teutonic myths. Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt, M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 34.

80 "Let none of you say I am superior to [the prophet] Jonah," (Bukhari, 4.193: 3412), for the

illumination of Jonah's tawhid (upon him be peace)--under the darkness of the storm, the darkness of the sea, and the darkness of the belly of the fish--was not less than the illumination of the Prophet's tawhid at the zenith of his success as the spiritual leader of all Arabia (Allah bless him and give him peace). The light of their message was one, in which sense the Qur'an says, "We do not differentiate between any of His messengers" The Holy Qur'an, Abdulla Yusuf Ali, (Kuala Lumpur, Saba Islamic Media, 2nd ed. 2001), 2:285.

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those who choose a Thamaturgical form of mysticism are not in any way at odds with

Islam, provided their intention ad their thaumaturgy is directed at the one and only

God of all creation and does not reject or contradict divine revelation. Now, I would

like to examine the ascension of Odin in Germanic mythology and those who

followed him and learned not only the “low magic” of folk magic, but who also in

time learned the “high magic” or the alchemy of the heart through contact with the

Arab and Greco-Roman world.

Merlin the height of the theurgist in literature

Medieval legends and tales can often be traced back through certain traits inherent in

their characters which become motifs in a literary genre and carried forward their

altered form. The most descriptive motifs to represent Odin’s character in pagan

legends and tales are manifest in the character of Merlin the Magician. In Morte D’

Arthur, the sword in the stone motif appears when Sir Gawain finds the sword in a

stone in the river next to Arthur’s hall.

It is unlikely that the original form of this tale would have expected us to

believe that a “stone” could float. A more likely idea is that an article from the hall of

some noble was said to have been the place where the sword was stuck. It floated

down a stream, which represented the mystical values of the day attached to

“stones”81. This would be more logical hypotheses, and would account for both the

differences in the materials used and one of the ways in which these motifs may have

been altered. In the latest of the sword tales, Charlemagne in the Song of Roland is

81 Also Merlin let by his subtlety that Bailin’s sword was put in a marble stone standing upright …the

stone hoved always above the water… It swam down the stream to the city of Camelot…and so Galahad brought with him the scabbard and achieved the sword that was there. Sir Thomas Malory, ‘ Le Morte D Authur,<http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgibin/toccer?id=allMor&tag=pubic&images=images/modeng&data=/lv1/Archive/eng-parsed&part=0> , (Accessed 30 October, 2008).

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identified with Odin, and again the sword is magic, yet by this time it is the Christian

cult of saints who are substituted for the pagan symbols in or on the sword. Most

likely this tale is based upon the Volsunga Saga, the Nordic version of Beowulf.

Obviously, the objects in the sword are meant to be of mystical or magical value and

belong to the cult of the saints, a well known Christian cult influence from paganism

early in the ninth century. However At this point we ‘we all know’ the true value of

the sword and the victory that Roland failed to achieve. In an almost insanely ironic

twist, Charlemagne comes riding on a ‘white horse’ at the end of the story and

destroys the “evil Muslim” hordes, with his ‘flowing long white beard’ and saintly

‘glow’. If your wondering ‘yes’ it’s the Odin archetype attached to the very same man

who massacred his follower only a couple hundred years before, now mythological

‘transformed’ into a persona of the archetype he fought so hard to destroy.

The best example of Merlin as a shape-shifter motif is in the passage which

discusses Arthur’s education in ethics and how to be a noble ruler. This is taught to

him by Merlin in the shape of a “woodsman” dressed in exactly the garb one would

expect from Wod of the wild hunt, better known in Sherwood forest as ‘Hern the

hunter’ (Odin ‘best lord’). Odin and Merlin were both shape-shifters and capable of

assuming whatever form suited them82. Like Odin, the character of Merlin in Morte D’

Arthur also carries the motif of prophecy, the ability to see the future. For example, in

this tale we have no knowledge of Merlin seeing or being told anything about a storm,

yet when the storm reaches them, Merlin has already arranged for the treasure to be

hidden. The storm is, of course, a metaphor for the oncoming battle which Merlin has

82 Merlin came to one of the castles that stand in the forest of Sherwood. Merlin was so disguised that

King Arthur knew him not, for he was all befurred in black sheep-skins, and a great pair of boots, and a bow and arrows. … On the morn after Candlemas day, Merlin came again in the likeness of an old man of fourscore year of age, …I am Merlin,… Ah, said King Arthur, ye are a marvelous man. Sir Thomas Malory, ‘Le Morte D Authur,The Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL), via <http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/.>(Accessed 30 October, 2008).

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for-knowledge of83.

These have more profoundly language based metamorphosis in Islam; they are

the tree of life and the creative principle. Therefore they represent the world of nature

and the vertical ascension to gnosis. In e Malay myth we also see this in the role of Sri

adopted from the Aryan Hinduism imported to Malaya, the Aryans adopted it from the

Harrapans and combined the fertility aspect of Sri as the consort the ‘lord of the sky’

replacing the ‘lord of beast’ as the mate of Sri just as Freya was taken from Frey by

Odin in Germanic myth; signifying a possible common Indo-Aryan origin to the

symbols found in this myth. The concept of the feminine creative principle may have

been due to the influence of the Harrapans upon the peoples of the Fertile Crescent

during the third millennium BCE. Certainly the concept of a universal fertility symbol

or hierophant is possible; on the other hand there is in fact a sharing of relatedness in

the realm of mythology between the Aryans and the fertility cults of northern India

and Wullendorf. The conclusion to whether or not this syncretism was complete we

leave to archaeologist. The counterpart in Islam to the feminine heterophony as we

mentioned is the creative principle, according to Islamic science it was the creative

principle with which Allah created the Empirical world and placed it under the control

of natural laws. Next we move to the sword, the sword is always the symbol of the

hero, it is always given by God. In Germanic mythology it is always Odin who is the

sword giver, this is seen clearly in the legend of Siegfried the Volsung. Siegfried is e

prototypical example of the ‘Heroes journey’ in Germanic myth. Volsung means ‘Son

of Heaven’ and is a very important epitaph, it signifies from the beginning the

relationship between Siegfried and God because Volsung is another name for Irmani.

83 A great wind blew down their castles and their towns. … Then by counsel of Merlin,… great

treasure hid in the earth. Who told thee so, churl? said Arthur. Merlin told me so, said he. Then Ulfius and Brastias knew him well enough. Sir Thomas Malory, ‘Le Morte D Authur,The Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL), <http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/.>

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In Malay history the Raja was always the holder of the Vajra sword or ‘Lightning

sword’ given by Brahma. My scholars believe that in Hindu myth, the trinity of

Brahma, Siva and Vishnu are the equivalent of the trinity of Har, Ygg, and Odin or

Odin, villi and ve, all of which are only other faces of Odin. Therefore the structure of

the mythological symbolism is reflective of the cosmological world view shared by all

Aryan peoples, and now a part of Malay culture as well. The countless tales of swords

and the divine decent or divine rule of kings are far too extensive for the scope of this

dissertation. However, one story which illustrates the point best is the story of

Siegfried as mentioned above.

During this time, several literary genres were popular and seem to be very

instrumental in maintaining the archetypes which had previously dominated the sagas

and legends of the Germanic peoples. Of these several were famous such as Volsunga

Saga, Beowulf, Tristan De Solt, Parzival, the Niebelungonlied, and Mort de Arthur.

One of the archetypes which did not dominate the scene but was nevertheless included

and not excluded was the wizard or wandering sage. This archetype is for the most

part still closely linked to the magical aspects of pagan literature while drifting further

and further from the religious message of paganism. One example is Merlin the

Magician in Morte D’ Arthur, who is a secluded and mysterious figure, inherited his

main motifs from pagan wizard Odin.

There are four distinctively clear motifs in folk tales which are of primary

importance in determining the origin of the wizard archetype. They are magic,

magical gift giving, shape-shifting, and prophecy. The magic motif can also be

broken down into twelve different sub categories, each of which is a manifestation of

the wizards’ magical powers, and as such would be classified as sub-categories of

motifs according to the type index. They would be classified as tale type number 300,

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with the sub categories becoming segregated according to other sub-motifs.

Throughout the sagas and later Eddic lays, Odin is the older form of the wizard

archetype, who was portrayed as a fierce war-like wizard from the bronze age to

800CE, and was transformed by the eleventh century into a quiet, wise, wandering

sage with a long white beard and a staff, as the tales told in Heimskringla. Odin is a

very powerful sorcerer according to the Eddas. His powers encompass more magic

than any other wizard throughout the history of Europe. He is the oldest wizard

archetype in Northern Europe, and possibly all of Europe. Odin possessed a type of

magical and herbal power or magic, which is one of the most important motifs to be

inherited by later wizard legends and fairy tales. Many researchers and writers in the

area of Germanic studies seem to believe that specific Gods of the pagan Germanic

society were figures related to only one area of Germanic culture for example Frey

and Freya were related to fertility. However the idea of these two being the only two

figures invoked for fertility is ridiculous. Other hydrophanes such as Thor, Sif and

others are prime examples of Germanic Gods and Goddesses who were connected to

fertility. Furthermore, Odin is the only God who has several if not many connections

to the world of nature. These areas of his Archetype can be summarized as Archetypal

motifs related to; trees, thunder, shamanism, Herbalism, the Ecstatic experience,

Herbal hallucinogens, creation of the world, the name Allfather – which implies not

only humans but also the animal and vegetable kingdom owe their existence to Odin

in the ancient Germanic worldview. His later manifestations as Lord of the wild hunt,

Lord of graves, Lord of beast, and the ‘wild man of the wood’ are all epitaphs which

make him the prime if not only complete hierophant possible of bearing the name

Irmansul and by proxy the Lord of Wunsche or ‘wonder’ working.

Odin’s magic was first established as early as the ninth century with the

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Merseburg Charm in which Odin healed a horse’s broken leg with a magic spell8485.

In connection with magic or witchcraft, the legends of wizards and witches

often carry granules of historical truth concerning paganism. The Gothi priest of

paganism often used spells and charms, of course the chief archetype for immolating

was Odin, “the Allfather” of magic (Galdre).

Another important motif in the Wizard archetype is magic gift giving, which is

best demonstrated through “the sword in the stone” motif. Among the pagan tales,

concerning Odin as a sorcerer or a wizard, many are linked with his tradition of giving

magical swords to heroes. This is a motif which has been repeated in several

Legends. The sword in the stone motif first appears in the Codex Regis and then in

the Volsunga Saga. In the tale of the Volsunga, the sword is taken from the great hall

of King Seggier which is made from a giant hollowed-out ash tree (ash is sacred to

Odin). And in later versions the hall is made of stone86.

The art of shape-shifting is not uncommon in the Germanic world, and has

existed within Germanic literature from the very beginning. The first literary

character as a shaman or shape-shifter who is very prominent in the history is the God

84 Phol and Wodan rode into the woods; There Balder's foal sprained its foot.It was charmed by Sinthgunt, her sister Sunna; It was charmed by Freya, her sister Volla; It

was charmed by Wodan, as he well knew how: Bone-sprain, like blood-sprain, Like limb-sprain; Bone to bone; blood to blood; Limb to limb -- like they were glued. Limb to limb -- like they were glued. D. L. Ashliman, Merseburg Incantations,via < http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/merseburg.html.>

85 With words alone he could quench fire, still the ocean tempest, sometimes even he called the dead out of the earth …in all such things he was pre-eminently wise. He taught all these arts in runes, and songs which are called incantations, …Odin understood the art… which he himself practiced; namely what is called magic…he could know before hand the predestined fate of men.“Odin could transform his shape: his body would lie as if dead, or asleep; but then he would be in shape of a fish, or worm dragon, or bird.” Snorri Sturluson, trans. Lee M. Hollander Heimskringla, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995), 10., ‘The Ynglinga saga,” The Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL), http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/.

86 He (Odin) was very tall and gray with age, and he had only one eye. He brandished the sword

and thrust it into the trunk so that it sank up to the hilt… [Odin] began to speak: he who draws the sword from the trunk shall receive it from me as a gift. The Saga of the Volsunga, the Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer, trans. Jesse L. Byock (Berkly: University of California Press, 1990), 38.

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Odin himself, known as a hunts man or “lord of the wild hunt” among Anglo-Saxon

Englishmen87. From these stories ‘the hero’s journey all’ we see that it is not through

philosophy, but through mythology and legend that the Germanic and Malay

ascension is to be found. The detailed examination of the symbols within these

legends will be discussed in the next section. The third stage is ‘finding the Divine

Gift’ – Once the hero has left the forest and emerged as in the case of the barratas in

the Mahabharata (Arjuna and his brothers) he finds another trial, the trial of

temptation. Usually the trial of temptation precedes the trial of battling the great

dragon, but in case of later literature this is reversed due to the lost understanding of

the symbolic value of the metaphor concerning the spiritual nature of the treasure

guarded by the dragon. In any event the trial of temptation is the final trial before the

hero ventures to the sacred mountain and the tree of life. Ascension of the sacred

mountain and the tree of life atop the mountain is of course the ‘great treasure

attained’, that is enlightenment or gnosis. The temptation before the ascension is the

temptation usually represented by a beautiful woman and is symbolic of attachment to

the empirical world. I the hero can control himself and abstain from relations with the

beautiful and seductive woman then he has earned the right to ascend the mountain

and the sacred tree attaining the treasure of ascension, however if he cannot he will

ail. The metaphoric meaning of keeping chastity is symbolic of spiritual purity as in

the case of the prophets saying ‘keep your tongue and that which is between you legs

and I can assure you heaven’. By escaping from attachment to the world and focusing

only on the divine, the hero progresses to ascension, however if he cannot as discussed

earlier in the case of Oedipus he is destroyed. The attachment to the worldly

87 “Odin could transform his shape: his body would lie as if dead, or asleep; but then he would be in shape of a fish, or worm dragon, or bird.” ‘The Ynglinga saga,” The Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL), <http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/.>

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attachments being transcended he is rewarded with a magical or metaphysical gift, the

gift of the sight to see the spiritual path necessary to ascend and after the ascension the

gift of radiance of Karamat88. But to gain the gift one must maintain “spiritual vision”.

This gift of radiance is seen clearly the story of Sakamoni Buddha, this is the

bodhisattva gift of Boddhicita. In Sufism it has been said many times that when a Wali

has obtained the gift of Divine light his face changes and at times even his close

friends and relatives may not recognize his face it has changed so much due to the

light of God after meeting with his divine glory. This is also important since the divine

Nur of Muhammad in it primordial form is thought by Muslims to have been the

source of the energy given by Allah which he used to make the human soul; if taken in

this form, the divine gift of light is symbolic of the gift of a ’purified soul’. Obviously

there is no shortage of such lessons in Germanic and Malay mythology and culture in

general. Both are replete with legend of a magical or mystical nature. The question at

this point is, if the acquisition of mystical empowerment is symbolically represented

as a magical symbol or symbols in these two cultures before the arrival of

monotheism? The answer is yes, in letters and numerical, geometrical symbols

referred to in Germanic mythology as the Runes. In the elder Eddas we see the legend

of the acquisition of the runes by Odin when he hung on the tree of life Irmansul or in

Nordic Yggdrasil. One legend in particulare is metaphorical; it illustrates Odin’s

acquisition of divine knowledge, which is indicative of most tree of life ascension

legends. But do the states and stations of the path of Willayah have a parallel role in

Sufism of the Malay? First of all, the states of the hero’s ascension were already

88 In vesting the wurid with the patched frock, Sufism has preserved the old symbolism of garments: by

donning a garment that has been worn, or even touched, by the blessed hands of a master, the disciple gains some of the baraka, the mystic-magical power of the sheik….The khirqa-yi irada, is bestowed upon him only by his true spiritual master, who is responsible for his progress. The khirqa was usually Dark blue…. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1975), 102

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represented in Malaya in both the indigenous form of shamanism containing the tales

of young heroic shaman ascending the tree of life, fighting demons, and saving souls

during their ecstatic journeys or astral travel to the land of spirits. Next we see another

rendition of the same journey in the synchronized Aryan stories told in the Ramayana

and the mahaburatta. The Malay version of the Ramayana is the most prestigious

literary work of the Malay and the proto-typical example in Asia of the ‘hero’s

journey’. But another question now arises; did the Malay form of Sufism absorb

aspects of the previous mention two Pre-Islamic traditions into the tales told by Malay

Sufis? According to several top Islamic scholars the answer is yes. The hero’s tales

were adopted into the Malay Hikayats and combined with Sufi ethics to assist in the

islamasizing of Malaya via the most popular medium of the time, the ‘telling of tales’.

When we speak of telling tales, we are not referring to bedtime stories or gossip, we

are referring to those spiritual and mythological moral stories an legends which are

entrusted to a professional story teller who is often a sage. In reference to this skill it is

classified directly under the title of ‘lore mastery’ that is the skill of re-telling lore or

sacred stories. Lore mastery was always an important skill in pre-literate cultures

around the world, before the elder Eddas, before the written Qur’an and Hadith, the

Ramayana or any of the sac4red tales or scriptures we have discussed were written

down; they were told orally. The telling of these tales or lore mastery is something

which was not entrusted to just anyone, because of the sacred nature of these tales and

the aspect of divine truth in the metaphorical meaning of these tales it was the role of

the priest, shaman, theurgist or other religious specialist who were the keepers of lore

in the pre-literate world. Among the greatest of the roles played by lore, was the

metaphorical instruction for ascension which e have mentioned above. The domain of

the Sage, the prophets, the Wali and other specialist as mentioned before included lore

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mastery and though the differences of recitation may be few or many and the scripture

or myth may differ, the goal was always the same, to bring knowledge of the divine.

In Germanic society the sages were skalds, bards, or Wizards who inherited this role

from the Gothar who gained it from their predecessor the Gothi. From Gothi to

Wizard we see the dissemination of the Germanic religious tradition along with its

ethics and religious injunctions from the Germanic point of view carrying the Divine

mandate. The term Wizard or ‘Weiss-art” means Wise man and comes from the

linguistic root of Wizago or Devin in the Norman dialect and was directly related to

both thru the role of theurgist and the singer of tales. In the Malay Khalwah we also

find a wise man or a sage, and while the Khalwah fulfills all of the characteristics of a

wise man, he does not fulfill all of the characteristics of a Wali The Wali is close to

God, he is a man who has already ascended the tree of life or is at the end of this

quest. In examining the ‘heroes journey’ in the Malay culture we should not compare

the Khalwah and the Wali, rather we should recognize that, a Khalwah who is

extremely good at what he does will eventually become a Wali. Furthermore the

healing areas of the Wali can be accomplished through Karamat, spiritual gift

equivalent to the magical gift we examined above, but which Islamic scholars

distinguish from that gift as being of a higher level. The heist level of altering reality

through the use of energies, is in the perspective of the Islamic faith the abilities of

prophets and the next highest is the gift of the Wali called Karamat. This is believed to

be true due to the direct gift of divine energies from God to a prophet and or a Wali.

The form of energy we are speaking of is the Karamat mentioned above. When the

Khalwah told his tales, when he was in the position of a ‘lore master’ he was

disseminating information, which would be taken up by young men who showed

interest and a draw to the teachings of Sufism, a men who were ready to accept the

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challenge or call to the ‘heroes journey’. These young men became adepts,

appre4ntice to the Khalwah. Once a student was accepted the Sheik, he would be

trained in the necessary aspects of his new science. This included all aspects of

Theurgy or thaumaturgy as follows:

Symbolism (Rune Galdre /Arabic letters)

The science of Talismana (use of symbolism in objects)

Lore mastery- recitation of syrah and Hadith

Herbalism – apothecaryship - and alchemy

Invocation – prayer

Incantation – Dthikr or Galdre

Adjuration - exorcism

Ecstatic travel (astral travel/psychopomp) - Gnosis

Use of divine relationship with nature (animals, trees, ect)

Being in Possesion of the sword or staff of Megin.

(The wizard or Dokun possessed a staff (symbol of the tree of life) or a

wand/atham (Kris in Malay)

These areas of Theurgy were studied for years under the guidance of a spiritual

master (a Wizard or Sufi sheik, respectively). The master put the adept or apprentice

through many trials in imitation of the ‘heroes journey’. Just as the wizard or sage

immolates the archetype of his God, Odin in the case of the Germanic wizard and

Muhammad in the case of the Sufi (as the perfect man reflecting the attributes of Gods

names). The imitation of Muhammad was also taken by the Khalwah, although

primarily in the realm of the esoteric aspects in the beginning. That is the miracles, the

healing, the invocation, and other more esoteric aspects of Muhammad’s role as the

perfected man. While the Wali did immolate these he also immolated the exoteric

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aspects of prayer, charity, hajj, Dthikr, and stanch moral injunctions were followed

implicitly in reference to the Shariah or law. The journey the Khalwah undertook

towards ascension and gnosis was taken through the journey of symbols, were as the

journey of the Wali took on both the journey through symbols and philosophy89. One

the apprentice attained his highest level of development under the tutelage of the

master he was given a sword or staff (a staff or Kris in the case of the Malay) and he

was sent into the world to help others find the path to balance in their lives. He would

help people in their lives, through healing, exorcism, and the ‘wonder working’ skills

of his thaumaturgy. We have seen many commonalities in the roles of these two

theurgists, however there is some question as to the differences between the two

respectively at the final stage of development. Another difference is that the ascension

of the Khalwah during his tenure as a healer may have been states rather than stations

as defined in Sufism. As mentioned earlier, states are temporary and stations are

permanent spiritual stations. The Wali has no end to his development, once he has

seen the light of God he continues up the ascension without end, continually traveling

upward the endless bountiful oneness of God. The Khalwah is either in the first stages

of development or the first stations on the way to becoming a Wali or he is one who

remains as a healer most of his life and may or may not reach certain states, dependant

on the individuals situation respectively. The fact that Khalwah was an part time

ascetic and a part time healer, and that he was attached to a permanent position under

the parish Islamic community leader either an imam or a Wali; makes clear the fact

that he is not free to be a full time ascetic who lives in the mountains. This may

89 The role of the Wali in Islamic piety does not correspond exactly to that of the saint in the Christian

faith. It is closely connected with the mystery of initiation and progress on the spiritual path and leads through a well established hierarchy, the members of which surpass each other according to the degree of their love and gnosis. The initiation of the adept through Khidr, the prototype of a saint among the prophets, belongs, therefore, to this discussion.(Mystical dimensions of Islam. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical dimensions of Islam, The University of North Carolina Press, 1975), 223 bottom.

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however be the final goal, primarily due to the cultural view among Malay, that, the

old man is best suited for asceticism. Therefore, it may well be that in Malay culture

many of the Wali we see in legend were in fact Khalwah who went to the mountains

to complete their final stage of ascension after a career helping people as a

thaumaturgist, thus completing their ascension in old age. This does not mean that

there were no younger men who devoted themselves to the ascension to gnosis, there

are also examples of this sort of young Wali and yet they are few and far between.

Turning once again to the Germanic Wizard, we see that the question as to whether or

not he would be an acetic or a court theurgist was an individual decision. This

remained the reality until the coming of western Hermetisism or occultism. During the

medieval period at the height of the wizard’s art, we see a transformation which took

place and altered his perception of the ascension process. In the early medieval period

the Germanic wizards were introduced to the art of alchemy, astrology, numerology,

and the other Islamic sciences in Andalusia. In fat the man who wrote the most

accepted and scholarly version of the elder Eddas Saemund was himself a student of

the great hakims of Andalusia. Therefore is Islamic science which planted the seeds of

Gnosticism and Hermetisism in the art of the wizard and from this grew western

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hermetic alchemy or Hermetic Theurgy of the Gnostics9091.

The Gnostics developed from the foundation of such monasteries as

Glastonbury, St. Columbia, Caedmon, Bede, and have been written in such treatises as

Bede’s Ecclesiastical History. These monasteries produced educated tribesmen from

Celtic and Germanic nations, in England both were present. The development and

maintaining of such places of learning was instrumental in the proliferation of

Mysticism. The deep thought, extrapolation and mystical experimentation that took

place in Europe was taken from two roots the examination of nature, and the

development of meditation and education in the monasteries. The example of Nicholas

Flamel is a good window into the manner in which a thaumaturgist who believes

devoutly in a monotheistic God and his angels, can easily become a cult icon. Flamel

has become the archetype not only of Theurgy, but also of a monotheist wizard in

Europe, so much so that his legend is world famous through the film series of ‘Harry

Potter’. Flamel’s character has been reconstructed from part history and part urban

myth of the preceding centuries. What this demonstrates for us is that regardless of

90 The attraction of renaissance man for the quest of origins and the “primordial tradition” that caused ficino to put aside the translation of plato for the Corpus Hermeticum, which was then considered as more ancient and primordial, an attraction which also became a part of the world view and zeitgeist of the nineteenth century, has caused much confusion in the question of the meaning of “primordial Tradition” in its relation to various religions. each tradition and Tradition as such are related in depth to the perennial wisdom or sophia,....messages from heaven which constitute the different religions....Steuco, who knew Arabic and other Semitic languages and was a librarian of the Vatican library were he had access to the “wisdom of the ages” as far as this was possible....Ficino emphasized the significance of the hermetic corpus and the Chaldaean Oracles which he considered to have been composed by Zoroaster.... philosophy ceased to exist as a distinct discipline becoming wed to theology on one hand and and gnosis on the other. Likewise, medieval Judaism could distinguish between the same three kinds of intellectual perspectives represented by such figures as ....Albertus Magnus, and the gnosis of Meister Eckhart, not to speak of Roger Bacon or Raymond Lull, who corresponded more to the school of ishraq of suhrawardi than anything else... Syyed hossain Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred, (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 69-82

91 ….methodology of knowledge (al ilm) in its most c comprehensive sense- one cannot be

confronted by the hierarchic nature and reality of the subjective and objective poles of knowledge…. hierarchy in both the microcosmic and macrocosmic orders of reality represent many manifestations of the divine principle….sciences, al Farabi would say, [are] rooted in the nature of things…alchemy and interpretation of dreams, were excluded from his enumeration (although he wrote treatises on them), …, treated… as one of al Farabi’s important works… Osman Bakar, Classification of knowledge in Islam, (International Institute of Thought and Civilization, (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur, 2006), xii, 43.

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whether a culture is monotheistic or polytheistic, regardless; the archetype of a wizard

is universal. And while the Malay version of a monotheistic Islamic Wizard exists in

the form of the Khalwah, he is both historical and mythological, as is also the case

with Wali Songo. The true heart of the Germanic Wizard or Wiseman, that nature and

heaven are one that the truth of awareness is not in heaven or magic alone, but in the

oneness of Tawhid92. Further proof of a base for these pre-Mohammmedan prophetic

signs of God in the teachings of Germanic tribesmen are explored in the chapters that

concern symbolism and Germanic naturalist cosmology, respectively.

The Wizards, and later Mystics of Egypt again had an influence upon Malaya,

although it is not really apparent, one way in which you may see this in through, the

fact that Coptic was the last version of Egyptian language and was the place were

western Gnosticism and eastern Gnosticism began. With the spread of Eastern

Gnosticism and the Islamic domination of Egypt, the Muslims became the lords of

Egypt and the Sufis became the inheritors of both the Egyptian form of Coptic

Gnosticism but also possessors of the Egyptian scrolls of theurgical ascension to

Gnosis. When Sufism came to Malay in the form of Iranian or Persian Sufism and

Shi’aism we see the reintroduction of Egyptian based Theurgy and Gnostic forms of

Thaumaturgy to Malay93. The magical tradition is a tradition which was given to man

by God for a reason and it is an active part of many world religious traditions and is as

such sacred. The sacredness of something, given by God, and sanctified by God

92 Deepak Chopra, The way of the Wizard: twenty spiritual lessons for creating the life you want , (London: Rider, 2000), .52-53.93

On one hand magic [Wizardry] was part of Gnosis, the knowledge of higher things, that was the path to salvation. On the other hand, ritual magic was probably being widely abused for commercial gain…. (Geraldine Pinch, Magic in Ancient Egypt, (British Museum Press, 1994), 62.

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cannot be contested or taken away by man949596.

In examining the charms existent among the Malay Thamaturgist, Sorcerers

and Wali, we will first examine the Pre-Islamic groups and lastly return to the Tasbih

at the end of this chapter. The use of charms is well known among tribal groups

worldwide and is a part of the complex referred to by Frazer as sympathetic magic.

This sort of Theurgy consist of gathering items from nature, which contain soul

substance or Semangat and using them to cast as spell, protect from a spell or make

something happen. Usually this consists of matching the object constructed of these

items with some hair, fingernails, or other personal trinket from the person to be

effected. As most of these deals with Sorcery practiced by the Bomo, we will only

tough on the subject lightly and then turn to protective charms and charm

paraphernalia used by Thamaturgist in their exorcisms.

Like the Germanic and Celtic tribes the charms used usually include parts of

animals found as game such as deer, fish, wild boars, bears, snakes and other wild

game; herbs, special tree roots and or bark which contains herbal medicines, stones,

especially stones or trees struck by lightning, special flowers and plants. The reason

94 ... the Ninety-Nine of Perak compiled in the eighteenth century by a family of Sayids

or descendants of the Prophet, which numbered among its members several Muslims saints. ‘Muslim,’ it is laid down, must feed the district judge, the officials of the mosque, the magician and the midwife. The muezzin in king in the mosque and the magician is king in the house of the sick, in the rice-field and on the mine.... Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt, M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 72.

95 Anayisis of al-Tawhid as essence, i.e., as the first determining priciple of Islam, its

culture and civilization, Al tawhid is that which gives islamic civilization its identity,….it recast them so as to haramonize with and mutually support other elements. Without necessaraly changing their natures, the essence transforms the elements making up a civilization, giving them their new character as constitutive of that civilization….’ilm al tawhid subsumed under it the disciplines of logic, epistomology, metaphysics and ethics… Al Faruqi, Ismail Raji. Al-Tawhid: its Implications for thought and life., (International Institute of Islamic thought. Herndon. Virginia. U.S.A., 1992), p. 17.

96 …, which was to become crytstalized later in the Pythagorian and Platonic school, and also Hermeticism, which resulted from the wedding between certain aspects of Egyptian and Greek traditions, must be studied as sacred knowledge much like the metaphysical doctrines of Hinduism, and not only as profane philosophy. These forms of wisdom are related to the Greek religious tradition and should be viewed as such and not only in opposition to “revealed truth.” Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Knowledge and the Sacred. (The Gifford Lectures, Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981). p.13.

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for this is that the Semangat which is said to reside in the physical body of these

natural entities is supposed to be very strong. Among the Malay the strongest of these

is the tiger, and the tiger skin is know to be a favorite charm item of the shaman and

sorcerers of many countries including India, Malaya, Indonesia, Borneo, he African

continent, china and others. In Germanic lands this is comparable to the use of Bear

and Wolf skins. Smaller items of the tiger are used as charms in the most literal sense

in that the claws, teeth, and smaller parts are often sold as charms after being

processed by the Sorcerer.

The berserks were a group of young men who spent most of their young lives

devoted to the worship of Odin, and warfare. They were said to have been one of the

most dangerous groups of men in history, they went into battle with no amour, no

shield.

The myths state that berserks could not be killed by swords, knives, or spears;

because they were protected by Odin and that they possessed special powers from him

such as the ability to take on the shape of wolves, bears, or ravens. It is the Berserkers

who illustrate so clearly for us the attributes of the Odin archetype as the Wild man of

the woods or leader of the wild hunt persona. And the berserks as the shamanic

followers of this archetype show use a glimpse into the manner of their veneration of

this archetype. While their brotherhood was one of nature and animal magic coupled

with wild ecstasy and a free wayfarer lifestyle, their veneration and honoring of nature

and the natural realm is unparalleled in Germanic society. This will be more

thoroughly discussed in the section on the Green man persona of the Odin archetype.

The archetype of Odin was originally that of a sky God, representative of the sun, sky,

fire (via lightning and sun symbolism i.e. Swastika) warmth of the summer months,

and of course the lord of lord and ruler of heaven (Valhalla, hell, Nieflheim etc).

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Odin is an archetype for all wizards and sorcerers which we encounter in later

folk tales. The cultural identification of Odin and all his special skills such as magic,

shape-shifting, prophecy are due to his reputation as a Shaman. This explains his

association with the Germanic wizard archetype which has been transmitted from

generation to generation by means of motifs. Those motifs, in turn, reoccur in various

renditions of legends and folk tales. The most obvious example of this is the character

Merlin the Magician from the medieval legend Mort du Arthur.

The science of thaumaturgy in the manner that it was used by the Khalwah’s as

a science and the sorcery of the Malay Bomo are not identical. It is well known in the

Germanic world that the Allfather archetype of Odin and his priest were constantly at

war with evil Sorcerers979899. Furthermore the mystics of Malaya, the Sufi Khalwah in

particular has traditionally found himself in the same position. Although there exist

little written information on the role of good versus evil practitioners of magic among

the Pre-Islamic Malay; one thing stands clearly and that is that the Khalwah who

began with animistic skills and converted to Islam were those who fought against evil

jinn, and esoteric white or high “magic” as used in western English terminology was

in fact one of the lower grades of Gnostic states; according to rank established by such

scholars as Ibn Arabi, Ibn Taimiyyah, and Cornelius Agrippa Von Nettelssheim100101.

This dissertation concerns its self with the above-mentioned Thaumaturgist; the use

and mis-use of the terms like Hati and Semangat, the differences between the

Khalwah as an action taken by the Sufi in retreat or in the manner used by Winstedt as

97

98

99

10073. 101

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his “bomo” (Sorcerer) in confusing the Sufi with the Dokun healer. The Malay

Khalwah grew from two roots, the ancient Malay Theurgist (Dokun) of the Dongson

Malay and the other being the introduction of Sufism in the proper sense of the word.

According to Winstedt the Khalwah was a Bomo Sorcerer; however it has never been

established historically just how many Malay Khalwah exorcist were entirly

islamically oriented and how many utilized traditional healing techniques. The

minirity, albet, who were were in all likelyhood a synergetic mixture of herbalist and

Sufi. However, it remains my contension that the majority of Malay Muslim mystics

were sufis of Malay exstraction who were practicing herbalism without any neggative

spiritual inovations.

We will also examine the differences in their view of Tawhid and Nature,

community consciousness and individuations related to his techniques.

First, greed as the motivation for deviance let us be clear that this is not an

attempt to takes sides; there have always been good and evil behaviors among both

monotheist and polytheist, conservative and liberal. However it is extremely likely

that, in this case, the majority of those Dokuns (strict shaman) who converted to

Sufism make up the majority of the practicing Khalwah or homeopathic doctors and

exorcist in Malaya102. Although the Tok Bomo had also occupied a similar role among

the Malay prier to the introduction of Islam, this role was usurped by the Sufi

Khalwah due to their additional skills which included but were not limited to the use

of, the alchemy of the soul, advanced Arabic forms of medicine, a somewhat fuller or

more complete understanding of Tawhid, and their dedication to the needs of the

community rather than selfish needs of the self what is referred to in Malay as

‘Hatikampong, and lastly their patient loving dissemination of Islamic da’wah as seen

102

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in the fact that they were required to heal any patient as soon as they were needed, and

did so. All of these of the Khalwah were absorbed through study with his sheikh the

Wali, the historical verson of Wali Songo103.

The Mono-myth and the Heroes Journey in Islam

As mention in this dissertation Joseph Campbell’s use of the monomyth in the form of

the mythological sequencing of events in myth and literature referred to as the ‘heroes

journey’ is an excellent way to see the commonality of legends and their

psychological meaning as a window into the processes which we all go through in life,

and which those on a spiritual journey in specific go through on their heroic quest for

union with God and in search of the best aspect of themselves. When Dr. Campbell

discusses the heroes journey he has stated several times in the “hero with a thousand

faces’ that the Sufi ascetics posses such an experience in their quest for gnosis. This is

also the case with the Malay Khalwah, who very name infers the position in Malay

culture; the Arabic term Khalwah means ‘asceticism’, one who leaves the world to

enclose himself somewhere away from the world for a spiritual journey. This is

exactly what the Khalwah did when he went into seclusion in the mountains , lived in

his cell the mosque, or was healing of his ‘house of healing’. Therefore it is not

surprising that we see in the legends of the Khalwah and the Wali the retreat to nature

upon Malaya’s mountaintops or deep in the jungle, men who meditated deeply and for

long extended periods of time. Furthermore the psychological and spiritual

significance of such an act is beyond question a part of mysticism and an ascetic act.

But it is also thaumaturgical; it is an act which includes a degree of ritual. Not ritual

for show, nor ritual for the examination of anyone other than the theurgist himself, this

103

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is ritual for the heart, the ritual of Dthikr of the names of God, it is the ritual of self

denial, the ritual of prayer and penance, of seeking the many symbolic wonders of

Gods own creation, the ’Qur’an of creation’104.

In the above quotation we see only a few of the many aspects of the hero’s

journey in the path of Wilayah, the path towards gnosis. And it is indeed a ‘Heroes’

journey as Dr. Campbell calls it, it entails facing all the perils of the cosmos, and all

negativity such a world can offer, pitted against the selfless desire for the beloved

union with ones maker and equipped only with faith, love and intellect, the ‘flowers’

that are in reality swords of ‘perfect equilibrium’. What do I mean by that? I mean

quite simply, that, the mind body and spirit, when properly controlled and put into the

service of the creator of all mankind becomes the most potent weapon for realization

imaginable, and that is a ‘united true soul’. But to achieve this ascetic must be willing

to walk the path through the dark forest of emotions, lust, greed, attachment, and all

other forms of segregation which is in the ultimate reality ‘illusion’, in order to find

his way to the far shore and return again he must let go of his excess baggage. As the

Buddhist say ‘gutte gutte, para gutt, bodhi seha’ (Run, run to the far shore, leave the

boat behind.). In these words are wisdom for the ascetic, and in the mono-myth there

is also wisdom for the ascetic, because it is like a modern affirmation of ancient truths

revealing, that we must all work hard and risk much to have what we need most, this

is the heroes journey and this is what the Khalwah and the Wali did105. These two

Thaumaturgists represent different stations, and different degrees of progress along

the path. The Wali was the sheik and the Khalwah the student, but both were

heroes106107108.104

105

106

107

108

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What is meant by this? Before you die, you die; it means that as in the

Buddhist saying above, the death of the ego comes before the death of the body.

Furthermore in Sufism the death of the ego is far more important that than the death of

the body, because the death of the ego allow one to ascend the tree of life and find the

perfected nature of the soul, which was always a part of God and never stopped being

a part of him, only the deception of the idea of the “I” caused man to fall into

ignorance. Therefore once the “I” is exterminated the ‘True ‘I’ may arise. The true ‘I’

is none other than the same purified soul, the spiritual self which was placed in your

body by God himself and this is the ‘I” which rises to control the life once the ego has

been evicted from control. And this is the true meaning of mans identification with the

Tree of Life, the ascension to heaven109110; whether or not the Arabs had done the same

is uncertain, however it was primarily through the Persians and the Indians that

thaumaturgy made its way to Malaya. Once combined with the local understanding of

‘nature’ and the Aryan form of Theurgy pre-existent among the Malays since the

Bronze Age Dongson, this syncretism took shape in the form of the Khalwah or

‘Healing Islamic thaumaturgist’ of the Malay. Thus far we have proven that from the

beginning of Wizardry or Thaumaturgy, the art and science of thaumaturgy was in fact

created and used by those who were Thaumaturgist and not sorcerers for the purpose

of healing and protecting from unfriendly spirits. This was the format it took

originally in Egypt and this is also the form it took in the other civilizations it came to

109

110

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in later times such as Malaysia111112.

CHAPTER SEVEN

ISLAM IN MALAYA

THE ORIGINS OF MALAY SUFISM

Sufism began with the practices of the Prophets. The prophet Adam was given the

ability to know the essence of all living entities and command of the angels whom

Allah ordered to prostrate before him in the Qur’an. This is the start of Sufism from

the perspective of Sufism. Theologians would say that Sufism started with the prophet

Muhammad, however the prophet Muhammad was not the fist prophet of God, nor did

he come to abrogate any of the previously revealed traditions of the prophets before

him. The Prophet Muhammad’s role was that of the final prophet and the seal of

Prophethood. He is also given to mankind as the most elevated example of the perfect

man, in who can be found the perfect role model as seen I the perspective of Islam.

This includes the esoteric aspect of his Dthikr which some dispute according to

Sufism.

The bases for Islamic thaumaturgy or ritual were created from the foundation

111 When man wihdraws from the created world and from himself,....when these four properties have been united in him, then his humanity is transmuted into angelic nature and his servitude uto mastery; his intellect (‘aql) becomes sense faculty, his invisable reality (ghayb) becomes visable, and his interior becomes manifest. ...Then if he leavers the place were he is, he leaves behind his substitute (bidal), a spiritual reality which can be encountered by the spirits of the people of the place this saint has left. ...This spiritual being can also take on bodily form when its owner himself concieves a strong desire for or connects his spiritual will to that place. This can happen to someone other than the substitute [bidal]. The differece between these two situations is....he who is not a substitute is not aware of that, even though he has actually left one behind. This is because the latter is not master of these four pillars that we have mentioned [seclusion, silence, hunger, and vigilance]. The four pillars of spiritual transformation: The adornment of the spiritually transformed (Hilyat al-abdal), Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, transl. Stephen Hirtenstein, Anqa publishing, Oxford, UK, 2008, p. 39.112 From, the period between about 2,000 BC and 1550 BC, a number of papyri survive which contain medical and magical remedies for various illnesses, accidents, or complications of pregnancy. Several of these papyri describe their contents as ‘the secrets of the Doctor’. They appear mainly to be manuscripts owned and used by practicing doctor-magicians see further chapter Ten). Geraldine Pinch, Magic in Ancient Egypt, British Museum Press, 1994), 64.

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of Arab and central Asian culture. While Islam does not see the symbolism of divine

signs in the same way Pre-Islamic tradition of the Arab and central Asian folk did, it is

non the less indebted to their traditions for some aspects of their ritual. Furthermore,

the respect that these two cultures held for nature, which they share I common with

the Hebrew and Egyptian, Sumerian, Hittite and Indus peoples is also a part of Islam,

through again the signs of Allah in nature as revealed in the Qur’an are not always in

agreement with the methods of these cultures in viewing signs in nature due to the

degeneration of Pre-Islamic traditions via anthropomorphism which Islam does not

support. Irrespective of these differences, there are numerous examples of the

importance of nature, thaumaturgy, and signs of God, the characteristics of God, and

other esoteric teachings held in common with other faiths to be found in the Qur’an

and in Islamic tradition. These aspects have not been ignored, but have formed a

bridge between the Sufi community and those indigenous peoples to whom the Sufis

went as friends of God. The most pertinent for the intent of our study was India and

central Asia.

Islam was carried to Malaysia via Sufi scholars, as well as a small number of

Indian and Arab traders. This is particularly true of the Sufis and Shi’a who came to

Malaya from Punjab, Malabar, and Bengal, who represent the majority of Muslims

who brought Islam to Malaya. These ‘white’ Bengalis and Punjabis were descended

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from Aryan Indians who converted to Islam113114. These traders brought the Arab

socio-cultural view of life, a view that is intertwined with the Islamic faith. This

Arab/Islamic view of life had strong moral implications, which lasted at least until the

Umayyad Dynasty. Long before the Arabs arrived The Malay had their own

indigenous beliefs, which also bear the mark of Pre-Islamic Arab animistic elements

reflective of Arabic love of nature. The influence of Shi’ah Islam of the Persian

peoples can also be seen in influencing the Malay; this was particularly strong in the

area of Talismans and other esoteric practices. The Malay evolved from a primitive

tribal culture to Muslims over a thousand years. As the Malay culture came into

contact with others they assumed aspects for Hinduism, and Islam. These three

religions all contributed to the final form of Malaysian Islam which exists today. We

113 ….Because of its origins and subsequent history the sultanate provided for three and a quarter centuries a unique opportunity for the continual transmission to India of a broad range of cultural manifestations emanating from the Persian plateau: language and literature, customs and manners, concepts of kingship and government, religious organization, music, and architecture. … are the descendants of the ancient Gatae [Gatae were a Proto-GermanicGermanic tribe], or Jeutchi, from Scythia. Some authorities consider that they entered the sub-continent some time in 1500BC and are the same Jattikas mentioned in the Mahabharata, and also identical with the Jatti of Pliny and Ptolemy. Their original home was the Oxus” Hence we see a group of people having a once glorious past, now at the bottom rung of society. Therefore here we see a process of Islamic invaders been seen as liberators, and a process of appreciation of the Muslims. Therefore it wouldn’t surprise one to find out that the Jat population on the whole joined forces with the Muslim invaders. To many scholars, it was the Jats joining the Muslims that was decisive in ensuring victory. The Jats gave much needed information regarding the territory and possible ways of achieving a Muslim victory.” They had been forbidden to ride in saddles, wear fine clothes and to uncover the heads. This had embittered them to such an extent that they threw in their lot with the foreigner and joined his standard in large numbers”…. Some however go further to say that Buddhists had been in contact with their people in areas of Afghanistan and Turkistan, and the Buddhists of that region had commented on how liberal their new Muslim rulers were. Whatever the true reason as to why Buddhists submitted to the Muslims is debatable, however evidence does suggest that the Buddhist Rajas of Hyderbad had covert communications with Muhammad bin Qasim, along with the Buddhist Rajas of Sewastan. http://www.escholarship.org, Carl W. Ernst p. 6.

114 …. The white blood of Malay royalty, for example, is that ascribed by Buddists to

divinities, by Hindus to Siva and by Muslims to certain saints. Muslim amulets and Sufi mysticism succeeded naturally to the talismans and ascetic practices of Hinds, and those talismans and practices to the fetish and shamanism of primitive days… A system of magic that has persisted for thousands of years and borrowed in historic time all that the Hindu and the Muslim could contribute to it must have had practical value. It advocated instead of morality the capricious dictates of the tabu; it asked its Gods, even Allah, for no spiritual blessings. It promised no happy after-life, no heaven of bliss. But it was a very present help in trouble… Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt, M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 72.

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will follow and illustrate this evolution and the ways in which these three dominant

religions affected one another.

Therefore when examining the Sufi influence on Malay mysticism and the

development from Pre-Monotheistic to monotheistic we will examine the adaptation

of Sufism by the Malay Dokun and why they allowed themselves to be converted to

Islam. Therefore their conversion from the theurgy of the Dokun healer to Islamic

science is the pinnacle turning point from Pre-Monotheism to Islam among the Malay.

Some forms of theurgy are thought to be deviant by those who practice supposedly

“Islamic style magic”, I will now discuss some of the views of this form of Malay

sorcery. Once again the primary vehicle of this type of Tok Bomo is his ability to go

into the trance state and be possessed by spirits.

The origins of Sufism can be found in three places, one the Prophet

Muhammad himself, two the Pre-Islamic Prophets of Allah, and three in the Animistic

roots of all nations as seen in the symbolism of the Qur’an of creation or Qur’an Al-

Takwini. In the form which exists in the example of the prophet Muhammad we see

the kindest person ever to walk the earth; as the perfect example for Muslims, and

especially for a Sufi. In his kindness we can see his adherence to one of the most

important, if not “the” most important aspect of Sufism, “A kind Heart”115116. Because

of the significance of a kind heart in the central focus of Sufism, social interaction

115 It may be that God will grant love (and friendship) between you and those whom ye (now) hold as enemies. And God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary. Surah 7: 35-40, Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), 689. 116 Tolerance according to the Qur’an and Sunnah was meant to be the cornerstone of the day-to-day life of a Muslim. ….Allah does not bestow his mercy on him who is not merciful to his fellow human beings” (Tirmidi)….Laleem-Ullah Khan, The source of universal peace, (Goodword Books, New Delhi, 2003), 122-129.

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among the Malay was very assistive in helping them to grow iman. It was this kind of

kindness, the kindness of Hidayah, Allah’s guidance and forgiveness. This is shown in

one of the stories of the prophets life or Syra: once caused the prophet to give some of

his wealth to a Bedouin who “Jerked harshly on his cape”, this man jerked the

prophets cape so violently that it left a mark upon his neck, and yet the Holy prophet

only turned and “Smiled” at the man and asked what he wanted. The man replied that

he wanted some of the wealth that the prophet had at that particular time, and the

prophet turned to the Sahabah and told them “give him some”117. Such was the kind

character of the prophet Muhammad, and this is only one of many examples.

For invoking the rain and other metaphysical examples of Karamat we need

only look at the Hadith in which the prophet was asked by the Sahabah to make it rain

and he raised his hands, and “Invoked the rain”. He could have prayed, he could have

sat down and made Du’ah, yet he chose to “Invoke the rain, in a standing position

with hands raised, why?118 Very simply put he was a kind hearted, and talented

prophet of God and one of the aspects of a prophet is that of a higher level of Mystic

117 “O Muhammad, order some of the wealth of God which you have in your possesiont to be given to me.” The prophet looked at him and smiled, then he gave orders for some to be given to hijm. Maulana Wahududdin Khan, , Words of the prophet Muhammad: selections from hadith, (Goodword books, New Delhi,2005), Hadith number 148, 86.

118 there upon the holy prophet raised his hands at once. While there was not a spec of

clouds in the sky, but I swear by Allah in whose hands my soul is, that he had not lowered his hand before the clouds were appearing like mountains and before he descended from his pulpit, I saw the rain coming down on his beard….The Apostle then raised his hands and said: O Allah! (Send rain) round about us, but not on us…The messenger of Allah did not point at any region in the clouds without their breaking up; and medina became like a gap [in the rain]. Three hundred authenticated miracles of Muhammad, Badr Azimabadi, , Adampublishers & Distributers, shandar Market, Deli, India, 1993),.90.

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who heart has been cleansed by God himself119120121.

To look into finding another example of this among the previous Prophets of

God is not very difficult; every prophet of God had the gift. Let us examine the case of

Musah alhi Salam. When Moses turned his staff into a serpent, parted the red sea, or

foresaw the coming of the plagues of Allah upon Pharaoh and Egypt he was

performing the role of a mystic at its highest level, that of a prophet; But he was also a

Thaumaturgist122. In case three, the case of the animistic roots of Sufism, we need look

no further that the indigenous culture of every people in the world and their

connection to Nature. These primitive people understood that the nature creatures,

plants, and minerals and all that was on the earth or in the sky possessed some divine

119 Thereafter a wolf climbed on a mound and..said, “I took the sheep as a provision

from Allah…The shepherd wondered at the sight and said, by Allah I have never seen like it before, a wolf talking. “But more wonderful [said the wolf] is the man among the palm-trees …who can tell what has already happened and what is going to happened after your time, the wolf replied. The shepherd was a Jew and having herd from the wolf, he came to the holy prophet (p.b.u.h) and embraced Islam. Three hundred authenticated miracles of Muhammad, Badr Azimabadi, , Adampublishers & Distributers, shandar Market, Deli, India, 1993),.91-92.

120 After the battle of Badr….the Holy prophet went near the well and called, “so and so

and son of so and so! Have you found true what your deities had promised you to be?...(umar) asked…how can you speak to bodies with no spirits? The apostle of Allah replied “ you are no better able to hear what I am saying than they are… Three hundred authenticated miracles of Muhammad, Badr Azimabadi, , Adampublishers & Distributers, shandar Market, Deli, India, 1993),. 93.

121 …there comes to you messengers from amongst you, rehersing my signs unto you, …

those who reject our signs and treat them with arrogance, ….who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against God or rejects his signs?...to those who reject our signs and treat them with arrogance, no opening will there be of the gates of heaven, nor will they enter the garden, until a camel can pass through the eye of a needle…. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary. Surah 7: 35-40, Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), p.185-186..122 ….saint Stephen boast that the great…Moses” was learned “ in all the wisdom” of the Egyptians”, and declares that he “was mighty” in words and deeds,”…he was acquainted with many of the practices of Egyptian magic. The phrase “mighty in words”…means that, …he was “strong of tongue” [eloquent] and uttered words of power which he knew with correct pronunciation…. the turning of a serpent into what is apparently an inanimate, wooden stick [staff]…are feats which have been performed in the East from the most ancient period….E. A. Wallis Budge, Egyptian magic, (London, Arkana, 1988), 5.

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energies, and that these energies came from a divine being.123124125

The energies placed into the Cosmos or Qur’an Al-Takwini are given by God

from Wahy. Altgough the science of Nabiyah are of a higher station, energies of the

Qur’an Al-Takwini are are also available to the mystic or sage of intermediate stations.

Not only were the Proto-Malay and the Malay interested in nature as a source

of spirituality, but also in the Ummah of animal kind, and the animal stories found

concerning the mouse dear, the tiger and tiger people are the most popular motifs of

the animal kingdom stories, even till today. It is not surprising that the Malay of the

tribal and Hindu periods were very interested if not totally fascinated when given the

chance to explore Sufi mysticism. Cosmologically the animal world is not the only

world the Malay knew, they were also called “Bumi” people of the earth and had their

123 An invocation to the spirits of the village.… the Specter Huntsman and Siva….A

chant, disguised by the phrases of Muslim medico…. crying on the tiger-spirit:-"Warrior! Son of a warrior! Matchless in might! Come, my lord! Come, my life! Descend …., and pass into your jeweled curtain…., the spirit who hangs at the door of the sky." And as the tiger-spirit came, the village magician who had invoked him would turn …and leap and growl, as his familiar asked why he had been summoned. The magician would answer… our lord has got ready a hall and is inviting the Sultan of the Impalpable Air and all his followers to a feast surmounted by a model of a fabulous bird, Jentayu (offspring of Vishnu's Garuda). Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt, M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 45.124 For the same reason, most ethnic cultures in Malaysia subscribe to the existence of supernatural beings. Taboos governing the individuals action in the environment so not to disturb these spiritual beings, and numerous rituals and ceremonies were held to placate guardian spirits….(Tolak bala) to ward off evil at the erection of a new house… such ceremonies are still common…were ritual cleansing of evil spirits before clearing the jungle…and to appease sea spirits (puja pantai)is still being practiced. Professor Dato' Dr Mohd Sham Mohd Sani ed., The Encyclopedia of Malaysia, The environment, (Didier Millet (EDM), Kuala Lumpur, November 1998), 81.

125 animals and plants are not only symbols of various Divine Qualities, but Divine

manifestations of the Divine principle in such a way that they play a direct role in the cultic aspect of the religion in question. Moreover, in such traditions there exist a knowledge of nature which is direct and intimate yet inward. The Indian not only sees the bear or th eagle as divine precenses but has a knowledge of what one might call egleness of the eagle and bearness of the bear as if it saw in these beings their platonic archytypes.The revelation of God in such cases embraces both men and nature....postmedieval man who exsternalized his alienation from his own inner reality by increasing his sense of agression and hatred against nature, an agression made somewhat easier by the excesivly rigid distinction made in western Christianity between the supernatural and natural world. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein.. Knowledge and the Sacred. (The Gifford Lectures, Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), p.193.

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own version of the tree of life and the spirits of the earth, all aspects of the earth were

under the control of their chief deity Batara Guru.126 127From the time of the Malay

conversion period, the oneness of Nature has been easly accepted and Man was seen

as the Viceregent of the empirical world including the natural world. In the Islamic

view he is responsible to look into, examine, and master the meaning of the “Qur’an

of creation” Qur’an al-Takwini. The Qur’an which is written ‘Qur’an al-Tadwini

gives examples of the symbolism to be found in nature, these symbols are seen in the

chapters of the Qur’an which bear the names of animals, elements, minerals, places in

nature; every aspect of creation which are signs from Allah. When we look at these

signs we cannot help but see that Allah is sending us the message that there are signs

in all of nature. Beginning with man as the microcosm of creation we can see

scientific evidence support the idea, that, the world is an open book of God. This is

seen in the scientific fact that man is composed of every element in the universe. Thus

far 83 elements have been found in the human body, all found by secular scientist with

no interest in verifying these views, thus providing an outside verification of the

information provided here. Furthermore, all animals used as symbols in the Qur’an

126 In view of these and other resemblances I advance the thesis that this cult of the earth,

represented by the mountain or mound, was one of the features introduced to china from the west, along with such traits as the knowledge of bronze working and the use of wheeled vehicles. These came via the steppe routes and considerably influenced the Shang dynast, established about 1500 B. C. H.G. Qaritch Wales, Ph.D. Pre-history and religion in south east Asia, London, (Bernard Qaritch LTD, 11 Grafton street. 1957), 31.

127 But for the magician who must know the origin and temper of every God and spirit he

would invoke….he had to know that Batara Guru, the Lord Teacher, as Malays call Siva, was at once the white spirit of the sun and the black spirit of the earth. Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt, M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 34.

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are significant pointers to this relationship128129130131.

This is only one of several verses in Qur’an in which we see the signs of Allah

revealed in the creation of Nature.

Other proofs include the following some of which have been covered in answer

to other questions here:

Creation of the empirical world in pairs.

The divine law of Tawhid seen in Surah Yaa-sin.

Man was created from sun and ‘earth’ containing all elements of the earth.

The meaning of the word Iyat (a section of a Surah in Qur’an) being

“Nature”.

Identification of God with the sun and the prophet with the just as the

prophet reflects the divine message of Allah, so to does the moon reflect

the light of the sun.

The linguistic meaning of these terms points symbolically to nature as the 128

These are all manner of speaking of the ultimate reality which can be known but not by man as such. It can only be known through the sun of the Divine Self residing at the center of the human soul....and in silence which is the “reflextion” or “shadow” of the non-manifest aspect of the principle upon the manifestation. From the unitary point of view, the principle or the source is seen as not only the inward but also the outward, not only One but also the essential reality of many which is but the reflection of the One. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Knowledge and the Sacred. (The Gifford Lectures, Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981). p.134. 129

He is the first and the last and the manifest and the hidden, and …there is not anybody from whom he can be the hidden. He is manifest to his self and he is hidden from himself, and he is the one called Abu Sa’id al-Kharraz and others like that from the names of latter and the last and the manifest and the hidden….the hidden says ‘No’ when the manifest says’I’, and the manifest says ‘No’ when the hidden says’I’and this is in every opposition, …. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al-Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn arabi(Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 340.

130 He is the vicregent of God (Khallifat’allah) on earth, to use the Islamic term,

responsible to God for his actions, and the custodian and protector of the earth ...that he remain faithful to himself as the central terrestrial figure created in the “form” of God”, a theomorphic being living in this world but created for eternity. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein.. Knowledge and the Sacred. (The Gifford Lectures, Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 160.

131 Seest thou not that God whose praises all beings in heavens and on earth celebrate,

and the birds with wings outspread each one knows its own mode of prayer and praise. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary. Surah 24:41, Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), p.423.

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Qur’an al-Takwini, particularly significant as seen in the ninety-nine names of Allah.

As we have seen above, light is an important metaphor and functions as a double

meaning in Islam, the term Nur makes reference to both light and divine eminence

which can be seen in the Surah of light132133. Identification of God with the sun and the

prophet with the just as the prophet reflects the divine message of Allah, so to does the

moon reflect the light of the sun; and therefore we see the Qur’an of creation revealed

in the form of symbols, signs, metaphors and analogies. All of these facts support the

idea that the open book of nature is the “Qur’an of creation” the counter balance of

the written Qur’an. The role of man as a microcosm and the Viceregent of the creation

are an example of the signs and symbolism of each Surah or “sign” to be found in

Qur’an. This also presents us with the opportunity to examine the Qur’an as the

symbolic significance of nature as reflected through these signs in nature. The written

Qur’an is a great tool in Islamic science into examination of nature, the unseen, the

fact that Allah has created all existence in pairs for a reason134135. These signs are

132 God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of his light is as if a niche and within it a lamp: the lamp enclosed in glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: lit from a blessed tree…. though fire scarce touch it, light upon light! God doth guide whom he will to his light…(Holy Qur’an, Surah An-Nur, 24: 35).

133 The We make him descend to the lowest of the lowest of the low. (Sura Tin, 5). He

sent that light from where it was created, from the Ultimate Realm (alam al-lahut) – which is the realm of the manifestation of Allah's Essence, of unity, of absolute being – to the realm of the divine names, the manifestation of the divine attributes, the realm of the causal intelligence of the Total Soul. There he dressed the souls in robes of light. These souls are called 'sultan-souls'. Clothed in light they descended to the realm of the angels. There He clothed them with the brilliant robes of angels, there they were called 'spiritual souls'. Then He caused them to descend to the world of matter, of water and fire, earth and ether, and they became human souls. Then from this world He created the bodies of flesh. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 6.

134 There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor as being that flies on its wings, but (forms a part

of) communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the book, and they (all)shall be gathered to their Lord in the end. Those who reject our signs are deaf and dumb, -- in the midst of darkness profound Surah 38-39.. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary. Surah 24:41, Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), 423.

135 The Sufi’s basing their idea on data provided by the Qur’an, formulated the doctrine of “the five

presences” (al-hadarat al-ilahiyyat al-kams) to depict the hierarchy of the whole of reality. The History and Philosophy of Islamic Science, Osman Bakar, (Cambridge, UK : Islamic Texts Society, 1999), 22.

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undeniable for the Muslims; in the view of Islam the Qur’an itself provides proof of

this fact as seen above. Furthermore the denial of the signs of God in Nature is

punishable with Hell as stated in the Qur’an al-Tadwini. As we see in the above

statements the Qur’an of creation is intricately connected to Nature and yet is not the

property of any Pre-Monotheistic cult. A close relationship to Nature is in reality

completely within the realm of the Islamic worldview. This is referred to as the

Tawhidic worldview.

It was the degeneration of tribal animism whose original views resulted in the

rise of spirit worship among most tribal peoples on earth. However, with the coming

of Islam the Natural sciences and the Tawhidic worldview from which it sprang most

tribal peoples slowly developed their own unique forms of monotheism136137138.

One such tribal people were to be found in central Asian, the land of the

Turkmen. This tribal confederation was known as the Taklamakhanians and later

Tocharian’s. They first adopted shamanism, then Hinduism in the south and

Buddhism in the north, and lastly they converted to Islam. However the form of Islam

existent among the Tokarians was affected by the previously mentioned religions an

136 the reality of the archetypical Muhammad. That would lead one to see the muta as the cosmic

Muhammad who becomes the working principle in the world. The absolute transcendence of God has removed him, so to speak, into the situation of a deus otiosus, one and absolute aloof from the movement of the world….even without any knowledge of these high speculations on the prophetic light, …the faithful simply loved the prophet. For love of the prophet leads to love of God…The mystic no longer goes strait on his path toward God: first he has to experience annihilation in the spiritual guide, who functions as the representative of the prophet. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical dimensions of Islam, The University of North Carolina Press, 1975), 223 & 216.137

Tradition contains a sense of truth which is both of divine origin and perpetuated throughout a majore cycle of human history through both transmision and renewal of the message by means of revelation. It also implies and inner truth which lies at the heart of different sacred forms and which is unique since Truth is one. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Knowledge and the Sacred. (The Gifford Lectures, Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981). p.71. 138

And it is He who spread out the earth, and set thereon mountains standing firm and (flowing) rivers: and fruit of every kind He made in pairs, two and two: he draweth night as aveil o’er the day. Behold verily in these things there are signs for those who consider! ….Behold in these things there are signs for those who understand! Surah al-Ra’d, 13:3-4, Surah 2:285, Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary., Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), p. p. 293.

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effect which has led to the proliferation of debates among scholars as to the origins of

Central Asian Sufism and a search for answers concerning to what exstent Central

Asian shamanism was affected by Sufism. After being driven from Arabia and other

areas by extremist who did not accept Sufism139, many took refuge among the central

Asians. In this place, from the north from the steppes, to Tashkent, Bukharah, and

even as south as Persia, they set up their new home for studies. It was in this place that

the Nashbandi and other forms of Sufism flourished and spread their views, including

a love of nature and contemplation which came from the roots of their traditions. Sufis

went out from Central Asia to India, Persia, and Turkey among other places where

they flourished. Another of the great seats of Sufism was Andalusia, and in Andalusia

or Spain, we find that great scholars like Ibn-Arabi compiled their great treatises on

Tassawuf or Sufism.

One of the primary forms of invocations found within Sufism is the recitation

of Zikr (Dthikr) or the Names of Allah. The ninety nine names make reference to the

divine attributes of Allah. It is through the rhythmic singing of these names that the

Sufi is able to transcend this world to the world of contemplation and fins the most

important aspect of Sufism, the road to gnosis. The names of Allah which I wish to

139 Whoever contemplates his devotions and seeks the cause and reason and comes to

know it, his medication is worth seventy years of worship... whoever contemplates the divine wisdom with a strong wish to know Allah Most High, hid meditation is worth a thousand years of worship, for this is the true knowledge..... True knowledge is the state of unity. The wise lover unties with his Beloved. From this material realm, flying with spiritual wings he soars to the realm of attainment, for the devout walk to paradise while the wise fly to the realms close to their Lord. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 16.

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address are Ar-Raheem, Al-Haqq, and Al-Batin140141.

Ar-Rahman must always be the most important name of Allah, primarily be

cause is means the most merciful, second the vast majority of religious people are

unable to follow Islam in perfection and are incapable of living at a level of Isan.

Because of these and many other reasons it is imperative the majority of fallible

human beings in the world depend on the mercy of Allah; this is the Islamic

perspective. Based on that line of reasoning, one can easily see the immense

importance the attribute of God as most merciful in the religion of Malay Islam. While

it is true man has responsibility for his action, it is also true, that, because of this

fallibility, that, the infinite mercy of Allah if of paramount importance. Certain

Fiqua’s in Islam have recently sought to lessen the position of Ar-Raheem among the

attributes of Allah by “editing and translating” versions of Qur’an and Hadith which

exaggerate the attributes of Al-Aziz the conqueror over that of Ar-Raheem the

merciful, I would remind those brothers, that, Allah has created Islam not as a religion

but as a way of din or “way of life’ which is meant to be open to all peoples via love

140 He sent the holy spirit to the station of His messengers and saints and lovers and

friends. On its way Allah sent it first to the realm of the Causal Mind of unity of the Total Soul, the realm of His divine Names and attributes the realm of the truth of Muhammad. The Holy Spirit had with it the seed of unity. As it passed through this realm it was given the clothing of divine light and was named the sultan-soul. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 18.

141 ...Your Creator has brought you to a certain level of consciousness and faith and that

you can only remember Him in accordance with this ability. Our master the Prophet says, 'The best declaration of remembrance is the one which I and all the prophets before me recite. It is in the divine phrase La ilaha illa Llah - “there is no God but Allah. IBID, 45.

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and compassion, there is no doubt as to the Qur’an and Hadith support of this

fact142143. Therefore I would rate Ar-Raheem as the most important of the names of

Allah. The name of Allah Al-Haqq, master of all knowledge and wisdom, there can be

no science, mysticism, theology, or any other sort of understanding to bring balance to

mankind, and in fact no Islam without the divine perfected omni-cognoscent

knowledge and wisdom of Allah as Al-Haqq which gives man the divine spark of

existence through Ruh144145.

The Ruh imbeds in man a small part of the divine essence, this spark carries

142 If somebody commits a sin and then says ‘Oh my Lord! I have sinned, please forgive me! And his Lord says, ‘my slave has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for it? I therefore have forgiven my slave(his sins). Then he remains without commiting any sin for awhile and then again commites another sinand says, ‘O my Lord, I have commited another sin please forgive me,’ and Allah says, ‘my slave has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for it? …. I therefore have forgiven my slave(his sins), he can do whatever he likes. Mohd. (PBBH), Sahih al-Bukhari, comp. Al-imam Zain udin Ahmad bin Abdul-Latif Az-Zubaidi, trlt. Dr. Muhammad Mushin Khan, Islamic University Al-Madina, Al-Munawwara, Saudia Arabia, Maktabar-us-Salam, 1994Hadith numb.2226), 1014.

143 The ones who know interpret these words of the Prophet saying that not only can the

Devil not take the form of the Prophet, he cannot pretend to be anyone or anything which has the character of mercy and beneficence, or compassion and grace and faith. Indeed, all the prophets and the saints and the angels, the holy mosque of the Ka'ba, the sun, the moon, the white clouds, the Holy Qur’an, are entities into which the Devil cannot enter, nor can he take their shape. This is because the Devil is the place and condition of the manifestation of wrath, punishment and grief. He can only represent confusion and and doubt. When someone has in him the manifestation of Allah's Name, the 'Ultimate Guide to Truth', how could the attribute of the One Who Leads Astray be manifest in him? Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), p. 108.

144 Khaliq-the creator, Al Bari-the producer, Al Musawwir-the fashioner. It might be thought

that these names are synonymous, and that they all refer to creating and in venting. But it does not need to be that way. Rather everything which comes forth from nothingness to existence needs first of all to be planned; to be originated according …to the plan…to be formed after being originated…God…is creator…, the planer…, producer [Bari] in as much as he initiates existence, and fashioner…in as much as he arranges the forms of things… David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher, (The Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), 68.

145....one needs knowledge that comes from the hidden realms, a knowledge which overflowes

with the divine conscienceness: ...whom We had taught knowledge of Our divine Prescence. (Sura kahf, 65)....Such a teacher who inculcates knowledge into one has to be close to Allah and able to see into the Ultimate Realm....[Allah preferes] Those who spend in ease as well as in adversity and those who restrain [their] anger and pardon men. And Allah loves the doers of good [to others]. (Sura Al Imran, 133-34)....and put our inner being in order through aquiring wisdom. Ibn Tammiya, Wali Al-Rah’man; Wali-Shayton. Trans. Franz Von Hofler, and Muktar, Nurussaddah. Trans. Malay to English from: Ibnu Taimiyah, (karakteristik wali allah wali, ramadhani, (solo publishing, solo Indonesia, 1989), 8-9.

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with it the most eloquent and well taught form of knowledge of intelligence of the

heart (ein al Qalb) or the capability to be intelligent within it and is therefore the most

important way in which Allah imparts one of the best of gifts to mankind. The Aql or

mind is the exstention of the heart and therefore, if we doubt this we may only look to

the Surah of the knowledge given by Allah.146 A case example can be seen in the case

of the mystic. How could the mystic gain the understanding necessary to perform his

ritual and spiritual techniques in exorcism without knowledge? And if he were to seek

knowledge from secular science or an outside source, how would they produce

knowledge imaginal realm? Assuming any of these would be allowed to exist without

the existence of Al-Haqq would be ignorance. Since Al-Haqq is the aspect of all which

produces all knowledge, certainly secular science has produced some advances via the

will of Allah147. However the wholeness of knowledge includes the knowledge of the

unseen as well as the seen and therefore Islamic science is a better candidate for this

service and therefore is the source from which Islamic mystics, philosophers and

many other Muslims draw for their research148 149.

146 He granteth wisdom to whom He pleaseth; and to he whom wisdom is granted recieveth indeed a

benefit overflowing; but none will grasp the message but men of understanding. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary. Surah 2:285, Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Surah 2: 269.

147 For the worst of beast in the sight of God are the deaf and the dumb, -- those who understand not. If God had found in them any good, he would indeed have made them listen:…. The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary. Surah 8:22-24, Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), 216.

148 Thus the name Interior (Batin) is realized for the servant, because hen Haqq becomes manifest in the universe of chaptering with the images of the revelation of compassionate beatitude , the perfect servant for its manifestation, and as the emanation of action of the Haqq from the place of manifestation of the being of the servant, the servant was established in the being of the Haqq. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al-Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn arabi(Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 770.

149 The remembrance of the hidden realm brings one to : the place of truth in the

presence of a Sovereign Omnipotent. (Sura Qamar, 55) The remembrance at the final level that is called khafi alakhfa – 'the most hidden of the hidden' – brings one tot a state of annihilation of the self and unification with the truth. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), p. 46.

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Sufi Talismana among the Malay

One of the most profound affects upon Malay Sufism, ws the fact that many of the

earlyiest Muslim missionaries to Malay came from ache Indonesia and before that

Tocharia. The influence of Tocharian culture upon the Malay now becomine two fold,

once among the dongson and again during the conversion period through settlements

in Ache. The resuscitation of Malay Natural Science began islamically with Tocharian

and Indonesian Missionaries to Malaya; Just as a particular tradition cannot be labeled

as having evolved directly from another tradition; according to Nasr. So to a particular

symbol cannot evolve out of another particular symbol. While symbols and or artifacts

may share common origins, in time they come to embody the cosmological and

mythological truths impotant to psyche or common mentality of the people to which

they belong. Unversal symbolism is that psychic or psychoid commonality which is

universal to all humanity and is a derivative symbolically of higher truths inheriant in

the primordial religion. It is this primordial truth, which belongs to the philosophical

and mystical higher truths advocated by Transcendental Unity. Thus we see legitmat

confusion on the part of those who mistakenly view the Universal as the particular.

The use of such a symbolism cannot evolve in usage in a particularized ritual

or theurgical ritual to become another culture identical in another culture150. However,

a symbol, artifact or theurical ritual may be transformed from a universal usage once

adopted by a particulare culture. Such symbols, artifacts and rituals, then become new

particularized symbol articact or ritual in their adopted culture. These symbols do not

represent syncretism, but rather transformation and renewal of tradition. Therefore the

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Tradition contains a sense of truth which is both of divine origin and perpetuated throughout a major cycle of human history through both transmission and renewal of the message by means of revelation. It also implies and inner truth which lies at the heart of different sacred forms and which is unique since Truth is one. Syyed hossain Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred, (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 71.

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Sufi use of talisman cannot possibly be taken to be an extension of the Pre-Islamic

charm. But, rather the use of Talismans may have taken the place of charms in the

Malay culture, adding to their theurgical tools the science of talismana.

The Sufi takes the art of charms in the form of Amulets to the level of the

science of talisman; this science examines, utilizes and uses in thaumaturgy the

symbolic and pictorial symbolism in a manner consistent with the teachings of Islam

and in accordance to the understanding of Islamic science in the realm of angelology,

metaphysics and Theurgy151. For this reason the Sufi form of Talismana cannot be

labeled as the use of charms.

As we have seen from the previous section, charms come from nature and draw

their energies from the secondary form of energy placed into nature by Allah through

nature spirits or jinn. Therefore the use of charms is not appropriate in reference to

151 Although there was a great deal of interest in Orphism and Orphica, which, like the

Hermetica, was widespread during the renaissance....Ancient wisdom based on the doctrine of sanctity of the intellectual began to appear Dependant of the living tradition of the west which was Christianity....As a result, despite the presence of groups and circles which possessed authentic knowledge of a sacred character, groups such as Rosicrucians, the Kabbalist, the Hermeticiste, and the school of paracelsus, the revival of ancient wisdom during the renaissance and even later and the opposition of most followers of this “newly found” wisdom to Scholasticism did not result in the integration of Scholasticism into a higher sapiential aspect perspective within Christianity. Syyed hossain Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred, (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 40.

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Sufi Talismana152153154. This is true for several reasons, the use of Talismana is based

upon high magic or the alchemy of the heart which is entirely Islamic and as such

comes both from the primordial and particular Islamic tradition. Wereas the use of

energies from nature can be of the science of interacting with nature in the Islamic

tradition or it could alternativly come from a Pre-Islamic prophetic understanding of

nature which has degenerated. In the case of charms it is the second these two that we

see, however in the case of Sufism it is the first of the two.

A second reason is that from the view of Sufism and due to the alchemy of the

heart, all Talismana are void of any Hindu, Buddhist or other symbolic representations

other than those of the Qur’anic script, seal of Solomon, and other monotheistic forms

of symbolism which draw their energies directly from Allah; or through the assistance

152 Gathering and separation ; Jam/ Tafriqah. The mystic who achieves the station of

gathering …has repelled the material world of phenomena, whereas the mystic who acquires the station of separation (Tafriqah ) is confirming devotion and God, while attached to the phenomenal world and separating the Absolute from its creation…This is the view of multiplicity which is the usual view of the phenomenal world. …the highest station of gathering is…to see Divine unity in three aspects at one and the same time: Essence, Creator, Creatures; ….But as there can be no Masculine principle without a Feminine one, no active without a corresponding hidden or apparent passive, the stations are fulfilled only through their opposites. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 33.

153 Nature is the collector, which means the state is that that which collects all opposites

is Nature because Nature is one reality by virtue of its matter and different things by virtue of its particularizations and images. Consequently Nature accepts the determination of oppositions over the images because it collects in itself the opposites through their realities, and in oppositions it is the same as the opposite but it does not collect in itself the opposites with the particularization of oppositions in the image in particularized matter….the one Being of the Haqq is manifested in the different mirrors and is varied in places of reflection of the a’yan and receives the totality of the determinations of the a’yan, by this aspect the Haqq is khalq. Thus, with the eye of vision look at it…by this aspect, he referes to the words: He is one image in different mirrors. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al-Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn arabi(Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 354-358.

154 The dreams that are dreamt between the time just before one falls asleep and deep

sleep are true and beneficent. These dreams are often bearers of revelations and the medium of miracles. They are often bearers of revelations and the medium of miracle. They are the images that fall on the eye of the heart. The proof of the truth of dreams is in the words of Allah: Allah indeed fulfilled the dream of His messenger with truth: you shall certainly enter the sacred mosque, if Allah please, security. (Sura Fath, 27) And indeed the Prophet did enter the holy mosque in Makka, which was held by his enemies, the year after this dream, another example is in the dream of the prophet Joseph (peace be upon him): When Joseph said to his father, O my father, I dreamt if eleven stars and the sun and the moon, I saw them making obeisance to me. (Sura Yusuf, 4)…. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 108.

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of angels acting on the will of Allah. Therefore the use of Talismana by the Khalwah

and or the Wali is not to be confused with the art of charms by the indigenous wizards

or Sorceres155156157. Such an idea would be a re-affirmation the above mentioned

logical phalacy.

CHARMS, TALISMANS, AND ROSARIES

Geometrical symbolism – Geometric design of signs and symbols are important to our

understanding of the position which Islamic sciences maintains in relationship to

155 For once he has understood the teaching, if these meanings were presented to him, he would receive

them and memorize them. These are the levels of most scholars, to say nothing of those who are not scholars. In relation to those who do not share with them in those three levels, these should not be denied credit, yet they are clearly deficient with respect to the acme of perfection. For ‘the merits of the [merely] pious are demerits in those who have drawn near to God’. The first share of knowledge of these meanings by way of witnessing and unveiling, so that their essential realities are clarified for them by a proof which does not permit any error; and God’s possession of these meanings as His characteristics is revealed to them in a disclosure equivalent in clarity to the certainty achieved by a man in regard to his own inner qualities which he perceives by seeing his inward aspect, not by outward sensation. How great a difference there is between this and a faith derived from ones parents and teachers by conformity and persistence in it, even though it be accompanied by argumentative proofs fro Kalam! AL—GHAZALI: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names of God: Al-maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma’ Allah al-husna, transl. David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher, (The Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), 30-31.156

To rid of oneself of these evils one has to cleanse and shine the mirror of the heart. This cleansing is done by acquiring knowledge, by acting upon this knowledge, by effort and valour, fighting against one's ego within and without oneself, by ridding oneself of one's multiplicity of being, by achieving unity. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 55.

157 It is not the height of a place, nor the height of a position, because of the height of position is special

to the proximity of the order, like the sultan, the judges, the viziers and the qadi and all appointed people, for which appointment they have ability or they have not, wereas the height by qualification is not like that. …the height of position is particulare to the order of sucesson like the sultan, judges, and the viziers and the qadi, and also, equally, like all the people who are appointed, like the just sultan or the equitable judge, the intelligent vizier and the non-ignorant qadi, or weather they are not so, and equally the height which is through quality and quantification is not the same as the height of position because the one who is high by the height of position does not remain I height when that position is removed from him, ….because the hight of position is in reality for degrees, not for themselves, ….the height is not removed, and the essential height is higher than the height of all degrees…..the height is according to four parts….The sheikh, God be pleased with him, said: ‘and that he might be the most knowledgable of the people, yet he is determined over by he who has an appointment allowing him determination, whether he be of the most ignorant people. Because of such…it sometimes happens that that the most knowledgable of men is dominated by a person who has a dominant appointment…, and such is height by position…and the Gnostic is not like this….he is not high in his own nafs because his height is in relation to that degree and his sujection to it, …the Gnostic who is high by qualification…does not get dismissed from his appointment, and God guide who he wishes to the right path. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 360-364.

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nature, and the connection to Nature as exemplified by the Khalwah an intermediary

between the subtle and empirical realms of existence. Geometric and Numerical

symbolism in Islam should not be confused with allegorical representations in the

particularized Pre-Islamic usage (e.g. Charms) items such as, totems, fetishes, and pre-

islamic icons are not identical with the Talismans used in Sufism. Talismans which

make use of divine geometric, linguistic and mathematical configuration are merely

symbolic devises which direct the contemplation of the person to remembrance of

Allah which impart a feeling of protection to the one owning them, and draw upon the

assistance of Angels who are drawn to the ilmu of the talisman. While Pre-Islamic

charms are definitively allegorical and make reference to Pre-Islamic concepts related

to tribal cosmology and oral myth, also taking on a much more ritualistic character in

relationship to degeneration derived from anthropomorphism.

This section covers aspects of these two that relate directly to Islamic

Mysticism. Furthermore non-Islamic charms makes use of the energies of jin as a

secondary form of subtle energies to affect others, were as the Islamic talisman draws

upon Angelic and Divine essences via energies disseminated to the wearer through

faith, love, and recitation of Surahs, and psychoid equilibrium derivative of cleansing

the heart through use of contenplatium. Thus the Islamic sage abtained purified

energies direct from the original source of all goodness, God himself. Terms for these

energies varie (e.g. Ilmu, Karamat, Nur); this is the description of the science of

Talismana from the view of Islamic Science.

The Taasbih or Rosery

The Sufi rosary or Tasbih is often seen by some Christians or other Muslims as a

trinket or charm item associated with invocation of spirits, angels, or for reciting

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mantras. Some go as far as to claim that the Tasbih was inherited by the Hindus and

Buddhist, this is not correct. The use of Tasbih can be traced back historically to two

sources.

The first source is the use of counting beads among the Aryan Pazryk

horsemen of the Siberian steps near to the Ural Mountains who migrated to the Tarim

basin in central Asia and became the ancestors of the Tocharian’s. These beads have

been traced back to the 3rd century BCE and have been used in central Asia every

since then. Furthermore the use of a symbolic instrument for counting the names of

God among a particular religion cannot be proven to have affected another group in

this case Sufism without some solid historical fact to support such a supposition. For

the time being such a supposition is entirley without historical support and as such is

irrelevant to our research.

Secondly, the practice of counting the names of Allah by Sufis goes back to the

Sunnah and as such is beyond reproach of Muslims. Support for this can be found in

the Qur’an Al-Tadwini. Furthermore, the use of Tasbih for recitation is a reverberation

of divine symbols that touch the heart due to his absorption in the divine perfection of

Allah. This is true for two reasons.

One, the recitation of Qur’anic Surahs touches the heart through the divine

origin of the Qur’an. Second is the base upon which all recitation of holy text in all

authentic religious Traditions takes its foundation, and that is ‘words have power’,

power which comes from the divine, this spiritual truth accepted by all authentic

religious Traditions is Universal and not particularized. From these divine syllables

the energies of the divine enter the heart of the Wali and awaken him to the fact that

the divine power of Allah consumes his ego and all aspects of his independent will are

re-directed to the oneness of God that retuns him to a state of Fitra. From this action

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in repetition the Wali progresses ever higher toward his Lord158 159.This cannot be

confounded with spirit worship which is shirk.

We see reference to the use of Talismana in Syyed Naguib al Attas’s book,

some aspects of Sufism. Its primary source is through two aspects. The first of these is

the natural realm or the empirical world of nature as seen by Muslims of central Asia

and the Arabian Peninsula via the relationship between nature as the Qur’an of

creation and as a part of Tawhid. It is for this reason that in this dissertation we refer

to the Malay worldview as a ‘Tawhidic worldview’. The second of the two aspects we

will examine is that which is concerned with divine geometry and mathematics. Like

the art of Pythagorean divine numerology, Islamic numerology is the based of divine

geometry and divine symbolism. This divine numerology is based in the use of the

‘magic box’ method employed in china (from central Asian Tocharian’s), the Malay

wafiq, and the Arabic form as well. It should be noterd here that the origins of magical

box numerological and the science of letters in Theurgy originated from a

combination of sources, having various interrelated affects. Their sources include

Germanic Runes which were spread to central Asia by the Tocharian descendants of

Aryan tribesmen and onwards to china. These technics came to both Central Asia and

China through Aryan traders or travelors of the Halstate culture,thus becoming the

bases for Chinese Lu Shu.Again we should also note that Runic was also the ancient

158 ….words enfold both knowledge and intention; therefore, framing an intention in words is the first step in making it come true….affirming things such as “I am good” or praying to God with words such as “let me be healed” is more than just expressing thoughts verbally. Wherever a word is backed up by intention, it enters the field of awareness as a message or request….nothing more is required to make desires come true than this, because the computing of the universal awareness is infinite. All messages are heard and acted upon….. Deepak Chopra, The way of the Wizard: twenty spiritual lessons for creating the life you want, (London: Rider, 2000), 67.159

If the knower’s and those who are above inperfection shed of themselves the pollution of the relation to the body and are reliesed from the preoccupation with the body, they will reach the worldof saintlyness...and the hiest perfection will be engraved in them....while in the body, an abundant portion of this pleasure, which may take hold of them, Thus distracting them from everything else. Shams Inati, Ibn Sina and Mysticism, Remarks and Admonitions: Part Four, (Kegan Paul International, NY, New York, 1996), 77.

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alphabet of Northern Arabia prier to its replacement or rather inculcation into

Nebotian Arabic. Persian forms of Arabic also bear the mark of Arayn Runelore in

that their Indo-Iranian anscestores also used them.

Thus we find the Arabic language, the science of letters, and the Chinese

system of Lu Shu contain proto-Germanic influence. When one consideres the Gatae

origins of the jatt or Punjabis, the Persian anscestry of many Malibari, and the many

previous Aryan peoples who conytributed to the rise of the Malays; it becomes self

evident that the magico-mystic view of the Malay has much in common with

Germanic mystical traditions through a common origin, is at least one of the reasons

for their similarity.

The cosmological, societal, cultural and healing arts or the Malays were

irrevocably altered as a direct result of the introduction of the perspective of Islamic

mysticism through the concept of Tawhid, Arabic sciences, and the many facets of the

art of Islamic mysticism. As we have seen in the evidence above Hati and Semangat

figure prominently in the the Malay tribal culture’s examination of160 the Natural

realm, through using their hearts to interpret the information that they gained and

living in harmony with nature, the animals and the minerals of this earth.

Hati is the equivalent of the Heart that “Thinks” as in the same usage among

the Germanic tribes it is not surprising to hear a Malay say something like “my heart

tells me” in order to say that “I think”. The reason is that the natural use of emotional

intelligence occurs sporadically in tribal societies due to their close relationship with

nature and their need to relate their feelings to the subtle realm when they realize that

160 Cosmology provides us with knowledge of how the three worlds are related to each another the spiritual world is a principle of the subtle world and the later a principle of the physical world. Cosmography therefore demands that the physical world be treated not as an autonomous domain which is cut off from higher orders of reality. It insists on the relevance of spiritual and subtle entities in the study of the world. Osman Bakar, Tawhid and science:Islamic Perspectives on Religion and Science, second edition, (ArahPublications, Sha Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, 2008), 74.

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their intuition and spiritual tools such as the ability to see jinn or to speak with spirits

were bound to them nature and the oneness of the Cosmos. While it is not a wise thing

for a Muslim to do in the sense of dabbling with jinn and such dangerous spirits as

that of the tiger, none the less it was a starting point for tribal peoples which inevitably

led to their adoption of the tawhidic love of Nature and eventually Islam.

This occurred not only in the physical but also in the metaphysical sense,

giving rise to the profession of Khalwah or Folk Healer. However these healers also

converted to Islam and often became practicing Islamic mystics referred to as

Khalwah. This examination into nature and the developmental of their evolution from

animism to Sufism was necessary for their survival and led to a developmental

understanding of the doctrine of unity.

We have in this thesis shown clearly that this process was an example of a pre

Islamic people who had an understanding of the Doctrine of Unity, which was in all

likelihood both the result of their environment and in the possible teachings of a Pre-

Islamic prophet referred to as Batara Guru.

When we begin to examine the case of theurgist in Malaya and the role that

they played as a transitory figure just before and the arrival of the Sufi Wali, we are

looking at a Sage, Healer and ritualist who was; from the viewpoint of Islamic science

capable of summoning paranormal manipulation of certain aspects of the subtle and

Natural realm through the Theurgical and or thaumaturgy skills. These skills were

employed through the use of universal and particular symbolism161. This act was

161 The prophet Of Islam has said, “ The world is a prison of the faithful and the paradise of the

unbeliever.” The sapiential interpretation of this well known hadith is that the person who possesses the intellectual intuition which enables him to have a vision of the supernatural realities cannot be alienated in a world characterized by material condensation, coagulation, separation, and most of all illusion. For him, knowledge is both the means of journeying from this world to the abode which corresponds to his inner reality, and which is therefore his home, and of seeing this world not as veil but as theophany, not as opacity but as transparence. Whether the Gnostic speaks of journeying to the reality beyond or living in that reality here and now does not change the significance of the condition of the spiritual man being in exile in this world,…. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Knowledge and the Sacred. (The Gifford

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reinforced by asceticism practiced in the mountains of Malaysia, yet employed within

and for the benefit of their community. The reasoning behind these trips to the

mountains was quite clearly due to the need for secrecy and the need to remove them

selves from the distractions of the mundane world. Thus a strong relationship with

Naturewas developed, one which fostered their traditional view of Nature’s

metaphysical powers or energies. Their purpose in harnessing these energies of the

Cosmos through prayer and meditatation was to benefit of their community. It is also

quite clear that the cultural climate of Malaysia in the early 1500s was still largely

Hindu and was a communal society in which Adat and traditional norms were

reflected in their daily life. This lifestyle formed a type of heart driven communal

philosophy for life which was oral rather than written, and came to dominate the

relationship between Malay communal Ekos and Sufism.

During the Last of the Hindu Malay Kingdom of Majapahit, written text as a

primary form of examination into the mysteries of Hinduism was the reserve of the

educated elite. Therefore when we speak of the Malay sage or theurgist we are

speaking of a man who was an ascetic and part time thaumaturgy in the form of ‘folk

religion’, working primarally with the community, and rarely involved in Hindu ritual

of the Rajas.

Folk religion is a form of religion high interactive with the community or

culture in which it has grown and in the case of Malaya this was extremely magnified

due to the communal ethos of the Malay people. While the Malay Sufi sages or Wali

were perhapse literate, it was not until the Malay Khawah studied under the tutelage

of these Wali that he would have had access to the knowledge of written text. Prier to

this the only access to written knowledge we would have had would have been bark

Lectures, Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 324.

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books written in Runic Malay and refered to as Batak which means ‘Bark”.

The three-pronged effect of contact with Aryan culture as discussed in previous

chapters continued in the 2nd and 3rd step at this time. The highly Aryanized peoples of

Bengal and Punjab contributed both to the Hindu and the Islamic period, together with

the Persian Sayyids they were responsible for the introduction of Sufism and Sufi

mysticism to Malaya.

The Malay theurgist or Sage was a figure whose Theurgy worked in many

ways as discussed earlier and in this chapter we would like to examine the universal

symbolism and similarities with Sufism through universal and particular symbolism as

well as the manner in which Sufism took these symbolic meanings to a higher level.

Following are the requirements for being a Viceregent of creation. Being a Viceregent

of creation is for the most part compatible for the requirements of a Wali; however

there are more additional skills and stations attainable in Sufism.

Hijrah to Malaysia: Sufism and the Malay

Sufism was the first and most important aspect of Islam to affect the Hindu and tribal

Malays. When Islam was carried to Malaysia via Sufi scholars, as well as a small

number of Indian and Arab traders they brought the Arab socio-cultural view of life, a

view that is intertwined with the Islamic faith. This Arab/Islamic view of life had

strong moral implications, which lasted at least until the Umayyad Dynasty. Long

before the Arabs arrived The Malay had their own indigenous beliefs, which also bear

the mark of Pre-Islamic Arab animistic elements reflective of Arabic love of nature.

The influence of Shi’ah Islam of the Persian peoples can also be seen in influencing

the Malay; this was particularly strong in the area of Talismans and other esoteric

practices. The Malays were accepted with benevolence by the early Sufi scholars who

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brought Sufism to Malaya.162

The first Arab traders to come to Malaya can be seen in the Malay chronicles

of the Naga-Kartagama, a Javanese historical text similar in composition to the

Germanic Sagas, partially historical and semi-religious. Particularly significant is the

role of the Shattaria and chisti branches of Sufism who sent sheiks to Indonesia and

Malaysia from India. The Shattaria have had an amazingly strong influence upon the

Malay form of mysticism in both Indonesia and Malay. The close connection between

mystical Islam and Hinduism among the Shattaria of the 1200s as it was in India came

to Malaya in a hybrid form which was readily acceptable to the Hindus of the Malay

Archipelago. The reasons for this are many and varied however are all related in one

way or another with the extremely esoteric and pantheistic tendencies of the Shattaria.

The mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri is illustrated very clearly in a thesis by the

same title, written by Prof. Dr. Syyed Muhammad Naquib Al’ Attas in his Doctoral

degree. The tolerance and understanding of mystics such as Fansuri enabled the tribal

Malay to relate to Sufism and ultimately it was this tolerance which assisted to

propagation of Islam in Malaya.

Again it is important to note that Ache were Hamzah Fansuri was residing was

the Tocharian center of Islamic education in South East Asia. In fact when the basic

principles of Sufism were taught to the Malays it was the mystical aspects which

naturally appealed to them first, as is true of any animistic or Hindu society,

respectively. Their appreciation for the advanced technology and abilities as seen by

the Malay were “works of wonder” or theurgy and a type of theurgy they “wanted to

learn”. Even in the very early stages the Malays and even the Bomo’s sat and learned

162 Hamzah Fansuri of Barus in northern Sumatra (ca. 1600), has given us indications that he

was of the Qadririyyah order. I have further pointed out that by 1488 Malacca was already a centre of Sufism in the peninsula. Syed Naquib Al-Attas, Edited by Shirle Gordon. Some Aspects of Sufism. Malaysian Socialogical Research Institute LTD. Singapor, 1963), 5.

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from the Sufi mystics, so that Sufi mysticism spread throughout Malaya quickly and

efficiently. No force of arms, no cannons, no strong arming was needed, just empathy

and understanding163 164.

During the last age of Majapahit the Hindu king of Java conquered the Island

of Singapore, which was then inhabited by the Sultan Iskandar Shah, who was himself

a convert from Hinduism to Sufism. These Muslims who were forced out made a

Hijrah to a place called Malacca in the land which would come to be known as

Malaya. The Muslim’s, who founded Malaya there in Malacca, continued to prosper

until 1403 when shah of Malacca called for help against the Hindus from China. A

Chinese general sailed to Malacca with many Chinese junks in 1403. The general

organized the Shah’s troops, port, and shipping lines again murders. To honour the

many beloved generals the Shah dedicated a mosque in his name. It should be

mentioned that there have been Muslims in Malaya for century’s prier to the

establishment of the sultanate of Malacca. For example the first mention of Muslims

in Malaya takes place within the Serajah Malayu and these statements are taken from

the book of the elders. Note the continued use of traditional Malay rituals such as the

kettle drum ceremony which Winsted describes as an Amalgification of animism,

163 Once more the Malay magician sat at the feet of Indian teachers, this time as a student

of Muslim pantheism. To India have been traced the first use of the Sufi term fana for loss of the individual self in God, and the Sufi's acquaintance with the practice of "watching the breaths" as a means of worship. The Sufi legend of Ibrahim bin Adham, the hunter prince of Balkh who gave up his throne for the beggar's bowl, is modeled upon the story of Buddha. Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt , M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 75.

164 I have sons and have never kissed them, said a man who saw the prophet kissing his

grandson. The prophet looked at the man and said, He who has no compassion will receive none…. May his nose be rubbed with dust…. who found his parents, one or both, approaching old age and did not enter paradise by serving them…. Among the believers who shows the most perfect faith are those who possesses the best disposition and are kindest to their families….When a person spends time with his wife and children, it is counted as charity on his part….four things make happiness; a righteous wife, a spacious dwelling, an honest neighbor, and a pleasant mount….He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbor remains hungry by his side. Mohd. (PBBH), Sahih al-Bukhari, comp. Al-imam Zain udin Ahmad bin Abdul-Latif Az-Zubaidi, trlt. Dr. Muhammad Mushin Khan, Islamic University Al-Madina, Al-Munawwara, Saudia Arabia, Maktabar-us-Salam, 1994), 954.

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Hinduism and Sufi in its ritual165166.

Through the efforts of such scholars of Islamic sciences as Hamzah Fansuri,

Ibn Sinna, and, al-Bastami, Ibn Hayyan and others; these two cultures have each

developed a form of mystics who, as mystics and healers have come to be both

monotheist and healers who work for the good of their communities and for the divine

experience of gnosis in their own lives. These are men and woman who are on the

path of the murid167168. As we will see later in this paper, this is one of the primary

differences between Sufi mystics and the animist sorcerers; the Sufi mystic like his

wizard counterpart in Europe works for the good of the community and his spiritual

development while the sorcerer works his art for self gratification. This does not mean

that we will ignore the contribution to the development of mysticism in Malaysia by

165 ….plus the king the number thirty-two made up the number of Gods on mount metu, the

heaven of Indra. And the Malay God-king introduced from India to cure men of sickness and secure fertility for crops and herds often took the title of Indra (master magician and lord of weather) and had a hill, temple or place symbolizing Indra’s Hindu Olympus. Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt, M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 33.

166 So in java the séance of the shaman may well have preceded in harmonious relation

with the ritual of the folk priest and the cooperating Brahman….Metaphysics is intimately associated with knowledge, …transcendental knowledge ; and the deity with who communion is sought on a metaphysical plane is omniscient….affected by Oranic beliefs…such that it could be adapted to the devaraja religion, …as was the case even in the XIIth century Javanese Mahayanism…the bayon represents the central tower … metaphysics proved more readily assimilable in Champa and Java than in Cambodia. H.G. Qaritch Wales, Ph.D. Pre-history and religion in south east Asia, London, (Bernard Qaritch LTD, 11 Grafton street. 1957), 154-174.167

The process by whereby the soul enters the arch of ascent and undertakes the mystic Quest lies in techniques and methods of Sufism, which are centered upon the ability one has to concentrate….The first step is to seek a sheikh …for although there have been Sufis who have been initiated without a living spiritual master , it is very rare. (Known as uwaisi, most of these Sufis have been guided by the prophet Khizr, who corresponds to the biblical Elijah.) The purpose of the Shaykh is to cleanse the heart…. The power to bestow initiation comes from the prophet Muhammad….. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 23-24. 168

Seclusion and solitude should be viewed as states of both exterior and interior withdrawal. The exterior state of seclusion is when a man decides to withdraw himself from the world, imprisoning himself in a space away from other people, so that people in the world are saved from his undesirable character and existence. He also hopes that is so doing the source of his undesirable existence, his ego and the base desires of his flesh, will be separated from their daily nourishment and the satisfaction of things they are used to. Further, he hopes that this isolation will educate his ego and his appetites, permitting the development of his inner spiritual being. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 93.

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the animist. The animistic element will be examined first in order to set the order of

events leading up to the further development of Sufism in Malaysia.

The Islamic form of mysticism has influenced the popular form of mysticism in

the form of symbolic rituals, Islamic terminology and practices, which have been

adopted by the Khalwah formerly Dokun, the local Theurgist who view themselves as

both Thamaturgist and exorcist. It is important here to note that traditionally the term

Wali denoted a person of high rank in the path of Willayah and was initiated with

reference to Khidr. The Malay Khalwah see here may or may not have held that rank

dependant on the individual case, however in most cases the common term has come

to mean one who is at one both a mystic and an exorcist who exhibits aspects of both

the animistic healer and the Islamic mystic in training169170171.

169 Among normal men some believe in prophets in general, but some others believe in

specific paths of knowledge taught by prophets. In general, anything or everything, which is revealed from God to all the prophets are ultimately true....The person who learns and applies the things he learns from the prophets and also has Iman [note here the Malay word for Iman denotes faith] are not punished by God because they are naive of the last prophetic teachings. Furthermore their nearness to all is incomplete or at a lower station [as in the case of the Sarbians or Magi]. Whosoever learns the teachings of the prophets and believes, and then applies these his Iman is complete. There are two types of Wali of Allah. The first is he who knows wisdom but doesn’t apply it, yet is still called Wali because he has Iman. The second are those men who learn, believe and apply all the above. It is for this reason that heaven has different levels….Surah al Isra’ vs 18-21….Allah’s gifts are not only limited to those who do good deeds, but also are extended to those who sin. The difference is between those who indulge in a materialistic lifestyle and those who live a non-materialistic life style. Those who choose to live a non-materialistic lifestyle are at a higher spiritual station than those who indulge in materialism. For example: the difference between prophets and non-prophets or Wali.…Surah al Bakarah vs 2:253….Sahih al Bukhari, narrated abu Huraiah….Al hadid vs 10, an nisa vs 95-96, azzumar vs 9, al- mujadalah vs 11, Ibn Tammiya, Wali Al-Rah’man; Wali-Shayton. Trans. Franz Von Hofler, and Muktar, Nurussaddah. Trans. Malay to English from: Ibnu Taimiyah, (karakteristik wali allah wali, ramadhani, (solo publishing, solo Indonesia, 1989), p. 13-14.

170 He is the vicregent of God (Khallifat’allah) on earth, to use the Islamic term,

responsible to God for his actions, and the custodian and protector of the earth ...that he remain faithful to himself as the central terrestrial figure created in the “form” of God”, a theomorphic being living in this world but created for eternity. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein.. Knowledge and the Sacred. (The Gifford Lectures, Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), p.160.

171 Nature is the collector, which means the state is that that which collects all opposites

is Nature because Nature is one reality by virtue of its matter and different things by virtue of its particularizations and images. Consequently Nature accepts the determination of oppositions over the images because it collects in itself the opposites through their realities, and in oppositions it is the same as the opposite but it does not collect in itself the opposites with the particularization of oppositions in the image in particularized matter….the one Being of the Haqq is manifested in the different mirrors and is varied in places of reflection of the a’yan and receives the totality of the determinations of the

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By the end of the conversion period the Malay Islamic sages in the orthodox

sense belonged to the Malay community and had a traditional understanding of herbs,

healing arts, exorcism, Arabic language, the Shariah of Islam, Islamic science,

including but not limited to philosophy, mathematics, and all areas of traditional Sufis.

I would like to go into a bit more detail in explaining that the centralized

ambition of all Muslims which operates at the center of their life and for their

betterment, which is, mentioned in Surah al-Fatihah. That is that the centrality of

Surat al mustakim “the life of the strait path” and all the aspects of asking Allah to

guide your life on the road to realization is the devotional lifestyle which lies central

to all ambitions of a Muslim. This is exemplified in the act of prayer 5 times a day by

Muslims172.

The ritual of prayer is not only a matter of prayer. The act of prayer is in

reality a three fold miracle. This miracle is something, which cannot be seen as simply

a robotic action. When people perform prayer as a robotic action they are not praying

but they are only going through the ritual motions. True prayer is:

The act in which you are standing in the prayer is an act of becoming the

vertical connection between God and all of creation, man as the Viceregent of Allah

has been given the opportunity to represent all of nature. This is a special thing.

When man is in the position of sujud, he is in the position of being in complete

a’yan, by this aspect the Haqq is khalq. Thus, with the eye of vision look at it…by this aspect, he referes to the words: He is one image in different mirrors. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al-Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn arabi(Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996),354-358.

172 Five times a day, at specific times, prayer is ordained for every adult and able

Muslim. This is ordered by Allah: guard the prayers, especially the middle prayer..... (Sura Baqara, 238) Ritual worship consists of standing, reciting from the Qur’an, bowing, prostrating, kneeling and audibly repeating certain prayers. These movements and actions involving the members of the body, recitations spelled out and heard involving the senses, are the worship of the material self. Because these actions of the material self are multiple and are repeated many times in each of the five prayers during the day, the first part of the order of Allah, Guard the prayers, is in the plural. Hadarat abdul Qadir al jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti, p. 73.

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communion with Allah, at this point all the emphasis is between him and her with God

alone. This is due to the act sujud creates the most humble of acts of submission to the

lord of all creation. The special bond between maker and creation is realized in a

most pure and beautiful embrace, like the holding of a newborn child by its mother,

the supplicant is in the embrace of his beloved Allah, in solitary communion. To

demean such a beautiful moment as being nothing more than ritual is an extremely

narrow way of interpreting this event. In fact, no other event could be as mystical and

miraculous as the Islamic prayer173174175, when the niyyah and action come together in

complete mystical union of the Muslim and his Lord, the vertical connection

mystically creates a link to the heavenly dimension and the connecting of the soul in

sujud creates a spiritual link of unknown proportions deeply felt and profoundly

understood in the heart and mind. Thus we see the most mystical and miraculous of all

the Islamic rituals, as well as the more beautiful of the heart. Prayer is the rose of

Islamic life. The five times of prayer remarkably reflect the five astrological

conjunctions of the cosmos in relation to the times when man comes before the creator

173 Seest thou not that God whose praises all beings in heavens and on earth celebrate,

and the birds with wings outspread each one knows its own mode of prayer and praise. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary. Surah 2:285, Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Surah 24:41, 427. 174

True worship is the worship of the heart. If own's heart is heedless of true worship, the ritual prayer of the material self is in disorder. When this happens, the peace of the material self that one hopes to obtain from ritual prayer is not realized. That is why the Prophet says, 'Ritual worship is only possible with a quiet heart'. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 3.

175 The man who knows must be aware that the child of the spirit which is born in his

heart is the meaning of true humanity: that is the true human being. He should educate the child of the heart, teaching unity through constantly being aware of unity – leaving this world of matter and of multiplicity, seeking the spiritual world, the world of mysteries, where there is none other than the Essence of Allah. In reality there is no other place but that place, which has no end, no beginning. IBID, 30.

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of the cosmos176177178. This is of direct significance to the act of prayer, not only as a

ritual, and spiritual experience179, but also as a reminder of the relationship between

men as Viceregent, the cosmos as the Qur’an of creation and the prayer and its

connection to divine revelation. Therefore the conjunction of all of these elements

makes the five prayers of each day or elliptical cycle the ideal times of day for

communing with the ultimate reality of the lord of all creation180. Prayer and ritual are

central to relating spiritually to Tawhid, the oneness of Allah, and central to Tawhid is

the very lord of creation himself Allah ta’ala.

Typically these Islamic Mystics or Khalwah make use of the traditional modes

of Malay healing and apply Islamic methods in line with the use of the 4 elements, the

hierarchy of Nature in the Sufi sense, and various other tools for the expulsion of

176 The...gnostic and theologian Syyid Hadar Amuli, made no reservations in pointing to

the correspondences existing between the “Muhammadan” pleroma of seventy two stars of the islamic universe and the seventy two stars of the pleroma comprised of those sages who had preserved their primordial nature but belonged to the world outside of the specifically Islamic one. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein.. Knowledge and the Sacred. (The Gifford Lectures, Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 72.

177 The purpose of the creation of this universe is to discover, to see that hidden treasure. Allah says

through His Prophet, 'I was a hidden treasure, I willed to be known. I created the creation so that I would be known.' That is to say, that He would be known in this material world through His attributes manifested in His creation.IBID, 53.178

The multiplicity of sacred forms has been used as an excuse to reject all sacred forms, as well as scientia sacra which lies behind and beyond these forms.....For an intelligence which has been illuminated by the intellect and a knowledge which is already blessed with the perfume of the sacred sees in multiplicity of sacred forms, not contradiction which relativise, but a confirmation of the universality of the truth and the infinite creative power of the real that unfolds its inexhaustible possibilities in worlds of meaning which, although different, all reflect the unique Truth. IBID, 281.

179 As for the higher level of spiritual transformation it requires intensive training and disciplining or controling of the self. Thus, the rational soul must watch over the animal soul (murÉqabah) to ensure that the duties assigned to oneself are carried out. It also entails self-examination (muÍÉsabah), to ob-serve whether the Qur’Én, to attain the knowledge of God pertaining to His Creation, His reality and truth, has carried out these duties in the prescribed way. All this involves deep meditation (tafakkur) and brings about the gradual realization in the self of other virtues of a higher spiritual level, such as re -pentance (tawbah), patience (Îabr), gratitude (shukr), hope (rajÉ’), fear (khawf), divine unity (tawÍÊd), trust (tawakkul), and finally the highest virtue for the attainment of happiness in this life, love of God (maÍabbah), Dr. Fatima Abdullah, ISTAC, sem. II, 2008, from ( al-kahf 18;74, Maryam 19;19, al-shams 91;10 al-nÉziÑÉt,78;18, al-AÑlÉ, 87;14.

180 This paragraph was composed in cooperation with Dr. Fatimah Abdullah.

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wayward spirits and heal the sick etc. These techniques can be seen in classical Malay

books on Healing with herbs that developed at the end of this period.

However one of the most important differences in the popular mystic or

Khalwah and the Orthodox Sufi Mystic is that the “True” Hakim works for the good

of the Ummah and for the enlightenment of the Ummah. He sees himself as non-

existent except in the oneness of Allah to which all belong, come from and return to

upon death. It is not this world and the riches and joys of the nafs which interest him,

but the Akhira or the next life with Allah which he strives for181182.

For centuries Sufi wise men and saints have constantly strove to perfect

themselves in the cause of Allah and for the sake of their souls’ deliverance from evil.

They strove to improve their Ummah and to teach using all of the tools you have seen

above. The difference between a practitioner of Islamic science or Sufism and a Sufi

Mystic or Mystic is only the difference in added emphases upon Islamic medicine and

healing as a secondary role to the Sufi way of life on the road to enlightenment. When

we approach the study of the Malay Khalwah and his progression toward ascension

we will be approaching it from a variety of vantage points including:

181 Physical ecstasy is a product of the ego. It does not give one any spiritual satisfaction. It is under the

influence of the sense. Often it is hypocritical, occurring so that others see or hear about it. This kind of ecstasy is totally devoid of value still thinks that he can do, that he can choose. It is not good to give any importance to such experiences. Spiritual ecstasy, however, is a totally different state, a state caused by the overflow of spiritual energy. Ordinarily, exterior influences – such as a beautifully recited poem, or the Qur’an chanted by a beautiful voice, or the excitement brought on by the ceremony of remembrance of the Sufis – may cause this spiritual elevation. This happens because at such moments the physical resistance of the being is obliterated. The will, the ability of the mind to choose and to decide, is overcome. When the powers of both the body and the mind are undermined, the ecstatic state is purely spiritual. To go along with that kind of experience is beneficial to one. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 90.

182 ….and it is the same for Viceregents [ViceregentViceregents] from among men. Their height through being Viceregent [ViceregentViceregent] is not an essential height. Had it been otherwise it would have been for all men and as this is not general we have known that in this height the height is for position,….and in respect to being he is the same as all beings, and things which are named as latter things are high by their essence. And God, by virtue of being, is the same as the things that are, which is high by its essenceis the ame as the being of God. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al-Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn arabi(Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 336.

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The role of Thaumaturgist in Malay culture as chief healer of the Malay

mosque

The development of the Khalwah as a student of the Sufi Wali

The development as seen my Campbell’s hero journeys and Mono-myth

The final development of Wali Songo

In the study of the science of Theurgy we will see that there are three primary

considerations as to who can practice it, and how is this possible, and weather it is

allowable to practice it within monotheism?

In answer to the first questions we can see clearly and conclusively, that

Theurgy in its uncontaminated form as practiced by theurgist is practiced only by

those persons who have achieved the union of the energies upper soul with its origins.

That is to say that those individuals such as saints, sages, and prophets who have come

to a point of development in their station were God has allotted to them the divine

light183184185186. This fact is based upon the idea that, man as the microcosm of Allah

183 And whoever repents and believes and works righteous deeds, Allah changes his evil

deeds into good ones, and Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Merciful Sura Furqan, 70. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 34.184

When the attributes of darkness lift, light takes its place, and the one with the eye of the soul sees. He recognises what he sees with the light of the Names of divine attributes. Then he himself is flooded by light and becomes light. These lights are still veils hiding the light of the divine Essence, but the time comes when they too are drawn back, leaving only the light of the divine Essence itself. IBID, 56.185

What is left is a pure and absolute light. There is nothing to know beyond it. That is the realm of self-annihilation. There is no longer a mind to give any news. There is not one else but Allah to whom to give news. Our Master the Prophet describes it, saying, 'I have a time when I am so close to Allah that no one, neither an angel nor a messenger nor a prophet. IBID, 77.

186 The physical radiance of the sage, of the one delivered through gnosis, is a reflection of the physical plane of the light of sacred knowledge itself. Realized knowledge resides in the heart. Which is the pinnacle of both the mind and the body. It is a light which inundates the whole being of man removing from him the veil of ignorance and clothing him in the robe of resplendent luminosity which is the substance of that knowledge itself. As the prophet said, “knowledge is light” (al-‘ilmu nur), and realized knowledge cannot be the realization of that light which not only illuminates the mind but also beatifies the soul and irradiates the body while, from the operative point of view, realization itself as its necessary and preliminary condition the training of the body and soul, a training, which prepares the human microcosm for the reception of the “victorial light” of sacred knowledge. Syyed Hossain Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred,(Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 311.

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has within him the attributes of the divine names and is capable of enacting various

forms of terrestrial in a manner which appears to be a “bringing of something

empirical into existence” or changing it187188189. From the typical modern science or

secular science perspective, the abilities and karamat of the Khalwah are impossible.

Yet Dr. Carl Gustav Jung’s views on synchronicity and quantum physics both seem to

support the Islamic science view of thaumaturgy.

Theurgy comes from the Greek words for the practice of rituals; these are

rituals which are done in order to bring about something which is wondrous, such as

to bring rain when needed for a farm or money for a poor family to help them eat. Or

in other words to make something exist or change its appearance or take away

something harmful such as a illness or suffering. Theurgy is sometimes seen as

magical, this action is often performed with the intention of invoking the assistance of

one God, although it can also be used to describe polytheist rituals. This is especially

true for those mystics and occultist who seek uniting with God, or reaching Gnosis,

187 ….and it is the same for Viceregents [ViceregentViceregents] from among men. Their height through being Viceregent [ViceregentViceregent] is not an essential height. Had it been otherwise it would have been for all men and as this is not general we have known that in this height the height is for position,….and in respect to being he is the same as all beings, and things which are named as latter things are high by their essence. And God, by virtue of being, is the same as the things that are, which is high by its essenceis the ame as the being of God. p. 336 Fusus al Hikam.

188 Analysis of al-Tawhid as essence, i.e., as the first determining principle of Islam, its

culture and civilization, Al tawhid is that which gives Islamic civilization its identity,….it recast them so as to harmonize with and mutually support other elements. Without necessarily changing their natures, the essence transforms the elements making up a civilization, giving them their new character as constitutive of that civilization….’ilm al tawhid subsumed under it the disciplines of logic, epistemology, metaphysics and ethics… Al Faruqi, Ismail Raji. Al-Tawhid: its Implications for thought and life., (International Institute of Islamic thought. Herndon. Virginia. U.S.A., 1992), 17.

189 To be a recipient of divine manifestation and to have contact with the spirit of our

Master the Prophet one must be taught and educated and brought to a certain spiritual level. The seeker who has just entered the spiritual path cannot hope to be able to relate Allah Most High or to His Prophet without an intermediary. He must first be prepared and educated by a teacher who’s close to them. Between a pure teacher who is close to Allah an dour Master the Prophet there is a relationship which transcends the physical. If the Prophet were alive one could take knowledge directly form him and there would be no need of an intermediary. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 113.

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and perfecting themselves spiritually.

As used among the priest of Greek Orthodox Christianity, there are many

rituals which use Thaumaturgy, and this is not seen as using Sorcery, but rather as

drawing wonderus affect do to the divine power of God through making a ritualistic

devotion to him through symbolic gestured, incantations, prostrations and the use of

illustrative symbolism both particular and universal, which when employed will open

the door to Gods grace for those in need. In Jewish Theurgy we see a pattern very

similar to that of the Islamic system of Thaumaturgy employed by Sufi Khalwah190191.

Their concept of the Universe is a series of emanations from God, Similar to

Islamic Angelology. These are called the 10 Serphirot. The name of Keter, their

highest Serphirot is no accident, in that it is similar to Khidr, and that is because

cabbalists believe that when Khidr or keter as they call him was carried to heaven by

Allah he was transformed into the angel Metron, and thus became the leader of the

Angels called Serphirot. the Cabbalist teachings avoid total shirk through seeing their

Serphirot not as Gods to be prayed to, but as symbolic motifs of ascension similar to

the Tantric Yantras illustrated in Kundalini alone the chakra points, a pattern called

the Tree of Life by both systems. However their system lacks the understanding of 190 God is proved only as the level of those who have vision, because whatever was possible for Solomon to bring about through hokum and tasarruf is the effects of the fact that God subjugated the high universe to him. And the causes of these tasarrufs is through God’s making him know what to do….God mentiones also concerning Khidr by saying:’we gave him rahmah from us and made him know the knowledge of our ladun.’….the Compassionate Beutytude [is] ….divided into two….one division is temporary, and the other is non-temperary. The temporary one is particulary to the happy ones in this world, which allows them to be victorious in aims, according to their resolve during the dominace of states and times. God united the two happynesses for Solomon….the happiness of and the Compassionate Beutytude of Solomon is not temporary, but rather it is of eternal predication. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al-Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn arabi(Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 762.

191 …The story of moses: for he was speacially chosen ….and we called him from the

right of mount (sinai), and made him draw near to us, for mystic (converse)….and we raised him to a lofty station….the signs of (God) Most Gracious were rehersed to them….such is the garden which we give as an inheritance to those of our servants who guard against evil… Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary. Surah 2:285, Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), 370-371.

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Islamic theories of emanations to completion due to their lack of identification of the

empirical world with the Holy Spirit or the Nur of Muhammad as the life giving force

which Allah created before time and used to make mans soul (originating of course

ultimately from his own life force)192. Neo-Platonism also comes close in thaumaturgy

to Islamic mysticism, however again contains origins in the Pre-Monotheist

philosophies and mysteries of ancient Greece, until cleansed by Plotinus’s

reexamination and classification of "the one" as the only God. The question arises

after reviewing several systems of religious philosophy and tradition, all of which

make use of thaumaturgy and Theurgy, is there a difference between the two? The

answer is yes and no.

Correct in general this illustrates clearly the way in which the shaman adapted

the ways of Sufism. However the mislabeling of Sufism as pantheism is a common

mistake of western scientist and academics of the Orientalist or secularist viewpoint.

The Fuqua of Sufism has always been the kindest and most learned among the various

Islamic groups, primarily because they see the heart as one of the most important

aspects of Islam and as being the key to seeing truth. This they call “the eye of the

heart” like the third eye of Hinduism, the eye of the heart sees spiritually, into the

spiritual truth as well as into the metaphysical manifestations of the natural realm. The

miracles of nature are revealed to the Sufi mystic in the form of geometrical,

mathematical, and metaphysical manifestations in nature. all of which have a bases in

the Qur’an, for example, the cow, the thunder, the bees, the jinn, the ants, the spider,

the smoke, the sun, all these sections of Qur’an (and many more) make reference to

192 Four thousand years after the creation of the light of Muhammad, Allah created the

Heavenly Throne ('arsh') from the light of the eye of Muhammad. He created the rest of creation from the Heavenly Throne. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), p. 6.

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the symbols in nature and their powerful meaning to man as the microcosm of al

Tawhid193.

As the Viceregent of this natural world and the one who understands in

the mind all the miracles and the signs in the natural world, it the responsibility of

man to be the protector of their fellow man, the forest, and the animals and to care for

the trust which Allah has given him, the sacred trust of his garden194195. What is Sufi

mysticism? Fist let us define mysticism, as opposed to plain low sorcery.

I would add to this the fact that a mystic is not concerned with low magic or as

Frazier puts it “sympathetic magic” at all. In fact the Sufi mystic seeks to heal others

as a doctor of Islamic medicine, to uncover the signs of al Tawhid in nature, to protect

those who cannot protect themselves from malevolent spirits, to show other the ways

in which Allah is one, and ultimately to Wilaya, to find union with the divine. Further

more a Sufi is a Muslim who seeks to explore natural science and the existence of

Nature in the metaphysical as well as the physical sense, in order to find gnosis with

Allah196.

Therefore when all of these elements are combined we find that the Sufi

193 It is through symbols that one is awakened; it is through symbols that one is

transformed; and it is through symbols that one expresses. Symbols are realities contained within the nature of things. The entire journey to God is a journey in symbols, in which one is constantly aware of the higher reality within things. Symbols reflect both divine transcendence and divine eminence; they refer to both the universal aspect of creation and the particular aspect of tradition. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 25. 194

Seest thou not that God whose praises all beings in heavens and on earth celebrate, and the birds with wings outspread each one knows its own mode of prayer … Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary Surah, 24:41,Surah 2:285, Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), 425. 195

The Qur’an itself speaks of each animal species as an Ummah (religious community) implying that God has promulgated a law for each species of being. The Qur’an also speaks of each creature as possessing its own nature. The goal of Islamic science is to know the true nature of things as given by God. Osman Bakar, Tawhid and Science, (Penang & Nurin Enterprises, 40 Jalan Kemuja, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1991), 74.196

The goal of Islamic Science is to know the true nature of things…to demonstrate the unity of the “laws of nature” as a reflection of the unity of the divine principle….Muslims who submitted to the divine law which God had promulgated. IBID, 69-70.

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mystic, appears as a man of very high moral character, who seeks direct knowledge of

the divine through exploration of Nature, including the realm of metaphysics or the

subtle, especially in respect to the Divine and angelic realms, he dedicates his life to

the spiritualism of Islam and the philosophies of Islamic science. This is done in order

to find the ultimate power of the oneness of Allah, and with the powers then bestowed

upon him by God; he goes into the world to protect, teach and help others on their

journey to God. This is the definition of a Sufi mystic197. Having seen the definition of

a Sufi Mystic we must ask ourselves; how does this differ from other Muslims and

Sufi’s? The Sufi mystic takes a view of Nature, drawn from Islamic Science and uses

it to make contact with nature, including the Qur’an of creation, to see within it the

symbolic truths which have eluded him in written form. The Sufi Mystic engages the

moving dynamic of Tawhid in search of the direct knowledge of ‘The One’, From the

perspective of the Islamic Thaumaturgist merely studying Sufism is not the end of the

road for the Sufi mystic; as a ritualistic specialist who belongs to a Mystico-magical

world view he must go directly to the Qur’an of creation and see for himself the

glories of Allah’s creation and learn all the secrets there for him198. In the case of

197 ...[the Wali] In his spiritual being, hidden behind his appearance, each person is

different. Therefore special private laws apply to him....Rising from level to level he may reach the stage of the spiritual path, passing into the realm of wisdom, 'There is a very high state. The prophet [PBBH] prases this state, saying, ' There is a state in which all and everything is gathered - and it is the divine wisdom.'....To reach that level, one first has to abandon false appearances and the hypocrisy of doing things so that others might see or hear. Then one must set for ones self three goals. These three goals are actually three paradises. The first is called Ma 'wa - the paradise of security of home. That is the earthly paradise. The second is called Na' im - the garden of the delight of Allah’s grace upon his creatures, which is the paradise within the angelic realm. The third is Firdaws - the heavenly paradise. That is the paradise in the realm of the unity of the cusual mind, home of souls, of the divine names and attributes…. Ibn Tammiya, Wali Al-Rah’man; Wali-Shayton. Trans. Franz Von Hofler, and Muktar, Nurussaddah. Trans. Malay to English from: Ibnu Taimiyah, (karakteristik wali allah wali, ramadhani, (solo publishing, solo Indonesia, 1989), 13-14.

198 In vesting the wurid with the patched frock, Sufism has preserved the old symbolism of garments: by donning a garment that has been worn, or even touched, by the blessed hands of a master, the disciple gains some of the baraka, the mystic-magical power of the sheik….The khirqa-yi irada, is bestowed upon him only by his true spiritual master, who is responsible for his progress….. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1975), 102

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distinguishing him from the sorcerer, it is quite clear, that the use of any material

objects which a Sufi mystic may posses in the act of healing, exorcism, or any other

act of charity, that, these ritual tools are always inscribed with Qur’an or of a non-Pre-

Monotheistic forms.. True Sufi mystics find the most Valuable tool in their

metaphysical battles with the powers of darkness to be the Holy Qur’an.

Mystics perform exorcisms, heal people, help disseminate knowledge to others,

and protect those who cannot protect themselves fro the aspects of the unseen which

have gone astray, they are the protectors of mankind and animals and are in my

opinion the most noble of Allah servants dedicating their lives to being the guardians

of the weak. Because of this enormously intricate situation, the understanding of and

investigation into the use of Al-Batin’s God the Mystical is the second most important

of all of Allah’s names to me and is necessary for the balance of natural forces via the

assistance of Allah directly, as a way of understanding the assistance of the angelic

realm, and it’s use in gaining understanding into mystical alchemy.199 The statement

by Ibn Tammiya proves that, the importance of Al-Batin and that the role of Allah as

lord of the unseen is of great importance to the natural world, both in the seen and

unseen. Furthermore, it is not only advised but it is “Required” as one of the five

Pillars of Islam that all Muslims believe in the “Hidden/Unseen” meaning the

existence of Angels and Jinn, and more importantly, the Hidden aspects of Allah

himself al Al-Batin and any other aspect of the Divine essence which exist.

Knowledge of the hidden truths of Allah are known as Ilm al Batin; these are the

199 The material world, also called the gross world, is immediately enclosed and

dominated by the psychic domain, also referred to as the subtle world. These two worlds together form the domain of nature. And it is the angelic world which governs all natural laws in both the subtle and gross domains. Osman Bakar, Tawhid and science:Islamic Perspectives on Religion and Science, second edition, (ArahPublications, Sha Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, 2008), 21.

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mysteries of the Islamic Mystic200201202.

The realm of Divine essence is the highest real within the metaphysical realms

and it therefore of utmost importance to the eye of the heart and the belief in Allah as

the ultimate and perfected God of all creation. As noted above Islamic science studies

through the use of the Falsafah or philosophy, scientific examination of life sciences

the relationship to be found between nature and God. That nature is simply this that

God can and is revealed in the form of symbols to be found in nature and symbols

which point the way to God by representing aspects of nature. God is only eluded to

200 ....one needs knowledge that comes from the hidden realms, a knowledge which

overflows with the divine consciousness: ...whom We had taught knowledge of Our divine Presence. (Surah kahf, 65)....Such a teacher who inculcates knowledge into one has to be close to Allah and able to see into the Ultimate Realm....[Allah prefers] Those who spend in ease as well as in adversity and those who restrain [their] anger and pardon men. And Allah loves the doers of good [to others].....and put our inner being in order through acquiring wisdom. Ibn Tammiya, Wali Al-Rah’man; Wali-Shayton. Trans. Franz Von Hofler, and Muktar, Nurussaddah. Trans. Malay to English from: Ibnu Taimiyah, (karakteristik wali allah wali, ramadhani, (solo publishing, solo Indonesia, 1989), Surah Al Imran, 133-34, p. 8-9.

201 The isolation proceeds from all that is worldly becoming nothing. It is only then that

you will receive the divine attributes. That is what our Master the Prophet means when he says, 'Adorn yourself with the divine disposition'. Purify yourself, submerging yourself in the divine attributes. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), p. 78.

202 By virtue of this there is no height by qualification in the universe, however, there are

superior aspects of being…..there is no height of attribution in the universe. all height is essential because the images which are numerous in existence are only the revelations and manifestations of the one existent in mirrors of non-existent a’yan. Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Ismail bursevi transl., Ibn Sina And Mysticism: remarks and Admonisions: part four, (Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 338.

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or inferred to via symbols203204205. Since the divine perfection of Allah cannot be seen,

cannot be explained and cannot in any way be comprehended directly by humans, it is

therefore necessary for humans to look to him through using symbols as a way of

viewing his attributes and continuing on a road of contemplation toward the final goal

of gnosis or perfection of cleansing which will lead to the realization of standing in

the divine light of his divine essence, which some choose to call enlightenment. While

there exist with Sufism a school of gnosis, for whom this is the primary focus of all

activities, not all schools of Sufism use the same methods to discovering the divine.

Furthermore the role of Islamic Science it to uncover and present the truths associated

with the divine and his relationship to Nature. It is therefore the role of individual

seekers and their brotherhoods to find the path which is best for them.

203 Universal (or natural) symbols are symbols as they appear in the nature of things.

They are primordial to mankind, and in this sense they are trans-cultural. Particular symbols, or even particular interpretations of universal symbols, differ according to the various traditions. They are sensible or intelligible forms consecrated by God through revelation to become vehicles of Divine grace. They posses , in a sense , the theophanic light which confers a dimension of transcendence on the particular tradition in which they are revealed….Abu Bakr Siraj al-Din tells us, ‘is a Divine name, recalled, remembered, invoked in an upward aspiration towards the truth. The firms set root of the Tree is the [zikr, invocation], itself uttered with firm set purpose. The heaven reaching branches represent the tremendous import of the [invocation] as it passes upwards through the whole of the universe ; and the fruit of the Tree is the reality in whose remembrance the invocation is performed. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), p. 27. 204

Nature is the collector, which means the state is that that which collects all opposites is Nature because Nature is one reality by virtue of its matter and different things by virtue of its particularizations and images. Consequently Nature accepts the determination of oppositions over the images because it collects in itself the opposites through their realities, and in oppositions it is the same as the opposite but it does not collect in itself the opposites with the particularization of oppositions in the image in particularized matter….the one Being of the Haqq is manifested in the different mirrors and is varied in places of reflection of the a’yan and receives the totality of the determinations of the a’yan, by this aspect the Haqq is khalq. Thus, with the eye of vision look at it…by this aspect, he referes to the words: He is one image in different mirrors., Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al-Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn arabi(Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 354-358.

205 To the Sufi, creative expression which results from participation mystique – that is, a

state of being one with nature, although not conscience of the Divine presence – is an expression of one vision of self within self. It is an expression which is not reflective, not polished, not aware of the total possibilities inherent in the nature of things … The reflective surface now reflects something which is contained, a spirit which is not only one’s own. This is the spirit universal to all things: to the Sufi, it is the ’desire’ which exist within things’ to be known’. …. By blowing or chanting the Divine names upon the form to be transformed, the creative process of the breath, which contains the Divine Presence through a name, transforms the object in hand. The creator participates as active agent and the object participates as passive recipient. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 26.

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The growth and development of Islamic science as a more open minded and

more thorough form of scientific investigation of Nature from the dawn of time until

the present age; which has used by the followers of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

with the aid of the Falsafah has inevitably led to the development of a far more

thorough form of scientific investigation. When examining the work of Ibn Farabi,

Ibn Sina, Ibn Arabi and many other Islamic scientist we find that every field of study

which is of relevance to Muslims and non-Muslims has been thoroughly examined

using Islamic science in a more thorough and broad minded type of science (including

examination into the unseen realm of the natural world, e.g. the world of jinn, the

angelic realm and the realm of the Divine essence). Having said this, we find that the

bases of Islamic Science which, has always been the Holy Qur’an, the Qur’an of

Nature and the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH). Through using these sources we see

then that it is also clear Islamic Science is not only thorough but also very Islamic in

its approach to scientific examination into natural phenomenon. This is not to say that

it is exclusively the property of Muslims but it is also the great assistance to those who

are also non-Muslims. How is this so? Because of the fact that Pre-Islamic religions

maintain some roots or remnants of Islamic truth and are in fact degenerated forms of

cosmological theory with Islamic bases from the Pre-Islamic prophets of God,

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sometimes referred to as the Primordial Religious Tradition 206207208. Therefore Islamic

Science is for everyone, and since it is stated in the Holy Qur’an that all creatures

(including man) are born Muslim, then Islamic or Muslim Science is for all of

creation209. Therefore Islamic Science is the most accurate term for the exploration of

Nature. Furthermore those who choose to discriminate against Islamic Science

through the misinterpretation of Fiqua’s, which differ, from their own can profit

greatly from utilizing Islamic Science to examine their own misconceptions of the

Sunnah. Every aspect of Nature can be found in man as a microcosm of the creation,

every element and aspect of elements that exist within creation can be seen in man.

While man is not the centre of all, this is for Allah alone as the perfected un-manifest

perfection from which all else comes and returns; man is the centre of the empirical

world, the Viceregent (ruler and care taker) of the empirical world with all rights and

responsibilities of that station.

The Tawhidic worldview ascension

206 ....they forget their promise, they forget their source, their way to return

home;....Many messengers have come to this world,….Say: This is My way. I call to Allah with sincerity of, insight - I and those who follow me... (Surah Yusuf, 108) ' My companions are like the stars in the sky. Which ever of them you follow, you will find the true path. Ibn Tammiya, Wali Al-Rah’man; Wali-Shayton. Trans. Franz Von Hofler, and E. Matondang, Malay to English from: Ibnu Taimiyah, (karakteristik wali allah wali, ramadhani, (solo publishing, solo Indonesia, 1989), 7-8.

207 The Islamic intellectual tradition….saw…in the teachings of the ancient prophets going back to Adam….[truth]Plato…Pythagoreans…influenced certain schools of Sufism is associated, and others with the primordial wisdom associated with prophecy. Syyed Hossain Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred,(Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 72. 208

The attraction of Renaissance man for the quest of origins and the “primordial Tradition” that caused Ficino to put aside the traslation of plato for the Corpus Hermeticum, which was then considered as more ancient and primordial, an attraction which also became part of the world view and zeitgiest of the ninteenth century, has caused much confusion in the question of the meaning of “primordial tradition” in its relation to various religions. Syyed hossain Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred, (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 69. 209

Islamic intellectual authorities….were fully aware of….the subject of knowledge…the sciences [were] derived not only from Qur’an and Hadith, but also developed by Islamic scientist and….earlier civilizations such as those of the Greeks, Persians, and Indians. Osman Bakar, Classification of knowledge in Islam, (International Institute of Thought and Civilization, (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur, 2006), xii.

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Thus far we have examined the many ways in which men in the Germanic and Malay

peoples have sought out, examined, interacted with and done everything in their

power to find the ultimate power, “God”; we have examined the esoteric and the

exoteric with all their sub categories, we have seen Joseph Campbell’s theory of the

mono-myth in the ‘heroes journey’, now let use examine the path to esoteric

knowledge of divine love produced by Sufism. I call it the last step in the ‘heroes’

ascension. To ascend to God from the view of Sufism, a person must undertake a life

long journey, a journey which, in similarity with Dr. Campbell’s journey, requires tat

we go through stages of development, hardship, sacrifice, and self introspection.

However in Sufism there is a final stage, a stage which I believe wasn’t covered in

depthly enough in Dr. Campbell’s system and that is the stage of gnosis at the end of

the long journey. Many faiths around the world have produced their own conceptions

of the divine ascension, and certainly Islam is not the only religion which believes it’s

truth to be the ultimate. Thtae station of Wali however is not a stage which is

concerned with distinctions of that sort, it is a stage were states of spiritual

consciousness go beyond the analytical and become dependant upon ascetic love of

the divine itself. One in which the aspirant must realize that the only thing which truly

separates him in any way from the divine is his ego; the false sense of separateness.

An important matter which we should make clear here, which is central to our

examination is that spiritual states and spiritual stations are not the same in Sufism.

The states which may have been reached by the Khalwah were temporary states of

ahwal which were gained through his undertaking the journey towards the path of the

Wali his sheik. Those who appropriated similar spiritual powers through the

intermediary energies of jinn were not Khalwah they were sorcerers and do not satisfy

the requirements of the Khalwah thaumaturgist. While they are generally termed

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theurgist, their Theurgy is not in any way in the purified state of the Khalwah who had

learned to elevate his intention through the study of Sufism and the polishing of the

heart by serving the community and practicing asceticism in the Islamic manner.

Furthermore the elevated station of the Malay Wali was farther still along the road of

Willayah. The states in which accidental spiritual powers occur appears early in the

journey of stations for the Khalwah and was a necessary part of his journey toward

becoming a Wali. However the Malay mystic who had already achieved the state of

perfection was a Wali and no Wurid who has not yet achieved that station could claim

to be a Wali. In fact he would not claim any title for himself, nor would he exhibit his

Karamat for fear of hubris210211.The stages of the hero’s journey or ‘hero’s ascension’

as we have termed it here is for the Sufi adept as follows. The gateway, this is the start

of the journey, the place in which the Wurid decides to leave the world and its

attachment and begin the road of Willayah. the doors, this is the stage were the adept

or Wurid has to decide which path is appropriate to his disposition as a human being,

and that he can travel with the most advantageous chance of success. There are many

possible ways of reaching gnosis, however for the purpose of brevity we will only

mention two here: these two main ways are either the way of philosophy or intellect,

and the second is the way of the esoteric mystic through symbolism and asceticism.

Quit obviously the Khalwah has chosen the second of these two doors, while the Wali

has attained knowledge of both.

210 ….and God will conferm (and establish) his Signs….a trial for those in whos hearts is a disease and are hardened of heart: verly wrong doers are in schism far (from the truth) : and that those on whom knowledge has been bestowed may learn that the (Qur’an) is the truth from thy Lord. And their hearts may be made humbly (open) to it: for verily God is the guide of those who believe. Surah Al Hajj, The Holy Qur’an, p. 406. Abdullah Yusuf Ali.

211 There is no 'I' left other than the only existence, which is the truth. Although t all

manner of miracles have come through him to prove this state, he has nothing to do with them. In his state there is no disclosure of secrets, because divulging the secret of divinity is infidelity. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 17.

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The encounter of the perfect inner self or the true face, at this point the soul

manifest its purified form to the Wurid in a manner consistent with growth and

abandonment of the ego. This something very pertinent as manifested in the Malay

community, due to the fact that the communal composition of the Malay culture

actually encourages a individual to dedicate themselves to the good of the family and

community.

The fourth stage is the stage of Honor, goodness, and elevated spiritual

character, this elevation of character to the character of the true self or the spirit allows

the murid to contribute to the communal culture mentioned above in a manner

consistent with the Dthikr of helping others. Every act of selflessness done for the

sake of God by the murid can be a remembrance of God and thus by serving the

community in medical treatment, counseling, thaumaturgy, the Wurid is capable of

elevating the spiritual self. Seeking the way, this is the stage at which the practices of

the spiritual adept are beginning to be put into motion beyond the physical realm. The

journey and trials are the stages were the new abilities of the Wurid or Khalwah are

put to the test and there are new spiritual hurdles which must be traversed. once these

difficulties have been traversed the Wurid experiences “accidental” spiritual states,

states which make possible exorcism, thaumaturgy at a high level and other deeds

which must not be flaunted or misused and is a stage of great responsibility. If the

murid can pass this stage he will come to the final stage, once this stage is passes the

murid can no longer be called a Dokun. This is the stage of gnosis, the Tree of Life

has been ascended and the false self completely annihilated, all tat remains is the

energy placed inside the human by God, therefore only God exist, there is no

distinction in Tawhid and the journey is complete, now the Wurid is a Wali.

The stages examined in brief above are the stages which the Khalwah must go

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through in order to become a Wali; however they are more similar in meaning with the

term states in Sufism. Certainly some succeeded and we see in the example of Wali

Songo nine who succeeded and one who remained in the state of bliss similar to al

Hallaj and was expelled from their troop of Wali who believed in the path which

returns to sobriety. Each Wali must make this choice to remain in intoxication of the

ultimate bliss of Tawhid or return to sobriety and each has made their case for which

is correct, Allah knows best. However this fact is in references to the Wali reaching

the level of ascending the stations of Sufism, not the temporary states212. The view of

states in Campbell's monomyth however is not the only example in which we can see

spiritual ascendancy. There are also direct sources and literary examples as can be

seen in Germanic literature. When we examine sir Gwain and the Green knight we

will see that, the levels of ascension which are illustrated for us are in reality mythical

representations of states, yes, but they are also an example of moral and ethical

imparting of wisdom given by the green man in the form of trials and test, test, that

taught Gwain how to live a more enlightened life. Although this may not qualify as a

complete version of the states as defined in Sufism, it does present us with a valuable

opportunity to see that the remnants of Germanic Odinism were being put to use in

educating young knights on the importance of responsibility, ethics, knowledge, and

nature, it is therefore a natural science based tutorial on the above mentioned areas of

Germanic din for the purpose of producing young men who would function as good

nobles as well as good knights. This legend is based upon several sources, two of

212 The attainment of knowledge, therefore, requires that one cross two levels:

purification and ornamentation. Purification is summed up in four steps. In the first step, the adept separates himself from the surrounding worldly things. This is referred to as 'separation'. This is done primarily through suppression or elimination of the inclination for, and attention to , such things. 'Detachment' is the term used to describe this step. In the third step, one concentrates totally on oneself, seeking for its completion knowledge and joy. This is called 'abandonment' (of the worldly things) for the purpose of the self. Shams Inati, Ibn Sina and Mysticism, Remarks and Admonitions: Part Four, (Kegan Paul International, NY, New York, 1996), 108.

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which are the Volsunga saga and the myths of Irmansul the lord of the natural realm

as recorded by the Roman historian Tacitus in the first century CE. philosophical

views of naturalism and ethics were indeed a part of the Germanic culture, which

undoubtedly must have come through the efforts of the wizards to educate the

nobles.There are no substantial Christian myths portrayed in these legends, with the

possible exception of the Grail cycle and its links to the mythical character ‘Joseph of

arimathea’. The vast majority of the material was recycled pagan myths and legends

having their ultimate origins in the Elder Eddas of the Gothi priest of Germanic

Odinism. Furthermore there is no doubt that the green knight was in fact the

Greenman persona of the Odin archetype as we have proven previously in the

preceding chapters.

Now that we have seen the hero’s journey as represented in Sufism. Let us

examine the journey toward becoming a Wali, before comparing the hero’s journey in

Germanic wizardry with the Malay Khalwah. First of all we have seen that the

Khalwah could conceivably have been at any of the stages from 1-7 where dependant

on the intensity of his practice and we do not assume that all were at the 7 th stage.

Rather we say that each was at the stage which Allah had chosen for him, as it says in

the Qur’an “you will develop in stages” and this knowledge of the heart of men is

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known only by Allah 213214215. But if we compare this with the story of sir Gwain and

the green knight what can we say of the hero’s journey in Germanic thaumaturgy?

When we examine the first stage the ‘heroes’ journey the hero leaves what is normal

to him, his world as he has known it is gone. For example in the case of Gwain, he is

drawn from his home by an act of honor, a pact unfinished; a duel between him and

the green knight (a metaphor for the green man/Odin) who leads him through his

journey to find the green citadel. Throughout this journey he encounters many trials

and grows internally, but the first stage is one in which he must go beyond the norm I

behavior, he must face the green knight I single combat; combat he cannot win. The

reason he cannot win is, that, he is fighting against his own internal spirit calling him

forth to accept the responsibility to seek the truth of his soul. Therefore he has crossed

the threshold which the Sufis call the gateway, and the journey to his true self has

213 Stages of the Journey – When one is at the gateway, the beginning of the journey to

the Absolute, there are various states which descend upon the mystic. Each one is itself a gateway orienting the seeker to the journey ahead … these are the second stage of the journey. The minute one enters the door, one comes in need of actions, encounters,; one meets these with conduct which relates to the states one feels and to this, the third stage. After encountering ones more perfect self, one learns good habits and dispositions from others and thus builds character by creating praiseworthy forms of self; this is the fourth stage. …. It reflects only rational understanding. The means of psychological participation are referred to as states, stations and presences. The word state (hal) means to ‘descend, alight or penetrate a place’; it denotes a quality which is not permanent. … whatever change enters the heart by means of pure love from the direction of truth, …, is called a spiritual state (hal). It enters the mystic’s heart through desire, anxiety, thirsting, bewilderment, illumination or intuition. It may occur as a flash, or it may remain longer, but it is never permanent. Feelings or emotions change or vanish, and the subject finally becomes weary. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 97-100.214

The name Sufi is an expression derived from the Arabic word saf, 'pure. The reason that the Sufis are called by this name is that their inner world is purified and enlightened with the light of wisdom, unity and oneness.....Another meaning fro this appellation is that they are spiritually connected with the constant companions of the Prophet who were called 'the companions with the woollen garb'.....They may also have worn the customary garb of rough-woven sheep 's wool (suf) when they were novices, and have spent their life in old patched clothes. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 40.

215 The discussion in the Tenth Class centers on the unusual external signs of knowledge

and the reasons behind them. One of these signs is said to be the ability of the knower to refrain from eating for a very long time. Another sign is the knower's ability to perform acts that others are unable to perform. A further sign is the knower's ability to have access to the invisible world. Other signs are also discussed. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al-Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn arabi(Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 42.

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begun. In the second stage he has to escape a castle full of dangers primarily brought

about by the advances of a beautiful young woman who is metaphorically

representative of the seductiveness of the world we live in and the attachment we have

to it through our ego. He escapes the castle which is allegorical or metaphorical for the

maze of everyday life, and thus survives the first trial representative of finding the

path of esoteric knowledge. In the third stage after many trials are overcome he is in

the green citadel and must face the green knight once again, however after many trials

and having mastered himself internally he is ready. When he fails to defeat the green

knight due to his own honorable behavior, the green knight claims his right to strike a

free blow and thus would kill Gwain, but Gwain allows it because he has transcended

the ego, and has found true honor in his growth. The Green man strikes and

deliberately misses. When questioned it becomes apparent to the green knight was

really Irmin the green man and he was training Gwain to defeat his ego, to transcend

the self and find the true self within. The story of Gwain and the green knight is the

story of ascension of the soul and the final chapter summarized here is the last stage in

the defeat of the lower soul. Gwain has defeated his ego and learned to be honorable,

because honor in this story is a metaphor for walking the path of Willayah.

The final stage in this story is a stage which the Khalwah has not yet come to

in his lifestyle, which the Sorcerer has never even seen, and which the Wali alone has

perceived. Mastery over the seen and unseen powers of the universe was a power that

the prophets as perfect men attained by the will of God. While many wish to follow

they are not always able. The reason that the Wali is able to do this is because of the

vigilance he has not only with the esoteric but also with the exoteric aspects of his

journey. This is the final stage of the hero’s ascension, “equilibrium” or balance.

While we have proven here that the Khalwah was not a sorcerer, and that the Wali was

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at a higher station than the Khalwah, this does not mean that the Wali in Malay was

not in communion with nature, it does not mean he was not in communion with the

unseen, nor does it mean that he was not skilled in the esoteric. What it means is that

all of these were taken to a higher level or station. The highest station of the prophets

and especially the prophet Muhammad were higher for a reason and that reason is

because the cleansed themselves of many differing conceptions and emotions while

many of us find difficult to even imagine. Ultimately there is only Tawhid, but Allah

made aspects of Tawhid particularized in the mind of many for a reason. All human

beings are created unique for a reason, all are born in the world at a certain point in

time and place for a reason, and the reason is because Allah has created this world in

order to manifest the various multitudes of his emanations in a manner consistent with

his design and he is the best of designers. The Wali like Gwain knew this, he knew

this because he was in balance with nature and he could see the signs in the creation

manifesting these aspects of the whole. We live in a cosmos which is constantly

moving molecularly, with a consistent “birth, death, and rebirth” in a cycle which

never ends, a wholeness with its completeness which reflects in it manifested

perfection the best possible example of the signs that God has given us, so that we can

come close to him through the ascension of the tree of life216; an ascension which will

bring our true self back to a state of Fitra and up the escalating stations of gnosis. We

are experiencing every day of our lives the greatest adventure any being has ever seen,

and it’s all in front of our eyes, if we would just remove the veil. Stop and smell the

roses isn’t just a cleshae it’s the act of looking at a work of art by God and seeing in

216 Another aspect of modern physics brings us back to the meaning of intelligence and

conscientiousness themselves. The study of a particle like the electron means to relate, in a much more direct manner than in classical physics, the intelligence of the agent which knows to that which is known. ....mans conscientiousness must be seen even in physics as an integral part of that reality which the physicist seeks to study, to the existent that Eurgene Wigne, one of the founders of quantum mechanics, calls conscientiousness the first absolute reality and outward reality secondary reality. Syyed hossain Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred, (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 115.

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platitudes thousands upon thousands of perfectly crated molecules in motion

represented in a perfect metaphor of a perfect man named Muhammad who knew all

these things to be true and who came as a mercy to mankind217218. If we value his

message and wish to honor his journey, then the first step is by following Gwain’s

example and living honorably with nature and not against it. And when we say nature

we are not talking about only the physical realm but also the subtle realm. The abuse

of the energies or jinn of the subtle realm is a crime against the laws of nature and

God himself. As those who would seek to be Viceregents of creation we should take

the first step like Gwain and interact with the subtle realm with respect an Islamic

ethics. This is what was done by the Khalwah, while he may not have been a Wali, he

was respecful of the cosmos, he respected its uses, its beauty, its medicinal qualities

and its role as the reflection of the divine emanation of Gods energies particularized.

Energies are particularized in Gods manifestation in the cosmos through symbols,

sometimes numbers, sometimes geometry, but always as signs of one form or

another219. It is important to understand that the original divine revelation translated

correctly and especially in the original Arabic, taken in context, both are allegorically

and literally dependent upon the specific context along with the signs and symbols

217 Not for (idle) sport did we create the heavens and the earth and all that is between! ….to Him belong all (creatures) in the heavens and on earth: even those who are in His (very) Presence are not to proud to serve him, nor are they (ever) weary (of his service):….Holy Qur’an, p. 390.

218 The source of the light is a divine tree. That tree is the state of unity reaching out with its

branches and its roots, inculcating the principles of faith, communicating without any intermediary in the language of purity....It is directly in this language of purity that our Master the angel Gabriel brought the divine messages only after they had already been received – this for our benefit, so that we might hear in human language. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 52.

219 ....the Sufis say that the “breath of the compassionate” (Nafs Al Rahman), in space

and time likewise as shapes and events possessing quality, in form as beauty and in number as that qualitative aspect of number always related to geometric forms which is usually associated with the idea of Pythagorean number.....the multiple planes of manifestation of the supreme Hypostasis of Absoluteness, infinitude, and Goodness which characterize the Real as such. Syyed hossain Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred, (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 136.

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placed in al-Qur’an; create a basis from which the Islamic personality takes its

impetus. This affects our soul through the three areas of the soul, the tripartite

structure of anima (Aql) Heart (Qalb) and Spiritus (Ruh)220.

However this does not preclude us from using our minds to examine or

interpret the signs of Allah in Nature, nor does it prevent us from being able present

our view in a way which reflects the academic and professional viewpoints from a

American perspective, especially when this is done in light of our Islamic life style.

Having already done the above the Wali moves forward on the road of Willayah into

the phase in his or her life when it becomes necessary to go beyond the bounds of

simple ritualistic behaviors and standard piety of the everyday Muslim. At this phase

in his development he is required by God to begin to train the true self and abandon

the false self or the ego. It is at this point that the renunciation of world or ascetic

activities of the Malay Wali can take place and is also the specific reason for so many

ascetics in Malay Sufism having left the city to live in seclusion in the mountains.

When done properly the ascetic becomes endowed with Karamat and other spiritual

gifts, which according to Islamic tradition, Islamic science and Islamic legend is a

time of great mystical abilities for the Malay Islamic Wali. However, unlike his Pre-

Monotheistic predecessor, the Malay Islamic Wali does not seek the adulation of the

public, quit the contrary he fears this; for the simple reason that, if he were to be

220 The traditional cosmos, …the whole of Gods created order consist of three fundamental

states…[corpus, spiritus, anima] These two worlds [physical and metaphysical] together form the domain of nature….The human intellect is of a spiritual substance whose source or principle is the divine intellect or logos,….the origin of life on earth cannot be resolved in terms of physical entities alone no matter how deep we penetraite into the moleculare world….The Islamic cosmological principle, which is essential to the understanding of the mystery of life, is the idea of the universal soul (Al-nafs Al-kulliyah) The Universal Soul is the “soul” of the natural order…Osman Bakar, Tawhid and science:Islamic Perspectives on Religion and Science, second edition, (ArahPublications, Sha Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, 2008), 22-25, 75.

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adored for these gifts from God, he might become arrogant221222. Arrogance would

defeat the very purpose to which the Malay Wali has prepared himself, for it is

through destroying the ego in seclusion that he can ascend the tree of life and find the

garden of the spiritual fountain were gnosis can take place.

The Malay ascetic in the 1500s was in fact undergoing what Prof. Joseph

Campbell as mythologist and depth psychology refers to as the 'hero’s journey'. In the

hero’s journey Prof. Campbell refers to his theory of the mono-myth to make visible

to the reader the stages of spiritual ascension that all Thaumaturgist and mystics under

go in their spiritual development. the Malay Thaumaturgist or parish wizard

underwent this progression in its entirety and is a exemplar example of the 'hero’s

journey' participant in his development from animist as a Dokun to parish wizard

under the guidance of Sufi Wali or sheik; finally arriving at his final stage of

development he is no longer found to be a wizard, but rather a fully evolved Wali who

has ascended the Tree of Life spiritually and is now a completed or purified 'perfect

man' in immolation of the prophets. And thus he is referred to as the wali of al-

rahman.

One of the many aspects of life which the Malay Thaumaturgist improved

upon and assisted in developing for the Malay people under the guidance and the

221Such infirmities as pride, pettiness, and falsehood are deformations of the which are obstacles

that stand before the realization of knowledge. Man should not be proud but humble because God is and we are not and the neighbor possesses certain perfections which we do not possesses....man must cultivate these virtues...become worthy of the visitation of the angel of knowledge. To mention sacred knowledge without mentioning the crucial importance of the virtues as the conditio sine qua non for the realization of this knowledge, is to misunderstand completely the traditional sapeintial perspective. The virtues are so important that many Sufi treatise...deals most of all with virtues rather than pure knowledge...thus preparing the soul for the reception of pure gnosis. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Gifford Lectures: Knowledge and the Sacred. (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 311-312.

222 Concerning a related mark, which is given to those adepts who become utterly disengaged from the natural world (tabi’a) and enter among the angels, he [Ibn Arabi] [‘We know this mark, having tasted it. But we will not mention it to anyone, lest he make it manifest sometimes, while being a liar in his claim. That is why God has commanded me and my peers to conceal it. William C. Chittick, Imaginal worlds: Ibn Arab and the problem of religious diversity, State university of New York Press, Alboany, 1994)), 85-86.

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direction of the local district Wali or Imam, was the setting up and continuation of the

‘house of healing’ that is the first Malay Islamic Hospital. In the house of prayer the

Wali was the commander of the faithful, but in the Hospitals it was the Khalwah or the

district Wizard. Like many other Islamic Alchemist and healers in the Middle East

such as al-raizi, ibn hayyan and others, the Malay Khalwah was often seen by the

orthodox jurist as being exocentric and perhaps in error in their limited view. Herbal

healers, magical Healers or Thamaturgical Healers, Theurgy, and the anthropomorphic

deification of the prophet Khidr who himself admitted to being only man who was

perfected or cleansed by God; took place as early as the dawn of the Egyptian and

Sumerian empires. According to Islamic he took knowledge and Healing to all of the

first great city kingdoms223224225. These cultures were well established in the arts of

Theurgy and healing from this point onwards. The healing, which is displayed above,

could have been performed only by an experienced and qualified priest or

Thamaturgical healer, as this was the regulation in Egypt and Greece at that time.

Those who pretended were not entitled the healers staff. Were ever Khidr went, after

223 “Accepted by Gunter and Dumezil were by it comes from the Indo Aryan root uer “to

Bind”….Their supreme God “creator of the earth”….”the most high master”….add to the term turem the qualification of “Great”, “Luminus”…”White”, …”Lord master my father”…light from on high, and so on. In prayers and in written text the sky God is often called “father”…….he who makes the world fruitful. ….that is to say universal sovereign. …in the titles of God the notion of… commander, is clear….As creator, knowing and seeing all, guardian of the law …ruler of the cosmos; ….The Summerian term for divinity (Dingir was translated into Akkadian [Semitic] as ellu, “Bright, shinning. Jon R. Stone (edt.), The essential Max Muller: on language, mythology, and religion, (New York, Palgrave MacMillan, 2002), 110-111.224

? This is the Semang’s cosmic scheme with its World Axis, which for the shaman makes possible the penetration from one cosmic realm to another. Eliade himself would doubt the authenticity of this scheme “had we not reasons to believe that a similar scheme was already known in prehistoric times.” Indeed his remark that “mounting to the sky by means of a World Axis is a universal and archaic idea” conflicts with his statement in his former work, where he speaks of it as probably of Mesopotamian origin, antedating of course the later developed idea of seven planetary heavens….Even in Mesopotamian thought, cosmology was a secondary consideration. It was there no doubt that cosmic symbolism was first applied to the house and town, later to be taken up by many, including various nomads in connection with their tents or huts, who would never have thought of the idea independently. H.G. Qaritch Wales, Ph.D. Pre-history and religion in South East Asia, London, (Bernard Qaritch LTD, 11 Grafton street. 1957), 13-14.225

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the passage of time, most cultures in their ignorance deified him, this was also the

case in Egypt were he is called Osirus and Thoth, Osirus is the green man of Egypt

directly related to the soil and the fertility of the soil, this was always the trend after

Khidr had left a place that he would be confused with a Pre-Monotheistic fertility

deity due to his knowledge of the earth and the Qur’an of creation, this syncretism was

also existent among the Arabs who called him Khidr which means literally “Green

man”. The original green man of the Middle East was Tammuz the male counterpart

to Allahtus [tamuz] the ancient Pre-Monotheistic fertility Goddess. This does not

however in any way link the two historically; it simply stands for a historical

distortion in which syncretism has created an archetype from two personas, one a

historical prophet and the other a mythological character. The mythological Tammuz

is almost certainly another example of the same process, which occurred centuries

before the arrival of Khidr/Idris, through which Tammuz was in all likely hood

actually the historical king Marduk an Aryan ruler in Iran.

So then we can add to the list personas attached to the Khidr the archetype of

Marduk as Tammuz amalgamated with Osirus. What we see here from the perspective

of related Islamic sciences, are the seeds of anthropomorphism and the cult of

personality; effects that where so often prevalent in fertility cults. The views on

theurgy which deviate from monotheistic religious tenants invaded and superimposed

degenerative effects upon the teachings of the Prophet Khidr’s pre-Mohammedan

prophetic truths. The Iranians or Aryans of the Fertile Crescent were not alone; we

have also seen how in the north the very same archetype came into being among the

northern Indians of the Indus valley civilization as the meditating nature sage that

became the prototype of Siva and unfortunate victim of the deification process.

Weather a historical Siva existed for the sensitization process is unknown, but in all

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likelihood there was a historical basis. This is also the case among the Germanic

Aryan tribes mentioned earlier among whom he was called Odin and among the

Malay who absorbed the mythical Mantua into the visits of Khidr and formed the

syncretism of this Batara Guru archetype with the Aryan deified personals of the

same prophet and finally brought it to its finalized form when Batara Kala (Siva) was

identified with Khidr in the mythological character ‘Batara Guru’226227228. Therefore It

is the prophet Khidr who is in one way or another, despite the many threads of

dissemination, responsible for the education of the Malay Thaumaturgist in the

mystical arts. Therefore, no matter how the situation is approached it is he who is the

1st source for Islamic education in Malaya. It is therefore not surprising to see that the

healers and Thaumaturgist of Malay take on a magical quality in their eccentric form

of Theurgy, and yet it is still based ultimately in the energies and techni of God.

226 But for the magician who must know the origin and temper of every God and spirit he would

invoke….he had to know that Batara Guru, the Lord Teacher, as Malays call Siva, was at once the white spirit of the sun and the black spirit of the earth. Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt , M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 34.227

? Dongson-influenced peoples, the first point that strikes us is the celestial character of the supreme deity who has often undergone solarization. This is a feature that has as much in common with what we have seen to be the case among Turco-Tatar and Mongol supreme beings as it is at variance with what we find among the Older megalithic peoples, where the religion is so largely chthonic. And though Hinduism and later Islam often have influenced the names of these celestial deities, a point on which the best authorities are agreed is that that is as fas as the Hindu or Mohammedan influence penetrated. … With the East Torajas of Celebes the sky-God is named Lai, while Ndara is the earth-underworld deity. Neither of these is well-known in comparison to poeempalaburu, the active sky-God. He is sometimes regarded as the sun, but more usually the sun is considered to be his eye. H.G. Qaritch Wales, Ph.D. Pre-history and religion in South East Asia, London, (Bernard Qaritch LTD, 11 Grafton street. 1957), 78.

228 That the aspect of Siva associate with the name Girisa is probably chthonic is suggested not

only by the generally chthonic bias of Khmer religion, the evidence for which will appear later, but also by another epithet which has so far only been recorded in Khmer inscriptions: Gambhiresvara, Siva of the depts.. It is found in seven texts. When we think of the wealth of Cham epigraphy, in particular, and how thoroughly it has been studied, so that Majumdar lists forty-six names of Siva, it does not seem to be taking a very great risk to say that the preference for the names Girisa and Gambhiresvara represent something peculiar to the Khmer outlook……this would hardly detract form the recognition of a very definite trend characteristic of the Khmer concept of Siva. Another feature which indicates the chthonic character of Khmer religion is the nagi origin myths. IBID, 30.

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Khalwah and Wali Songo

And what do you call a strict shaman, void of transe mediumship, which has adapted

monotheism and heals the ill? Plainly and simply he is a ‘Thamaturgist’ the opponent

of the sorcerer from the dawn of civilization and student of the teachings of Khidr.

Some of them are thought to have received the art from the prophet Khidr

(Mercury/Hermes) directly, others are thought to have received them in a secondary

manner through other sages who brought the teachers message to new lands as healers

such as in the case of Khidr visit to the Greeks as a healer. Thus, with the passage of

time some aspects of this art and science have changed and others remain as they were

in the time of Khidr, but the fact remains very firmly and historically proven that

Wizards are not sorcerers, from their beginning until the present age they have always

remained on the side of good and not evil. This is also seen clearly in the role of the

Khalwah of Malaya229. When we speak of the Khalwah we speak of the folk sage and

healer of the Malay people, after his conversion. We began this dissertation with the

question, what is the difference between a Wali and a Malay theurgist or Khalwah?

And we asked further, in what way did the Pre-Monotheistic Dongson shaman

develop and evolve into the men who became Khalwah? And the answer has been

presented in the culmination of the preceding chapters. Now we look into the final

stage of our examination, the specific example of the Wali Songo and the Khalwah

sage as Thaumaturgist in the early stages of the transient conversion period between

1400 and 1500 CE.

In comparing the Wali Songo and the Khalwah we must first accept 2 primary

229 The person who learns and applies the things he learns from the prophets and also has Iman

[note here the Malay word for Iman denotes faith] are not punished by God because they are naive of the last prophetic teachings. Furthermore their nearness to all is incomplete or at a lower station [as in the case of the Sabians or Magi]. wali Ibn Tammiya, Wali Al-Rah’man; Wali-Shayton. Trans. Franz Von Hofler, and Muktar, Nurussaddah. Trans. Malay to English from: Ibnu Taimiyah, (karakteristik wali allah wali, ramadhani, (solo publishing, solo Indonesia, 1989), 1.

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distinctions. 1) Islamic Science does not accept myths as historical fact, the

designation of ‘science of what has been said’ is the title in Islamic science for a type

of proto-anthropology, which encompasses the study of what has occurred in the

empirical world including, history, mythology, sociology, folklore, and many aspects

of the humanities and social sciences. The use of one, several or all of the above has

always been largely left to the prerogative of the scientist or hakims. However most

hakims in Islamic science have been masters of at least three of the above areas of

study, medicine was often the central hub together with theology or philosophy230.

Such decisions were based upon the validity of the information at hand in those times

and investigated according to logic and reason. As we can see from the quotations, the

Idea of separating from nature is not an Islamic one, and the detrimental affects it had

upon the sciences in Europe cannot be adequately expressed in this short a paper and

is something which more appropriately could fill many a books. However it becomes

very clear now to the readers, that this secularization of the sciences, which is exactly

what happens when God is taken out of science, was an abominable act, one which

most people of the time may or may not have fully understood. Before continuing, it

becomes very important to define in another context exactly what we mean by the

name “Mysticism” when we discuss its elimination from the term “Modern Science”?

By Mysticism we are referring to the sciences which deal with the Alchemy of soul

and which make use of those aspects of the terrestrial or natural world that we live in,

in order to use mathematics in understanding metaphysics, humors for medicine,

astrology for understanding the divine spheres mentioned by Ibn Arabi in his Fussus

al Hikam, Herbalism as a part of homeopathic medicine, in short all the sciences 230 The Muslim mind occupied its mind not only with the science of nature, with mathematics, and with philosophy and metaphysics, but also with the sciences of man, with anthropology in the most general sense of the term. Man was studied by Muslims in his social and political setting; his divers activities were scrutinized with an objective eye… Nasr, Science and Civilization in Islam, second edition, (Islamic text society, Cambridge, UK, 2007), 230).

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which were driven out of Europe my the fundamentalist catholic church and the so

called “modern Scientist” in order to build a economic and religious monopoly over

the people of Europe, which inevitably contributed to imperialism and the domination

of millions of other peoples of various religions around the world. In short we do not

state that this was not a mere small incident, rather we state that this was a catastrophe

to the world population whi$ch occurred in defiance of the laws of God and was the

starting point of the hubris of “man” as the center of the world. The secularization of

science was the very impetus of all isms which repute to be man centered and warped,

manipulated and twisted in innumerable ways the divine sciences which had their

birth in Egypt, given from the Prophet Khidr sent by Allah himself and twist by those

who came alone later.

Thus far we have tried our best to investigate the role of the Sufi sages in this

manner. The mono-myth is the method of Joseph Campbell and is combined in this

chapter with the depth psychology and archetypes of Gustav Jung in examining the

role of Wali-Sango and the Malay theurgist or Khalwah in order to stages of the

journey taken in life by these two specialists in order to establish their roles in Malay

society. Here we have combined the three methods for the optimum multidisciplinary

examination of all the facts covered in order to show that the journey taken by the

Malay and Germanic form of thaumaturgist where in fact not at all competing in any

way manner, shape or form, with monotheism but where rather in the case of Malay

monotheistic society complimentary. The Khalwah and Germanic Wizard stood in

stark contrast to the Bomo or Sorcerer and therefore can not be confused with or

labeled as magicians by any ‘imaginary’ syncretism or gross generalization of the

Khalwah. The character of Wali Songo and the Khalwah are both the subject of a great

many Malay myths, legends, and folk tales, not only in Malaya but also in Indonesia,

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variants of most of the motifs can be found in both present day nations, who were for

all intents and purposes the originally from the same racial and ethnic family

originally. 2) the archetypes of Wali Songo and the Khalwah are both of two forms, 1st

is the historical stories which relate to actual persons who were in the case of the Wali

Songo religious Thaumaturgist and holy men, in the case of the Khalwah they were

Thamaturgical healers, and the second aspect of each is the legendary persona

projected upon them in the form of a archetypical legend or myth. There is no doubt

that this persona of the Wali (Wali Songo) was at least in part mythical and a

derivative of the migratory legends of Aryan-Proto-Malay Dongsun, Indo-Aryans,

Indo-Iranians and indiginouse Malay memorates. 231 The mythological or legendary

aspects of this archetype were best seen it’s last manifestation, that of, Batara Guru.

This persona takes on the form of a Merlin or Gandalf type of sage who, quite

obviously all the before mentioned personas in this dissertation have grown from the

Aryan root of the Deus or Odin archetype and its syncretism through centuries of

recycling together with the original ‘lord of the earth’ archetype known to the Malays

as Mantua. Having established this in the previous chapters, we can now say that

while this legendary aspect of the Malay view of the Khalwah and sometimes the Wali

as well is defiantly from a non Muslim source; let us turn once more to the last

comparison between the two specialists, the Wali Songo and the Khalwah.

While the primary emphases of the Wali’s life style was the use of

thaumaturgy in the form of prayer, meditation and Dthikr, all for the sake of the

231 …there is a clear line of distinction between magician and other types of religious authority.

…to make clear the distinction between Magician and Sufi. The Sufi is Homo Religiousus. His authority, as has been shown, does not depend upon high individual or group prestige, and is not limited to those who wield official powers…The Sufi, in contrast to the Magician, has a close connection with religion as a regular institution. The Magician would force the spirits to grant his desire…the Sufi does not…rather he Submittes to the divine will…. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Some aspects of Sufism: As Understood and Practiced among the Malays, (Malaysian Socialogical Research institute LTD., Singapore, 1963), 49.

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journey to gnosis. The emphasis of the Khalwah was on healing and exorcism.

Certainly there was a spiritual aspect to it, in that; exorcism can only be performed by

a religious man who is an expert in thaumaturgy. This is a most fascinating parallel

with many other cultures and is indeed a division, which has existed from the times of

the Egyptians. Egyptian too separated the healer from the priest and it was both who

were summoned when it was time to heal someone. The same can be said of the

Sumerians and the Hittites. However there are several particularly distinct aspects to

the relationship between the Wali and the Khalwah. The Wali was a highly respected

religious figure in Malay society and was almost certainly the man in charge of the

religious prayers or services when he was present at the mosque. The Khalwah was on

the other hand, as Winstedt put it, “king in the house of healing”. That is to say that

the Khalwah was the primary healer among the Malay. Now one might ask the

question in an age when Islamic science had established that Islamic medicine was a

well developed science among Muslims at this time, then why would the Malays place

a former Wizard in charge of healing? The answer has more to do with feasibility and

utility rather than theology, in the 1500s the Malay world had only limited resources

and while there were many Arabic and near eastern immigrants and even more Indian

Muslims, this does not demonstrate proficiency nor does it prove effectively that any

large number of Islamic Hakims existed in Malay at that time. Therefore we can

assume that until Islamic medicine was firmly established it was only natural that the

Malay relied upon the healers who had always been there for them in their

community. This is especially important because once the Malay Thamaturgist were

converted to Sufism and became the students of the Wali, they were for all intents and

purposes in the role of what Abdul Abd al Jilani described as a lower level of sage,

who has the esoteric aspects of a Wali but has not yet mastered the perfection of the

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exoteric half. Therefore, he does indeed have a place and a strongly supported place as

a healer in the Malay Muslim community of the 1500s. however let us not forget that

this was only the beginning, the mystical arts that the Wali would pass on to the

Khalwah were numerous and one need only look at the physical evidence to find that

Islamic mysticism in the popular Malay culture of those times was extremely obvious.

For example the Kris of the first Sultan of Malacca has upon its Blade a ‘seal of

Solomon’, and in writing next to it auspicious Arabic letters in the form of Wafiq type

of numerological symbolism as to imbibe the Kris with Karamat. This is a Kris, and it

is certain that almost ever Malay man of any fairly descent standing in the Malay

community of that time wore a Kris ‘every time’ he left his home. Now, knowing that

the Kris was the ‘wand’ of the Malay and Atham for all intents and purposes and

capable of Theurgy at any time in the positive, black magic in the negative, then the

fact that the Khalwah was an official of the Islamic mosque of these times is

incredibly symbolic of the acceptance of his craft and its legitimacy among the Malay

Muslims of that time. Therefore what we see in the above discussion is a summary of

the road that Malay sorcerers, tribesmen, healers, and others have traveled to change

the animism which it was intermingled with their adapt into a Islamic lifestyle. The

Pre-Islamic prophetic teachings which remain with the Malay have been rediscovered

and revived in Sufism. Sufism elevated these teachings along with organic unity, a

love of nature (including nature spirits) and many other aspects of Malays tribal life to

a level of scientific application of Islamic ideals coupled with Malay ethics and

culture, to become the modern form of Malay spirituality: a form of spirituality that

embraces the examination of Nature in a broadminded and very Islamic manner. One

way of seeing an Islamic Ummah, is: “people who help each other, care for each other,

point to the path of proper action, and seek the miracles of nature and life together,

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and believe in all the truth of God”. Taking this for our definition of an Islamic

Ummah, I would say that Malays have a better foundation build than any other ethnic

group I the world. The changes that were brought about by Muslim Sufis of Malaya

were brought about in a predominantly peaceful manner by presenting Islamic

monotheism with a kind heart and an open mind must never be forgotten. Again it is

interesting to note that the term “Khidr” in reference to the prophet Khidr means in

Arabic “Green Man”232.

Redefining subcategories of the Malay Sufi Mystic

Not only were the Proto-Malay and the Malay interested in nature as a source of

spirituality, but also in the Ummah of animal kind, and the animal stories found

concerning the mouse dear, the tiger and tiger people are the most popular motifs of

the animal kingdom stories, even till today. It is not surprising that the Malay of the

tribal and Hindu periods were very interested if not totally fascinated when given the

chance to explore Sufi mysticism.

There is no reason to believe that these men did not in time achieve the station

of Wali, quite the contrary there are stories of great sages in Java and Malay which

reinforce the argument that they did indeed evolve into a holy man who was capable

of miraculous acts as seen in the Karamat of healing sages in Malay and Indonesia.233

232 The man, who was in fact Kizr (also spelled Khidir – green man), the hidden saint, seems to disappear after making the statement.Mohamad yasin owadally, Short Sufi Stories, A.S. Noordeen publishing, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2007), 47.

233 Syeikh Abdulah Kadir Jelani used a special rope that would fly through the air and tie a person

up who to be circumcised. He died at Gerpa, downstream from Isak, but he rose again from the grave just after burial. He rose and died, rose and died, twelve times in all. His descendants were known as Tenku Guru, an honorific that combines religious status with healing power, and were renowned throughout the Isak area for their curing abilities. These stories link the spiritual power available at prayer sites to a more widely recognized set of religious figures, adding Islamic legitimacy to the rituals of healing and agriculture. Grace Martin Smith and Carl W. Ernst, Manifestations of Sainthood in Islam, (Istanbul : Isis Press, 1993), 10.

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As can be seen from this fact, the Thamaturgical and healing powers of the Malay

heritage have not been removed from the final stage of development of the

Thaumaturgist. This further development on the road of Wilaya could only have been

possible in the context of Islamic mysticism and under the direction of a Sufi Sheik.

The areas of Islamic Mysticism related to this are as follows; the adoption of the

Islamic sciences in regard to cosmology, ontology, and the methods of Tassawuf for

achieving gnosis. It is stated clearly in all major works on the Wali that one of the

indisputable proofs of a Wali is the ability to transmit Karamat into the terrestrial

realm for the assistance of others234. Once again as we can see from the great Islamic

scholar Ibn Tammiyah, the two types of Wali include theurgist, and while the higher

state is the one who attains the station of Wali in full completeness including the

exoteric, the Thaumaturgist is not excluded; furthermore he is empowered by Allah to

conduct his thaumaturgy.235 We see the same situation in Native American Theurgy, it

234 Furthermore their nearness to all is incomplete or at a lower station [as in the case of the Serbians or Magi]. Whosoever learns the teachings of the prophets and believes, and then applies these his Iman is complete. There are two types of Wali of Allah. The first is he who knows wisdom but doesn’t apply it, yet is still called Wali because he has Iman. The second are those men who learn, believe and apply all the above. It is for this reason that heaven has different levels. “(Surah al Isra’ vs 18-21”….Allah’s gifts are not only limited to those who do good deeds, but also are extended to those who sin. The difference is between those who indulge in a materialistic lifestyle and those who live a non-materialistic life style. Those who choose to live a non-materialistic lifestyle are at a higher spiritual station than those who indulge in materialism. For example: the difference between prophets and non-prophets or Wali. (surah al Bakarah vs 2:253)”Sahih al Bukhari, narrated abu Huraiah Al hadid vs 10, an nisa vs 95-96, azzumar vs 9, al- mujadalah vs 11. Ibn Tammiya, Wali Al-Rah’man; Wali-Shayton. Trans. Franz Von Hofler, and Muktar, Nurussaddah. Trans. Malay to English from: Ibnu Taimiyah, (karakteristik wali allah wali, ramadhani, (solo publishing, solo Indonesia, 1989), 2.

235 ….consequently, the gnosis results from the combining between the opposites. The orders

became mingled, and the numbers became manifest with one in the known degrees, and the one brought about the numbers and the numbers articulated the one, and the predication of the numbers did not manifest except by the numbered…. Each of the numbers to be a reality by itself, like the number nine for example, and ten and the ones below it, and all those more ad infinitum…. Indeed in saying, twenty degrees became apparent….thus, these twenty degrees, for each degree there is a reality established which is different from the other reality which is form of species. The name ‘totality of ‘ones’ is prevalent for all the degrees of numbers and all degrees ae associated in it except the one, ….one is not a number and for it there is a special degree in existence which is that it is the origin and point of emergence of all numbers…..Thus the decan [ViceregentViceregent] becomes one and bears in it the ‘oneness’ of the infinity of particularized numerous decans, and because it is a particularized decan infinity does not enter it , and because of the consideration that the oneness is essentially the origin for all he decans particularized above it or below it, it there bye includes all deacons. He who knows what we have decided concerning the numbers, that if he negates it is the same as if he establishes it. Now a

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is called the “backwards man”, and the backwards man develops the esoteric before

the exoteric aspect of his character. There are many such mystics who begin not in the

state of goodness, but must endure being in darkness of the world before they ascend

to the light of the divine236237238. This is supported in the holy Qur’an.239240 This is

indisputable. The various forms of Theurgy and Thaumaturgy varied it is true, and for

that reason their allegiance and status is based upon observation and how well their

person who knows the numbers knows the thing we have considered here. Ismail bursevi’s translation of an commentary on fusus al-hikam, muhyiddin ib ‘arabi, (Oxford : Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, 1987), 342 -345.236

Al-Kharraz said, and he is an aspect from the aspects of the Haqq and a tongue from among the tongues, talking from his own nafs, that one cannot know God except by combining between the opposites, in the detrimentation over them by them….by uniting between opposites.’ that is to say, by determining over him, because the divine huwiyyah is the singularity of the collectivity of the totality of the anatomic complimentary names and qualities of opposition. Ismail bursevi’s translation of an commentary on fusus al-hikam, muhyiddin ib ‘arabi, (Oxford : Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, 1987), 339.

237 To the Sufi, creative expression which results from participation mystique – that is, a state of

being one with nature, although not conscience of the Divine presence - is an expression of one vision of self within self. It is an e3xspression which is not reflective, not polished, not aware of the total possibilities inherent in the nature of things….The reflective surface now reflects something which is contained, a spirit which is not only one’s own. This is the spirit universal to all things: to the Sufi, it is the ‘desire’ which exist within things’ to be known’. ….By blowing or chanting the Divine names upon the form to be transformed, the creative process of the breath, which contains the Divine Presence through a name, transforms the object in hand. The creator participates as active agent and the object participates as passive recipient. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 26.

238 The absence of shadow in Persian miniatures reveals that they spring from the world of archetypes

which reflects the light of the divine. ….The reflective mirror. A second concept of creation important to Sufi expression is that of the mirror. Before the creation of human beings, the universe had been brought into being, but it was unpolished, unreflective, and unconscious of the divine presence. The macrocosmic universe came into being so that the manifestation of self in the form of a Divine name would have a ‘place’…..The mystic aspires to become this reflective mirror. Polishing the mirror in order to make it a place for the Divine self to see self depends upon two modes: the first, the ‘preparedness’ of the place, is the ability to receive, conceive and give birth to the second mode, the descent of one of the Divine names. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 15.

239 “God is the protector of those who have faith: from the depths of Darkness he will lead them forth

into the light…. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Surah al Baqarah 2:257.

240 “God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of his light is as if a niche and

within it a lamp: the lamp enclosed in glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: lit from a blessed tree…. though fire scarce touch it, light upon light! God doth guide whom he will to his light….”(Holy Qur’an, Surah An-Nur, 24: 35).

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character is aligned with the good and against the evil. However, as most scholars of

Islam have stated this is also dependent upon Iman and man cannot judge Iman; this

knowledge lies with Allah alone241.

Quite obviously Allah has reason to enjoy the existence of the houses of

worship of other religions besides Islam and has stated very clearly and undeniably

that in those houses of worship “God was commemorated in Abundant Measure”;

nothing can be more evident in illustrating that God does not chastise those people of

other religious traditions who are faithful to him, who then are ‘we’ to judge our

fellow religionist242243 244? Furthermore, an inferred warning is evident in the fact that

Allah also states in the list from the above footnote “mosque” meaning that if he were

to compare Muslims and non Muslims, it may very well be that some Muslim mosque

would not qualify as most faithful. Whether or not the faithful are good people is

dependent upon their behavior and the intention of that behavior, not which religious

views they pay ‘lip service’ too.

241 Did not God check [If God had] one set of people by means of another, there would surly

have been pulled down [destroyed] monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of God is commemorated in abundant measure. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Surah 22:38-40, 405.242

Khaliq-the creator, Al Bari-the producer, Al Musawwir—the fashioner. It might be thought that these names are synonymous, and that they all refer to creating and in venting. But it does not need to be that way. Rather everything which comes forth from nothingness to existence needs first of all to be planned; to be originated according …to the plan…to be formed after being originated…God…is creator…, the planer…, producer [Bari] in as much as he initiates existence, and fashioner…in as much as he arranges the forms of things…AL—GHAZALI: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names of God: Al-maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma’ Allah al-husna, transl. David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher, ( The Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), 68.

243 Islamic intellectual authorities….were fully aware of….the subject of knowledge…

the sciences [were] derived not only from Qur’an and Hadith, but also developed by Islamic scientist and….earlier civilizations such as those of the Greeks, Persians, and Indians. Osman Bakar, Classification of knowledge in Islam, (International Institute of Thought and Civilization, (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur, 2006), xii.

244 He has ordained for you the same religion [Islam] which He enjoined upon Noah, and that which We have enjoined upon you, and which We enjoined upon Abraham, Moses and Jesus: namely that you should remain steadfast in religion and be not divided therein. al-Arabi Abu Hamzah Abu Hamzah;edited by Abdul Rahman Abdullah (42:13). A Glimpse at the Beauty of Islam, Darussalam,(Riyadh : Darussalam, 1999), 4.

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Unfortunately, we are left in our examination to determine the eligibility of

these gentlemen on the outward appearance of their character, the deeds they have

done, the Karamat they used to help others, and the guidelines given to use in the

training of Muslim saints on the road to Willayah; along with the ways in which they

where recognized after achieving gnosis. However, I would caution any true academic

Muslim from judging these men because their faith varied from those of the modern

day Sunni, it is not professional or Islamic (as proven above) to judge the religion of

others.

A total definition of the stations of sainthood and Prophethood are beyond the

scope of this dissertation and the study at hand will end with this summing up of the

points proven concerning the Malay theurgist transformation from animist to Sage.

The miracles of nature are revealed to the Sufi mystic in the form of

geometrical, mathematical, and metaphysical manifestations in nature245. All of which

have a bases in the Qur’an, for example, the cow, the thunder, the bees, the jinn, the

ants, the spider, the smoke, the sun, all these sections of Qur’an make reference to the

symbols in nature and their powerful meaning to man as the microcosm of al

Tawhid246. As the Viceregent of this natural world and the one who understands in the

mind all the miracles and the signs in the natural world, it the responsibility of man to

245 …there has been the recurrent conflict between the transcendentalism of the orthodox

theologians, for whom God is in heaven, and popular mysticism, which starting from animism inclines toward a pantheism that finds him closer than the veins in ones neck. But no Muslim theologian, however orthodox in his transcendentalism, would conceive in God to be in heaven, detached, as it were, from the world. [al-Tawhid]” Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Some aspects of Sufism: As Understood and Practiced among the Malays, (Malaysian Socialogical Research institute LTD., Singapore, 1963), 18.

246 Soon he will show them Our signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their

own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the truth….Verily in this are signs for everyone who patiently perseveres and is grateful….but much doth he forgive. …But let those know, who dispute Our signs, that there is for them no escape. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), .Surah Fussilat and al Shura 41:53-42:35.

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be the protector of their fellow man, the forest, and the animals and to care for the

trust which Allah has given him, the sacred trust of his garden247248249.

Having seen the definition of Sufi mystic in previous chapters, we must ask

ourselves; how does this differ from other Muslims and Sufi’s? The Sufi mystic takes

the Sufi view of Nature and uses it to make contact with nature, the Qur’an of

creation, to see within it the unwritten truths which have eluded him in written form,

were as many Sufis do not go directly into nature, but site behind a desk or in a house

reading. Adam was taught the essence of all the cosmos from the smallest ant to the

greatest mountain. In the case of distinguishing the Khalwah and most especially the

Wali from the sorcerer, it is quite clear, that the use of any material objects which a

Sufi mystic may posses in the act of healing, exorcism, or any other act of charity,

that, these ritual tools are always inscribed with Qur’an or of a Monotheistic form.

Any Sufi who claims to be a Sufi and uses Pre-Monotheistic paraphernalia for

spiritual assistance is a fraud; true Sufi mystics fin the most Valuable tool in their

metaphysical battles with the powers of darkness to be the Surahs of the Holy Qur’an.

The Islamic form of mysticism has influenced the popular form of mysticism in the

form of symbolic rituals, Islamic terminology and practices, which have been adopted

247 I will create a vice regent [khalifa] on earth. ….I know what ye do not know. And he taught Adam the nature of all things; then he placed them before the angels, and aid: “tell me the nature of these if ye are right.” (Surah Al Baqarah verse 30-32).

248 As the Prophet says,'There is a piece of meat in man's body – when it is in a good state, the

whole being improves, and when it is in a bad state, the whole being falls apart. Beware that piece of meat is the heart. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 74.

249 On seeing the manifestation of the divine through an intermediary the Prophet says, 'The

faithful is the mirror of the faithful.' what is meant by the first 'faithful' , the mirror in this phrase, is the pure heart of the believer, while the second 'faithful' Who sees His reflection in that mirror is Allah Most High. Whoever arrives at the level of seeing the manifestations of Allah's attributes in the world will certainly see the Essence of Allah in the hereafter without shape or form. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 51.

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by the Tok Imam formerly Theurgist, the local Theurgist who view themselves as both

Thamaturgist and exorcist250. These people are unfortunately problematic of the

constant attempts of fraudulent imitators of the Khalwah and Wali, usually termed

Wali-Wali or Tok Imam; they masquerade under the cloak of Islam and are in reality

practicing traditional and fundamentalist ultra orthodox-like ritual behavior in their

exterior facade, while simultaneously functioning as a “Tok Imam” at night. Ibn

Tammiyya gave an accurate description of this ritualist which can dispel some of the

inaccuracies which have attached themselves to these names or titles over the

centuries. Most Malay people rely heavily upon their traditional customs; as this

popular Malay’s old proverb “Biar mati anak jangan mati adat” which more or less

means “Let a child die rather than the custom (continuation of their custom)”. This old

proverb proves how strong and firm the Malays’ believe in their Adat or customs.”

However the most important difference in them is that the “True” Sufi wise

man works for the good of the Ummah and for the enlightenment of the Ummah. He

sees himself as non-existent except in the oneness of Allah to which all belong, come

from and return to upon death. It is not this world and the riches and joys of the nafs

which interest him, but the Akhira or the next life with Allah which he strives for. For

centuries Sufi wise men and saints have constantly strove to perfect themselves in the

cause of Allah and for the sake of their souls’ deliverance from evil251. They strove to

250 Allah’s gifts are not only limited to those who do good deeds, but also are extended to those

who sin. The difference is between those who indulge in a materialistic lifestyle and those who live a non-materialistic life style. Those who choose to live a non-materialistic lifestyle are at a higher spiritual station than those who indulge in materialism. For example: the difference between prophets and non-prophets or Wali. Ibn Tammiya, Wali Al-Rah’man; Wali-Shayton. Trans. Franz Von Hofler, and Muktar, Nurussaddah. Trans. Malay to English from: Ibnu Taimiyah, (karakteristik wali allah wali, ramadhani, (solo publishing, solo Indonesia, 1989), surah al Bakarah vs 2:253.251

E ven if one's actions appear good to other people, when negative characteristics enter into them is considered a mischief maker who deceives himself and others. The Prophet says: 'Pride and arrogance corrupt faith. Slander and back are worse sins that adultery’;'As fire burns firewood, vengeance burns and consumes all one’s good deeds'. 'Intrigue sleeps; a curse be upon the one who wakes it up.' 'The miser will never enter Paradise, even if he spend his whole life praying.' 'Hypocrisy is a hidden form of setting up others and oneself as partners to Allah.' 'Paradise will reject the one who

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improve their Ummah and to teach using all of the tools you have seen above. 252253254

The difference between a practitioner of Islamic science or Sufism and a Sufi Mystic

or Mystic is only the difference in added emphases upon Islamic medicine and healing

as a secondary role to the Sufi way of life on the road to enlightenment. However it

should be very clearly stated here that the “True” Sufi Mystic does not ever in any

way advocate pantheism, polytheism, or any other view that would run contrary to the

teachings of Islam. Islam and the oneness of Allah as seen in Nature, The Qur’an and

Hadith of the prophet (PBBH) is the very cornerstone of the Sufis Mystics life.

The Pre-Islamic prophetic teachings, which remain with the Malay, have been

rediscovered and revived in Sufism. Sufism elevated these teachings along with

organic unity, a love of nature (including nature spirits) and many other aspects of

Malays tribal life to a level of scientific application of Islamic ideals coupled with

Malay ethics and culture, to become the modern form of Malay spirituality: a form of

spirituality that embraces the examination of Nature in a broadminded and very

Islamic manner.255 One way of seeing an Islamic Ummah, is: “people who help each

rejects others.' These are many more signs of bad character condemned by the Messenger of Allah. Those mentioned suffice to show us that this world is a place which requires constant prudence and precaution that one has to walk through it with extreme care and attention. The first goal of the mystic path is the cleansing of the heart, and the first action necessary to achieve this is to deny the ego and the flesh their futile and vain desires. In seclusion, with silence, medication and continuous remembrance, one's ego is reformed. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 95.

252 The role of the Wali in Islamic piety does not correspond exactly to that of the saint in the

Christian faith. It is closely connected with the mystery of initiation and progress on the spiritual path and leads through a well established hierarchy, the members of which surpass each other according to the degree of their love and gnosis. The initiation of the adept through Khidr, the prototype of a saint among the prophets, belongs, therefore, to this discussion. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical dimensions of Islam, The University of North Carolina Press, 1975), 223.253

254 The holy prophet said, ‘spread your leg.’ I did accordingly. He passed his hand over it and it was cured. I felt as if it had not been broken at all. Badr Azimabadi, three hundred authenticated miracles of muhamaad, from Hadith Bukhari, Mishkat Adam Publishers, Delhi, India,1993), 32.255 In the Sufi science of ta’wil a symbol is distinguished from an allegory. A symbol is the “reflection”, in a lower order of existence, of a reality belonging to a higher ontological status, a “reflection” which in essence is unified to that which is symbolized, while allegory is a more or less

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other, care for each other, point to the path of proper action, and seek the miracles of

nature and life together, and believe in all the truth of God”. Taking this for our

definition of an Islamic Ummah, I would say that Malays have a better foundation

build than any other ethnic group I the world. The changes that were brought about by

Muslim Sufis of Malaya were brought about in a predominantly peaceful manner by

presenting Islamic monotheism with a kind heart and an open mind must never be

forgotten256. It was this peaceful form of Da’wah which was the key to this

overwhelmingly proficient form of conversion. A form of conversion that converted

the Malay and gave birth to the well balanced form of Islamic monotheism that exists

in Malaysia among Malay Sufis of today’s Malaysia.

Islamic personality and Wali as The Viceregent of Creation

For centuries Sufi wise men and saints have constantly strove to perfect themselves in

the cause of Allah and for the sake of their souls’ deliverance from evil. They strove

to improve their Ummah and to teach using all of the tools you have seen above. The

difference between a practitioner of Islamic science or Sufism and a Sufi Mystic or

Mystic is only the difference in added emphases upon Islamic medicine and healing

as a secondary role to the Sufi way of life on the road to enlightenment. However it

should be very clearly stated here that the “True” Sufi Mystic does not ever in any

way advocate pantheism, polytheism, or any other view that would run contrary to the

teachings of Islam. Islam and the oneness of Allah as seen in Nature, The Qur’an and

“artificial figuration” by an individual, having no universal existence of its own. Osman Bakar, Tawhid and science:Islamic Perspectives on Religion and Science, second edition, (ArahPublications, Sha Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, 2008), 36. 256

T he one who attains that state is in a state of complete repentance; his knowledge is vast and beneficent, his acts are all service to others, his heart does not flow to evil. If he errs or forgets, he is forgiven, for he remembers when he forgets and repents when he errs. He is in the proximity of his Lord and of himself. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S. Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 95.

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Hadith of the prophet (PBBH) are the very cornerstones of a Sufis Mystics life257.

One way of seeing an Islamic Ummah, is: “people who help each other, care

for each other, point to the path of proper action, and seek the miracles of nature and

life together, and believe in all the truth of God”. Taking this for our definition of an

Islamic Ummah, I would say that Malays have a better foundation build than any other

ethnic group I the world. Their conception of Hati and its relationship to nature has

been of great assistance in their path to the developing Ein al-Qalb and the polishing

of the heart through Islamic Alchemy in the spiritual sense. You will find no home

among Malay families were families do not treat their community with kindness and

hospitality, and this is their true strength, the strength of love. The changes that were

brought about by Muslim Sufis of Malaya were brought about in a predominantly

peaceful manner by presenting Islamic monotheism with a kind heart and an open

mind must never be forgotten. It was this peaceful form of Da’wah which was the key

to this overwhelmingly proficient form of conversion; a form of conversion that

converted the Malay and gave birth to the well-balanced form of Islamic monotheism

that exists in Malaysia. This is what has been proven here and this is the true goal of

an Islamic Ummah. Therefore for those who would call all Malay traditional energy

usage “sorcery” I would recommend they read the holy Qur’an, Hadith of the prophet,

and the writings of Ibn al Arabi thoroughly and they will find that God has never once

ordered men not to work with the energies of light, quite the reverse the apostles of

Jesus were “Given” this ability by Allah himself. These men were truly on the road to

meeting God and the road to humility, truth, spirituality, and purity is what we call the

257 ...the great Persian saint Abu yazid al Bastami. The founder of the ‘ecstatic’ school of Sufism,

he is famous for the boldness of his expression of the mystics’ complete absorption in the Godhead. This station (which come upon the mystic as a transient state; ….the wine of the knowledge of the divine, enraptured by the contemplation of God. The second group are the mystics known for their sobriety. According to this group, which has a larger following…intoxication is only the beginning of oneness. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 94-95.

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‘ascension of the tree of life’, it is also what Joseph Campbell called the heroes

journey and the Hindu call the heroic path, it is one mans attempt to see God through

nature and sacred text and to take that journey further in his heart and mind until he

attains the ultimate balance in his life, so that he might dye with the peace of Gods

truth and love in his heart258. While the Thaumaturgist is at a lower level than the

Wali, he is none the less on the same path, and the Wali is most certainly a

‘Viceregent of creation’259260, which is the view we wish to emphasize here, that the

paths these men had both similarities and differences, but in the end they both saw the

truth of the signs of God in nature and the beauty of his divine majesty in the wonders

that were so powerful, their source could only be God himself. And they were in aw

and blissful abiding of these miracles of God and for this reason devoted themselves

to helping others and fighting evil, and for this they both should be thought of in

kindness and honor, for “Allah does not like those who reject his signs261’.What

258 The first share of knowledge of these meanings by way of witnessing and unveiling, so that their essential realities are clarified for them by a proof which does not permit any error; and God’s possession of these meanings as His characteristics is revealed to them in a disclosure equivalent in clarity to the certainty achieved by a man in regard to his own inner qualities which he perceives by seeing his inward aspect, not by outward sensation. How great a difference there is between this and a faith derived from ones parents and teachers by conformity and persistence in it, even though it be accompanied by argumentative proofs fro Kalam! AL—GHAZALI: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names of God: Al-maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma’ Allah al-husna, transl. David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher, ( The Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), 30-31)259

If God reveals him self in images of particularizations of and the degrees of revelations, he reveals number and pluralarity and brings into emergence couplings and singularities. Consequently, according to the consideration of these images of particularizations are the degrees of descent from the being of the one God. And what is there in existence except him? Among the number there are some which are (of) non-existence and some which are (of) existence. That is to say, some of the numbered become inexistent in the exterior and I appearance. It sometimes happens that something is inexistent by virtue of the intelligence. It is inevitable that it either from number or from numbered. Thus it is possible that sometimes a thing is from the point of view of the senses inexistent, yet it is existent from the point of view of the intellect Shams Inati, Ibn Sina and Mysticism, Remarks and Admonitions: Part Four, (Kegan Paul International, NY, New York, 1996), 343.260

He has reserved the height of position for degrees of viceregent [ViceregentViceregent] this means that the height of position which is particular to the perfect man is the height of the degree of viceregent [ViceregentViceregent] which is the degree of collectevity of singularity of perfection and completeness. Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Ismail bursevi transl., Ibn Sina And Mysticism: remarks and Admonisions: part four, (Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 334.261

…there comes to you messengers from amongst you, rehersing my signs unto you, …those who reject our signs and treat them with arrogance, ….who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against God or rejects his signs?...to those who reject our signs and treat them with arrogance, no

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Muslims ‘are’ forbidden to do is to dabble in the Black arts of Sorcery, which are

Haraam. Knowing the differences between these theurgists is of paramount

importance to the serious scholar of Islamic science. It is not possible to ignore those

metaphysical powers around us, those which are from God are a part of his signs, for

particularization and subjectivity of Gods perfection is the is the greatest sin of all, it

is rejection of the oneness of faith in the one and perfected immaculate God of all

creation and the utter denial of Tawhid; and those which are dark, black or evil, must

be confronted and made to remain in check; for their creed is denial of Tawhid. The

Wali of Allah and the Khalwah of Allah confronted this evil262. In having confronted

the Wali of Shayton (Bomo); the Wali and apprentice of the Wali of Allah, the Malay

Thaumaturgist become Caliphs of creation and have proved themselves to be worthy

of respect263. As scholars we must understand that the journey from a degenerated

form of monotheism among the Pre-Islamic Malay we see a return journey to Wilaya

and Islam; in that in every journey to Allah there is a circular cycle. This circular cycle

is the return of from the ascension to the ecstatic experience in the life of the

thaumaturgist. The Khalwah attained esoteric experiences as a means to opening to

opening will there be of the gates of heaven, nor will they enter the garden, until a camel can pass through the eye of a needle….” Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Surah 7: 35-40. 262 The shaykh put the special knowledge under the category of possession (Mulk) because possession is the manifest estate,and knowledge is the secret estate, and manifest estate with the hidden estate and with the divine knowledge is its spirit and results with it, ….by the order of God and by the permission of God, the tassarrufs in the higher and lower universes are manifested for them, yet they are not manifest like Solomon with tasarruf in the universe of witnessing. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, (Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 177.263

A second way of sharing in these meanings belongs to those who so highly esteem what is disclosed to them of the attributes of majesty of their high regard releases a longing to possess this attribute in every way possible to them, so that they may grow closer to the truth…with the possession of such characteristics they become similar to Angels, who have been brought close to God – great and glorious. Moreover, it is inconceivable that a heart be filled with high regard for such an attribute and be illuminated by it without longing for this attribute following upon it, as well as a passionate love for that perfection and majesty,…No one will lack this longing except for one of two reasons : either from inadequate knowledge and certainty that the attribute in question is one of the attributes of majesty and perfection, or for the fact that ones heart is full of a another longing and absorbed by it. AL—GHAZALI: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names of God: Al-maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma’ Allah al-husna, transl. David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher, (The Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), 31.

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Islam264. This opening to Islam was the return to the center and in every return to the

center is inclusive of equilibrium and balances the din of the person making this

“heroes journey”. As such the Khalwah who became a Wali was completing his din by

moving from the exclusivity of esotericism to the equilibrium of completing his

exterior aspects in the practice of Islam in prayer, charity, good deeds, and all the fard

of Islam. Once he accomplished this his din was balanced and whole. The third stage

was the path of Willayah complete, as a Wali he was then capable of helping others

into the light of Allah265. This is the journey of the Malay Thaumaturgist is

symbolically represented in the ascension of the tree of life; from the roots of the Tree

of Life representative of pre-monotheist prophetic teachings, to the injured roots

chewed by the great dragon (Iblis) which resulted in injury to the Pre-Islamic

prophetic teachings. Next to the Body of the tree which is the monotheistic teachings,

upward he traveled to the branches symbolic of the mystical path of contemplating

Tawhid and the completeness of Allah. Here he met the eagle symbolic of Allah’s

divine light or Nur, the light ushered his soul towards seeking the experience of

Gnosis. It is only fair to note that while the oneness of Allah as seen in Islamic science

is seen by the transcendental unity movement as a bridge for ecumenical oneness of

264 The knowledge that is sent down to us is twofold: exoteric and esoteric, meaning the sacred

law [shari'a] and direct understanding [ma'rifa]. Allah (Exalted is He) has commanded us to apply the sacred law to our outer being, and direct understanding to our inner being, so that the combination of the two will result in knowledge of Reality [Haqiqa], just as fruit is produced by the tree and the leaves. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 10.265 For once he has understood the teaching, if these meanings were presented to him, he would receive them and memorize them. These are the levels of most scholars, to say nothing of those who are not scholars. In relation to those who do not share with them in those three levels, these should not be denied credit, yet they are clearly deficient with respect to the acme of perfection. For ‘the merits of the [merely] pious are demerits in those who have drawn near to God’. The first share of knowledge of these meanings by way of witnessing and unveiling, so that their essential realities are clarified for them by a proof which does not permit any error; and God’s possession of these meanings as His characteristics is revealed to them in a disclosure equivalent in clarity to the certainty achieved by a man in regard to his own inner qualities which he perceives by seeing his inward aspect, not by outward sensation. … AL—GHAZALI: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names of God: Al-maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma’ Allah al-husna, transl. David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher, (The Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), 30-31.

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the brotherhood of man and rightfully so, such inner dimensional discussions may not

be understandable by all students of Islam as has been noted by Associate Prof., Dr.

Fatimah Abdulah266267268. However, we should not forget that there are stages of

development in understanding the inner dimensions of esoteric Sufism as a part of

Islam. Furthermore, these dimensions must be viewed in both an esoteric and exoteric

manner, each appropriate to the time and stage set for them in the life of the ascetic or

266 As a form of religious pluralism the theory of the Transcendental Unity of World Religions (TUR) is an extreme attempt to bring about some form of unity between the many diverse religions in a universal form….According to them the existence of various religions only constitutes variant conceptions and perceptions of, and responses to, this one Ultimate divine reality. Since all religions come from one source, each religion contains within itself a measure of the absolute truth and at the same time is a valid method and means for the attainment of that truth… Such a belief has a good intention, however when utilized by those who are not prepared through the necessary path of Willayah, could have very dangerous results for both the student and the persons they misguide with their partial understanding of the true oneness… al-Attas stands as one of the strongest critics of this particularized form of deviance. In his monumental work, Prolegomena he clearly and convincingly shows that this claim springs from a misconception of Islamic metaphysics, particularly that which is based on wahdat al-wujËd. Dr. Fatimah Abdullah, Transcendent unity of religions, unpublished manuscript, 3.267

The physical and psychic functions of man are integral to nature, and as such they obey the laws pertinent to them with the same necessity as all other creatures. But the spiritual function, viz., the understanding and moral action, fall outside the realm of determined nature. …necessary fulfilment applies only to elemental or utilitarian purposes of God, his commandments to man, do have a base in the physical world, and hence there is a utilitarian aspect to them, but this is moral. It is precisely their aspect of being fulfillable in freedom, that is, the possibility of being fulfilled or violated remaining always open, that gives them the special dignity we ascribe to things “moral”….As the subject of moral action, man must therefore be capable of changing himself, his fellows or society, nature or his environment, so to actualize the divine pattern, or commandment, in himself as well as in them. Isma’il Raji al Faruqi, Al-Tawhid: Its Implications for Thought and Life, (International institute of Islamic Thought, Herdon, Virginia, U.S.A.), 12-13.268

The sacred resides in the nature of reality itself, and normal humanity has for the sacred just as it has for reality which one distinguishes naturally from the unreal….the sacred which has always been a living presence within normal civilizations, has become so forgotten ….to the exstent that the reality of the sacred is accepted at least in religious circles, it is connected with the power of God rather than his wisdom.” Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Gifford Lectures: Knowledge and the Sacred. (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 75.

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Khalwah by Allah269270271. Once ascended, he began the descent back to normal life

and realized seeing the tree in its wholeness, the need for sobriety and completeness,

thus began to practice both the fard of Islam in the exterior and the esoteric inner

dimension of Islam; and then and only then he became an Wali272273, a true caliph of

creation.

What must be understood plainly from this dissertation is that while from the

Islamic point of view sorcery is considered an abominable crime against God, that,

wizardry is not sorcery and neither is magic. Furthermore the theurgist who

participated in the Pre-Islamic religions around the world was practitioners of a type

269 The ideal point of departure for an understanding of Fitrah is the metaphysical principle that

underlies the concept. By means of this principle we come to understand the place of man in the universe, his essential spiritual nature and his ultimate destiny. It is the principle which provides the foundation [for our creed] ….from which all other …[spiritual traditions]…are derived. Accordingly, all other implications of Fitrah are rooted in this metaphysical principle….the implication is that the principle of Tawhid is integral to the inborn nature of man. The mission of all the prophets from Adam to Muhammad [PB upon them all] was to convey the message of Tawhid. Yasien Mohamed, The Definition of Fitrah, from, Fitrah: the Islamic concept of human nature, (TA-HA Publishers Ltd. 1996), 85.270

…and the prophet said: Truly some speech is magical” (Note that there was no derogatory look, expression or rejection verbally of this sort of magical speech.) Mohd. (PBBH), Sahih al-Bukhari, comp. Al-imam Zain udin Ahmad bin Abdul-Latif Az-Zubaidi, trlt. Dr. Muhammad Mushin Khan, Islamic University Al-Madina, Al-Munawwara, Saudia Arabia, Maktabar-us-Salam, 1994), 944.

271 Islam sees the doctrine of unity (al-Tawhid) not only as the essence of its own message but as

the heart of every religion….assertion of al-Tawhid and all religions are seen as so many repetitions in different climes and languages of the doctoring of unity. Moreover, wherever the doctrine of unity may be found, it is considered to be of divine origin. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Gifford Lectures: Knowledge and the Sacred. (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 71.

272 And Solomon was not ignorant of the divine knowledge; rather that this knowledge was of

that possession that was bestowed upon Solomon, so that it was not suitable for any other person to be manifested in the universe of witnessing with the same quality. …..The Arabic interpretation of these two names is ar-rahman, ar-rahim, which means that the names that Solomon used to mean ar-rahman, ar-rahim, are not the Arabic words ar-rahman, ar-rahim, but the Arabic words ar-rahman, rahim are the meanings of these two words that Solomon used. Thus what the shaykh intends, the two compassionate beatitudes were attributed to the haqq and that Solomon mentioned these two compassions in two names. Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Ismail bursevi transl., (Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 771-773.

273 Thus the name Interior (Batin) is realized for the servant, because hen Haqq becomes manifest

in the universe of chaptering with the images of the revelation of compassionate beatitude , the perfect servant for its manifestation, and as the emanation of action of the Haqq from the place of manifestation of the being of the servant, the servant was established in the being of the Haqq. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, (Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 770.

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of Theurgy which is descended from a degenerated form of Pre-Islamic monotheistic

prophetic teachings. These teachings were and still are a part of Gods plan according

to the findings of such notable Islamic scientist as ibn sinna, ibn Arabi, Syyed Hossein

Nasr, René gunon, and fridjoff shuon and are therefore not in any way to be discarded.

But rather they are to be examined and gleaned for all the authentic truth that can be

discerned from the Islamic perspective as divine truth. And that the science of

alchemy, the science of Talismana, the science of thaumaturgy are not in any way in

alignment with sorcery, in fact it has always been the science of thaumaturgy which

has battled against such abominable crimes as position by spirits, evil spells from

sorcery and illnesses disseminated by the black arts. They have always been in the

forefront of the battle against the forces of evil and are not the enemies of Islam. In

fact if there are any people fighting the darkness of evil on the metaphysical realm in

Malaysia today, they are the thaumaturgist. We have gone over a great many details

and sources in order to illustrate the truth of the distinctions between these two

specialist and in the differences between the methods, tools, and perspectives related

to both, in order to make clear to the reader that the two cannot e bulked together and

labeled as the same when in reality nothing could be further from the truth. We have

also explained the situation of the thaumaturgist or the Khalwah in the area of Sufism

and charted his rise from the Bronze Age as a strict shaman, his conversion from

Hinduism to Islam and finally his acceptance of Islam as his chosen faith. It remains

abundantly clear that the Khalwah was indeed a monotheistic healer and thaumaturgist

whereas the Bomo remains a sorcerer and a practitioner of the black arts.

The role of the Khalwah has therefore been found to have been during the

transitional period between the Islamic and Pre-Islamic periods of Malay history to

have been a hybrid system which utilized aspects of the Indigenous, Aryan, Persian,

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Chinese and Arab aspects of theurgy and evolved into monotheist thaumaturgy over

several centuries. The primary areas of effect are in summery as follows. In the art of

indigenous Malay theurgy the Khalwah kept Herbalism, knowledge of the subtle

realm, a love and connection with nature, especially the symbol of the tree of life.

From the Aryans the symbolic representation of the sun as the divine light of heaven,

the earth as the feminine principle of creation, and the practice of asceticism as a

means for communing with the energies of God. From the Hindus, the recitation of

mantras, the use of energy healing, the use of mythological hero tales such as the

Ramayana for illustrating the stages of development from average folk to ascetic.

From the Persians the transformation of charms into Talismana, the use of Arabic

letters for inscription of divine symbolism, and the remembrance of Ali as the ‘great

lion’ symbolic of the sun, transformed into the tiger as a form of particularization of

the universal symbol of the sun. From the Arabs the remembrance of the miracles of

the prophet Muhammad and the example of the perfect man, and remembrance of the

Nur of Muhammad as the primordial creative energy with which Allah made the soul

of man. The combination of these men many other theurgy motifs, symbols and

enacting gave the Malay thaumaturgist a certain un-orthodox appearance which many

have misinterpreted as being pantheist. However as this dissertation has shown, this is

a misconception of the Malay view. Furthermore the confusing of the Khalwah and

the Wali as Bomo or mythical figures has also resulted from this same

misunderstanding. Particularly the art of Waffiqiya has receive a great deal of

misunderstanding due to the ignorance of those who are naive as the Pythagorean

numerical symbolism inherent in this system of analysis which came to Malaya from

china through the Tocharian Aryans who were converts of Islam. All the elements

found within the character of the Malay Khalwah point decidedly to the conclusion

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that he was indeed very different from his predecessors and perhaps on the verge of

evolving into an alchemist. The roots of local or particularized strict shamanism in the

Germanic and Malay form of religious tradition274 lies in the original form of

monotheism; in this case through the Aryan branch of Noah’s son according to the

monotheist view. After being coupled with the pre-Muhammedian form of monotheist

prophetic teachings of Khidr/Idris, it developed into a neo-monotheist form of proto-

monotheist thaumaturgy. The degeneration of this form of proto-monotheist

thaumaturgy, which centered on the divine symbolism imparted to their culture each

respectively, was epitomized by the tree of life. This symbolic degeneration through

division of divinity and anthropomorphic psychological projection began with the lose

of spiritual perspective by the Aryans in a similar manner which occurred amongst the

Hebrews during the period of their Babylonian exile. During this time period from the

2nd millennium BCE to the Bronze Age, the Aryans fel prey to already degenerate

religious traditions of the existent fertility cults of the Fertile Crescent and Wullendorf

or later Danubian culture. With the spread of the Aryan warrior driven migrations,

was to spread the influence of their degenerated form of pseudo-monotheism to many

peoples across the glob from Siberia to Europe and from Central Asia to south East

Asia. By the Bronze Age the further degeneration of monotheist beliefs as introduce

by Adam and all the pre-Muhammadian prophets can be seen affecting other cultures

around the world. This is not an attempt to support universal syncretism, but rather a

stated fact that the cultures listed came into contact and in some ways had effect upon

the cultures they came into contact, trade and marriage with. This is seen clearly in the

274 Tradition contains a sense of truth which is both of divine origin and perpetuated throughout a

major cycle of human history through both transmission and renewal of the message by means of revelation. It also implies and inner truth which lies at the heart of different sacred forms and which is unique since Truth is one. Syyed hossain Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred, (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 71.

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introduction of these teachings to Malaya via the Tocharian of central Asia, the Indo-

Aryans of India, in three successive waves of Aryan spiritual influence through trade

and marriage, resulting in the Proto-Malay Dongson who was the descendants of both

Aryans and Australasians. We may add to this list the last of the three the Persian

Iranians (Aryans) who brought along with their Islamic faith a substantial amount of

particularized pre-monotheist traditions. The Malay form of theurgy developed from

the indigenous pre-monotheist traditions and the Aryan groups listed above, and are

therefore a synthesis of the two. It has always been and perhaps always will be the

tradition of Malay people to absorb the advantageous aspects of those traditions they

come into close contact with. The spiritual traditions related to Malay and Germanic

thaumaturgy via the earlier form of theurgy; this spiritual adaptation can be seen in

brief best symbolically through the Tree of Life model, which has been developed in

many mystical traditions in many ways.

An excellent example is the confusion of the tree of life as an ascension model;

an ascension model which has been degenerated from its original model from the

Islamic viewpoint. In western occultist have taken fro the re-written and manipulated

kabala the plan or blueprint of the tree of life which has served as a blue print for the

spiritual ascension for centuries for mystics of several distinct traditions and inverted

it; but this is not the existent of their manipulation from the Islamic perspective. They

have reassigned various angels, symbols, and talismanic elements in order to create a

new blue print, one which leads not to light but to darkness. The elements to which I

speak will be discussed in reference to the angels or archetypes first, secondly the

symbols and thirdly the meaning of the entire re-composition and its metaphoric and

spiritual repercussions not only in history but also to the ascension spiritually. The

highest point in the tree of life is that divine light which shines above it, representative

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of the divine light of God, traditionally among the Germanic Irmani it was the

swastika, the symbol of Odin and Asgardt. This is identical to the highest level of

Surya in Malay Pre-Islamic cosmology symbolized by the ascension on Garuda to the

realm of the divine. In Islamic tradition it was the prophet Khidr and or Khidr/Idris

who ascended to heaven and became to symbol, but on a higher level to the highest

station it was Muhammad when he went performed the miharaj275276277. This level

however is missing from the kabala due to their rejection of the prophet Muhammad;

therefore from an Islamic perspective the system is incomplete from the very start.

Dealing with the Islamic view in acceptance of pre-Mohammedan prophets of God,

we will examine Islamic views of this from the examination of the ascension of Khidr

and then make comments on the ascension of Muhammad. On this highest level which

the kabala still refers to as Kether (Hebrew for Khidr) the truth of the pre-

Muhammadian station remains the same; however the tree has been totally inverted.

In the cabbalist hierarchy of the tree of life which is inverted and I will refer to as the

tree of “death”, the station of Khidr is therefore at the “bottom” of the tree in the

position of nature. For the Germanic Irmani and Malay this would have been

275 ….The story of moses: for he was speacially chosen ….and we called him from the right of

mount (sinai), and made him draw near to us, for mystic (converse)….and we raised him to a lofty station….the signs of (God) Most Gracious were rehersed to them….such is the garden which we give as an inheritance to those of our servants who guard against evil… Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001),370-371.276

As the mystic begins the ascent through the gardens of paradise, the point of the encounter is the garden of the soul. This is the feminine principle within, structured by gateaways of sense. In order to enter, the mystic must gather together the inner senses or faculties of intuition. The object being sought by these faculties is the spiritual Heart, which is the abode of intuition. The mystic encounters perils in entering the garden, as the soul is pulled away from center by physical desires. The mystic is in a state of receptivity, with a readiness to be satisfied; but if the soul is actually satisfied, the mystic is expelled from the garden as much as Adam was expelled from Eden, Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 28.277

Some are expressed outwardly with audible voice; some felt inwardly, silently, form the centre of the heart. At the beginning one should declare in words what one remembers. Then stage by stage the remembrance spreads throughout one's being – descending to the heart, and then rising to the soul; then still further it reaches the realm of the secrets; further to the hidden. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 45.

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unthinkable, to place the founder of the Universe in their view at the bottom of the

tree of life. Equally unacceptable, in the Islamic viewpoint to place the prophet Khidr

at the bottom of the hierarchy would be the same as identifying him with sorcery

which is harram278279280281. The roots of the tree of life in Muslim mysticism are

equated with interaction with nature spirits, something which is a very remedial level

in the development of a spiritual journey and generally thought of only conceptually

in reference to those who were searching before the coming of the complete form of

Islam. Therefore all traditions represented here would have categorically denounces

such a re-organizing of the sacred tree of life from the very start. Furthermore, in

Sufism the sun is representative of the metaphor of the divine light of Allah, which

cannot ever be placed at the bottom of the tree but which must always remain at the

top as a symbol of the achievement of gnosis. This re-assignment of the heist station is

278 Allah describes the blessed olive tree, the tree of unity, as being neither or the East nor of the

West. In other words, it has neither a beginning nor an end, and the light of which it is the source has no rising or setting. It is eternal in the past and never-ending in the future.... Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 53.279 It is through symbols that one is awakened; it is through symbols that one is transformed; and it is through symbols that one expresses. Symbols are realities contained within the nature of things. The entire journey to God is a journey in symbols, in which one is constantly aware of the higher reality within things. Symbols reflect both divine transcendence and divine eminence; they refer to both the universal aspect of creation and the particular aspect of tradition. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 124.280

Accepted by Gunter and Dumezil were by it comes from the Indo Aryan root uer “to Bind”….Their supreme God “creator of the earth”….”the most high master”….add to the term turem the qualification of “Great”, “Luminus”…”White”, …”Lord master my father”…light from on high, and so on. In prayers and in written text the sky God is often called “father”…….he who makes the world fruitful. ….that is to say universal sovereign. …in the titles of God the notion of… commander, is clear….As creator, knowing and seeing all, guardian of the law …ruler of the cosmos; ….The Summerian term for divinity (Dingir was translated into Akkadian [Semitic] as ellu, “Bright, shinning”)…. Jon R. Stone (edt.), The essential Max Muller: on language, mythology, and religion, New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002), 32.281 …it seems to have come in several waves and is associated with the peoples speaking Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) languages…it mixed with the …shouldered Adze …peoples speaking Môn-Khmer (Austro-Asiatic) languages. One of the features of the quadrangular Adze culture was the erecting of megaliths, and a complex of religious beliefs associated with them….The ziggurat was perhaps reguarded as the body of the God (and being primarily concerned with chthonic powers a cosmological aspect …paralleled by the ancient Chinese God of the soil was the personification of the energies which reside in soil”, …was represented by a mound at the capital, while the hierarchy of local earth Gods were represented by a mound in each of the territorial divisions…the fertility aspect of the earth God…was represented by a tree…. H.G. Qaritch Wales, Ph.D. Pre-history and religion in South East Asia, London, (Bernard Qaritch LTD, 11 Grafton street. 1957), 21-22.

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therefore spiritually seen by those Sufis who recognize it as blasphemous. The next

great blunder made here is the assignment of the prophet Khidr through his symbolic

representation as Hermes (presumably identified with Hermes Trimagarious with

angel Raphael; this “angel” has been placed in the middle of the hierarchy as

malchime in Hebrew and is again taken from its proper place in the hierarchy and

made to be stationed at a lower plane of the tree. Hence the proper order of prophets

and angels according the Islamic perspective and that of most Islamic scientist has

been incorrectly jumbled in their hierarchical roles spiritually. Next we look to the

symbolism, we have touched upon the symbolism of the swastika representing the

light which has been degraded to the upside down lowest stage, properly belonging to

the heist; but now we encounter the archaic symbol of macrocosm and microcosm

coupled as another form of sun symbol seen in all pre-monotheist and in monotheist

society as the symbol of the sun, placed in the position of malchium at the centre of

the hierarchy. Again this is a degrading of the divine as medium in value rather than

central and atop the tree of life. Even more diabolical is that this confusion of adding

“two” sun symbols is unforgivable by the scholars of symbolism all of which

academic or spiritual would undoubtedly tell anyone who ask that the symbol of the

swastika and the concentric circles are on and the same “not separate” and therefore to

represent them in two distinct levels of the tree of life is an unforgivable mistake in

understanding which makes the entire diagram fall apart in symbolic significance282283.

282 When all is gone, what is left forever is the holy spirit. It sees with the light of Allah. It sees it.

It sees by Him; it sees in him; it sees from Him. There are n images, no likenesses in His seeing. Nothing is like Him, and He is the hearing and the seeing. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Sura Shura, 11.283

Nature is the collector, which means the state is that that which collects all opposites is Nature because Nature is one reality by virtue of its matter and different things by virtue of its particularizations and images. Consequently Nature accepts the determination of oppositions over the images because it collects in itself the opposites through their realities, and in oppositions it is the same as the opposite but it does not collect in itself the opposites with the particularization of oppositions in the image in particularized matter….the one Being of the Haqq is manifested in the different mirrors

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Spiritually the significance is even more dramatic and perilous due to the perhaps

irreparable damage it would do to the spiritual adept attempting to ascend the tree of

life spiritually in this manner, due to the fact it would almost certainly lead to rejection

of Tawhid284285286. This rejection would take the form of dualism, placing one symbol

of God in the centre and ten again in the bottom. One could argue that there is one in

the heart which represents the aspect of God within and one at the other end to

represent the divine; however this argument falls apart again due to the incorrect

understanding of the nature of the soul and the proper hierarchy. The soul is only the

microcosm and cannot become representative of the macrocosm until the tree itself

has been ascended, and even then is only representative of the microcosm/macrocosm

unity in the sense of realizing there is not duality in Tawhid287. This however does not

and is varied in places of reflection of the a’yan and receives the totality of the determinations of the a’yan, by this aspect the Haqq is khalq. Thus, with the eye of vision look at it…by this aspect, he referes to the words: He is one image in different mirrors. Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Ismail bursevi transl., Ibn Sina And Mysticism: remarks and Admonisions: part four, (Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), I354-358. 284

Stages of the Journey – When one is at the gateway, the beginning of the journey to the Absolute, there are various states which descend upon the mystic. Each one is itself a gateway orienting the seeker to the journey ahead. ….these are the second stage of the journey. The minute one enters the door, one comes in need of actions, encounters,; one meets these with conduct which relates to the states one feels and to this, the third stage. After encounter in goes more perfect self, one learns good habits and dispositions from others and thus builds character by creating praiseworthy forms of self; this is the fourth stage. ….it reflects only rational understanding. The means of psychological participation are referred to as states, stations and presences. The word state (hal) means to ‘descend, alight or penetrate a place’ ; it denotes a quality which is not permanent. …whatever change enters the heart by means of pure love from the direction of truth, …, is called a spiritual state (hal). It enters the mystic’s heart through desire, anxiety, thirsting, bewilderment, illumination or intuition. It may occur as a flash, or it may remain longer, But it is never permanent. Feelings or emotions change or vanish, and the subject finally becomes weary. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 97-100.285

….and it is the same for Viceregents [ViceregentViceregents] from among men. Their height through being Viceregent [ViceregentViceregent] is not an essential height. Had it been otherwise it would have been for all men and as this is not general we have known that in this height the height is for position,….and in respect to being he is the same as all beings, and things which are named as latter things are high by their essence. And God, by virtue of being, is the same as the things that are, which is high by its essenceis the ame as the being of God. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al-Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn arabi (Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 336.286

The tree in the Garden is the Tree of life…its fruits…are universal meanings which relate all forms and images to the inner sameness existing within all things. Universal meanings may be taken by the mystic, however, only when there has been a phenomenal image, an imprint upon the soul. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 29.287 Tawhîd is the corner-stone of the Islamic belief which was taught by all the prophets. The Arabs deviated form tawhîd but it was restored to its original purity with the advent of Muhammad,

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mean and I repeat does not mean in any way that the person themselves becomes God.

What it means is that they remove the veils which separate them from the state of

Fitra thus realizing that all humans have the potential to return to the divine state of

Fitra. Furthermore when we add to this the fact that the veils can only be completely

removed by a prophet or Wali at the final stage of ascension (some which are demoted

to the bottom in this system) then the illogical organization of this model becomes

quite apparent. Therefore the ascension of the tree of death is not the ascension of the

tree of life, but is rather a descending of the tree of life in a mutated form concocted

by those individuals who distorted weather knowingly or unknowingly the true

organization of the tree of life model and perhaps the entire kabala. While we have

seen in the previous sections how the definition of Hakim, Khalwah and Sufi Sheik are

undeniably Islamic in their character, the Bomos who sometimes masqueraded as an

Islamic mystic under various folk titles can be seen to have been be deviant in several

areas as follows:

The use of distructive non Muslim jinn in a way not sanctioned by Islam.

Such jinn control the pretender and are not serving him.

The use of shirk and bidah.

People that lack the outward signs of Iman.

After reviewing these four characteristics of the pretenders, we will look into

the ways in which we can recognize that the Khalwah (Herbalist, Exorcist & Hakim),

Wali (Mystic), and others who are in fact Muslims and do in fact submitted to Allah

may Allah bless him and grant him peace, Divine Unity is expressed as lâ ilâha ill' Allah ‘There is no deity but Allah’ and together with his expression of Muhammadun Rasûlu’llah ‘Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’, a person is admitted into the fold of Islam. Tawhîd implies that Allah is One, and that He is one and unique in His essence (dhât), His attributes (sifât), and His works. This monotheistic concept of Allah liberates man from subservience to everything and everyone, and is the basis for the unity of mankind. The antithesis of tawhîd is shirk which is considered to be the only unforgivable wrong action (Qur'an 4:48), and it signifies the association of partners with Allah. Blind submission to one’s own desires is also described as shirk (Qur'an 25:43).

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and Islam and are also involved in battling evil through exorcism, healing, protecting

and teaching Islamic alchemy of the heart. However one of the most important

differences in the popular mystic or Khalwah and the Orthodox Sufi Mystic is that the

“True” Hakim works for the good of the Ummah and for the enlightenment of the

Ummah. He sees himself as non-existent except in the oneness of Allah to which all

belong, come from and return to upon death. It is not this world and the riches and

joys of the nafs, which interest him, but the Akhira or the next life with Allah, which

he strives for. For centuries Sufi wise men and saints have constantly strove to perfect

themselves in the cause of Allah and for the sake of their souls’ deliverance from evil.

They strove to improve their Ummah and to teach using all of the tools you have seen

above. The difference between a practitioner of Islamic science or Sufism and a Sufi

Mystic or Mystic is only the difference in added emphases upon Islamic medicine and

healing as a secondary role to the Sufi way of life on the road to enlightenment288.

However it should be very clearly stated here that the “True” Hakim does not

ever in any way advocate pantheism, polytheism, or any other view that would run

contrary to the teachings of Islam. Islam and the oneness of Allah as seen in Nature,

The Qur’an and Hadith of the prophet (PBBH) are the very cornerstone of the Sufis

Mystics life289.

Therefore what we see in the above discussion is a summary of the road that

Malay sorcerers, tribesmen, healers, and others have traveled to change the animism

288 Among its members several Muslim saints. ‘Muslims’, it is laid down’ must feed the district

judge, the officials in the mosque, the magician and the midwife. The muezzin is king in the mosque ad the magician [wizard] is king in the house of the sick… Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt, M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 72).289

…there has been the recurrent conflict between the transcendentalism of the orthodox theologians, for whom God is in heaven, and popular mysticism, which starting from animism inclines toward a pantheism that finds him closer than the veins in ones neck. Bun no Muslim theologian, however orthodox in his transcendentalism, would conceive in God to be in heaven, detached, as it were, from the world. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Some aspects of Sufism: As Understood and Practiced among the Malays, (Malaysian Socialogical Research institute LTD., Singapore, 1963), 18.

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which it was intermingled with their adapt into a Islamic lifestyle. The Pre-Islamic

prophetic teachings which remain with the Malay have been rediscovered and revived

in Sufism. Sufism elevated these teachings along with organic unity, a love of nature

(including nature spirits) and many other aspects of Malays tribal life to a level of

scientific application of Islamic ideals coupled with Malay ethics and culture, to

become the modern form of Malay spirituality: a form of spirituality that embraces the

examination of Nature in a broadminded and very Islamic manner. One way of seeing

an Islamic Ummah, is: “people who help each other, care for each other, point to the

path of proper action, and seek the miracles of nature and life together, and believe in

all the truth of God290291. Taking this for our definition of an Islamic Ummah, I would

say that Malays have a better foundation build than any other ethnic group I the world.

The changes that were brought about by Muslim Sufis of Malaya were brought about

in a predominantly peaceful manner by presenting Islamic monotheism with a kind

heart and an open mind must never be forgotten. It was this peaceful form of Da’wah

which was the key to this overwhelmingly proficient form of conversion. A form of

conversion that converted the Malay and gave birth to the well-balanced form of

Islamic monotheism that exists in Malaysia among Malay Sufis of today’s Malaysia.

The development of both popular mysticism and Islamic mysticism in the proper

sense have developed over the centuries, and taken on aspects of one another. The

290 The Sufi, in contrast with the magician, has a close connection with religion as a regular

institution. The magician would force the “spirits” to grant what he desired, which may be that which guards against evil. Or that which procures favors from the “spirits”. The Sufi does not demand what is desired, rather he Submittes to the divine will upon which man feels dependent. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Some aspects of Sufism: As Understood and Practiced among the Malays, (Malaysian Socialogical Research institute LTD., Singapore, 1963), 49.291

Islamic science and technology affirm the importance of maintaining aharmonious relationship between man and the environment. Islamic civilization can take pride in the fact that its scientific and technological culturedid not result in environmental and echological disasters….The traditional Muslim view on science and the enviromentis that there is a major fault not only with modern attitudes toward the natural environment , but also with the modern scientific and t4echnological enterprise. Osman Bakar, Environmental Wisdom for the Planet Earth: The Islamic Heritage, (Center for Civilizational Dialogue: University of Malaya, 2007), 16—18.

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Sufi form of mysticism was accepting of the aspects of animistic cosmology and

healing which were accepted by their wider group of Islam and rejected only those

which were haram or forbidden such as black sorcery. If we can see Islamic

mysticism as Islamic alchemy, Islamic medicine, geodesy, geomancy, divine energies,

and the use of examining Nature as the “Qur’an of creation”, includes the subtle realm

of the jinn and the angelic realm. Then, this form of mysticism which I refer to as

Islamic mysticism grew from the early Malays as a result of spiritual balance created

by the changing role of the individual as mentioned above and the mystical techniques

employed by them for the community. Winstedt seems to look at the Malay Khalwah

and the Bomo Sorcerer whom he refers erroneously to as a magician292 293as though

they are almost interchangeable,294 Islamicaly this is impossible as Sorcery is

forbidden, while healing under the guidance of a Sheik is permitted. This occurrence

is symptomatic of the overall changes and developments taking place in Malay at the

time of conversion and illustrates the great value of the relationship between Malays

and the world of Nature that is the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms. the

experimentation of early Malay mystics with Karamat, Semangat, divine energies 292 The term magician is not interchangeable and is a derivative of the persian word magi, a title of the zoroastrian people of the book as defined by Qur’an and al-raini, the zend-avesta itself identifies sorcerers as the enemies of the magi, all of which has been duly quoted in other parts of this dissertation.293

…”magic” has been given, and though primarily the word “magic” only described the learning of the priest and sages of the Medes and Persians, who were famed for their skills in working enchantments, the word is now used to describe any supposed supernatural art, but more particularly any system of learning or art which claims to control the actions of spiritual or superhuman beings. Jerry Stannard, Herbs and Herbalism in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, (Ashgate Variorum, Brookfield USA, 1999), 2.294

Next the musician with the viol chants a song with an orthodox introduction but ending with an invocation to the spirits of the village, various nature-spirits, the Spectre Huntsman and Siva, begging them to recall any of their followers plaguing the sick man. The shaman shrouds and fumigates himself and falls into a trance. The orchestra plays frantically. A chant, disguised by the phrases of Muslim medico-religious lore, invites the spirit of the fairy princess to enter the medium. The shaman nods and whirls his head violently; his eyes are closed and he is possessed by spirit after spirit until he has chosen the one he desires to retain. Gazing at the flame of a candle he reports the cause of the patient's illness. He sucks or pretends to suck the body of the sick man and starts another chant full of pantheistic Muslim lore declaring that man's body is God's house and no place for spirits of evil. This exorcism eventually transfers the spirit from the patient into the shaman, who has to dispel it thence with the help of one of his familiars..

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which the Malay mystic utilized in his efforts to help the community in his role as

healer and exorcist295296These contributions to Malay society were implemented by a

class of spiritual specialist or Islamic mystics, these mystics were experts in the

healing arts of both the indigenous tribal herbals in an oral form and the Islamic

medicine which had been given them by the examples of such great Islamic healers as

al-Razi. For this reason the Islamic mystic or healer should not be confused with the

Pre-Islamic healer or Bomo who was a sorcerer. While there are similarities between

the healing methods of the tow, the fundamental difference is in the application of

their healing arts and the cosmological view they utilized. The Islamic healer was a

monotheist with a background in philosophy and Arab medicine as well as other

techniques foreign to the Bomo such as Talismana, which is the use of talismans using

Arabic inscriptions taken from Qur’an. Talisman was brought to Malaysia from Persia

and was the result of the Islamic mystics of Malaya adopting the Arabic inscriptions

of Islam into a tool for battling the evil spirits of the rebellious jinn who they had been

called to exorcise from possessed members of the community. The development of

Islamic mysticism in Malaysia takes on more of a utilitarian purpose in the battle

between the local Muslims and the subtle energies or jinn which were in constant

opposition to Islamic spirituality.

The Islamic Viceregent and his Worldview

Islamic Personality is a matter of training, sacrifice, and adaptation to listening and

295In his early work, Jung was convinced that the archetypes are “Psychoid” , that is, “they shape

matter (nature) as well as the mind (psyche)…. Houston smith, Forgotten Truth: the common vision of the world's religions , (San Francisco, Calif. : HarperSanFrancisco, repr 1992, 1976), 40.296

…one which breaks down absolute barriers between entities and between space and time, but also between observer and observed, …between mind and matter…in other words…a Holistic concept of being. J.J. Clarke, Jung and eastern thought: a dialogue with the Orient, (London: Routledge, 1994), 98.

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learning through Hidayah. Hidayah comes from following the basic elements of

Islam. This process includes many techniques in order to attain the following. When

we error in the path toward Isan, we can find our Hidayah through Taubah or

‘repentance’. This is also a part of the development of ‘Islamic personality’. The

transition between “animal’” or emotional behavior, which appeals to the animal

instincts of the human psyche; molded by the development of Isan is what is termed

by some as “spiritual alchemy”. However, there can be no further development on the

road of Wilaya if the aspirant does not accept and investigat the signs of Allah in

Nature.The oneness of Tawhid is the oneness of Allah’tallah, that is Tawhid and the

development of the entire of existence of the sublime and gross entities is composed

of his divine energy. Modern scientist refer to this as the imperical world, Islamic

scientist have named it the Cosmos. This was put into place via the “Universal soul”

or “Wahy”297298299. For what purpose was this done? And what has it achieved? From

the perspective of Islamic Science Allah put the souls of humans into the world to

know him and worship him in order to give them balance, that they might know love

and happiness through following his way of life. The truth of this is seen by Sufis as

297 According to one sacred Hadith (Hadith Qudsi), God desires to be known, so he creates the

universe…The central figure in this created universe is man who, by virtue of the supernatural character of his intellect and it’s cognitive powers, and by virtue of being a universe in miniature,….Thus the human intellect has often been referred to as the subjective, partial or particular revelation of God (Al Wahy Al-Juz’i)…. Osman Bakar, Tawhid and science: Islamic Perspectives on Religion and Science, second edition, (ArahPublications, Sha Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, 2008), 26.298

….Both the manifestation of his Essence and the manifestation of His attributes are dependent on His Essence Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 53.299

The absence of shadow in Persian miniatures reveals that they spring from the world or archetypes which reflects the light of the divine … The reflective mirror. A second concept of creation important to Sufi expression is that of the mirror. Before the creation of human beings, the universe had been brought into being, but it was unpolished, unreflective, unconscious of the divine presence. The macrocosmic universe came into being so that the manifestation of self in the form of a Divine name would have a ‘place’ … The mystic aspires to become this reflective mirror. Polishing the mirror in order to make it a place for the Divine self to see self depends upon two modes: the first, the ‘preparedness’ of the place, is the ability to receive, conceive and give birth to the second mode, the descent of one of the Divine names. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 15.

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illustraited in Ayat Kudsi. In addition we have been given the books of divine

revelation and the teachings of the prophets to teach us the methods in which to

implement Islamic din for building a balanced way of life. As stated above the

introduction of Wahy by Allah was done in order to know himself via his creation

serving him through love and action that is this process is seen through in a series of

steps.

The steps are as follows:

The establishment of the 5 pillars of Islam

The development of an understanding of iman in a manner both mental &

spiritual.

Alechemy of the heart, knowledge and actions consistent with the Qur’an

and Sunnah.

Acceptance of Tawhid and the need to become a Viceregent of Nature

To help one’s self and the community by being patient, humble and kind.

The first example of this is the life of the prophet Muhammad, however if we

would like a summary which is in the same spirit of the prophets teachings we may

look the words of al-Ghazzali300.

However in the perspective of Islamic Science and most Muslims; the right

intentions are not enough, we must struggle to be knowledgeable of our faith and

understand what it is that we are doing in our life Islamicley. This way is done by

following the steps mentioned above. As is mentioned in Qur’an, as we develop

ethically and spiritually we are developing in various stages stages, throughout life. In

order for this to development to work properly we need to develop a higher form of

300 The life of the heart is knowledge, so preserve it, The death of the heart is ignorance, so avoid

it. Your best provision is true devotion, so provide it. This advice of mine is enough for you, so heed it… David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher, AL—GHAZALI: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names of God: Al-maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma’ Allah al-husna, (Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), Introduction.

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knowledge and continue to improve as individuals and as communities. This is done

through individual spiritual ethics and communitie ethics, which follow the Shari’ah

as a guide in the organization of lifestyle. The Shari’ah however should never to be

misused for political gain or personal agendas301. For this reason those who strive be

knowledgable are those who are best among the people, as long as their ethical

lifestyle is well built on the foundation of faith and deeds302. Furthermore one should

never confused those who masquerade as orthodox Muslims as having understanding,

or being completely knowledgable in foundational Islamic truths. The required,

advised, and good aspects of a Islamic lifestyle are ‘fundamental’ meaning merely

basic, rather than foundational. Foundational meaning that those truths are not only

basic but also contain something within their meaning substantial enough to build

upon. Islamic foundational truths are necessary for the development of knowledge and

thus necessary for the development of equilibrium. This fact makes the acquisition of

knowledge a very important aspect of the development of Optimum Islamic

Equillibrium. In its truest sense Islamic personality has many facets and is made up of

rights, responsibilities and actions and an acquisition of knowledge. The primary

301 The principal cause of heedlessness is ignorance of the reality of the divine laws and orders.

What keeps one in this stage of ignorance is a darkness that completely covers one form the outside and fully invades one's inner being. Some of the properties of this darkness are arrogance, pride, envy miserliness, vengeance, lying, gossiping, backbiting and so many other hateful traits. It is these traits that reduce the best creation of Allah to the lowest of the low. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 55.302

Our Master the Prophet said: 'At each renewal of ablution Allah renews the belief of His servant whose light of faith is repolished and shine brighter,' and 'Repeated purification by ablution is light upon light.'...Inner purity can also be lost, perhaps more often than outer purity, by bad character , low behaviour, harmful acts and attitudes such as pride, arrogance, lying, gossiping. Slandering, envy and anger. Conscious and unconscious acts by one's sense soil the spirit: the mouth which eats unlawful food, the lips which lie….When inner purity is thus souled and spiritual ablution broken, the renewal of ablution is by sincere repentance, which is performed by realizing one's fault, by painful regret accompanied by tears (which are the water washing the dirt from the spirit), by intending never to repeat this foult, by wishing to leave all faults, by asking the forgiveness of Allah, and by prying that he prevent one form committing a sin again. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 71-72.

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vehicle of misunderstanding as to what is Islam in the sense of living Din is both

theological and philosophical. The term ’duty’ is often mis-used by zealets and

splinter groups who refer to themselves as Muslims, this Duty is not control, free will

has been given to Muslims and all of humanity as is stated in the Qur’an. Free will

was given in order than man may sojourn the life he is given along the strait path in

order to find balance and become close to God. Therefor the term duty, when

misapplied and the idea of forcing faith are not appropriate in making clear the path of

Islam. As a vice-regent of God he can then make a positive contribution to the

empirical and spiritual well being of this world we live in. Furthermore the

degeneration of mainstream Islamic lifestyle is a direct result of the problems we have

illustrated above. This degeneration has resulted in a view which has transformed real

Muslims into blind followers of those who believe in the philosophical theory referred

to as the “Divine Order”303. The correct form of Islamic din is in no way related to

such headless robotic behavior and directionless violence. The truly Islam form of din

is in the view of Islamic Scientist the result of using all of the above techniques to

develop a balanced lifestyle. However as Viceregents of Nature, we must also

acknowledge the responsibility we have to examine, take care of and understand

nature. Nature is a part of Tawhid and comes utilizes aspects of Islamic theology,

science, communal cooperation, ecology and many other Islamic activities and skills

for the betterment of the natural realm, inclusive of mankind. The true form of Islamic

Personality is responsible for their trust to Allah. All those who perceive him perceive

303 A rule-deontologist can avoid the problem of possible conflict between basic principles if he can show there is a single basic non-telelogical principle that with a long and important history is the divine command theory, also known as theological volunteerism, which holds that the standard of right and wrong is the will or law of God….if and only if and because it is the command ed or forbidden by God,….and nothing else….he will ensist that such conduct is right because and only because it is commanded by God. …many religious thinkers have rejected the Divine Command theory, …e.g., St. Thomas Aquinas and Ralph Cudworth. William Frankena, Ethics, second edition: Foundations of Philisophicay Series, (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1973), 28-29.

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him through Tawhid, which make necessary the understanding, that, if Islam is to calls

itself the “one and only” way to God; it could it could not possibly bear witness or

“ashadu” as in ashadu a le illahi ill Allah, as “Illahi” infers directly that the ‘oneness’

of Tawhid is present in this statement of faith. Furthermore to bear witness to the

acceptance of Tawhid in the Shihada This implies immediate acceptance that ‘all

truth’ manifest is from God The Qur’an itself note clearly that “this book does not

abrogate any of its previous teachings” and so it becomes clear, that, all spiritual truth

from pre-Mohammmedan prophets are truth from God and therefore a part of Tawhid.

Thus we see the confirmation of primordial Islam among all peoples, inclusive of a

love of Nature. This is done through seeing the signs in Qur’an and in signs of the

empirical world, the Qur’an of creation304305.

In the path of Wilaya we see the concept of Nietzsche’s Der Uber Mench

taking place in the most advance manner possible in spiritualism, inclusive of the

acceptance of Tawhid as proven thus far in this thesis, or to put it to a single term

Tawhidism. The Sufi on the path of Wilaya does not see himself as Der Uber Mench

the “over man” or the first among men, rather he sees himself as the ’last’ the one who

serves, and therefore becomes the first by being last. Through this lifestyle he

becomes the truest version of Der Uber Mench.306 Furthermore, the completeness of

304 The goal of Islamic Science is to know the true nature of things…to demonstrate the unity of

the “laws of nature” as a reflection of the unity of the divine principle….Muslims who submitted to the divine law which God had promulgated. Osman Bakar, Tawhid and science:Islamic Perspectives on Religion and Science, second edition, (ArahPublications, Sha Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, 2008) 69-70.305 There is not an animal (that lives) on the eart, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you…..Those who reject Our signs are deaf and dumb, --in the midst of darkness profound…. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary. Surah al-Nur, Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001),Surah 6:38-39, 160.306 The prophet (PBBH) says, ‘a single divine inspiration which cuts one off from the world and bestowes upon one the reflection of the divine attributes, showing one the signes of dvines unity, is worthy of the experience of both worlds.’ And ‘the one who has not experienced ecstacy and therebye received the manifestation of divine wisdome and truth, has not lived.’, Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 89.

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Tawhid has become manifest in message of the prophet Muhammad and the books

Divine Revelation as the culmination of the organizing principle created for these

teachings, they bring together of all of the Pre-Islamic prophetic religious views. The

truth of this can be discerned by the Aqil and the Ein al Qalb in examining the

messages of Pre-Islamic prophets as well as examination in the books of revelation

and the Qur’an of creation, thus culminating in the most balance and complete view of

truth. The eliments of knowledge in both the Qur’an Tadwini and the Qur’an Takwini

found in Tawhid itself are a manifested in the imperical realm or cosmos. Therefor

they are a way of examining that which exist; in other words- God is everything, and

everything is connected to God in one way or another. And yet no element may claim

to be God, for God as the perfected form or essence is beyond the concepts conceived

of in the empirical world. He is both the unseen and seen in perfect balance and

harmony.

Nature: The Qur’an Al-Takwini

One of the most unfortunate aspects of the modernization of the world has been that

Muslims have stepped aside and given control over the responsibility to preserve the

balance between mankind and the natural world to the Christians, Buddhist, Hindus

and other peoples of varying beliefs. Rather than leading the fight to care for the world

we have ignored the cry of nature, and on the Day of Judgment we will be judged for

the failing of this sacred trust from Allah. Here we find the most challenging problem

of how to examine and accurately explain the relationship between religion and

energy usage for healing. The way in which the Malay and Germanic tribesmen saw

these energies was both cosmological and spiritual based upon a Casual relationship

between the organic realm and empirical world. A world set in order by physics or

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natural laws which overlap with the sublime realm or the realm of metaphysics set in

order through a different set of natural laws307. The Qur’an Takwini consists of both,

for both are a part of Nature. One must take into consideration that there are various

differing views on the role played by nature as conceived of by tribal peoples and their

particularized cosmological traditions respectively. In the view of Sadr al-din Shirazi

true knowledge began with the start of time, and so from the very beginning of

religious traditions throughout the world the primordial religion of Islam was the

beguining of spirituality prier to degeneration and anthropomorphic projection. This is

the view we are taking here. And while we agree, that Islamic is the final culmination

of all of these kernels of truth, we do not exclude any kernels of divine truth simply

because of the degeneration of its authentic message from God. Rather we have

sought to separate the negative and or subjective human views of the human

perspective from the more perfected understanding of Tawhid seen from the Sufi

perspective. That is to say that, in using al-shirazies view, we see Pre-Islamic Malays

and Germans as having something to contribute to the development of religious

knowledge and in having something from the divine which drove their traditions to

evolve. Furthermore we see that these kernels of divine wisdom in the two respective

groups were represented primarily in the role of the theurgist and later Thaumaturgist

and their relationship with the Natural realm.

307 …man is proclaimed the final victor in the long struggle against a hostile naturl environment , then conciouslu or otherwise, we will seek to emphasize our right to dominate all natural things….rather than the idea of mans harmony with it….If however we view the natural world as a realitythat also possesses a spiritual meaning and significance, then our sence of responcibility towards nature has to be viewed in broader and more fundamental [foundational] terms….a personal God who presents himself as the Omniscent, the Omnipotent and all-wise Creator (al-Khaliq), and the entire universe as His created order (khalq) or as the domain od His creatures, both the physical and non-physical, the animate as well as inanimate. Osman Bakar, Enviromental Wisdome for Planet Earth: The Islamic Heritage, ( Center for Civilizational Diologue, University of Malaya, Luala Lumpur, 2007), 55.

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Emotional intelligence and nature

The best method for examining this relationship is to first examine the ‘creative

spirit’. The primary mode of expression for Malay and Germanic tribes of the

conversion period respectively, was emotional intelligence as seen in the ‘creative

spirit’. These two tribes did not rely upon analytical thinking as their primary mode of

intelligent discourse. Their primary way of expressing knowledge was through the

heart and in the mode of Art, Poetry, Magic, and Ritual. This is seen quite clearly in

the phrase implicit in both cultures prior to their conversion to monotheism “my heat

tells me so”. This phrase in German is “myn seigin megin spraken ich” and in

Malay”Rasa Hati” which means virtually the same thing. In the case of the Malay it

comes in the form of intuitions, exorcisms and healing of the shaman, and signs found

in nature. Another way they expressed this was through their relationship with the

immutable or metaphysical realm see in their close relationship with Nature and the

manner in which they saw aspects of the Divine in Nature in the form of energies and

elements such as fire, water, earth and sky.

When we look at these signs in Nature we cannot help but see that Allah is

sending us the message that there are signs in all of nature. Beginning with man as the

microcosm of creation we can see scientific evidence support the idea, that, the world

is an open book of God. This is seen in the scientific fact that man is composed of

every element in the universe. Thus far 83 elements have been found in the human

body, all found by secular scientist with no interest in verifying these views, thus

providing an outside verification of the information provided here. Furthermore, all

animals used as symbols in the Qur’an are significant pointers to this relationship.

Another connection is the Qur’an, as stated earlier.

As we have seen above, light is an important metaphor and functions as a

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double meaning in Islam, the term Nur makes reference to both light and divine

eminence which can be seen in the Surah of light308309. Identification of God with the

sun and the prophet which is to say that, just as the prophet reflects the divine message

of Allah, so too does the moon reflect the light of the sun. And therefore we see the

Qur’an of creation revealed in the form of symbols, signs, metaphors and analogies.

All of these facts support the idea that the open book of nature is the “Qur’an of

creation” the counter balance of the written Qur’an310.

The role of man as a microcosm and the Viceregent of the creation are an

example of the signs and symbolism of each Ayat or “sign” to be found in Qur’an.

This also presents us with the opportunity to examine the Qur’an as the symbolic

significance of nature as reflected through these signs in nature. The written Qur’an is

a great tool in Islamic science into examination of nature, the unseen, the fact that

Allah has created all existence in pairs for a reason. 311 As we see in the above

statements the Qur’an of creation is not the property of any Pre-Monotheistic and is in

308 God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of his light is as if a niche and

within it a lamp: the lamp enclosed in glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: lit from a blessed tree…. though fire scarce touch it, light upon light! God doth guide whom he will to his light… Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Surah An-Nur, 24: 35.309

Allah Most High first created, from the divine light of His own Beauty, the light of Muhammad (PBBH). He declares this in a divine tradition related by the prophet (PBBH): ‘I have created the soul of Muhammad from the light of my manifestation (Wajh)…. He sent that light from were it was created, from the Ultimate Realm (alam al-lahut) – which is the realm of the manifestation of Allah’s Essence, of unity, of absolute being—to the realm of divine names, the manifestation of divine attributes, the realm of casual intelligence of the Total Soul. There he dressed the souls in robes of light. These souls are called sultan-souls. Then he caused them to descend to the world of matter, of water and fire, earth and ether, and they became human souls. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 5-6.310 The doctrine of symbolism may e concluded from other verses in which the Qur’an affirms that every single thing on earth has been sent down in finite measure, sent down as a loan rather than a gift, for nothing here below can last, and everything must in the end revert to its supreme source….the Archetype is always the heir who inherits back the symbol I wich it manifest itself. Syyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic art and spirituality, (Golgonooza press, UK, 1987), 15 from M.Lings, symbol and archetype: A study of the meaning of Existence, p.1-2.311

“The Sufi’s basing their idea on data provided by the Qur’an, formulated the doctrine of “the five presences” (al-hadarat al-ilahiyyat al-kams) to depict the hierarchy of the whole of reality. Osman Bakar, Tawhid and science:Islamic Perspectives on Religion and Science, second edition, (ArahPublications, Sha Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, 2008), 22.

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reality completely within the realm of the Islamic view of life. It was the degeneration

of tribal animism whose original views resulted in the rise of spirit worship among

almost every single place in the earth. However, with the coming of Islamic science

and the way of Muhammad from which it sprang we find that most of these people

slowly developed their own unique forms of monotheism. Let me start by saying, that

before examining what Islamic science is, we should say that, Tasawuff or Sufism “Is”

a science in and of itself; Sufism is the science of spiritual development through

physical, mental and metaphysical means beginning from the divine essence, traveling

through the heart to the brain and manifesting in the actions of speech of the body and

its other actions as a direct result of the polishing of the heart312313. The road of Wilaya

is the high roads of Surat-al-mustakeem, it leads one on a spiritual journey which,

when examined properly is nothing less than an extraordinary scientifically provable

way of developing the equilibrium of mind, body and spirit (anima, corpus, spiritus).

This way of viewing Nature and the Divine was through the Qur’an al Takwini and

the Signs of Allah in Nature, was forever altered for the Malay when the use Aql was

introducted in an entirely different way. The introduction of Logic through Islam and

Sufi mystics in Malaysia brought about a cultural and linguistic revolution. The

challenge of developing both sides of the brain, as an extension of the heart was

something encouraged in Islam and especially among the Islamic Scientist of

Sufism314.

312 ...But as a theater wherein are reflected aspects of the divine qualities, as a myriad of mirrors reflecting the face of the Beloved, as the Theophany of reality which resides at the center of the being of man himself. To see the Cosmos as Theophany is to see the reflection of one-self in the Cosmos and its forms. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Gifford Lectures: Knowledge and the Sacred. (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 191.313

The Islamic tradition, the sense of objectivity, understood as referring to the qualities of impartiality, disinterestedness, and justice in the domain of knowledge, is inseparable from the religious consciousness of Tawhid. Osman Bakar, Tawhid and science: Islamic Perspectives on Religion and Science, second edition, (ArahPublications, Sha Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, 2008), 9.314 Man is created with a fitrah (good nature). Virtue is innate to him. However, he is susceptible to evil stimuli. This evil influence could be external such as, shaytan or human being, while the internal

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Seeing the Signs of Allah in the Natural realm with ‘Ain al-Qalb’

The tribal Malay, with the exception of not having a complete understanding of both

Tawhid and the methodological understanding of Tawhid, which would be brought to

the Malay via such scholars of Islam as Hamzah Fansuri, al-Raini and others. Due

partly to this position and view of nature was lacking the proper intellectual

stimulation to develop the philosophical aspect of his analytical thought process.

However with the arrival of Sufism we see Sufism and in particular Islamic Mysticism

gaining ground in the conversion of Pre-Islamic Malays of the 1400-1500s. It was the

respect for nature as the Qur’an of creation, their understanding of metaphysics, and

the patience which Sufis displayed that made them a magnet to the Pre-Islamic

Malays315. Furthermore, the Sufis offered the last remaining element to Malay

cosmology which was lacking “the intellect”. While Malays had an oral teaching

influence is referred to as the psyche or nafs, inner dimension of man. The emotional and the psycho -logical impulses of man are not inherently evil, but are readily susceptible to evil influences. Tempera-ment, desires, egocentricity and personality traits require urgent identification and address. This is the fulcrum towards shaping positive attitudes and attributes. (Emotional intelligence) They need to be con-trolled and directed to the right path by following the prescribed teachings of the Divine laws. Emotions and desires occupy a vital part of human soul and both emotion and psychological dimension of man have positive and negative impacts on man behaviors. If a man’s emotions are well managed and ori-ented to a higher spiritual objective, then his psychological nature is disciplined. - Psycho-spiritual Dy-namic - The self has a dual nature, i. e., the soul and the body. It is described as animal soul (al-nafs al-Ωayaw®niyyah) on the one hand, and as rational soul (al-nafs al-nafliqah) on the other. The soul at-tached to the body is of a nobler and higher nature than the body, since it is of divine and incorporeal origin, while the body is corporeal. From the body originates the blameworthy qualities in man; and the qualities of animal soul which, in spite of their being beneficial to man in some respects, are in conflict with the rational soul. The attachment of blameworthiness to the animal soul should not be confused with the idea of the denigration of the human body which is against Islamic teachings.The rational soul, not only derives knowledge from the senses, but also from its own essence, i.e. reason (‘aql), which is more accurate than that of the senses, for the soul is itself capable of rectifying many of the errors of the senses prior to arriving at any sound judgment. Thus, the rational soul induces ethical behavior in man which involves the recognition of the vices and virtues; as such it must also be considered as the seat of true submission….. Dr. Fatima Abdulah, Unpublished Manuscript, 6..315

and it is the same with for the viceregents [ViceregentViceregents] from among men. their height though being vice-regent [ViceregentViceregent] is not an essential height. had it been otherwise it would have been for all men and as this is not generally we have known that in this height the height. …but sine their height is not generalized for every person it is known to us that the height of the viceregent [ViceregentViceregent] is specifically for this position, that is, for their degree, and that degree is the degree of viceregent [ViceregentViceregent] which ….necessarily-so-ness of reality and particularized at that degree is manifest with the image of God, together with the image of the universe. Shams Inati, Ibn Sina and Mysticism, Remarks and Admonitions: Part Four, (Kegan Paul International, NY, New York, 1996), 335-336.

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system that carried their tribal tales down through the centuries, the form of hierarchy

created in the triangular reasoning of the Sufis (Intellect [Aql] Heart [Qalb] and Spirit

[Nafs & Ruh) gave them the ideal tool for assisting their Malay brothers to elevate

their existing cosmological reasoning to a new level. Having already gained a foothold

in Ache Indonesia and Malacca, the Sufi mystics and scholars such as Hamzah

Fansuri came to expose Malays to a more scientific understanding of nature and

spirituality through the above hierarchy and its relationship to Allah as the divine

essence and lord of all worlds. By using ideas like man as the microcosm, the Organic

Unity of the natural realms, the sublime realm of the jinn and that angelic realm, they

were able to amaze and give awe to the stories they told of Sufi saints and greatly

interest Malays in this wonderful new way of magic, which was in reality a fist look at

the transcendence from magic to Science, Islamic science a Monotheistic form of

understanding all worlds316.

The Muslim however is not a secularist; he is a theist, which is to say, he

believes in a personal and all powerful God. This is stated in the five pillars of Islam

in which Tawhid stands as a foundational aspect. Tawhidism is, therefore the concept

that every religion in the world had a prophet sent to them at one time or another

hence the truth of those prophets is still true. While it is still true that Islam is the final

culmination of every religious belief in history, the completion of religion can be seen

in the prophet Muhammad as the seal of prophets Therefore the completeness of

Tawhid manifest in message of the prophet Muhammad and the books revelation as

the culmination of the organizing principle created for the teachings which brings

316 Do they not reflect in their own minds? ….did God creates the heavens and the earth, and all

between them [the angelic and sublime worlds?]: ….praise be to God, who created (out of nothing) the heavens and the earth, who made the angels…he adds to creation as he pleases. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Surah. 30:20 and 35:1.

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together of all of the Pre-Islamic religions317. Except that the truth of these can be

discerned b y the human mind and the Ein-al-Qalb in examining the messages of Pre-

Islamic prophets as well as examination in the books of revelation and the Qur’an of

creation. The mystical path of Tawhidism is the act of becoming a Mystic of Islamic

medicine and a sage of the mystical path of Wilaya, which is one who heals the spirit

mind and body, most accurately portrayed by the Khalwah and Wali. Through this

healing he functions within society helping all of those who need his help. Through

practicing the healing of Khalwah and reflecting the polished heart after it is cleansed,

his heart reflects the immaculateness of God through his actions, thoughts and

emotions to say that such a person is non-Islamic or to say that such a person has gone

astray from Islam, is an oxymoron statement. What proves this fact is that, if one is to

deny that one who is on this path and is performing these deeds errors in his the

performance of such kindnesses is an error in and of its self. The truth of this is

manifest through the truth; which by manifesting the truth of Tawhid and the oneness

of God and implementing them into the empirical world through mind, body and

spirit, is actually the truest exemplification of the immolation of the actions of

Muhammad than one who adheres to the exoteric particulars alone. This is

exemplified by the fact that he goes beyond the fard or regulatory actions of the

exoteric orthodox or in most cases exstreemist Muslims. The misguidance of this can

be seen in the Trinitarian outlook of such groups who ‘literally’ see Allah as existing

imperially ‘above the throne’ which is impossible due the fact that Allah is

immaculate and beyond time and space, therefore both empirical in his manifestation

317 Islamic intellectual authorities….were fully aware of….the subject of knowledge…the

sciences [were] derived not only from Qur’an and Hadith, but also developed by Islamic scientist and….earlier civilizations such as those of the Greeks, Persians, and Indians. Osman Bakar, Classification of knowledge in Islam, (International Institute of Thought and Civilization, (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur, 2006), xii.

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of the cosmos and subtle or un-manifest in his essence. His actions therefore illustrate

the fullness of implementing the most complete example of action, knowledge, and

spiritual behavior in motion in the empirical and metaphysical realm. This is in stark

dichotomy to the exstreemist who may be performing required actions in full or in part

on the exsterior, but is incapable at their present station in development to ascend to

the same level of heartfelt devotion, which the Khalwah illustrates above; this is

eximplified the statment by Ibn Arabi on ‘True Knowledge’ seen in the above

thesis.318 The fact that there may be some among the Khalwah who accept the signs,

divine symbolism, creatures and or foliage of the natural realm as important or

significant in that they are from God, does not cause deviation from Islam. The

Khalwah does in fact take these signs as signs of the one and only God and that these

actions, symbols, creatures ect, are only some of the varied ways in which God

expresses to man divine symbolism of Tawhid; as expressed in the actions of the

animal and plant kingdom within the animal realm. This stands in stark dichotomy to

the underdeveloped perceptions indigenous tribesmen who through

anthropomorphism see these signs as Gods themselves, which is a partial or

incomplete understanding and in reality is not negated or rendered wrong in and of

themselves but is simply an incomplete understanding which was appropriate for its

place and time in tribal society. When we examine all of the indigenous beliefs

318No one – this I can promise-who attends these lectures, be he Christian or Jew, Hindu or

Mohammedan, shall hear his own way of serving God spoken of irreverently. But true reverence does not consist in declaring a subject, because it is clear to us, to be free of unfit for free and honest inquiry; far from it! True reverence is show in treating every subject, however sacred, however dear to us, with perfect confidence; without fear and without favor, with tenderness and love, by all mean, but, before all, with an unflinching and uncompromising loyalty to truth. we know that in alchemy there lay the seed of chemistry, and that astrology was more or less a yearning and groping after the true science of astronomy….The very title of the Science of Religion jars on the ears of many persons, and a comparison of all the religions of the world, in which none can claim a privileged position, must seem to many irreprehensible in itself, ….I would not and could not allow myself to surrender either to what I hold to be the truth, or what I hold still dearer than the truth, the right test of truth. Nor do I regret it….the science of religion…doesn’t not entail the loss of anything that is essential to true religion…. Jon R. Stone (edt.), The essential Max Muller: on language, mythology, and religion, New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002), 110-111.

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throughout world history, what we find is that, a culmination of these signs symbol

ideas perceptions of the natural realm, with the coming of the various differing Islamic

sciences which have been applied with a better understanding of Nature; that the naive

tribal peoples, gained a more complete definition of Tawhid which becomes evident in

their respective communities after the arrival of Sufism. Again while orthodox

Muslims are capable of and often do apply the teachings of the books of divine

revelation in understanding nature, law, medicine and other areas before mentioned,

this is done also in an incomplete manner. Going beyond one or the other the Khalwah

goes beyond the duality of these two and establishes equilibrium in his way of life

through embracing and using both within the context of Tawhid and the oneness of

God. He uses this to embark on an understanding of God which reflects God’s

perfection through polishing his heart or cleansing it and reflection the macrocosm as

the microcosm and then attains an understanding with balanced equilibrium that

allows him to go beyond shallow sectarianism and to ascend to the station of one who

walks the path of Wilaya. This is all done under the understanding that at the same

time, his heart is continually growing and being polished from station to station and

that he is developing as he walks the path.

Furthermore the exemplification and examination of the messages of pre

Islamic prophets is that if at least one Khalwah in each nation examines the writings

“attributed” to each and every one of these prophets in order to ascertain which

aspects of these surviving traditions were in fact the products of the prophets to those

particular peoples or not, then the truth of Pre-Islamic Prophethood will become self

evident.

The modern world does not acknowledge the sacredness of nature. Although it

sees the laws of nature in the form of scientific findings, they fail to see that there is

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order and harmony in nature, because of this many conservative Monotheist have

eliminated from their lives the spiritual and metaphysical significance of nature itself.

Failure to truly believe in the metaphysical significance of nature cannot be seen as a

small problem319320.

Failure to understand this will lead to failure in understanding the natural

environment around us which is deeply profound in its ability to balance the psyche,

body, and spiritual calm which is so desperately needed to improve human life. In a

worst case scenario, failure to do so may result in ecological damage and disruption,

destroying the mother that gave birth to us all, Tera matter. Typically these Islamic

Mystics or Wali (Hakim - Wise men) make use of the traditional modes of Malay

healing and apply Islamic methods in line with the use of the 4 elements, the hierarchy

of Nature in the Sufi sense, and various other tools for the expulsion of wayward

spirits and heal the sick etc. However before those Khalwah and Wali became men

who could assist their community it was necessary for them to build a firm foundation

in Islamic personality. Let us briefly examine the foundational aspects of the ritual

specialist referred to as a Hakim or Wali from the orthodox Islamic perspective.

Tawhid Naturalism and the Wali as Viceregent of creation

In this dissertation we have set forth all of these truths, substantiated them and made

clear, therefore that:

The Malay theurgist is not a Sorcerer; he was a healer who converted to

319 Mazoor insist on the centrality of the sacred view of nature in Islam. He distinguishes between sacrilization and divinization and asserts that, whereas Islam supports the de-divinization of nature, only God being divine as such, it certainly opposes the desacrilization. In the Islamic world, then, while the environment continues to deteriorate and not enough attention is paid by religious authorities to the subject….some have sought to revive the traditional Islamic cosmologies and understanding of the order of nature. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature. (Oxford University press, 1996), 215.320

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Islam after centuries of being a strict shaman devoid of the use of

mediumship.

The Malay Bomo sorcerer was a distinctly separate figure, whom Prof.

Winstedt has in some cases confused with the Malay Khalwah

thaumaturgist.

That the Malay form of emotional intelligence is difficult for the western

form of analytical reasoning to categories due to the reversal of polarity in

the method of learning and practice by Malays. The use of Malay

emotional intelligence in both their healing arts and mysticism has led to a

greater love for nature as a part of Tawhid, which has intern assisted them

greatly in their understanding of divine truths and so helped them in their

pursuit of the signs of God in the Qur’an of creation, and in their

developing a sense of the term Viceregent of creation.

through the uncovering and explanation of the various chapters and

subjects of this dissertation we have made clear those aspects of Malay

culture which were Islamic and those which were Pre-Monotheistic, and in

doing so have made clear that the Malay form of spirituality cannot

accurately be explained though analytical examination of a metaphysical

art.

Finnal, and most importantly that the sum total of all of the above proven

facts have clarified indisputably that the negative generalizations and

labels sense projected upon the Malay Wali by Dr. Winstedt are false, and

that the Malay Wali was indeed a true Muslim Sage.

While Prof. Winsted’s books are filled with long explanations of detailed

observations in reference to the Malay theurgist, he does not recognize their rise to

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thaumaturgy in true monotheistic fashion. Popular mysticism and Islamic mysticism

have developed over the centuries, each taking on aspects of the other via diffusion

and adaptation, thus binding the two together via a common love of nature in Malaya;

this one of the most prevalent aspects of Malay culture.321. It was the peaceful form of

Da’wah brought to the Malay by Sufis that became the key to this overwhelmingly

proficient form of conversion, a form of conversion that changed Malay culture and

language forever. Conversion of the Malay gave birth to a well balanced form of

Islamic monotheism. A form of rarely exist in the world today on that maintains a

strong relationship between Nature and man as its viceregent.

Tawhid is the most important aspect of the five pillars of Islam. When we say

Shihada ‘witness’ as a part of the confession of faith in Islam we say “Ashadu a la

illahi il Allah, ana ashadu a Muhammad a Rasullulah”. This phrase is quite clear in

its affirmation that ‘Illahi’ is the one and only ‘Lord of Tawhid’ he is in fact ‘Tawhid’,

which is a part of the prayer and the use of Surah al fatihah as a part of the daily

prayers of “all” Muslims worldwide. Therefore the acceptance of Tawhid as the most

important aspect of Islam is beyond reproach. As such we will be examining Tawhid

and its relationship to Hati, Semangat and the Malay culture, both in its animist and

Islamic stages of usage. Tawhid means God is one, and while many Pre-Islamic

peoples have named him in their own tongue, this has unfortunately, in some cases,

developed into anthropomorphism. Furthermore, it has often taken away from the

321 Islam being brought to the Malay by Indian converts from Hinduism came moulded in a shape

not utterly foreign to his past, for the first time he became the servant of the one God, in who’s name one might banish spirits of evil,…. Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt, M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 81.

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original meaning of “oneness”322323. All These names in the original monotheistic

meaning referring to the same deity; they refer to the one almighty and Omni- present

God Allah. However each culture has chosen to speak his name in a different

language.

The most divinely inspired ideas, sent down to men from heaven are all the

same seed or root which can be seen in all religions from the tribal to the monotheistic

state religions such as Catholicism. In Germanic tribal belief the roots of Irminsul

flow through the world and into heaven perhaps as a metaphor for this dissemination

of Gods many messages and many names. It is not unlike the Greco-Roman traditional

cosmological viewpoint which affects both the Germanic language and the culture

profoundly. This can also be seen as the tree of life that is used in the celebration of

Yul. This is a good example of the manner in which the original idea of Organic unity

in nature or ’Nature’ as the ‘ Qur’an of creation’ has been misapplied and distorted

over the centuries by the degeneration of the teachings, resulting in anthropomorphism

through deification of the Pre-Islamic Prophets to all peoples.

Religions are political and social institutions that are in their exterior

orientation cultural constructs. The creation of religions as a political and social unit

of solidarity is an act of man. Spirituality however is the creation of God, thus Islamic

322 And this is not like this except particularly for that which is named Allah. But really this

essential height and absolute perfection and completion is not established except particularly for that which is called Allah which is the divine Ipseity, one and eternal forever, which is manifested by the real perfect and complete man. Thus, the Ipseity of God, which is particularized by the first particularization, is named by the name Allah, and for the Ipseity of God that Name is the Biggest Name (ismi-a’zam) which denotes and guides to the singularity of Ipseity of the completion of the totality of totalities. Ismail bursevi’s translation of an commentary on fusus al-hikam, muhyiddin ib ‘arabi, (Oxford : Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, 1987), 360.323

The attraction of Renaissance man for the quest of origins and the “primordial Tradition” that caused Ficino to put aside the traslation of plato for the Corpus Hermeticum, which was then considered as more ancient and primordial, an attraction which also became part of the world view and zeitgiest of the ninteenth century, has caused much confusion in the question of the meaning of “primordial tradition” in its relation to various religions. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Gifford Lectures: Knowledge and the Sacred. (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 69.

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din is beyond this sort of confusion primarily due its completeness in both its internal

and exterior aspects. This can be seen clearly in the fact that the ‘oneness’ of God is

the link between all forms of spirituality, and yet only in Islam are the defining lines

of distinction between oneness and a non-anthropomorphic cosmology as a part of

lifestyle kept in their proper designated roles. That is, to say that, all religions are not

the same in totality is true; however to say that they are not related in any way is not

true. According to Osman Bakar, in pre-modern civilizations, science was never

divorced from spiritual knowledge. On the contrary, he continues, one finds an

organic unity of science and spiritual knowledge. An example which explains via

illustraition how this works is that of the ancient Germanic tribal temples and how

they build their temples. Instead of building the walls of the temple with raters and

butresses of stones, the beams and sometimes walls are actually trees. The trees

themselves were utilized as the architectural materials imbedded in the temple. Their

deep connection to nature has caused them to view the temple not merely a self-

contained building, but rather as a temple-grove. Ground forms, fauna and stones were

as important as door frames, walls and the structures themselves. Examples of such

trees or poles are those still standing beside the temple at Uppsala and that ancient

pillar of the Germans called Irminsul. These are actual objects round which ritual

revolved and in the case of the former was regarded as the world tree or Tree of

Life.”324

324 While for Germans there is the old runic script, developed from Greek, which in the first centuries A.D. passed from Helenized Gothic provinces northwest of the Baltic sea….There is a figure, furthermore, Othin(Woden, Wotan), self-crucified on the World Ash as an offering to himself, to gain the occult wisdom of those runes, which is clearly a Hellenistic motif….the guardian of the tree—the World Tree, the philosophical tree, the tree of the Garden, the tree of Christ’s cross, the bo-tree of Buddahood—and the wounded Fisher King….from the great above to the great below is equally the the axis mundi… Campbell, Joseph, The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology. (New York, Viking, 1959), 503.

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The Khalwah and Wali and Final Conclusions

The information written here is the most truthful and academically sound information

that can be presented based upon our research in refrence to the phenomena of the

Khalwah, Wali, and our disagreement with Prof. Winstedts labeling them as pantheist

and magicians.. Therefore I leave you to judge whether these men should be ridiculed

by the extremist in our midst or given the proper respect for all that they have done on

behalf of God and the Malay people. That however was the intention of this thesis, to

give a fair and illustrative look into the truths and falsehoods which surround the

Malay Khalwah and Wali and make clear the aspects of their archetype which have

been smeared and degraded by those either to narrow minded or unprofessional to

examine the facts in their completeness without sacrificing the Islamic science

approach of leaving God in the equation. Therefore the answer to the statement that

Dr. Winstedt made in his ‘Malay magic’ which we took issue with and which we have

proven to be a generalization, labeling and cultural bias have culminated to the

following conclusion.

The Khalwah and Wali as Viceregent of Creation

Thus far we have shown clearly that the process of development in Malay mysticism

from theurgy to monotheist thaumaturgy. This religio-cultural developmental process

was an example of a Pre-Islamic mystical evolution among a people who had a partial

insight into the Doctrine of Unity. This understanding was in all likelihood both the

result of their environment and in the teachings of a Pre-Islamic prophet Khidr later

referred to in a deified manner as Batara Guru and Theurgist and exorcist325. This

325 Then man is born in the Logis which is in fact the prototype of man and another face

of that same reality which call the Universal Man and which each Tradition identifies with its founder. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Gifford Lectures: Knowledge and the Sacred. (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 170.

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process took place as a result of the syncretism of mythology and pre-Mohammedan

prophetic teachings. However the most important difference Between Bomo Sorcerers

and Islamic Mystics was that the Sufi wise man who worked for the welfare and

enlightenment of the Ummah326327.

Even when an Islamic specialist used thaumaturgy for the Muslim-Malay

community, it was the Khalwah not the Sorcerer. The Khalwah was under strict

regulations of the Wali his sheik. He sees himself as non-existent except in the

oneness of Allah to which all belong, come from and return to upon death. He saw his

role in the Malay community as a servant and enlightener of the common folk as a

way of immolating the role of the prophet Muhammad the ‘Ideal man’328. Through this

he was able to climb the mountain of Qaf after the path of Wilaya and find the levels

of Kashf, which would enable him to attain gnosis. Once returned to sobriety he could

again do great good for the world in miraculous ways. It is not this world and the

riches and joys of the Nafs, which interest him, but the Akhira or the next life with

Allah which he strives for. The enormous responsibility and effort necessary to

become a true Viceregent of creation is the goal of the Wali. For becoming a

Viceregent of creation is to become a vice-regent of Allah. This is something which

326 .... the knower is uninterested in studying others or collecting information about them. Again,

this is either because his concern with the Truth leaves no room for concern with other things or because his grasp of the Truth already gives knowledge of other things. …The knower is generous because his love is directed only toward the Truth. This means that he can give away everything else, including money, with not expectation of anything in return. He is also forgiving of any bad deeds against him because no such deeds can ever hurt him. This is because his soul, which is him his body being just a bundle of external attachments – is superior to evil things, and the superior cannot be harmed by the inferior. Shams Inati, Ibn Sina and Mysticism, Remarks and Admonitions: Part Four, (Kegan Paul International, NY, New York, 1996), 90.327

“The parish magician [Wizard] must be long headed [intelligent], suave [having Adab], industrious and truthful, and must not have intrigues with woman. If a person is sick he must attend immediately….It led him often to try to immolate the living Muslim saint, to whom folk resort to for advice…or to remove blight on crops or confound enemies. Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt , M.A., D.Litt. The Malay Magician, Shaman, Siva and Sufi: A Study of the Evolution of Malay Magic, (Oxford University press, 1969), 72.328

The hadith qudsi, “verily my saints are under my domes, and only I know them,” is often cited to support this idea. The saints are governors of the universe…. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1975), 203

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requires going far beyond the stages we have examined and undergoing the Sufi’s

ascension of states. Although the Khalwah was a student of the imams, sheiks, and

Wali; he was not a complete Viceregent of creation. We too cannot in our everyday

lives, with the Nafs and egos attain the complete level of Viceregent of creation. The

truth of the matter is that to attain such a position is the goal of gnosis itself, to go far

beyond the attachments of the ‘myn’ and the ‘ours’ and embrace the reality of the

‘oneness’ of Tawhid, through which all is a part of God and all belongs to him. What

you find in this dissertation is for the most part speaking to the partial Viceregentship

which is usually discussed in Islamic circles. However we will now discuss the

meaning of the complete and whole Viceregent of creation, he who is the vice-regent

of Allah ta’ala.

Islamic science and the Viceregent of creation

This study has in many ways been a hierarchical examination into many areas

of Islamic Science, aspects which are independent yet overlapping areas of influence.

In fact in traditional Islamic Science there have always been just as many, if not more

as there are in Modern western Science. Necessarly, our study has remained fixed

upon those areas of Islamic science which are primarily related to Metaphysics and its

relationship to the Natural realm, specifically Natural science and especially the

seventh miner science of Qubt al-din al-shirazi’s Natural sciences. This thesis is not

meant to be an expansive examination into the issue at hand in reference to ‘all’

Islamic sciences, but to utilize the above miner science along with a general

understanding of Islamic science to shed light upon the questions answered in this

thesis. Islamic science is the development of an open minded and spiritual form of

scientific examination into the universe and its relationship to Allah via the creation of

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man as the microcosm and Viceregent of creation. Allah’s divine intellect is reflected

upon the microcosm or human form of existence as well as every living thing in the

universe by the will of Allah. The gateway to the human soul is the heart. There are

many differing areas of Islamic Science, This hierarchy of existence was formulated

and examined by Sufis who are Islamic scientist and yet is not fully understood by the

mere analytical examination into the stations of empirical objects, creatures or things,

all of the before mention are to be examined in the light of Nature and to be know also

through the Ain- al-Qalb, or the “eye of the heart”. The linear connection between

Allah and man is the central focus in this examination due to the necessity of that

connection in the ascertaining of the validity of universal truths seen in the

manifestation of the cosmological world through divine revelation and the Qur’an of

creation or the world of nature. All of this is accomplished by the Sufi in an entirely

Islamic manner and in accordance with the Sharia which is the guidance in the

organizational principle and in the proper manifestation of Adab and Islamic lifestyle.

However this is not an organization or lifestyle which rejects or expels inquiry and

mastery of the subtle world for the just and noble purposes of the Islamic mystic. 329330

We must remember that the word Sharia never appears in the Qur’an Al-Tadwini, the

word Shar does; however the compilation and development of the organic and

329 ...Al-Batin --- ... the Hidden ---...For things are manifest or Hidden only in relation to modes of perception. Now God -- may he be praisedand exhalted --- is hidden when He is sought by sensory perception or using the resources of imagination, yet manifest when sought by way of inferance using the resources of reason....were it concievable that God --- the most high and holy One --- cease to exist or to be hidden from some things, heaven and earth would collapsealong with everything cut off from His light, and the contrast between the two states would be percieved, and His existence would certainly be become known! AL—GHAZALI: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names of God: Al-maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma’ Allah al-husna, transl. David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher, ( The Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), 134-136.330

“methodology of knowledge (al ilm) in its most c comprehensive sense- one cannot be confronted by the hierarchic nature and reality of the subjective and objective poles of knowledge…. hierarchy in both the microcosmic and macrocosmic orders of reality represent many manifestations of the divine principle….sciences, al Farabi would say, [are] rooted in the nature of things…alchemy and interpretation of dreams, were excluded from his enumeration (although he wrote treatises on them), …, treated… as one of al Farabi’s important works… Osman Bakar, Classification of knowledge in Islam, (International Institute of Thought and Civilization, (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur, 2006), xii, 43.

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authentic Shar’ia came about long after the death of Mohammad. The immolation of

his example is claimed by both theologians and mystics and is an ongoing spiritual

discourse. The indigenous anthropomorphic view of nature among the Malay has

endured over a thousand years in its original state, with only minor interruptions by

Hinduism until the arrival of Islam. The Islamic form of mysticism has influenced the

popular form of mysticism in the form of symbolic rituals, Islamic terminology and

practices, which have been adopted by the Tok-imam formerly Dokun, the local

Theurgists who view themselves as both Muslim and shaman, this is however an

oxymoron statement. Moreover, and more importantly the projection of Islamic

concepts in gnosis, Wilaya, Khalwah and Zikr (Dthikr) as the foundational elements of

Islamic thaumaturgy became the tools by which the Malay Khalwah was able to make

the transition from a shamanic form of soul searching to the Islamic form of

contemplation of Tawhid. The natural world according to Islamic Science consist of

the world of the earth and the unseen world of the sublime or the world of the Jinn, we

will also discuss aspects of the role of Angels in relationship to their study. There are

several very important aspects to the role of the Islamic mystic. The examination of

the works of the angels and jinn are also an important aspect of man’s job as

Viceregent of the empirical world, because of this man must understand the goings on

of angels and jinn, their position and the purpose they serve in their obedience or

disobedience to Allah. For example, we know that jinn were used to build the prophet

Solomon’s palace and that through the study of Islamic scientist we know that they

world on a sub-atomic and molecular level constructing and reconstructing the objects

of the empirical world. Because jinn work in a different dimension or world created

for them by Allah and because they are passionate creatures, they move in ways that

man cannot see, and sometimes abuse these abilities, as in the case of the strongest

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jinn who masquerade as false Gods. Because man is the Viceregent of this world, it is

his responsibility to confront and control these jinn by the power of Allah when they

go astray and disturb the rest of the creation, thus we seen the need and responsibility

of the mystic in Islam.331332 It is extremely important to remember that Islamic

medicine and Islamic spiritual healing or the repulsing of evil found in the subtle

realm are inseparable due to the organization of creation and the manner in which the

laws of nature work.

Hati as Emotional Intelligence in the Development of Viceregentship

It is obvious from the above definition, which the creation of Nature is a very

important aspect of Tawhid; its purpose is to create a plane of existence which is

conductive to preparing man as a Muslim, by developing his Islamic lifestyle and

giving him several areas of test to assist him in this journey to Isan. Those areas are:

Nature or the Natural realm is a trust to mankind This trust is a sacred truth

between Allah the creator and man as a Muslim. This trust was offered to

the other creatures in creation, but only man accepted the challenging

responsibility.

331 one meditates upon the structure of reality, consisting of the three grand Theophanies of the principle as the cosmos, man, and revelation in the sense of religion and also tradition, it becomes clear that since manifestation implies exsternalization, the penetration into the meaning of external forms in all three cases is essential an esoteric function... Burrell, David B. and Daher Nazeh, Al-Ghazali – The Ninety nine Beutyful Names of God. Al – Maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma Alah al-husna, (The Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), 282.332

The traditional cosmos, that is to say, the whole of God’s created order consist of three fundamental states: the material or corporal state. The psychic or animistic state; and, the spiritual or angelic state. In Sufi terminology, these three states are respectively called nasut, malakut, and jabarut. The material world also called the gross world, is immediately enclosed and dominated by the psychic domain, also refered to as the subtle world. These two worlds together form the domain of nature….“Tripartite structure of the corporeal, the subtle, and the spiritual worlds of the traditional cosmos is the tripartite structure of the body (corpus), soul (anima, psyche), and spirit (spiritus) of the traditional human microcosm…in Islamic terminology, these essential constituents of the microcosm are respectfully called jism, nafs, and aql. Osman Bakar, Tawhid and science:Islamic Perspectives on Religion and Science, second edition, (ArahPublications, Sha Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, 2008), 21-24.

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One of the signs of a munafique is the betrayal of a trust; therefore this

trust of Nature and the whole of the natural realm must be taken very

seriously by Muslims who are Viceregents of creation.

The signs of Allah are to be seen in the names of Allah, and al-Qur’an, but

also in nature the ‘Qur’an of creation’, this is mentioned in the Holy

Qur’an in numerous Surahs.

Man is to study these signs by studying natural realm as instructed by

Allah in Qur’an. “do they see our sings and not contemplate them?”

Nature is made up of at least three plains of existence; the empirical world

contains many Ummahs of kingdoms, the various animal kingdoms, veritable or flora

kingdom, and that of the subtle world. The subtle world and the physical world make

up what we call the natural realm. The world of nature is dominated by the subtle

world and as thus cannot be ignored in being a Viceregent of creation. The Viceregent

is responsible not only for safe keeping of nature but all elements within nature which

he can affect positively in the way of Islam. Many helpful gifts from Allah are given

to use via the creation of the cosmos including the natural realm, and by extension

through manifestation of the divine creative principle “Herbs” for healing, minerals

for heat in the winter such as coal and oil, cotton and other fibers for making clothing.

In fact every singly physical need man has can be met by the creation Allah has made

for us. Again this trust given man is not a trust to be taken lightly. If we destroy this

world we live in through:

Wars

Nuclear devises

Waste

Poor waste disposal

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Pollution

Hunting animal species to extension

Building cities and buildings that destroy the natural environment

If we do these things we are not keeping the trust entrusted to use by Allah. We

are “Viceregent” “Rulers” of this world, and a ruler is not just a king. In the Islamic

sense of Ruler or Viceregent, there are responsibilities to those you are ruling over.

These include both responsibilities to protect and teach them, but also responsibility to

be answerable for your actions. Answerable to both those we rule over (E.G. the

animal kingdom) but more importantly responsible to the one whom entrusted us

Allah’tallah.

I have chosen two examples for my illustration of how this trust works in this

document. My choice for an example of the physical world is an environmentally

balanced form of living. Based upon the tenants of Islam we must live as the prophet

did, preserving the natural environment, protecting it, caring for it and developing the

proper definitions of Islamic personality in reference to his interactions in relation to

nature and other human beings.

My second area of examination in relation to mans role as vice regent of Allah

from the Islamic science viewpoint was that of the spiritual world. By spiritual we

mean the unseen realm of Allah, angels, and jinn. These two topics as case studies in

the examination of the Natural realm and the unseen or subtle real as a part of the

natural realm will yield information on the ways in which man interacts with the

natural realm in the form of thaumaturgy in the esoteric and as Viceregent in the

exoteric form. The two fold manner in which man interacts with the cosmos is a

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balance of esoteric and exoteric. This twofold interaction produces a type of

equilibrium which when performed by the Wali on a higher level is an attribute of his

thaumaturgical lifestyle. The theurgist interacts with these realms on a fundamental

level without the adequate mono-theist foundation for ascending to the station of one

who is closest to God; and yet can be compared with the Wali as the final form of man

in the evolution of spiritual equilibrium as exemplified by the prophet Muhammad.

The View of Naturalist worldwide trying to save the ecology is a beautiful and in

many cases has said all that needs to be said333, except one thing. That is that ‘Allah’ is

the ultimate creator, planner and architect, it is he who created the world of Nature.

Reguarless of the fact that the above quotation was written by a modern planer; a

person believes in evolution, which as Muslims we do not, Much can be learned and

should be used by Muslim. For example, as Muslims, it is our duty to implement all of

the improvements listed above as stated the Holy Qur’an. In addition it is our duty to

be involved in such projects even if we are not leading them. An important part of

Islamic personality is being a light to the people of the world and following the

example of the prophet Muhammad in treating nature properly. The prophet

Muhammad was respectful of the world of nature in reference to the earth (rocks,

333 We live in two interpenetrating worlds. The first is the living world, which has been forged in

an ….crucible of a period of four billion years. The second is a world of roads and cities, farms and artifacts that people have been designing for them selves over the last few millenniums. The condition that threatens both worlds – unsustainability – results from a lack of integration between them. Now imagine the natural world and the humanly designed world bound together in intersecting layers, the warp and woof that make up the fabric of our lives….we need to acquire the skills to effectively interweave human and natural design. The design mess we have made of our neighborhoods, cities, and eco systems owes much to the lack of coherent philosophy ….until our everyday activities preserve ecologic al integrity by design, their cumulative impact will continue to be devastating….we need to consciously cultivate an ecologically sound form of design that is consonant with the long-term survival of all species. We define ecological design, as any form of design that minimizes environmentally destructive impacts by integrating itself with living processes. This integration implies that the design respects species diversity, minimizes resource depletion, preserves nutrient and water cycles, maintains habitat quality, and attends to all the other pre-conditions of human and eco health….ecological design provides a coherent framework for re-designing our landscapes, buildings, cities, and systems of energy, water, food, manufacturing, and waste. Ecological design is simply the effective adaptation to and the integration with natures processes. Van der Ryn, Sim and Stuart Cowan., Ecological Design, (Washington, DC: Island Press, 1996), 17-20.

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earth, pebbles, sticks, ect.); the Botanical world (trees, shrubs, plants, grass), and the

animal kingdom (bees, spider, deer, wolves, all God’s creatures), in fact he is the best

example of a man who was kind and responsible in his dealings with all Allah’s

creation334. This is the example we are given, however do we follow this example? No,

not usually. When done correctly in immolation of the perfect man, man becomes the

Microcosmic aspect of God as the Macrocosm and reflects his goodness in all manner

of ways when relating to the cosmos.

The examination of the Malay “magician” by Prof. Winstedt is a thorough one,

his observations of the Malay theurgist actions, and in public ritual, was indeed

interesting. However his understanding of the subject is lacking in several extremely

important areas. Therefore I saw the opportunity to explain those flaws through the

use of a multidisciplinary examination of the Malay “magician” as a theurgist and the

Malay mystics and healers in their role thaumaturgist. This resulted in the separation

and correct categorization of what is now known through this dissertation to have

been four primary forms of both theurgies in the Pre-Islamic fashion and thaumaturgy

in the Islamic sense. The two specialist examined in the Pre-Islamic time leading up to

our focal time period, the fifteen century, were indeed proven to have been affected by

Indo-European and Indo-Aryan forms of polytheism. This was seen to have been

layered upon the Neolithic fertility worship which we take to have been a

degeneration of pre-Mohammmedan prophetic teachings of the prophet Khidr. This

degeneration was so dramatic and remote in antiquity that the form of worship by the

arrival of the Aryans was degenerated into a form of panentheism which is quite

difficult to discern from pantheism, but which is not pantheism. The next stage we 334 The idea of the unicity of nature is derived from the application of the principle of al-tawhid contained in the first Shahadah , La ilaha illa ‘La to the domain of nature. The idea is understood to mean the interrelatedness of all things that exist in the natural world. Osman Bakar, Environmental Wisdom for the Planet Earth: The Islamic Heritage, (Center for Civilizational Dialogue: University of Malaya, 2007), 27.

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examined was the reintroductions of pre-Mohammmedan prophetic teachings of the

prophet Khidr in another form, by the Tantric practitioner of India335336337. From the

Aryan/Harrapan Indian systems in cosmology and mysticism came the cult of the tree

of life among the Indians which constituted the combining of one prophetic tradition

of Khidr with one non-prophetic of the fertility cults of northern Indian indigenous

religion as epitomized by the Harrapan yogic Theurgy. In addition we saw how these

remnants of the thaumaturgy of the prophet Khidr were the bases for the thaumaturgy

of the Aryans who once again came to Malaya in the form of the Persians. Persians

are of course speakers of an Indo-European language and inheritors of the same pre-

Mohammmedan prophetic teachings of the prophet Khidr as were the Germanic

peoples. Next we move after having illustrated that the similarities between these

teaching which existed among the Germanic tribes also referred to as the Irmani or

335 at any rate we are now confronted with clear evidence of the formation in northern India of a

new type of culture organically combining Traditions of the local bronze age civilization and new features clearly connected with…the culture of the first Aryan princedoms….there are indeed links between the culture of eastern Kazakhstan Taklamakhanians] remains and …the timber-grave culture of eastern Europe….in the second millennium B.C …thus in the Indus valley the immense capitals of Harrapan culture, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, …life declined in …centers of habitation….Alone with the decline…there was a transformation of culture rather than a break… V.M. Masson and A.H. Dani (edt), History of civilizations of central Asia, (paris: Unesco, 1992), 337.336 [the Wali] In his spiritual being, hidden behind his appearance, each person is different. Therefore special private laws spply to him....Rising from level to level he may reach the stage of the spiritual path, passing into the realm of wisdom, 'There is a very high state. The prophet [pbbh] prases this state, saying, ' There is a state in which all and everything is gathered - and it is the divine wisdom.'....To reach that level, one first has to abadone false appearances and the hypocracy of doing things so that others might see or hear. Then one must set for ones self three goals. These three goals are actually three paradises. The first is called Ma 'wa - the paradice of security of home. That is the earthly paradice. The second is called Na' im - the garden of the delight of Allahs grace upon his creatures, which is the paradice within the angelic realm. The third is Firdaws - the heavenly paradise. That is the paradise in the realm of the unity of the cusual mind, home of souls, of the divine names and attributes.Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S.Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), 10-14.337

…in Cambodia it was the temple-mountain, emplacement of the lingam[axis mundi] of the royal God…the Khmer temple mound which now equates to the Chinese [Taklamakhanian] mound of the Chinese God of the mound… Eight Khmer inscriptions refer to Siva… [as Girisa] the mountain lord. This term for Siva…united with that deity…majumdar list forty six names for Siva, ..it is a Cham inscription of A.D. 658, not a Khmer one, that records the fu-nan legend. From this we can infer that the …origin of the first fu-nan dynasty was considered Chams to be something …of the Cham and medieval Indo-Javanese cults actuated by a very differently constituted local genius. H.G. Quaritch Wales, Prehistory and religion in south East Asia, (Bernard Quaritch, LTD., London, 1957), 125-130.

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Irminoni were extremely similar to those of the Malay, and that this is in all likelihood

the result of 5 waves of Aryan influence upon Malay spirituality. Finally we arrived at

the focus of our examination the Malay Khalwah and Wali as the final version of the

Malay thaumaturgist in its highest states, to find that the Khalwah was the student of

the Wali and than many legends had been attached to the Wali; Legends, which, in no

way take away from his role as the ‘Viceregent of creation’ or authentic friend of God.

In having explained all of these facts we have proven that Prof. Winstedt’s findings in

reference to the so called Malay “Magician” was only partially correct and that he

made many rash generalizations, based upon his own colonialist mentality,

generalizations which were based on information that was incomplete and in some

cases incorrect. However we concede that he was in life an extraordinary scholar and

a dedicated academic of his time. However this was a time in which analytical

colonial attitudes towards tribal and Islamic peoples respectively were quite close

minded by comparison with the modern academic way of assessing the data. Nor did

he have the advantage of examining the material he compiled in the light of Islamic

science, anthropology or Jungian psychology. If indeed he had, Prof. Winstedt would

have found, as I have that; the Malay as a population in general consists of a tendency

to think as groupers in the typical fashion of right brain thinkers. That is to say that

they have a tendency to the creative. He does indeed mention very briefly that the

Malay have never been more talented in any other area than poetry. However the use

of poetry is not the only form of mystical learning, and the in depth governing

dynamics of the Malay cultural form of mysticism lies in this area, the area of

symbolism. In the form of legends, songs, communal festivals, and many other areas

which appeal directly to the right hemisphere of the human brain and is most

prominent in creative people, we find the root of the Malay situation. The before

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mention system OIE makes use of examining the right hemisphere of the brain, not

only as a thinking tool, but also as an extension of the heart as is indicated in Islamic

science and Sufism in general. Furthermore, the tendency to right brain thinking has

been proven by scientist to have irrefutable effects on the enactment of right brain

thinking as well as mysticism. It is a well known fact that both Theurgy and mysticism

are highly dependent upon right brain dominance in the area of the Imaginal realm,

thaumaturgy, angelology, and all aspect of the metaphysical in relation to thaumaturgy

as an action as well as in relation to communal relations among to Malay. This is due

to the intensive importance of Hati in the realm of the kampong or village. The

kampong village life as a communal activity is centered on the concept of Hati and

Adat, therefore one cannot easily separate the two, if at all. Therefore, what we see in

Prof. Winstedt’s insistence that the Khalwah was a result of syncretism, enacting an

imitation of the Wali devoid of true spiritualism, is a retardation of true situation. This

is proven to be so in my previous illustrations as to the use of symbolism and

thaumaturgy within the Malay communal world, the use of Hati in all of the areas

before mentioned as a way of utilizing emotional intelligence, a proto-form of creative

thinking which is right brain dominant, and finally because this process is known in

and has been known for quite some time among the Malay to be the road to wisdom or

Wilaya338. There are two possible roads to this same destination by definition which

have been illustrated for us in the writings of scholars of Islamic science. These are

the path of the mystic through symbols, and the path of the mystic through

338 In the case of Epistemological paradigm of Islamic science, based as it is on the idea of Unity

(Tawhid), it does posses a unified and coherent vision of what the multiplicity of methodologies means. These methodologies, in fact, issue forth ultimately from the Qur’anic view of reality and man’s place in that reality….it has also enabled us to have the first clear glimpse of traditional Muslim scientific minds at work and of the inner reality underlying their intellectual creativity, which is so central to our understanding of the conception of methodology in Islamic science. Bakar, Osman. Tawhid and Science: Essays on the History and Philosophy of Islamic Science. Kuala Lumpur, Penang: Secretariat for Islamic Philosophy and Science, 1991.), 17-19 top.

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philosophy. This does not infer that either is devoid of the other, however what it does

illustrate is that the first of the two is no less valid than the second in the view of

Islamic science and is therefore a valid manner in which a mystic may grow into the

role of an Islamic mystic and transcend the bounds of the terrestrial realm through

symbolism in the two dimensional pictographs, talismans ect, as well as the

symbolism of legends (IE the heroes journey) and the symbolism of culture (IE the

tree of life). These symbols as proliferated in Malay culture make clear their devotion

to a form of right brain thinking or emotional intelligence which was not devoid of

thought, but which reversed the directional method of traditional European analytical

thought. That is to say that while humanist, secularist and Darwinist as well as

“modern” science, take the stance that only analytical thought can produce true

knowledge. In stark contrast, it has been proven that terrestrial physics and other

empirical sciences cannot properly interpret or define the mystical experience,

primarily due to the fact that it lacks the transcendental understanding of geometric

mathematics in the form of transcendental wisdom. It is the stance of Sufism,

Hermetisism, western occultism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and most world religions, that

such transcendent wisdom can only be achieved through the transcendental

significance of divine symbolism. The fact that the Malays utilized this symbolism in

both thought and ritual is highly significant since the above mention groups count in

terms of population as the ‘Majority’ of human beings living in the world and

therefore they are the majority. As we know throughout time it is the majority and not

the minority which establishes norms in the world we live in and these norms related

to ultimate values considered irrefutable by the majority of mankind are the

foundations of all terrestrial or empirical truth. Therefore the validity of the Malay use

of emotional intelligence I their enactment of thaumaturgy does not in any way

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invalidates their role as Muslims. Furthermore, this goes to support the conclusion,

that Winstedt’s assumption that the Malay form of thaumaturgy was simply the

product of imitation illustrated irrefutably his lack of understanding in the realms of

both Malay cultural spirituality and emotional intelligence. Therefore his

misconceptions concerning the before mentioned aspects of Malay spirituality are in

need of revision. It is for that purpose that we have focused on his work, and have

illustrated in the best possible manner those areas such as symbolism, emotional

intelligence through Hati and Malay communalism; in order to make clear that these

assumptions are extremely flawed. Furthermore, all of these findings are substantially

supported by the science of depth psychology and the mono-myth concepts that grew

from Prof. Joseph Campbell’s work with Prof. Jung’s depth psychology methods. The

end result was of course that both modern depth psychology and the mono-myth

technique support the use of legends and symbolism in the ushering forth of wisdom

or understanding of the psyche. In addition related Prof. Jung believed psychological

areas of the brain could be reached through taping into creativity, that is to say depth

psychology is in agreement with the Islamic science theories of symbolism and

creative thought. These aspects of Islamic science are used in relationship to

emotional intelligence via the Alchemy of the heart. Scientifically emotional

intelligence works with the Aql (intellect) via the hearts communication with the right

side of the brain through OIE (optimum Islamic Equilibrium) that the balance between

Qalb (Hati/Heart) and Aql (mind) right brain thinking is the vehicle by which the Qalb

becomes a door to the inner self. Islamic science refers to the inner self as the soul or

the culmination of the tripartite true self. Prof. Jung one again agrees with this

although utilizing other terms, he states quit specifically that the source of this wisdom

can be none other than God himself.

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The Muslim Malay worldview has always been linked to Tawhid. In fact the

development of a fully philosophical and theological view point which can be called

the first fully formed Islamic world view of the Malay has existed since the 16 th

century. However the roots of respect for Nature and a semi-Tawhidic or naturalist

view in the naive traditional culture has existed since the Bronze Age and has

developed with each successive stage through the evolution of religious syncretism.

From animism to Hinduism, and finally to Islam, the growth and development of a

worldview which revolves around the oneness of the Universe and the truth of

knowledge in nature has blossomed from the seeds of Tassawuff. 339

The organic unity of Tawhid among the Malay is a tripartite construct of

metaphysics, ethics and epistemology, each one which is affected in some way or

another respectively by the indigenous culture of the Malay. Certainly it is the

Metaphysical which has had the greatest influence among the Malay, especially in the

beginning of contact between the Malay and Islam, however Philosophy and theology

had it rise in development during the 17th century onwards. Epistemology has also

taken several paths, the result is a multi-Fiquah set of beliefs, which reflect the same

categories listed above, however are emphasized in different areas to a greater or

lesser degree. For example, the Sufis in Malaysia tend to emphasize a Tawhidic

worldview, with divine revelation as the foundational element, the philosophical and

epistemological as its companions and they see metaphysics as the higher realm of

gnosis, through which one must pass only after going through education and

implementation of both the ethics found in divine revelation and the ontological

339 …there has been the recurrent conflict between the transcendentalism of the orthodox

theologians, for whom God is in heaven, and popular mysticism, which starting from animism inclines toward a pantheism that finds him closer than the veins in ones neck. Bun no Muslim theologian, however orthodox in his transcendentalism, would conceive in God to be in heaven, detached, as it were, from the world. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Some aspects of Sufism: As Understood and Practiced among the Malays, (Malaysian Socialogical Research institute LTD., Singapore, 1963), 18.

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principles required to employment them properly340.

On the contrary other Fiquahs in Malaysia such as conservative exstreemist

found in traditional enclaves requires ethics and theology become predominant and

the realm of metaphysics, if it is addressed is done so with extreme trepidation,

furthermore traditional kampong teachings of the Malay cultural ethics take

precedence and are often intermingled the Sunnah.

Therefore you can see that while all have respect for Tawhid and take a

Tawhidic view of the cosmos, the emphases has split in two. Therefore there are two

worldviews, which are revered mirror images, with slight differences. What most

academics and historians specifically fail to address is the fact, that, all monotheistic

religions in the world are built on the foundation of a Tawhidic worldview, which

existed among each of the cultures from which they have sprung.

Furthermore that this Tawhidic worldview is not necessarily Pre-Monotheistic,

while the outer trappings of Pre-Monotheistic “icons” may be the motifs secular

researchers choose to see, there has been a considerable amount of degeneration

within the corpus of Pre-Islamic prophetic teachings. Furthermore, as we examined in

chapter 3, the mis-guided anthropomorphic tendency of Pre-Islamic societies has

always been a characteristic of the degeneration of Pre-Islamic prophetic teachings

and is directly related to both oral tales and symbolism. If we follow the Islamic view

and utilize Islamic science methods in examining the Hierophanies and archetypes

existent within these symbolically anthropomorphic projections we will find that they

are parasitic and never exist independently. These parasitic anthropomorphic

340 Abdul Kadir al Jilani is completely international. He is venerated in Nigeria as well as in

Indonesia….his followers organized in a tarika, …as far a field as Zaire and Malaysia….no body knows how many saints the re have been in the world of Islam, ….but the tombs of all know saints are venerated… Knappert, Jan, Islamic Legends: Histories of the Heroes, Saints and Prophets of Islam (Leiden: Brill, 1985), 19-20.

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projections always attach themselves to pre-Mohammedan prophetic teachings. These

manipulations or deformations of primordial Islam can best be seen in the cases of

Khidr and Solomon. The pre-Mohammedan prophetic teachings began with the

prophet Adam, and the forms we are interested in here are primarily those of the

Prophet Khidr/Idris or as he is called among the Christians Enoch341. If there is a

monotheistic equivalent to the Allfather archetype, a historical man, who was more

than the typical man, producing miracles or ’wonders’, then he could only have been

Khidr or Khidr. While scholars are continually debating the role and classification of

hazrat al Khidr, the role of Khidr as the first prophet to produce many of the arts still

employed in Islamic mysticism and in other mystical systems, remains a fact for those

who believe in Prophethood342343. All Muslims are enjoined in the Qur’an and through

the Shihada to believe not in one, but ALL of the prophets, including Khidr.

Therefore, if there is any doubt in the minds of the readers as to who the Allfather

archetypes historical bases begins with and degenerated from, then I suggest they read

the book of Enoch. It is abundantly clear to me, that it was none other than the Prophet

Khidr who visited the Germanic and Malay peoples and was the prophet sent to them

by Allah344. The development of the love for nature, use of the control of the weather

341 The Islamic intellectual tradition in both its Gnostic (marifah or irfan) and philosophical and

theosophical (Falsifah-hikmah) aspects saw the source of this unique truth which is the religion of the truth (din al-haqq) in the teachings of ancient prophets going back to adam and considerer the prophet idris, whom it identified with hermes [mercury & trimagerious] whom it considered the “father of philosophers”…. Syyed hossain Nasr, Knowledge and the sacred, (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 70.342 The nobility and prestige of medicine and in traditional Islamic society was further enhanced by the belief that this art was originally revealed to mankind through prophet Idris. Osman bakar, philosophy of Islamic medicine and its relevance to the modern world, Secretary for Islamic philosophy and science, Penang, Malaysia, 1996) 5.343

….Idris: he was a man of truth (and sincerity), (and) a prophet: we raised hi to a lofty station. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Surah Maryam, 19:56. 344 Phoenician tradesmen had a great deal to do with spreading Runic amongst the Europeans. …First they taught the Lycians….the Grecians learned Runic scripture from Anitolians…the laten alphabet …became the scene in the age of the Roman Empire….in the crimea….under the leadership of king Odin and established the kingdom of Viking. M. Turgay, Kurum,Runic scrimenpture Eurasia, www.kuzeyipekyolu.com (Ocak / Turkey, 2002), 4-8.

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through mystical means, the respect for the metaphysical as well as knowledge of

language, the four elements, and many other forms of Karamat, incantation or healing

of the sick, as well as battling with deviant jinn, were all hallmark traits of the prophet

Khidr and leave little doubt that it was he who’s truths and story degenerated into the

Allfather archetype and installed the semi Tawhidic ideas which relate to nature into

the lives of the Irmani and Bumi. Therefore what we see here is that the Malay

Tawhidic world view is not Pre-Monotheistic, but monotheistic, and has been

adversely affected by those who would alter the message of God, with the ideas of

men and either willingly or unconsciously upset the balance of Allah’s message to the

Malay people via their prophet Khidr. Whether or not a person wishes to accept it the

wonder working of prophets and Wali have been a part of the din of Islam from the

beginning of time, if anyone doubts this, let then read the Qur’an 27:7-14 were Allah

states very clearly and specifically that wonder working by prophets and the pure of

heart are a sign of God345346. Although academically there is no need for adherence to

Islam, the reader is advised that, those who inhabited Malaya at the time were

beginning to convert and were converted by Indian people who were believers in the

signs of God, including the working of wonders. It was not until the Indian Sufis

345 But when he[Moses] came to the fire a voice came to the fire, a voice was herd: “Blessed are

those in the those around: and glory to God, the lord of the worlds. “O Moses verily, I am God, the exalted in might, the wise! Now do thou throw thy rod!”. But when he saw it moving (of its own accord) as if it had been a snake, he turned back in retreat…O Moses! (it was said) fear not: truly, in my presence, those called messengers have no fear, - But if any have done wrong….I am Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. Now put thy hand in thy bosom, it will come forth white without stain (or harm): (these are) among nine signs (thou wilt take) tp pharaoh and his people….Our signs came to them, that should have opened their eyes, they said: “this is sorcery manifest!” And they rejected those signs in iniquity and arrogance…so see what the end of those who acted corruptly was. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Surah 27: 7-14. 346

….He was broken-hearted and lay down to sleep; in a dream he saw Khidr amidst the verdure. Who said: Hark! You have held back from praising God: why do you repent of calling unto Him?....said Khidr: Nay: God saith: That “Allah” of thine is My”Here am I, and that supplication and grief and dour of thine is My messenger to thee. Thy fear and Love are a noose to catch My favor, beneath every “O Lord” of thine is many a “Here am I” from Me. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1975), 165-166.

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brought the full version of Tawhid, its appropriate relationship to nature and how the

subtle realm and gross realm overlap, interact and coexist in nature or the empirical

world. These sciences, which Sufism refers to as the natural sciences were brought to

the Malaya archipelago by Sufis. Through this system we see the revitalization of the

Malay view of naturalism, the cosmos, and a way of life previously referred to as

proto-Tawhidic. If we deny the importance of the Natural realm and what is referred

to as the signs of Allah in nature, we deny Tawhid, which is a denial of “Allah”347.

The development of Islamic personality is also for the purpose of becoming a

Viceregent of Allah who is capable of fulfilling his or her responsibility entrusted to

us as Viceregents of Allah. Through practicing the healing of Muslims and reflecting

the polished heart after it is cleansed, his heart reflects the immaculateness of God

through his actions, thoughts and emotions to say that such a person is non-Islamic or

to say that such a person has gone astray from Islam, is an oxymoron statement348349.

This proves that, if person denies another a person is a Muslim when that person is on

the path of Islamic mysticism, he fails to see clearly350. The mystic in Islam is

347 There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms a

part of) communities like you. Nothing have we Omitted from the book, and they (all) shall e gathered to their lord in the end. Those who reject Our signs are deaf and dumb, - in the mist of Darkness profound: whom God willeth, He leaveth to wander:…. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Surah Al An’am 6:38-40. 348

He granth wisdom to whom he pleases, and he to whom wisdom is granted receives indeed a benefit over flowing. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, Sura Baqara, 269, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), 66. 349

....the imagination, which is a faculty of language, receives weak semblances of the superworldly experiences of the theoretical intellect. With this is in mind, some general vague statements can be made about this holy condition. Nobody can fully and accurately describe this condition, as it is by nature indescribable. Therefore, full communication about it is impossible. The only way to grasp it is to experience it. Ismail bursevi transl., Fusus al-Hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn arabi (Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 49. 350

...one needs knowledge that comes from the hidden realms, a knowledge which overflows with the divine consciousness: ...whom We had taught knowledge of Our divine Presence. Sura kahf, 65....Such a teacher who inculcates knowledge into one has to be close to Allah and able to see into the Ultimate Realm....[Allah prefers] Those who spend in ease as well as in adversity and those who restrain [their] anger and pardon men. And Allah loves the doers of good [to others]. Sura Al Imran, 133-34....and put our inner being in order through acquiring wisdom. Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed.

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performing good deeds, healing, performing exorcism and other acts of goodness. The

judgmental Muslim who speaks against this man errors in his the performance of such

kindnesses; this is an error in and of its self. The validity of this is illustraited through

manifesting the truth of Tawhid and the oneness of God, then implementing them into

the empirical world through mind, body and spirit, and is actually the truest

exemplification of the immolation of the actions of Muhammad351. This is

exemplified by the fact that he goes beyond the Fard or regulatory actions of the

literalist Muslims. His actions therefore illustrate the fullness of implementing the

most complete example of action, knowledge, and spiritual behavior in motion in the

empirical and metaphysical realm. He uses this to embark on an understanding of God

which reflects God’s perfection through polishing his heart and reflection of the

microcosm as a part of the macrocosm and then attains an understanding with

balanced equilibrium. This transformation allows him to go beyond shallow

sectarianism and to ascend to the station of one who walks the path of Wilaya352.

Many people in the world today who call themselves Muslims disagree with this fact

by seeking to secularize our understanding of the intimate connection between man

2001), Sura kahf, 65, Sura Al Imran, 133-34.351 there upon the holy prophet raised his hands at once. While there was not a speck of clouds in the sky, but I swear by Allah in whose hands my soul is, that he had not lowered his hand before the clouds were appearing like mountains and before he descended from his pulpit, I saw the rain coming down on his beard….The Apostle then raised his hands and said: O Allah! (Send rain) round about us, but not on us…The messenger of Allah did not point at any region in the clouds without their breaking up; and medina became like a gap [in the rain]. Three hundred authenticated miracles of Muhammad, Badr Azimabadi,. …..After the battle of Badr….the Holy prophet went near the well and called, “so and so and son of so and so! Have you found true what your deities had promised you to be?...(umar) asked…how can you speak to bodies with no spirits? The apostle of Allah replied “ you are no better able to hear what I am saying than they are… Badr Azimabadi, Three hundred authenticated miracles of Muhammad, Adam publishers & Distributers, shandar Market, Deli, India, 1993), 90-93.352

The Sufi, in contrast with the magician, has a close connection with religion as a regular institution…which may be that which guards against evil. Or that which procures favors from the “spirits”. The Sufi does not demand what is desired, rather he Submittes to the divine will upon which man feels dependent. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Some aspects of Sufism: As Understood and Practiced among the Malays, (Malaysian Socialogical Research institute LTD., Singapore, 1963), 49.

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and nature353354355. The attempts of the true Viceregent of Nature walk the path as

many Malays do, with the understanding that Tawhid is the center of their connection

to Nature. Indeed he simultaneously polished his heart continually growing from

station to station, as he walked the path of Wilaya356357.

After examining these traditions we have born in mind that while syncretism

did occur among both of these forms of theurgist within the Malay community on

occasion, a distinction must be made in relation to synchronization vs. universal

symbolism. Examination of Particular symbolism among the Malay has also have

brought to light some of the distinctions between the two. My hypothesis is that the

353 The tree in the Garden is the Tree of life …. its fruits … are universal meanings which relate

all forms and images to the inner sameness existing within all things. Universal meanings may be taken by the mystic however, only when there has been a phenomenal image, an imprint upon the soul. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 33.354

The material world, also called the gross world, is immediately enclosed and dominated by the psychic domain, also referred to as the subtle world. These two worlds together form the domain of nature. And it is the angelic world which governs all natural laws in both the subtle and gross domains. Bakar, Osman. Tawhid and Science: Essays on the History and Philosophy of Islamic Science. Kuala Lumpur, Penang: Secretariat for Islamic Philosophy and Science, 1991.), 21. 355

Universal (or natural) symbols are symbols as they appear in the nature of things. They are primordial to mankind, and in this sense they are trans-cultural. Particular symbols, or even particular interpretations of universal symbols, differ according to the various traditions. They are sensible or intelligible forms consecrated by God through revelation to become vehicles of Divine grace. They posses, in a sense, the theophanic light which confers a dimension of transcendence on the particular tradition in which they are revealed … Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 27. 356

Abu Bakr Siraj al-Din tells us, “is a Divine name, recalled, remembered, invoked in an upward aspiration towards the truth. The firms set root of the Tree is the [zikr. Invocation], itself uttered with firm set purpose. The heaven reaching branches represent the tremendous import of the [invocation] as it passes upwards through the whole of the universe; and the fruit of the Tree of the reality in whose remembrance the invocation is performed. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 27.357

…. there upon the holy prophet raised his hands at once. While there was not a spec of clouds in the sky, but I swear by Allah in whose hands my soul is, that he had not lowered his hand before the clouds were appearing like mountains and before he descended from his pulpit, I saw the rain coming down on his beard….The Apostle then raised his hands and said: O Allah! (Send rain) round about us, but not on us…The messenger of Allah did not point at any region in the clouds without their breaking up; and medina became like a gap [in the rain]. Three hundred authenticated miracles of Muhammad, Badr Azimabadi, p. …..After the battle of Badr….the Holy prophet went near the well and called, “so and so and son of so and so! Have you found true what your deities had promised you to be?...(umar) asked…how can you speak to bodies with no spirits? The apostle of Allah replied “ you are no better able to hear what I am saying than they are… Three hundred authenticated miracles of Muhammad, Badr Azimabadi, , Adampublishers & Distributers, shandar Market, Deli, India, 1993), 90-93.

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Malay Wali or Malay Sufi Hakim, was never a sorcerer, and never participated in any

admixture of sorcery to his Islam as is stated by Winsted in his book ‘the Malay

magician’ to the contrary the Malay Wali was never deviant from the path of Wilaya.

Rather the Malay Wali has been marginalized by the imaginative writings of

Orientalism in the west and fundamentalist found in the Islamic Ummah. This was

primarily due to improper comparison of Wali Songo and the Khalwah with the Malay

Sorcerer or Bomo and his pantheism. These two extremist views have sought to write

history in their own way, rather than addressing the unbiased and academically correct

historical facts. For centuries Sufi wise men and saints have constantly strove to

perfect themselves in the cause of Allah and for the sake of their souls’ and

deliverance from evil. They strove to improve their Ummah and to teach using all of

the tools you have seen above. The difference between a practitioner of Islamic

science or Sufism and a Sufi Mystic is only a difference in added emphases upon

Islamic medicine and healing as a secondary role to the Sufi way of life on the road to

enlightenment. However it should be very clearly stated here that the “True” Sufi

Mystic does not ever in any way advocate pantheism, polytheism, or any other view

that would run contrary to the teachings of Islam. Islam and the oneness of Allah as

seen in nature, The Qur’an and Hadith of the prophet (PBBH) are the very

cornerstones of the Sufis Mystics life358. This is in contrary to the ultra-Orthodox

Trinitarian view of Islam. Islam is the fulfillment of totality and completeness of

religion on earth and for the good of all on earth, not a reactionary revisionist

movement. Because of the special nature of Islam, it is inclusive of the teachings of

358 ...the great Persian saint Abu yazid al Bastami. The founder of the ‘ecstatic’ school of Sufism,

he is famous for the boldness of his expression of the mystics’ complete absorption in the Godhead. This station (which come upon the mystic as a transient state; ….the wine of the knowledge of the divine, enraptured by the contemplation of God. The second group are the mystics known for their sobriety. According to this group, which has a larger following…intoxication is only the beginning of oneness. Laleh Bakhtiar, Sufi: Expressions of the Mystic Quest. (Thames and Hudson, London, 1976), 94-95.

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the many prophets before Muhammad, yet its tenets place the truth of these prophets

within the outline, truths, and conceptual constraints of the seal of the prophets by

example and the truths exemplified in the books of divine revelation. The

development of both popular mysticism and Islamic mysticism in the proper sense

have developed over the centuries, and taken on aspects of one another. What we

have seen in the above discussion is a summary of the road that Malay Dokuns,

tribesmen, healers, Khalwah, Wali and others have traveled far in their development

of their the Pre-Islamic faith which was adapted in unison with their communal

naturalist lifestyle. The best elements of the Pre-Islamic prophetic teachings which

remain with the Malay have been rediscovered and revived in Sufism. Sufism elevated

these teachings along with organic unity, a love of nature (including nature spirits) in

the form of Muslim jinn and reverence for the essence of all natural kingdoms; and

many other aspects of Malays tribal life to a level of scientific application of Islamic

ideals coupled with Malay ethics and culture, to become the modern form of Malay

spirituality: a form of spirituality that embraces the examination of nature in a

broadminded and very Islamic manner. One way of seeing an Islamic Ummah, is:

“people who help each other, care for each other, point to the path of proper action,

and seek the miracles of nature and life together, and believe in all the truth of God”.

Taking this for our definition of an Islamic Ummah, I would say that Malays have a

better foundation build than any other ethnic group in the world today. Their

conception of Hati and its relationship to nature has been of great assistance in their

path to the developing Ein-al-Qalb and the polishing of the heart through Islamic

Alchemy in the spiritual sense. You will find no home among Malay families were

families do not treat their community with kindness and hospitality, and this is their

true strength, the strength of love. The changes that were brought about by Muslim

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Sufis of Malaya were brought about in a predominantly peaceful manner by

presenting Islamic monotheism with a kind heart and an open mind this must never be

forgotten. It was this peaceful form of Da’wah which was the key to this

overwhelmingly proficient form of conversion. A form of conversion that gave birth

to the well-balanced form of Islamic monotheism that exists in Malaysia359. This is

what has been proven here and this is the true goal of an Islamic Ummah. Therefore

for those who would call all Malay traditional energy usage “sorcery” I would

recommend they read the holy Qur’an, Hadith of the prophet, and the writings of Ibn

al Arabi thoroughly and they will find that God has never once ordered men not to

work with the energies of light, quite the reverse the apostles of Jesus were “Given”

this ability by Allah himself360. These men were truly on the road to meeting God and

359 Though the Sacred Law of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) superseded all

previously valid religious laws, it was identical with them in beliefs, such as tawhid or "oneness of God", and so on, a fact that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) emphasized by saying, "Let none of you say I am superior to [the prophet] Jonah," (Bukhari, 4.193: 3412), for the illumination of Jonah's tawhid (upon him be peace)--under the darkness of the storm, the darkness of the sea, and the darkness of the belly of the fish--was not less than the illumination of the Prophet's tawhid at the zenith of his success as the spiritual leader of all Arabia (Allah bless him and give him peace). The light of their message was one, in which sense the Qur'an says, "We do not differentiate between any of His messengers" (Qur'an 2:285),…."The Shaykh [Muhyiddin Ibn al-`Arabi] sometimes criticizes specific distortions or misunderstandings in the Qur'anic vein, but he does not draw the conclusion that many Muslims have drawn--that the coming of Islam abrogated (naskh) previous revealed religions. Rather, he says, Islam is like the sun and other religions like the stars. Just as the stars remain when the sun rises, so also the other religions remain valid when Islam appears. One can add a point that perhaps Ibn al-`Arabi would also accept: What appears as a sun from one point of view may be seen as a star from another point of view. Concerning abrogation, the Shaykh writes, “All the revealed religions (shara'i') are lights. Among these religions, the revealed religion of Muhammad is like the light of the sun among the lights of the stars. When the sun appears, the lights of the stars are hidden, and their lights are included in the light of the sun. Their being hidden is like the abrogation of the other revealed religions that takes place through Muhammad's revealed religion. Nevertheless, they do in fact exist, just as the existence of the light of the stars is actualized. This explains why we have been required in our all-inclusive religon to have faith in the truth of all messengers and all the revealed religions. They are not rendered null (batil) by abrogation--that is the opinion of the ignorant.'([al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya,] III 153.12[16]) ….," it is true, but is something that has waited for fourteen centuries of Islamic scholarship down to the present century to be first promulgated in Cairo in the 1930s by the French convert to Islam Rene Gunon, and later by his student Frithjof Schuon and writers under him…."Since the manifestings of Him Meant by Worship are manifold, so are sects and creeds. For the aim of worship is to exalt with reverence, and the lowliness and humility of every worshipper is only rendered to someone able to harm or benefit, give or withhold, to give sustenance, to lower or raiseand these attributes are not in fact, those of anyone except one alone, who is Allah Most High, and He is absolutely beyond perception (ghayb mutlaq). Nuh Ha Mim Keller, On the validity of all religions in the thought of ibn Al-'Arabi and Emir 'Abd al-Qadir, a letter to `Abd al-Matin © 1996, 1-2. 360 The vital spirit is neither aphysical nor a spiritual substance. Rather, it is a subtle body and the spirit in its theological sense. The function of the vital spirit is to direct the organization of the life of the

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the road to humility, truth, spirituality, and purity is what we call the ‘ascension of the

tree of life’, it is also what Joseph Campbell called the heroes journey and the Hindu

call the heroic path, it is one man’s attempt to see God through nature and sacred text

and to take that journey further in his heart and mind until he attains the ultimate

balance in his life, so that he might die with the peace of Gods truth and love in his

heart361. While the Thaumaturgist is at a lower level than the Wali, he is none the less

on the same path, and the Wali is most certainly a ‘Viceregent of creation’362363, which

is the view we wish to emphasize here, that the paths these men had both similarities

and differences, but in the end they both saw the truth of the signs of God in nature

and the beauty of his divine majesty in the wonders that were so powerful, their source

body. The possibility of this function presupposes a certain level of refinement and perfection in the mixtures of the humors of which the body is comprised. The vital spirit is of three kinds: the natural spirit, the psychic spirit, and the vital spirit proper. (1) The natural spirit – This…travels in the veins. (2) The psychic spirit- This spirit…has its center in the brain…it travels through the nerves. (3) The vital spirit proper- This spirit…Functioning through the heart…preserves life by preparing sutable conditions for functioning of the biological systems associated with the natural and psychic spirits, and through travelling within the ateries to all organs and tissues. Osman bakar, philosophy of Islamic medicine and its relivance to the modern world, (Secretary for Islamic philosophy and Science, University Sains Malaysia, Penang, 1996), 19.361

The first share of knowledge of these meanings by way of witnessing and unveiling, so that their essential realities are clarified for them by a proof which does not permit any error; and God’s possession of these meanings as His characteristics is revealed to them in a disclosure equivalent in clarity to the certainty achieved by a man in regard to his own inner qualities which he perceives by seeing his inward aspect, not by outward sensation. How great a difference there is between this and a faith derived from ones parents and teachers by conformity and persistence in it, even though it be accompanied by argumentative proofs fro Kalam! David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher, AL—GHAZALI: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names of God: Al-maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma’ Allah al-husna, (The Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), 30-31.362

If God reveals him self in images of particularizations of and the degrees of revelations, he reveals number and pluralarity and brings into emergence couplings and singularities. Consequently, according to the consideration of these images of particularizations are the degrees of descent from the being of the one God. And what is there in existence except him? Among the number there are some which are (of) non-existence and some which are (of) existence. That is to say, some of the numbered become inexistent in the exterior and I appearance. It sometimes happens that something is inexistent by virtue of the intelligence. It is inevitable that it either from number or from numbered. Thus it is possible that sometimes a thing is from the point of view of the senses inexistent, yet it is existent from the point of view of the intellect… Ismail bursevi’s translation of an commentary on fusus al-hikam, muhyiddin ib ‘arabi, (Oxford: Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, 1987), 343.363

He has reserved the height of position for degrees of viceregent [ViceregentViceregent] this means that the height of position which is particular to the perfect man is the height of the degree of viceregent [ViceregentViceregent] which is the degree of collectevity of singularity of perfection and completeness. Ismail bursevi’s translation of an commentary on fusus al-hikam, muhyiddin ibn ‘arabi, (Oxford: Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, 1987), 334.

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could only be God himself. And they were in awe and blissful abiding of these

miracles of God and for this reason devoted themselves to helping others and fighting

evil, and for this they both should be thought of in kindness and honor, for “Allah

does not like those who reject his signs364’.What Muslims ‘are’ forbidden to do is to

dabble in the Black arts of Sorcery, which are Haram. Knowing the differences

between these theurgists is of paramount importance to the serious scholar of Islamic

science. It is not possible to ignore those metaphysical powers around us, those which

are from God are a part of his signs, for particularization and subjectivity of Gods

perfection is the greatest sin of all, it is rejection of the oneness of faith in the one and

perfected immaculate God of all creation and the utter denial of Tawhid; and those

which are dark, black or evil, must be confronted and made to remain in check; for

their creed is denial of Tawhid. The Wali of Allah and the Khalwah of Allah

confronted this evil365. In having confronted the Wali of Shayton (Bomo); the Wali

and apprentice of the Wali of Allah, the Malay Thaumaturgist become Caliphs of

364 …there comes to you messengers from amongst you, rehersing my signs unto you, …those

who reject our signs and treat them with arrogance, ….who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against God or rejects his signs?...to those who reject our signs and treat them with arrogance, no opening will there be of the gates of heaven, nor will they enter the garden, until a camel can pass through the eye of a needle…Yusuf Ali, Trans., The Holy Qur’an: text, translation and commentary, (Saba Islamic Media, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2nd ed. 2001), Surah 7: 35-40. 365

shaykh put the special knowledge uder the category of possession (Mulk) because possession is the manifest estate,and knowledge is the secret estate, and manifest estate with the hidden estate and with the divine knowledge is its spirit and results with it, ….by the order of God and by the permission of God, the tassarrufs in the higher and lower universes are manifested for them, yet they are not manifest like Solomon with tasarruf in the universe of witnessing. Ismail bursevi’s translation of an commentary on fusus al-hikam, muhyiddin ib ‘arabi, (Oxford: Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, 1987), 771.

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creation and have proved themselves to be worthy of respect366367. As scholars we

must understand that the journey from a degenerated form of monotheism among the

Pre-Islamic Malay we see a return journey to Wilaya and Islam; in that in every

journey to Allah there is a circular cycle. This circular cycle is the return of from the

ascension to the ecstatic experience in the life of the thaumaturgist. The Khalwah

attained esoteric experiences as a means to opening to Islam368. This opening to Islam

was the return to the center and in every return to the center is inclusive of equilibrium

and balances the din of the person making this “heroes journey”. As such the Khalwah

who became a Wali was completing his din by moving from the exclusivity of

esotericism to the equilibrium of completing his exterior aspects in the practice of

Islam in prayer, charity, good deeds, and all the fard of Islam. Once he accomplished

this his din was balanced and whole. The third stage was the path of Wilaya complete,

as a Wali he was then capable of helping others into the light of Allah369. This is the

366 A second way of sharing in these meanings belongs to those who so highly esteem what is

disclosed to them of the attributes of majesty of their high regard releases a longing to possess this attribute in every way possible to them, so that they may grow closer to the truth…with the possession of such characteristics they become similar to Angels, who have been brought close to God – great and glorious. Moreover, it is inconceivable that a heart be filled with high regard for such an attribute and be illuminated by it without longing for this attribute following upon it, as well as a passionate love for that perfection and majesty,…No one will lack this longing except for one of two reasons : either from inadequate knowledge and certainty that the attribute in question is one of the attributes of majesty and perfection, or for the fact that ones heart is full of a another longing and absorbed by it. David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher, ( The Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), 31.367 Ruzbin Balqi, who speaks of a hierarchic structure of three hundred persons whose hearts are like Adams heart, forty who’s hearts are like Moses heart, five whose hearts correspond to Gabriel’s heart, three whose hearts correspond to that of Michael, and one, the qubt, whose heart is equal to israfil’s. He added to this group of saintly persons the four prophets who have been lifted up to heaven alive – Idris, Khidr, Ilyas, and Jesus….Numerous stories have been told about them, and there are local names in the Near East connected with their presence, such as Kirklareli, “the country of the forty,” in the European province of Turkey. The word abdal, usually connected with the forty, seems to have assumed this high spiritual meaning only gradually. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1975), 202. 368

The knowledge that is sent down to us is twofold: exoteric and esoteric, meaning the sacred law [shari'a] and direct understanding [ma'rifa]. Allah (Exalted is He) has commanded us to apply the sacred law to our outer being, and direct understanding to our inner being, so that the combination of the two will result in knowledge of Reality [Haqiqa], just as fruit is produced by the tree and the leaves. Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Secret of Secrets: The Great Hadrate of Abdul abd Al Jilani, interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. (S. Abdul Majeed & co publishing, 1994), p. 10.369 For once he has understood the teaching, if these meanings were presented to him, he would receive them and memorize them. These are the levels of most scholars, to say nothing of those who are not scholars. In relation to those who do not share with them in those three levels, these should not be

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journey of the Malay Thaumaturgist and is symbolically represented in the ascension

of the tree of life; from the roots of the tree of life representative of pre-monotheist

prophetic teachings, to the injured roots chewed by the great dragon (Iblis) which

resulted in injury to the Pre-Islamic prophetic teachings. Next to the Body of the tree

which is symbolic of monotheistic teachings, upward he traveled to the branches

symbolic of the mystical path of contemplating Tawhid and the completeness of

Allah. Here he met the eagle symbolic of Allah’s divine light or Nur, the light ushered

his soul towards seeking the experience of Gnosis. It is only fair to note that while the

oneness of Allah as seen in Islamic science is seen by the transcendental unity

movement as a bridge for ecumenical oneness of the brotherhood of man and

rightfully so, such inner dimensional discussions may not be understandable by all

denied credit, yet they are clearly deficient with respect to the acme of perfection. For ‘the merits of the [merely] pious are demerits in those who have drawn near to God’. The first share of knowledge of these meanings by way of witnessing and unveiling, so that their essential realities are clarified for them by a proof which does not permit any error; and God’s possession of these meanings as His characteristics is revealed to them in a disclosure equivalent in clarity to the certainty achieved by a man in regard to his own inner qualities which he perceives by seeing his inward aspect, not by outward sensation. … David B. Burrell and Nazih Daher, AL—GHAZALI: The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names of God: Al-maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma’ Allah al-husna, (The Islamic Text Society, India, 1992), 30-31.

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students of Islam as has been noted by Associate Prof., Dr. Fatimah Abdulah370371372.

However, we should not forget that there are stages of development in understanding

the inner dimensions of esoteric Sufism as a part of Islam. Furthermore, these

dimensions must be viewed in both an esoteric and exoteric manner, each appropriate

to the time and stage set for them in the life of the ascetic or Khalwah by

370 As a form of religious pluralism the theory of the Transcendental Unity of World Religions (TUR) is an extreme attempt to bring about some form of unity between the many diverse religions in a universal form….According to them the existence of various religions only constitutes variant conceptions and perceptions of, and responses to, this one Ultimate divine reality. Since all religions come from one source, each religion contains within itself a measure of the absolute truth and at the same time is a valid method and means for the attainment of that truth… Such a belief has a good intention, however when utilized by those who are not prepared through the necessary path of Willayah, could have very dangerous results for both the student and the persons they misguide with their partial understanding of the true oneness… al-Attas stands as one of the strongest critics of this particularized form of deviance. In his monumental work, Prolegomena he clearly and convincingly shows that this claim springs from a misconception of Islamic metaphysics, particularly that which is based on wahdat al-wujËd. (Dr. Fatimah Abdullah, Transcendent unity of religions, unpublished manuscript, 3.371

The physical and psychic functions of man are integral to nature, and as such they obey the laws pertinent to them with the same necessity as all other creatures. But the spiritual function, viz., the understanding and moral action, fall outside the realm of determined nature. …necessary fulfilment applies only to elemental or utilitarian purposes of God, his commandments to man, do have a base in the physical world, and hence there is a utilitarian aspect to them, but this is moral. It is precisely their aspect of being fulfillable in freedom, that is, the possibility of being fulfilled or violated remaining always open, that gives them the special dignity we ascribe to things “moral”….As the subject of moral action, man must therefore be capable of changing himself, his fellows or society, nature or his environment, so to actualize the divine pattern, or commandment, in himself as well as in them. Isma’il Raji al Faruqi, Al-Tawhid: Its Implications for Thought and Life, (International institute of Islamic Thought, Herdon, Virginia, U.S.A.), 12-13.372

The sacred resides in the nature of reality itself, and normal humanity has for the sacred just as it has for reality which one distinguishes naturally from the unreal….the sacred which has always been a living presence within normal civilizations, has become so forgotten ….to the exstent that the reality of the sacred is accepted at least in religious circles, it is connected with the power of God rather than his wisdom. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Gifford Lectures: Knowledge and the Sacred. (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 75.

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Allah373374375376. Once ascended, he began the descent back to normal life and realized

seeing the tree in its wholeness, the need for sobriety and completeness, thus began to

practice both the fard of Islam in the exterior and the esoteric inner dimension of

Islam; and then and only then he became an Wali377378, a true caliph of creation. What

must be understood plainly from this dissertation is that while from the Islamic point

of view sorcery is considered an abominable crime against God, that, wizardry is not

373 The ideal point of departure for an understanding of Fitrah is the metaphysical principle that

underlies the concept. By means of this principle we come to understand the place of man in the universe, his essential spiritual nature and his ultimate destiny. It is the principle which provides the foundation [for our creed] ….from which all other … [spiritual traditions]…are derived. Accordingly, all other implications of Fitrah are rooted in this metaphysical principle….the implication is that the principle of Tawhid is integral to the inborn nature of man. The mission of all the prophets from Adam to Muhammad [PB upon them all] was to convey the message of Tawhid. Yasien Mohamed, The Definition of Fitrah, from, Fitrah: the Islamic concept of human nature, (TA-HA Publishers Ltd. 1996), 85.374

…and the prophet said: Truly some speech is magical” (Note that there was no derogatory look, expression or rejection verbally of this sort of magical speech.) Mohd. (PBBH), Sahih al-Bukhari, comp. Al-imam Zain udin Ahmad bin Abdul-Latif Az-Zubaidi, trlt. Dr. Muhammad Mushin Khan, Islamic University Al-Madina, Al-Munawwara, Saudia Arabia, Maktabar-us-Salam, 1994), 944.375

Islam sees the doctrine of unity (al-Tawhid) not only as the essence of its own message but as the heart of every religion….assertion of al-Tawhid and all religions are seen as so many repetitions in different climes and languages of the doctoring of unity. Moreover, wherever the doctrine of unity may be found, it is considered to be of divine origin. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Gifford Lectures: Knowledge and the Sacred. (Crossroad publishing, New York, 1981), 71. 376

Modern Muslims, who have embraced the modern scientific world-view and the modern philosophy of technology, usually out of ignorance of the Islamic scientific and technological tradition…. But this kind of intellectual stance is to beg the question “what do we mean by good Muslims?” …When it comes to science, to be a “good Muslim” means more than just to be able to use it wisely in accordance with Islamic ethical principles. It also means to be able to produce a science that is “true” in accordance with Islamic metaphysical, cosmological, and epistemological principles. Prof. Osman Bakar, Article: Environmental health and welfare as an important aspect of civilizational Islam, (Center for Civiziational Diolog: University Malaya, Kuala Lumpor, 2007), 13.377

And Solomon was not ignorant of the divine knowledge; rather that this knowledge was of that possession that was bestowed upon Solomon, so that it was not suitable for any other person to be manifested in the universe of witnessing with the same quality. …..The Arabic interpretation of these two names is ar-rahman, ar-rahim, which means that the names that Solomon used to mean ar-rahman, ar-rahim, are not the Arabic words ar-rahman, ar-rahim, but the Arabic words ar-rahman, rahim are the meanings of these two words that Solomon used. Thus what the shaykh intends, the two compassionate beatitudes were attributed to the haqq and that Solomon mentioned these two compassions in two names. Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Ismail bursevi transl., Ibn Sina And Mysticism: remarks and Admonisions: part four, (Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 771-773.378

Thus the name Interior (Batin) is realized for the servant, because hen Haqq becomes manifest in the universe of chaptering with the images of the revelation of compassionate beatitude , the perfect servant for its manifestation, and as the emanation of action of the Haqq from the place of manifestation of the being of the servant, the servant was established in the being of the Haqq. Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Ismail bursevi transl., Ibn Sina And Mysticism: remarks and Admonisions: part four, (Kegan Paul International, New York, NY, 1996), 770.

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sorcery and neither is magic. In addition the theurgist who participated in the Pre-

Islamic religions around the world was practitioners of a type of Theurgy which is

descended from a degenerated form of Pre-Islamic monotheistic prophetic teachings.

These teachings were and still are a part of Gods plan according to the findings of

such notable Islamic scientist as ibn sinna, ibn Arabi, Syyed Hossein Nasr, René

gunon, and fridjoff schuon and are therefore not in any way to be discarded. But rather

they are to be examined and gleaned for all the authentic truth that can be discerned

from the Islamic perspective as divine truth. And that the science of alchemy, the

science of Talismana, the science of thaumaturgy are not in any way in alignment with

sorcery, in fact it has always been the science of thaumaturgy which has battled

against such abominable crimes as position by spirits, evil spells from sorcery and

illnesses disseminated by the black arts. They have always been in the forefront of the

battle against the forces of evil and are not the enemies of Islam. In fact if there are

any people fighting the darkness of evil on the metaphysical realm in Malaysia today,

they are the thaumaturgist. We have gone over a great many details and sources in

order to illustrate the truth of the distinctions between these two specialist and in the

differences between the methods, tools, and perspectives related to both, in order to

make clear to the reader that the two cannot be bulked together and labeled as the

same when in reality nothing could be further from the truth.

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