First Step: Detachment from Matter and People (Halvet)
The Sufi journey begins with a person first drawing their heart away from the external world, the noise of crowds, and worldly concerns (uzlet/halvet). Abdülkadir Geylani (q.s.) gives the seeker this startling command: “Leave the people and turn to the Truth. Let your station be the threshold of the gate of nearness to the Truth.” A servant who wants to attain truth must completely isolate their heart from worldly ambitions, false loves for creation, and the whispers of the ego. For ‘You cannot see the Truth while you are among people.’ The heart is like a vessel; if it is filled with the water of the world, the light of knowledge cannot enter.
Melting in Perfection and Proximity to God
The servant who opens their heart only to remembrance of God and divine contemplation while in seclusion gradually purifies themselves from the illnesses of their ego. They taste the station of ‘annihilation’ (fana) there. Worldly fears and expectations melt away and disappear. The servant surrenders completely to the will of God, passing beyond their own will. Geylani (q.s.), who says, “When you pass beyond your own perceived self from the people, you are counted among the dead,” announces that a divine resurrection will follow this spiritual death. At this station, the servant enters a realm of conversation and intimacy where secrets are revealed and truths are learned directly. They become a perfect human being adorned with divine morality.
Celvet: Returning to People as a Guide
However, in Islamic Sufism, the ultimate goal is not to hide away forever on a mountaintop. The perfect person, illuminated by the light of God, returns among people again (celvet) by God’s command and appointment. But this return is not with their former heedless state, but as a doctor, a guide, a ‘warner.’ Geylani (q.s.) states, “After you have reached your most perfect form, withdraw from that place and come out; goodness lies in your manifestation,” emphasizing that the perfect person must be a remedy for the troubles of the people. He engages in commerce with the people through his body, establishes a family, and converses; but not even for a moment does his heart stray from the presence of God. True knowledge is to remain alone with God even amidst crowds.