In Sufism, the term seyr u süluk generally refers to walking the spiritual path and the spiritual stations traversed along it. Essentially, the words seyr and sülûk have somewhat different lexical meanings; both signify ‘walking a path.’
A person begins seyr u süluk by joining a Sufi order (taking the hand of a guide). Before delving into the details, we want to present Abd al-Qadir al-Geylani’s general assessment on this matter. He says: “This path is entered not with reliance on the self and desires, but by abandoning trust in power and strength, embracing safety, leaving haste behind. One does not walk hastily on this path. It requires someone to hold your hand, guide you, patience, bearing hardship, and striving. If you befriend those who are kings of gnosis, they will teach you insight, carry your burdens… If you are a beloved, they will take you as their attendant. If you are the desired, they become your attendant. One who tastes that pleasure knows it. Sitting with qualified people is a blessing; sitting with strangers, liars, and hypocrites is a punishment. Observe yourself. Fulfill what is due to your soul from the rights of God and humanity. If you desire good in this world and the Hereafter, examine God’s knowledge within yourself. Train your soul to fulfill what God has commanded and avoid what He has forbidden. Thus, obstacles will be removed from before you, and communion (closeness, friendship) will be established between you and God. You will find a companion, a helper. Wherever you turn, you will capture the treasure that follows you.” (el-Fethu’r-Rabbanî, 242) As can be seen from this, Abd al-Qadir al-Geylani focuses on both sides of seyr u süluk: one is the individual aspect – which is the self – and the other is the communal aspect – which is the environment, that is, the group of friends and close ones. While a person tries to keep their self under observation, they should also distance themselves from the environment that can be supportive or negatively influential, at least until reaching a certain level.
After this general framework, we can now delve into more details. Abd al-Qadir al-Geylani points out that seyr is done with the heart (a.g.e.,314) and that those who wish to tread the path of Sufism must purify and beautify their intention beforehand, because the self is ill-mannered and greatly commands evil (the commanding self – nefs-i emmâre), as mentioned in Surat Yusuf, 53. (el-Fethu’r-Rabbanî, 210).
“For a beginner, the most important thing is to have a correct belief—the belief of the prophets, messengers, companions, followers, those who adhere to the Sunnah, the pious predecessors, the saints, and the truthful.” (el-Gunye, II/163)
“With this belief, one attains the initial knowledge of truth. Through striving, one becomes successful in walking on the path of truth. Then, until reaching God, one must lift one’s foot with His permission and step with His permission, being devoted to Him. One should not abandon one’s true promise due to the criticism of critics. A sincere person never turns back from his pledge.”
“Faith is needed to walk on the right path, and conviction is needed to remain steadfast. In this path, the beginning of sülûk is weeping (shedding tears), and its end is true faith.” (el-Fethu’r-Rabbanî, 126)
Abd al-Qadir al-Geylani compares a newly embarking Sufi to a fledgling bird, emphasizing the importance of first detaching oneself from one’s own self. According to him, just as a fledgling is dependent on its parents for procuring food, the beginner must surrender themselves to those who will spiritually nourish them. The beginning of this path is adhering to causes, and its end is seeing the cause. Trust in power, strength, and means cannot coexist with Islam, faith, conviction, and oneness of God. This endeavor cannot be undertaken lightly. (a.g.e., 290)
The seeker on this path is diligent and hardworking at the beginning. He has no thought other than reaching his goal. He is completely focused on achieving it, striving and toiling to reach it, making maximum effort to fulfill every task assigned to him for that purpose. Therefore, he is constantly in a state of movement. He does not know what stillness is. Stillness comes only at the end of the path. (a.g.e., 241)
Therefore, one should not speak until the end of the path has been reached. “Speech occurs at the end of the path. The beginning of the path is completely silent, and its end is completely speech.” (a.g.e., 410) Silence is required at the beginning. Because speaking at the beginning can both lead a person astray from their goal—or at least slow them down—and, due to a lack of sufficient knowledge, those who are being given knowledge may be misinformed, or even misled in religious terms.
The seeker should measure every action with the Book and Sunnah, and more importantly, adhere to the Book and Sunnah, acting with utmost care in following the commands and prohibitions of religion in origin and branch. The Book and Sunnah should be his two wings. Then comes sincerity and effort. Guidance is unthinkable without them. (el-Gunye,II/163)
The beginner should perform righteous deeds in every situation and strive to strengthen their weak faith. The importance of strengthening faith and performing righteous deeds is great in the stages of seyr. For as faith strengthens, one successively reaches the abode of gnosis, then the valley of knowledge, then the valley of annihilation from people and the self, and finally the station where sadness disappears—being with God. (el-Fethu’r-Rabbanî, 272)
Through righteous deeds, the soul becomes attached to the heart – that is, it enters into communion with the heart and submits to its command, understanding what the heart can perceive. In the next stage of this condition, the heart becomes attached to the secret, and the secret to annihilation. At that stage, there is body and abiding. (Fütuhu’l-Gayb, 162)
The beginner abandons some worldly pleasures and delights. But this abandonment is not aimless or empty. Rather, it is purposeful: The beginner prefers to be occupied with deeds for which they can receive a reward in the Hereafter over indulging in certain worldly pleasures. In this regard, the statement “the Sufi’s work is to abandon in this world and gain in the Hereafter” (el-Fethu’r-Rabbanî, 131) would be an appropriate observation.