It is to be the shāhid (witness). As long as one continues to perform dhikr (remembrance of God) with the tongue, one is at the maqām (spiritual station) of Islam. When dhikr descends into the qalb (the heart), one attains the maqām of iman (faith). The dhikr of the dhākir (the one who remembers) is realized at the maqām of ihsan (spiritual excellence).
For the Sufis, the bidāya (beginning) is tahalluq (adopting virtues), and the nihāya (end) is tahaqquq (i.e., realizing perfection in akhlāq [character] and kamāl [perfection] in maʿrifa [gnosis]). As long as one endures hardship, refrains from causing harm, and continues with bodily tahalluq such as comfort, one remains at the maqām of Islam. When one is freed from bodily attachments and turns to angelic character, one is at the maqām of iman. When adorned with divine attributes, one attains the maqām of ihsan.
The bidāya (beginning) of the poor (fuqarāʾ) is tajrīd (renunciation of the world), and their nihāya (end) is tafrīd (being with the Real). When the faqīr (poor one) is stripped of worldly possessions, he is at the maqām of Islam. When stripped of otherworldly possessions, he is at the maqām of iman. When stripped of everything other than the Real (al-Ḥaqq), he is at the maqām of ihsan. (Ravza, 618)
Iman (faith) is built upon two pillars (arkān). The first pillar is to affirm without doubt the oneness of Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of the Hereafter, and that good and evil, whatever they may be, are all by Allah’s decree. This undoubting affirmation is for the qalb to accept, without hesitation, the verification of what is reported from the unseen as if seeing it with the eye.
The second pillar is to perform the things upon which Islam is built.
Ihsan (spiritual excellence) is built upon four foundations: Islam, iman, ṣalāḥ (righteousness), and istiqāma (uprightness) in these seven maqāms: tawba (repentance), ināba (turning to God), zuhd (asceticism), tawakkul (reliance upon God), riḍā (contentment with God's decree), tafwīḍ (entrusting affairs to God), and ikhlas (sincerity) in all states. (Insān, II, 84)
Ihsan is the name given to a maqām. In this maqām, the servant contemplates the traces of the names and attributes of the Exalted Real (al-Ḥaqq). While performing servitude, he imagines himself as if in the presence of Allah Most High, in the maqām of iman-Islam-ihsan. He strives to maintain this state at all times. Its lowest degree is to be conscious that Allah Most High is looking at him. This is the beginning of the degrees of murāqaba (spiritual vigilance). Without these seven conditions—tawba, ināba, zuhd, tawakkul, tafwīḍ, riḍā, and ikhlas—one cannot attain this degree. (Insān, II, 91)
Iman is the first of the degrees of unveiling (kashf) pertaining to the unseen world. It is such a mount that whoever rides it ascends to lofty stations and superior ranks. Iman consists of the qalb’s acceptance of what is above the intellect. Whatever is known by the intellect, the qalb’s affirmation of it is not iman. That is theoretical knowledge acquired from what is seen by the eye, not iman. For iman requires the qalb to accept something without evidence. Iman is pure affirmation. Therefore, the light of the intellect is less than the light of iman. For the bird of the intellect flies with the wing of ḥikma (wisdom). The wings of wisdom are nothing but evidences, and evidences are found in things whose effects are seen. It is impossible to find evidence for inward matters. Whereas the bird of iman flies with the wings of qudra (divine power). This bird, when flying in the sky, does not stop anywhere; rather, it flies throughout the whole universe. (Insān, II, 89)
Imam Shāʿrānī, in his work Durar al-Ghawwās fī Fatāwī Sayyid ʿAlī al-Ḥawwās, says: I asked him what is the most severe punishment for the servant; he said, "The taking of the ruh (the spirit) from him." I asked what is the most delightful blessing; he said, "The taking of the nafs (the lower self)."
I asked which is the most perfect knowledge; he said, "To know the Real (al-Ḥaqq)." I asked which is the most virtuous of deeds; he said, "Adab (proper conduct)."
I asked what is the beginning of Islam; he said, "Submission (taslīm)." I asked what is the beginning of iman; he said, "Riḍā (contentment with God's decree)."
I asked who is deeply rooted in knowledge; he said, "The one whose firmness increases when his nafs is taken from him. For when with the Real, he should be with His will, not with his own." Whoever finds delight in the state of knowledge but loses it when his nafs is taken from him, is with his nafs both in presence and absence. (Mashāriq, 32)
Iman is affirmation, and in its entirety consists of word, deed, and intention. According to the sunnah (divine custom), iman increases, decreases, strengthens, and weakens. (Bughyah, 21)
Iman is the satisfaction of the nafs and the firmness of the qalb. It is as follows: When the servant seeks his Lord, sometimes he turns to an idol, sometimes to the sun and moon as lord, and sometimes to fire. In this state, the servant is bewildered and does not rest. If Allah sees the servant’s sincerity in this search, He pours the light of hudā (guidance) into his qalb, so that his qalb finds firmness and his nafs finds rest and tranquility. (Bughyah, 23)
The perfection of the maqām of ihsan is to purify action from seeking reward, from intending anything other than Allah’s riḍā, and from mixing in ostentation (riyā); this is the true meaning of ikhlas. The perfection of the maqām of ihsan can only be attained by witnessing the degree of divinity in all acts of worship with the light of baṣīra (spiritual insight).
iman-Islam-ihsan
This maqām of ihsan is what enables the continuity of servitude consisting of maintaining presence by severing attachment from everything other than Allah. This presence is called, by them, union (wuṣla) with the Prophet (peace be upon him). Likewise, this maqām is also called ḥaqq al-yaqīn (the certainty of truth). It is also termed fanāʾ (annihilation in God), which is, in reality, what it is. Likewise, it is called the fanāʾ of the attributes of the sālik (spiritual traveler) in the attributes of the Real and his baqāʾ (subsistence) in Him. This is not only in terms of knowledge, but also in terms of knowledge, witnessing, and spiritual state (ḥāl). (Bughyah, 26)
According to the people of verification, the meaning of shukr (gratitude) is to acknowledge the favor of the benefactor by submitting to him. According to this view, the attribute Shakūr (Most Grateful) is given to Allah not in the literal sense but metaphorically. Thus, just as the recompense and punishment for evil and transgression is called sayyiʾa (evil), so too the reward and recompense given by Allah for shukr is called shukr.
They say that what is meant by Allah’s shukr is to give much reward for little action. The word shukr comes from the Arabs’ naming of an animal that shows much fatness compared to the fodder given as a shakur animal.
It is also said: The reality of shukr is to praise the benefactor by mentioning his favor. Thus, the servant’s shukr to Allah Most High is to praise Him by mentioning His favors. It cannot be claimed that this is problematic because Allah is called Shakūr, for He praises His obedient servants by mentioning their obedience, and obedience is a kind of ihsan. Since the servant praises Allah Most High by mentioning His great and various favors, He is called Shakūr. (Jāmiʿ, 198)
Tafwīḍ (entrusting affairs to God) and taslīm (submission) is to abandon choice. Taslīm, Islam, and istislām (surrender) are to submit. This is the manifestation of ʿubūdiyya (servitude)... (Jāmiʿ, 199)
If you ask how many conditions of iman there are, the answer is ten: to fear Allah and hope for His grace; to long for Allah; to value what Allah values and not value what He does not; to be content with Allah’s decree; to beware of His makr (deception); to be grateful for Allah’s favor; to have tawakkul (reliance upon God) in Allah; to praise and glorify Allah. If you ask how many kinds of iman there are, the answer is five. The first is innate iman, which neither increases nor decreases; this is the iman of the angels. The second is the iman of the maʿṣūm (infallible); this is the iman of the Prophets. This type of iman increases with the revelation of legal rulings to the Prophets but does not decrease.
The third is accepted iman; this is the iman of the believers, which sometimes increases with obedience and sometimes decreases with sin. According to al-Shāfiʿī, iman itself increases with obedience and decreases with sin. The fourth is suspended (mawqūf) iman; this is the iman of the hypocrites among the Ummah of Muhammad. If the hypocrisy in their hearts is removed, their iman becomes valid. (Jāmiʿ, 264)
The Sufis have divided iman into three levels: Islam, iman, and ihsan. (Nafahāt, 21)
According to the Sufis, the seven conditions for entering the maqām of ihsan are: tawba, ināba, zuhd, tafwīḍ, riḍā, ikhlas, and tawakkul. These are neither foreign to Islam nor added to it later as the most noble possibility. The essence and foundation of Islamic Sufism (taṣawwuf) are present in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, Islamic creed, and the principles of the Hanif religion itself. According to the Shādhiliyya-Yashrutiyya, no knowledge is acted upon unless it passes through the confirmation of the Book and the Sunnah. (Rihla, 14)