Up to this point, our thoughts have been focussing on God how He creates and how He reveals Himself. We will now shift our attention tom the human being and outline his/her path, outliing it with the help of terms and images as used by the Muslim mystics for illustration.

The authors realistically start from the perspective that a human individual does not start his/her journey from a vaccuum or as an unknown quantity but builds up on personal experience and is part of a society, living in it and being connected with it as a father/mother, brother/sister, son/daughter, member of a trade etc., being supported ba it and contributing to its support. It can be taken for granted that he/she knows his/her ordinary rights and duties and acts within the framework of his/her limitations and possibilities in any given situation. This level is termed the "level of Sharî'a". In this context, I would like to use the term sharî'a with its original meaning of the ethico-legal system either of Islam as on our case or any other structure that is based on ethical principles, i.e. it is nor just law but also the ethics the legal system is based on.

From the Islamic perspective, ethics deals with the relationship between the individual and his/her fellow human beings, fellow creatures, creation as a whole and last, but not least, the Creator. A person whose relationship with him/herself is damaged will hardly be able to have a harmonious relationship with others or embark on a journey that demands constancy and discipline. In severe cases, professional help is needed to come to terms with oneself. A healthy relationship with oneself interacts with one's reationship with one's fellow human beings - family members, friends, collegues - that should correspond to the person's age and stage of development. The least that can be expected concerning one's relationship with fellow creatures - plants, animals etc. - is that they are not harmed; great frends of God were moreover sometimes known for "understanding the language of the animals". For the relationship with creation as a whole, it is important that "resources" are not exploited without thought and consideration, and that the natural environment is not damaged by selfish ignorance and carelessness. The claim of "having a good realtionship with the Creator" is a mere illusion if the relationship with His creatures including one's own self is disturbed.

Islamic law helps keeping up and developing these relations through definite commandments and prohibitions that include side effects related to further self-education. Thus e.g. fasting is a way to train one's self-control while the experience of hunger gives an understanding for the situation of the poor and a sense of solitdarity; ritual prayer strengthens one's personal relationship with God while strengthening the links within the community; the same is true for Zakat and the pilgrimage. We do not have to be mystics in order to be ighteous and spiritual people on this level and be very close to God.

It is on the level of ethics that we find the criteria for the choice of a spiritual teacher because impressive and wonderful esperiences that might surface are nor necessarily a spiritual achievement but can also be a spectacular self-presentation. Instead, it is important to know how the teacher in question deals with his/her family members, respecting elders and caring for the younger generation, if he/she fulfils commitments, earns his/her sustenance from a legitimate source etc. A person who disregards general ethical principles might impress others with extraordinary activities and even miracles but cannor really be considered a spiritual person. While it does happen that extreme love for God makes a person withdraw from the world, seemingly not being able to keep up any other conscious relationship, he/she cannot really be a teacher who guides others step by step even if such a person is occasionally sought out for healing.

According to the generally accepted scheme, it is the "level of Tarîqa" on which a person consciously and purposely travels on his/her personal way of self-education. It starts with Tawba, insight and repentance concerning what happened before, possible shortcomings and weaknesses, a certain degree of carelessness or even a completely wrong way of life. Genuine repentance must not be confused with self-pity; more important that any sentimental reaction is the decision to give up old errors, mistakes and weaknesses but do good actions in the future and, if possible, to make up for damages done in the past. In this context, it is important to pray for forgiveness; however, if harm was done to fellow human beings, reconciliation with them shoulc be sought. This first step is followed by the exercise of patience (Sabr), especially patience with oneself - for some shortcomings and weakenesses might have become a habit or even a second nature so that one has to deal with one or the other relapse. Here it is important never to give up one's hope in God's mercy. In inscription at the tomb of the mystic Mawlana Rumi says, "Even if you have broken your promise of repentance a thousand times - come back." We should of course be patient with our fellow human beings and other creatures, and patience is a valuable help in our long-term struggle.

The next stage is gratefulness (Shukr) for God's gifts and possibilities that we often take too much for granted. Now we can thank people with effusive words or by giving gifts in return. Of course we can also praise God with words, but how can we give Him a gift in return when evertything we have is from Him? Even words will soon fail us:

However, we can show Him our gratefulness by discovering His gifts within and around us, by unfolding and enjoying them and by using them in His service: our capacity to aquire and transmit knowledge, creative and artistic skills that we can use to make beautiful things, the ability to reconcile people and to make peace, the ability to make practical and useful things as a help in everyday life, the ability to help, nurse and heal etc. In essence, all these gifts are sparks or seeds of His Names that we experience and manifest in this world.

A necessary step on this path of self-discovery is fear (khawf) in the sense of deep respect and awe as well as hope (rijâ') for the good fruits of our efforts.

Fear is meant to keep us away from what is harmful; it must not be that kind of extreme fear or dread that has a paralyzing effect. Hope is meant to carry us through all difficulties. Both are like two wings for the soul-bird to fly with - however, each bird must learn to keep the balance.

Among the important steps along the path, there are poverty (faqr) and renunciation (zuhd). There is a controversy whether poverty is supposed to include poverty in the material sense or is to be understood metaphorically as the sense of being completely dependent on God. In any case, material wealth can be harmful when there is attachment to it so that it becomes difficult to renounce or share with others - this attitude would be a serious impediment on the path. On the other hand, being "poor before God" implies that we cannot resort to claims of our won merits but are conscious of depending on His mercy:

In this context there is renunciation not only of what is prohibited, controversial and harmful but also of what is useless and unnecessary, including useless property, unnecessary talk etc..

The following steps are unity (Tawhîd) and trust (Tawakkul). As mentioned before, unity is not only the theological statement that there is only one God but also the unification of one's personality in view of this one goal. In connections with trust, several stages are mentioned: a client's trust in his advocate or a patient's trust in his doctor (the expert is contacted as soon as there is a problem with the hope that he will solve it); a child's trust in his mother (discovering the world, the child turns to the mother whenever he/she finds something beautiful, scaring or strange); and the unconditional trust in all situations of life. The latter is difficult to describe, but it must not be confused with fatalism or carelessness because it is presupposed that everything that is reasonable and humanly possible is done.

The final step on the path is love for God. Here it becomes clear that preliminary forms of this love have accompanied ua all the way in the shape of patience, gratefulness, fear, hope, poverty, renunciation of all that keeps us away from Him, trust etc., and even triggered repentance and the new approach. Now love is not just a diffuse ethusiastic feeling although one or the other traveller found him/herself prompted to ekstatic utterances that caused some attention. Deep, mature love goes beyond that, being an attitude that includes the desire to serve God and to contribute to the fulfilment of His plan. On this level, being God's servant means to be close to Him, to know Him, to be His friend. Such a person, a wali Allâh, is a special blessing for his/her community. He/she can be a model and a help for others, accompany them on their path, encourage and heal them and make peace among them.

In this context we must be aware of a disastrous error. The level of tarîqa does not lie outside the sphere of sharî'a. An ethico-legal foundation is indispensable for a personal path because a human being always has the full responsibility in creation. If we compare sharî'a with a highway with several lanes, tarîqa would be like the lane we choose for ourselves to drive in, depending on speed and style; off the road, there are side tracks - and the ditch.

Another disastrous error is to become proud of one's achievements while travelling along the path, or even despise other people who are not consciously travelling but "only" profit by the education that the difficulties of life provide anyway. Such pride is directly opposed to the aim we are striving for, and it might even cancel the value of all efforts.

A third warning might be useful as well. It is quite possible that, in the context of a traveller's actions, things happen that seem to be extraordinary or even miraculous to him/herself or others. For everything marvellous that God gives us we should be grateful. However, a person to whom these things happen might feel tempted to like this and to enjoy being in the centre of other people's attention. The masters of Islamic mysticism clearly reproach such an attitude and recommend systematical steps to come back to one's senses.

A person who travels on the path of self-education discovers his/her whole potential in the process. This does not only apply to his/her self that we will deal with in detail but also his/her heart (qalb) that enables him to turn towards the Beloved and become receptive for His wishes; his/her intellect ('aql), i.e. the ability to recognize a wider cintext that transcends his/her own interests and to draw meaningful conclusions for the benefit of all, i.e. for the realization of justice; his/her spirit (rûh) which is the immediate link with God that makes it possible to understand revelation and to turn to Him with sincere supplications; and finally his/her inner light (nûr), that spark of God's own light that enlightens and gives insight.

The path of self-education is a continuous process of recognition. A serious obstacle might be the human I (nafs) that can sometimes eclipse the inner light. It is no coincidence that the Arabic word zâlim means both dark, gloomy and unjust. Nevertheless, the I as a drivung force is necessary for the progress, not to mention the fact that even there one of the greatest miracles of creation is manifested. Our task is to educate it.

In this context, the sources not only mention an instinct to preserve, defend and propagate oneself as given by the the Creator and fulfilling a meaningful purpose but an instinct for self-realization and even an instinct to search for God (fitra). A self that does not control its instincts but is controlled and driven by them is called nafs ammâra, a driving or commanding ego, sometimes translated as "lower self":

A human being who follows the urges and impulses of the ego can cause harm and suffer harm by being split between several aims of self-interest and by acquiring bad habits that are difficult to get rid of once they have become one's second nature.

Now all actions have consequences, and accordingly the I feels guilt and interprets unpleasant experiences in this context as punishment. There can also be psychological complications if a person is insincere, puts the blame to others, develops an attitude of self-pity and refuses to see the point. This attitude is called nafs rahîna, burdened self. In fact, any "punishment" and any unpleasant experience can be taken as an admonition to think about one's life and to deal with shortcomings and weakenesses. Authors like al-Muhâsibi and al-Ghazâli give detailed instructions for this.

As soon as the self is no longer controlled ba instincts and impulses but makes an effort to free itself from the bondage of its burdens by self-criticism, we talk about nafs lawwâma, the self-critical nafs or conscience. A clear feeling for right and wrong checks actions after they have been done or even tries to avoid bad actions from the beginning and to motivate for good actions. A sudden confrontation with one's conscience is an experience that can strongly remind of God's judgement.

However, there can also be the experience of genuine forgiveness as the case may be.

The process of inward purification is a long process indeed where we must not lose our courage. The self is sometimes compared with gold that must be molten, cleansed from the dross, and forged. The traveller learns to deal with and clarify the relationship with him/herself - only then it is possible to look beyond oneself and to open up to others without selfish interests. This condition is called nafs zakiya, the purified self which is the inner state of the prophets and God's friends. Such a person no longer stands in his/her own way but is still exposed to tests and temptations, and he/she still occasionally suffers from doubts, uncertainty and unrest.

Step by step, after many an external and internal struggle, a person can reach a degree of certainty that gives peace and confidence based on the experience of God's presence without self-deception. This state is called nafs mutma'inna, quiet self which must not be confused with carelessness and an unreal detachment that just ignores injustice, suffering, the destuction of other aspects of creation and all disharmony because this would be a state of deep ignorance and illusion. A person who has really reached that state of inner calm will be able to quietly struggle in God's path with pure intentions without losing balance by success or defeat.

Concerning two further steps there is a controversy whether they can be realized permantly in this life or just be experienced as "samples" for the life to come. One is nafs radîya, the satisfied self, satisfied beyond confidence and certainty in the sense of being happy with whatever it experiences as coming from God, be it pleasant or unpleasant, linked with a deep insight. This is understood to be the condition for the other state, nafs mardîya, the self with which God is satisfied:

In tests on mysticism we sometimes find expressions like "to kill one's lower self" or "to destroy one's instincts" and similar hostile images. Subjectively, necessary disciplines and efforts may sometimes feel like that at times, but actually the whole process is a process of self-discovery and balancing one's potential in the service of the One who has created it. It is certainly not a matter of destruction just as fasting is not a matter of starving. That is why exaggerated asceticism like permanent fasting or intentional renunciation of marriage and family life are frowned upon. On the contrary, these radical measures can cause an enormous self-deception and spiritual arrogance. Spiritual teachers who ae able to guide others are quite conscious of this risk and recommend the healthy middle road. On the whole, the path of self-education is the Greater Jihâd.

The third level is called the "level of Haqîqa, the level of the immediate encounter with the final reality. In mystical literature various attempts are made to describe this encounter with words - and of course all these attempts are open to criticism for their shortcomings and their potential for misunderstandings. Thus there are terms like Fanâ fi-llâh, annihilation in God, and Baqâ bi-llâh, subsistence in God, for simplicity's sake often translated as "unification" or "Unio mystica". In this stage, a person no longer experiences him/herself but only God and His manifestations both in outward creation and within him/herself. Overwhelmed by this experience, al-Hallâj then said, "Anal-Haqq (I am the Truth)." However, there cannot be any question of a fusion or amalgamation of thje human and the Divine on the ontological level and certainly not of human beings becoming divine. The traveller does, however, experience the final reality as it is, and another aspect is that he/she has come close to God, has consciously become a "friend of God".

Thus it would be a fatal presumption to claim that this level could take a human being beyond sharî'a and tarîqa. On the contrary, only now dimensions of sharî'a can be recognized as part of the cosmic order and all implications of tarîqa can be understood, enabling the traveller to become a guide in his/her own right. He/she recognizes him/herself and his/her place within the whole stucture of creation the meaning of which is to serve and glorify the creator:

Being close to God dies not necessarily mean to be a mystical philosopher, and mystical philosophy must not be confused with ivory tower speculation. There are many levels on which a human being can become God's friend and be close to Him:

All these very different people have in common that their faith is in harmony with their external activities: a prophet both teaches his message and patiently gives a personal example; a truthful person's inner clarity can give light to others; a witness (shahîd) spends his life and death working for the values he has recognized to be true; a righteous person makes sincere efforts for justice and peace. The Qur'an says about those who are close to God,

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