Istidrāj in this stage...

Istidrāj in this stage, means becoming engaged in the numerous secondary branches of knowledge, presenting many arguments justifying his intellectual roamings in that field, and depriving himself of the other stages, because his heart is attached to this stage only, neglecting the wanted result, which is attaining annihilation in Allah. He, thus, would spend his life in the veil of argument [ burhān ] and its branches.

The more these branches are, the thicker the veil and the greater the distance from the truth. The sālik , therefore, should not be deceived, in this stage, by Satan, secluding himself from the truth and reality, and stopping his journey to the goal on the pretext of being a great scholar, a very learned person and a powerful man of argument. He must set to work briskly, be serious in his quest for the real demand, and take himself to the next stage, which is the second stage.

And that is such that he should write what (his) reason has understood through irrefutable proof and scientific conduct, with the pen of intellect on the tablet of the heart, to convey the truth of the humility of servitude and the Glory of Lordship to the heart and free himself from the chains and the veils of knowledge. We shall refer to this stage presently, inshā' Allāh . So, the result of the second stage is acquiring belief in the facts.

The third stage is that of “tranquility and calmness of the soul,” which is, in fact, the perfect stage of faith. Allah, the Exalted, said to his “friend” [ khalīl ] Ibrāhīm: “ Have you not believed [yet]?” He said: “ I have, but just to have a calm heart.” [^3] A reference to this stage may come later.

The fourth stage is that of “vision” [ mushāhadah ], which is a divine light and a divine manifestation, as a consequence of the manifestations of the Names and the Attributes appearing in the secret of the sālik , and lightening his complete heart with the visionary light. This stage comprises many degrees that are out of the capacity of these pages.

In this stage an example of the effect of the nāfilah s: (I would be his hearing, sight and hand)[^4] will appear, and the sālik will see himself drowned in limitless ocean, beyond which there is another very deep ocean, in which the secrets of “fate” are partly disclosed. Each one of these stages has its special istidrāj (being engaged in other than the Haqq ) through which the sālik is exposed to great perishing [ halākat ].