PERSICA XVII, 2001

THE NOTION OF THE BREATH (NAFAS) IN ÎALLAG

Nasrollah Pourjavady University of Tehran

Nafas (pl. anfas), meaning breath, both in Arabic and Persian1 is a term, which has been used in a technical sense throughout the history of Sufism, particularly in the classical pe- riod. One of the earliest Sufi saints to use this term is Bayazid Bas†ami (d. 260/874), who said “The worship of God (‘ibadat) for the mystics (ahl-i ma‘rifat) is keeping watch over their own breaths (pas-i anfas).”2 Another saint is reported to have said: “The best act of worship is to count the breaths taken with (the remembrance of) God.”3 Through the prac- tice of watching or counting his breaths, the Sufi may transcend the outer aspect of the breaths and begin to realize the inner and subtler qualities that exist in them. At this stage, breaths are said to be like a cool wind blowing from the domain of God’s nearness to cool down the heart of the Sufi, which is heated with the love of God. Hence, in explaining the meaning of nafas as a Sufi technical term, Abu NaÒr Sarrag Tusi (d. 378/988) writes: “Nafas is the pleasant cool breeze experienced by a heart that is burning (in the love of God).”4 In defining technical or difficult terms in Sufism, it was customary for writers of Sufi manuals to quote one or two sayings or verses to illustrate how each term was used. Abu NaÒr Sarrag follows this practice when he explains the mystical meaning of nafas, and cites from three authorities. He begins by quoting two verses from ∆u’l-Nun MiÒri (d. 246/861): There are breaths belonging to God, flowing for His sake, And I have no power over taking them save in God.5 After citing ∆u’l-Nun, Sarrag immediately adds: “but nafas also refers to the breath of man”, and then he quotes Abu’l Qasim Gunayd (d. 298/910) as having said: “The servant of God should be mindful of the breaths he takes in the passage of Time (awqat).” Finally, the last citation in Sarrag’s Kitab al-Luma‘ is the following verse from an unidentified Sufi: I do not breathe unless You are with my breath, (in this breathing), the spirit flows in its tract, from me to You. It is interesting to note that in other sources, this verse is attributed to the Sufi martyr Îusayn ibn ManÒur Îallag (d. 309/913).6 There seem to be more sayings on the notion of 1 Persian Sufis sometimes use the word ‘dam’ for breath as in Naqsbandi practice, “hus dar dam.” 2 Farid ad-Din ‘A††ar, Ta∂kerat al-awliya, ed. M. Isti‘lami, 2nd edition, Tehran 1355s, p. 191. 3 Abu’l Qasim Qusayri, Al-Risalah, ed. A. MaÌmud and MaÌmud ibn al-Sarif, Cairo: 1974, p. 297. 4 Abu NaÒr Sarrag, Kitab al-Loma‘, ed. R. Nicholson, Leiden 1914, p. 347. See also: Abu Sa‘id Îargusî, Tahdib al-asrar, ms. Berlin, Ahlnardt 2819, f. 230b. 5 Sarrag, Loma‘, p. 348. 86 NASROLLAH POURJAVADY breath by Îallag than by any of the other Sufi saints of the early classical period. Of particu- lar interest are two passages in which Îallag speaks more about the nature of his breath: one takes the form of a prayer, and the other is a statement about the creation of breaths and their tract in the heart. Here I shall examine these two sayings, hoping to throw some light on the notion of breath in the early history of Islamic mysticism, a topic that surprisingly has been neglected by modern scholars of Sufism. The first saying is a supplication, which Îallag makes to God one night after his prayer. This saying is reported by Ibrahim ibn Fatik, a fellow prisoner of Îallag, from whom other sayings of Îallag have been reported, including a saying in which Îallag ad- vises Ibn Fatik never to move, rest or breathe, unless he is conscious of God’s presence with him.7 Ibn Fatik’s report about Îallag’s supplication runs as follows: One night I went to see Îallag and I found him performing his prayer. I stood behind him and joined him in the prayer. After he had said ‘the salam’ and had finished the ritual, he offered up a supplication, saying: • O God, You are the One hoped for in any blessing, the One called on in every calam- ity, the One hoped for to fulfil every need. It is from Your vast grace that forgiveness and mercy is sought. You know, but you are not known; you see, but You are not seen. You have the knowledge of all the hidden secrets in the consciousness of all your creatures, and You are all powerful. As for me, ever since I experienced the soothing aroma of the breeze (nasim) of Your love, and sensed the fragrance of Your nearness (qurb), the highest mountains have seemed low and the two earths and the heaven have looked worthless to me. By Your truth! If You were to sell paradise to me for a second of my Time (waqt) or a whiff of my most ardent breaths, I would not buy it …8 The breaths (anfas) that Îallag is referring to here are not simple ordinary breaths, nor by Time (waqt) here does he mean the simple sequence of past, present, and future. Nafas and waqt are both used in an esoteric and technical sense.9 Moreover, it is no accident that the term waqt, meaning roughly the experience of the divine gifts hidden in every present moment,10 is mentioned together with nafas. We may note that Gunayd also men- tioned them together, and later Sufi authors have done the same.11

6 L. Massignon, Le Dîwan d’al-Hallaj, JA (1931), P. 126; Mostafa as-Saybi, Sarh Diwan al- Îallag, Bayrut and Baghdad 1974, p 398. Neither Massignon nor Saybi have included the citation in Sarrag’s Loma‘ among their sources. 7 Louis Massignon, AÌbar al-Îallaj, Paris 1975, p. 57. 8 Massignon, AÌbar al-Îallaj, p. 68. In the AÌbar, Massignon has translated “aharr anfasî” as “ma plus ardent haleine”; however, in La passion (Paris 1975, vol. 3, p. 226) he has adopted the reading of some other manuscripts and replaced the word ‘aharr’ by “aÌass” or “aqall,” and thus translated these words as “ma moindre respiration”. Following Massignon in La passion, Herbert Mason, has also translated these words as “unimportant breathing” (The Passion of al-Hallaj, Princeton 1982, vol. 3, pp. 213-4). This reading in La Passion and its translation clearly misses the point. 9 For an explanation of the notion of waqt in Îallag, see: Mustamli-i BuÌari, SarÌ at-ta‘arruf, ed. M. Rawsan, Tehran 1365s, vol. 4, p. 1683-5; Massignon, The Passion, trans. H. Mason, Vol. 3, pp 68-9; and for some of the sayings of early Sufis on this notion see: G. Böwering, “Ideas of Time in Persian Mysticism,” The Persian Presence in the Islamic World, ed. R.G. Hovannisian and G. Sabagh, Cambridge 1998, pp. 172-98. 10 I have found it impossible to translate waqt, in its mystical sense, into English in one word and convey all of its meanings. Though it is said that waqt is the realization of the present moment or instant, yet it would be inadequate to translate waqt as “moment” or ‘instant,’ for it is said that waqt may last for some time. See, for example, Ahmad Jam, Uns ut-ta’ibin, ed. ‘Ali Fa∂il, Tehran 1368s, p. 202. 11 See, for instance, AÌmad Gazzali, Sawaneh, trans. N. Pourjavady, London 1986, p. 18. THE NOTION OF THE BREATH IN ÎALLAG 87

Another important term used in this supplication is nasim, translated as breeze. Nasim, which is frequently used by Persian mystics and is one of the favourite words of ÎafiÂ, is a cool, gentle breeze which may come from a garden with a refreshing fragrance. For the Sufis, it symbolizes the divine spirit, which gives life to bodies. Isma‘il Mustamli, the com- mentator of Kalaba∂i’s Kitab at-ta‘arruf, defines it as a fragrant wind with a life force, which gives comfort, and since the wind in the spring has this quality it is referred to as nasim.12 Nasim may be interpreted as the breath of the divine Beloved, ‘nafas-i yar’ as in ÎafiÂ, bringing His fragrance and keeping the heart of the lover alive. This term is obvi- ously connected with the biblical Hebrew term nisamah, particularly in the Genesis 2:7, where it says: “Then the lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (nisamah) of life; and man became a living being (nifis).”13 Let us return to Îallag’s own breaths, the ones which are so dear to him that he will not exchange them for all the joys of paradise, and ask what he means here by breaths (anfas), or rather, what are in these breaths that make them so dear and precious to him. The answer to this question may well be found in a second saying of Îallag, which was ex- pressed in a conversation he had with another famous Sufi SayÌ of Baghdad, Abu Bakr Sibli (d. 334/846), a friend of Îallag who was actually present at his execution and threw a flower at him, a beautiful source of perfume, symbolizing love and resurrection. Îallag’s answer to Sibli, on the question of breath, has fortunately reached us in two different sources, one in Persian and the other in Arabic. The Persian source is SarÌ-i Sa†hiyyat of Ruzbihan Baqli-i Sirazi (d. 606/1206) and the Arabic source is the Risalah of Qusayri. Although the Arabic version is older, the Persian version appears to be more complete, and, moreover, it is accompanied by a commentary. It is in fact in the Persian source that the author, Ruzbihan, mentions the name of Îallag and tells us that he was speaking to Sibli. Moreover, Ruzbihan considers this saying as an expression of the state of essential Union (‘ayn-i gam‘) and one of the ecstatic utterances (sa†h) of Îallag. Here is the Persian version of what Îallag said to Sibli:14 VK q«œ “« ʬ È«d Ë bdUO «— ”UH« ÆœUNM œu d ʬ q«œ —œ Ë bdUO «— UNœ o bUO ÊËdO fH êO Æd —œ bOu Ë œUNM ‰œ —œ XdF Ë Æœd VK Ë Æœd VK Ë d ÊUO “« t vH d ÆXOu— rU t 15—«dD{« ◊U —œ ¨XdF Xôœ Ë bOu —U« t ô« ÆX« ‰u ʬ “« gU Ë X« Áœ d X« vU s« God created the hearts and in each one he placed His secret (the hidden unconscious). He then created the breaths and made a channel for them within the heart, extending between (the outer part of) the heart and the secret. Now, while the heart is the seat of gnosis, the secret is the place of God’s Unity. No breath comes out upon the spread out

12 Mustamli-i BuÌari, SarÌ at-ta‘arruf, Vol. 3, p. 1342. 13 Ellison Banks Findly, “Breath and Breathing” (art.), The Encycl. Of Religion, 1987, Vol. 2, p. 303. 14 Ruzbihan Baqli Sirazi, Commentaire sur les paradoxes des Soufis (sarh-i sathiyat), ed. Henry Corbin, Tehran 1966, p. 381. 15 In Corbin’s edition this word is idtirab which does not seem correct. I have changed it to i∂†irar (necessity or need) as in Qusayri’s Risalah. In the Persian translation of the Risalah, it is translated into ∂arurat (Targami-yi Risali-yi Qusayriyya, ed. Furuzanfar, Tehran 1967, p. 128). For breathing out of i∂†irar (necessity) see also Gunayd’s saying in ‘A††ar, Ta∂kirah, p. 436, and Ansari’s view in Manazil us-sa’irin, ed. De Beaurcueil, Cairo 1962, p. 95. 88 NASROLLAH POURJAVADY

carpet of necessity in the world of Lordship, unless it alludes to the divine Unity and points to gnosis. Every breath that is without these is dead and the person will be held responsible for it. In his commentary on this passage, Ruzbihan speaks of two breaths, the divine Breath and the human breath. Man is created in the image of God, and his breath has in fact origi- nated from the divine Breath, which is the act (fi‘l) of God. Man’s breath is, in other words, the outcome or the effect (a†ar) of the breath of God that was breathed into him. The breath moves between the heart and the secret. The heart is identified as the intellect, while the secret is said to be the subtle spirit in the divine Breath, sometimes called the Breath of the Merciful (nafas ur-RaÌman).16 Just as man’s breath moves between the heart and the secret, so the divine Breath, which is the act of creation, flows between the Essence and the world of attributes. The Essence is too full to be self- contained, and hence it has an urge to overflow, to pour out, as it were, and blow as a wind into the world of attributes. This act also takes places in man, who is the microcosm, making his breath the effect of the divine Breath. The breath of the lover of God, according to Ruzbihan, moves between the secret which is the seat of divine Unity (tawÌid) and blows on to the garden of the heart, which is illuminated by the lights of gnosis. Thus, his breath brings forth the secrets of Unity and mixes it with the lights of gnosis. Since the breath comes from the divine Essence, it is fragrant with the perfume of union (wiÒal) and has a soothing quality for a heart heated with love.17 The breath of the mystic is said to act like the Holy Spirit. Just as Mary was made pregnant with the Word from the Holy Spirit, so the mystic’s heart can be impregnated by the breath and give birth to the Jesus of Love (‘Isa-yi ‘isq).18 Our second source, which is in Arabic, is the Risalah of Abu’l Qasim Qusayri (d. 465/1074). Though Qusayri did not include Îallag in the list of the Sufis in the second chapter of his Risalah, he was not among the Sufis who condemned Îallag. According to Hugviri, Qusayri left Îallag to the judgment of God. From this we may understand that Qusayri was among those who suspended their judgment about him. In fact, Qusayri ap- pears to have been inwardly and discreetly in favour of Îallag, and although he did not speak out for him to the same extent as some of his contemporaries cited by Hugviri,19 he does mention the name of Îallag in some of his works. For example, in the first chapter of the Risalah, where the fundamental beliefs of Sufis are discussed, he quotes Îallag’s saying on God’s Unity (tawÌid).20 There are other places where Qusayri has mentioned the name of Îallag when he is quoting him.21 In his Tartib al-suluk, for example, he quotes Îallag’s famous saying “ana’l Îaqq” (I am God) without mentioning his name.22 Of course, this

16 Ruzbihan, Commentaire, p. 382. 17 This is different from what Gunayd says about the breath that comes out of the secret. According to him, the Breath of the Merciful that comes out of the secret (sirr) burns every thing. (‘A††ar, Ta∂kirah, p.436.) 18 Ruzbihan, Commentaire, p. 382. 19 See Hugviri, Kasf al-maÌgub, trans. R.A. Nicholson, p. 150. 20 Abu’l Qasim Qusayri, Al-Risalah, Vol. 1, p. 54. 21 See the index of Targami- yi Risali-yi Qusayriyya, pp. 804-5. 22 “Tartib al-suluk” in: Fritz Meier, Essays on Islamic Piety & Mysticism, trans. John O’Kane, Leiden 1999, p. 115. THE NOTION OF THE BREATH IN ÎALLAG 89 saying was so well known that there was no need to mention Îallag’s name. But in other instances, where Qusayri has quoted from Îallag without naming him, it is not so easy to recognise the speaker. Another saying of Îallag is the same saying that Ruzbihan identified as being that which Îallag addressed to Sibli. This saying is quoted in the third chapter of the Risalah where he explains the meaning of difficult terms that Sufis use.23 One of these terms is nafas. In explaining the meaning of this term, Qusayri quotes from an earlier Sufi, whose name is not mentioned: fH qJ ÆbOuK ö UNKF Ë U«—Ë —«dô« oK Ë WdF*« ÊœUF UNKF Ë »uKI« ¶« oK ‰u tU Ë XO uN —« dD{ô« ◊U vK bOu« Á—U« Ë WdF*« tôœ dO s qB ÆtM God created the hearts and made them mines of gnosis. He also created the secrets within the hearts and made them the seat of Unity. Then every breath that comes to the spread out carpet of necessity without pointing out to gnosis and alluding to the divine Unity is dead and the person will be held responsible for it.24 It is obvious that Qusayri’s anonymous quotation is the same saying that Ruzbihan has attributed to Îallag. Ruzbihan does not seem to have taken his quotation from Qusayri’s Risalah because his version is more complete. Qusayri’s passage lacks the sentence about the creation of the breaths and the statement that their channel is between the heart and the secret. It also lacks the phrase “bi ‘alam-i rububiyyat” (to the world of Lordship). Unlike Ruzbihan, Qusayri does not comment on the saying of Îallag here. However, in another context, when explaining the meaning of the term nafas, he mentions the relation between three terms: nafas, Ìal (state) and waqt (Time). Those who experience waqt and become “the son of their Time” are, according to Qusayri, the beginners on the inner Path.25 They have reached the level of the (outer) heart (qalb). The next stage is the level of the spirit (ruÌ) where the mystic experiences aÌwal (spiritual states). Finally, the last stage is the level of the secret (sirr) and it is at this stage that nafas is experienced. What Qusayri says here about the heart and secret and about the breath (nafas) pertaining to the secret is obviously influenced by Îallag’s idea, expressed in the passage he has quoted. Before Qusayri, Abu NaÒr Sarrag and Abu Sa‘id Îargusi had both explained briefly the meaning of the term nafas, and Qusayri seems to have taken note of what they had to say. But he evidently had at least one other source which contained the saying of Îallag and, possibly, explained it. In any case, as far as we know, Qusayri is the earliest author to have paid attention to Îallag’s idea of breath and to have explained the meaning of nafas on the basis of Îallag’s saying(s).

23 La†a’if al-isarat, ed. I. Bayuni, 2nd edition, Cairo 1981, Vol. 2, p. 548, (Massignon, Dîwan d’al- Îallag, JA 1931, p. 24). 24 Al-Risalah, Vol. I, p. 297. For an English translation of this chapter see: Michael A. Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism, Paulist Press, New York 1996, ch.3. 25 “∑aÌib al-waqt” is translated by M. Sells (Early Islamic Mysticism, p. 142) as “master of the mo- ment.” However, at this stage ÒaÌib al-waqt is not the master of waqt. He is conscious of his waqt, but not its master. He is rather subject to his Time, and is “ibn al-waqt” or “farzand-i waqt.” The master of waqt is “abu’l waqt” or “Ìudavand-i waqt.” 90 NASROLLAH POURJAVADY

Qusayri’s explanation of the term nafas ends with a quotation from his master and father-in-law, Abu ‘Ali Daqqaq (d. 412/1021). This Nisapuri Sufi master of the 5th/11th century seems to have had some original things to say about nafas. AÌmad Gazzali (d. 520/ 1126) was familiar with Daqqaq’s idea of nafas, and has quoted one of his sayings in his Majalis.26 According to this saying, Abu ‘Ali Daqqaq called nafas “the breeze of inti- macy” (nasim-i uns). The term nasim and the concept of “the breeze of intimacy (or love)” is apparently Îallagian. It may well be that Daqqaq was the link between Îallag and later Sufi masters of Îorasan, including Qusayri and AÌmad Gazzali. It is not only among Îorasani Sufis that one should look for the continuation of the Îallagian notion of breath. The most important figure in the history of Sufism who wrote on Îallag’s ideas and commented on his sayings was undoubtedly Ruzbihan Baqli Sirazi. Aside from the saying of Îallag cited above, Ruzbihan used Îallag’s ideas of breath on other occasions to interpret other sayings which do not immediately seem to relate to the concept of the breath. It is probably under Ruzbihan’s influence on Sirazi school of Sufism that the great Persian poet of Siraz, namely ÎafiÂ, composed some of the lines in his Diwan pertaining to the idea of the breath. Îafi seems to have paid attention and alluded to the ideas of the breath, as the divine wind or the breeze blowing from the quarter of the beloved, more than any other poet. To understand the mystical meaning of these allusions, as I have tried to show elsewhere,27 one would have to take the views of the classical Sufi masters on the breath, including that of Îallag, into consideration.

26 AÌmad Gazzali, Majalis, ed. AÌmad Mogahid, Tehran 1376s, p. 3. 27 See my “Nasim-i uns” in Nasr-i Danis, vol. 17, no. 1 (2000), pp. 16-26.