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.