2.4.2.8 - Reaching the Almighty Allah

It is known that the goal of the Sufi is to reach Allah, the Almighty, and this may be confusing for some people, because we are used to estimate everything in terms of distance and dimensions; while God is not confined to space or time and He is closer to us than our veins. therefore, the Way that the seeker follows to reach Allah, is nothing but the collection of rules and laws that allow us to reach the truth, by going through all the spiritual states and practicing the required prayers and instructions such as repentance, accountability, fearing God, hope, observation, asceticism, piety, patience, certainty, modesty and other recommended behavior.

This Way leading to God, which is going through all these spiritual states that we have just mentioned, may seem to be very long and arduous, and so it requires long struggle and contemplation. However, Ibn al-Arabi stated that Shaykh Abu Yaqoub Yusuf al-Kumi used to say: “There is a major obstacle between us and the Real, and we are behind this obstacle, obstructed by our own nature. We keep climbing this obstacle until we reach its top to be able to see what’s behind, which is something irreversible, once we reach we will never come back” [Futuhat: I.253].

As for perfect men, who have reached this state of witnessing, they only return to this world for guiding the seekers, and also for seeking more perfection. We have mentioned this with more detail in the book of the Sufi Interpretation of Yousef Chapter: the Way of the Heart from Existence to Perishing and then to Permanence. So after the seeker is perished out of himself, and remains permanent with God, one can return to the world to be a guide to his Lord, calling to Him with foresight, as was mentioned by Allah at the end of Surat Yousef ((Say, “This is my Way; I call to Allah with insight, I and those who have followed me.”))[Quran, 12:108].