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SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

His gift—not of his own acquisition” (Suhrawardi, 58, ening states and ever-increasing spheres of depth, expe-
60). They occur within the broader framework of three rienced as degrees of interior perception (Myss, disc 4).
stages of acquiring knowledge described by Al-Jilani (d. Like those at the first station of the Sufis, in Teresa’s
1166): religious precepts (Shari’ah), eliminating the mul- first mansion, the mansion of devotion, “the soul is so
tiplicity of the ego (nafs) to reach a state of unity with the worldly and preoccupied with earthly riches, honours,
creator (tariqa), and reaching a state of Divine Wisdom and affairs, that ... it is prevented by these distractions
(ma’rifa) (14). and seems unable to overcome so many obstacles” (Teresa
In Sufism, the first station is tawba or tauba—repen- [b], 1.II: 16, 54). However, people begin to experience
tance and conversion, the turning of the heart away an awakening in the spiritual life through devotion, a
from self towards God. In this Valley of the Quest (Attar, longing for God, and an awareness of love in the depths
167), seekers experience a spiritual awakening which of the heart (McLean, 5). The work of those in this man-
leads to finding their own vices, repenting and seeking sion is to grow in self-knowledge, loosen attachments and
forgiveness of their sins, and even forgetting them, “for identifications of the ego, and face the reality of internal
recollection of sin is a veil between God and the con- deceptions, doubts, and confusions (McLean, 5). Both
templator” (Hujwiri in Schimmel, 101). By re-evaluating the Sufis and Teresa see the first stage of the spiritual jour-
their lives, they undergo a conversion from worldliness to ney as one of turning away from sin and worldly attach-
awareness of God. It is the beginning of the battle with ments and turning towards God—a reorientation of the
the ego. It is not a narcissistic brooding over one’s faults self (ego).
but an acknowledgment of them and forgetting them in
order to focus on remembering God, not the self (Khalil, Spiritual Direction for Stage 1
403–16). Their prayer consists of Divine remembrance Sufi spiritual directors, Shaykhs (or shaikhs or sheikhs),
(dhikr), worship at home or in the mosque, night vigils, who have already travelled the journey of the stations
and recital of the Qur’an, all informed by reflection and of the heart, come from a place of knowing. They tend
study (Al Azhari). to be more directive than Christian spiritual directors,
In Christianity, Pseudo-Dionysius (late fifth to early who take on a more companioning, listening mode.
sixth century) gave names to three recognized levels In order to establish the supremacy of God in their
of faith: the Purgative Way—for beginners concerned spiritual directees, the primary function of the Shaykh
with purging their lives of sin and evil; the Illuminative is to diminish and deconstruct the individual ego. Then
Way—those concerned with illuminating their souls with the Shaykh can reconstruct it through special exercises
virtue; and the Unitive Way—those who have attained a (Camp, 66). Shaykhs determine the level of develop-
deep, constant union with God (Michael, 98). In Teresa ment of their spiritual directees. According to Sheikh
of Avila’s The Interior Castle, the seven mansions fit into Shahabuddin Suhrawardi, “The shaikh must regard the
this scheme: one to three are Purgative, four and five are capacity of the murid [spiritual directee]. If, in him, he
Illuminative, and six and seven belong to the Unitive see capacity for treading the path of those near to God,
Way. he inviteth him with skill, and by elucidating the states
Teresa noticed that people in the first three mansions of him who is near to God. If he see that he has not
had “indirect” experience of God speaking to them much capacity for the path of the pious, he inviteth him
through the natural channels of their ordinary faculties by admonishing, inciting, by instructing, and by men-
and senses. This was the active part of their journey of tioning paradise and hell” (14).
seeking God. Those in the last four mansions experienced Shaykhs constantly suggest to spiritual directees to
God in a “direct” way through infused or mystical con- reflect on new themes, and shaykhs give them the fun-
templation, the receptive part of the journey where the damentals of the teachings of Islam according to their
person grows increasingly aware of God’s action in them capability of understanding them (Antonov). The spiri-
(Burrows, 38; Giles, 4). For Teresa, the mansions of the tual directees, in turn, are required to “admit the shaikh’s
soul were levels of power and consciousness, ever-deep- sway, and be obedient to his orders” (Suhrawardi, 19).

18 Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction