TheMuqarrab (Arabic:مُقَرَّبٌ) is a major spiritual stage (maqām) that themurids andsaliks (novices and followers ofSufism) reach in their ascetic quest withinIslamic Sufism.[1][2][3][4][5]
Being close toGod (Allah) is one of the main goals of worship (ibadah) and mysticism (Sufism) in the religion ofIslam.[6][7]
This proximity accompanied by intimacy and modesty allows the Muslim to escape the idleness of theghaflah and thus to reach the firmament offanaa in which personal human attributes are diluted and dissolved in order to leave room for contemplation and theishq accompanying thebaqaa state which returns theSufi to the commonality of mortal life while maintaining his radiantqalb in the state ofyaqeen.[8][9]
Islamic ethics anddeontology of this path of spiritual rapprochement must keep themurid in the wake of therabbaniyya which does not aim to accomplish fantastic feats as much as it aspires to livehidayah andma'rifa in a peaceful and moderate way.[10][11]
The subject related to the situation of themurid in his journey towards God (Allah) faces two complementary concepts leading him towards themaqām ofwasil.[12][13]
Indeed, this journey consists on the one hand of an approach (Arabic: اقتراب) emanating fromsalik through his adoration (ibadah),dhikr,dua,awrad andwazifa, and on the other hand of an attraction (Arabic: تقريب) emanating of God through theanwar andasrar.[14][15]
The spiritual approach and attraction allow theSufi to remain rigorous in the practice of thefive pillars of Islam and the precepts offiqh andsharia, and this while transcending his worldly life by aspiring to the taste (dhawq) of truth (haqiqa).[16][17]
At no time during theahwal of his spiritual life can theMuslim discharge himself from the religious obligations which lead him to approach the divine veil (hijab), even if he experiences along the way manifestations of attraction to the likekhawatir,ilham,kashf, and even morekaramat andtajalli.[18][19]
Even if the ascetic doubts that he evolves in the sphere of thewali, he must not forget that theihsan consists in perfecting his rite and dogma in order to please God, and this because theirfan, theishrak, thewilayah are not an end in themselves, but it is the acceptance of the servant by his creator that is central toMuslim spirituality.[20][21][22]
Even though the ecstasy of this spiritual advancement and this celestial solicitation allows the salik to feel thebarakah of the blessed views of thebasirah, he must not allow himself to be drawn into the extreme and radical dogmatic modes of isloltrianistrahbaniyyah, wantonshath, and the depraved and perversezandaqa, for righteousness (istiqama [ar]) remains the hallmark that describes thepious andhumble Muslim.[23][24][25]
