Introduction to Muraqba (Meditation)

What is Muraqba/Meditation?

"Muraqba is where we perceive our own selves. The past and future also become present before us, and with the help of these insightful rays, a happy and prosperous life prevails upon us completely." Khawaja Shamsud Din Azeemi

Muraqba differs from ordinary meditation, as practiced in some parts of the world, where the latter is a process in which the human mind concentrates on a spot materialistically, encompassing waves of light onto a central point, in order to induce its effect. For example, scientifically, a prism is used to refract light rays (consisting of 7 colors) resulting in producing extremely powerful rays, which can burn objects. Meditation is then a limited skill, which helps one to understand the material sphere.

Muraqba, as transcendental meditation, is a spiritual act, in which the focus of the act for mental concentration is the Almighty Creator (Allah/God), who is the most knowledgeable. We concentrate our thoughts to establish contact with Allah, so that we can be aware of all the knowledge present within the Universe. Belief is vital to all spiritual and universal knowledge, since every intention and every act is illuminated by the lights of belief.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him (PBUH), spent a large proportion of the early part of his life in the cave of Hira, upon a mountain. Here, he used to practice transcendental meditation (Muraqba) and his training by God was conducted through the angel Jib rail (Gabriel). It takes nearly four hours to reach the top of the mountain, to enter Hira. The Holy Quran is the book, which contains the laws of nature and prophet hood was declared at the age of 40. (Top)

Can we do Muraqba/Meditation?

Yes, we can. We need to look at the spiritual lives of the Prophets of Allah, who used to perform meditation regularly, for establishing and maintaining links with the Almighty. And, to know God, we need to concentrate on our thoughts. Thoughts reach us by means of light and we refer to them as thoughts, ideas, imaginations etc. What should be noted here is that the patterns of thinking in all creatures have one point in common. It is this common point or location which informs us of the presence of other creatures.

For Muslims, this common point is Allah. Prophets, peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all, are our teachers and leaders. We have to follow their teachings and practices to be successful. Hence, the practice of Muraqba is simply an act of following our Prophets' (PBUH) teaching. We learn from teachers at schools and colleges in order to gain success in obtaining worldly knowledge, and important concepts and skills. Similarly, we are obliged to follow our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and practice his example, as he himself did for many years in the mountain cave. Even in the Holy Quran, the importance of Muraqba has been mentioned, as in the following verse:

"And remember the name of your Lord. Cut your attachments and devote yourselves entirely to him" (chapter LXXIII, Section 13-a1-Muzammil).

Every word and sentence of the Holy Quran is a law of nature for every human being, both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. These laws operate for the whole universe. There are many planets composed of different elements, but the fundamentals of law as described in the Holy Quran apply to all of them. However, its application depends on the nature and environment of the particular location in the universe, being distinguished by different compositions. This message has been mentioned in the Holy Quran several times. "There is no change in following God’s commandments" (Top)

Why should we do Muraqba/Meditation?

It is certain that angels were created before Adam (PBUH). But Adam was given the khalifat (vicegerency) by Allah over the universe. We, as humans have inherited this khalifat and leadership from Adam (PBUH). Allah gave Asma'-e-Elahi, knowledge of the Elohistic Attributes, to Adam (PBUH). As Allah's Nuraani Light was transmitted into Adam (PBUH), it then turned into the form of a soul (Rooh). Nuraani Light functions as a source of energy in Adam (PBUH) and this energy is utilized to expend our skills and abilities in the physical tasks of Life. All the Asma'-e-Elahi knowledge has been imbibed in our soul (ruh). In this world, our consciousness develops the necessary skills, abilities and knowledge through our Soul, to explore and discover the creative aspects of the whole universe. Our soul (ruh) is the source of all the energy and knowledge, pertinent to developing our skills in this world. As our soul, with the command of Allah, displays Asma'-e-Elahi (Allah’s Virtues), then our conscious body is thereby created.

Once a conscious body is created, this helps us to recognize ourselves as individuals. Allah has authorized humans as superiors over all other creations. This proves that humans are rulers for the entire universe. True ruler ship can only be effective in the case of those who can understand their subjects thoroughly.

As mentioned already, Adam is the master of all creations of the whole universe. Therefore, he knows all creations of the whole universe and hence he knows all the knowledge regarding the whole universe. In this world, since we are identified by our conscious body, hence we have to transfer our sub-conscious knowledge into conscious knowledge so that we can use it with our intent. For a doctor or physician qualified in medicine, the patient will only benefit when the doctor practices his or her learnt knowledge of medicine. Similarly, the souls' abilities have to be practiced in order to benefit our conscious body, which in turn displays the benefit to all other creations. Allah is the most merciful who has created the whole Universe and He cares deeply for His creation. The soul participates in these conscious activities for the benefit of all creation, which is the aim and objective of man’s Khalifat and Niabat (vicegerency and deputyship). How can we transfer these into our consciousness? One of the ways of transferring this knowledge is through Muraqba, which is our Prophet's (PBUH) Sunnah, that is, his practice in the cave of Hira. Muraqba enables a person to strengthen the links of the conscious and sub-conscious minds. The Sub-conscious is the mind of our soul. All Allah’s virtues and their knowledge is stored in the super-conscious which is in fact a record of the knowledge of the universe. (Top)

The Method of Muraqba/Meditation

We have already mentioned that Muraqba is a Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH), his method of worship as practiced in the cave of Hira. To practice Muraqba, we have to become familiar with the way the Holy Prophet (PBUH) used to worship in the cave. Firstly, for Muraqba, you need to be alone, preferably in a secluded area of your home, where you can practice undisturbed. It is the example of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), that he used to spend time away from worldly affairs on the mountain. Secondly, the room should be darkened, without any artificial lighting. The reason for this is that light activates our consciousness and darkness activates our subconscious mind. Light keeps our conscious mind active, resulting in our heads full of different ideas and our minds fail to learn anything. In contrast, in darkness, the subconscious mind becomes activated and conscious activity is subdued. It is in this state that the mind becomes receptive to learn. The main purpose of sitting inside the mountain cave was to be away from external light, so that the activity of the conscious mind is controlled and reduced.

Thirdly, before practicing Muraqba, the ritual of wudu (ablution) should be performed. The advantage of wudu is that our mind becomes pure and wudu is an essential element of prayer. Allah has commanded us to do wudu and be in a state of ritual purity before commencing prayer. When we practice this ritual of wudu before communicating with God, then in addition to cleaning our body, mental thoughts too become clear enough to enable us to worship. Fourthly, Muraqba should be performed at specific times. The favorable times to perform Muraqba are before sleeping at night and Fajr (before dawn). This is because, at both these times, people are usually undistracted from worldly affairs. (Top)

Important Lessons

After wudu, sit down at a clean place. The sitting position should be comfortable enough to remain in that position for a length of time. Close the eyes and breathe slowly and patiently. Recite 100 times YAA HAI, YAA QAYYUM, 11 times third Kalma, then 100 times Darood khizaari. Imagine that your are sitting underneath Heaven and that God is observing you, while Nuraani light is falling over you. Also, imagine and try to feel that God is seeing you very affectionately. Stay in this position for 15/20 minutes. Finish your Muraqba with Dua. Practice it every day. This is known as Ehsan’s Muraqba.

In the beginning, many different ideas come into the mind because the brain cannot control these ideas. The best way to control these ideas are to let these ideas infiltrate into the mind, but to not pay any attention to them. Do not contend with these ideas, just do not attach any importance to them. These ideas will then automatically cease and with gradual practice, control over these will be achieved. This will undoubtedly result in bringing in a desired picture or thought of anything in the mind.

Thought is light, which is transferred from the sub-conscious mind into the conscious mind. This light contains information pertaining to the unseen. The achievement of Tasawwur means that light of the unconscious containing information of imagination has been transferred into the conscious mind. When this light is transferred into the consciousness, it is then ascribed with meaning. After practicing Muraqba, the abilities of the conscious mind increases and it gradually becomes familiar with the unseen. This is because every information of the unconscious is infact news of the unseen. God is also unseen. Everything above the physical level of existence is infact part of the unseen. Our physical senses alone cannot find God. We can only find God through faith.

The law of consciousness suggests that it recognizes everything through its conscious power. As God is far removed from physical consciousness, that is why human beings doubt unseen information. In other words, the conscious mind interprets it wrongly. This results in lowering the value of faith and rejection of faith or else an increase doubt. It causes and increases frustration and unhappiness. Nature is aware of the conscious mind and has therefore formulated rules and regulations for learning the ruhaani (spiritual) knowledge.

Muraqba/Meditation of Blue Lights

Introduction - Importance – Method

It is in the nature of all human beings that we seek peace, tranquility and happiness in all aspects of our lives and at all times wish to stay away from stress and anxiety. Both of these types of emotions are emotions of the inner-self. These emotions stem from thoughts. For example, if we receive a thought that we are hungry then we feel the hunger, and if the thought of hunger never arrives then we can't as such imagine it. In this way every light of emotion has to enter the rings of realization or perception.

When the thought waves enter the rings of perception, these rings then become active and the waves of motion spread throughout the body, so that the body feels the energy that is within the waves of light. This means that the waves of thought are information and this information starts at one point of the brain and spreads throughout the brain. The brain informs the whole body, and in this way, the body recognizes and understands this information. This process of nature is operative inside us all. If in our mind we alter this incoming light of information which is causing us stress and anxiety, then the meaning of the information too changes. In this way we can alter the negative rays into positive rays. Human beings have the knowledge and the capability to change the color of the incoming light according to their will. In order to gain the will power needed, it is important to perform Muraqba of Blue Light.

Why it is important to perform Muraqba/Meditation of Blue Light

The sky surrounds the Earth and all that dwells in it. The color of the sky is blue. We receive light and information by means of the sky. The color of light that is foremost accepted by our mind is the color blue. If we store more and more of the blue color in our mind then our mind can accept every type of information that is descending from the sky. The absorption of information by the mind is a positive thought and that rejection of the information is a negative thought.

The Method of Muraqba/Meditation of Blue Lights

• Sit in a relaxed and comfortable position in an environment in which there is no disturbance.
  
  
• Ensure that the environment is dark or is lit by a forty watt blue light bulb.

• Visualize that you are sitting under the sky and blue light is falling from it. This light is entering into your brain so that the whole of your brain is lit with it. Then the light enters into your heart from the brain. In this way the light is traveling through your body and is discharging itself through the soles of the feet.

Practice this Muraqba for fifteen to twenty minutes a day, either early in the morning or before going to sleep for a period of forty days. You will feel a change within your self.