Naqshbandi Aliya Teachings of

Levels of the Heart and The 9 Lataif / Points

&
Realities of The Cave
From the Teachings of Shaykh Abdullah Daghestani [Q] through the teachings
of Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani in Naqshbandi Sufi Way Guidebook.
The Golden Chain
Shaykh Sharafuddin (q) asked Shaykh `Abdullah (q) to host their guest.
Shaykh `Abdullah recounted the events of the meeting to several of his murids
many years later. As soon as they met, Shaykh `Abdullah said, “You are
interested in the knowledge of the Nine Points. We can speak on it in the
morning after Fajr prayer. Now you eat something and rest.” At Fajr time
Shaykh `Abdullah called Gurdjieff to come and pray with him. As soon as the
prayer finished, the Shaykh began to recite Surat Ya Sin from the Holy Qur’an.
As he finished reading, Gurdjieff approached him and asked if he could speak
of what he had just experienced. Gurdjieff said:
A Meeting With Gurdjieff
Through your spiritual power I was able to ascend to the knowledge of the
power of the Nine Points. Then a voice, addressing me as `Abd an-Nur, said:
‘This light and knowledge have been granted to you from the Divine Presence
of Allah to bring peace to your heart. However, you must not use the power
of this knowledge.’ The voice bid me farewell with the salutation of Peace and
the vision ended as you were finishing the recitation from the Qur’an.” The
Enneagram image above Holds the Secret of The 9 Points , 9 States of
Humanity, 9 Sultan al Awliya Shaykh `Abdullah replied, “Surat Ya Sin was
called ‘the Heart of the Qur’an’ by the Holy Prophet and the knowledge of
these Nine Points was opened to you through it.
The vision was by the blessings of the verse: ‘Peace! a Word (of salutation)
from a Lord Most Merciful’ [36:58]. “Each of the Nine Points is represented
by one of nine Saints who are at the Highest Level in the Divine Presence.
They are the keys to the untold powers within man, but there is no permission
to use these keys. This is a secret that in general will not be opened until the
Last Days when the Mahdi (as) appears and Jesus (as) returns. “This meeting
of ours has been blessed. Keep it as a secret in your heart and don’t speak of
it in this life. `Abd an-Nur, for that is your name with us, you are free to stay
or go as your responsibilities allow. You are always welcome with us. You have
attained safety in the Divine Presence. May Allah bless you and strengthen
you in your journey
His States and Discourses After His Second Seclusion At 30 years of age,
Shaykh Abdullah was ordered to enter a second long seclusion for five years.
During that seclusion, many visions and states were granted to him, which it
would be impossible to describe within the span of this book. After he
completed this second seclusion, the power of his spiritual attraction
increased. He became so renowned that even during his Shaykh’s lifetime,
people used to come from everywhere to learn from him. Following are some
of his discourses: “I do not speak to you about any Station (Maqam),
Manifestation (Tajalli), or Rank (Rutbah) without my having already entered
that station or position and experienced that Manifestation. I am not like many
others, I do not speak separating my sight from my heart, enumerating the
Stations (Maqamat) for you without my knowing their Reality (Haqiqat). No!
First of all I followed that path and saw what it was. I learned those Realities
and Secrets which may be found along it, and I worked my way along it until
I obtained the
 Knowledge of Certainty (`ilm al-yaqin),
 the Eye of Certainty (`ayn al-yaqin), and
 the Truth of Certainty (haqq al-yaqin).
 Only then do I speak to you, giving you a tiny taste of what I have tasted,
until I am able to make you reach that station without tiring you and
without difficulties.
Stations of the Heart – Lataiful Qalb
“There are five stations of the Heart: Qalb, Sirr, Sirr as-Sirr, Khafa and Akhfa.
 Qalb is the Heart,
 Sirr is the Secret,
 Sirr as- Sirr is the Secret of the Secret,
 Khafa is the Hidden, and
 Akhfa the Most Hidden. The secret of this Tariqat is based on these
five lata’if (Subtle Things), the Stations of the heart.
“Latifat al-qalb, the stage of the Heart, is under the authority of Sayyidina
Adam , because it represents the physical aspect of the heart.
Latifat as-sirr, the station of the Secret, is under Sayyidina Nuh , because it is
the Vessel which is saved from the Ocean of Darkness, salvation from the
flood of ignorance.
Latifat Sirr as-Sirr, the station of the Secret of the Secret, is under two Prophet
s: Ibraham and Masa , who represent Allah’s Divine Presence on Earth. Allah
made Ibraham the symbol of all His Khalifs on this Earth, as mentioned in the
verse of the creation of mankind, “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” [2:30].
Musa was blessed with hearing and speaking to Allah which are the two
essential attributes of knowledge.
“Latifat al-khafa, the Hidden Station, is under Sayyidina Isa { Jesus }. Because
of his relationship with Hidden Knowledge, he represents spiritual
understanding.
“Latifat al-Akhfa, the Most Hidden Station, is under the Reality of Sayyidina
Muhammad , because he was granted a station high above that of all other
Prophet s and messengers. He was the one who was raised up, in the Night
of Ascension, to the Divine Presence. This is represented by
the Kalima (Sacred Phrase), because there is no la ilaha
illallah without Muhammadun Rasulullah. “The lights of these stations have
been shown to me.
 The light of the Heart is a yellow hue;
 the light of the Secret is red;
 the light of the Secret of the Secret is white;
 the light of the Hidden Station is green; and
 the light of the Most Hidden Station is black.”
These Five Stations are the center of the Nine Points
which represent the locus of Revelation and Inspiration of the Divine Presence
in the heart of the human being. These Nine Points are located on the chest
of each person and they represent nine different hidden states in every human
being. Every state is connected to a saint, who has the authority to control
that point.
“If the seeker in the Naqshbandi Way is able to unveil and to make spiritual
contact with the authorized master controlling these points, he may be given
knowledge of and power to use these nine points.
“The conditions related to opening these nine points can only be alluded to
obliquely.
1. The first station involves the power of imprisoning the ego
2. The key to the second state is Dhikr with la ilaha illallah.
3. The third state consists in witnessing the engraving of Allah’s name on
the heart (naqsh).
4. The fourth state relates to the meaning of that engraving on the heart.
5. The fifth state is to imprint the engraving with your dhikr.
6. In the sixth state the heart is made to stop pumping at will and to start
pumping at will.
 7. The seventh state is to be aware of the number of times one stops the
heart from pumping and the number of times one restores the pumping
of the heart.
8. “In the eighth state one mentions the phrase Muhammadun Rasulullah in
every cessation of the heart and every restoration of its pumping.
9. The ninth stage is to return to your Cave, as Allah mentioned in Surat al-
Kahf, “When ye turn away from them and the things they worship other
than Allah, betake yourself to the Cave: your Lord will shower His mercies
on you…” [18:16]. { 9:40 This the Power of 9 Importance of the King,
Return to the King, 12 Veil of Power 9 in Holy Quran Tauba Surah 9 Verse
40 is the Beginning of entrance to the THAWR Cave}
“The Cave is the Divine Presence. Here one utters the cherished prayer of the
Prophet : ‘O God, You are my destination and Your Pleasure is what I seek.’
The heart, as it cycles between the cessation and restoration of its pumping,
is existing at the level of the Essence of the Divine Presence. Because that
Divine Essence is the source of all created being, that heart will be at one with
every minutest creation in this universe. The heart which has reached the
secrets of the nine points will be able to see everything, hear everything, know
everything, taste everything, sense everything, ‘Until He will be the ears with
which he hears, the eyes with which he sees, the tongue with which he speaks,
the hand with which he grasps, and the feet with which he walks. He will be
Lordly, he only need say to a thing Be! and it will be.'” { This is Perfectly
Manifested in Sayedena Muhammad {s} Our Eternal Messenger of Allah.}

Why did he go to that cave? The ‘Cave of Silence’ as

it has been called? Indeed, it is the ‘Cave of Silent Secrets’. Why was the
Prophet ordered by God to go to that cave, which is one day’s travel from
Makkah, when he had a distance of fifteen days journeying to go?
“29” When the Prophet went into that cave, a spider and a dove came and
made a house over the door in order that no one would know what was inside.
{ The Spider is 29th Surah directing us that the secrets of 29 and the Lam Alif
is the seal for the entry into the divine presence | The Dove is the Angelic
Realm and Eggs are the story of Creation.} 29 Secretly encoded Surahs .
Knowledge of Letters , Fawatih Letters of Muqatta’at and Secrets of Numbers
This is common knowledge. As for the secret, look to love. When love for
someone is pure, God will never forget that person. Before leaving Makkah for
Madinah, the Prophet put someone in his bed because the ignorant people
came to his door intent on killing him. He put Ali (as) in his bed. There is a
secret to that, it means that he made Ali (as) his representative, in his place.
He did not put Umar (r) there. He did not put Uthman (r)-none of the
Companions, but someone of his own flesh and blood.
The Full Moon has 2 Faces
The Full Moon has 2 Faces One That Shines on Earth the Other Dark side is
Hidden. The Prophet took with him as company his other mirror-image, Abu
Bakr (r), to the cave. He said, “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is the door.”
{You Must Be Ahl Bayt , Either Pure Blood Line or By Way of Sayedena Saliman
Farsi (AS) in Service to the RasulThe door is something physical, external.
When you want to enter the house, how do you enter? Through the door. In
order to enter to the Prophet and to come to the knowledge that the Prophet
is giving, you have to enter through the door. That door is Ali (r). The Prophet
() also said, “Whatever God has poured into my heart, I poured into the heart
of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq.”3 The Prophet (s) referred again to the secret of Abu
Bakr (r) when he said, “Abu Bakr does not surpass you because of fasting or
praying more, but because of a secret that took root in his heart.” So inside
the house, we find Abu Bakr (r) and outside the house, we find Ali (as).
That is why, of the two sources of Sufi knowledge, one came from Abu Bakr
(r) and the other from Ali (as). From the time of the different schools of Divine
Law, Muslims have agreed that the knowledge of the heart came from these
two paths. Justice and laws, on the other hand, came from Hadrat Umar (r).
The Prophet’s comment about Abu Bakr (r) is the secret of the cave. To
represent his body, the Prophet put Ali (as) in his bed prior to his departure
from Makkah to Madinah. This means that Ali (as) represented the external.
But he took Abu Bakr (r) to the cave for the cave represents what is interior.
Shaykh Sharafuddin on Will and Destiny
“It is known that there are two types of destiny. The first kind of destiny is
termed qada’an mucallaq, which means Suspended or Mutable Destiny. It is
written on the Lawh al-Mahfoudh (the Preserved Tablet). This will vary
according to will and behavior, cause and effect. All saints can change this
kind of destiny for their murids, in order to train them and to influence their
destiny by changing their actions and behavior. The authority to change the
Mutable Destiny is given to the Shaykhs for their murids because they are
connected to each other by Divine Will.
“The second type of destiny is contained in Umm al-Kitab, the Mother of the
Book, as mentioned in the ayat:
13:39 – “Yamho Allahu ma yashao wa yuthbitu, wa ‘indahu ommu al kitab.”

“Allah eliminates what He wills or confirms, and with Him is the Mother of
the Book.” (Holy Quran, The Thunder 13:39)
And is called qada’an mubram, which means Fixed Destiny. Saints never
interfere in that Fixed Destiny, which is in the Hand of the Creator. “Allah gave
the authority to change the Fixed Destiny only to the Nine Saints who are at
the highest level in the Divine Presence by permission from the Prophet who
is first to take that power from Allah.
They control the Nine Points of human consciousness related to the different
stages of the Ascent of an Individual on his path to the Divine Presence. Allah
gave these Nine Saints, whose number has not changed from the time of the
Prophet until today, the power to use Sultan adh-dhikr, the Greatest
Remembrance.
“Everyone knows that Dhikr is primarily the repetition of la ilaha illallah, and
that is what is practiced by all tariqats, including the Naqshbandiyya. But the
Sultan adh-dhikr is a completely different type of Dhikr.
Allah said, “Inna nahnu nazzalna-dh-dhikra wa inna lahu la-hafidhun [15:9],
“We have revealed the Dhikr, and we are the One to protect that Dhikr in
you.”
The Dhikr mentioned here is the Holy Qur’an. The Dhikr of these nine saints,
besides la ilaha illallah, is the Secret of the Holy Qur’an. They recite the
Qur’an, not as we recite it reading from beginning to end, but they recite it
with all its secrets and inner realities. Because Allah said,
6:59 – “Wala ratbin wala yabisin illa fee kitabin mubeenin.
“Nor is there anything fresh or dry but is inscribed in a clear
Record.”
None of God’s creations in all the created universes has not been mentioned
already, with all its secrets, in the Clear Book, the Qur’an.
“The saint reciting the Qur’an in Sultan adh-Dhikr is therefore reciting it with
all the secrets of every creation, from beginning to end. Allah gave every letter
of the Qur’an, according to the Nine Highest Masters of the Naqshbandi Order
[this was the first time the Shaykh ever mentioned this secret], twelve
thousand knowledge’s.
The Qur’an contains around 600,000 letters, so for every letter, these saints
are able to take 12,000 knowledge’s!
“Each of these nine saints differs from the other in his level as well. We may
see that one of them, for example, was able to recite the Holy Qur’an by the
power of Sultan adh-Dhikr, which is to grasp 12,000 meanings on every letter,
only once in his life.
Another was able to recite it three times in his life.
The third was able to do it nine times in his life.
Another was able to recite it 99 times in his life.
“This secret differed from one saint to another.
 Shah Mawlana Naqshband (q) was able to do it 999 times in his life.
 Our Master Ahmad al-Faruqi was able to recite it 9,999 times in his life.
 Shaykh Sharafuddin was able to recite it 19,999 times.“
  Here Shaykh `Abdullah stopped. Shaykh Nazim said,
 “In every breath Grandshaykh `Abdullah Daghestani was exhaling with
Sultan adh-Dhikr and inhaling with Sultan adh-Dhikr.
 He used to complete the secret of Qur’an twice in every breath.”
 Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Inheritor of This Trust

Grandshaykh Abdullah
ad-Daghestani at over age 85.