A Prayer

Stations of the Heart

(inspired by the Nawadir (Sufi) Stations of the Heart)

In shame, great God, I come before thy throne,

and yet, believing in thy Love, I come in confidence too.

Thou knowest me through and through,

faults, hopes, and dreams,

attempts, failures, and successes.

Open thou my heart,

and find within my thankfulness for all thy mercies,

all thy gifts, and take me once again to be thine own.

Open thou my mind and soul and strength,

and I conjoin my will with thine;

I offer all that faith can do, and, as I gaze on thee,

grant me thy Kiss, and make me new.

Mansoor Ahmad describes the Stations of the Heart (Al Tirmidhi) thus:

The stations (maqamat) of the Heart, in the Sufi terminology are the breast (sadr), the heart proper (qalb), the inner heart (fuad) and the intellect (lubb).They are arranged in concentric spheres, the breast being the outermost sphere followed on the inside by the heart, the inner heart and the intellect. Within the intellect are yet other stations which, however, are too subtle to be described in words. Each of these stations of the heart has its own characteristics and functions. Thus the breast (sadr) is the abode or seat of the light of Islam (nur al-Islam). It is also the repository for that kind of knowledge (ilm) required for the practice of Islam, such as knowledge of the Qur’an, the Prophetic traditions and the religious law (Shari‘ah). The heart proper (qalb), which is within the breast, is the abode of the light of faith (nur al-iman). Faith is the acceptance by the heart of the truth of God’s revelation. The heart is also the repository of what the author calls valuable or useful knowledge (al ilm al- nafi). This is an interior knowledge of reality(al-Haqıqah) that can only be granted to one by God. It cannot be learned from books or from a teacher as can the type of knowledge associated with the breast. The inner heart (fu’ad) is the abode of the light of gnosis (nur al-ma‘rifah). It is associated with the vision (ru’yah) of reality. Whereas the heart has mere knowledge of reality, the inner heart actually sees reality. The intellect (lubb) the innermost sphere of the heart is the abode of the light of unification (nur al-tawhıd). It is the basis of the three outer spheres and is the recipient of God’s grace and bounty.

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