Draft:Talqin (Sufism)

Talqin ([talqiːn], romanized talqīn) is a Sufi practice of bestowal of dhikr by a wali (Sufi saint) to a murid (Sufi beginner). In many turuq, it is done along with initiation to the tariqa. In that case, along with being required the ability to "induce spiritual presence", the initiator must be authorized by his Sheikh (Sufism) to initiate others. Talqin is also related to the word ijaza, which refers to the permission to do dhikr of God with a particular formula.

Talqin in Sufism mustn't be confused with talqin in fiqh, which refers to reminding the dying (or even dead) Muslims about the foundations of Islamic creed.

Sufis have talked about both the benefits of doing dhikr with talqin and the dangers of doing dhikr without ijaza.

According to Shaykh AbdulAziz Al Dabbagh, names of God in dhikr pose a risk to the novice. Moreover, the wali explains the benefit in talqin as follows:

If before having met the perfect shaykh, the novice says: “There is no god but God!”, he says it with his tongue, while his heart is negligent. The shaykh says it in his interior because of his immense vision. Consequently, if he implants it in the novice, his own state pervades the novice. The novice then goes on advancing until he reaches the shaykh’s halting-station—if God has foreordained this for him.’

A murid describes his experience of doing dhikr (after talqin) as follows:

They have you say lā ilāha illā Allāh and ṣalāt al-fātiḥ (Litany of the Tijani tariqa) so many times that you start saying them in your sleep. You don’t watch movies or TV, you don’t talk to people [any more than necessary], so you are just thinking God, God, God all the time, until eventually that is all you think or see.

Moreover Shaykh Ahmad Tijani admitted that the benefit to the dhikr came from outside of the dhikr:

Aḥmad al-Tijānī was asked: “Is the benefit of the Tijānī litanies from the words themselves, or because of you?” He said, “It is because of me.”

Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse was recorded as saying:

The secret is in the permission. The best thing that can happen to someone who attempts these litanies without authorization is that he or she escapes unharmed

It is well known among the people of the spiritual path that the remembrance which benefits its practitioner is the one received from perfected shaykhs.

Shaykh Ahmad bin Idris says, about the origin of talqin and its place in Sunnah:

Then before the novice leaves, the shaykh commends to him pious fear of

God inwardly and outwardly, perseverance in the dhikr and the frequent repetition of la ilaha illa 'llah as much as possible at night and throughout the day in obedience to God's command and seeking only His satisfaction ... And this is confirmed by the Prophet in the Tradition from al-Bazzar and from others, that the Prophet implanted (talqin) the dhikr in his Companions as a group and individually after he had first recited the formulas himself and affirmed them. And he said: "Likewise did Gabriel, on whom be peace, implant the dhikr

in me, and the dhikr is a means to God He is exalted! And see that you seek the means to God!"

It must be noted that the content of talqin differs across turuq. For example, while Khalwati and Shadhili paths prescribe names of God proceed in the hierarchy of the nafs, the Tijani path considers Salatul Fatih (the Tijani litany) sufficient in traversing the hierarchy.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/163697?seq=2 inculcation

Access to ijaza often depends on the level of the novice. The ijaza for Hizbul Bahr, despite being a popular litany, was given by Shaykh Ahmad Tijani to only a few of his students.

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince: And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! [emphasis added]