HAL

( (Arabic: condition), ) plural Ahwal, in Sufi Muslim mystical terminology, a spiritual state of mind that comes to the Sufi from time to time during his journey toward God. The ahwal are graces of God that cannot be acquired or retained through an individual's own efforts. When the soul is purified of its attachments to the material world, it can only wait patiently for those spiritual gifts of God, which, when they come, fill the Sufi with the desire to continue his journey with new energy and higher expectations. The ahwal are distinguished by most Sufis from the maqams (spiritual stages) in two main aspects. First, the ahwal are usually transitory; like flashes of lightning they come into the heart and disappear. Second, while ahwal denote a gratuitous favour of God, maqams are granted solely on merit and efforts. Though the Sufis spoke of hundreds of ahwal, the following are among those most often referred to. (1) The hal of muraqabah (watching) fills the Sufi with either fear or joy according to the aspect of God revealed to him. (2) The hal of qurb (nearness) is a state that enables the Sufi to become unconscious of his own acts and to see God's acts and bounties toward him. (3) The hal of wajd (ecstasy) is a state described by the Sufi as a sensation that encounters the heart and produces such varied effects as sorrow or joy, fear or love, contentment or restlessness. (4) In the hal of sukr (intoxication) the Sufi, while not totally unaware of the things that surround him, becomes half-dazed because his association with God dims his sight of other things. The overpowering sense of the beloved in this state destroys the mystic's ability to distinguish between physical pain and pleasure. Sahw (sobriety) immediately follows sukr, but the memories of the previous experience remain vivid and become a source of immense spiritual joy. (5) The hal of wudd (intimacy) is characterized by the removal of nervousness, together with the persistence of awe. The Sufi becomes calm, contented, and reassured, but the overwhelming sense of the divine presence fills his heart with the kind of awe that is free from fear.