Sarraj forms his mystical ladder of the seven “stations” (maqam) and ten “states” (hal). The stations are the ethical and ascetical disciplinary stages which are attainable by human efforts. The states are the spiritual conditions which are given to men only by Divine Grace.
The stations indicate progress in the following order: “repentance” (tawbah), “abstinence” (wara'), “renunciation” (zuhd), “poverty” (faqr), “patience” (sabr), “trust in God” (tawakkul) and “satisfaction” (rida). “Repentance” is the first stage because it means abandoning the former delusive way of life and turning one's face towards God. After entering the path of seeking God, the first and basic station is “abstinence” which means faithfully obeying the regulations given by God. The next “renunciation, ” which is a thorough form of “abstinence, ” is the total negation of all things except God. This eventually leads men to “poverty.” It is necessary for men to have a strong will to endure the severe circumstances which result from “poverty.” This is the stage of “patience.” This stage of “patience” necessitates “trust in God” which is a conviction that whatever circumstance he may find himself in is due to His Divine Will. When this stage or attitude of “trust in God” is carried to the extreme, the human will becomes unified with the Divine One. This stage is called “satisfaction.” Going through this process, man effaces his ego, so that he attains the stage of perfect passivity which makes possible the receiving of Divine Grace.
The states also indicate orderly progress with some exceptions. Each state expresses the psychological relationship with God. The presence of God is known through feeling, a feeling such as that of being watched (“Watching, ” muraqabah). As the feeling becomes stronger the “nearness” (qurb) of G od is felt. Next God is felt as two opposite feelings, “love” (mahabbah) and “fear” (khawf) at the same time. “Fear” is always combined (maqrun) with “hope” (raja'), and one cannot stand without the other. By combining “love” and “hope”, men passionately seek for God. This is the stage o “yearning” (shawq). After these passionate feelings, more tranquil feelings such as “familiarity” (uns) and “calmness” (tuma' ninah) appear. In this tranquil condition men can see God in their hearts. This state is called that of “contemplation” (mushahadah). The last and highest state is a firm conviction of being united with and becoming one with God. This state is that of “certainty” (yaqin), and it directly expresses the ultimate mystical experience.
In the general theory of mysticism, we can divide the mystical ladder into five parts, that is, (I) Awakening, (II) Purification, (III) Illumination, (IV) Union and (V) Unitive state. Putting Sarraj's theory into this classification, we may say that the station of “repentance” corresponds to (I) Awakening; those from “abstinence” to “satisfaction” correspond to (II) Purification; the states from “watching” to “calmness” correspond to (III) Illumination; the state of “contemplation” corresponds to (IV) Union; and the final state of “certainty” corresponds to (V) Unitive state.
