Sufism
According to his long-time friend L. F. Rushbrook Williams, Ikbal Ali Shah believed that the Sufi message "might form a bridge between the Western and the Eastern ways of thinking, and that the methods that were using to convey it— methods well-tested by centuries of successful practice— would certainly be of interest and might be of value to the Western world in the quest for the best ways of promoting independent thought and the re-examination of accepted values to test their suitability to the needs of modern social organization."
In his book Islamic Sufism, Ikbal Ali Shah stated that he was instructed in the Sufi Way by his father, to whom he referred as "that Fountain of Goodness Hadrat Syedna Nawab Amjed Ali Shah Naqshbandi Paghmani". He said that the Nawab had, in turn, been taught by his father Nawab Mohammed Ali Shah, who is buried in the Delhi shrine of the Naqshbandi Khwaja Baqi Billah (and an extract from whose Nishan-i-Ghaib, Signs of the Unseen, is given in the "Letters and Lectures" section of Idries Shah's The Way of the Sufi). Nawab Mohammed Ali Shah's father was Jan-Fishan Khan, who in turn had been a disciple of the celebrated Naqshbandi master Haji Dost Muhammad Qandhari. Ikbal Ali Shah sets out the remainder of this silsila, from Qandhari backwards to Yaqub Charkhi (the disciple of Bahauddin Naqshband) in Islamic Sufism (where it is described as "The Punjab Tradition").
In addition to his father Ikbal Ali Shah also gives credit, in his introduction to "Islamic Sufism", to 'the earlier discourses of Sheikh al Akbar Hadratna Shah Abdul Khair Mujaddadi'. Shah Abul Khair Naqshbandi Dihlawi (1855-1922) was the successor of Shah Muhammad Umar Mujaddidi, who in turn was the son of Ahmad Saeed Mujaddidi Fārūqi Dehlavi, the teacher of Haji Dost Qandhari. Abul Khair took over responsibility for the 'Delhi house' - the dargah and burial place of Mirza Mazhar Jan-i-Janaan and Ghulam Ali Dihlawi by the Turkmen Gate of the old city of Delhi - from Haji Dost Qandhari's deputy Rahim Bakhsh Ajmeri, and today it bears his name. It seems most likely that Ikbal Ali Shah attended Abul Khair's assemblies in person, prior to his coming to Edinburgh, thus linking his Sufi teaching (and, by extension, that of his sons) directly into the main line of the Naqshbandiyya Mujaddidiya.
Ikbal Ali Shah introduced this tradition of Sufism in the West, with special reference to the controversial metaphors in Sufi poetry, in an article published in Hibbert Journal (1921–1922) entitled The General Principles of Sufism.
Four consecutive stages of spiritual advancement were indicated there: Nasut—Humanity; Tariqa—the Way; Jabarut (Araff)—Power, and Haqiqa—Truth, corresponding to the four stages in Naqshbandi practice as observed by the Shattari Pir Shah Muhammad Ghawth (died 1563).
These four stages involved the illumination (tajalli) of five centers: Qalb, Ruh, Sirr, Khafi, Ikhfa—Heart, Spirit, Secret, Mysterious and Deeply Hidden.
In his more substantial introduction Islamic Sufism (1933), Ali-Shah includes excerpts from the work of Khaja Khan attributing the discovery of this system (Latayifi Sitta)—with its corresponding colours: yellow (qalb); red (ruh); white (sirr); black (khafi), and green (ikhfa)—to Ahmad Sirhindi, the founder of the Naqshbandi Mujaddidi.
In the preface to Islamic Sufism, the Sirdar presents his views on how and why Sufism can be a way for modern humanity to reconnect with its spiritual heritage. Deploring the current state of the world, he notes that it is in such times that new revivals of spiritual thought often take place, guided by great exemplars who make a significant impact on society. Focusing on Sufism, he points out that the Sufi way is open to all people and that it can be followed in any society while maintaining contact with the world, regardless of the prevailing materialism. The student's work is done through ordinary life in human society: Be in the world, but not if it is the Sufi dictum. The Sufi encourages not only personal refinement, but the uplifting of others as part of working towards a 'universal brotherhood' of humanity.".
As examples of practical methods of Sufism which can be of use in the modern world, the Sirdar discusses meditation, the giving of charity, and focusing more on durable truths and realities than on transient and illusory pursuits. He also discusses the relationship between Sufism and the mind-body connection in healing. He asserts that, through Sufism, "our latent forces for good can be increased, as well as our creative productivity".
Islamic Sufism contains Sufi interpretations of Islamic beliefs and practices, explanations of the history and theory of Sufism with reference to similar Western ideas, selections from the work of the great Sufis of the past, like Al-Ghazali, Rumi, al-Hujwiri, Jami, Hafez and others, as well as examples of the thought of contemporary visionaries like Muhammad Iqbal.
In the revised edition of Alone In Arabian Nights, Ikbal Ali Shah had this to say about Sufism:
In contemporary terms, the Sufis can be seen as people who, initially, work against the evils of coercive organized religion and restrictive cults; then try to help expand the understanding of those who are interested: strictly according to the potential of the people and the times... This latter contention is.. unacceptable to the vast majority of people, who cannot feel happy with it at all... because they always need the reassurance of tradition and of the familiar. If they don't know what to reject, they may deify it.
He adds that his travelling was done, in part, to carry out missions connected with Sufism, and he describes his attempts to explain to groups in the East and the West that what they imagined to be Sufism was highly inaccurate. As examples, he points out that, according to Sufi experience, random collections of people, indulgence in most of the popular mystical practices of physical and emotional excitement, and amalgamations of all kinds of Eastern ideas without regard for what is useful under prevailing circumstances, would usually not result in real Sufi developments. These explanations and admonitions, while intriguing to some, were often rejected by groups that felt threatened by them.
Rushbrook Williams affirms that Ikbal Ali Shah's more public work and activities, such as writing travel books and biographies of major figures, was only a byproduct of his determination to study and promote the value of Sufism as a link between Eastern and Western thought.
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