The Ranks of the Soul: Marātib al-Nafs
Every Muslim has heard of the nafs. Few have seen it mapped with this kind of clarity.
Marātib al-Nafs: The Ranks of the Soul is a translation of the classical Sufi treatise by the virtuous scholar ʿAbd al-Khāliq ʿAbd al-Salām al-Shabrāwī, a master of the Khalwatī path who spent his life guiding students through the inward journey back to Allah.
The book walks through seven stations of the soul. Beginning with the commanding soul, the self that pulls toward desire and heedlessness, and ascending through the self-reproaching, the inspired, the tranquil, the pleasing, the pleased-with, and finally the perfected soul. Each station receives its own chapter, mapping its world, its locus in the body, its spiritual influx, its dangers, and the remedy for ascending beyond it.
Before the seven stations, the book opens with a full treatment of the blameworthy qualities that block the path. Anger, malice, envy, arrogance, ostentation, love of status — each one receives its Qurʾanic grounding, its Prophetic Hadith, and its prescribed treatment.
Al-Shabrāwī lived what he taught. His student, who compiled this text, knew his master for nearly twenty years and witnessed a man who never let his students drift from the path.
The ranks are real. The journey is real. This book shows you where you are.
"The pen was moving faster than my hand while writing it."
Years before his death, Shaykh Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Salam al-Shabrawi handed a manuscript to his student. His student had lived in the same house as the Shaykh for nearly twenty years. He knew his master as a guide of a special kind, one who stopped a murid when spiritual states grew too intense, and took another by the hand when they had grown lazy in their worship.
When the student finally read the manuscript in full, he described finding something wondrous. A precise, graded analysis of the soul and its stations. He called it a deputy for the Shaykh himself. A guide for anyone who wants to walk the path of the people of Allah.
The Seven Stations of the Soul
-
I
The Commanding Soul
Al-Nafs al-Ammarah
The soul in its lowest condition. Commands toward desire and heedlessness. Attributes include anger, envy, arrogance, and lust. Locus: the chest.
Remedy La ilaha illa Allah -
II
The Reproaching Soul
Al-Nafs al-Lawwamah
Begins to see its own faults. The station of self-reproach, sincerity, and the first stirrings of love. Locus: the heart.
Remedy Allah -
III
The Inspired Soul
Al-Nafs al-Mulhamah
Receives divine inspiration. Station of passionate love, longing, and bewilderment. The soul enters the world of spirits. Locus: the soul itself.
Remedy Hu -
IV
The Tranquil Soul
Al-Nafs al-Mutma'innah
Finds firm establishment. Speech becomes a translation of divine realities. The first degree of perfection. Locus: the inner secret.
Remedy Haqq -
V
The Pleasing Soul
Al-Nafs al-Radiyyah
Immersed in witnessing Absolute Beauty. The state of annihilation. Supplication not rejected, yet the tongue is restrained by modesty. Locus: the secret of the secret.
Remedy Hayy -
VI
The Pleased-With Soul
Al-Nafs al-Mardiyyah
The station of bewilderment. Greater vicegerency. Guiding creation, overlooking faults. Locus: hiddenness.
Remedy Al-Qayyum -
VII
The Complete Soul
Al-Nafs al-Kamilah
Every movement becomes a good deed. Every breath an act of worship. Multiplicity within unity and unity within multiplicity. Locus: the most hidden realm.
Remedy Al-Qahhar
Seven Names. Seven conditions. One destination.
The seven veils
From darkness to light. From the commanding soul to the complete.
| Author | Shaykh Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Salam al-Shabrawi |
| Translator | Shaykh Shams Tameez |
| Language | English and Arabic |
| Publisher | Imam Ghazali Publishing |
| Binding | Paperback |
| Pages | 142 |
Description
Every Muslim has heard of the nafs. Few have seen it mapped with this kind of clarity.
Marātib al-Nafs: The Ranks of the Soul is a translation of the classical Sufi treatise by the virtuous scholar ʿAbd al-Khāliq ʿAbd al-Salām al-Shabrāwī, a master of the Khalwatī path who spent his life guiding students through the inward journey back to Allah.
The book walks through seven stations of the soul. Beginning with the commanding soul, the self that pulls toward desire and heedlessness, and ascending through the self-reproaching, the inspired, the tranquil, the pleasing, the pleased-with, and finally the perfected soul. Each station receives its own chapter, mapping its world, its locus in the body, its spiritual influx, its dangers, and the remedy for ascending beyond it.
Before the seven stations, the book opens with a full treatment of the blameworthy qualities that block the path. Anger, malice, envy, arrogance, ostentation, love of status — each one receives its Qurʾanic grounding, its Prophetic Hadith, and its prescribed treatment.
Al-Shabrāwī lived what he taught. His student, who compiled this text, knew his master for nearly twenty years and witnessed a man who never let his students drift from the path.
The ranks are real. The journey is real. This book shows you where you are.
"The pen was moving faster than my hand while writing it."
Years before his death, Shaykh Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Salam al-Shabrawi handed a manuscript to his student. His student had lived in the same house as the Shaykh for nearly twenty years. He knew his master as a guide of a special kind, one who stopped a murid when spiritual states grew too intense, and took another by the hand when they had grown lazy in their worship.
When the student finally read the manuscript in full, he described finding something wondrous. A precise, graded analysis of the soul and its stations. He called it a deputy for the Shaykh himself. A guide for anyone who wants to walk the path of the people of Allah.
The Seven Stations of the Soul
-
I
The Commanding Soul
Al-Nafs al-Ammarah
The soul in its lowest condition. Commands toward desire and heedlessness. Attributes include anger, envy, arrogance, and lust. Locus: the chest.
Remedy La ilaha illa Allah -
II
The Reproaching Soul
Al-Nafs al-Lawwamah
Begins to see its own faults. The station of self-reproach, sincerity, and the first stirrings of love. Locus: the heart.
Remedy Allah -
III
The Inspired Soul
Al-Nafs al-Mulhamah
Receives divine inspiration. Station of passionate love, longing, and bewilderment. The soul enters the world of spirits. Locus: the soul itself.
Remedy Hu -
IV
The Tranquil Soul
Al-Nafs al-Mutma'innah
Finds firm establishment. Speech becomes a translation of divine realities. The first degree of perfection. Locus: the inner secret.
Remedy Haqq -
V
The Pleasing Soul
Al-Nafs al-Radiyyah
Immersed in witnessing Absolute Beauty. The state of annihilation. Supplication not rejected, yet the tongue is restrained by modesty. Locus: the secret of the secret.
Remedy Hayy -
VI
The Pleased-With Soul
Al-Nafs al-Mardiyyah
The station of bewilderment. Greater vicegerency. Guiding creation, overlooking faults. Locus: hiddenness.
Remedy Al-Qayyum -
VII
The Complete Soul
Al-Nafs al-Kamilah
Every movement becomes a good deed. Every breath an act of worship. Multiplicity within unity and unity within multiplicity. Locus: the most hidden realm.
Remedy Al-Qahhar
Seven Names. Seven conditions. One destination.
The seven veils
From darkness to light. From the commanding soul to the complete.
| Author | Shaykh Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Salam al-Shabrawi |
| Translator | Shaykh Shams Tameez |
| Language | English and Arabic |
| Publisher | Imam Ghazali Publishing |
| Binding | Paperback |
| Pages | 142 |
