To complement the text of this essay the reader may find what is written below as helpful.
The following is reproduced from G.N. Jalbani's book 'Teachings of Shah Waliiyullah'. Chapter 4 The
Tasawuuf' page 93-95. Published by Islamic Book Service, New Delhi. ISBN 81-85738-12-2.
Lata'if. Herein below is the account of man's Lata'if, namely, the body, the mind and the will
(Nafs, Qalb, and 'Aql).
In the body of man there are three vital members by the means of which all the acts and
purposes which man's specific form requires are served. For example the seat of the
perceptive faculties is the brain, the seat of anger, rashness, grief,and joy is the heart, while
the seat of things without which the body cannot survive, like eating, drinking and sleeping,
etc., is the liver. The Sufis, however, assert that these vital members have internal powers, in
addition to the external ones, and they call them by the name of lata'if. On that account, these
three members are well known by the names of Latif'at-ul-'Aql, Latif'at-ul-Qalb and
Latif'at-un-Nafs. Shah Waliullah is of the opinion that, in addition to these three Latif'at, there
is a fourth one also, which he names Latif'at-ul-Jawarih. According to him all the injunctions of
the Law (Shari'ah) have their connections with this Latif'ah. A brief description of it is as
follows: when all the powers of Qalb, 'Aql and Nafs become a pivot for the complete
functioning of the limbs of the body, or in other words, when all the activities of the Qalb, 'Aql
and Nafs are absorbed into the working of the limbs of the body, then that state gained is
called Latif'at-ul-Jawarih. For the explanation of this Latif'ah he says:
"Once a camel was shown to me which was on the point of dying. All its three lata'if had
gone very weak, and it was reined with a file of camels; there was no energy left in it save
the movement. It, however, continued moving till it fell down and died. At this (time) of
death I was told it was absorbed in the Latif'at-ul-Jawarih."
From the Shari'ah's side man would be made to give an account of his actions which
emanated from this Latif'ah only and the Shari'ah is concerned with this Latif'ah.
Investigation, says Shah Sahib, has shown that every limb of the body and each of these
Lata'if has its own duty to perform, and its own business to look after; but when they unite,
their union gives rise to twofold state. Either they so mix up with each other and get united as
are water and silver mixed up and united in mercury, or each one of them remains
independent in its own place and helps the others when necessary, in the build up of the
body. From the first state accrue the prevalence (Ghalabah), the self effacement, the
absorption (Mahw) in the Deity and the ecstacy (Wajd), while from the second are gained the
sobriety (Sahw), the establishment (Tamkin) and the constancy (Istiqlal). The ripe Sufi is,
however, he who maintains unmixed establishment and whose every Latif'ah is independent
in itself.
One form of the prevalence is that of the desire which is born after the light of the faith had
penetrated into the heart even though it had been for or against the Law.......the other form of
the prevalence is the result of inebriation (Sukr). Here, the light of faith so overpowers both
the reason and the heart that he gives up all the charms of life, and begins to like things which
are often disliked.....
Here it should be added that this is far from a complete account of Shah Saheb's writing on this
matter - it does not specifically refer to the purified heart (Spirit) or the purified Intellect (Secret). Nor
to even more subtle levels - for this one should refer to Shah Saheb.s own work - particularly Alt al
Quds (The Sared Knowledge).