In Dhikr, the mind is emptied of all thoughts and concepts and thus prepared to function for long periods through its intuitive mode. These skills are used to develop the meditative mode of consciousness.
Thus Salat leads to the feeling of peace and serenity which is characteristic of the more static forms of Dhikr. Even performing Salat is considered as Dhikr to silence the rational mind. The silencing of the mind is achieved by concentrating one’s attention on a single item, like one’s breathing, the sound of Allah or La Ilaha Illallah. The basic aim of Dhikr is to silence the thinking mind and to shift the awareness from the rational to the intuitive mode of consciousness. Thus the scientists and the Sufis have developed highly sophisticated methods of observing nature which are inaccessible to the layperson. The complexity and efficiency of the physicist’s technical apparatus is matched, if not surpassed, by that of the mystic’s consciousness-both physical and spiritual-in deep Dhikr. Similarly, a deep Tasawwuf experience requires, generally, many years of training under an experienced master. To repeat an experiment in modern elementary particle physics one has to undergo many years of training. Physicists perform experiments involving an elaborate teamwork and a highly sophisticated technology, whereas the Sufis obtain their knowledge purely through introspection, without any machinery, in the privacy of meditation or Dhikr. The parallel between scientific experiments and Tasawwuf experiences may seem surprising in view of the very different nature of these acts of observation. Sufis never see the intellect as their source of knowledge but use it merely to analyze and interpret their personal Tasawwuf experience. Reality as experienced by the Sufis is completely indeterminate and undifferentiated.
An exact science is expressed in the highly sophisticated language of modern mathematics, whereas Tasawwuf is based on meditation and insists on the fact that Sufis’ insight cannot be communicated verbally.
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