Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani (1077-1166 CE), known as "Sultan ul-Awliya" (The King of Saints), stands among the most revered spiritual masters in Islamic history. Born in Baghdad during the golden age of Islamic civilization, his teachings on light, spiritual transformation, and the stages of enlightenment have guided seekers for nearly a millennium.
In his masterwork Sirr ul-Asrar (The Secret of Secrets), Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani reveals the profound process of how human consciousness moves through veils—from darkness to light, from light to greater light, until reaching the ultimate illumination of divine reality.
Understanding these teachings transforms how we approach spiritual healing—revealing it not as a simple fix, but as a journey through progressive unveilings toward complete restoration and divine connection.
Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani teaches that between you and ultimate spiritual reality exist layers of veils—some made of darkness, others made of light. Both types obscure, but in different ways.
He describes the transformative process:
"When the attributes of darkness lift, light takes its place, and the one with the eye of the soul sees. He recognizes what he sees with the light of the Names of divine attributes. Then he himself is flooded by light and becomes light. These lights are still veils hiding the light of the divine Essence, but the time comes when they too are drawn back, leaving only the light of the divine Essence itself."
This passage reveals a three-stage journey that applies directly to healing work.
These are the obvious obstacles that block spiritual light and cause suffering:
Spiritual darkness:
Mental darkness:
Emotional darkness:
Energetic darkness:
When veils of darkness are present, they create:
This is the first stage of healing work. You must actively remove darkness before light can fully enter.
Techniques for removing darkness:
1. Repentance (Tawbah): Sincere turning away from sins and harmful patterns. This immediately begins dissolving dark veils.
2. Purification practices:
3. Protection verses: Recite the Mu'awwidhatayn (Surah Al-Falaq and An-Nas) daily to actively repel darkness.
4. Ruqyah for spiritual attacks: Use Jibril's healing formula and the mental healing protocol to clear spiritual darkness.
5. Emotional release work: Allow yourself to feel, process, and release trapped emotions through crying, journaling, or therapy combined with spiritual practice.
6. Light-bringing practices: Increase Qur'an recitation, dhikr (remembrance of God), and prayer—actively flooding your being with light.
Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani says: "When the attributes of darkness lift, light takes its place."
This is the pivotal moment in healing. When you've done the work of removing darkness, light naturally fills the space. You don't have to force it—light is the natural state when darkness is absent.
Signs the veils of darkness are lifting:
This is the most profound teaching: Even light can be a veil.
Once you've cleared darkness and entered states of spiritual light, you might think you've arrived. But Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani reveals that these lights—as beautiful and real as they are—still obscure something greater.
"He recognizes what he sees with the light of the Names of divine attributes. Then he himself is flooded by light and becomes light."
The veils of light are the divine attributes, names, and qualities that you experience:
Experiencing divine mercy (Ar-Rahman) is a veil of light—you're flooded with compassion, healing, and softness.
Experiencing divine power (Al-Qawiyy) is a veil of light—you feel strength, capability, and confidence.
Experiencing divine knowledge ('Aleem) is a veil of light—insights pour in, understanding deepens, wisdom emerges.
Experiencing divine beauty (Al-Jameel) is a veil of light—everything appears radiant, meaningful, interconnected.
These are real experiences. They are light. They are healing. But they are specific manifestations of the divine, not the totality of divine essence itself.
Many people reach this stage and stop:
But Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani teaches: "These lights are still veils hiding the light of the divine Essence."
True, complete healing requires moving beyond even these beautiful experiences to something deeper.
How to know you're at this stage:
The practice at this stage:
1. Non-attachment: Appreciate the beautiful experiences of divine attributes without clinging to them. They come and go by divine wisdom.
2. Continuous seeking: Don't settle for the light you've received. Always seek what lies beyond.
3. Deepening surrender: Let go of wanting specific divine manifestations. Surrender to whatever God wills to reveal.
4. Moving beyond concepts: Even your understanding of God's names becomes a veil. Practice experiencing without conceptualizing.
5. Service and selflessness: The veils of light often carry subtle ego ("Look at my spiritual experiences!"). Serve others humbly, making healing about them, not your attainments.
"The time comes when they too are drawn back, leaving only the light of the divine Essence itself."
This is the ultimate stage—beyond darkness, beyond even the lights of divine attributes, to the pure, unmediated light of divine essence itself.
At this level:
This is the station of the great saints and prophets. It's the ultimate goal of spiritual development.
Most seekers won't sustain this state constantly—it's the pinnacle of spiritual realization. But you can experience moments of it, and those moments are transformative:
In healing work: When you completely get out of the way and become pure channel, the healing that flows is unlike anything you can "do" yourself.
In prayer: When your consciousness merges with divine presence so completely that there's no separation between the one praying and the One being prayed to.
In crisis: When everything else is stripped away and you're face-to-face with pure divine reality—these moments often bring the most profound healing and transformation.
Complete surrender: Not partial, not conditional, but total yielding of your will to divine will.
Dying before death: Releasing attachment to the ego-self, its desires, its recognition, its achievements.
Constant remembrance: Living in such perpetual awareness of the divine that everything becomes worship.
Pure intention: All actions done purely for God, with no trace of seeking anything for yourself.
Absorption in divine love: Moving beyond fear and hope to pure, overwhelming love that consumes all else.
Stage 1 Work (Clearing Darkness):
Stage 2 Work (Moving Through Light):
Stage 3 Orientation (Seeking the Essence):
Assess the stage:
Meet them where they are:
Don't rush the process:Each stage has its timing. Trying to skip stages or rush creates problems. Honor the divine timing of each person's journey.
Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani's teaching reveals that healing is not:
Instead, healing is:
This means:
Your illness or struggle might be the darkness-veil that, when lifted, reveals tremendous light.
Your healing breakthrough might be a light-veil that, when transcended, reveals even deeper truth.
Your ultimate healing is merging with divine essence—becoming so illuminated that light flows through you to heal others.
Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani says: "Then he himself is flooded by light and becomes light."
The goal isn't just to receive healing—it's to become healing. Not just to experience light—but to become light.
When you become light:
This is the full realization of healing—not just fixing what's broken, but transforming into what you were always meant to be.
Begin where you are. If you're in darkness, work to lift those veils through repentance, purification, and light-bringing practices. If you're experiencing light, don't stop—keep seeking what lies beyond. If you catch glimpses of divine essence, surrender everything to remain there.
The journey through veils is the journey of healing. Each veil lifted is a layer of illness removed. Each stage reached is a degree of wholeness restored.
May God lift all veils from our hearts, illuminate us with His light, and make us sources of healing for ourselves and others. May we journey from darkness to light to the Light of lights. Ameen.
Before Nur Healing, I felt disconnected from my faith. The stress of everyday life was overwhelming, and I couldn't find peace in my prayers. Khalid's gentle guidance and the healing meditations have transformed my life. I now feel a deep sense of calm and spiritual connection that I never thought possible.
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