Question:

As-salamu Alaikum!

I’m interested in learning about how Chinese Muslims adapted Chinese Internal Martial Arts to Sufi (usually, I believe, Naqshbandi) practices. As a student of some of these arts (and the Japanese art Aikido) I’m interested in how concepts like ‘qi’ were translated in practice. I’ve found Sachiko Murata’s work in this regard especially helpful linguistically, however, I’m curious about the practical side of it.

(I also can’t help but notice more than a little resemblance between Ueshiba Morihei Osensei’s notion of “Ki” and ash-Shaykh al-Akbar‘s development of the principle of Nafs al-Rahman.)

Anyway, my question: do you know of any resources for researching this development? Particularly from a Naqshbandi perspective? On a MA nerd level: do you know of any Naqshbandi or other Sufi teachers teaching the Chinese Muslim IMA (Or Aikido, for that matter) within an Islamic context in the US?

Thank you!

Peace,

Answer:

wa `alaykum salam,

To begin with, special care must be taken with terminology. For example, the root n-f-s may pertain to a Divine Reality – in this instance, ar-Rahman – or to the human dimension of the soul. There should be no confusion between these two uses of similar words.

The soul of a culture finds expression in its traditional arts, that in turn provide its artists with methods for the cultivation of the individual soul. Now, it is especially through the martial arts that the breath is disciplined, as was mentioned in an earlier post. This is the domain of qi; but this is not the domain of spirituality. Concerning the martial arts of China specifically, the contribution of the Hui or Chinese Muslims is of course profound, and so it is possible to speak of forms that have been stamped by the characteristics of the Hui. But if the Hui have played an essential role in the transmission of the “internal” art of Hsing Yi, for example, this is still not a matter of adapting an art of the soul to take the place of a spiritual path.

Yet since the soul plays an intermediary role between the spirit and the body, it is not impossible for the spiritual to be embodied in the martial, for it is of course the example of the Prophet of Islam, peace and blessings be upon him. To take a Naqshbandi example, the great Sayyid Amir Kulal – may Allah sanctify his secret – was a master of the spiritual path and of wrestling, a martial art still practiced in Central Asia. Honored above all others in Islam, however, is the martial art of archery; remarkable in the present context is that the Hui look to the pir of archery – the Faris ul-Islam Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him – as the emissary of the Prophet to China. The spiritual dimension of archery is clearly established in the Traditions, and has been obvious enough to Zen Buddhists.

The case of Buddhism, however, is actually different, since the historical Buddha renounced the warrior education of his Kshatriya caste. Nevertheless, it was the Buddhist patriarch Bodhidharma who is held to have taught the monks of Shaolin their martial art. Here is an example of a martial art serving to prepare initiates for the discipline of spirituality. As with archery among Buddhists, it seems inappropriate to consider these arts as expressions in themselves of Buddhist spirituality, when the founder of that spirituality had renounced them. On the other hand, the role of Taoism in the Chinese martial arts is closer to the Islamic example, especially when considering the Taoist foundations of myriad “internal” forms, such as Tai Chi Chuan.

Even if martial arts are considered solely as preparation for the discipline of spirituality, the question must once again be raised as to their suitability to the path of Sufism. Specifically, how well do the Shinto foundations of Aikido accord with this path? Concerning Taoism, it is interesting at least to note that Hui scholars identify Fu Xi of Taoism as Japheth, the son of Noah, peace be upon them, and therefore belonging to the history of Islam. Concerning specific techniques, it may be observed that striking the face of the opponent is an effective method of fighting, and is widely practiced; but this is in clear violation of the order of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as recorded in the Sahih hadith. No doubt discipline (ridaya) must be in harmony with the Divine Pleasure (radiya); therefore your questioning after Sufi teachers is far from foolish.

There remains to be addressed the special case of Tan Tui among the Chinese martial arts, especially since it is sometimes traced to a legendary figure named “Chamir” from Eastern Turkestan. It is significant that the history of this figure is usually situated in the early 17^th century, that is, the very period when the spiritual heirs of Makhdum al-`Azam Ahmad Kasani – may Allah sanctify their secrets – introduced the Naqshbandi Order into China and Tibet from Eastern Turkestan. Tan Tui is said to have been composed originally of 28 “roads,” one for each letter of the Arabic alphabet, and that these were subsequently reduced to ten. Given the importance in Sufism of the Science of Letters, it seems likely that this practice had a Naqshbandi inspiration; yet with its reduction of “roads,” and with  its widespread popularity in variant forms, it also seems likely that the correspondences between “roads” and letters has been lost.

As mentioned in an earlier post, it is rather the Naqshbandi practitioners of Silat (including archery) who have preserved the knowledge of actualizing spiritual power within martial arts. The Nafas ar-Rahman is the source of the degrees of reality that correspond to the Arabic letters; if the nafs is disciplined in harmony with these letters, then surely it may be said of such a person: “He who knows his nafs, knows his Lord!”

Mahmoud Shelton