Sayyidī Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Jaʿfarī (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) gives seventeen reflections on the phrase from al-Ṣalāt al-ʿAẓīmiyya of Sayyidī Aḥmad ibn Idrīs (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu): “and join him with me, just as You joined the spirit with the soul, outwardly and inwardly, in wakefulness and in sleep.”
He explains this “joining” as a profound spiritual connection to our Master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, through which the seeker receives purification, rectification, knowledge, wisdom, mercy, protection, illumination, good character, uprightness and spiritual guidance.
Among its meanings are that the Muhammadan light helps the rūḥ overcome the darkness and desires of the nafs, that connection to the Prophet ﷺ is a means of protection and spiritual refinement, and that the seeker is nourished by his ﷺ knowledge, wisdom, compassion and mercy.
Sayyidī Shaykh Ṣāliḥ (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) also describes this joining as a means of receiving glad tidings, warning from disobedience, illumination of the heart, noble character and steadfastness upon the straight path. Through it, the murīd seeks to become deeply attached to the Prophetic way outwardly and inwardly, in worship, character, knowledge and spiritual perception.
At its highest level, this joining points towards complete orientation to Allah through the Muhammadan path: seeing no independence in oneself, remaining firm upon obedience, and receiving spiritual knowledge and transformation through attachment to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The seventeen reflections therefore present al-Ṣalāt al-ʿAẓīmiyya not simply as a formula of ṣalawāt, but as a prayer for profound spiritual companionship with the Prophet ﷺ—one that purifies the seeker, forms his character, strengthens his faith and leads him towards knowledge of Allah.
17 reflections on the phrase
- This is a joining of rectification, as the ruh (soul) rectifies the nafs (ego) after their joining. Allah says, “Successful is the one who purifies it.” (Quran 91:9) From the meanings of this, and Allah knows best, is successful is the one who purifies his nafs by his ruh when the lights of his ruh overcome his desires for the darkness of the ego and its passions.
- A joining that protects from punishment as Allah says, “Allah will not punish them while you are among them.” From the meaning of this, and Allah knows best, while you are with them, just like His saying, “among you is the Messenger of Allah,” meaning with you is the Messenger of Allah, and this general ‘with-ness’ includes the forms of joining which has come to you previously.
- The joining of knowledge and wisdom, as Allah says, “He teaches them the book and the wisdom.” (Quran 2:129). This is obtained by means of the Muhammadan Light. My shaykh, Shaykh al-Shanqiti, said, “The Bedouin coming from the desert would see the light of the face of the Prophet ﷺ, then they would speak with wisdom.” The Shaykh then mentioned a line of poetry from the scholars of Shinqit praising the companions of the Prophet ﷺ: “The light of the Prophet enriched them from denigration…The well-bred horses are not like the lame mules”. The Sufis say, from this aspect, is the question of the Bedouin to the Prophet ﷺ about his camel, should he leave it untethered and rely on Allah or tether it and rely on Allah? By means of the Muhammadan light he knew how to ask and [understood] that whether taking the means or not taking the means, neither are free from reliance upon Allah.
- The joining of purification as Allah says, “and purify them.” From the meanings of this, and Allah knows best, is purification of the ruh by the ruh, in the realms of pre-eternal joining which he remembers.
- The joining of Prophetic avidity for the ruh of the believer and it is general and specific. The intention here is specific, especially for those who have taken the Ahmadiyya spiritual path, such that their shaykh (Sh. Ahmad ibn Idris) has turned over the responsibility of care, spiritual upbringing, refinement, guidance, concern and preservation to the Prophet ﷺ. Perhaps, this is the unique quality of this tariqa, which is why it’s founder (sh. Ahmad ibn Idris) says: “This tariqa of ours is the Muhammadan Tariqa…This tariqa of ours is the Book and the Sunna.”
- The joining of value, and it is the primary point, by means of joining with the most precious ﷺ. He is the most perfect, the most excellent, the most virtuous, the most beautiful, the most knowledgeable, the most noble, the most honorable, the loftiest, the bravest, the most beneficial, the kindest, the most scrupulous, the most righteous, the best, the purist, the gentleness, the first, the last, and all of this enters in the meaning of His statement , “from the best of you” (Quran 9:128) based on the reading with a ‘fattah’ on the ‘fa’.
- The joining of honor based on the meaning of His statement “There has come to you a messenger from yourselves, weighty (azeez)…” from the meanings of “azeez” is that he ﷺ has no peer and that he is the one who cannot be overcome. The one who obtains this joining surpasses the peers of his time and no enemy will overcome him by Allah’s permission.
- The joining of the Muhammadan kindness, which is in His statement, “With the believers he is kind,” so the Muhammadan kindness engulfs him and there is no comparison for the Muhammadan kindness in this worldly creation.
- The joining of mercy which is in His statement, “With the believers he is kind and merciful.” Quran 9:128. Also, in His saying, “So by mercy from Allah, you were lenient with them.” This is a special mercy, as for the general mercy it’s in His statement, “We have not sent you except as a mercy to all the worlds.” So, he joins with you in the joining of two mercies, general and special. And he encompasses you like two wings of a bird flying with them in the wondrous, amazing gardens of the blessed breezes of the Muhammadan mercy. Just as our shaykh, Abu’l Mu’ali, the father of Abdul ‘Aali, possessor of precious knowledge, al-Sayyid Ahmad ibn Idris, indicated to in his saying, “He is the tongue of the mercy of my essence, as for me, he recites in every direction of the creation the verse of unrestricted divine mercy.” “My mercy encompasses everything.” (Quran 7:156)
- The joining of witnessing, as he ﷺ is the witness for you on the Day of Judgement of your obedience and good deeds, and they are the greatest witnesses on your behalf.
- The joining of glad tidings which you obtain from him ﷺ in every joining, whether in a state of wakefulness or sleep. This glad tiding is special for those who Allah has said about them, “For them is glad tidings in this life and the hereafter.” (Quran 10:64). As for the general glad tiding, it is in His saying, “Give the believers glad tidings, that for them is a great bounty from Allah.”. And in His saying “Give glad tidings to My servants, those who hear a statement and follow the best of it.” (Quran 39:17-18). So, the general and special glad tidings will be with you, elevating you, removing the thirst by the arrival of the sweet watering spring.
- The joining of warning which is in His statement, “a warner” (Quran 33:46). The light of his majesty will warn you from disobeying his statements. He ﷺ is the possessor of the encompassing beauty and majesty, as my master Umar b. al-Farid says, “His beauty is the veil for his majesty …He loves and finds sweetness there.”
- The joining of illumination, which illumines your heart and is lit by his lamp. That is in His statement “an illuminating lamp” (Quran 33:47), meaning the extinguished lamps of the hearts are lit by his lamp. And by it, the earth of your body shines by the light of its Lord as Sh. Ahmad ibn Idris says, “The earth of my body shines by the light of its Lord and He places the Book which Allah has not left out anything from it of essential theophanies,” and this book, is not recited except by means of the Muhammadan light. And the meaning here is spiritual knowledge (al-ilm al-ladunni) through the Muhammadan means.
- The joining of the tremendous character, as in His saying “Indeed you are of a tremendous character.” (Quran 68:4). The one who joins with his tremendous character, that which he earns of good character, flows from him ﷺ like the diffusion of water in the branches of the tree. By that he will be characterized with the Muhammadan Mustafawiyyan character.
- The joining of Divine allegiance as in His saying, “Indeed those who pledged allegiance with you have only pledged allegiance with Allah, Allah’s hand is over their hands.” (Quran 48:15). He obtains for you the virtue of allegiance whenever you shake his hand in any one of the types of joining. Here is the experiential witnessing for the masters of hearts. This is only comprehended by hearts, not written in papers. It only descends from the Master of creation onto the hearts of those who He is pleased with. As this is a protected secret and a guarded treasure. It is the secret of His saying, “Indeed those who pledged allegiance with you have only pledged allegiance with Allah,” meaning it is as if you pledged allegiance with Allah.
- The joining of uprightness (istiqama), which is in His statement, “So go straight, as you have been commanded, (you) and whoever repents with you, and do not be inordinate…” So, the secret of uprightness is obtained for you by the Muhammadan path without any deviation and no excessiveness. The meaning here is as the Precious Qutb, as-Sayyid Ahmad ibn Idris, has said, “so that I am on a firm footing which doubt does not cause it to waver from any angle.”
- He obtains the joining of realizing the theophanies in actions, which is in His saying “It was not you who threw, when you threw, but it was Allah Who threw.” (Quran 8:17) As our beloved shaykh as-Sayyid Ahmad ibn Idris said [in a supplication], “so that I don’t see in myself, anything, or in no-thing other than You.”
“And join him with me, just as You joined the spirit with the soul…”
This phrase from al-Ṣalāt al-ʿAẓīmiyya is remarkable because it asks for more than love of our Master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the abstract. It asks Allah for a connection so deep, so constant and so inwardly formative that the Prophet ﷺ becomes inseparable from the seeker’s spiritual life — outwardly and inwardly, in wakefulness and in sleep.
The comparison with the joining of the rūḥ and the nafs is especially profound.
The spirit is not merely beside the human being. It gives life to him. Its presence reaches throughout him. In the same way, the supplication asks that attachment to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ should not remain something external — a name upon the tongue, a subject studied in books, or an emotion felt only at particular moments.
It asks for that attachment to penetrate the whole person.
To shape how he thinks.
How he worships.
How he speaks.
How he treats others.
How he responds to difficulty.
How he understands Allah.
And how he travels towards Him.
This helps explain why Sayyidī Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Jaʿfarī (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) unfolds so many meanings from a single phrase. If the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the teacher of the Book and Wisdom, the mercy sent to the worlds, the illuminating lamp, the possessor of tremendous character and the guide to the straight path, then asking Allah to “join him with me” is asking to receive something of the fruits of all these Prophetic realities.
The seeker is asking:
Let his guidance correct me.
Let his light illuminate me.
Let his mercy soften me.
Let his character refine me.
Let his teaching make me wise.
Let his way make me upright.
The joining is therefore not simply about closeness as an experience.
It is about transformation through closeness.
The strongest evidence of attachment to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is not an extraordinary state, but the extent to which his Sunna begins to appear in the servant’s life.
If attachment to him ﷺ is real, the heart should become more merciful.
The tongue should become more truthful.
Worship should become more sincere.
Character should become more beautiful.
Knowledge should lead to humility.
And obedience to Allah should become more beloved.
This is why the phrase includes both “outwardly and inwardly.”
The outward cannot be abandoned for the inward.
Nor can the inward be neglected while outward forms remain.
Outwardly, the seeker follows the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in worship, conduct and obedience.
Inwardly, he seeks his love, sincerity, reliance upon Allah, mercy, humility and purity of heart.
The complete Muhammadan way joins the two.
The phrase also asks for this connection “in wakefulness and in sleep.”
At its simplest and safest meaning, this expresses totality.
The seeker does not want his attachment to the Prophet ﷺ to exist only during formal acts of devotion.
He asks Allah that it accompany him throughout his existence.
When awake, his choices are shaped by the Prophetic way.
When he rests, the heart remains filled with love and remembrance.
When conscious of his spiritual state, he turns towards the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
And even when he is not consciously striving, he asks Allah that this attachment remain rooted within him.
There is also a beautiful humility in the wording.
The seeker does not say:
“I will join myself to him.”
He says, in meaning:
“O Allah, join him with me.”
The connection itself is sought from Allah.
The transformation is from Allah.
The light is from Allah.
The guidance is from Allah.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the supreme means of guidance, mercy and teaching, but Allah is the One Who grants the seeker the benefit of that connection.
This protects the supplication from becoming self-reliant spiritual ambition.
The seeker does not claim a station.
He asks for a gift.
Perhaps this is one of the deepest lessons in the reflections of Sayyidī Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Jaʿfarī (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu).
The purpose of attachment to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is ultimately not to become preoccupied with one’s own spiritual experiences.
It is to become more completely a servant of Allah.
The more deeply the Prophetic light enters a person’s life, the more firmly that person should stand upon tawḥīd, obedience, mercy, knowledge, sincerity and uprightness.
The destination remains Allah.
And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the one through whom we learned how to travel to Him.
So when the seeker recites:
“And join him with me, just as You joined the spirit with the soul, outwardly and inwardly, in wakefulness and in sleep,”
he is asking for far more than proximity.
He is asking Allah to make the Messenger of Allah ﷺ so present within his faith, knowledge, worship, character and spiritual orientation that the Prophetic way becomes woven into the very fabric of his life.
It is a prayer that love becomes following.
That following becomes character.
That character becomes illumination.
And that illumination leads the servant, with humility and sincerity, towards Allah Most High.