Ladder of Salvation for Your Fallen Soul
Feel disconnected from God? Uninspired? Can't connect with your Faith? How's your soul though? Taking care of your spark?
Salvific Ladder For Your Soul
The original poem (italicized text below) was composed by Khayāl ‘Aly on October 9, 2024. The Q&A format of this article, along with some edits to the poem, was completed on July 1, 2025.
“Why do I feel so uninspired and disconnected from my faith and from God? Do I just have a bad soul?”
“You should know that your soul’s essence is heavenly, and by its very nature, your noble soul is alive. But by the time you’re mature enough to read this, most likely your poor soul has already taken a dive.”
“What exactly do you mean when you say my soul has taken a dive? How? And what can be done about that now if that has happened?”
“Unfortunately, the majority of human souls get attracted and overattached to physical matter. Once this accidental tragedy actually happens, one must pray to locate a sacred and salvific ladder.”
“I'm assuming you’re using the word ‘ladder’ metaphorically — that I need to find a spiritual teacher or enlightened guide who can help my soul break free from its attachment to the physical world. So, once I find a true guide, I’ll be able to transcend the lower, corporeal world, and my soul will be okay?”
“Indeed, you will still need to put in the requisite effort, even after you find a real teacher to guide you. If you are now hoping to restore your primordial form, make sure your spark doesn’t die while it’s still inside you.”
“That sounds serious. I don’t want my soul or my spark to die. I do feel that longing to discover something more, to feel better, more connected to my soul and to my Lord. I think I should read and learn more about this now while I still have the chance….”
The Poem’s Inspiration: Epistles of the Brethren of Purity
“You should know that your soul’s essence is heavenly,
and by its very nature, your noble soul is alive.
But by the time you’re mature enough to read this,
most likely your poor soul has already taken a dive.”
The poem “Salvific Ladder for Your Soul” was inspired by an excerpt from Epistle 29 of the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ), specifically the section titled “On the Defects of the Body and Its Analogies.” This passage explores the nature of the human soul and warns of the spiritual danger that arises when one neglects the soul’s reality and wellbeing in favor of excessive attachment to the physical body.
Know, O my brother, that the soul’s essence is a heavenly essence; its realm is a spiritual one. It is by its very nature alive, needing neither food nor drink, clothing nor dwelling nor anything comparable to what the body needs to support its existence and the stuff of its continuance.
Earlier in the same section, the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ write:
There is [an] analogy for this particular soul with its noble essence, in the exile that besets it in this world under the sway of coming-to-be and passing-away, and the manner in which this body’s troubles and the corruption of its matter afflict it: it [i.e., the noble soul] is like a wise and good man in a land of exile who is tormented by a love for a frivolous and shameless woman — an ignorant, immoral woman, vicious by nature, who in her depraved appetites constantly demands tasty foods, elegant drinks, sumptuous clothes and a luxuriously adorned house.
Now if that sage, so harshly tried by his love for her (even while his torment is intensified by consorting with her), directs all his zeal toward reforming her condition and redoubles his concern for rectifying her condition and improving her conduct — to the point that he forgets his very self and taking care of it, as well as [forgetting] his hometown from which he departed, the relatives with whom he grew up, and the pleasure he used to have — [then] it is as though he were linked to a purposeful demon and an outright enemy. It is as God the Exalted says, ‘Children of Adam! Do not let Satan seduce you — as he did your parents, causing them to leave the Garden’ (Qur’ān 7:27).
— Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ, Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (Epistle 29), translated by Eric Ormsby, 67-68.1
The Brethren of Purity on the Purity of the Soul
For those—like the imagined interlocutor engaged with the verses of the poem above—who wish to deepen their understanding of the noble human soul, and of the spiritual peril that arises when one forgets, and thereby neglects, the soul’s reality and wellbeing in favor of corporeal attachments, the following excerpt—also from the Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ—offers valuable insight.
Epistles of the Brethren of Purity, Epistle 43: On the Nature of the Path to God2
In the Name of God the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
It was from the grace of His [i.e. God’s] mercy, extreme generosity, and complete beneficence that He selected a group of His servants, He chose them and drew them near Him, and He intimately conversed with them, and unveiled to them the hidden content of His knowledge and His unseen mysteries.
Then He sent them [i.e., the individuals from this selected group] to [the rest of] His servants in order to invite them toward Him and to His vicinity, and report to them about the hidden content of His mysteries so that they [could] arise from the sleep of ignorance and awaken from the slumber of heedlessness, and live the life of men of learning; live the life of the fortunate ones and reach the perfection of existence in the realm of eternity as it has been mentioned in His Scriptures and described in the languages of His messengers, may the peace of God be upon them.
For He said, … ‘Lo! God chose Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of ʿImrān above all people’ [Qurʾān, 3:33]; and, ‘God sent the messengers as bearers of glad tidings and as warners, and with them He sent the Book’ [Qurʾān, 2:213]; and ‘God calls to the Abode of Peace and guides whom He wills to a straight path’ [Qurʾān, 10:26]. Know, O brethren—may God assist you and us with a spirit from Him—that it is not possible to arrive there except by two characteristic factors: one is the purity of the soul (nafs), and the other is the straightness of the path.
As for the purity of the soul, that is because it is the essence of the human being’s substance. Verily, the noun ‘human being’ applies to soul and body. As for the body, it is this visible corpse which is composed of flesh, blood, bones, blood-vessels, nerves, skin, etc. All these are earthly masses which are dark, heavy, mutable, and corruptible. As for the soul, it is is a substance which is celestial, spiritual, living, luminous, subtle, dynamic, incorruptible, cognizant and perceptive to the forms of things. Its likeness in perceiving the forms of existent things which are sensible and intelligible is that of a mirror. If the mirror is proper in shape, and its surface is polished, then you see the forms of physical things in their reality [i.e., as they truly are], but if the mirror is crooked [i.e., distorted] in shape, then the forms of physical things are seen other than what they actually are. Also, if the surface of the mirror is rusty, then nothing at all will be seen in it.
The situation of the soul is also like that. If it is learned, and ignorance is not accumulated in it, if it is pure in substance, not defiled by evil deeds, if it is clear in its essence [or self], untarnished by vile character-traits, if its aspiration is sound and has not swerved by corrupted opinions, then it will see in itself the spiritual forms of things which are in its realm. Then it will perceive them by their realities [i.e., as they truly are] and will witness the matters hidden from its senses by its intellect and purity of its substance, [just] as it witnesses the physical things by its senses if the senses are sound and wholesome.
On the other hand, if the soul is ignorant, impure in [its] substance, defiled by evil acts, or stained by evil character traits, crooked due to base opinions, and persists in that state, then it will remain veiled from perceiving the truths of spiritual things and will be incapable of reaching God the Exalted. [As a consequence,] the blessings of the other world will be missed by it, as God the Exalted said, ‘Nay! Most surely they will be veiled from their Lord on that Day’ [Qurʾān, 83:15].
Know, O brethren—may God assist you and us with a spirit from Him—that the veil [of the soul] from its Lord is its ignorance about its substance, its realm, its origin and return. Its ignorance is due to the stain which has accumulated on its essence from its evil actions and ugly deeds, as the Blessed and Exalted said, ‘Nay, but what they used to acquire is rust over their hearts’ [Qurʾān, 83:14]. As for its crookedness [i.e. distortion], that is due to its corrupted opinions and vile character-traits, as God the Exalted said, ‘When they deviated, God made their hearts deviate’ [Qurʾān, 61:5].
Know, O brethren—may God assist you with a spirit from Him—that as long as the soul continues to have these [evil] characteristics, it can neither see itself [i.e. its essence], nor will there be reflected in its essence [or in itself] those beautiful, eminent, delightful, and pleasant things which are in its realm, as described by God when He said, ‘Therein [i.e., in the garden of paradise] will be what the souls desire and [wherein] the eyes will delight, and you will abide in it forever’ [Qurʾān, 43:71], and ‘No soul knows what coolness of the eyes is hidden for them, a reward for what they did’ [Qurʾān, 32:17].
Know, O brethren—may God assist you with His Spirit—that so long as the souls do not witness those things, they will not aspire for them, nor will they seek nor yearn for them, and so will remain as if they were blind, as God the Exalted said, ‘For surely it is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts which are in the chests’ [Qurʾān, 22:46]. Know, O brethren—may God assist you with His Spirit—that if the soul remains blind to matters of its realm, and the comprehension of its substance is concealed from it, it thereupon becomes preoccupied with the physical objects of its senses and becomes immersed in them, forgetting itself and deluding itself that it has no existence except in these circumstances that it is in, in the realm of this lower world. So it thereupon becomes intent on remaining in this [lower, physical] world and desires to be in it eternally. It will be pleased and satisfied [here]. As a consequence, it would forgo the next world and forget everything concerning the Return [to God], as God the Exalted mentioned, ‘Those who do not hope for the meeting with Us and are satisfied with the life of this world, trusting in it’ [Qurʾān, 10:7]; and ‘They are in despair of the next world as the unbelievers are in despair of those in the graves’ [Qurʾān, 60:13].
Then if it [i.e. the soul of such a person] is reminded of the divine statement which came through the tongues of His messengers, peace be upon them, nothing is remembered by it, as God the Exalted said, ‘And when they are reminded, they do not remember’ [Qurʾān, 37:13]. So it would remain in its blindness, ignorance, and transgression till death, and would be persistent in arrogance as if it did not hear [God’s guidance]. And when the agony of death comes, which is the separation of soul from body and giving up the use of the body, then it [i.e. such a soul] grudgingly separates from it and will remain in that state, deprived of the use of the body and perception of sensibles. Then it would return to itself in order to advance, but the advancement [i.e., rising up] would not be possible for it due to the weight of the heavy load of its evil deeds and abominable habits, as God the Exalted said, ‘They will bear their burdens on their back — is not what they bear evil?’ [Qurʾān, 6:31].
Then it becomes clear to it [i.e., such a soul] that the sensorial pleasures which it enjoyed by means of the body have abandoned it, and the intellectual pleasures which were in its realm [of spiritual realities] were not obtained by it. It then becomes apparent to it that ‘it has lost both this world and the next, and that is a clear loss!’ [Qurʾān, 22:11].
Here ends the first section on encouraging the refining of the soul and the improvement of morals.
“He indeed is successful
who purified it (i.e., their soul),
and he indeed failed
who buried it in debauchery.”
« Qur’ān 91:9-10 »
Living Ladder of Spiritual Salvation
“Unfortunately, the majority of human souls
get attracted and overattached to physical matter.
Once this accidental tragedy actually happens,
one must pray to locate a sacred and salvific ladder.”
As both the poem and its title suggest, it is essential to recognize and make use of a salvific ladder — embodied in the form of a living spiritual teacher or guide (murshid) — whose guidance, when sincerely followed, leads to the soul’s ultimate salvation. This principle lies at the heart of the Shīʿī understanding of Imāmat, particularly within the Ismāʿīlī spiritual tradition. Reflecting this truth, the Fāṭimid Imām Mawlānā al-Mustanṣir bi’llāh⁽ᶜ⁾ refers to Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī⁽ᶜ⁾—the rightful successor to the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ and the first Shīʿī Imām—as the “ladder of salvation” (sullam an-najāt):
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
[All] praise to God, the One who aids those who help truth come into its own from among his truth-establishing servants; who reserves the Hereafter for the pious ones, those who cleave to the rope of His elects, those to whom He has granted success.
The Commander of the Faithful [i.e., Imām al-Mustanṣir bi’llāh⁽ᶜ⁾ himself] praises Him, the praising of those who are vigilant from fear of Him, apprehensive. He asks Him to [shower] blessings upon his grandfather, the most honored of the eloquent speakers and bringers of His revelation, Muḥammad, whom God addressed in private dialogue, with His words “Worship God until conviction comes to you” (Qur’ān 15:99).
And upon his brother, his legatee, his cousin, the ladder of salvation (sullam an-najāt) for those who would climb, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, the spirit of life (rūḥ al-ḥayāt) for those who would breathe.
And upon the Imams from their line, who are [adorned with] the bracelets and necklace of the honor of the Imamate.
— Imām al-Mustanṣir bi’llāh⁽ᶜ⁾, quoted in Tahera Qutbuddin, Al-Mu’ayyad al-Shīrāzī and Fatimid Da‘wa Poetry, 3833
Likewise, in the following verse, the chief dā‘ī Sayyidnā al-Muʾayyad fi’l-Dīn al-Shīrāzī—one of the foremost exponents of the ḥikmah (wisdom) tradition in Fāṭimid Ismāʿīlism—describes the Imams as the sullam (ladder) by which humble muʾminīn (believers) ascend to Paradise:
“[The Imams] are a ladder (sullam)
by which one can ascend
to the heavens,
therefore, whosoever comes
to them in submission (mustaslim),
will be safe (salim).”
— Dā‘ī al-Muʾayyad fi’l-Dīn Shīrāzī
(Quoted in Tahera Qutbuddin,
Al-Mu’ayyad al-Shīrāzī and Fatimid Da‘wa Poetry, 171)
Interestingly, as some may have noticed in al-Muʾayyad’s verse above, he employs the Qur’ānic term sullam (ladder) alongside two closely related words: mustaslim (one who places themselves in a state of complete submission) and salim (to be safe or secure). These terms are not only conceptually linked, but also linguistically interconnected. Indeed, they, along with several others—such as islām (surrender, peace), taslīm (submission), muslim (one who submits), salīm (sound, whole, healthy), and salām (peace, safety, security)—all derive from the same Arabic triliteral root: sīn–lām–mīm (س–ل–م). As we explore further below, this shared root points to a constellation of meanings that center on the notions of surrender, soundness, and salvation:
The general meaning of salāmatī are soundness, good health, protection, life, intactness, well-being, peace, safety, security, etc., and its specific meanings are spiritual help (taʾyīd) and conversation (mukālamah), submission, to be in God’s protection, eternal life and to know the secret of monoreality.
In the wise Qurʾān the original word for salāmatī is salām, which is derived from the [Arabic] root letters sīn-lām-mīm. Therefore, all such Qurʾānic words which are derived from this root, are related to the subject of salāmatī. We find many meanings in the Qurʾān concerning this subject. One such word is musallamah, which in the verse (2:71) is used in the sense of sound, unimpaired, unblemished, flawless; and in the verse (4:92) in the sense of resigned, surrendered, submitted, therefore, we come to know definitely that soundness and submission are both included in the meanings of salām and salāmatī.
— ‘Allāmah Hunzai, Precious Treasure, 66.4
With this explanation in mind, the Qurʾānic use of sullam takes on added symbolic depth. The sullam (ladder) represents not merely a means of vertical ascent but a path of inner transformation and spiritual elevation. It is the instrument by which a practicing muslim—particularly a faithful beliver (mu’min) who has entered a state of total submission (taslīm)5—is raised from a state of spiritual peril to one of divine safety (salim) and everlasting peace (salām).
This symbolism is further elaborated in the teachings of the Ismāʿīlī ‘ārif ʿAllāmah Hunzai. In his Book of Healing—a work composed for esoterically inclined Muslims and spiritually awakened seekers, Ismāʿīlī or otherwise—draws richly on Qurʾānic verses and Sufi concepts to unveil the hidden function of the sullam. In his view, this Qur’ānic “ladder” not only symbolizes the path of ascension, but also represents the Perfect Human Being (Insān-i Kāmil), whose realization facilitates the journey toward ultimate union with the Divine:
In [Qurʾānic] verses 28:88; 55:26-27, there is the wisdom-filled allusion to merging in God (fanāʾ fi’llāh). It is true that the means of merging in the Absolute Light is the Ṣūfic merging, which besides these verses is also mentioned in other verses of the holy Qurʾān.
Another Qurʾānic name of ladder is sullam (6:35; 52:38). It is called sullam because, man reaches the higher (world) with safety through it (Lughatu'l-Qurʾān, III, 226). This is its literal analysis. Now, on the basis of this example, we can say that there is also a heavenly (spiritual) ladder, which is the means of ascending towards the real health and peace, which is the level of merging in God [i.e., fanāʾ fi’llāh]. Merging in God has many synonyms, or explanations, such as, to merge in the truth, to enter the abode of peace [dāru’s-salām] (10:25), which is Paradise, to attain the hidden treasure through the recognition of God, be martyred in the love of God and become immortal (57:19), to go to the presence of God all alone (6:94), to return unto God (2:156), ascent of the angels and Spirit (70:4) and according to a sacred Ḥadīth, God becoming the ear, eye, etc, of His close servant. All these realities are related to annihilation in God [fanāʾ fi’llāh].
The subtle existence of Ādam⁽ᶜ⁾ and human beings is a unique thing. Even if you use all the similitudes of the world to explain whatever is unique, they will still fall short. As water does not have a fixed form of its own, therefore it will have as many different forms as the different containers in which it is poured. Thus, one of the innumerable examples of man is a ladder. That is, the Perfect Man in actuality, and every ordinary human being potentially, are like a ladder, which is set up to climb to the heaven of spirituality. Certainly in this sense it is said that God, the Blessed, the Exalted, is the Lord of the ladders (70:3). This becomes known to a sālik [spiritual wayfarer] only when he attains the practical recognition of the three mergings (i.e., merging in the murshid [true guide], merging in the Prophet and merging in God).
— ‘Allāmah Hunzai, Book of Healing, 106-107.6
In his Gems of Qurʾānic Knowledge and Wisdom—a work written specifically for Ismāʿīlī seekers progressing on the path of gnosis (maʿrifah)—ʿAllāmah Hunzai affirms and extends the teaching of Imām al-Mustanṣir bi’llāh⁽ᶜ⁾: that Ḥaḍrat ʿAlī⁽ᶜ⁾ is the sullam al-najāt (ladder of salvation). As the ʿĀrif-i Kāmil (Perfect Gnostic) of our time, ʿAllāmah Hunzai applies this principle to the present living Imām and identifies the light (nūr) of Imāmat as the means of spiritual resurrection (rūḥānī qiyāmah).
Certainly every spiritual resurrection through the light of Imamāt is the ladder of the heaven of the Sacred Sanctuary. The fact is that in all times the pure light of the Imām works as the ladder of the heaven of recognition. Undoubtedly, the exalted Imām is the ladder of salvation (sullamu’n-najāt). It means that the ladder of spiritual resurrection and the salvation of hereafter is attained [only] through the holy light of the living and present true Imām.
A wisdom-filled example of sullam (ladder) is present in sūrah-yi Ṭūr (52:38).
— ‘Allāmah Hunzai, Gems of Qurʾānic Knowledge and Wisdom, part 59.7
Extinguish Not Thy Spark!
“Indeed, you will still need to put in the requisite effort,
even after you find a real teacher to guide you.
If you are now hoping to restore your primordial form,
make sure your spark doesn’t die while it’s still inside you.”
Although the human soul—described by the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ as “by its very nature alive”—cannot literally die (at least not in the way “death” is normally conceived), what is referred to in the poem as one’s “spark” can, according to Mawlānā Imām Sulṭān Muḥammad Shāh⁽ᶜ⁾—one of the blessed living ladders of salvation, with whom we bring this poem commentary and exhortation to a close—be extinguished if it is not properly cared for and spiritually nourished:
“The healthy human body is the temple in which the flame of the Holy Spirit burns…. Prayer is a daily necessity, a direct communication of the spark with the universal flame.
[…] All carry in them a spark of the Divine light. Everyone should strive his best to see that this spark be not extinguished but rather developed to that full “Companionship-on-High” which was the vision expressed in the last words of the Prophet.…” (Memoirs, 176).
“It is my profound conviction that man must never ignore and leave untended and undeveloped that spark of the Divine which is in him. The way to personal fulfilment, to individual reconciliation with the Universe that is about us, is comparatively easy for anyone who firmly and sincerely believes, as I do, that Divine Grace has given man in his own heart the possibilities of illumination and of union with Reality” (Memoirs, 334).
— Imām Sulṭān Muḥammad Shāh, The Memoirs of Aga Khan, 176, 334.8
Ya ‘Ali Madad,
Khayāl ‘Aly
July 8, 2025
khayal.aly@gmail.com
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“Had a spark when you started, but now you're just garbage.
Fell from top ten to not mentioned at all.
To your bodyguard's Oochie Wally verse better than yours.”
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Footnotes
Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ, Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’ (Epistle 29), trans. Eric Ormsby, Epistles of the Brethren of Purity: On Life, Death, and Languages (Oxford: Oxford University Press in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2021), 67-68.
The translation of this epistle was reconstructed using two existing English translations of Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Epistle 43):
Latimah Parvin Peerwani’s translation in An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia, vol. 2: Ismaili Thought in the Classical Age, edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Mehdi Aminrazavi, with the assistance of M.R. Jozi (London: I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2008), 228–30;
Toby Mayer’s translation in Epistles of the Brethren of Purity: On Companionship and Belief, edited by Samer Traboulsi, Toby Mayer, and Ian Richard Netton (Oxford: Oxford University Press in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2016), 29–32.
Tahera Qutbuddin, Al-Mu’ayyad al-Shīrāzī and Fāṭimid Da‘wa Poetry: A Case of Commitment in Classical Arabic Literature (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 383
‘Allāmah Naṣīr al-Dīn Naṣīr Hunzai, Ganj-i Girān-Māyah, trans. Faquir Muhammad Hunzai and Rashida Noormohamed-Hunzai, Precious Treasure (London: Institute for Spiritual Wisdom and Luminous Science, 2017), 65.
Qur’ān 4:65: “By your Lord, they will not truly believe (yu‘minūna) until they let you [O Muḥammad] decide between them in all matters of dispute, and find no resistance in their souls to your decisions, and surrender (yusallimū) in total submission (taslīm).”
‘Allāmah Naṣīr al-Dīn Naṣīr Hunzai, Kitāb-i Ilāj, trans. Faquir Muhammad Hunzai and Rashida Noormohamed-Hunzai, Book of Healing (London: Institute for Spiritual Wisdom and Luminous Science, Revised Edition, 2022), 106-107.
‘Allāmah Naṣīr al-Dīn Naṣīr Hunzai, Qur’ānī ‘Ilm-ū Ḥikmat kē Jawāhir, trans. Azeem Ali Lakhani, Gems of Qurʾānic Knowledge and Wisdom (London: Institute for Spiritual Wisdom and Luminous Science, 59.
Imām Sulṭān Muḥammad Shāh Aga Khan III, The Memoirs of Aga Khan: World Enough and Time (London: Cassel and Co. Ltd., 1954), 176, 334.
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