Himma as Spiritual Will
The aspiration’s object determines the person: In classical Islamic thought, what a person aspires to most deeply determines their spiritual station. The person whose himma is oriented toward material gain (wealth, status, pleasure) is spiritually low regardless of their external piety; the person whose himma is oriented toward divine proximity, toward knowing Allah, toward benefiting others — this is the elevated soul regardless of their worldly situation.
The Sufi high aspirants: The great Sufi masters are described as dhawi al-himam al-‘ulya (those of high aspirations) — they refused to settle for the lesser spiritual attainments when the highest were possible. Al-Bistami’s provocative statements, Ibn ‘Arabi’s intellectual ambition, Rumi’s passionate devotion — all expressions of himma oriented toward the divine.
See also: Tasawwuf, Al Marifat, Fana, Surah Al Ikhlas
Ibn ‘Arabi’s Technical Concept
Himma as causal power: Ibn ‘Arabi developed himma into a technical Sufi concept with real causal power: the ‘arif’s himma — their elevated, purified, God-oriented will — can influence events and beings in the world. This is not sorcery but the natural overflow of a soul that has aligned itself with the divine will: “The influence of a himma on its object is like the effect of the divine will on the possible.”
See also: Ibn Arabi, Al Marifat, Muraqaba, Tawil Esoteric Interpretation
Ismaili Himma — Aspiration Toward Walayah
The mumin’s highest aspiration: In Ismaili understanding, the mumin’s highest himma is directed toward the Imam — toward understanding the Imam’s ‘ilm, deepening walayah, living within the da’wa’s guidance, and eventually attaining the ma’rifa that the Imam’s proximity enables. A himma directed toward anything lower — mere material provision, social status, even conventional religious achievement — falls short of the mumin’s proper aspiration.
The Da’i as trainer of himma: The Da’i al-Mutlaq’s teaching function includes raising the mumin’s himma — redirecting aspirations from the worldly to the spiritual, from the zahir’s surface to the batin’s depth, from the merely conventional to the genuinely transformative.
See also: Understanding Walayah, Imamah, Wali Al Asr, Dai Al Mutlaq Institution, Al Marifat, Misaq The Covenant
See also: Tasawwuf, Al Marifat, Fana, Surah Al Ikhlas, Ibn Arabi, Muraqaba, Tawil Esoteric Interpretation, Understanding Walayah, Imamah, Wali Al Asr, Dai Al Mutlaq Institution, Misaq The Covenant