​The Enneagram - in the sufi way -
The Enneagram is an extraordinarily up-to-date method of knowing the soul. It is the discovery of a cartography of the soul which is presented through 9 types of behaviors, which are fixations, somatic, emotional or mental. In psychology, we would speak of compulsions, fixed and repetitive automatisms. These 9 compulsive behaviors, called ennea-types, are egotic veils that condition us, mask our intimate essence and limit our fulfillment. Nevertheless, these tendencies are sufficiently recognizable to be identified, named, overcome in their negative aspects, and then turned into their corresponding positive aspects. Indeed, in a second step, it appears to us with joy that as Sheikh al akbar Ibn arabi says: "inna dâi, dawa'", "the disease can be the basis of the remedy". The compulsive tendency is only the inversion of a spiritual predisposition that is not well understood, not well "decoded" by our conscience. It called us to a spiritual service that defines our place in the community of men, but we did not understand the call because of this distortion in the understanding and the look caused by the egotic veils.
Authorized by his master Sheikh Nazim, Sheikh Amanullah, has also perfected this science of the soul with great masters from India. He organizes conferences around the world as well as workshops and weekends around the Enneagram in the sufi way.
The 9 masks of the ego as found in psychology
The 9 enneatypes : the masks or compulsions
1 : Perfectionist
In a relationship, the 1 seeks to be as perfect as possible. Attached to doing the right thing, they expect the same rigor and effort from others that they impose on themselves. They judge themselves and others.
​2 : Helper
The 2 is always available to help the important people in his life. They are present, helpful, compassionate and warm. They seek to please and be liked and approved of, even indispensable.
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3 : Achiever
The 3 loves and knows how to convince. He is enthusiastic and sure of himself. He expects from others the same optimism, the same involvement and the same efficiency as he does...
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4 : Romantic individualist
The 4 does not believe that he can make understand what he feels with words. So, he practices a symbolic communication (painting, poetry, music...).
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5 : Observer
The 5 doesn't talk much because he is afraid of not knowing enough and of looking like a fool. On the other hand, he has an excellent listening quality. He likes to be alone and is never bored...
6 : Loyalist
The 6 distinguishes the members of his group (company, party, union, association, family...), the good ones, and the others. For the first ones, he is welcoming, loyal and helpful...
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7 : Enthusiast
The 7 likes to share his pleasant plans and pleasures with others. They charm, please, are cheerful and enthusiastic. He can give a quick impression of warmth but there is not always real contact.
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8 : Leader
The 8 thinks that others are a threat. They spot those who have power. He detects the weaknesses of others and when he is going badly, he can use them to gain control. They like to say "No!
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9 : Mediator
The 9 merges with the feelings of others. Thus, he knows what they want and can avoid conflicts and create an atmosphere of peace. They have a hard time saying "No!" He is pleasant and easy to get along with.
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The Enneagram and Sufism: sources in the Koran
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The Sufi masters of Central Asia spoke as early as the 11th century of the science of the 9 subtle points of the body, which are the bridges to the multiple states of the Being. In the 20th century, it was Georges Gurdjeff who brought this teaching to light and was the first to reveal it to the general public in the form of the enneagram. Following him, psychologists discovered that this traditional science could prove to be a very powerful psychological tool. Used by the New Age movement and the so-called humanistic psychologists, who have degraded its image, the Enneagram is above all a traditional science that comes from the most authentic filiations.
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The teaching that we propose, inherited from the Sufi tradition and open to all, goes far beyond questions of belief and has as its oldest source a sacred text: the Koran. The science of the Enneagram is mentioned in the Koran mainly on 4 occasions. It is in the first four chapters, which are multiples of 9, that we find the allusions, i.e. chapters 9, 18, 27 and 36 (these numbers are respectively 9X1, 9X2, 9X3 and 9X4).
Chapter 9
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Verse 112 : « at-taibun, al ‘abidun, al hamidûn, as-saihûn, ar-raki’un, as-sajidûn, al-amirûn bi-l ma’rûf, an-nâhûn‘ani-l-munkar, al-hafizûn li hudûd Allah…»
" Those who repent (at-taibun), those who serve (al ‘abidun), those who praise (al hamidûn), those who travel (as-saihûn), those who bow down (ar-raki’un), those who prostrate themselves (as-sajidûn), those who call for good (al-amirûn bi-l ma’rûf), those who forbid evil (an-nâhûn‘ani-l-munkar) and those who keep the boundaries of the Divine (al-hafizûn li hudûd Allah), announces the good news to the believers."
The 9 categories of sainthood according to the Qur'an
This verse lists what the Sufi masters will call the 9 categories of sainthood of Sufism. The greatest of the masters, Sheikh al-akbar, Ibn Arabi will devote a treatise to these 9 categories of sainthood, Tabaqat al awliya, also known as Tartibût tasawwuf, partly translated into French by Ivan Aguéli in the review la Gnose until the fifth category, ar-râki'ûn.
Chapter 18
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It is in this chapter that mention is made of the ahl al-kahf, the "People of the Cave," an allusion to the story of the sleepers of Ephesus. The "People of the Cave" are young men who were put into a deep sleep for centuries to preserve them from the corruption of the world. They are a symbol of the preservation of sainthood through the ages and have an important role in eschatology. The question of the number of these sleepers is raised by the Qur'an itself and has caused much debate among theologians. Ibn Arabi takes the position that the dormants are 9 in number, and by a subtle allusion makes the connection with the categories of sainthood. The 9 dormants, archetypes of the preservation of sanctity through the ages, are related to the 9 categories listed in verse 112 of chapter 9 and the 9 viziers of Imam al-Mahdi. The Qur'an thus indicates that access to the Divine in the world is preserved through the ages by means of the 9 archetypes of sainthood, the source from which men, who remain connected to the Divine, drink, the channels of grace that remain open to those who are called to them. The 9 points of the Enneagram are the spiritual treasures, the different colors of sainthood. The goal of the Science of the 9 points is to recognize these archetypes and to get in touch with them, to finally be penetrated by them.
The ahl al-Kahf, "people of the Cave"; who can be 7 or 9 according to the interpretations. Sheikh al-akbar Ibn arabi, takes the position of 9, and links these companions of the Cave to the 9 viziers of Imam al-Mahdi, bearers of 9 sciences.
Chapter 27
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It is in Sura 27 (the ants) that the science of the Enneagram as we know takes shape. The 9 archetypes of sainthood act in the world, the created beings express these archetypes and being not free of imperfections, they can fall. In this chapter, the reversals of the 9 archetypes are alluded to, these are the corrupted men, whose ego has perverted the call to sainthood. The prophet Salih is sent to the thamûd who remains deaf to his call. In verse 48: « Kâna fil madînati tis'atu rahtin yufsidoona wa la yuslihoon. Now, there were nine people in the city who corrupted and did not do good. » These characters correspond to what we will call in the Enneagram the compulsions, which are distortions and perversions of these categories of sainthood. The ego, which is the inner tyrant of each person, which wants to deny its dependence on the whole and refuses to submit to the cosmic order, will divert the call to sainthood by creating a social mask, a "personality". This is how the "Enneatypes" of modern psychology are born, which are nine types of personalities, distant reflections of the original archetypes of sainthood. The work of the traditional science of the Enneagram will be to make the path of Return, from the personalities, these egotic masks, to the archetypes of sainthood of which they are the perversion. Salih, the prophet, in charge of returning to their archetypes "the nine individuals who corrupted the city" of the heart, is related to the futuhiyya wisdom (of openings) in the fusus al-hikâm, where it is a subject of the mafâtih al-ghayb (the keys of the Invisible) that are the divine Names. This path of return begins by knowing the divine Name appropriate to each one and to regularly actualize it by a practice of invocation (dhikr) of the divine Name, at first in a loud voice and then progressively in a low voice to finally contemplate it in the silence of the heart.
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The 9 "individuals" propagated corruption (yufsidoûn) by the passions of the ego and then by the invocation of the Divine Names (keys of the Invisible mafâtih al-ghayb) they propagated the good by the virtues of the ego (yuslihoûn, from the same root as Salih the prophet in charge of this mission).
Chapter 36
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This overcoming of the egotic personality only takes place when the veil of illusion is pierced. This sublime event occurs only through the effect of divine grace, and it was this grace that George Gurdjeff received in part when he asked the Sufi Master Sheikh Abdallah ad-Daghestani to teach him the 9 points. The master then recited chapter 36 of the Qur'an, and it was at verse 58 that Gurdjeff was penetrated by the archetypes of sainthood. Verse 58 says, "Salamun qawlum min rabb rahîm; Peace, Word of a Lord of intense grace!"
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This concise verse is the key to the effective transmission of the science of the 9 points. In Arabic, the original language of the Qur'an, it is composed of 5 words and 4 spaces, which correspond to the 9 subtle centers of man, of which 5 are apparent and 4 are hidden. The 5 apparent subtle centers are linked to the points of reflections located of the multiple states of the being in the heart: the 5 latâïfs linked also to the 5 elements. The 4 non-visible ones are properly located on another dimension because the sixth subtle center corresponds to the maqam as-sâjidûn, where the individuality is extinguished in the essence and is renewed with a new life like the phoenix which is reborn from its ashes, in the descending realization, with the 3 following maqams which correspond to al-amirûn bi-l ma'rûf, an-nâhûn 'ani-l-munkar, al-hafizûn li hudûd Allah.
The 9 points of reflection of the multiple states of the Being from the point of view of the microcosm
Sheikh al-akbar after enumerating the first 4 categories of sainthood, states about ar-râki'ûn:
"Then they, ar-Raki'ûn, "bow" at the station of the erasure of attributes (maqâmu fanâ'us-çifat). Then they, as-Sâjidûn, "prostrate themselves" by the extinction of the "intimate nature" (fanâ'ud-dhât). Then they stand up to "order the good", al-Âmirûn bil ma'rûf, to "forbid the evil", an-Nâhûn 'an al-munkar, and to "keep the limits that Allah has set", al hafidhûn li hudûd Allah, that in the station called: "the duration after the annihilation" (El-baqâ ba'd el-fanâ) (which corresponds to the descending realization as taught by René Guénon)" (Translation Ivan aguéli for the magazine la Gnose).
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It is therefore clear that the Enneagram, in its authentic form, is far from being just a tool for classifying psychological types. It is both a gateway and a pathway to sainthood and a "bridge" to the multiple states of Being, which is how it has been considered for centuries and thus kept secret.
The 27 "subtypes"
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The 27 "subtypes" of the Enneagram, so called, in a reductive and unclear way, are, in psychological mode, the conjugation of the 9 points of the Enneagram by 3 deep modalities of the instinctive center. This deep center can be either in Survival, Intimacy or Social mode.
The 3 modalities of the instinctive center are above all a particular application of the ternary of the Spirit with its 3 ascending, descending and expansive movements and which serve to "measure" the Principle. Remember that 3 is the first odd number and the number of the Creator (as the triangle suggests).
Far from being deduced by experience, the 27 subtypes are in fact the "diminished" reflection of the 27 archetypes of prophetic wisdom throughout human history, themselves a reflection of the divine Word. Again, with the vertical descending order that is the natural order of Manifestation : "In the beginning was the Word." The divine Word, or Nafas ar-Rahmân, is composed of the 27 "archetypal letters" + the hamza which is an impulse (hiatus) at the origin of the existential degrees of the universe, and one finds, by refraction, these 27 ontological degrees (linking God to man) + 1 "degree of hierarchy" in human history with the 27 prophetic verbs. The 28th prophetic verb being the set of the 27 harmoniously and hierarchically arranged corresponds to the Khatm al-awliya : Imam al Mahdi. Each of the 27 "subtypes" of the enneagram is linked to a prophetic verb in history of which it is only a psychological deformation. Understanding which one we are in correspondence with allows us to realize the archetype of wisdom that we embody. The return of Man, who has lost his way through the twists and turns of history, to his Lord, is God's return to Man, each time giving him new wisdom, the sign of a new "covenant".
The 28 existential degrees (27 +1) are found in the 28 phases of the moon as taught by Sheikh al-akbar Ibn 'arabi
To help us understand this, let's remember that in Arabic (as in Hebrew) the word Tawba, which in its first sense means "repentance", also means "return". It refers, on the one hand, to Man returning to God through repentance, and on the other hand, to God returning to Man through the divine Name At-Tawwab and giving Man a new covenant through a new "deposit" of knowledge: Tabût, a Qur'anic term that commentators derive from the same root T-W-B as Tawba, Return, Repentance. This understanding sheds light on the education of the human soul by the Divine. The Lord Rabbi is in fact the Murabbi, the Teacher who could be called the En-Lord (a word with the same root as Rabbi, meaning Lord). In the course of its history, the human soul gradually distorts and perverts the original divine message addressed to it. The call for wisdom and knowledge is perverted by the ego into wandering behavior, which psychology then identifies as compulsions. In the Enneagram system, these are called "subtypes of behavior". This story of the human soul and its development is identified with that of Adam and the divine messengers who followed him. The Koran mentions Adam's descent and exile on earth as follows:
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"Now Adam received Verbs (Kalimât) from his Lord, and the Lord returned to him (Taba 'alayhi) ; verily, He is the One who loves to return and forgive (At-Tawwab), the Most Merciful (Ar-Rahîm)" (Qur'an 2-36).
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The verbs (Kalimât) will be the 27 divine messengers bearing the archetypal wisdoms manifesting these 27 returns of God, like so many covenants and repositories of knowledge. Let's emphasize that these are "returns" following repentance, but in the sense of re-centering and updating. The pedagogical implication is important, as it makes us aware that the 27 "sub-type" compulsions are in fact egotistical perversions of a call to knowledge, to wisdom, the awareness of which brings the corresponding archetypal Wisdom. This teaching was masterfully presented by the great Sufi master Sheikh al-akbar Muhhy-Din-Ibn Arabi, in his Mohammedan-inspired book : The Bezels of Wisdom (Fusûs al-Hikâm).
The divine alliances (tabût) with Man throughout human history, as many returns of Man to God (tawba), can be condensed into 27 modalities given by the Prophet Muhammad through Sheikh al-akbar Ibn 'arabi in the fusûs al-hikâm: The book of the bezels of wisdom.
At a time when on the one hand the teachings are popularized and misused, and on the other hand the Sufi and Islamic origin of this teaching is denied, our ambition is to reintroduce an authentic transmission of the Enneagram and to spread it to those who have the call.