Melamet or Path of Blame

The Malāmiyya are a category of persons, who, in the mystical branch of Islam, sometimes known as Sufism, represent, according to prominent Sufis like Ibn al-'Arabi, the highest category of occulted or hidden Sufi Saint. [...] The legendary figure of the mysterious "Green One", al Khidr, is also often associated, as it is in the famous Qur'anic meeting with Prophet Moses, with those whose substance is concealed from men and who, in teaching Moses, breaks with conventional ways of acquiring true knowledge of God." [1]

"The Path of Blame (Melamet) is a hidden tradition within Sufism, which is, above all, a way of relating to our egos. It is a kind of spiritual warriorship, not a violent worship but a subtle and exquisite psychological warriorship. This kind of psychology is rarely encountered in any of the world's religious traditions.

The Melami path is a path of spiritual invisibility, a noninstitutional spirituality and yet a spirituality that involves brotherhood and sisterhood, close friendships, spiritual dialogue. Melamis wear no characteristic dress, do not identify themselves, and generally tend to keep their institutional profile virtually invisible.

The goal of the Melami path is to live a moral and sincere life for the sake of God alone and not to be concerned with appearances. The Melami does not wish to appear as a spiritual or pious person and regards any display of spirituality as a kind of hypocrisy. To be a hypocrite is to claim for oneself something that one does not possess. Since the human being is the extension of God's Compassion to the creation, there is nothing for us humans to call our own except our limitations. The Melami goes so far as to avoid and escape the praise and good opinion of people by making public or even exaggerating his own shortcomings, while keeping his superior qualities hidden, or attributing them to God. The Melami allows himself to appear as less than he is." [2]

"The main principle on which the Malâmatî Path is based requires that one always behold one's self as blameworthy. Rather than being an ethical postulate, this principle stems primarily from a psychological understanding of the nature of the self. The 'self', or more accurately the 'lower self' (nafs), is understood by the Malâmatî mystics as being the tempting element in the psyche, al-nafs al-ammâra bi'l-sû': 'the soul which prods one to evil' and in this capacity it functions as the agent provocateur of Satan, the lusts and all evil inclinations. Yet it is also understood as the centre of ego consciousness. Most mystical systems agree that the more one's energy is absorbed in satisfying and gratifying the requirements of the ego, the less energy can be put into the process of psychological and spiritual transformation. However, by ascetic practices alone the humiliation and surrender of the nafs cannot be achieved. On the contrary, the ascetic path often brings about an inflated hardening of the nafs. Inflation and conceit derive from both one's self-appraisal (riyâ', 'ujb) as well as from external social feedback (shuhra, ri'âsa). [...] The Malâmatiyya therefore taught that the only way to neutralize the nafs is to expose it to blame and humiliation in all circumstances and conditions. The blame and humiliation should be incurred from both external agents and from the malâmati himself. Blame should be drawn upon one's self not only in accordance with what is considered blameworthy by social, religious and ethical standards, but also -- and first and foremost -- with disregard to what is accepted as praiseworthy by these standards. Evidently, this lends the malâmatiyya a clear nonconformist character." [3]