"Die before you Die" in Ismaili Spiritual Life
How entering the House of Contemplation (Bayt al-Khayal) leads to the vision of the Hereafter
As most Shi‘i Ismailis know, especially those who have started the journey on the tariqa (spiritual path) towards haqiqa (truth/reality) and ma‘rifa (gnosis), the voluntary practice or esoteric institution of Bayt al-Khayal is the designated sacred space wherein murids (committed followers) of the Imam-of-the-Time dedicate themselves to the discipline of a particular form of Islamic, meditative worship known as ‘ibadat (in Arabic) or bandagi (in Persian).
It is typically well understood that this supererogatory (nawafil) practice is performed with the intention and hope of attaining illumination or enlightenment as one’s soul is purified and elevated, degree by degree, towards the soul’s source or original abode (asal makan), ultimately resulting in a glimpse of nurani didar (luminous beatific vision) and fana’ (merging) of one’s soul into the sublime light (nur-i a‘la) of God. As said in a magnificent 13th century Ismaili text, Paradise of Submission,