Shirk in Sufism or Tasawuf

[Muwahi-1]

shirk and innovation in Sufism or Tasawuf

The word “Sufism” was not known at the time of the Messenger or the Sahaabah (companions) or the Taabi’een (Companions of the Companions of the Prophet). It arose at the time when a group of ascetics who wore wool (“soof”) emerged, and this name was given to them. It was also said that the name was taken from the word “soofiya” (“sophia”) which means “wisdom” in Greek. The word is not derived from al-safa’ (“purity”) as some of them claim, because the adjective derived from safa’ is safaa’i, not soofi (sufi). The emergence of this new name and the group to whom it is applied exacerbated the divisions among Muslims.

The early Sufis differed from the later Sufis who spread bid’ah (innovation) to a greater extent and made shirk in both minor and major forms commonplace among the people, as well as the innovations against which the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us when he said, “Beware of newly-invented things, for every newly-invented thing is an innovation and every innovation is a going-astray.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who said it is saheeh hasan).

The following is a comparison between the beliefs and rituals of Sufism and Islam which is based on the Qur’aan and Sunnah.

Sufism has numerous branches or tareeqahs, such as the Naqshbandiya, Qaadriya, Chhishtiya, Saharvardiya, Shaadhiliyyah, Rifaa’iyyah, Rehmaaniya, Rizviya, Subhaniya, Gausiya, Teejaaniyah, Sanusiyyah, Sahiliyyah etc. the followers of which all claim that their particular tareeqah is on the path of truth whilst the others are following falsehood. Islam forbids such sectarianism. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):“… and be not of al-mushrikoon (the disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah, polytheists, idolaters, etc), of those who split up their religion (i.e., who left the true Islamic monotheism), and became sects, [i.e., they invented new things in the religion (bid’ah) and followed their vain desires], each sect rejoicing in that which is with it.” [al-Room 30:31-32]

The Sufis worship others than Allaah, such as Prophets and “awliya’” [“saints”], living or dead. They say, “Yaa Jeelaani”, “Yaa Rifaa’i” [calling on their awliya’], or “O Messenger of Allaah, help and save” or “O Messenger of Allaah, our dependence is on you”, etc.But Allaah forbids us to call on anyone except Him in matters that are beyond the person's capabilities. If a person does this, Allaah will count him as a mushrik, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And invoke not, besides Allaah, any that will neither profit you, nor hurt you, but if (in case) you did so, you shall certainly be one of the zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers).” [Yoonus 10:106]The Sufis believe that there are abdaal, aqtaab and awliya’ (kinds of “saints”) to whom Allaah has given the power to run the affairs of the universe. Allaah tells us about the mushrikeen (interpretation of the meaning): “Say [O Muhammad]: ‘…And who disposes the affairs?’ They will say. ‘Allaah.’…” [Yoonus 10:31]The mushrik Arabs knew more about Allaah than these Sufis!

The Sufis turn to other than Allaah when calamity strikes, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things.” [al-An’aam 6:17]

Some Sufis believe in wahdat al-wujood (unity of existence). They do not have the idea of a Creator and His creation, instead they say that everything is creation and everything is god.

The Sufis advocate extreme asceticism in this life and do not believe in taking the necessary means or in jihaad, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“But seek with that (wealth) which Allaah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of legal enjoyment in this world…” [al-Qasas 28:77]

“And make ready against them all that you can of power…” [al-Anfaal 8:60]

The Sufis refer the idea of ihsaan to their shaykhs and tell their followers to have a picture of their shaykh in mind when they remember Allaah and even when they are praying. Some of them even put a picture of their shaykh in front of them when they are praying. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Ihsaan is when you worship Allaah as if you can see Him, and although you cannot see Him, He can see you.” (Reported by Muslim).

The Sufis allow dancing, drums and musical instruments, and raising the voice when making dhikr, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The believers are only those who, when Allaah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts…” [al-Anfaal 8:2]

Moreover, you see some of them making dhikr by only pronouncing the Name of Allaah, saying, “Allaah, Allaah, Allaah.” This is bid’ah and has no meaning in Islam. They even go to the extreme of saying, “Ah, ah” or “Hu, Hu.” The Sunnah is for the Muslim to remember his Lord in words that have a true meaning for which he will be rewarded, such as saying Subhaan Allaah wa Alhamdulillah wa Laa ilaaha illa Allaah wa Allaahu akbar, and so on.

The Sufis recite love poems mentioning the names of women and boys in their dhikr gatherings, and they repeat words such as “love”, “passion”, “desire” and so on, as if they are in a gathering where people dance and drink wine and clap and shout. All of this has to do with the customs and acts of worship of the mushrikeen. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Their salaah (prayer) at the House (of Allaah, i.e., the Ka’bah at Makkah) was nothing but whistling and clapping of hands…”[al-Anfaal 8:35]

Some Sufis pierce themselves with rods of iron, saying, “O my grandfather!” So the shayaateen come to them and help them, because they are seeking the help of someone other than Allaah . Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And whosoever turns away (blinds himself) from the remembrance of the Most Beneficent (Allaah), We appoint for him a shaytaan (devil) to be a qareen (intimate companion) for him.” [al-Zukhruf 43:36]

The Sufis claim to have gnosis and knowledge of the unseen, but the Qur’aan shows them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Say: ‘None in the heavens and the earth knows the ghayb (unseen) except Allaah…’” [al-Naml 27:65]

The Sufis claim that Allaah created the world for the sake of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but the Qur’aan shows them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And I (Allaah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:56]Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, addressed His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with the words (interpretation of the meaning):

“And worship your Lord until there comes unto the certainty (i.e., death).” [al-Hijr 15:99]

The Sufis claim that they can see Allaah in this life, but the Qur’aan shows them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):“[Moosa said:] ‘O my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon You.’ Allaah said, ‘You cannot see Me…’” [al-A’raaf 7:143]

The Sufis claim that they take knowledge directly from Allaah, without the mediation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and in a conscious state (as opposed to dreams). So are they better than the Sahaabah??

The Sufis claim that they take knowledge directly from Allaah, without the mediation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They say, “Haddathani qalbi ‘an Rabbi (My heart told me from my Lord).”

The Sufis celebrate Mawlid and hold gatherings for sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but they go against his teachings by raising their voices in dhikr and anaasheed (religious songs) and qaseedahs (poems) that contain blatant shirk. Did the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) celebrate his birthday? Did Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, ‘Ali, the four imaams or anyone else celebrate his birthday? Who knows more and is more correct in worship, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Salaf, or the Sufis?

The Sufis travel to visit graves and seek blessings from their occupants or to make tawaaf (ritual circumambulation) around them or to make sacrifices at these sites, all of which goes against the teachings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Do not travel to visit any place but three mosques: al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah], this mosque of mine [in Madeenah] and al-Masjid al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem].” (Agreed upon).

The Sufis are blindly loyal to their shaykhs, even when what they go against the words of Allaah and His Messenger. But Allaah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allaah and His Messenger…” [al-Hujuraat 49:1]

The Sufis use talismans, letters and numbers for making decisions and for making amulets and charms and so on.

The Sufis do not restrict themselves to the specific blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that were narrated from him. They invented new formulas that involve seeking his blessings and other kinds of blatant shirk which are unacceptable to the one on whom they are sending blessings.

With regard to the question of the whether the Sufi shaykhs have some kind of contact, this is true, but their contact is with the shayaateen, not with Allaah, so they inspire one another with adorned speech as a delusion (or by way of deception), as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies – shayaateen (devils) among mankind and jinns, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a delusion (or by way of deception). If your Lord had so willed, they would not have done it…” [al-An’aam 6:112]

And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“… And, certainly, the shayaateen (devils) do inspire their friends (from mankind)…” [al-An’aam 6:121]

“Shall I inform you (O people!) upon whom the shayaateen (devils) descend? They descend on every lying, sinful person.” [al-Shu’ara 221-222]

This is the contact that is real, not the contact that they falsely claim to have with Allaah. Exalted be Allaah far above that. (See Mu’jam al-Bida’, 346 –359).

When some of these Sufi shaykhs disappear suddenly from the sight of their followers, this is the result of their contact with the shayaateen, who may even carry them to a distant place and bring them back in the same day or night, to mislead their human followers.

So the important rule here is not to judge people by the extraordinary feats that they may do. We should judge them by how closely or otherwise they adhere to the Qur’aan and Sunnah. The true friends of Allaah (awliya’) are not necessarily known for performing astounding feats. On the contrary, they are the ones who worship Allaah in the manner that He has prescribed, and not by doing acts of bid’ah.

The true awliya’ or friends of Allaah are those whom our Lord has described in the hadeeth qudsi narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh (5/2384) from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah said, ‘Whoever shows enmity towards a friend (wali) of Mine, I declare war against him. My slave does not draw close to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties that I have enjoined on him, and My slave continues to draw close to Me with supererogatory (naafil) acts, so that I will love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.’”

And Allaah is the Source of Strength and the Guide to the Straight Path.

 

[chishti92]

Sufiism and Shirk

First of all I appreciates what our brother has written about Sufism and Shirk. He used Qura'nic Verses to justify his comments about Sufism and their actions. Which should always be the case.

But, I would like to object some of the contents of his article. First of all, he must not give his judgment about ‘Awlia Allah’ without acquiring correct knowledge about them. The way he is making allegations that Sufis and their follower worships their sheikhs and Prophets is absolutely outrageous. Not even a single person in Sufism I have come across is worshipping anybody else other than Allah (S.W.T.). He is claiming that sending Salaam and praising our beloved Prophets is Bidaa. I want to ask him, how? Can you explain it to me? In fact I have heard so many Saudi scholars calling our Prophet by simply his name 'Mohammad' with no respect. Where, in the Hadithe Qudsee, Allah (S.W.T) says, don’t call the name of Prophets the way you are calling among yourself.

My friends must be celebrating his own birthday. But, he is ashamed of celebrating the incoming of our beloved Prophet (May Allah's peace and blessing be upon him) in this world. He is talking about Jihad. Who is afraid of Jihad? I think each and every Muslim in the world is always ready to go for Jihad. But it should be a genuine one. We do not encourage killing innocents, blowing up buildings and hijacking planes. This is not Jihad. This is crime and act of terrorism, which is actually adversely affecting all Muslims around the world.

My friend, nobody from Sufi sects is worshipping other than Allah (S.W.T). We are also educated, and we also have knowledge about Qura'n and Sunnah. We are not a fool creature.

Please be mindful, whenever you are making allegations against any sects without having full knowledge. First, do your research and have debate with them. Challenge them with proof from Qura'n and Sunnah. I think no Muslim will ever worship anybody else except 'Allah (S.W.T).

Thank you.

 

[Muwahi-1]

Salam dear brother,

Thank you for your reply.

I just want to inform you that I personally used to go to a mosuqe where certain people are following Sufisms and many tariqas like the Naqshabandi Tareeqa,and I asked them (the Murids) many times about the proof ( Quran and sunna) of certain practices that they do frequently, like for instance doing Dikr and trying to concentrate on the heart of their Sheikh cause their Sheikh concentrates on the heart of the prophet Muhammad ( SAW) and take them to a higher position with with him :astag: . More importantly, they audaciously told me that they pray dead people (saints) in order that Allah replies their prayers :astag:

Allah says in the Quran

He merges Night into Day, and he merges Day into Night, and he has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law): each one runs its course for a term appointed. Such is Allah your Lord: to Him belongs all Dominion. And those whom ye invoke besides Him have not the least power. ( 13.35)

If ye invoke them, they will not listen to your call, and if they were to listen, they cannot answer your (prayer). On the Day of Judgment they will reject your "Partnership". and none, (O man!) can tell thee (the Truth) like the One Who is acquainted with all things. ( 14.35)

Anyway, here are certain things that you probably did not know about sufism,example of Naqshabandi tariqa:

1. THE ISLAAMIC BELIEF: Allaah is the Only Truth

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân -

"That is because Allaah - He is the Truth and it is He who gives life to dead." (Qur'ân, Chapter 22, Verse 6)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Aba Yazid al-Bistami is the Truth

On page 15 of the book ‘The Naqshbandi Way’ it reads -

"Whoever recites this Ayah even a single time will attain a high rank and a great position, … he will get what the Prophets and saints could not get, and will arrive at the stage of Aba Yazid al-Bistami, the Imam of the order who said: "I am the Truth (al-Haqq)."

The above statement ‘I am the Truth’ - is a clear example of Shirk (association) in the aspect of the Names and Attributes of Allaah, since Al-Haqq in the definite form, is one of Allaah’s unique attributes and is not shared by any created being or thing unless preceded by the prefix `Abd meaning "Slave of" or "Servant of". (In fact the Mystic al-Hallaaj was publicly executed as an apostate for daring to openly claim divinity in his infamous pronouncement "Anal-Haqq"- I am the Truth.)

2. THE ISLAAMIC BELIEF: None shares with the command of Allaah

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân -

"Verily, His (Allaah’s) command, when He intends a thing, is only that he says to it, "Be! And it is!" - (Chapter 36, Verse 82); and in another place in the Qur'ân, Allaah says =

"They have no protector other than Him (Allaah); nor does He share His command with any person whatsoever." - (18:26)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh shares with the command of Allaah

On page 33 of the book ‘Mercy Oceans - Part 1’, it reads "The Power of the wali is such that he only needs to say Kun (be) and that will be."

The above is another example of Shirk (association) in the aspect of the Lordship of Allaah, since the Islaamic principle of the Lordship of Allaah states that no created being can share in God’s attributes and infinite qualities, and any attempt to give the Divine attributes to creation is referred to as Shirk (association), the antithesis of Tawheed (singling out Allaah alone for worship).

3. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF:
None could attain the Rank of the Prophets or their Companions

The Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) has said in a well known Hadith that, "The best of people are those living in my generation, and then those who will follow them, and then those who will follow the latter.....
(Saheeh Bukhaaree, Vol 5, Hadith #3, Arabic-English Trans.)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Certain people could attain a Rank higher than the Prophets and their Companions.

On page 1 of the book ‘The Naqshbandi Way’ it reads,

"Our master the Sheikh says that a person who manages to act on these principles in our times will achieve what earlier generations did not achieve … he who attains an exalted stage and a great rank, such a rank which the Prophets themselves and the companions were unable to attain."

On page 4 of the book ‘the Naqshbandi Way’ it reads,

"Especially those who hold to the Prophet’s Sunnah, will attain special stations that weren’t opened to earlier people - not even to the Prophet’s companions.’

The deviant claim of attaining the rank which the Prophets could not is a major deception of the Naqshbandiya as any Muslim with even the basic knowledge of Islaam will confirm. As regards the companions (May Allaah be pleased with them all), the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) in a hadith narrated by Anas bin Maalik (Radhiallaahu Anhu) said -

"After me, you will see others given preference to you, so be patient till you meet me."

(Saheeh Bukhaaree, Vol 5., Hadith #137, Arabic-English Trans.)

He (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) also said in reference to his Companions (May Allaah be pleased with them all),

"For by Him in Whose hand is my soul, if you were to spend the like of Uhud or of the mountains in gold, you would not reach their actions." (Saheeh Bukhaaree)

4. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: Allaah is above the heavens

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân -

"Do you feel secure, that He (Allaah), who is above the heavens, will not cause the earth to sink with you." (Qur'ân, Chapter 67, Verse 16).

And in a long Hadith found in Saheeh Muslim, it is narrated that the companion Mu`awiyah ibn al-Hakam, (Radhiallaahu Anhu) slapped his servant girl who used to tend his sheep, and as a result when to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) and asked what should be done as an atonement for having slapped her. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) replied, "Bring her to me" so Mu`awiyah brought her to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam). The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) then asked her, "Where is Allaah?" and she replied "Above the Sky" then the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam ) asked her, "Who am I?" and she replied, "You are Allaah’s Messenger", so the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said, "Free her, for verily she is a true believer." (Saheeh Muslim, Vol 1, Hadith #1094, English Translation)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Allaah is Everywhere
On page 13 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani it reads,

"Allaah Almighty is everywhere but specially in the Baitullaah as He has Himself called it the house of Allaah. For it to be called the house of the Lord, the Lord of the house must be in it."

The concept of Allaah being everywhere is not Islaamic as the above Qur’aanic Aayah and the authentic hadith confirm. Indeed if Allaah was everywhere then there would be no need for the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) to go up through the seven skies on the night of Mi`raaj to meet Allaah - he would have been in the direct presence of Allaah in his very own house.

5. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: None has the knowledge of the Last Day except Allaah

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân,

"Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allaah (alone)." (31:34)

And according to the well known Hadith, where Angel Jibreel (`alaihis salaam) came in the guise of man, we quote the part of the Hadith that is relevant to our matter, after asking about Islaam, Imaan and Ihsaan, Angel Jibreel (`alaihis salaam) asks Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) "then tell me about the hour (meaning the last day)", the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) replied, "The one questioned about it knows no better than the questioner."
(Saheeh Muslim, vol 1, Hadith #4, English Translation)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh has the knowledge of the Last Day.

In the beginning of page 19 of the book ‘Mercy Oceans - part one’, it reads -

"These signs have been given us indication that the Last Day is coming is nearly exactly now …we shall witness that great event within two years."

The above book (Mercy Oceans) was published in 1987 and it I almost nine years since its publication, but the last day is still not witnessed. How could it be when indeed Allaah has clearly stated in the Qur'ân,

"Say None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allaah." (Qur'ân, Chapter 27, Verse 65)

6. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: Believers and disbelievers are not equal.

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân - the likeness of the two parties (disbelievers and believers) is as the blind and the deaf and the seer and the hearer. Are they equal when compared? Will you not then take heed?" (Qur'ân, Chapter 11, Verse 24)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Believers and disbelievers are equal
On page 12 of the book ‘the Naqshbandi Way’, it reads ,

"Allaah does not distinguish between the non-believer and the faasiq (wrong doer) or between a believer and a Muslim. In fact they are all equal to him."

Furthermore, on page 16 of the same book it reads, "Allaah does not distinguish between a kaafir or a hypocrite or between a saint and a Prophet."

7. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: No intermediary between Allaah and Man
Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân,
"And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them in knowledge), I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me." (Qur'ân, Chapter 2, Verse 186)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh is intermediary between Allaah and Man
On page 23 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani it reads,

"If there wasn’t Mowlana Sheikh Nazim between us and Sayyidunâ Mahdi (Alai), or between us and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sal), or between us and Allaah Almighty, no one would be able to reach to Divine knowledge… this is because Maulana Sheikh Nazim is the intermediary between us and these stations."

[It should be known that the practice and belief of having an intermediary between man and God is a pagan practice, borrowed directly from other religions like Christianity which believes the Pastor or the church priest to be an intermediary between man and God and hence confession of one’s sins is done to them and not directly to God.

8. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF:
No spokesman between Allaah and Man on the Day of Judgment.

Adi bin Hatim (radhiallaahu `anhu) reported that the Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said,

"There is none of you but his Lord will certainly talk to with him without any Spokesman between him and his Lord."
(Sunan Ibn Maajah, Vol 1, Hadith #185, English Translation)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh will be a spokesman between Man and Allaah on the Day of Judgment

On page 11 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani it reads,
"When a person takes Bayyat from Maulana, Maulana will be with that person. Even until he reaches in front of Allaah Almighty will Maulana be with him, when Allaah Almighty questions this person Maulana shall answer all questions instead of him."

9. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: (For anything to happen) it is only what Allaah wills

Once a companion of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) concluded his statement to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) with the phrase "It is what Allaah wills and you will." The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) immediately corrected him saying - ‘Are you making me an equal with Allaah? Say it is what Allaah alone wills.’
(Collected by Ahmad - Arabic)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: It is what Allaah and the saint wills.

On page 23 of the book "Quthub us Sailan" which is written by the local head of the group, it reads

"One morning in the newspapers, I read that the wakf board had taken over the Dewatagaha Mosque seeking the chief trustee at the time, chairman of the welfare committee and chief trustee, M.I.M. Shaukat came to my place a couple of days later to find out what he could do in that matter as chief trustee, I told him that if it was the will of Allaah and the saint, well nothing could be done on his part."

10. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: Allaah is in charge of creation.

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân -"And Allaah is a Wakil (Guardian) over all things." (Qur'ân, Chapter 11, Verse 12)

And in another place, Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says, "He (Allaah) arranges (every) affair from the heavens to the earth." (Qur'ân, Chapter 32, Verse 3)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh is in charge of creation

On page 15 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ it reads,

"Every thing that you know of is under the spiritual control of the Sultan al Awliya, he is the one who is in charge of all mankind in this universe, he is also in charge of all the world of Jinns and Angels."

Again the above belief is one of Shirk (association) in the aspect of the Lordship of Allaah, as has been explained before.

11. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: None can change a bad situation except Allaah

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân, "And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He…" (Qur'ân, Chapter 6, verse 17)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh can change a bad situation.

On page 26 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the 2nd paragraph it reads,

"If a bad situation is to come to a mureed of his, Sheikh has the power to change it."

12. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF:
None can make anyone enter paradise or save from hell, except Allaah.

The Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said in an authentic Hadith - "O People of Quraysh, secure deliverance from Allaah (by doing good deeds). I cannot help you at all against Allaah. O sons of Abdul-Muttalib, I cannot help you at all against Allaah; O (my uncle) Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib, O (my aunt) Safeeyah, I cannot help you at all against Allaah; O Faatimah, daughter of Muhammad, ask me whatever you like, but I have nothing which can help you against Allaah." (Saheeh Muslim, Vol 1, Hadith #402, English Translation)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh can make one enter paradise and save one from hell.
On page 30 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani, in the 3rd paragraph, it reads -
"Sheikh will not allow any of his mureeds to enter hell, … Sheikh Nazim will make all the followers to enter into this paradise."

13. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: The Angel of death will take the soul of the dying.

Allaah (Subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân,
"Say the Angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls, then you shall be brought to your Lord." (Qur'ân, 32:11)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh will take the soul of the dying

On page 35 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ under the heading ‘No questioning in the grave’, it reads -

"As for anyone who is related to Maulana Sheikh Nazim as a mureed, the Angel of Death Israel (Alai) will have nothing to do with him, the soul of this mureed at the time of his death will be taken by Maulana Sheikh Nazim, he shall look at the mureed and immediately the soul of that mureed will leave his body. There is nothing for either the Angel of death or for the Angels of the grave to do with the mureeds of Sheikh Nazim."

14. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF:
No hidden knowledge in Islaam, everything is given in the Qur'ân and Sunnah.
The Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said in an authentic hadith -
"I have not left anything which Allaah ordered you with, except that I have ordered you with it, nor anything that Allaah forbade you, except that I forbade you from it." (Saheeh, al-Baihaqee 7:76, Arabic)

SEE WHAT ALLAH COMMANDS
"Say None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allaah."
(Qur'ân, Chapter 27, Verse 65)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh has hidden knowledge.

In spite of the above clear hadith, the deviant Naqshbandi claim that there is ‘secret knowledge’ with the Sheikh, for example on page 60-61 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the 3rd paragraph it reads -

"Vast amounts of hidden knowledge have been communicated to his mureeds by Maulana Sheikh Nazim in this manner. Questions by these mureeds regarding day to day life, or questions relating to religion … and also many other subjects have been answered by Mowlana Sheikh Nazim. When this type of communication has been granted to a mureed, he no longer needs to resort to books to further his knowledge."

15. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: When Allaah loves a person… The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said as narrated by Abu Huraira (radhiallaahu `anhu) that,

"…Allaah said…the most beloved things with which my slave comes nearer to Me, is with what I have enjoined upon him, and my slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips…"
(Saheeh Bukhaaree, Vol 8, Hadith 509, Arabic - English Trans)

[The above hadith should not be misinterpreted by the reader. What it simply means is as has been explained by the Scholars of Hadith is that, when Allaah becomes his sense of hearing means the servant will only hear Halaal speech and will keep away from hearing forbidden speech. And regarding sight, then it means he will only see that which is permissible to see and keep away from seeing that which is Haraam and in the case of the hands then it means he will only touch and use his hands in that which is Halaal and will refrain from touching and doing Haraam with it.]

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Directly contradicts the above hadith.

On page 62 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the last paragraph it reads, "Certain of the mureeds of Maulana Sheikh Nazim experience that Maulana appears within them, when this happens, they are no longer conscious of themselves as themselves, they lose their identity and are conscious of themselves as their Sheikh. They see through Mowlana’s eyes when the look, they hear through Mowlana’s ears when they hear, and they speak Mowlana’s words when they speak.."

16. THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh can be in any place at the same time.

On page 33 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ it reads, "Mowlana Sheikh Nazim can also be present in his shape and body in several places at the same time."

Also on page 65 of the same book it reads in the 2nd paragraph, "Sometimes, mureeds have been transported to other countries and places. For example, they may be transported in a moment to London…some are known to have visited Mecca, Medina, London and Baghdad in moments by the power and the grace of Sheikh Nazim."

THE ISLAMIC POSITION on the above Naqshbandi position
In a Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said,
"There are three types of Jinn, one type flies through the air…" (Transmitted by al-Haakim, Tabaraani and al-Baihaqi, Arabic)

And Allaah says in the Qur'an,

"And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the masculine among the jinns, but they (jinns) increased them (mankind) in sin and disbelief." (Qur’aan, 72:6)

17. THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh has two faces.

On page 21 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the first paragraph describing Sheikh Nazim, it reads -

"He (Sheikh) now has a face towards the creatures and a face towards Allaah Almighty, therefore he is with Allaah Almighty all the time!"

THE ISLAMIC POSITION on the above Naqshbandi belief

The Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) rightly said, as reported by the companion Abu Huraira (radhiallaahu `anhu) who said that Allaah’s Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said,
"The worst amongst the people is the double faced one." (Saheeh Muslim, vol 4, Hadith #6300 - English Translation)

Also, the companion Ammaar (radhiallaahu `anhu) reported the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) as saying,

"He who is two faced in this world, will have two tongues of fire on the day of resurrection." (Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol 3, Hadith #4855 - English Translation)

From the preceding, concise presentation of the Naqshbandi group’s deviant beliefs, in shaa’ Allaah, there should not remain even the slightest inkling of a doubt in the mind of the sincere reader about the group’s deviant nature and falsehood. It is only the ignorant, grossly biased and dishonest sympathizers of the group who will still maintain the view that the group’s teachings and beliefs are in accordance with the Qur'ân and Sunnah, since it has been clearly and decisively proven to be just the exact opposite.

In the foregoing article, the reader would have noticed that every thing of the pure Islamic Belief mentioned has been contradicted by this deviant group. In fact the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) had warned us about the appearance of such deviant groups, when he said in an authentic narration reported by Abu Amir al-Hawdani (radhiallaahu `anhu),

"Indeed those who were before you, from the people of the book (Jews and Christians) split into seventy sects, and this religion will split into seventy three; seventy two will go in to the hell fire, and one of them will go to paradise, and it is the Jamaa`ah." (Abu Dawud, vol 3, Hadith #4580, English Translation)

[The term Jamaa`ah was explained by the companion `Abdullaah ibn Mas`ood (radhiallaahu `anhu) as meaning that which agrees with the truth. He said in his famous statement, "The jamaa`ah is that which agrees with the truth, even if it is a single person." (Reported by ibn Asaakir in Tareekh Dimashq - Arabic)]

Then there is no doubt that each of these groups claims for itself that it is the saved group, and that it is correct and that it alone follows the Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam), but the way of truth is a single way and it is the one which leads to salvation, and any other way is one of the ways of misguidance which leads to destruction as has been clearly explained by the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) in another hadith, reported by the companion `Abdullaah ibn Mas`ood (radhiallaahu `anhu), who said,

"Allaah’s Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) drew a line with his hand and said, "This is the straight path of Allaah." He then drew lines to its right and to its left and said, "These are the other paths, which represent misguidance and that at the head of each path sat a devil inviting people to it (path)." He then recited, "And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path." (Reported by Ahmad, an-Nasaa’ee and ad-Daarimee and collected in Miskhaat ul-Masaabih, Vol 1, Hadith #166, Arabic-English Translation)

So the path is to stick to the Book of Allaah and to the Sunnah of His Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam), as occurs in the following hadith. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said,

"I have left you with two things, as long as you hold to them, you will never go astray, they are the Book of Allaah and My Sunnah." (Collected by Imaam Maalik, rahimahullaah, in his Muwatta, the Book of Decree. Hadith #3, Page 434, English Translation)

So the criterion to judge the claim of any group or individual who claims to be on the right path, is to see how close its beliefs and teachings are in accordance to the Qur'ân and Sunnah.

The external deceptive claim of the Naqshbandi group, under the guise of Islaam should not be a means of confusion to anybody, as to the reality of its deviant nature. History is a witness to the well-known slogan, "If you cannot beat them, then join them" - this is exactly what the group is doing. Its aim is to destroy Islaam from within, wearing the cloak of Islaam.

A serious effort should be made to enlighten those of the group’s followers who may be genuinely seeking the light of pure Islaam, but as a result of the group’s brainwashing have fallen into its clutches.

Whatever has been said in this booklet is not to be taken lightly, since this is a matter that could take a person completely outside of the fold of Islaam into Kufr (disbelief). This is not mere opinion of laymen but the verdict of the Ulamaa’ of Islaam, who have pronounced anyone holding such weird beliefs, which contradict the very fundamentals of Islaamic belief, and continue to persist in such beliefs even after the evidence has been clearly shown to them, risks falling outside of the fold of Islaam. It should be kept in mind that the above statements are being made for conveying knowledge only and not to make declaration of Kufr (disbelief) of any people.

It is compulsory on the `Ulamaa’ to make an effort to inform the public through all means available about the group’s deviant nature. Articles exposing the group should be written and distributed. Many Muslims have passively sat by for a long time, believing that the group would soon fizzle out and disappear. Instead, its cancerous growth has continued unabated and unchecked. As for those who in spite of what they have read, continue to have misgivings about exposing the group due to their desire to maintain an image of unity with respect to Islaam, then let them reflect on the following incident, "When some people mentioned to Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullaah) that they felt uneasy about criticizing people (who had deviated in their beliefs), he replied - "If I were to remain silent, how then would the masses know truth from falsehood?" (Reported by Imaam Ibn Taymeeyah in Majmoo`ah ar-Rasaa’il wa al-Masaa’il, vol 4, Page 10, Arabic). According to the unanimous agreement of Muslim scholars, those who introduce deviant writings and religious rites, contrary to the Qur'ân and Sunnah have to be exposed and the Muslm nation warned against them. In fact, when Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullaah) was asked if one who fasted, prayed and secluded himself in the Masjid was dearer to him than one who spoke out against people involved in deviations, he replied, when one fasts, prays and secludes oneself, he does so for himself alone; but if he speaks out against deviations, he does so for Muslims in general, which is more noble.

With this we end this article. After having read this article, if you believe it is your duty and responsibility to Allaah, to warn your brothers and sisters, then please do not be a silent spectator, spread the truth to the best of your ability. Perhaps you may save a soul or two from the deviant clutches of the group.

Finally, we ask Allaah to give all of us the taufeeq to recognize the truth, to understand it, to implement it and to call to it.

Wal hamdulillaahi Rabbil `Aalameen
By Al-Hidaayah

 

[SisterAmina]

Thank you brother Muwahi-1 for your effort

it is very true what you have mentioned above. Sufism is a wrong path that leads to Hell. Allah forgives everything except shirk and Sufism is a sect which is only about shirk. I hope that people read Quran and Sunna properly in order to understand the real meaning of the oneness of Allah ( Tawhid)

May Allah have mery on us and the show the right path for those who want to be in the Paradise of firdaws Inshaa Allah.

Wa salamu alaikum wa Rahmatu Allahi wa Barakatuh

 

[case]

Thankyou brother muhwai 1
i always wondered why i looked up when thanking Allah when i was told and had developed the notion that Allah was everywere. thank you

 

[Submitter]

:salam2:

Jazakallah khair for sharing this important information. More can be found at the following website:

http://www.allaahuakbar.net/

By the way, welcome to the website case

Wasalam

 

[shabnum]

:salam2:

jazakallah khair for sharing, something new i have learnt may allah bless you with more knowledge of islam ameen keep and spreading the good hadithes of islam.:ma:


ALLAH HU AKBAR!!!!!!!


:muslim_child:

 

[Globalpeace]

Asslamo Allaikum,

I am neither a Sufi nor a student of Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller but have some comments after reading the article (openly, candidly and without bias) ...

1) You are right that the term "SUFI'ISM" didn't exist in earlier but then neither did the terms "TAJWEED", "Sahih Bukhari" "Sunnah-Moakkidaah" "Aqeedah" (yes it is NOT mentioned in these exact words in the Qur'aan or Hadeeth) & so on

2) The general concept of IHSAAN does exist is Islam & TAZKIYAH (purification, rectification) of the heart also exists in Islam and it was a duty assigned to Rasul-ullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wasallam) i.e.

Allah conferred indeed a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger (i.e., Muhammad-sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) from among themselves reciting unto them His Verses (i.e., the Qur'an ) and purifying them (from sins by their following him) and instructing them in the Book (i.e., the Qur'an ) and Wisdom (i.e., the Sunnah), while before that they had been in manifest error." - The Qur'an 3:164.

3) There have been many amongst the SALAF who practised the spiritual side of Islam but now a days people have strange customs i.e. a group in Brimingham (UK) beleive that their soul leaves their body and circumablutaes around the throne of Allah (SWT) and then goes back etc...

4) Tazkiyah is freely mentioned in many books of Islam by SALAF & KHALAF and practised by many....There are scholars around who have uphelp the tradition as passed to them WITHOUT indulging in things as decribed in 3

So you can't throw the baby out with the bath-water:

http://www.central-mosque.com/fiqh/tass3.htm

The Place of Tasawwuf in Traditional Islam:

Perhaps the biggest challenge in learning Islam correctly today is the scarcity of traditional ‘ulama. In this meaning, Bukhari relates the sahih, rigorously authenticated hadith that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,


"Truly, Allah does not remove Sacred Knowedge by taking it out of servants, but rather by taking back the souls of Islamic scholars [in death], until, when He has not left a single scholar, the people take the ignorant as leaders, who are asked for and who give Islamic legal opinion without knowledge, misguided and misguiding" (Fath al-Bari, 1.194, hadith 100).


The process described by the hadith is not yet completed, but has certainly begun, and in our times, the lack of traditional scholars—whether in Islamic law, in hadith, in tafsir ‘Qur'anic exegesis’—has given rise to an understanding of the religion that is far from scholarly, and sometimes far from the truth. For example, in the course of my own studies in Islamic law, my first impression from orientalist and Muslim-reformer literature, was that the Imams of the madhhabs or ‘schools of jurisprudence’ had brought a set of rules from completely outside the Islamic tradition and somehow imposed them upon the Muslims. But when I sat with traditional scholars in the Middle East and asked them about the details, I came away with a different point of view, having learned the bases for deriving the law from the Qur'an and sunna.


And similarly with Tasawwuf—which is the word I will use tonight for the English Sufism, since our context is traditional Islam—quite a different picture emerged from talking with scholars of Tasawwuf than what I had been exposed to in the West. My talk tonight, In Sha’ Allah, will present knowledge taken from the Qur'an and sahih hadith, and from actual teachers of Tasawwuf in Syria and Jordan, in view of the need for all of us to get beyond clichés, the need for factual information from Islamic sources, the need to answer such questions as: Where did Tasawwuf come from? What role does it play in the din or religion of Islam? and most importantly, What is the command of Allah about it?


As for the origin of the term Tasawwuf, like many other Islamic discliplines, its name was not known to the first generation of Muslims. The historian Ibn Khaldun notes in his Muqaddima:
This knowledge is a branch of the sciences of Sacred Law that originated within the Umma. From the first, the way of such people had also been considered the path of truth and guidance by the early Muslim community and its notables, of the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), those who were taught by them, and those who came after them.


It basically consists of dedication to worship, total dedication to Allah Most High, disregard for the finery and ornament of the world, abstinence from the pleasure, wealth, and prestige sought by most men, and retiring from others to worship alone. This was the general rule among the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the early Muslims, but when involvement in this-worldly things became widespread from the second Islamic century onwards and people became absorbed in worldliness, those devoted to worship came to be called Sufiyya or People of Tasawwuf (Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddima [N.d. Reprint. Mecca: Dar al-Baz, 1397/1978], 467).


In Ibn Khaldun’s words, the content of Tasawwuf, "total dedication to Allah Most High," was, "the general rule among the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the early Muslims." So if the word did not exist in earliest times, we should not forget that this is also the case with many other Islamic disciplines, such as tafsir, ‘Qur'anic exegesis,’ or ‘ilm al-jarh wa ta‘dil, ‘the science of the positive and negative factors that affect hadith narrators acceptability,’ or ‘ilm al-tawhid, the science of belief in Islamic tenets of faith,’ all of which proved to be of the utmost importance to the correct preservation and transmission of the religion.


As for the origin of the word Tasawwuf, it may well be from Sufi, the person who does Tasawwuf, which seems to be etymologically prior to it, for the earliest mention of either term was by Hasan al-Basri who died 110 years after the Hijra, and is reported to have said, "I saw a Sufi circumambulating the Kaaba, and offered him a dirham, but he would not accept it." It therefore seems better to understand Tasawwuf by first asking what a Sufi is; and perhaps the best definition of both the Sufi and his way, certainly one of the most frequently quoted by masters of the discipline, is from the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) who said:


Allah Most High says: "He who is hostile to a friend of Mine I declare war against. My slave approaches Me with nothing more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him, and My slave keeps drawing nearer to Me with voluntary works until I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he seizes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks me, I will surely give to him, and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him" (Fath al-Bari, 11.340–41, hadith 6502);


This hadith was related by Imam Bukhari, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Bayhaqi, and others with multiple contiguous chains of transmission, and is sahih. It discloses the central reality of Tasawwuf, which is precisely change, while describing the path to this change, in conformity with a traditional definition used by masters in the Middle East, who define a Sufi as Faqihun ‘amila bi ‘ilmihi fa awrathahu Llahu ‘ilma ma lam ya‘lam,‘A man of religious learning who applied what he knew, so Allah bequeathed him knowledge of what he did not know.’


To clarify, a Sufi is a man of religious learning,because the hadith says, "My slave approaches Me with nothing more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him," and only through learning can the Sufi know the command of Allah, or what has been made obligatory for him. He has applied what he knew, because the hadith says he not only approaches Allah with the obligatory, but "keeps drawing nearer to Me with voluntary works until I love him." And in turn, Allah bequeathed him knowledge of what he did not know, because the hadith says, "And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he seizes, and his foot with which he walks," which is a metaphor for the consummate awareness of tawhid, or the ‘unity of Allah,’ which in the context of human actions such as hearing, sight, seizing, and walking, consists of realizing the words of the Qur'an about Allah that,


"It is He who created you and what you do" (Qur'an 37:96).


The origin of the way of the Sufi thus lies in the prophetic sunna. The sincerity to Allah that it entails was the rule among the earliest Muslims, to whom this was simply a state of being without a name, while it only became a distinct discipline when the majority of the Community had drifted away and changed from this state. Muslims of subsequent generations required systematic effort to attain it, and it was because of the change in the Islamic environment after the earliest generations, that a discipline by the name of Tasawwuf came to exist.


But if this is true of origins, the more significant question is: How central is Tasawwuf to the religion, and: Where does it fit into Islam as a whole? Perhaps the best answer is the hadith of Muslim, that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab said:


As we sat one day with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), a man in pure white clothing and jet black hair came to us, without a trace of travelling upon him, though none of us knew him.


He sat down before the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) bracing his knees against his, resting his hands on his legs, and said: "Muhammad, tell me about Islam." The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and to perform the prayer, give zakat, fast in Ramadan, and perform the pilgrimage to the House if you can find a way."


He said: "You have spoken the truth," and we were surprised that he should ask and then confirm the answer. Then he said: "Tell me about true faith (iman)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered: "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His inspired Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and in destiny, its good and evil."


"You have spoken the truth," he said, "Now tell me about the perfection of faith (ihsan)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered: "It is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you see Him not, He nevertheless sees you."


The hadith continues to where ‘Umar said:


Then the visitor left. I waited a long while, and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to me, "Do you know, ‘Umar, who was the questioner?" and I replied, "Allah and His messenger know best." He said,


"It was Gabriel, who came to you to teach you your religion" (Sahih Muslim, 1.37: hadith 8).


This is a sahih hadith, described by Imam Nawawi as one of the hadiths upon which the Islamic religion turns. The use of din in the last words of it, Atakum yu‘allimukum dinakum, "came to you to teach you your religion" entails that the religion of Islam is composed of the three fundamentals mentioned in the hadith: Islam, or external compliance with what Allah asks of us; Iman, or the belief in the unseen that the prophets have informed us of; and Ihsan, or to worship Allah as though one sees Him. The Qur'an says, in Surat Maryam,


"Surely We have revealed the Remembrance, and surely We shall preserve it" (Qur'an 15:9),


and if we reflect how Allah, in His wisdom, has accomplished this, we see that it is by human beings, the traditional scholars He has sent at each level of the religion. The level of Islam has been preserved and conveyed to us by the Imams of Shari‘a or ‘Sacred Law’ and its ancillary disciplines; the level of Iman, by the Imams of ‘Aqida or ‘tenets of faith’; and the level of Ihsan, "to worship Allah as though you see Him," by the Imams of Tasawwuf.


The hadith’s very words "to worship Allah" show us the interrelation of these three fundamentals, for the how of "worship" is only known through the external prescriptions of Islam, while the validity of this worship in turn presupposes Iman or faith in Allah and the Islamic revelation, without which worship would be but empty motions; while the words, "as if you see Him," show that Ihsan implies a human change, for it entails the experience of what, for most of us, is not experienced. So to understand Tasawwuf, we must look at the nature of this change in relation to both Islam and Iman, and this is the main focus of my talk tonight.


At the level of Islam, we said that Tasawwuf requires Islam,through ‘submission to the rules of Sacred Law.’ But Islam, for its part, equally requires Tasawwuf. Why? For the very good reason that the sunna which Muslims have been commanded to follow is not just the words and actions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), but also his states, states of the heart such as taqwa ‘godfearingness,’ ikhlas ‘sincerity,’ tawakkul ‘reliance on Allah,’ rahma ‘mercy,’ tawadu‘ ‘humility,’ and so on.


Now, it is characteristic of the Islamic ethic that human actions are not simply divided into two shades of morality, right or wrong; but rather five, arranged in order of their consequences in the next world. The obligatory (wajib) is that whose performance is rewarded by Allah in the next life and whose nonperformance is punished. The recommended (mandub) is that whose performance is rewarded, but whose nonperformance is not punished. The permissible (mubah) is indifferent, unconnected with either reward or punishment. The offensive (makruh) is that whose nonperformance is rewarded but whose performance is not punished. The unlawful (haram) is that whose nonperformance is rewarded and whose performance is punished, if one dies unrepentant.


Human states of the heart, the Qur'an and sunna make plain to us, come under each of these headings. Yet they are not dealt with in books of fiqh or ‘Islamic jurisprudence,’ because unlike the prayer, zakat, or fasting, they are not quantifiable in terms of the specific amount of them that must be done. But though they are not countable, they are of the utmost importance to every Muslim. Let’s look at a few examples.


(1) Love of Allah. In Surat al-Baqara of the Qur'an, Allah blames those who ascribe associates to Allah whom they love as much as they love Allah. Then He says,


"And those who believe are greater in love for Allah" (Qur'an 2:165), making being a believer conditional upon having greater love for Allah than any other.


(2) Mercy. Bukhari and Muslim relate that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "Whomever is not merciful to people, Allah will show no mercy" (Sahih Muslim, 4.1809: hadith 2319), and Tirmidhi relates the well authenticated (hasan) hadith "Mercy is not taken out of anyone except the damned" (al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 4.323: hadith 1923).


(3) Love of each other. Muslim relates in his Sahih that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "By Him in whose hand is my soul, none of you shall enter paradise until you believe, and none of you shall believe until you love one another . . . ." (Sahih Muslim, 1.74: hadith 54).


(4) Presence of mind in the prayer (salat). Abu Dawud relates in his Sunan that ‘Ammar ibn Yasir heard the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) say, "Truly, a man leaves, and none of his prayer has been recorded for him except a tenth of it, a ninth of it, eighth of it, seventh of it, sixth of it, fifth of it, fourth of it, third of it, a half of it" (Sunan Abi Dawud, 1.211: hadith 796)—meaning that none of a person’s prayer counts for him except that in which he is present in his heart with Allah.


(5) Love of the Prophet. Bukhari relates in his Sahih that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "None of you believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his son, and all people" (Fath al-Bari, 1.58, hadith 15).
It is plain from these texts that none of the states mentioned—whether mercy, love, or presence of heart—are quantifiable, for the Shari‘a cannot specify that one must "do two units of mercy" or "have three units of presence of mind" in the way that the number of rak‘as of prayer can be specified, yet each of them is personally obligatory for the Muslim. Let us complete the picture by looking at a few examples of states that are haram or ‘strictly unlawful’:


(1) Fear of anyone besides Allah. Allah Most High says in Surat al-Baqara of the Qur'an,


"And fulfill My covenant: I will fulfill your covenant—And fear Me alone" (Qur'an 2:40), the last phrase of which, according to Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, "establishes that a human being is obliged to fear no one besides Allah Most High" (Tafsir al-Fakhr al-Razi, 3.42).


(2) Despair. Allah Most High says,


"None despairs of Allah’s mercy except the people who disbelieve" (Qur'an 12:87), indicating the unlawfulness of this inward state by coupling it with the worst human condition possible, that of unbelief.


(3) Arrogance. Muslim relates in his Sahih that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "No one shall enter paradise who has a particle of arrogance in his heart" (Sahih Muslim, 1.93: hadith 91).


(4) Envy,meaning to wish for another to lose the blessings he enjoys. Abu Dawud relates that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "Beware of envy, for envy consumes good works as flames consume firewood" (Sunan Abi Dawud, 4.276: hadith 4903).


(5) Showing off in acts of worship. Al-Hakim relates with a sahih chain of transmission that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "The slightest bit of showing off in good works is as if worshipping others with Allah . . . ." (al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn, 1.4).


These and similar haram inward states are not found in books of fiqh or ‘jurisprudence,’ because fiqh can only deal with quantifiable descriptions of rulings. Rather, they are examined in their causes and remedies by the scholars of the ‘inner fiqh’ of Tasawwuf, men such as Imam al-Ghazali in his Ihya’ ‘ulum al-din [The reviving of the religious sciences], Imam al-Rabbani in his Maktubat [Letters], al-Suhrawardi in his ‘Awarif al-Ma‘arif [The knowledges of the illuminates], Abu Talib al-Makki in Qut al-qulub [The sustenance of hearts], and similar classic works, which discuss and solve hundreds of ethical questions about the inner life. These are books of Shari‘a and their questions are questions of Sacred Law, of how it is lawful or unlawful for a Muslim to be; and they preserve the part of the prophetic sunna dealing with states.


Who needs such information? All Muslims, for the Qur'anic verses and authenticated hadiths all point to the fact that a Muslim must not only do certain things and say certain things, but also must be something, must attain certain states of the heart and eliminate others. Do we ever fear someone besides Allah? Do we have a particle of arrogance in our hearts? Is our love for the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) greater than our love for any other human being? Is there the slightest bit of showing off in our good works?


Half a minute’s reflection will show the Muslim where he stands on these aspects of his din, and why in classical times, helping Muslims to attain these states was not left to amateurs, but rather delegated to ‘ulama of the heart, the scholars of Islamic Tasawwuf. For most people, these are not easy transformations to make, because of the force of habit, because of the subtlety with which we can deceive ourselves, but most of all because each of us has an ego, the self, the Me, which is called in Arabic al-nafs, about which Allah testifies in Surat Yusuf:


"Verily the self ever commands to do evil" (Qur'an 12:53).


If you do not believe it, consider the hadith related by Muslim in his Sahih, that:


The first person judged on Resurrection Day will be a man martyred in battle.


He will be brought forth, Allah will reacquaint him with His blessings upon him and the man will acknowledge them, whereupon Allah will say, "What have you done with them?" to which the man will respond, "I fought to the death for You."


Allah will reply, "You lie. You fought in order to be called a hero, and it has already been said." Then he will be sentenced and dragged away on his face and flung into the fire.


Then a man will be brought forward who learned Sacred Knowledge, taught it to others, and who recited the Qur'an. Allah will remind him of His gifts to him and the man will acknowledge them, and then Allah will say, "What have you done with them?" The man will answer, "I acquired Sacred Knowledge, taught it, and recited the Qur'an, for Your sake."


Allah will say, "You lie. You learned so as to be called a scholar, and read the Qur'an so as to be called a reciter, and it has already been said." Then the man will be sentenced and dragged away on his face to be flung into the fire.


Then a man will be brought forward whom Allah generously provided for, giving him various kinds of wealth, and Allah will recall to him the benefits given, and the man will acknowledge them, to which Allah will say, "And what have you done with them?" The man will answer, "I have not left a single kind of expenditure You love to see made, except that I have spent on it for Your sake."


Allah will say, "You lie. You did it so as to be called generous, and it has already been said." Then he will be sentenced and dragged away on his face to be flung into the fire (Sahih Muslim, 3.1514: hadith 1905).


We should not fool ourselves about this, because our fate depends on it: in our childhood, our parents taught us how to behave through praise or blame, and for most of us, this permeated and colored our whole motivation for doing things. But when childhood ends, and we come of age in Islam, the religion makes it clear to us, both by the above hadith and by the words of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) "The slightest bit of showing off in good works is as if worshipping others with Allah" that being motivated by what others think is no longer good enough, and that we must change our motives entirely, and henceforth be motivated by nothing but desire for Allah Himself. The Islamic revelation thus tells the Muslim that it is obligatory to break his habits of thinking and motivation, but it does not tell him how. For that, he must go to the scholars of these states, in accordance with the Qur'anic imperative,


"Ask those who know if you know not" (Qur'an 16:43),


There is no doubt that bringing about this change, purifying the Muslims by bringing them to spiritual sincerity, was one of the central duties of the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), for Allah says in the Surat Al ‘Imran of the Qur'an,


"Allah has truly blessed the believers, for He has sent them a messenger of themselves, who recites His signs to them and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom" (Qur'an 3:164),


which explicitly lists four tasks of the prophetic mission, the second of which, yuzakkihim means precisely to ‘purify them’ and has no other lexical sense. Now, it is plain that this teaching function cannot, as part of an eternal revelation, have ended with the passing of the first generation, a fact that Allah explictly confirms in His injunction in Surat Luqman,
"And follow the path of him who turns unto Me" (Qur'an 31:15).


These verses indicate the teaching and transformative role of those who convey the Islamic revelation to Muslims, and the choice of the word ittiba‘ in the second verse, which is more general, implies both keeping the company of and following the example of a teacher. This is why in the history of Tasawwuf, we find that though there were many methods and schools of thought, these two things never changed: keeping the company of a teacher, and following his example—in exactly the same way that the Sahaba were uplifted and purified by keeping the company of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and following his example.


And this is why the discipline of Tasawwuf has been preserved and transmitted by Tariqas or groups of students under a particular master. First, because this was the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in his purifying function described by the Qur'an. Secondly, Islamic knowledge has never been transmitted by writings alone, but rather from ‘ulama to students. Thirdly, the nature of the knowledge in question is of hal or ‘state of being,’ not just knowing, and hence requires it be taken from a succession of living masters back to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), for the sheer range and number of the states of heart required by the revelation effectively make imitation of the personal example of a teacher the only effective means of transmission.


So far we have spoken about Tasawwuf in respect to Islam, as a Shari‘a science necessary to fully realize the Sacred Law in one’s life, to attain the states of the heart demanded by the Qur'an and hadith. This close connection between Shari‘a and Tasawwuf is expressed by the statement of Imam Malik, founder of the Maliki school, that "he who practices Tasawwuf without learning Sacred Law corrupts his faith, while he who learns Sacred Law without practicing Tasawwuf corrupts himself. Only he who combines the two proves true." This is why Tasawwuf was taught as part of the traditional curriculum in madrasas across the Muslim world from Malaysia to Morocco, why many of the greatest Shari‘a scholars of this Umma have been Sufis, and why until the end of the Islamic caliphate at the beginning of this century and the subsequent Western control and cultural dominance of Muslim lands, there were teachers of Tasawwuf in Islamic institutions of higher learning from Lucknow to Istanbul to Cairo.


But there is a second aspect of Tasawwuf that we have not yet talked about; namely, its relation to Iman or ‘True Faith,’ the second pillar of the Islamic religion, which in the context of the Islamic sciences consists of ‘Aqida or ‘orthodox belief.’


All Muslims believe in Allah, and that He is transcendently beyond anything conceivable to the minds of men, for the human intellect is imprisoned within its own sense impressions and the categories of thought derived from them, such as number, directionality, spatial extention, place, time, and so forth. Allah is beyond all of that; in His own words,
"There is nothing whatesover like unto Him" (Qur'an 42:11)


If we reflect for a moment on this verse, in the light of the hadith of Muslim about Ihsan that "it is to worship Allah as though you see Him," we realize that the means of seeing here is not the eye, which can only behold physical things like itself; nor yet the mind, which cannot transcend its own impressions to reach the Divine, but rather certitude, the light of Iman, whose locus is not the eye or the brain, but rather the ruh, a subtle faculty Allah has created within each of us called the soul, whose knowledge is unobstructed by the bounds of the created universe. Allah Most High says, by way of exalting the nature of this faculty by leaving it a mystery,


"Say: ‘The soul is of the affair of my Lord’" (Qur'an 17:85).


The food of this ruh is dhikr or the ‘remembrance of Allah.’ Why? Because acts of obedience increase the light of certainty and Iman in the soul, and dhikr is among the greatest of them, as is attested to by the sahih hadith related by al-Hakim that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,


"Shall I not tell you of the best of your works, the purest of them in the eyes of your Master, the highest in raising your rank, better than giving gold and silver, and better for you than to meet your enemy and smite their necks, and they smite yours?" They said, "This—what is it, O Messenger of Allah?" and he said: Dhikru Llahi ‘azza wa jall, "The remembrance of Allah Mighty and Majestic." (al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn, 1.496).


Increasing the strength of Iman through good actions, and particularly through the medium of dhikr has tremendous implications for the Islamic religion and traditional spirituality. A non-Muslim once asked me, "If God exists, then why all this beating around the bush? Why doesn’t He just come out and say so?"


The answer is that taklif or ‘moral responsibility’ in this life is not only concerned with outward actions, but with what we believe, our ‘Aqida—and the strength with which we believe it. If belief in God and other eternal truths were effortless in this world, there would be no point in Allah making us responsible for it, it would be automatic, involuntary, like our belief, say, that London is in England. There would no point in making someone responsible for something impossible not to believe.


But the responsibility Allah has place upon us is belief in the Unseen, as a test for us in this world to choose between kufr and Iman, to distinguish believer from unbeliever, and some believers above others.


This why strengthening Iman through dhikr is of such methodological importance for Tasawwuf: we have not only been commanded as Muslims to believe in certain things, but have been commanded to have absolute certainty in them. The world we see around us is composed of veils of light and darkness: events come that knock the Iman out of some of us, and Allah tests each of us as to the degree of certainty with which we believe the eternal truths of the religion. It was in this sense that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "If the Iman of Abu Bakr were weighed against the Iman of the entire Umma, it would outweigh it."


Now, in traditional ‘Aqida one of the most important tenets is the wahdaniyya or ‘oneness and uniqueness’ of Allah Most High. This means He is without any sharik or associate in His being, in His attributes, or in His acts. But the ability to hold this insight in mind in the rough and tumble of daily life is a function of the strength of certainty (yaqin) in one’s heart. Allah tells the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) in Surat al-A‘raf of the Qur'an,


"Say: ‘I do not possess benefit for myself or harm, except as Allah wills’" (Qur'an 7:188),


yet we tend to rely on ourselves and our plans, in obliviousness to the facts of ‘Aqida that ourselves and our plans have no effect, that Allah alone brings about effects.


If you want to test yourself on this, the next time you contact someone with good connections whose help is critical to you, take a look at your heart at the moment you ask him to put in a good word for you with someone, and see whom you are relying upon. If you are like most of us, Allah is not at the forefront of your thoughts, despite the fact that He alone is controlling the outcome. Isn’t this a lapse in your ‘Aqida, or, at the very least, in your certainty?


Tasawwuf corrects such shortcomings by step-by-step increasing the Muslim’s certainty in Allah. The two central means of Tasawwuf in attaining the conviction demanded by ‘Aqida are mudhakara, or learning the traditional tenets of Islamic faith, and dhikr, deepening one’s certainty in them by remembrance of Allah. It is part of our faith that, in the words of the Qur'an in Surat al-Saffat,


"Allah has created you and what you do" (Qur'an 37:96);


yet for how many of us is this day to day experience? Because Tasawwuf remedies this and other shortcomings of Iman, by increasing the Muslim’s certainty through a systematic way of teaching and dhikr, it has traditionally been regarded as personally obligatory to this pillar of the religion also, and from the earliest centuries of Islam, has proved its worth.


The last question we will deal with tonight is: What about the bad Sufis we read about, who contravene the teachings of Islam?


The answer is that there are two meanings of Sufi: the first is "Anyone who considers himself a Sufi," which is the rule of thumb of orientalist historians of Sufism and popular writers, who would oppose the "Sufis" to the "Ulama." I think the Qur'anic verses and hadiths we have mentioned tonight about the scope and method of true Tasawwuf show why we must insist on the primacy of the definition of a Sufi as "a man of religious learning who applied what he knew, so Allah bequeathed him knowledge of what he did not know."


The very first thing a Sufi, as a man of religious learning knows is that the Shari‘a and ‘Aqida of Islam are above every human being. Whoever does not know this will never be a Sufi, except in the orientalist sense of the word—like someone standing in front of the stock exchange in an expensive suit with a briefcase to convince people he is a stockbroker. A real stockbroker is something else.


Because this distinction is ignored today by otherwise well-meaning Muslims, it is often forgotten that the ‘ulama who have criticized Sufis, such as Ibn al-Jawzi in his Talbis Iblis [The Devil’s deception], or Ibn Taymiya in places in his Fatawa, or Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, were not criticizing Tasawwuf as an ancillary discipline to the Shari‘a. The proof of this is Ibn al-Jawzi’s five-volume Sifat al-safwa, which contains the biographies of the very same Sufis mentioned in al-Qushayri’s famous Tasawwuf manual al-Risala al-Qushayriyya. Ibn Taymiya considered himself a Sufi of the Qadiri order, and volumes ten and eleven of his thirty-seven-volume Majmu‘ al-fatawa are devoted to Tasawwuf. And Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya wrote his three-volume Madarij al-salikin, a detailed commentary on ‘Abdullah al-Ansari al-Harawi’s tract on the spiritual stations of the Sufi path, Manazil al-sa’irin. These works show that their authors’ criticisms were not directed at Tasawwuf as such, but rather at specific groups of their times, and they should be understood for what they are.


As in other Islamic sciences, mistakes historically did occur in Tasawwuf, most of them stemming from not recognizing the primacy of Shari‘a and ‘Aqida above all else. But these mistakes were not different in principle from, for example, the Isra’iliyyat (baseless tales of Bani Isra’il) that crept into tafsir literature, or the mawdu‘at (hadith forgeries) that crept into the hadith. These were not taken as proof that tafsir was bad, or hadith was deviance, but rather, in each discipline, the errors were identified and warned against by Imams of the field, because the Umma needed the rest. And such corrections are precisely what we find in books like Qushayri’s Risala,Ghazali’s Ihya’ and other works of Sufism.


For all of the reasons we have mentioned, Tasawwuf was accepted as an essential part of the Islamic religion by the ‘ulama of this Umma. The proof of this is all the famous scholars of Shari‘a sciences who had the higher education of Tasawwuf, among them Ibn ‘Abidin, al-Razi, Ahmad Sirhindi, Zakariyya al-Ansari, al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salam, Ibn Daqiq al-‘Eid, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Shah Wali Allah, Ahmad Dardir, Ibrahim al-Bajuri, ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, Imam al-Nawawi, Taqi al-Din al-Subki, and al-Suyuti.


Among the Sufis who aided Islam with the sword as well as the pen, to quote Reliance of the Traveller, were:
such men as the Naqshbandi sheikh Shamil al-Daghestani, who fought a prolonged war against the Russians in the Caucasus in the nineteenth century; Sayyid Muhammad ‘Abdullah al-Somali, a sheikh of the Salihiyya order who led Muslims against the British and Italians in Somalia from 1899 to 1920; the Qadiri sheikh ‘Uthman ibn Fodi, who led jihad in Northern Nigeria from 1804 to 1808 to establish Islamic rule; the Qadiri sheikh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza’iri, who led the Algerians against the French from 1832 to 1847; the Darqawi faqir al-Hajj Muhammad al-Ahrash, who fought the French in Egypt in 1799; the Tijani sheikh al-Hajj ‘Umar Tal, who led Islamic Jihad in Guinea, Senegal, and Mali from 1852 to 1864; and the Qadiri sheikh Ma’ al-‘Aynayn al-Qalqami, who helped marshal Muslim resistance to the French in northern Mauritania and southern Morocco from 1905 to 1909.


Among the Sufis whose missionary work Islamized entire regions are such men as the founder of the Sanusiyya order, Muhammad ‘Ali Sanusi, whose efforts and jihad from 1807 to 1859 consolidated Islam as the religion of peoples from the Libyan Desert to sub-Saharan Africa; [and] the Shadhili sheikh Muhammad Ma‘ruf and Qadiri sheikh Uways al-Barawi, whose efforts spread Islam westward and inland from the East African Coast . . . . (Reliance of the Traveller,863).


It is plain from the examples of such men what kind of Muslims have been Sufis; namely, all kinds, right across the board—and that Tasawwuf did not prevent them from serving Islam in any way they could.


To summarize everything I have said tonight: In looking first at Tasawwuf and Shari‘a, we found that many Qur'anic verses and sahih hadiths oblige the Muslim to eliminate haram inner states as arrogance, envy, and fear of anyone besides Allah; and on the other hand, to acquire such obligatory inner states as mercy, love of one’s fellow Muslims, presence of mind in prayer, and love of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). We found that these inward states could not be dealt with in books of fiqh, whose purpose is to specify the outward, quantifiable aspects of the Shari‘a. The knowledge of these states is nevertheless of the utmost importance to every Muslim, and this is why it was studied under the ‘ulama of Ihsan, the teachers of Tasawwuf, in all periods of Islamic history until the beginning of the present century.


We then turned to the level of Iman, and found that though the ‘Aqida of Muslims is that Allah alone has any effect in this world, keeping this in mind in everhday life is not a given of human consciousness, but rather a function of a Muslim’s yaqin, his certainty. And we found that Tasawwuf, as an ancillary discipline to ‘Aqida, emphasizes the systematic increase of this certainty through both mudhakara, ‘teaching tenets of faith’ and dhikr, ‘the remembrance of Allah,’ in accordance with the words of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) about Ihsan that "it is worship Allah as though you see Him."


Lastly, we found that accusations against Tasawwuf made by scholars such as Ibn al-Jawzi, and Ibn Taymiya were not directed against Tasawwuf in principle, but to specific groups and individuals in the times of these authors, the proof for which is the other books by the same authors that showed their understanding of Tasawwuf as a Shari‘a science.
To return to the starting point of my talk this evening, with the disappearance of traditional Islamic scholars from the Umma, two very different pictures of Tasawwuf emerge today. If we read books written after the dismantling of the traditional fabric of Islam by colonial powers in the last century, we find the big hoax: Islam without spirituality and Shari‘a without Tasawwuf. But if we read the classical works of Islamic scholarship, we learn that Tasawwuf has been a Shari‘a science like tafsir, hadith, or any other, throughout the history of Islam. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,


"Truly, Allah does not look at your outward forms and wealth, but rather at your hearts and your works" (Sahih Muslim, 4.1389: hadith 2564).


And this is the brightest hope that Islam can offer a modern world darkened by materialism and nihilism: Islam as it truly is; the hope of eternal salvation through a religion of brotherhood and social and economic justice outwardly, and the direct experience of divine love and illumination inwardly.


Article taken (with Thanks) from Masud.co.uk



Jazakullah Khairun

 

[marzuki mohamed]

:salam2:

al quran & sunnah is enough and completed.

we don't need any extra thing such as sufism/tareqat/bidah thing etc..

thanks for sharing this brother muwahi-1.



wasalam.

 

[Globalpeace]

Asslamo Allaikum Brother,

So you beleive Ihsaan to be something in addition to Qur'aan & sunnah Bro?

Problem is NOT "Tasawwuf" or any other term you would like to use but the actual practises that these people follow!

I don't understand that if this was ALL BID'AA/SHIRK/HARAM then how do you exaplain one of the most scholars like Muwaffaq al-Din 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi al-Hanbali (author of Al-Mughni (the main Hanbali fiqh manual) abridging and commenting on the works of a "SUFI" like Imam Ghazali (RA) and abridging Ihya-ulumud-din as mukhtasr minhaj al-qasidin?

Also doesn't explain Ibn al-Qayyim (RA) writing Madarij al-salikin?

Also Ibn al-Jawzi (RA) writing Sifat al-safwa?

Both of the above quoted works quote abundantly from Al-Junayd al-Baghdadi???

Shah Ismail Shaheed (RA) author of Taqwaiyatul-Imaan one of the most powerful books EVER written against Bid'aa/Shirk in Urdu (English translation done by Maktaba Salafiyya (Pakistan), revised, reprinted & distributed to Hajees by Saudi government) authoring Sairatal-Mustaqeem dealing with "Tasawwuf" (many references to Naqshbandees)

Why would these well known scholars on record to be against Bid'aa/Shirk turn around & author works on "Tasawwuf"?

Finally the original question of the term ""Tasawwuf" not being used/known in earlier Islam doesn't prove anything because there are many terms later developed which were NOT used either as my earlier message suggests...We have to look at practices as if they conform to Qur'aan & Sunnah as critical concepts that we use today such as "Jar'ah wat' Ta'deel (scrutinizing narraters of Hadeeth)", Saheeh (rigorously Authenticated), Hasan (Authentic), Da'ef (weak) also DID NOT exist earlier...

Jazakullah Khairun

 

[byefareed]

Peace

:salam2:
Whatever your concept is of the suffism, please don't quarrel.

What you have to put in mind is

Turning around any house is shirk but turning around the house of Allah is not, why? Because it is Allah's house.
Kissing any stone with the idea that it will take out all your sins is shirk but kissing the Hajr Aswad is not, why? because its relation is with Allah.

 

[Globalpeace]

"Ihsaan" rather then Tassawuuf"

Asslamo Allaikum Brother,

I am neither a Sufi nor advocating it; however the concept of "Ihsaan" is deeply rootes in the Qur'aan and the Sunnah.

Read Madarijus-Salikeen & opinions of both Shaykh Ibn-e-Taimiyyah (RA) & Shaykh Ibn Qayyim (RA) on leading people like Hasan
Basari, Ibrahim bin Adham, Fuzail bin Eyaz, Maroof Karkhi, Bishr Hafi,
Shaqiq balkhi, Junaid Baghdadi, Sahal Tastari, Abu-Talib Makki, Abdul-Qadir
Jeelani in their works & books...

1) You can't tell me that Hasan Basri (RA) practised Bid'aa? & if you do please quote a consensus about it!

2) Shaykh Ibn Taimiyya (RA) constantly refers to Shaykh Abdul-Qadir Jeelani (RA) [Hanbali; yes to those Hanafees who worship him, he was a Hanbali...wake up and smell the coffee] as my Shaykh" (shaykhuna) and "my Master" (sayyidi) exclusively in his entire Fatawa. Ibn Taymiyya's sufi inclinations and his reverence for `Abd al-Qadir Gilani can also be seen in his hundred-page commentary on Futuh al-ghayb, covering only five of the seventy-eight sermons of the book, but showing that he considered tasawwuf essential within the life of the Islamic community.

3) Elsewhere also, such as in his al-Risala al-safadiyya, Ibn Taymiyya defends the Sufis as those who belong to the path of the Sunna and represent it in their teachings and writings:The great shaykhs mentioned by Abu `Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami in Tabaqat al-sufiyya, and Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri in al-Risala, were adherents of the school of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a and the school of Ahl al-hadith, such as al-Fudayl ibn `Iyad, al-Junayd ibn Muhammad, Sahl ibn `Abd Allah al-Tustari, `Amr ibn `Uthman al-Makki, Abu `Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Khafif al-Shirazi, and others, and their speech is found in the Sunna, and they composed books about the Sunna

4) In his treatise on the difference between the lawful forms of worship and the innovative forms, entitled Risalat al-`ibadat al-shar`iyya wal-farq baynaha wa bayn al-bid`iyya, Ibn Taymiyya unmistakably states that that the lawful is the method and way of "those who follow the Sufi path" or "the way of self-denial" (zuhd) and those who follow "what is called poverty and tasawwuf", i.e. the fuqara' and the Sufis:The lawful is that by which one approaches near to Allah. It is the way of Allah. It is righteousness, obedience, good deeds, charity, and fairness. It is the way of those on the Sufi path (al-salikin), and the method of those intending Allah and worshipping Him; it is that which is travelled by everyone who desires Allah and follows the way of self-denial (zuhd) and religious practice, and what is called poverty and tasawwuf and the like.

During the last century read the books of Shah Ismael Shaheed (RA); most famous one being "Taqwiyatul Imaan"....Brothers/Sisters are fond of quoting "Taqwiyatul Imaan" but they never mention "Siraatul-Mustaqeem" by the same author which is on "Ihsaan"

Whatever is NOT proven from the Sunnah is to be rejectedd; but you can't base your arguments on a bunch of idiots and reject "Ihsaan"; off course going around GRAVES is wrong...Off course kissing any old stone is wrong

If the disagreement is over the term then lets use the term which is in the Qur'aan & the Sunnah i.e. "Ihsaan"

HOWEVER! Some where in my collection I have a list of scholars who have used "Tassawuuf" in their writings; although I prefer to use the word Ihsaan.

P.S: When it comes to quoting scholars; I advice all to either have knowledge BEFORE copying & pasting articles from the Net or avoid selective quoting as we will be questioned by Allah (SWT) on the day of judgement.

:salam2:
Whatever your concept is of the suffism, please don't quarrel.

What you have to put in mind is

Turning around any house is shirk but turning around the house of Allah is not, why? Because it is Allah's house.
Kissing any stone with the idea that it will take out all your sins is shirk but kissing the Hajr Aswad is not, why? because its relation is with Allah.

 

[alkathiri]

Thank you brother Muwahi-1 for your effort

it is very true what you have mentioned above. Sufism is a wrong path that leads to Hell. Allah forgives everything except shirk and Sufism is a sect which is only about shirk. I hope that people read Quran and Sunna properly in order to understand the real meaning of the oneness of Allah ( Tawhid)

May Allah have mery on us and the show the right path for those who want to be in the Paradise of firdaws Inshaa Allah.

Wa salamu alaikum wa Rahmatu Allahi wa Barakatuh

:salam2:

Never , never say someone is wrong or on the wrong path. :astag:
Only Allah will determine who is wrong and who is right.... We are not god...

We as muslims should just follow the quran and the authentic hadith strictly.
If there are different opinions on something we avoid it

 

[Globalpeace]

Asslamo Allaikum Brother,

I agree to your logic to a certain extent; however if someone does soemthing which is against the Qur'aan & the Sunnah it should be pointed out.

However in this case; Brothers/Sisters seem to be rejecting an aspect of Islam based on statements like, "Some sufis do this..." "Some sufis do that..."

Well if "some Muslims pray their Salah wrong..." what do we do reject Salah altoghether...

No we point out errors in people's ways but not throw the baby out with the bath water!

P.S: I have already said that the correct term used in the Qur'aan & the Sunnah is "Ihsaan";

:salam2:

Never , never say someone is wrong or on the wrong path. :astag:
Only Allah will determine who is wrong and who is right.... We are not god...

We as muslims should just follow the quran and the authentic hadith strictly.
If there are different opinions on something we avoid it

 

[apocalypse77]

Actually..i find this article rather complex..but i want to know if sufism is really muslim or not?or are they considered just like the shi'a muslims?

 

[Globalpeace]

Asslamo Allaikum Brother,

It is a highly complicated subject Brother. Any practice of anyone which contradicts with the Qur'aan and/or the Sunnah is to be rejected.

There are lots of brothers/sisters who practise things like reading the Kalima loudly, swaying while doing it back and forth, visiting graves and asking the dead people to intercede on their behalf to Allah (SWT), reading certain verses a certain number of times & so on...and all practises like such don't have a place in the Qur'aan and/or the Sunnah...

Sufee groups have complex sets of rituals and Aqeedah, it is hard to condemn them all in 1 go.

Actually..i find this article rather complex..but i want to know if sufism is really muslim or not?or are they considered just like the shi'a muslims?

 

[Mabsoot]

Assalamu Alaykum,

Sufis are Muslims.. but much of what they do has no basis in the Quran or Sunnah.

They do Shirk, associating partners with Allah and they do bidah, introducing newly invented matters into the worship or other aspects of Islam.