first of all let me clarify that to call someone other than Allah “sayyedi” (my sayyid-i.e. my master) as respect is totally allowed and proven from the qur’an and sunnah. read any book on islam written by a traditional scholar and you will find the phrase “sayyedina so-and-so” . Does this mean that we are saying such a person is taking the place of Allah? NO! Of course not!
So all this talk of “shirk” amuses me because most people use this word indiscriminately without knowing its shar’iah meaning! It is one of the sad facts of the Muslim world today..
As for the necessity of a spiritual guide in Islam to lead you to the Divine Presence and to purify your heart of all negativities and to make it easier to follow the Prophetic Sunnah this too is evidential from the Qur’an and Sunnah. It is as my friends say a non sequitur! You dont deny the need to see a worldly doctor when your body is sick [and isn’t that shirk then o deniers of the awliya? why do you go to a doctor for when you are sick–why not ask Allah directly to cure you?!] so why can you deny the necessity of someone to purify your heart when it becomes sick and most human beings have diseased hearts myself included. The whole Islamic science called tassawuf [sufism] deals with how to purify the heart of all the negative traits by following the Qur’an and Sunnah and the teachings of the great sufis who have come before. Because when the heart is purified, the Human Being can then know Allah and become a Perfected Human–the true representative of the Creator and His Viceregent on Earth. The true Sufi shaykh is a person who has reached Allah and has been authorised to take others there too by following the true teachings of Huzoor Paak sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam and by that I mean both the inner and outer practises and teachings. Unlike your typical Deobandi mullah, for example, who might follow the sunnah on the outside but his actions make a mockery of his prayers etc. these great men-who are few and far between–have purified their inner selves and controlled their desires so that they are pure and do only goodness, even if bad is done to them. They radiate love to all who come to them and in this manner reflect true Islam. That is the true purpose of religion and of Islam.
These people, the Sufis, are the ones who brought most of the Subcontinent’s Muslims to Islam and to this day they continue quietly to work for Islam by example when the fanatical extremists and neo-kharijites around the world go and continue giving islam a bad name and putting people off it instead of making people come to Islam.
So I thank my Absolute Lord Allah who is the Creator of Everything that he has guided me to such a spiritual master, my beloved Shaykh, my Pir o Murshid who can guide me to His Presence insha Allah.
Boss, for people like you who are interested in learning about the whole phenomenon of Islamic spirituality [sufism]
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I can recommend the following books (other than the Qur’an which if you read it with a true Master and scholar is full of spiritual guidance for the seeker):
For starters
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Websites:
www.sunnah.org --go to the topics section and go to the topic Islamic and spirituality/Sufism. Whole site is amazing! www.naqshbandi.org www.nfie.com www.masud.co.uk
Books:
What is Sufism? by Dr. Martin Lings (Islamic Texts Society)
–the best introductory work in English.
I am Wind, You are Fire: The Life and Works of Rumi–by Anne-Marie Schimmel. About a particularly well known spiritual teacher but gives you a great understanding of all of sufism.
All the books of Shaykh Sayyid Abd al Qadir al Jilani (radhi Allah anhu) translated into English and published by Al-Baz Publications.
(translator: Muhtar Holland)
For a book about my beloved Shaykh and his particular tariqat [path, sufi brotherhood]-the Naqshbandiyya–and for a case study of my Grandshaykh Hazrat Amir e Millat Qibla e Alam Pir Sayyid Jama’at Ali Shah (radhi Allah anhu) see Arthur Beuhler’s in-depth study, " Sufi Heirs of The Prophet: The Indian Naqshbandiyya and the rise of the Mediating Sufi Shaykh".
In Urdu see the book Seerat e Amir e Millat.
All the above English books available from amazon.com
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Just for those of you who doubt the pedigree of my beloved Shaykh here is what Grandshaykh Hazrat Jama’at Ali Shah quds sirruhu-one of the greatest wali Allah’s of his time-advised to his successors and children on his deathbed, when he was about to meet His Beloved and His Lord:
“The best worship is khidmat e Khalq” (serving the people, looking after their needs).
He never ate a meal without inviting all in his village and all the poor in the area to eat with him. In fact he would order his servants etc to feed the guests the best quality food and himself only ate simple stuff like broth and roti all his life.
Once so many people came that the bar of soap which was always passed around beforehand so that people could wash their hands was completely dissolved (so many people used it!). Seeing this my Grand Shaykh began to cry. One of his closest disciples asked, “Ya Hazrat why are you weeping?” He replied, " I am weeping because I wish that everyday I was able to serve so many people!"
And when people from other places came from afar Hazrat served them himself! Such a mighty spiritual personality and yet so humble!
No wonder people were in love with him both Muslims and non-Muslims. He lived from 1841 to 1951. Once a group of Hindu sadhus came to see him! Seeing him they said, “yeh sach ka guru hai!”
A Wahabi maulvi used to say bad things about the Shaykh behind his back like he does shirk, he is a typical Barelvi, and is a false Pir etc. etc. (the kind of things people accused my beloved Shaykh of in this post already!!). The Shaykh came to here of it and invited the Wahabi for dinner!
At first he didn’t come but after a lot if insistence he came along with another group of people. When he came the Shaykh ordered food to be served to the guests but he said dont serve him! The guest was afraid now that he would be told off and became embarassed. But Grandshaykh invited him and said, "you come and eat with me! the food was bought to the shaykh where he placed it in front of the wahabi and began to place all the choicest pieces of meat in front of the wahabi saying, “maulvi ji aap yeh khain.” My Grandshaykh began to feed the Wahabi himself and seeing this the wahabi burst into tears, fell at the feet of Hazrat Sahib and begged for forgiveness saying I see now that you are a true wali and a saccha Pir.
And my own Shaykh, the descendent of Hazrat Amir e Millat is similar. The times I have seen him eat he has literally eaten maybe a few morsels and he is a big man physically.
And I do a hundred sins but never once has he admonished me or said anything bad to me. He always says, “beta tumharay liye dua kareinge” and showers me with love and affection as well as spiritual things.
BTW those who mocked the turban–you should do tawba cos you are mocking a sunnat of Our Beloved Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam.
(btw, I put the picture of my Shaykh up myself not cos he told me to. He is humble and would never do that, astaghfirullah. People put pics of those they love. Well I love my Shaykh!
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I would happily die for him insha Allah.
So, I am glad to have found such a master
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As Hazrat Rumi rahmatullah alayhi said:
Alhamdulillah, I have found such a Man of God.
**Naqshbandi-Jama’ati **
Madinay Walay Aaqa Ka Aik Syaakaar Kutta
[This message has been edited by Asif (edited July 05, 2001).]