Sufism, What is it?

Society Religion & Philosophy
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You make one critical wrong assumption.

The ways of tareeqat are not developed after the visaal of the Prophet (SAWW) by sheiks and ashaba...

No, that would be innovation.

During his life, while the Prophet (SAWW) was establishing a muslim estate in Medina and completing the tenets of Islamic sharia, at the same time he was imparting the ways of tareeqat (love and closeness to Allah Ta'alla) to his closest sahaba. Abu Bakr, Umar and Ali (Radhi Allah anha) are on the forefront... but there are some other major sahaba too.

If we check the lineage of all silsilas of tareeqat, most of them converge at Abu Bakr (RA).

For centuries the silsilas of tareeqat only got imparted from person to person. And this is really the only way. These days for additional info books are now available, but without a teacher it is a risk not worth taking.

Re: your second question... Mansur Al Hallaj was a cursed man. He was great Aalim, but in the throes of his jazb, he cried out "I am Allah". Listening to this, the islamic rulers ordered him killed. Thats all what I know about him.

Bayazib Bistami is a learned scholar. Whatever I have read about him makes him a great scholar. I am not sure if you can group him in the category which is conveniently labled 'sufi'.

I have not heard about the others.

By the way, the spiritual connection between man and Allah Talla is confirmed from Quran. I did had lots of books on this, but not here. I will try to search for links on the internet, but really don't expect to find much there. If I can ask someone to bring those books to me, I will be able to provide more answers.

In any case, the ways of tareeqat are not for everyone. For the most part, sharia is all you need. If you have such grave doubts, then tareeqat is definitely not for you, atleast not till you have a really good teacher. So, all that you should do is concentrate on gaining knoweldge about islam and sharia...and try to live your life according to the sunnah you find in the books of Islam.

In the mean time, just try to be humble in your approach, because there are many things you don't know, and these things I can't explain to you here at this point.

PS. Your last question, The Naqshbandiya, named after Baha al-Din Naqshband (d. 791/1389) is a tariqah that is widely active throughout the world. It is one of the many facets of this topic.

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Hey Peacy, thanks for the post.

I will inshallah reply within next few days. Because currently I am away from my headquarters.

One note: I do want to see that verse from the quran, if you can get it, I will appreciate it.

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Thanks.

V~V~VHe came, He saw, He conqueredV~V~V**

----*High Priest-OF-Painful Truth*----

**“Nay! We hurl truth against falsehood, so it destroys it: and behold, falsehood is vanquished…”**Quran, al-Furqaan 25:33 ]

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I didn’t had time to do much research. I was checking on some articles by Hamza Yousaf, where I found this talk by him given on May 4, 1997. Hamza Yousaf is a very learned scholar who runs an institute in Santa Clara and also gives khutba sometimes in the MCA mosque in Santa Clara, CA.

This is an excerpt of his talk on some of the misconceptions about sufi’ism and tassawaf. Hamza

"The fundamental and underlying message in the tradition of Islam I think personally is that it does not and refuses to create this dialectic in which a person’s inward and their outward become split. [In non-Islamic systems] people are either forced to become esoterists or they are forced to become exoterists.

"In fact what Islam is trying to do and what most of the other spiritual religions and in fact from the Muslim perspective all of them have failed to do is to join these two elements in a harmonious and balanced way and this is why in the tradition of Islam Sufism has always been part of the traditional Islamic curriculum in every single Muslim university. I know of no period in the Islamic tradition in which Sufism was not taught in the universities and not seen as an important and fundamental aspect of the tradition of Islam.

"Sidi Ahmad Zarruq wrote a great book called the principles of Sufism in which he clarified traditional and orthodox Sufism says in his principle number 208, ‘there are five reasons for repudiating the Sufis the first of these is with reference to the perfection of their path. For if the Sufis latch on to a special dispensation or if they misbehave or are negligent in a matter or if a fault manifests itself in them, people hasten to repudiate them.’ Because they are people who have traditionally been the most strongest and fierce adherents to the sacred teaching of Islam and they have been the ones also that have never inclined toward easy ways out on terms of the shariah or the sacred law.

"They have been the strictest adherents to the sacred law, but they have a wonderful principle: that is be hard on yourself and be gentle with other people. Unfortunately, the disease of this age amongst many Muslims is be easy on yourself and be hard on everybody else. So I think this is where the real crises of rejecting Sufism as one third of Islam has had really devastating results in much of the modern Islamic phenomenon. {Shaykh Ahmad Zarruq] said ‘this is because no servant is free of fault unless he is granted infallibility or protection by God.’

"The second reason [for people to repudiate Sufis] is the sensitivity of the observer. [The observer’s] criticism of the Sufis and their knowledge and states occurs as much as the ego, nafs, hastens to deny knowledge it does not posses. Imam Sayyidina Ali was known for saying, ‘Whoever is ignorant of a thing is its natural enemy.’

"The third reason [to reject the Sufis] is the existence of many who fall short of their claims and those who seek [worldly] gain through the guise of religiosity. This has been an affliction within the Muslim ummah. It is well known of the people claiming to be Sufis, putting on the garments of Sufis, and tricking simple followers and worshippers; getting them to give them their money, to slavishly serve them, and these type of things. This has happened historically in the Muslim world. The [pious] imams have always been the strictest at trying to prevent this deception, because there is nothing worse than deceiving somebody in religion. Give me a mafia gangster any day over a fraudulent religious observer–really! This is the reason for denying any claim that they might make even though there is proof of it. Because it is found doubtful.

"The fourth reason is fear for the generality that they might be lead astray by following esoteric doctrines without upholding the letter of the law as happens to many ignorant people. So ignorant people might hear some statement which is said by a Sufi and they completely misunderstand it. And Abu Yazid al-Bistami put in Imam Dhahabi’s tabaqat is considered a faqih (jurisprudent). Imam Dhahabi is considered a student of Ibn Taymiyya and he considers Abu Yazid al-Bistami a reasonable and sound source of hadith. Yet Abu Yazid al-Bistami is the one who is noted for saying ‘Subhanee’ which means ‘Glory to Me!’ This is known in the technical vocabulary of the Sufis as a shatha, an ecstatic utterance. If a person says it in a state in which their self is absent they are not taken to account for it We have proof of it in Sahih Bukhari about a slave in the middle of a desert in which the Prophet (s) says that because he finds his lost beast he shouts out in joy ‘Allah you are my slave and I am Your lord!’ The Prophet explained that that slave made a mistake in his ecstatic state after finding his animal. This is someone who finds their animal, so how much greater for someone who has found his Lord?! What about his state of ecstasy?

"The fifth reason [to reject Sufism] is the covetousness some people have for the ranks of Sufism. In traditional Muslim society the Sufis were held up as literally the highest people in the society; they were the shaykhs. Imam Nawawi was a great Sufi, [Qadi] Iyad was a great Sufi, Ibn Hajar Asqalani was a great Sufi, Imam Ibn Jawzi was a great Sufi. All of these great imams were known to be Sufis of great stature. Abu Hamid al Ghazzali who is given the title Hujjat al-Islam is probably the greatest example. People wanted to be like them, and the Arabs are notorious in their understanding if you are not like noble people pretend to be like them because even that is a type of nobility.

"Finally [Sidi Ahmad Zarruq] said, ‘Thus people are inclined to become inflamed with the Sufis, more so than with any other group.’ People in official positions exert pressure on them more than anybody else. This was a traditional area in which the government would try to influence the Sufis because they knew that they had such a vast amount of power over the common people The Sufis were traditionally the most distant and furthest people from the governors or the government unless they were righteous rulers like Nizam al Mulk who Imam Ghazali actually helped to build the Nizamiyya system of teaching. And anyway [Sidi Ahmad Zarruq] says, ‘Anyone who falls in any of these categories except for the last is either rewarded or excused and Allah knows best.’

Should I find something more, I will post that too. Till then, happy reading.

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[This message has been edited by Peacemaker (edited February 23, 2001).]

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Also check out this link for some basic concepts of Sufi’ism. Basically these are the same as what I briefly mentioned above. But you will also find some references to ayat.

Sufi’ism

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Hey peacy, how you doing?

I think, I have read that article that you posted, but I will make sure and read it again.

Here are some questions for you:

Sufis believe that their Sheikhs have connection with Allah, that they can talk to him and stuff, how true is that and how islamic is that? [nashbandi tareekat holds this kinds of thought very tightly, I was wondering if it is a fundamental of sufism]

Alright, I will read those inshallah and ask you some more questions about it and provide some more info on it and I think, we’ll be good to go, eh?

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Talk to you later.

V~V~VHe came, He saw, He conqueredV~V~V**

----*High Priest-OF-Painful Truth*----

**“Nay! We hurl truth against falsehood, so it destroys it: and behold, falsehood is vanquished…”**Quran, al-Furqaan 25:33 ]

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Aray mere bhai.... kuch khuda ka khauf karo.

I told you my believes which is that sufi'ism is not against islam, rather it is very much part of Islam. It has been misused by some, to bring a bad name to the whole concept. Do check out the second site which I gave above, as it will show you that Tassawaf was taught to sahaba by the Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) himself.

I also told you that my own knowledge is not that extensive that I can respond to all the questions. For that you will have to search yourself or get yourself a good teacher.

These are quite complex concepts, and I'd rather not try to explain them on a BB (even if I knew the answers to all your questions). Maybe if we are face to face and I have all my books with me, we can go through some of the basic concepts.

Plus, at this point you feel uncomfortable even with the idea that Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) can help anyone. You probably reject this notion altogether.

The relationship between a blessed man (Prophet, Companion, Auliya, Shaheed, Sheikh) with Allah Ta'alla is not dependant on life in this world. But this is not an easy thing to understand in the best of circumstances. And to top it off, the understanding of the concepts of tassawuf are not even required of every muslims (merely recommended).

So, do your reading, and check out different sources of information. If you really want to know, then there are many sources of information on sufi'ism available on the net.

However let me remind you that many modern scholars reject the whole notion of sufi'ism, a claim, which I'd rather not debate. Each facet of this argument has many daleels to support it. Each of us accept that opinion which we feel has the strongest daleel and which our hearts accept.

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Peacy, thanks for the reply. This is good, unlike when we were debating Shiaism, they would jump on fighting rather than replying to the questions. I appreciate your patience.

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Anyway, I have done readings on Naqshbandi more than I have on sufism on general - and obviously the ones you gave me, I was not aware of those. So, hopefully I will read those, inshallah and then open another thread to discuss this farther more.

I do not want to go deeper into Sufism without actually reading both sides - the sides of sufi critics and the side of Sufi scholars.

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PS: Give me sometime, inshallah we will discuss this with great detail once I have studied a little bit more.

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As you might have noticed, I am not quite active on the forums these days, yup, very busy these days with work and studies.

Allright buddy, talk to you later.

V~V~VHe came, He saw, He conqueredV~V~V**

----*High Priest-OF-Painful Truth*----

**“Nay! We hurl truth against falsehood, so it destroys it: and behold, falsehood is vanquished…”**Quran, al-Furqaan 25:33 ]

28

I was just thinking about one of your statements… and I feel that it is incorrect to draw negative inference on the claim that “(sufi) sheikhs have connection with Allah, that they can talk to him and stuff”.

This is not something extraordinary at all. All muslims communicate with Allah Tallah. When we offer dua, we are asking Allah Ta’alla. In the same way, when people do istikhaara, they expect some sign in their dreams from Allah Ta’alla which guides them to make the right decision. So, Allah Ta’alla is communicating with his creation.

So, its not something which is alien to muslim beliefs. In Quran, Allah Ta’llah asks the muslims to ask Him and He will listen, meaning if you have a problem, ask Allah Ta’alla as He is the one who will solve all your problems. So we are talking to Allah Ta’alla at all times.

But, when someone says he is getting messages from Allah Ta’alla… from a muslim stand-point, that will be unacceptable, because that will fall in the category of ‘nazool’ or ‘wahi’. This is something which was reserved for the Prophets (RA), and since we agree that Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) is the last prophet so no one now, can get ayat or communications from Allah Ta’alla.

I hope we agree up to this point.

Now, lets get this discussion to sufis. No, they don’t get ayat, or messages from Allah Ta’alla. These sufis are not prophets. There will be no prophet after Rasoon Allah (SAWW). What they may get is just the sort of thing which we are trying to get when we do istikhaara.

It is upto Allah to provide guidance to anyone. It is upto Allah to tell his prophets anything which may happen in future. We say, ilm-e-ghaib only belongs to Allah, and He can choose to tell it to his chosen people. All the knoweldge we have of the impending arrival of Imam Mehdi (RA) and other things in future (73 firqas etc) is stuff which was told to us by the Rasool Allah (SAWW), who, in turn was provided this knowledge by Allah Ta’lla.

I hope we also agree to this point.

Now, Allah Ta’alla can provide guidance or knowledge to anyone. We can not decide what and to whom Allah Ta’lla will bestow certain blessings.

The connection these sufis have with Allah is complex. (Now, I am only talking about authentic muslim sufis). These people are absorbed in the jazb and love of Allah Ta’alla. This, in no way elevates their status to that of nabi, however, it means that Allah Ta’alla can choose to communicate with these people in the way HE chooses.

For example, ‘kashf’ and ‘dreams’ are two ways of getting some ‘ishaara’ (indication) from Allah Ta’alla. This is impossible to explain, and very hard to prove. The chances of error are high. For this reason alone, sufi’s do not announce their relationship with Allah (except what comes out involuntarily during the height of jazb, when a person loses the control of his senses). Losing the control of the senses is discouraged and disliked (even in sufi circles) and is not the way of many real sufis.

Your knowledge about Nakhshbandi is probably more than mine, because you have read books on them, whereas my source is the discussions I have had with various people. The above is my understanding of this phenomena. Ofcourse, we can disagree on any of the points, which as I said, will be perfectly normal and acceptable!

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Peacy, when I said they have connection with allah, I meant that they get a response from Allah as if Allah actually talks to them. However, I do agree with you one this: <<<But, when someone says he is getting messages from Allah Ta’alla… from a muslim stand-point, that will be unacceptable, because that will fall in the category of ‘nazool’ or ‘wahi’. This is something which was reserved for the Prophets (RA), and since we agree that Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) is the last prophet so no one now, can get ayat or communications from Allah Ta’alla.>>>

I agree on the most of the points you made, and I am sure any member of any sect would agree on that. By implying that “allah chooses to communicate with his servants any way he wants to” does that automatically mean Allah communicates with Sufi Sheikhs?

You are revolving around “love for allah” and how much sufis love allah. Well, all Muslims love allah, we should keep that in mind.

Just to give you an example of what I have read on Naqshbandi:

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.” — it says that:

“Sheikh shares with the command of Allaah”

That above statement from the Naqshbandi book is very contradicting to the Verses from Quran, here they are:
ALlah says: "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’aan, Allaah says =

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

One more:
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.”

But Prophet Mohammad(pbuh) said in an authentic hadith: “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…”

(Sahi Bukhari, Vol 5, Hadith #3.)

Better go now, read some.

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Take care.

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V~V~VHe came, He saw, He conqueredV~V~V**

----*High Priest-OF-Painful Truth*----

**“Nay! We hurl truth against falsehood, so it destroys it: and behold, falsehood is vanquished…”**Quran, al-Furqaan 25:33 ]
30

To the best of my knoweldge, the power of ‘Kun’ (be) was only given to Hazrat Issa (RA). Allah can give this to anyone, ofcourse, but not to my knowledge.

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However, I will refer you back to the post above, where I pasted a speech by Imam Hamza Yousaf. Check the point number four again. Maybe that is also contributing to this misconceptions.

From a personal stand-point, I have no idea about authentic books on nakshbandi or what is the authenticity of ‘Mercy Oceans’ is. I can find out for you, but it may take some time.

You said, >>Well, all Muslims love allah, we should keep that in mind.<<

Yes, thats true. The difference is in intensity. We love Allah Ta’lla (many of us only fear Allah), but we also love our parents, our friends, our relatives, our cars, our homes, our work… All of them are different, but even then our concentration is split. Most of us don’t think much about Allah or Islam, other than when we are offering namaz or when we are in trouble! The sufis, on the other hand, are devoted to this love of Allah and Rasool Allah (SAWW). There is nothing else in this life for them, but love of Allah. That is their whole existence. Do you get my point?

I have severe objections to the excerpt you posted from page 1 of the book “The Naqshbandi Way”. That is unacceptable to me. Rasool Allah (SAWW) was the rehmat-al-lil-alameen and the best human being. No one can surpass him. The rank of all prophets and the companions is also very high.

But then again I don’t know the context of this claim and those that follow. So my understanding is limited and hence the judgement is reserved!

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