World of Tasawwuf
In the time of the Prophet, Tasawwuf was a reality without a name, today Tasawwuf is a name, but few know its Reality
ADVICE TO THE MUSLIM
Advice to the Muslim
Courtesy of HIZMET BOOKS
The Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu 'alayhi wa Sallam said,
"Verily the men of knowledge are the inheritors of the Prophets"
PREFACE
MUTASAWWIFS' BOOKS DO NOT CONTAIN POLYTHEISM
EEMAAN (IMAN) DOES NOT INCLUDE IBADAT
TO ASK HELP OF PROPHETS AND PIOUS MUSLIMS
DO MUSLIMS WORSHIP AWLIYA ?
DO MUSLIMS WORSHIPS TOMBS ?
TO RECEIVE BLESSINGS FROM SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE PROPHET
THE ORIGIN OF TASAWWUF
THE DEAD; THE SOULS OF AWLIYA
TO PRAISE AND SEEK AND TO ASK HELP OF THE BELOVED PROPHET
THE DEAD'S INTERCESSION
HAS AHMAD AL-BADAWI BEEN DEIFIED?
THE BELOVED PROPHET AND THE SAHABA AL KIRAM
ON QASIDAT AL-BURDA
SHALL TOMBS BE DEMOLISHED
VISITING THE BELOVED PROPHET'S MOSQUE, BUT NOT HIS SHRINE ?
THE SALAWAT SAID FOR THE BELOVED PROPHET
AWLIYA DO HELP
KARAMAT OF AWLIYA
A WALI DOES NOT MAKE A SHOW OF KARAMAT
THE AYAT - ALLAH AND THE BELIEVERS ARE SUFFICIENT FOR YOU
TO FOLLOW THE IMAMS OF THE MADHHABS; TAQLID
TO EXPECT SOMETHING FROM ANY DEAD OR LIVING BEING
THE AHL AS-SUNNAH W'AH JAMA'AH & QASIDAT AL-BURDA
THE DEAD & THE ABSENTEE
THE WAHHABIS' IJTIHADS ARE FALSE
VISITING SHRINES
THE BELOVED PROPHET HEARS THE SALAWAT
THE SUPERIORITY OF THE AS-SAHABA AL-KIRAM & THE TABI'UN
HELP FROM LIVING PEOPLE AND THE DECEASED
TO VOW, TO SLAUGHTER AN ANIMAL FOR THE DECEASED
FATWA ON THE HERESY OF WAHHABISM
THE LAWFULLNESS OF READING THE MAWLID & DALA'IL AL- KHAYRAT
TASAWWUF AND TARIQAS ARE NOT INVENTED, BUT COMMANDED IN ISLAM
TO DISBELIEVERS OF TASAWWUF AND KARAMAT
IN THE NEXT WORLD, ONE WILL BE WITH WHOM ONE LOVES
PREFACE
Allahu ta'ala, pitying all the people in the world, creates and sends useful things to them.
In the next world, favoring whomever He wishes of those guilty Muslims who are to go
to Hell, He will forgive them and put them into Paradise. He alone is the One who
creates every living creature, keeps all beings in existence every moment and who protects
all against fear and horror. Trusting ourselves to the honorable name of Allahu ta'ala, we
begin to write this book.
Infinite thanks be to Allahu ta'ala! Peace and blessings be on His most beloved Prophet,
Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam)! Auspicious prayers be for the pure Ahl al-Bait and for
each of the just, faithful Companions, as-Sahabat al-kiram (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhum
ajmain), of that exalted Prophet!
Allahu ta'ala is Rabb al-'alamin. He created every kind of the living things and also the
non-living orderly, well-calculated and beneficial. With His attributes Khaliq, Baree,
Musawwir, Badi' and Hakim, He created all beings in perfect order and very beautiful.
He set relations between them so that they would be orderly and beautiful. He made
them reasons, means, and causes for one another so that they would be existent and
go on existing. We give names, such as natural events, physical or chemical laws,
astronomical formulae and physiological processes to these relations and their being
causes of one another. Science is the research into the design, calculations,
interactions and relations between the beings created by Allahu ta'ala, and thereafter
making use of them.
Allahu ta'ala willed every being to be orderly and well-calculated and created as He
willed. He made substances, power and energy causes and means for His creating.
Allahu ta'ala willed the life of human beings to be in order and beneficial, too, and
He made the willpower of mankind the reason and means for this. When man wants
to do something, Allahu ta'ala creates it if He wills. Men have to wish good, right
and useful things so that their individual, private and social life may be in harmony.
Allahu ta'ala endowed wisdom ('aql) on them so that their wishes would be good.
Wisdom is a power which distinguishes good from evil. As human beings need
many things and have to get what they need, the force called "nafs" in man, while
striving to acquire them, misleads wisdom. It makes anything desired look beautiful
to wisdom, even if it is harmful.
Allahu ta'ala, pitying His servants, sent the knowledge called "din" (religion) by
means of an angel to selected men called "prophets" ('alaihimu 's-salawatu
wa 't-taslimat). Prophets taught it to human beings. The Din, Islam, preached by
the Prophet Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam) distinguishes between good and evil,
beneficial and harmful, which anyone may come across anywhere and orders us
to do what is beneficial.
Still the nafs deceives men and does not want to obey Islamic knowledge. It even
tends to change and distort it and the essentials of faith which are to be believed.
Allahu ta'ala's Prophet, Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam), foretold that mankind,
following their nafs, would attempt to change Islam. He said, "My umma will
divide into seventy-three groups; only one of them will go to Paradise." The
seventy-two groups which, as it had been declared, would go to Hell because
of their heretical beliefs, did come into being. These seventy-two groups are not
disbelievers for their erroneous understanding of the ambiguous, obscure meanings
of the Qur'an al-karim and the Hadith ash-Sharif. But they will go to Hell because
they changed Islam. They are called ahl al-bidat or dalala, that is, dissenters. The
dissenters, because they are Muslims, will later be taken out from Hell and will go
to Paradise. Besides them, there are those who are nominally Muslims, but change
Islam according to their corrupt knowledge and short sight, thus going out of Islam.
They will remain in Hell eternally. They are zindiqs and reformers.
Today, the la-madhhabi people, by spending millions and millions of dollars, have
been striving to disseminate their heretical beliefs in every country. It is seen with
regret that most of the ignorant of Islam, with a desire for much money, or being
deceived, have gone into this distorted heretical path, departing from the right path
shown by the 'ulama' (scholars) of Ahl as-Sunnat. They have been struggling to
cast aspersions upon the books by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat. It therefore
became an obligation to explain the evil beliefs unconformable to Ahl as-Sunnat
as held by the Wahhabis, a group of the la-madhhabi, in a separate book with
documents and to explain the oppression and persecution directed towards
Muslims by these cruel, ignorant people. Hence, it became necessary for Muslims
to see this terrifying danger and to protect themselves from being taken in by false,
deceitful words and writings.
A man named Muhammad ibn'Abd-ul-Wahhab wrote a booklet entitled Kitab
at-tawhid. Although his grandson Sulaiman ibn 'Abdullah had started expounding
this booklet, he died when Ibrahim Pasha went to Dar'iyya and punished them
in 1233 A.H. (1817). His second grandson, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Hasan,
expounded it in a book entitled Fat'h al-majid. Later on he prepared a second
book, Qurrat al-'uyun, abridging his former commentary. In the seventh edition
of the commentary published with additions by a Wahhabi named Muhammad
Hamid in 1377 A.H. (1957), the ayats which descended about kafirs and many
hadiths were written to delude Muslims, and wrong, distorted meanings were
extracted from them to attack Ahl as-Sunnat, the true Muslims, and to call those
pure Muslims "kafirs." On many pages of this book, he spits fire, calling the Shiites
"damned polytheists." He takes most of this commentary from Ibn Taymiyya and
his student Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya and his grandson Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Halim,
for whom he says "Radi-Allahu 'Anh." "'allama" and "Shaikh al-Islam, Abu 'l-'Abbas."
respectively.
We came by a small Wahhabite book entitled Jewab-i Numan in Turkish while
preparing this book. It was reprinted for the second time in Damascus in 1385 A.H.
(1965) and was being distributed free of charge, deluding the Turkish pilgrims to
mislead them away from the path of Ahl as-Sunnat. By Allahu ta'ala's benevolence
and favor, it fell to our lot to write documented correct answers to the heretical and
false statements in that book, too.
The book Advice for the Muslim consists of two parts. In the first part, statements
from the books Fat'h al-majid and Jawab-i Numan are quoted and answers from
the books of Islamic scholars (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) are given in thirty-five articles.
The second part deals with how the Wahhabis came forth, how they spread out, how
those ignorant and brutal people who infiltrated into the Wahhabis to obtain wealth
and power massacred Muslims and destroyed their possessions, how they brutally
attacked Muslim countries, how they were punished by the Ottoman State, and
how they established a new state after the First World War.
May Allahu ta'ala protect Muslims from catching the pestilence of Wahhabism and
Shiism! May He redeem the unlucky people who have slipped into these paths from
this perdition! Amin.
In the text, the interpreted ayats of the Qur'an al-karim are given as ma'al Sharif
(meaning concluded by the mufassirs), which may or may not be the same as what
Allahu ta'ala meant in the ayat. A glossary of Arabic and other non-English terms
foreign to the English reader is appended.
Miladi (1995) Hijri Shamsi (1373) Hijri Qamari (1416)
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HizmetBooks © 1998
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MUTASAWWIFS' BOOKS
1 - On page 75 of the Wahhabite book Fat'h al-majid, it is written:
"Abd al-Wahhab ash-Sharani's books and 'Abd al-'Aziz Dabbagh's book Ibreez and Ahmad at-Tijani's books are full of shirk [polytheism] that Abu Jahl and the like could not have conceived."
Ahmad at-Tijani (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih, may Allahu ta'ala bless him), who was born in Algeria in 1150 A.H. (1737) and died in Morocco in 1230 (1815), was the rehber (guide, leader) of the Tijaniyya way, which was a branch of Khalwatiyya. The book Jawahir al-ma'ani fi faid-i Shaikh Tijani written about this way is famous.
The Wahhabi, too, writes that the superior ones among men, that is, the prophets (salawat-Allahi ta'ala wa taslimatuhu 'Alaihim ajmain) are higher than the superior angels and believes in angels' power and effect, but does not believe that Allahu ta'ala has given the power of disposition and effectiveness to His awliya' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) as a karama, and calls the people who believe so "mushriks" (polytheists). The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala), as a karama, realizing even then, refuted them years beforehand. Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi, Sadr ad-din al-Qonawi, Jalal ad-din Rumi and Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawi and the aforementioned awliya (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) were the leading ones who, as a karama, foretold these things. This is the reason why the Wahhabis do not like these awliya'.
Hadrat al-Imam ar-Rabbani Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi (quddisa sirruh) wrote in the fiftieth letter of the second volume of his Maktubat:
"Islam has a surface and a real, inner essence. The surface of Islam is firstly to believe and then to obey the orders and prohibitions of Allahu ta'ala. The nafs al-ammara (the headstrong, unregenerate self) of a person who has attained the surface of Islam is in denial and disobedience. The belief (iman) of this person is on the surface of belief. The salat he performs is the appearance of salat. His fast and other kinds of worship ('ibada) are also of that grade. The reason is that the basis of the existence of man is the nafs al-ammara. When he says 'I,' he refers to his nafs. So his nafs has not attained iman, has not believed. Could the belief and worship of such people be real and right? Since Allahu ta'ala is very merciful, He accepts the attainment of the facade. He announces the good news that He will put into Paradise those with whom He is pleased. It is a great benevolence of His that He accepts the belief of the heart and does not lay down a condition that the nafs also should believe. However, there are the surface and also the real essence of the blessings of Paradise. Those who attain the surface of Islam will get a share from what is the facade of Paradise, and those who attain the reality of Islam in this world will get the reality of Paradise. Both the one who attains the facade and the one who attains the reality of Islam will eat the same fruit of Paradise, but each will get a different taste. Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) blessed wives (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhunna) will be with him in Paradise and eat the same fruit, but the taste they will get will be different. If it would not be different, then these blessed wives should have necessarily been higher than all human beings, and, since a wife will be with her husband in Paradise, the wife of every superior person should have been superior like him.
"The one who attains the surface of Islam, if he obeys it, will be saved in the next world. In other words, he has attained the status of common wilaya, that is, the pleasure and love of Allahu ta'ala. The one who has been honored with this status is the one who can join the way of tasawwuf and reach the special wilaya called "Wilayat khassa." He can make his nafs ammara develop into an-nafs al-mutmainna (the tranquil self). It should be known for certain that, in order to make progress in this wilaya, or in the reality of Islam, the surface of Islam should not be abandoned.
"It is the very frequent dhikr of Allahu ta'ala's Name that makes one progress on the way of tasawwuf. The dhikr, too, is an 'ibada ordered in the religion of Islam. It is commended and ordered in ayats and hadiths. It is essential to avoid the prohibitions of Islam to make progress on the way of tasawwuf. Performing the fard (those kinds of worship ordered in the Qur'an al-karim) enables one to make progress on this way. It is an order of Islam, too, that one should look for a rehber who knows tasawwuf and who is able to guide the salik (wayfarer). It is declared in the thirty-eighth ayat of Surat al-Ma'ida, 'look for a wasila [In the 18th article it is clearly explained that a perfect guide is a wasila] to approach Him.' Both the surface and the real essence of Islam are necessary for winning the approval of Allahu ta'ala, because all the excellences of wilaya can be attained by obeying the surface of Islam. And the excellences of prophethood (nubuwwa) are the fruits of the reality of Islam.
"The way leading to wilaya is tasawwuf. It is necessary to extract from the heart the love for everything except Allahu ta'ala to make progress on the way of tasawwuf. If the heart becomes oblivious of everything by the benevolence of Allahu ta'ala, fana' results, and the sair-i ila'llah is completed. Then the journey called 'sair-i fi 'illah' begins, at the end of which occurs the desired status of baqa'. Thus the reality of Islam is attained. The noble person who attains this status is called 'wali,' which means the person whom Allahu ta'ala is pleased with and loves. An-nafs al-ammara becomes mutmainna (tranquil, subdued) at this stage. The nafs gives up kufr and resigns itself to the qada' and qadar of Allahu ta'ala and pleases Him. It begins to comprehend itself. It gets redeemed from the illness of haughtiness and arrogance. Most of the superiors of tasawwuf said that the nafs could not become free of disobedience to Allahu ta'ala even after attaining tranquillity. Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) said on his return from a ghaza, 'We return from the small jihad. We begin the great jihad.' The 'great jihad' has been interpreted as jihad against an-nafs al-ammara. This faqir, myself [al-Imam ar-Rabbani], does not take it in that sense. I say no disobedience or evil is left when the nafs attains tranquillity. The nafs, too, like the heart, forgets everything, sees nothing but Allahu ta'ala. It becomes indifferent to position, rank, property and even to their sweet and sour tastes. It has been crushed and has become sort of nonexistent. It has sacrificed itself for Allahu ta'ala. The 'great jihad' mentioned in the hadith ash-Sharif is probably the jihad against the physical, chemical and biological desires of the substances constituting the body. Both shahwa, that is, lust or violent desire, and ghadab, that is, fright or scruple, are material passions. Animals do not have nafs, but these malignant inclinations exist in animals, too. It is due to the properties of substances in the body that animals have lust, anger and inordinate inclinations [all called natural inclinations or instincts]. Human beings should perform jihad against these inclinations. The tranquillity of the nafs does not rescue man from these evils. Jihad against them is very beneficial. It helps the purification of the body.
"Al-Islam al-haqiqi (the Real Islam) falls to one's lot when one's nafs gets subdued. Then real iman is attained. Any kind of worship performed is real: salat, fast and hajj are all in their real value.
"As it is seen, tasawwuf (or 'way') or haqiqa (reality) is the passage between the surface and the inner part of Islam. The one who has not attained Wilayat khassa cannot get redeemed from being a metaphoric Muslim, cannot attain the Real Islam.
"The one who has attained the reality of Islam and has been honored with the Real Islam begins to take shares from the excellences of prophethood. He becomes an object of the good news declared in the hadith, 'The Ulama' are the Prophets' heirs.' The excellences of prophethood are the fruits of the reality of Islam as the excellences of wilaya are the fruits of the surface of Islam. The excellences of wilaya are the appearances of the excellences of prophethood.
"The difference between the surface and the reality of Islam, consequently, arises from the nafs. And the difference between the excellences of wilaya and those of prophethood comes from the substances in the body. In the excellences of wilaya, substances obey what their physical, chemical and biological properties dictate; extra energy causes excessiveness, and substances long for food. For obtaining these needs, insolent absurdities are committed. In the excellences of prophethood, such absurdities come to an end. In the hadith ash-Sharif, 'My devil became Muslim,' probably this state of consciousness is expressed, for there is a devil in man as there is one outside of him. Excess energy leads man astray and makes him arrogant, and this is the worst of the bad habits. By getting rid of these evils, nafs becomes Muslim. In the excellences of prophethood, there is belief both by heart and by nafs, and also regularity and equilibrium of the substances present in the body. It is after the establishment of the equilibrium of matter and energy in the body that nafs gets subdued completely. After tranquillity, it cannot return to malignity. All these superior qualities are based on Islam. A tree cannot be without roots no matter how much it branches out or how fruitful it is. Obedience to Allahu ta'ala's orders and prohibitions is essential in every excellence."
It is seen that the author of the book, because he knows nothing of tasawwuf, maligns the awliya' (qaddas-Allahu ta'ala asrarahum al-'aziz) and thinks that they are outside of Islam.
EEMAAN
2 - On the 48th and 348th pages of the Wahhabite book, it is written:
"Deeds, 'ibadat, are included in iman. Iman of a non-worshiper fades away. Iman may increase or decrease. Ash-Shafi'i, Ahmad and others said so unanimously."
It is of iman to believe that 'ibada is a duty. Believing and performing are two different concepts that should not be confused with each other. Anyone who, though he has believed but because he is lazy, does not practice his beliefs does not become a disbeliever. The author of the book, unable to understand this, accuses millions of Muslims of disbelief. Although anyone who calls a Muslim "kafir" (disbeliever) becomes a kafir himself, those who say so with a tawil do not become kafirs.
The forty-third verse of the famous book Qasidat al-Amali [Nuhbat al-la'ali, a very valuable Arabic annotation of this qasida was published in Istanbul in 1975.] says, "The fard 'ibadat are not included in iman." Hadrat al-Imam al-Azam Abu Hanifa declared that deeds were not a part of iman. 'Iman' means 'belief.' There is neither paucity nor plentifulness in believing. If 'ibadat were of iman, iman would increase or decrease. The belief will not be accepted after the curtain rises up from in front of the eyes and the torture is seen [at the moment one dies]. Those who pass away with iman at that moment, when 'ibadat cannot be performed, believe only by heart. And this is called "iman" in the ayat. In many ayats, those who have iman are ordered to perform 'ibadat. Therefore, belief is separate from 'ibadat. Furthermore, the Qur'anic phrase "Those who believe and those who do pious deeds" shows that 'ibadat and iman are distinct. The ayat al-karima, "Those who, being believers, do pious deeds..." shows clearly that deeds are separate from belief. For, stipulation must be different from what (who) is stipulated. It was said unanimously that anyone who, just after becoming a believer, died and found no time to perform any 'ibada was a believer. It is declared in the Hadith al-Jibril that iman is only belief.
Imam Ahmad, al-Imam ash-Shafi'i, many scholars of hadith and Asharis (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) and the Mutazila said that 'ibada was of iman, and iman would increase and decrease, and that if iman and 'ibada were separate from each other, the iman of the prophets ('alaihimu 's-salawatu wa 't-taslimat) and that of sinners should be the same. They said that the ayat, "Their iman increases when they hear My ayats," and the hadith, "Iman, when it increases, takes its possessor to Paradise, and it takes him to Hell when it decreases," meant that iman would increase and decrease. Long before, al-Imam al-Azam (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) had given information as an answer to them. He had said that the 'increase' of iman means its 'lasting, longevity.' Imam Malik (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) also said so. Plentifulness of iman means the increase of the number of the things to be believed. The as-Sahabat al-kiram, for instance, formerly had a few things to believe, and, as new orders descended, their iman increased. The increase of iman means the augmentation of nur (spiritual light) in the heart. This brilliance increases by performing 'ibadat and decreases by committing sins. Further information can be found in the book Sharh-i Mawaqif and Jawharat at-tawhid.
On page 91 of the Wahhabite book, it is said:
"A Sahabi did not give up drinking wine. He was punished with a penalty of flogging called 'hadd.' When a few Sahabis cursed him, Rasulullah declared, 'Do not call down curses upon him! For he loves Allahu ta'ala and His Rasul.' "
He, too, confirms that a Muslim who commits sins does not become a kafir. This hadith ash-Sharif refutes the Wahhabis' saying that Muslims who commit grave sins or who do not perform the fard would become disbelievers. Also it proves that the hadith ash-Sharif "He who has iman does not commit zina (adultery or fornication). He does not steal," refers not to iman itself but to its maturity.
'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi, while explaining the writings of 'Allama al-Birghiwi (rahimahumallahu ta'ala) wrote on the 281st and following pages of his book Al-Hadiqa:
"Iman is the belief by the heart in and confirmation by the tongue of the knowledge Muhammad ('alaihi's-salam) revealed from Allahu ta'ala. It is not necessary to study or to understand every piece of this knowledge. The Mutazila group said it was necessary to believe after understanding. 'Ayni (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), in the commentary on the Sahih of al-Bukhari, said that muhaqqiqin or the most profound 'ulama,' for example, Abu 'l-Hasan al-Ashari, Qadi 'Abd al-Jabbar al-Hamadani al-Mutazili, Ustadh Abu 'l-Ishaq Ibrahim al-Isfaraini, Husain ibn Fadl and many others had said, 'Iman is the belief accepted by the heart in the facts that were declared clearly. It is not iman to say it with the tongue or to perform 'ibadat.' Sad ad-din at-Taftazani (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), too, wrote this in his Sharh-i 'aqa'id and reported that 'ulama' like Shams al-aimma and Fakhr al-Islam 'Ali al-Pazdawi (rahimahumallahu ta'ala) said it was necessary to confirm it with the tongue.
The revelation with the tongue of the iman in the heart is necessary for the reason that it will help Muslims to recognize one another. The Muslim who does not say he is a believer is a believer, too. Most 'ulama', for example, al-Imam al-Azam Abu Hanifa (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), said that deeds or worship were not included in iman. Though Imam 'Ali (radi-Allahu 'anh) and al-Imam Ash-Shafi'i (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) said that iman was to believe and to confirm it with the tongue and to perform 'ibadat, they, in fact, meant the perfection, maturity of iman. It was a unanimous declaration that the one who said that he had iman in his heart was a Mumin (believer). Rukn ad-din Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Kirmani, in the commentary on the Sahih of Al-Bukhari, said, 'If 'ibadat had been considered to be a part of iman, then iman would have increased or decreased. However, iman of the heart neither increases nor decreases. A belief that would increase or decease would not be iman but doubt, misgiving.' Imam Muhyiddin Yahya an-Nawawi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) said, 'Iman increases by studying and understanding the reasons of the facts to be believed. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq's (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh) iman is not the same as the iman of any other person.' This statement points to the strength or weakness of iman; it does not mean that iman itself increases or decreases. It is likened to the similarity between sick and healthy persons: they are not equally strong, but both are human beings and their being human neither increases nor decreases. Hadrat al-Imam al-Azam Abu Hanifa explained the ayats and hadiths about the attributes of iman as follows: 'As-Sahabat al-kiram (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhum ajmain), when they embraced Islam, believed everything as a whole. Later many new things became fard in the course of time. They believed these orders one by one. Thus their belief increased gradually. This is true only for the as-Sahabat al-kiram. The increase of iman cannot be thought of for Muslims who came after them.' Sad ad-din at-Taftazani (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) wrote in his Sharh-i 'aqa'id, "Those who know summarily should believe summarily, and it is necessary for those who know the details profoundly to believe accordingly. The iman of the latter is certainly greater than that of the former. But the iman of the former is complete, too. Their belief is not defective."
'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) summarizes: "In short, not iman itself but its firmness increases or decreases. Or, the increase or decease in iman means its perfection or value. And so have been interpreted the ayats and hadiths about the attributes of iman. Since this is a subject on which ijtihad may be employed, various interpretations have been made. None of the commentators have censured the other." But the Wahhabi writer says "disbeliever" or "polytheist" about the one who believes in 'ibadat but, out of laziness, does not perform them. Muhammad al-Hadimi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), in his Bariqa, wrote:
"Iman does not include 'ibadat. Hadrat Jalal ad-din ad-Dawani (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) said, 'The Mutazila considered 'ibadat as part of iman and said that those who did not perform 'ibadat did not have iman. 'Ibadat make iman mature and beautiful and are like the branches of a tree.' Al-Imam al-Azam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ar-Razi and many other profound scholars said that iman neither increased by worshiping nor decreased by sinning, because 'iman' meant 'thorough belief and, therefore, it neither increased nor decreased.
The increase of iman in the heart means the decrease of kufr, the opposite of belief, which is impossible. Al-Imam ash-Shafi'i and Abu 'l-Hasan al-Ashari (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) said that iman would increase or decrease. But it is explained in the book Mawaqif that they meant with this statement the increase or decrease of not iman but the strength of iman, for the Prophet's iman and his umma's iman are not the same; the iman of the one who, with his reason and knowledge, has studied and then believed what he has heard is different from the iman of one who just believes what the hears. [The iman of a wali who has attained mukashafa and mushahada is not like that of a Wahhabi who knows nothing of tasawwuf.] It is written in the Qur'an al-karim that the Prophet Ibrahim ('alaihi 's-salam) wanted his heart to gain itminan (tranquility) or yaqin (certitude based on revelation). In his book Fiqh-i akbar, [Al-qawl al-fasl, a valuable Arabic annotation of Fiqh-i akbar, was published in Istanbul in 1975.] al-Imam al- Azam Abu Hanifa (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) wrote, 'The iman of the ones in heaven [angels] and on the earth [men and genies] does not become less or more in respect to the facts to be believed. Iman increases or decreases in respect to itminan or yaqin. In other words, the strength of iman increases or deceases. However, without any yaqin or strength, it is not iman.' "
Al-Imam ar-Rabbani Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) wrote in the 266th letter in his book Maktubat: "Since iman is the affirmation and certitude in the heart, it neither increases nor decreases. Belief which increases or decreases is not called iman but surmise. Iman becomes brilliant, illuminated and shiny when one performs 'ibadat and does the things Allahu ta'ala likes. And it becomes dull and stained when one commits sins. Then, increase or decrease is a change of illumination or brilliance due to deeds. There is not a decrease or increase in iman itself. Some [who said that belief would increase or decease] said that the glossy, shiny iman was more than the dull iman and regarded the dull iman not to be iman. They even considered the glossy iman in some people as iman but said it was less than the one in others as if the [two kinds of] iman were like two mirrors with different grades of brilliance or gloss and the mirror reflecting clearer images due to its brilliance were 'greater' than the less brilliant one. Some others say that the two mirrors are equivalent but their gloss and the images they reflect, that is, their properties, are different. Those who made the first type of comparison looked just on the external varnish but could not see the essence of the matter. The hadith ash-Sharif, 'Abu Bakr's iman is heavier than the total iman of all my umma,' is a comparison from the glossiness or brilliance viewpoint."
The Wahhabite book quotes the hadith ash-Sharif, "A person's iman is incomplete unless he loves me more than his children, his parents and everyone," and comments:
"Love is in the heart it is a function of the heart. Therefore, this hadith shows that deeds and 'ibadat are included in iman and are requisites for iman."
Love is not a function but an attribute of the heart. Even if we would accept that it is a function of the heart, it cannot be said that the work done by the body or organs is the work of the heart. The one who commits grave sins will be punished. The one who has them in his heart or intends to commit them will not be punished. The good deed of the heart is to believe, and its bad deed is to disbelieve or is being without a belief. Disbelief is not a deed of the body. Lying, for instance, is haram (forbidden), and the one who lies does a bad deed, but he does not become a kafir. He who approves of lying or does not believe that lying is haram becomes a kafir.
The Wahhabi claims:
"Iman becomes genuine by the belief and practice of the heart, by the confirmation of the tongue and by performing 'ibadat. Ahl as-Sunnat said so, too," but on page 339, he says,
"If one loves Allah, he has to love those who obey Him, His prophets, His pious servants and those whom Allah loves."
Then love for the awliya' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) is the sign of love for Allahu ta'ala. Nothing should be said against those who express their love for them. As the Wahhabite book was compelled to write, it is forbidden and disbelief to love those whom Allahu ta'ala does not love, and it is necessary and a sign of iman to love those whom He loves. This is the very worship called "al-hubbu fi 'llah wal-bughdu fi 'llah," which was declared to be the most virtuous of all 'ibadat. Disbelievers and polytheists love things other than Allahu ta'ala. However, Muslims, because they love Allahu ta'ala, love His prophets ('alaihimu 's-salam) and awliya' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) whom He loves. The Wahhabite book confuses these two kinds of love with each other. It takes the ayats condemning disbelievers' love as if they comprise Muslims' love.
Some of the Kharijis (Khawarij), one of the seventy-two groups of bidat, and the Wahhabite book do not oppose the ayats and hadiths but misunderstand them by misinterpreting (tawil) ambiguous and obscure nasses with unclear and uncertain meanings, and say that to do the fard and to refrain from the haram are of iman, that it is necessary not only to believe in the six principles of iman but also to live up to Islam in order to be a Mumin (believer), and that anyone who does not carry out a fard or who commits a haram becomes a kafir. Out of this misunderstanding, they put the stamp of "kafir" on Muslims. Whereas, what is of iman is to believe that what is fard is fard and what is haram is haram. "Disbelief" and "belief without practice" are two distinct concepts. Because they confuse these two concepts with each other, they dissent from Ahl as-Sunnat. Yet, they do not become disbelievers because of this belief. They become ahl al-bidat, innovators in 'ibadat. However, the ones tho regard, without the ta'wil of nasses, those Muslims who do not perform 'ibadat or who commit haram as kafirs become kafirs themselves. In the Hadith ash-Sharif, it was declared, "Allahu ta'ala fills with iman the heart of the one who dislikes the innovator [in 'ibadat]. The one who condemns the innovator [in 'ibadat] will be blessed by Allahu ta'ala against the fear of the Day of Resurrection."
TO ASK HELP
3 - The Wahhabite book, quoting the ayats which declare that those who worship or make a mediator (wasita) of anything besides Allahu ta'ala are polytheists, comments,
The ones who verbally ask prophets or salih persons who are dead or far away for help become mushriks (polytheists) according to these ayats," (Pages 98, 104).
Muslims do not believe that awliya' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) will do anything or help by themselves. We believe that Allahu ta'ala, because He loves them very much, accepts their prayers and creates their wish for their sake. Worshiping a human being means to dissent from Islam by obeying him and to esteem his words as higher than the Book (the Qur'an al-karim) and the Sunnat (the Hadith ash-Sharif). Obeying the one who orders us to obey Islam is not so. Obeying him is obedience to Islam. 'Ali (radi-Allahu 'anh) had an eye-ache during the Khaibar Battle. Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) put his blessed saliva on his eyes and prayed. His eyes got well. Allahu ta'ala bestowed recovery for love of the Prophet. This event is written in detail on page 91 of the Wahhabite book where it also gives the references that the Sahihain of al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated it. [See also the 18th article below.]
DO MUSLIMS WORSHIP AWLIYA ?
4 - It is written on page 108:
"Men of tasawwuf are in polytheism and disbelief. The murid (disciple) worships his shaikh (guide). Ash-Sharani's books are full of this kind of disbelief. They deify and worship the tombs of Husain, his father, his children and of ash-Shafi'i, Abu Hanifa and 'Abd al-Qadir al-Geilani ."
In the third part of the Persian book Al-usul al-arba'a fi tardidi 'l-Wahhabiyya, [Written in Persian in India in 1346 (1928) and published in Pakistan. The author, Hakim al-Ummat Khwaja Muhammad Hasan Jan Sahib, was a descendant of al-Imam ar-Rabbani (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala). Second edition was produced in Istanbul, in 1395 (1975). The book Tariq an-najat by the same author answers the bid'a groups. It is in Arabic and was published with its Urdu translation in Pakistan in 1350 and reproduced by photo-offset in Istanbul in 1396 (1976 A.D..] it is written:
"Those who believe so claim that it is grave polytheism to call by name someone who is absent (gha'ib). In this context, they mean that if one calls even Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam), thinking that his blessed soul is present (hadir), one becomes a polytheists. Ash-Shawkani of Yaman, too, wrote in his Durr an-nadid, 'It is kufr to esteem graves and to ask help [of the dead] by visiting graves.' And in his Tathir al-itiqad, he said, 'He who calls to the dead or the living absentees, whether they be angels, prophets or walis, becomes a polytheist.' The la-madhhabi assert two different opinions on this subject: if one, without thinking that he [the Prophet] would hear but because he loves him, says, 'Ya Rasul-Allah!' he does not become a polytheist; if he says so with the belief that he will hear him, he becomes a disbeliever. We should ask these people who regard the actions of the Salaf as-salihin (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) as polytheism and Muslims as polytheists: what do you mean by 'gha'ib'? If you mean 'Anything we do not see is gha'ib,' it would be polytheism for you, too, to say 'Ya Allah!' In fact, you do not believe even the fact that Allahu ta'ala will be seen in Paradise. If you mean 'Gha'ib means nonexistent,' how can you say 'nonexistent' for the souls of prophets ('alaihimu 's-salawatu wa 't-taslimat) and awliya' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala)?
We have already proven in the second part of our book that souls do exist. If you say, 'We believe in the existence, perception and consciousness of souls [that they hear and understand], but we do not believe that they posses tasarruf (ability to do, to act),' Allahu ta'ala refutes these words in the fifth ayat of the Surat an-Nazi'at, 'I take an oath on those who do hard work.' Many 'ulama' of tafsir, for example, al-Baidawi in his Tafsir [and in its commentary by Shaikhzada, in Tafsir-i 'Azizi, in the tafsir Ruh al-bayan and in Tafsir-i Husaini], wrote that this ayat declared that the souls of angels and walis did work. The soul (ruh) is not material and, therefore, like angels and by the order and permission of Allahu ta'ala, does work in this world. In various ayats of the Qur'an al-karim, angels are reported to be doing work, annihilating or acting as means in killing or bringing back to life. Satans and genies, too, do hard work easily.
The Qur'an al-karim narrates the help done by genies to the Prophet Sulaiman ('alaihi 's-salam), for example, in the thirteenth ayat of the Surat Saba', 'The genies did whatever he wanted - made a fortress, picture, large cauldrons and [earthenware] pots [so heavy] that could not be lifted up.' Genies, though they are not as perfect and as strong as angels and souls, can then do great work. There are many invisible things in this world which do work that cannot be managed by human power. For example, the air, which is very light and invisible, when it blows as a gale or whirlwind, uproots trees and demolishes building. [Electricity, atoms, laser rays and electromagnetic waves are able to produce tremendous work even though they are invisible to the eye even through the most powerful microscope.] We do not see the powers of the evil eye and magic or witchcraft and the like, but everybody has heard of their bewildering results. Allahu ta'ala is no doubt the only doer of all that is done. But, because all these are the causes or means for Allahu ta'ala's doing or creating, we think that they do and say that they do. Since it is not polytheism or disbelief to say 'they do', why should it be polytheism to say, 'The souls of awliya' do'? As 'they' do work by Allahu ta'ala's permission and with His creating, the souls of awliya', also do things by Allahu ta'ala's permission and creating. If one says that it is polytheism to say 'they do', he, in fact, will have contradicted the Qur'an al-karim.
"If this person claims that the Qur'an al-karim says that the genies, Satans, the hair and magic are effective, and therefore it is permissible to say 'these do,' and that since the Qur'an al-karim does not say that the souls of awliya' do such and such work, it is polytheism to ask anything from souls, we remind him of the above-quoted ayat karima of the Surat an-Nazi'at. We have already told about the prayer said in a hadith ash-Sharif to the blind Muslim who wanted to gain his sight, and the prayer which is to be read when alone in the desert, and the command, 'While visiting graves, greet the dead!' and the event narrated by 'Uthman ibn Hunain (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh) in the preceding article.
All these and many other similar documents evidence that it is permissible to ask help of an absentee. But this person puts the stamp of daif or mawdu' to these mashhur and sahih hadiths, and does not even listen to the words of the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat and prominent leaders of tasawwuf, for he says that following any of the four madhhabs is polytheism and disbelief. For example, Ghulam 'Ali Qusuri wrote in his Tahqiq al-kalam: 'Those who follow one of the four madhhabs or belong to the Qadariyya, Chishtiyya or Suhrawardiyya Tariqa are disbelievers, polytheists and ahl al-bidat.' " [Please see the 8th and 35th articles for further discussion.]
DO MUSLIMS WORSHIPS TOMBS ?
5 - He quotes the hadith ash-Sharif, "The lives and property of those who say, 'La ilaha illa'llah,' and do not worship anything other than Allahu ta'ala are haram," and says on page 111:
"Saying only the kalimat at-tawhid cannot save one's blood and possessions. Those who worship tombs and the dead are in this group. They are worse than the pre-Islamic polytheists mentioned in the Qur'an al-karim."
Some people, putting forward the ayat, "Kill polytheists wherever you find them," as a reason, want to kill Muslims and plunder their possessions. They quote the words of disbelief and polytheism of the Khurufis and of the ignoramuses and attack tasawwuf and the superior authorities on tasawwuf. Quoting the hadiths condemning those who worship trees, stones or graves, they say that it is polytheism or disbelief to build tombs on graves and to visit graves.
It is certainly polytheism to regard a stone, a tree or an unknown grave as a means of blessing. But it is stupidity and ignorance to liken to it visiting the graves of the prophets ('alaihimu 's-salawatu wa 't-taslimat) and awliya' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) with the intention of getting enlightenment and blessings through their baraka (holiness) from Allahu ta'ala. Moreover, it is to set disunion among Muslims to accuse millions of Muslims -because of this- of disbelief and polytheism.
The profound scholar Sulaiman ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab an-Najdi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), the author of As-sawa'iq al-ilahiyya fi 'r-raddi 'ala 'l-Wahhabiyya, [First published by Nukhbat al-Akbar press in Baghdad in 1306 A.H.. Second edition was produced by photo-offset in Istanbul, 1395 (1975).] was the brother of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of Wahhabism. He proved with documents that the path opened in the name of Wahhabism by his brother was heretical. He wrote on page 44 of his book:
"One of the documents showing that your path is heretical is the hadith ash-Sharif written in Sahihain, the two genuine hadith books, one by al-Bukhari and the other by Muslim. 'Uqba ibn Amir (radi-Allahu 'anh), the relater of the hadith ash-Sharif, said, 'Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam), ascended the minbar. It was the last time I saw him on the minbar. He declared: "I do not fear whether you will become polytheists after I die. I fear that you, because of worldly interests, will kill one another and thus be destroyed like ancient tribes." ' Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) foretold all that would happen to his umma till the Resurrection. This sahih hadith states that his umma will never worship idols, that he was assured of it. This hadith ash-Sharif demolishes Wahhabism by the roots, for the Wahhabite book claims that the Ummat al-Muhammadiyya worship idols, that Muslim countries are full of idols, that tombs are idol-houses. It says that one also becomes a disbeliever by not believing that he who expects help or intercession at shrines is a disbeliever. However, Muslims have visited graves and asked the mediation and intercession of awliya' for centuries. No Islamic scholars have called such Muslims polytheists; they regarded them as Muslims.
"Question: A hadith ash-Sharif says, "Of all that will befall you, polytheism is the one I fear most." What would you say about that?'
"Answer: It is inferred from other hadiths that this hadith ash-Sharif alludes to shirk asghar (venial polytheism, see below). All similar hadiths related by Shaddan ibn Aws, Abu Huraira and Mahmud ibn LAbid (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhum) state that Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) feared that shirk asghar would be committed by his umma. It has happened as it was told in the hadiths, and many Muslims have fallen into shirk asghar. You confuse shirk asghar with shirk akbar (the greatest polytheism), thus accuse Muslims of disbelief and regard those believers who do not call Muslim 'disbelievers' as disbelievers."
On page 451 of the book Al-Hadiqa, the hadith ash-Sharif, "Oh Mankind! Avoid that very occult polytheism!" is explained and remarked: "This kind of polytheism is to see the causes (sababs) only and not to think that Allahu ta'ala creates. To believe that the causes create the work is to attribute them as partners to Allahu ta'ala. It is called shirk jali (open, apparent polytheism) to attribute things seen or thought as partners of Him. And it is shirk khafi (occult polytheism) to believe that things considered as causes by Islam, reason or customs create." Hadrat 'Abd al-Haqq ad-Dahlawi says on page fifty of his work AShiat al-lama'at, "It is shirk akbar to worship idols. This is the kind of polytheism that causes kufr (disbelief). Shirk asghar is to perform rites and do goodness hypocritically. This minor polytheism does not make one a disbeliever." These two kinds of polytheism are of shirk jali.
The above hadith ash-Sharif quoted from Al-Hadiqa does not say that it is polytheism to ask something from souls and the dead. It means that it is polytheism to believe, while making use of the causes, that is, while asking something from human beings or using visible or invisible things, that the resultant work is done by the causes. It is polytheism, or the attribution of it as a partner to Allahu ta'ala, to believe that a living or lifeless cause is able to create or do whatever he or it wishes; with such a belief in mind, to ask something from the cause means to worship it. To make use of a cause with the belief that not the cause but Allahu ta'ala will create is not to worship it but to hold to it as a means. When Muslims want something from the living or the dead, from the present or the absent, they do not believe that their wish will be granted by these things themselves. Holding to the causes, they expect their wish from Allahu ta'ala and believe that He will create. Therefore, Muslims' asking something from souls and the dead does not mean that they worship them or regard them as beings to be worshiped. Allahu ta'ala creates everything through a cause or means and commands us to hold fast to using causes.
For this reason, we hold to the associated cause for attaining what we wish. Holding to the causes is neither polytheism nor a sin. Expecting from the causes is polytheism. It is shirk akbar to expect from them with the belief that they can create whatever wished, and it is shirk khafi to expect from them with the belief that they will create with the power given by Allahu ta'ala. It is conformable to Islam to expect a wish not from the causes but from Allahu ta'ala and to believe that not they but only Allahu ta'ala will create. This is how Muslims request something of the dead and souls. Such lawful requesting is called tawassul or istighatha.
To know whether a person who requests something from a dead or living person worships him or makes tawassul of him, we examine whether he does something unconformable to Islam when he requests. If he does, that is, if he commits a haram or omits a fard with a view to pleasing him, it can be concluded that he worships him. As it is seen, the Wahhabis who, while requesting something from living people, act unconformably to Islam to please them become polytheists. However, those Muslims who make tawassul without doing anything unconformable to Islam carry out Allahu ta'ala's command; that is, they hold to the causes. Of those who call these Muslims polytheists, the ones who do so without a tawil become polytheists. If one does something unconformable to Islam to satisfy the desires of his nafs, he will have worshiped his nafs. However, our religion does not define worshiping one's nafs as polytheism; that is, it makes one not a disbeliever but a sinner.
TO RECEIVE BLESSINGS
6 - On page 142, he writes,
"The as-Sahaba and their successors did not intend to get blessings through anybody except the Prophet. No one can possess anything of the Prophet's attributes peculiar to him."
Here is another lie of the author. Hadrat 'Umar had gotten blessings through Hadrat 'Abbas before he went out for the prayers for rain. [Please see the 24th article for the details of this event.] Islamic scholars wrote in detail the attributes peculiar to Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam). The translation of Al-mawahib al-laduniyya is a good example. None of such books writes that the only one through whom one can get blessings is Rasulullah. Nor do they write that one cannot attain blessings through anyone else. They say that blessings can be attained through someone else too. It is a calumny about the Qur'an al-karim and the hadith ash-Sharif to liken visiting -with the view of getting blessings- the graves of those whom Allahu ta'ala loves to worshiping the idols at-Lat and al-'Uzza. It was declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "He who calumniates the Qur'an al-karim becomes a non-Muslim." The Wahhabis, giving false meanings to ayats with ambiguous meanings, call Muslims "polytheists."
THE ORIGIN OF TASAWWUF
7 - On page 126, he says,
"It is seen that tasawwuf, at its early stage, was planned by Indian Jews. It was adopted from the ancient Greeks. For this reason, they [mutasawwifs] disunited and broke Muslims into groups."
Also Mawdudi, a Pakistani la-madhhabi, disseminates the above-quoted words in his book The Revivalist Movement in Islam. Heretical people, in order to attain their desires and selfish advantages, put on attire which is deemed valuable and virtuous in the society. It is not difficult for wise, learned people to recognize such corrupt men and to distinguish them from the good. But an ignorant person believes them and, regarding those who have put on the attire of mutasawwif as real sufists, thinks that the superiors of tasawwuf were also like these "false sufists" and attempts to blame the great authorities of tasawwuf. Muslims should be able to distinguish the truth from falsehood and should not blame the great men of tasawwuf.
Imam Muhammad Mathum al-Faruqi (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih), who was a specialist in tasawwuf, great alim and leader of the awliya' of his time, wrote in the fifty-ninth letter of the second volume of his Maktubat:
"All the outward and spiritual perfections have been attained through Muhammad Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam). The orders and prohibitions, which are outward, have been transmitted to us through the books written by our aimmat al-madhhahib. And the hidden knowledge pertaining to the heart and soul have been conducted through the great men of tasawwuf. It is written in the Sahih of al-Bukhari that Abu Huraira (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh) said, 'I filled two cups from Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam). I have explained the contents of one of them. You would kill me if I disclosed the other.' It is also written in the Sahih of al-Bukhari that when 'Umar (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh) died, his son 'Abdullah (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh) said that nine-tenths of knowledge had died and, seeing that the listeners were confused, added that he meant not the knowledge of fiqh but the knowledge of knowing Allahu ta'ala. All the paths of tasawwuf come from Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam). The superiors of tasawwuf have attained the ma'arif emanating from the blessed heart of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) through their rehbers in every century. Tasawwuf was not made up by Jews or mutasawwifs. Indeed the terms fana', baqa', jadhba, suluk and sair-i ila'llah, which were used for attainments on the way of tasawwuf, were first used by the great leaders of tasawwuf. It is written in Nafakhat that Abu Said al-Harraz (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh) was the first one who used the terms fana' and baqa'. Then ma'arif of tasawwuf came from Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam). The names for these ma'arif were given later. It is written in many books that, before he was notified of his prophethood, he had performed dhikr by heart. Tawajjuh (thinking deeply) towards Allahu ta'ala, the dhikrs of nafi (negation) and ithbat (affirmation) and muraqaba (mediation) existed during the time of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) and the as-Sahabat al-kiram (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhum ajmain), too. Although the above terms had not been heard from Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam), his frequent reticencies showed that he had those ahwal (pl. of hal, spiritual state). He declared, 'A little tafakkur is more beneficial than the 'ibadat of a thousand years.' 'Tafakkur' means '(exercise of) discarding absurd thoughts and meditating on the Reality.' Khidir ('alaihi 's-salam) taught 'Abd al-Khaliq al-Ghunjdawani (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) that mutasawwifs should perform dhikr by repeating the kalimat at-tawhid.
"Question: If the ma'arif of tasawwuf had come from Rasulullah, there should not have been any differentiation. Contrarily, there are various branches of tasawwuf. Why are the ahwal and ma'arif in each of them different?"
"Answer: This difference is due to the difference in men's abilities and the conditions they are in. For example, though there may be a specific remedy for a disease, the prognosis and medical treatment varies with the patient. It is like the difference between photographs of a person taken by different photographers. Every perfection has been taken from Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam). There have been small differences due to power and manner of reception. Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) taught the ma'arif, secret sciences, to his companions in different degrees. As a matter of fact, he declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, 'Tell each person as much as he can understand!' One day while he was imparting some subtle knowledge to Hadrat Abu Bakr, Hadrat 'Umar came in and Rasulullah changed his way of expression. When Hadrat 'Uthman joined in, he did the same again. When Hadrat 'Ali came, he changed the way of his expression again. He spoke in different ways suitably with their talent and nature (radi-Allahu ta'ala anhum ajmain).
"All paths of tasawwuf originated from Hadrat Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh), who was joined to Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) with two lineages, one of which was his paternal way, which reached Rasulullah through Hadrat 'Ali (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh). The second line was his maternal grandfather's pedigree, which was related to Rasulullah through Hadrat Abu Bakr (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh). Because he descended maternally from Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and also received faid from Rasulullah through him, Hadrat Imam Jafar as-Sadiq said, 'Abu Bakr as-Siddiq gave me two lives.' These two ways of faid and marifa that Imam Jafar as-Sadiq had did not commingle or intersect. Faid has been flowing through Hadrat Imam to the great Akhrariyya guides from Hadrat Abu Bakr, and to the other silsilas (chains) from Hadrat 'Ali."
[On page 122 of the book, it is written:
"Rasulullah had told Huzaifat ibn al-Yaman the names of munafiqs on their way back from the Tabuk Battle. Huzaifa did not tell these names to anyone lest disunity should arise. As it is obvious, there was no secret knowledge of Huzaifa, as the sufi heretics claim. For, Islam is unhidden and has no secret knowledge."
In this passage, he alleges that the knowledge of tasawwuf was invented by Jews. However, on page 30, it has been said:
"Most of the Sahabis did not know the knowledge Rasulullah had intimated to Muaz ibn Jabal. Rasulullah had told Muaz not to tell it to anybody. Then, it is permitted to conceal knowledge for good and advantageous reasons."
It is obvious that the Wahhabite book lacks coherence. Every part of this book of five hundred pages is full of such similar incongruous, foolish lines. Quoting hundreds of ayats and hadiths, the writer throws dust into eyes and, because he does not know anything about the sciences of tafsir and hadith, goes astray by making up meanings with a swift pen and tries to mislead readers.]
Muhammad Mathum (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) wrote in his sixty-first letter of the second volume:
"The most valuable and most beneficial thing in this world is to attain the marifa of Allahu ta'ala, that is, to know Him. Allahu ta'ala can be known in two ways. In the first one, one can know Him as the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) communicated. The second one is the understanding of the great men of tasawwuf. The former knowledge can be gained as a result of study and meditation. The second one is attained through kashf and shuhud of the heart. The first one pertains to knowledge ('ilm), which originates from wisdom ('aql) and intelligence, while the second one pertains to a spiritual state (hal) which originates from the origin, the reality. In the first one, there exists an alim as a mediator. In the second, mediation of the 'arif comes to an end, because becoming an 'arif of something means being lost in that thing. This is expressed well in the verse,
Descending and ascending does not make you closer,
To get closer to Haqq means to cease existing!
The former is related to the 'ilm al-khusuli (knowledge attained by studying), and the latter to the 'ilm al-khuduree (knowledge attained through revelation). In the former the nafs has not given up disobedience, while in the latter the nafs has perished and is always with al-Haqq. In the former, iman and 'ibadat are in a superficial form, because the nafs has not become a believer yet. A hadith qudsi declares, 'Be at enmity with your nafs! It bears enmity against Me.' Iman of the heart mentioned above is called the 'iman al-majazi' (metaphoric belief), which may go away. In the latter, because there is no quality of being human left and because the nafs itself has become a believer, iman is protected from being lost, so it is called the 'iman al-haqiqi' (real belief). In this stage 'ibadat are real. The metaphor may be lost, but the reality will not cease existing. This real belief is referred to in the hadith ash-Sharif, 'Oh my Rabb! From You, I want iman the end of which is not disbelief,' and in the 136th ayat of the Surat an-Nisa, 'Oh believers! Believe in Allah and His Rasul.' Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), in order to attain this marifa, although he was at a high degree in knowledge and ijtihad, ran to be in the service of Hadrat Bishr al-Hafi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala). When he was asked why he kept close to Bishr al-Hafi, he answered, 'He knows Allah better than I do.' [The Wahhabite book, on page 109, writes, "Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal's pedigree links on to that of Rasulullah's at Nizar ibn Mu'adh. He was the most superior scholar of his time in fiqh and hadith. He was at a very high level in wara and in following the Sunna. He was born in Baghdad in 164 and died there in 241 A.H." It is written in Farid ad-din al-Attar's (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) Persian Tadhkirat al-awliya that Ahmad ibn Hanbal attended the lectures of many mashayikhs, for example, Dhu'n-Nun al-Misri's and Bishr al-Hafi's (150-277). A crippled woman sent her son to Imam Ahmad and asked him to pray for her. The Imam performed an ablution (wudu) and salat and prayed. The son found his mother welcoming him at the gate when he returned home. She recovered her health through the blessing of Imam Ahmad's prayer.]
"Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) gave up the work of ijtihad in his last years. He attended Hadrat Jafar as-Sadiq's (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) sohbat for two years. When he was asked why he had done so, he answered, 'Numan [Hadrat al-Imam al-Azam's name was Numan.] would have perished if it weren't for those two years.' Although both the imams [Abu Hanifa and Ahmad ibn Hanbal] were at ultimately high grades in knowledge and 'ibadat, they went to the superiors of tasawwuf and attained marifa and its fruit, iman al-haqiqi. Was there another 'ibada more valuable than ijtihad? Was there a deed superior to teaching and disseminating Islam? Leaving these aside, they clung to, embraced the service of the superiors of tasawwuf, and thus attained marifa.
"The value of a'mal (deeds) and 'ibadat is measured with the degree of iman. The brilliance of 'ibadat depends on the amount of ikhlas. The more perfect iman becomes, the more ikhlas is attained, and deeds become all the more glorious and acceptable. The perfection of iman and completion of ikhlas depends on marifa. Since marifa and real belief depend on the attainment of fana' and death-before-death, the perfection of iman is as much as one's fana'. It must be for this reason that it was declared in a hadith ash-Sharif that Hadrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq's (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh) iman was superior to all other Muslims' iman: ' 'Abu Bakr's iman, if weighed against the iman of all my umma, would weigh more,' for he was the most advanced of all the Umma in fana'. The hadith ash-Sharif, 'The one who wants to see a walking corpse must look at Abu Quhafa's son,' confirms this. All the Sahabat al-kiram (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhum ajmain) had attained to the degree of fana'. The preference of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq's fana' in this hadith shows that his degree of fana' was very high."
Imam Muhammad Mathum (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) declares in the 106th letter of the second volume:
"Repeat the beautiful word 'La ilaha illa'llah' many, many times! Perform this dhikr with your heart! This blessed word is very beneficial in clearing the heart. Everything but Allahu ta'ala is annihilated when half of this beautiful word is uttered, and the existence of the true mabud (who is worshiped) is announced when the remaining half is said. And sair and suluk, that is, advance on the way of tasawwuf, are for attaining these two. It was declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, 'The most valuable word is La ilaha illa'llah.' Do not be in the company of many people! Worship much! Cling tightly to Rasulullah's Sunnat! Avoid bidat' and men of bidat' very much! Both the good and the wicked can do good deeds, but solely the Siddiqs abstain from bad things.
"You question whether it is malign for the wayfarer on the way of tasawwuf to wear very expensive clothes obtained in a halal way. The things in the hands or on the body of the one whose heart has attained to the degree of fana' and has no interest in anything except Allahu ta'ala do not prevent his heart from the dhikr. His heart has no relation with his exterior organs. Even his sleep is not an obstacle to his heart's work. It is not so with the one who has not been able to attain to the degree of fana', and his exterior, visible organs, do have a connection with his heart. However, it cannot be said that his wearing new, expensive clothes is an obstacle to his heart's work. Great guides of Islam, the imams of Ahl al-Bait, al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa and 'Abd al-Qadir al-Geilani (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) wore very expensive clothes. The books Khazanat ar-riwaya, Matalib al-Muminin and Dhahira report that Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) wore a jubba (long gown with full sleeves) which was worth a thousand dirhams of silver. He was seen performing salat wearing a jubba worth four thousand dirhams. Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) advised his disciples to wear new and valuable clothes. Hadrat Abu Said al-khudri was asked what his opinion about changes and new practices in eating, drinking and dressing was. He said that all were means to show Allahu ta'ala's favor when they were done with halal money and not for ostentation or with hypocrisy.
"Love for anything other than Allahu ta'ala is of two kinds. The first kind is the love for a creature through the heart and body and the desire to obtain it. Such is the love of the ignorant. It is for the purpose of redeeming the heart from this love that one endeavors on the way of tasawwuf. Thus, solely the love for Allahu ta'ala remains in the heart and one gets redeemed from occult polytheism. It is thus seen that tasawwuf is necessary for a person to get rid of occult polytheism. It is a means to attain the iman ordered in the ayat, 'O believers! Do believe!' The divine order in the 120th ayat of the Surat al-Anam, 'Give up the sins which are performed overtly with the organs or with the heart!' shows that it is necessary to unfasten the heart from its interest in everything but Allahu ta'ala. What kind of goodness could be expected of a heart in love with something other than Him? In Allahu ta'ala's sight, there is no value or importance in a soul that yearns for someone other than Him.
"The second kind of love is that in which solely the organs' love or wish is involved. The heart and soul, having already been devoted to Allahu ta'ala, know none but Him. This sort of love is called the 'mail tabii' (instinct). This love is only of the body. It does not smear the heart or soul. It arises from the properties and needs of substances and energy in the body. Love of this kind for creatures might exist in those who have attained fana' and baqa' and in the awliya' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) of high status. In fact, it exists in all of them. Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) liked cool and sweet sherbets. The hadith ash-Sharif, 'I was allowed to like three things of your world,' is widely known. The books of Shama'il write that Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) liked clothes called 'al-burd al-yamani ' that were made of cotton and linen.
"When the nafs is honored with fana' and attains itminan (tranquillity), it becomes similar to the five latifas, namely the qalb (heart), ruh (soul), sirr (mystery), khafi (the secret) and akhfa (the most secret). And at this state of the nafs, jihad is made only against the evil desires of the substances and thermal and kinetic energy of the body. A hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'What is perceived through the sense organs affects [those who have] clean hearts and also cleansed nafses.' The effect on other people can be inferred accordingly.
"You ask whether it is permissible to eat what the following people might offer or to go to their houses: bidat-committer, bribe-taker, cheater (fraud), sinner. It is better not to eat and not to go. In fact, it is necessary for those who are on the way of tasawwuf to avoid them. It is permissible in case of necessity. It is haram to eat something which is known to be haram. It is halal to eat anything known to be halal. If it is not known whether it is halal or haram, it will be better not to eat it.
"Question: 'Is tasawwuf a bidat? Was it invented by Jews?'
"Answer: It is one of the orders of Islam to try to know Allahu ta'ala and, for this purpose, to look for and obey a rehber who knows and teaches the way of tasawwuf. Allahu ta'ala declared, 'look for a wasila to attain to Him!' The disciples' receiving faid and marifa from the rehber has been done and known by every Muslim since the time of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam). It is not something introduced later by leaders of tasawwuf. Every rehber has held on to the rehber who has guided him. This chain of attachment goes back up to Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam). The chain of connection of the superiors of the Akhrariyya reaches him through Hadrat Abu Bakr (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh). And chains of other branches reach through Hadrat 'Ali (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh). Can this be called a bidat? Although such terms as murshid and murid were introduced later, names or words are of no particular importance. Even if these words did not exist, their meanings and the hearts' attachment would exist. [The Wahhabite book, too, says that not words but meanings should be taken into account.] The common fundamental job of all branches of tasawwuf is to teach how to do the dhikr, which is a command of our religion. The silent performance of a dhikr is more valuable than the vocal. 'The dhikr that the hafaza angels cannot hear is seventy times as valuable as that which the hafaza hear,' was declared in a hadith ash-Sharif. The dhikr commended in the hadith ash-Sharif is that performed by the qalb (heart) and the other latifas. It is written in valuable books that Rasulullah performed dhikr by the qalb before he was notified of the prophethood. Saying that tasawwuf is a bidat and that it was made up by Jews is like saying that it is a bidat to read the hadith book of al-Bukhari or the fiqh book Al-hidaya."
Muhammad Mathum al-Faruqi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) wrote in the 36th letter of the second volume of his Maktubat:
The leader of the tasawwuf way (school) named Khwajaghan is 'Abd al-Khaliq al-Ghunjdawani (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala). The jadhba (attraction) of qayyumiyya peculiar to this way came to him from Hadrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh). And he taught the way of obtaining this jadhba. This way is called wuquf-i 'adadi and consists in the dihkr khafi, which again comes from Hadrat Abu Bakr. The second way, named jadhba ma'iyya, begun with Baha' ad-din al-Bukhari (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala). 'Ala ad-din al-'Attar (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), the qutb of his time, established the conditions for the attainment of this jadhba. These conditions were called the Tariqa-i 'Ala'iyya. It has been reported that the shortest way [that makes one attain in the least time] is 'Ala'iyya." [It is also called the Ahrariyye because Ubaid-Allah al-Ahrari (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), who passed away in Samarkand in 895 (1490 A.D.), disseminated the way of his master Ala ad-din al-Attar.]
Muhammad Mathum (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) wrote in the 158th letter of the second volume:
"For attaining saada (salvation), two things should be achieved. Firstly, the batin, that is, the heart, should be rescued from being fond of creatures. Secondly, the zahir, that is, the body, should be embellished by holding fast to the al-Ah'kam al-Islamiyya (the Rules of Islam). These two blessings are easily attained in the sohbat of the masters of tasawwuf. It is difficult to attain them by other means. In order to be able to hold fast to Islam, to carry out 'ibadat easily and to keep away from the prohibitions, the nafs has to become fani (resign itself). The nafs has been created as ferocious, disobedient and arrogant. Unless is saved from these evils, the reality (haqiqa) of Islam does not occur. Before resignation or tranquility, there is the surface or appearance of Islam. After the tranquility of the nafs, the reality of Islam occurs. The difference between the appearance and the reality is similar to that between the earth and the sky. The followers of the appearance attain to the appearance of Islam while those of the reality attain to the reality of Islam. The belief of the 'awam (the laity, ignoramuses) is called iman majazi (figurative belief). This belief may be defiled and vanish. The belief of the khawas (scholars, the people of the reality) is protected from fading away and from being spoilt. This real belief is indicated in the order, 'Oh the believers! Believe in Allah and His Prophet!' in the 135th ayat of the Surat an-Nisa."
Muhammad Mathum (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) wrote in the 16th letter of the third volume:
"Statements such as, 'Everything is Him. The word Allah is the name of everything. It is like the name Zaid indicating human being; whereas, each of his organs has a different name. Then, where is Zaid? He is nowhere. And Allahu ta'ala is seen in every being. Therefore, it is permissible to call everything Allah. Beings are all appearances. Their annihilation is also a kind of appearance. In reality, there is nothing that becomes non-existent,' express not believing in the One Being but in many beings, and this is not compatible with what the superiors of tasawwuf have said. By such statements, Allahu ta'ala is claimed to be in the material world, meaning that He is not a distinct being and needs His creatures for His existence and for the existence of His attributes. He is likened to the existence of compounds which are in need of the existence of elements. And this is disbelief in Allahu ta'ala and is frank kufr (unbelief). It is necessary to believe that the existence of Allahu ta'ala is distinct from the existence of the material and spiritual worlds. In other words, the Wajib (the Indispensable Being, the Creator) and the mumkin (the dispensable, the creation) are two distinct beings. There is distinction in every case where there is dichotomy. If someone argues, saying, 'If the 'alam (everything other than Allahu ta'ala) existed in reality, then there would be no dichotomy. The existence of the 'alam is in appearance,' we answer that the Really Existent Being does not unite with the imaginary one. That is, one cannot say, 'Everything is Him.' If, by saying so, one means to say, 'Everything is non-existent; He is the only One who exists,' then it is correct. Yet, it would have been expressed not plainly but figuratively. It is similar to one's saying, 'I saw Zaid,' upon seeing Zaid's image in the mirror [or on the television screen]. Saying these not in the figurative sense but in the plain sense is like saying 'lion' to a donkey. [Similarly, it is incorrect to say that the sound from a radio or a loudspeaker is the voice of the speaker.] A lion is different from a donkey. It cannot be written in words that the two are the same one. The superiors of tasawwuf who taught Wahdat al-wujud did not say, 'The Real Being is in the creatures. He does not exist separately'; they said, 'The creatures are His manifestations, appearances.' Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi and his followers (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) said 'Hama-ust,' that is, 'everything is Him,' in this sense.
"The statement, 'The 'alam has come as such, and so it will go on,' implies that the world is Qadim (eternal). Believing such is kufr and is a denial of the fact that the 'alam will become non-existent. The Qur'an al-karim openly declares that everything will be annihilated. Among those who say that they believe in the annihilation and resurrection of human beings, there are some who say. '[The bodies of] human beings are made of earthen material. They transform into earth [water and gas] after death. These materials are transferred to plants, and then to animals, and, by being eaten by human beings, are transformed into flesh, bone and semen; thus other human beings come about. This is how the resurrection or re-creation of human beings takes place.' [Of course, the transformation of substances as mentioned here is true. Such is Allahu ta'ala's Divine Rule. But] saying that this is how human beings are re-created means a denial of Qiyama (Doomsday), Nashr (Resurrection) and Hashr (assembling for the Judgement). It has been openly stated in the Qur'an al-karim and the Hadith ash-Sharif that the Last Day will come, that he dead will rise from their graves, that all living beings will be assembled in a large square, that the deed-books will be brought forward, that there will be reckoning, that the Balance will be set up, and that the believers will pass the Sirat Bridge and go into Paradise while the unbelievers will fall into Hell to remain in eternal torture. The denial of that day is unbelief, apostasy and atheism.
"Statements such as, 'The well-known salat (ritual prayers) has been ordered for ignorant people. The worship for the pure, exalted human beings is dhikr and tefekkur (contemplating Allahu ta'ala). All particles of the human body and everything are always busy with dhikr and worship. This is the way it is, even if man does not comprehend it. Islam has been sent for those with little wisdom. Thus, their mischief-making has been prevented,' are the words of the very ignorant with little wisdom. Our Prophet (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) declared that salat is a pillar of Islam. He said, 'He who performs salat has constructed the building of his faith. He who does not perform salat has demolished his faith. Salat is the miraj of the believer.' He felt at ease and peace in salat. The closeness in salat cannot be found in anything else; it was declared in a hadith ash-Sharif: 'The curtain between Allah and man is removed only during salat.' Every perfection can be reached by following al-Ah'kam al-Islamiyya (The Rules of Islam). He who departs from these rules, that is, the orders and prohibitions, deviates off the right track. He cannot attain to happiness. The Qur'an al-karim and the Hadith ash-Sharif order that these rules should be followed. The right path is that shown by the Qur'an al-karim and the Hadith ash-Sharif. Other paths are the paths of devils. 'Abdullah ibn Masud said, 'Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) drew a straight line. He said, "This is the only right path that leads man to the pleasure of Allahu ta'ala." Then, drawing slanting lines to the right and left of this line [like branches of a fishbone], he said, "And these are the paths of devils. The devil one each path calls one to it." Then he recited the ayat al-karima, "This is My right path. Come to [follow] it!" '
"The teachings revealed unanimously by prophets ('alaihimu 's-salam) and conveyed to us by the 'ulama' of Islam cannot be destroyed by the imagination of any one. It is unbelief and atheistic to say that the Rules of Islam are intended for the retrogressive. May Allahu ta'ala protect both us and you from believing such words! Amin."
Sayyid 'Abdulhakim Effendi (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih), who was the mujaddid of the fourteenth century of the Hegira, the refuge of the lovers of al-Haqq, the treasure of the Zahiri and batini knowledge, the indisputable proof of awliya', the master of 'arifin, the leader of muhaqqiqin, the elect of 'ubbad, the guide of rasikhin, the apple of Muslims' eyes, the expert in tasawwuf, the heir of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam), and whose books are documents and whose speeches were full of wisdom, wrote very concisely the definition, history, subject and terminology of tasawwuf in his Turkish work Ar-riyadu 't-tasawwufiyya. [Published by the Harbiyye Mektebi Matbaasi in Istanbul in 1341 (1923 A.D.).] He wrote in the preface:
"Since there is no superiority more honorable and more valuable than having attended the sohbat of our Prophet (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam), those who had attained to that honor were called the Sahaba. Those who came after them were called the Tabiin because they followed (tabi') them in practice, and those who followed them were called Atba' at-Tabiin. After them, those who excelled in religious affairs were called zuhhad and 'ubbad. Thereafter, bidat' increased and every group called their leader zahid and 'abid. Those who were in the group of Ahl as-Sunnat protected their hearts from ghafla (forgetfulness of Allahu ta'ala) and secured the obedience of their nafses to Allahu ta'ala. This state of theirs was called tasawwuf while such a Muslim was called a sufi (Persian Sufi). These terms were first used at the end of the second century of the Hegira. The first one who was called a sufi was Abu Hashim Sufi of Kufa (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala). He was engaged in irshad (enlightenment, initiation) in Damascus and passed away in 115. He was the ustadh (master) of Sufyan ath-Thawri (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), who passed away in Basra in 161 (778 A.D.). Sufyan said, 'If Abu Hashim Sufi had not been, I would not have known the Rabbani (Divine) realities. I had not known what tasawwuf was before I saw him.' The first tekke was constructed for Abu Hashim in Ramlah city. The saying, 'Breaking mountains into dust using a needle is easier than removing haughtiness from the heart,' belongs to him. He frequently said, 'I take refuge in Allah from useless knowledge.'
"The men of tasawwuf have been honored with a branch of knowledge in addition to that of the other scholars of Islam. This knowledge of theirs is the expression of the dhawq resulting from their combating with their nafses. When the branches of knowledge were begun to be transferred from the heart to written form, the superiors of the men of tasawwuf also began writing on this branch of knowledge. Haris ibn Asad al-Muhasibee (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), who passed away in Basra in 241 (855 A.D.), gave extensive information on wara' and taqwa in his book Kitab ar-Ri'aya. Imam 'Abd al-Karim al-Quishayri (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), who passed away in Nishapur in 376 (987 A.D. ), in his well-known Ar-risala, and Shihab ad-din 'Umar as-Suhrawardi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), who passed away in 632 (1234), in his 'Awarif al-Ma'arif, have given information on the rules of Tariqa and the wajd (ecstasy) and ahwal (states). Imam Muhammad al-Ghazali (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih) explained in detail these two groups of teachings in his book Ihya'.
"As it is seen, the beginning of tasawwuf goes back to the beginning of the prophethood (nubuwwa, risala). The knowledge of tasawwuf is the product of understanding the realities of the heavenly religions. The marifas of Wahdat al-Wujud, which is a part of tasawwuf, should not be confused with the wahda which was deduced by the Buddhists and the Jews through reason and austerities. The former consists of the marifas comprehended through dhawq while the latter consists of the fancies produced by the mind. The heedless who have not tasted this dhawq think that the two are the same."
[Allahu ta'ala declares in the Surat adh-Dhariyat, "I have created genies and men so that they should perform 'ibada [for Me]." And 'ibadat, in its turn, will cause qurb and marifa. This means to say that men are commanded to become awliya', which is possible by observing the nafila (supererogatory) 'ibadat together with the fard ones and keeping away from the holders of bidat. The duties practiced on the way of tasawwuf are the 'ibadat which are nafila. Ikhlas, which is a condition for the acceptance of the fards, is attainable by doing these duties. The above-given information clearly shows that the Wahhabis' statement, "Tasawwuf has been adapted from Jews and ancient Greeks," is an atrocious lie and slander.]
THE DEAD; THE SOULS OF AWLIYA
8 - The Wahhabite book writes on its 168th and 353rd pages:
"It is unanimous that taking anyone as a mediator between Allah and His creatures or asking him for something is kufr. Ibn Qayyim said that it was great polytheism to ask a dead person for something or for his intercession with Allah. The Hanafi book Fatawa al-Bazaziyya states that anyone who says that souls of mashayikh are present becomes a disbeliever. It is understood from ayats and hadiths that there is no sense or motion in the dead."
While it says on page 70:
" 'Ukasha asked Rasulullah to pray so that he could go to Paradise without reckoning (undergoing judgement in the next world). This shows that it is permitted to ask a living person to pray. But it is polytheism to ask absentees and the dead for prayer."
The prayers of those who faithfully follow Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) path are accepted like his prayers. The Wahhabite book itself, on page 281, quotes the hadith ash-Sharif reported by Imam Ahmad and Muslim (rahimahumallahu ta'ala) from Abu Huraira (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh): "There are such men whose hair is unkempt and who have been dismissed from doors, but if they take an oath Allahu ta'ala creates what they wish to prove them right." Allahu ta'ala, Who creates even what His human servants swear upon so that they would not be reduced to liars, will no doubt accept their prayers. Allahu ta'ala declares in the sixtieth ayat of the Surat al-Mumin, "Pray to Me! I will accept your prayers." There are conditions which govern the acceptance of prayers. If those conditions are fulfilled, prayers will no doubt be accepted. Because one cannot gather together all these conditions, prayers fall short of acceptance. Why should it be polytheism to beg prayers from the 'ulama' and awliya', who certainly have fulfilled those conditions? We say that Allahu ta'ala makes the souls of His beloved servants capable of hearing, and, for their love, creates the things wished. We slaughter animals and recite the Qur'an al-karim for the sake of Allahu ta'ala, send the thawab to a dead Muslim's soul and seek his intercession and help. He who performs 'ibada for the sake of the dead certainly becomes a polytheist, but he who performs 'ibada for the sake of Allahu ta'ala and sends the thawab to the dead does not become a polytheist or a sinner. [See below, the 24th article for detailed explanation of this subject translated from the Arabic Al-minhat al-wahbiyya.] The author of the Wahhabite book, too, reports the karamat of Hadrat Maryam, Asyad ibn Hadir and Abu Muslim 'Abdullah al-Hawlani [Abdullah al-Halwani passed away in Damascus in 62.] (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala). Because Allahu ta'ala's beloved servants' souls, not only when alive but also when dead, help living people with the force and permission bestowed by Allahu ta'ala, we ask the souls of awliya' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) for help. With this belief in heart, to ask their help does not come to mean to worship someone other than Allahu ta'ala, but it means to ask of Him.
Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya (died in 751/1350), who is called "'Allama" (eminent master) and whose writings are used as documents in the Wahhabite book, is quoted elsewhere [Al-basa'ir li-munkiri't tawassuli bi-ahli'l-maqabir, originally edited in Pakistan; Istanbul impression, 1980, p 22.] as having written in his Kitab ar-Ruh: "When someone visit a grave, the dead person in the grave recognizes the visitor and hears his voice. He becomes cheerful and responds to his greeting. This is not peculiar to martyrs; it is the same for other dead people, too. This is not restricted to a certain time, either; it is always as such." The writer's statements contradict these words of his own master.
TO ASK HELP OF THE BELOVED PROPHET
9 - On pages 179 and 191, he quotes the hadith ash-Sharif, "Oh Fatima! Ask me for whatever property you wish! But I cannot rescue you from Allahu ta'ala's punishment!" and goes on:
"It is permissible to ask a human being for what he can do in the world. It is permissible to ask of only Allah to be forgiven, to go to Paradise, to be rescued from Hell and similar things solely Allah can do. Only Allah may be entreated for succor, for help or to get redeemed from trouble. Those who are far away and the dead are not asked for succor. They can neither hear nor answer. They cannot do anything. Hadrat Husain and his father enjoy the blessings in their graves, but those who are known as gods, such as polytheist Ahmad at-Tijani, Ibn al-'Arabi and Ibn al-Farid are in torture. They do not hear anything. The prophets are not to be asked for succor, either. Al-Busayri and Bari in their qasidas commended Rasulullah to excess, thus they became disbeliever, polytheists."
In many places of his book, for example on page 323, he says:
"It is polytheism to believe that the prayers of the dead or of absentees will help and ward off harm, or that they will intercede for those who pray for them. Allah sent His Prophet to annihilate such polytheism and to fight against such polytheists."
The Wahhabite book contradicts itself. On page 201, it writes:
"Allah creates sensitivity and marifa in heavens. They fear Allah. Every minute particle is in the remembrance of Allah and fears Him."
In contradiction to this statement, he claims that the prophets and awliya' do not feel or hear anything in their graves.
Ayyub Sabri Pasha (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), who died in 1308/1890, wrote in his book Mirat al-Madina:
"Scholars of Islam have always asked Allahu ta'ala for favor and mercy through the intercession of Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam). The father of mankind, Adam ('alaihi 's-salam), when he was brought down onto the earth, said, 'Oh my Rabb! Forgive me for the love of Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam)!' Allahu ta'ala accepted his prayer and asked, 'How do you know My Beloved Prophet Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam)? I have not created him yet!' He answered, 'When You created me, as soon as I lifted up my head I saw La ilaha illa 'llah Muhammadun Rasulullah written on the edges of the Divine 'Arsh; so I understood that Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam) was the most superior of creatures. You wouldn't have written his name side by side with Yours if you had not loved him more than all.' And Allahu ta'ala said, 'Oh Adam! You have told the truth! I love Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam) very much. I have not created anyone else more beloved than he. If I had not willed creating him, I wouldn't have created you. As you have asked forgiveness for his sake, I have accepted your prayer and forgiven you.'
"A man blind in both eyes asked Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) to pray so that his eyes could see. Rasulullah said, 'I will pray if you wish, but it will be better if you have patience and endure it.' 'I have no power left to endure. I beg you to pray,' the blind Muslim replied. 'Then, perform an ablution and say the prayer...' the Prophet ordered him. [The prayer is written in the Arabic books ad-durar as-saniyya and Al-fajr as-sadiq, in Maraq al-falah and its at-Tahtawi commentary and at the end of the subject on 'salat hajat' in Ni'met-i Islam, the Turkish version of the latter two.] Al-Imam an-Nasai (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), a hadith alim, reported that, when the blind man prayed, Allahu ta'ala accepted his prayer and he recovered. Imam Hasan, too, confirmed this event. There is no reason left for the Wahhabis not to believe it. 'Uthman ibn Hanif, who narrated this event, said, 'When 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhuma) was the Khalifa, someone who was in great trouble told me about his personal griefs and that he was ashamed of going to the Khalifa. I told him to perform an ablution and to go to Masjid as-Saada and say the prayer which res