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

False & Ignorant Sufis

''A donkey with a load of holy books is still a donkey''

NECESSITY OF FINDING THE PERFECT MASTER & AVOIDING THE IGNORANT SHAYKHS

Ignorant Sufis by A'la Hadrat

Quotes from the Awliya Allah:

IMAM AHMAD RIDA KHAN [d.1339H] may Allah be pleased with him wrote [Irshadaat-e-Ala'Hazrat] that the Saints of Almighty Allah state that an ignorant Sufi is a tool of the Devil. For the same reason, Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

"A Faqhi (Aalim) is heavier than a thousand Aabids (Worshippers) upon Shaitaan".

When an ignorant person worships or tries to tread on the path of Sufism, the Devil makes him dance on his finger tips by putting his reins in his mouth, the bridle in the nose and drags him to wherever he desires. The ignorant Sufi thinks that whatever he is doing is correct and excellent. JUNAYD AL-BAGHDADI [d.298H] may Allah be pleased with him states that his Spiritual Master, SARI AL-SAQATI [d. 253H] may Allah be pleased with him prayed in the following words:

"May Allah first make you a Muhaddith (Scholar of Hadith) then a Sufi and not firstly a Sufi then a Muhaddith."

'Ilm-e Hadith' is knowledge of the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam sayings. These sayings [Ahadeeth] are the great source, after the Qur'an, of comments. A person has to prove his ability of memorising the Ahadeeth and narrating them with all the sources. It is examined, tallied and certified by the authorities having such authorities in Ahadith. Shaykh Ahmed bin Zain bin Dahlan Makki, Shaykh Abdur Rehman Siraj and Imam Kaaba Shaykh Hussain bin Swaleh Jamallul Lail Makki were three sources of Ilm-e Hadeeth at that time.

Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Qadiri may Allah be pleased with him who in 1906 passed a judgment of kufr [Husam al-Haramain] against Maulana Qasim Nanotwi [1833-79], who was a leading ''Sufi'' and founder of the Dar al-Ulum at Deoband is a typical example showing 'ignorant sufi (s)' as a tool of the Devil.

ABU HAMID AL-GHAZALI [d.504H] may Allah be pleased with him, commenting on this du'a said,

"The meaning of Hadrat Sari Saqti's du'a (prayer) is that the one who first studies Hadith and Knowledge, then sets foot into Sufism, has indeed succeeded. But, he who wishes to become a Sufi before obtaining knowledge, has certainly put himself into total destruction."

Sayyidi Abul Qasim Junaid Baghdadi may Allah be pleased with him states:

"One who has not learnt the Qur'an al kareem and written the Hadith, that is, one who is ignorant about the Laws of Shariah, never follow him in anything pertaining to Tariqa and do not take him as your Pir because our knowledge of Tariqa is strictly in accordance with the Qur'an and Hadith (Shariah)."

Hadrat Shaykh Sayyid as-Sari as-Saqati may Allah be pleased with him states:

"Tassawuf is the name of three qualities:

1. His Nur of Marifah (Knowledge of Allah) must not extinguish his 'Nur of Wara' (Piety).

2. Never speak from the knowledge of Batin (Interior) that may contradict the Zahir (exterior) Qur'an and Hadith.

3. Do not let Karamats (Miracles) caste a veil on those things which Allah has made Haraam."

Shaykh Shihab al-Din Umar as-Suhrawardi may Allah be pleased with him who was taken by his uncle to visit Sayyiduna al-Ghawth al-A'zam ABD'AL-QADIR AL-JILANI [d.561H] may Allah be pleased with him said,

"The Haqiqa which is rejected by Shariah is not Haqiqa but irreligiousness."

The exoteric religious sciences of Islam (religious law and jurisprudence, references to the Qur'an and Hadith, theology, etc) began simultaneously with the esoteric sciences of Sufism (self-purification, asceticism, and mysticism). There is no logical division between outer formal Islam and the inner school of Sufism. With the beloved Prophet Muhammad Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam command of "seek knowledge even if it be in China"; the value of learning was given a divine status and great historic centers of learning were established. The wise and knowledgeable Pirs were attached to Tariqas (spiritual path leading to Almighty Allah), international 'brotherhoods' that disseminated both the exoteric and esoteric Islamic sciences throughout the Muslim world. The teaching of each Tariqa would be traceable through a Silsila, the line of succession that connected members, through their Pir, with his master and in turn with their Masters. Ultimately this reached the Noble Companions of the beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam and the beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam himself.

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True & False Sufis

from Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi Allah be pleased with him

False Sufis steal the words of the Sufis and present them as their own, and thus trick people with the beautiful teachings, which they are merely imitators of. They do not have true knowledge of that which they are speaking. Many of the great Sufi Shuyukh speak of deceptive false Sufis - these people take the title of "Sufi" because it gives them a certain amount of prestige and power, and they take advantage of those who cannot tell false Sufism from the real thing.

On the topic of false Sufis, MAWLANA RUME Radi Allahu anhu says:

A disciple who is trained by a man of God will have a pure and purified spirit. But he who is trained by an imposter and hypocrite and who learns theory from him will be just like him: despicable, weak, incapable, morose, without any exit from uncertainties, and deficient in all his senses.

"As for the unbelievers -- their protectors are idols, that bring them forth from the light into the shadows." (al-Qur'an 2:257).

[From the "Fihi ma fihi," translated by W. C. Chittick in "The Sufi Path of Love: the Spiritual Teachings of Jalaluddin Rumi," p. 145]

Furthermore, on the topic of false Sufis and the harm they do, Jalal al-Din Rumi says (in poetry):

You are the disciple and guest of someone who in his vileness will steal away all your attainments.

He is not victorious -- how will he make you victorious? He will not give you light, he will make you dark.

Since he has no light, how can others receive light through associating with him?

Like a blind man who cures eyes: With what will he anoint your eyes other than wool? [...]

He has no scent or trace of God, but his claims are greater than those of Seth or Adam.

The devil himself is embarrassed to appear before him; he keeps on saying, "We are of the saints and even greater."

He steals many of the words of the dervishes, so that people may think he really is someone.

In his talks he even cavils at Bayazid; Yazid himself is ashamed of him. (*)

He is destitute of the bread and provisions of heaven: God has not thrown him a single bone.

[From the Mathnawi of Jalaluddin Rumi, Book I, vv. 2265-68, 72-76, translated by W. C. Chittick in "The Sufi Path of Love: the Spiritual Teachings of Jalaluddin Rumi," p. 145-6.]

(*) Bayazid refers to the great Wali Allah, Bayazid al-Bistami; Yazid refers to the oppressive ruler.

Therefore we see that a great Shaykh such as Jalal al-Din Rumi alayhir rahman warns us of the false Sufis. False Sufis may even be more prevalent today than they were in the past. We must distinguish between true Sufis, who follow the Shari'ah, and false Sufis, who often do not.

Wassalam,

Fariduddien Rice

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Neccessity of avoiding ignorant Shaykhs

This letter, written to Sayyid Mahmud Rahmatullahi alaih, states that it is necessary to find a perfect master and to avoid ignorant Shaykhs.

May Allahu ta'ala increase the desire to look for Him! May He bless us with the fortune of avoiding the things that prevent us from attaining Him! The valuable letter, which is a favour of yours, has arrived. It is very pleasant because it indicates that you have been seeking Allahu ta'ala, that you have been consumed with love for Him. Wishing is the harbinger of attaining.

Being consumed with love is a sort of beginning for attaining. One of our superiors says, "If He would not give, He would not give the wish." One should appreciate the value of the blessing of wishing and refrain from the things that will cause it to be lost. One must be careful lest the wish becomes slack or the fervor chilly. What helps most lest this blessing is lost is to thank (Allahu ta'ala) for it. He declares in the seventh ayat of Sura-i Ibrahim:

"If you thank Me for My favours, I will certainly increase them."

It is necessary both to thank Him and to entrust oneself to Him and to weep and beg Him lest one will love or wish for something else. If one does not feel like weeping, begging, one should force oneself to do so. "If you do not weep make yourself weep," has been said. Until you find an exalted person who is kamil and mukammil, [that is, who has reached perfection and who is able to make another reach perfection also], one should preserve this wish with all its fervor in one's heart. When such an exalted person is found, all wishes and desires should be delivered into his hands, one being like a corpse on a bench under a washer's hands. Fana-fi-sh-Shaykh is first. This fana will then turn into fillah. [That is, when you find an exalted person who has reached the end of the way of tasawwuf and who is back in order to make others attain it also and who therefore looks like any ordinary person, you should surrender yourself to him. First, you should annihilate yourself in him; that is, you should obey not yourself but him. A person who does so will gradually be annihilated in Allahu ta'ala. That is, his own desires being annihilated, he will act according to Allahu ta'ala's will. He will no longer have any will of his own.] An exalted person who will take from Allahu ta'ala and give to men should be two-dimensional. Because man is very mean and evil-natured, he cannot have a relationship with Allahu ta'ala. A two-dimensional intermediary is necessary, and this intermediary is an insan-i kamil (perfect man).

The worst thing which slackens a talib's wish and which extinguishes his fervor is his surrendering himself to a naqis person who has not reached the end of the way. A naqis is a person who has not completed his way through suluk and jadhba but calls himself a Shaykh, a murshid. A group of naqis Shaykhs is called a samm-i qatil. He who surrenders himself to them ends up in perdition. Such groups derange the high tendency, the inclination of a talib. For example, if a patient takes the medicine of a doctor who is not specialized, who does not even have a diploma, he will, let alone become well, get sick all the more. He will even lose the tendency to heal. That medicine may first reduce his aches. But the aches are not felt because it disturbs, harms the nerves. This case is not a service, but a disservice. If this patient goes to a real doctor, this doctor will first try to do away with the harm of that medicine. Then he will begin to cure the disease.

The way of our superiors "rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain' is based on sohbat. Nothing is obtained by memorizing or by uttering a few words of the great men of tasawwuf. On the contrary, it slackens the wish of the talib. Hadrat Shaykh Taj "quddisa sirruh", who is an owner of marifats, lives close to you. His blessed presence is a great favour for the Muslims there. Do get in touch with him infrequently. Infrequent visits in a relationship bring no value. If you occasionally write about your state, we will not hesitate to answer. Thus, the chain of love and ikhlas will be stirred.

From the 'Maqtubat' of MUJADDID ALIF THANI [d. 1033H]Radi Allahu anhu

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