Bi ismillahir rahmanir raheem
Freedom from sin
by Shaykh Ahmad Hendricks
In talking about sin another urgent question
needs to be looked at. Why and how do people fall into it? Knowledge of the
causes and then of managing them wisely with the intention of ultimately
removing them is one of the fundamental ways of overcoming the disease. There
are both general and specific causes of sin whether they are sins of the body or
sins of the heart. In this and the next essay we will look at the general
causes. The specific causes of sin will be dealt with in future essays and as
the need arises. Generally speaking people fall into a particular sin as a
result of mainly four causes:
- Lack of knowledge
- The influences of Shaytan
- The nafs or lower self
- Friends and peer groups
Let us look briefly at each of these points
starting with the first and second:
Lack of Knowledge.
Lack of knowledge is the great shortcoming of
humankind. Educational systems of all types exist precisely to overcome this
universal human weakness. Quite obviously sins cannot be avoided if they are not
known to be sins. The beginning of right living or the persuance of the good
life depends entirely on the degree of knowledge of the devotee. It has to be
remembered though that knowledge can be both acquired (kasbi) or innate (fitri).
Often people with a minutae of acquired knowledge feel dissatisfied with their
lives. This dissatisfaction sometimes has its source in the innate knowledge of
goodness and evil that every soul is inspired with. As Allah, the Most High,
says: "And by the Soul and its creation in perfect proportion and balance, And
the knowledge of evil and good He inspired into it." [Surah al-Shams,v 7-8].
Much of Islamic spirituality is geared to the awakening of that innate sense of
good and evil. But this innate understanding of good and evil is not enough.
Human nature is complex. Circumstance and upbringing can blind the fitrah. Some
scholars hold that it can even be changed and distorted. As a result all of the
well-known schools of spiritual development or tariqah (pl. turuq) as they are
known stipulates the acquisition of a basic knowledge of Islam before higher
instruction is given. And this, with good reason, if only to ensure that the
student has a firm foundation on which to develop. It is hoped of-course that a
basic knowledge of sin has been clearly described in the previous essays in this
series.
Learning and acquiring knowledge is obligatory
in Islam. One cannot go to the masjid everyday for the daily salah and neglect
the important duty of gaining more knowledge. The two must go together. Doing
the one and neglecting the other and still imagining that we are improving as
Muslims is one of the great delusions of our time. The Prophet, may the peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him said, " Seeking knowledge is an obligation on
every Muslim male and female"[ Narrated by Bukhari]. In this hadith we have one
of the rare occasions where the Nabi, may the peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him, specifically uses the Arabic term "faridah" or "obligation" mainly to
underline the importance of knowledge.
Shaytan and the heart
In order to explain in meaningful terms the
relationship between our heart and the workings of Shaytan, Ibn Qudama compares
the heart to a fortress. He says " Know that the heart is like a fortress. The
Shaytan is the enemy who wants to invade the fortress, own, and control it. And
there is no way to protect the fortress except by guarding the entrances. The
doors cannot be guarded if we are ignorant of them and the Shaytan cannot be
repelled except through knowledge of his routes of penetration. The doors and
pathways of the Shaytan are the qualities of the slave and they are many." [Mukhtasar
minhaj al-qasidin, Abridgement of the path of the seekers, Ibn Qudama, pg.
193-194].
Traditionally the word heart (qalb) has a number
of different applications. In this passage the author uses it to refer to the
entire non-physical part of us. And we know the heart in this sense is both
susceptible to higher influences in the form of guidance from Allah, the Most
High, and tends to rebel against that guidance through its desires and passions.
Now the point of the author is that Shaytan is able to influence us and work his
tricks of illusion and deception precisely because we are not vigilant enough
and not knowledgeable enough of our shortcomings and of our negative qualities.
Take for example envy and greed. When these shortcomings are stimulated for some
reason. We become, for example, envious of the wealth, fame or knowledge of
another individual, or we become greedy for more worldly possessions. The first
thing that then happens is the natural light (nur) of the heart becomes dim. It
must be remembered here that innately (bil-fitrah) we are equipped to know the
Devils ruse. Every human being is gifted with the light (nur) of insight. This
insight however, is blocked and even seriously impaired if greed and envy gets
the upperhand over us. Once this happens, once we fall victim to envy and greed
and many other negative qualities � such as fascination with money, impatience,
suspicion, bad-temper and so forth - Shaytan comes into our hearts and
beautifies the actions that result from these blameworthy attributes. Whether
the actions we want to take are haram or ugly in the extreme, we will do them
because Shaytan makes them appear acceptable to us. The result is we adopt a
sinful path while at the same ironically thinking we are living the good life.
Much of what we are still going to discuss in
this column is going to deal with the crucial subject of self-discipline and
self-knowledge and how these can be harnessed to overcome the influences of
Shaytan.
The nafs (the self)
The Prophet, may the peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him, said in a tradition narrated by al-Baihaqi , " Your worst
enemy is your nafs within you". In another tradition he, may the peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, is reported to have said, " We now return from
the lesser jihad to the greater jihad, the jihad against the nafs". Another
hadith, about which Imam Nawawi expressed reservations and which Imam al-Mawardi
in his Adab al-dunya wa al-din argues is sound at least in its meaning, says, "
He who knows himself knows his Lord". The person who knows and comes to realise
the essential weakness, insignificance, powerlessness and impermanence of
himself (his nafs) will realise and know the Strength, Greatness, Power and
Permanence of Allah, the Most High. In other words one of the paths to knowledge
of Allah, the Most High, is honest self-reflection and knowledge of the self (nafs).
If this is true then the converse is equally true. The individual who is
ignorant of himself (his nafs) will be ignorant of Allah, the Most High. These
traditions and meanings are adequate proof of the importance of acquiring a good
working knowledge of the nafs, its nature and ways of curing its illnesses.
In the Quran Allah, the Most High says, "O
peaceful nafs (al-nafs al-mutma�innah) return to your Lord, satisfied and
satisfied with. Enter into my jannah enter together with my slaves". In another
verse Allah, the Most High, revealed that Zulaykhah said, " Surely it is the
nafs (al-nafs al-ammarah bi al-su�) that commands with evil". In surah al-qiyamah
Allah, the Most High, says, " Verily I swear by the the day of judgement and
verily I swear by the reproaching self (al-nafs al-lawwamah)". Taken together
these verses show the different phases and modes of the nafs. At one level of
development it is completely at peace and at another level it is fiery,
passionate and incitely. It drives one to cross the boundaries of good. In the
other verse Allah, Most High swears by the reproaching nafs or the conscience as
we would say today. We know that Allah, the Most High, in some instances swears
by certain things to underline its importance. In this surah the day of
judgement and the conscience is mentioned together and both of these realities
we know play key roles in the process of moral and ethical transformation.
What then is the nafs? Opinions have differed on
this crucial issue. A good working definition is given by Shaykh al-Kurdi, he
says, " Know that the nafs is a divine subtlety and it is the ruh (human spirit)
before it entered and became connected to the body. And Allah, the Most High,
created the spirits before the physical bodies during which time it was near and
close to Allah, the Most High. When He ordered them to connect and be associated
with the physical body they perceived the world and became veiled from the
Divine Presence as a result of attachment to the physical world�..".
To clarify all of this we have to bear in mind
the following points. Everyone of us have basically two sides to him or herself.
On the one hand is the physical body, which forms the subject of modern
medicine, and on the other hand there is the non-physical side which
psychologists and others attempt to understand. Our non-physical self we know as
our emotions, our thoughts and feelings, our passions and desires even our
complexes. These non-physical elements we collectively refer to as our "self".
The earlier and later scholars of tassawuf used the term�s al-nafs al-insani
(human soul) to refer to our emotional and rational nature and the term al-nafs
al-hayawani (vital or animal soul) to refer to the element that animates the
body and gives it perception. The vital soul is also the source according to
them of our passions and physical drives like hunger, anger and sex. Now the "nafs"
according to al-Kurdi includes or comprises of both of these dimensions. It is
one integral entity also called the "ruh" or spirit when it is still in its pure
state prior to creation. Once the "ruh" enters the body and gives it life it
acquires a new character. It aquires an outer dimension called the vital soul
(al-nafs al-hayawani) and an inner dimension called human soul (al-nafs al-insani).
Now as a result of these changes the "ruh" is now called the "nafs".
As a footnote we must bear in mind that the word
"qalb" or heart is also often used to refer to our inner selves or our emotions,
rationality and beyond. The word "nafs" or self is also often used to refer
specifically to the outer vital soul or our passions and desires.
In all of this it crucial to understand that our
passions and our desires, our thoughts and emotions, if kept unchecked and
undisciplined and unpurified, are the most important source of sin. Our thoughts
and emotions can reach great and noble heights only if we are able to free them
from the incessant fire of our drives and passions. When we are dominated by our
passions and desires we are at the level of developement called al-nafs al-ammarah
bi al-su� or the evil self. In this condition our passions determine the way we
think and feel and consequently act. The great vices of pride, arrogance, envy,
slothfullness, hate and greed develope. This is the veil that imprisons us and
prevents the nur of the Divine Presence from penetrating our hearts and minds.
And as we are subjected to the discipline of
knowledge, salah, fasting and other �ibadaat we gain mastery and greater control
over our selves. As a result our thoughts and feelings are increasingly
purified, deeper levels of the "ruh" or "nafs" are uncovered or if you will
deeper functions of the mind are realized and awakened. Once the passions
quieten down and the inherent tendencies of the "ruh" start to emerge and awaken
we have progressed to the level of al-nafs al-mutma�innah or the peaceful self.
Friends and peer groups
The final general cause of sin we having a look
at is the impact of social circles on the direction people take in their lives.
It is crucial that we look at this matter in a balanced and mature fashion. Many
parents we talk to have the tendency to place all the blame of their childs
misbehavior on the circle of friends. This is not entirely correct, indeed in
this kind of judgement we are denying our children their independence and their
sense of individual responsibility. The same points apply in the case of the
disgruntled wife towards her husband and vice versa. In saying this we are not
denying that the group has an impact. The point here is that we have to look at
both the individual and the social circle. In the previous essay we briefly
looked at the nafs and its basic impulses and drives and how that impacts on our
behavior and our relationship with Allah, the Most High. This is sufficient to
prove that the individual carries a large portion of the responsibility. We need
to work hard on excavating and reviving our own spiritual tendencies and on
disciplining the rebellious elements in our selves. We also have the added
responsibility of assisting our families to those same ends. Much of the work
starts in the family and on the relationships inside the family. It amounts to
denial to simply blame the circle of friends for all the woes of the world. This
however is not the complete tale. It would be equally shortsighted to ignore the
influences outside the family.
Imam Ghazali, may Allah be satisfied with him,
in his excellent book " The beginning of guidance" recognizes that in addition
to basic requirement of being faithful to the commands of Allah, the Most High,
who we mix with and on what basis we mix with them is fundamental to the
spiritual life. Lets start with a verse from the Quran. Allah, the Most High
says in Surah al-Kahf, verse 28, " And tie yourself to those who call on their
Lord in the mornings and at night seeking only His Face�" and towards the end of
the same verse He, the Most High, says, "�. And do not follow (obey) those whom
we closed off their hearts from Our remembrance and who follow their own whims
and desires�". It is clear from this verse that Allah instructs his Nabi, may
the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and consequently the entire ummah
to associate with others on the basis of certain criteria. On the one hand we
are instructed to associate with the spiritually enlightened and on the other to
break ties with the spiritually dead. The word used in the verse to connote
spiritual blindness is "ghaflah". The meanings of this term include the
shortcomings of negligence, forgetfulness, and intellectual blindness. It is
also instructive to note that these traits form the basis of the unrepentant
sinful life. So we are obliged to be discriminatory in the choice of our
associations and that for a very important reason. Both Imams Bukhari and
Muslim, may Allah be satisfied with them, narrates a hadith of Abu Musa al-Ash�ari,
may Allah be pleased with his soul, that the Nabi, may the peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him, said, " The example of a good companion (jalis) and a bad
one is like a perfume vendor and a blacksmith. The perfume vendor either gives
you something or you purchase an item from him or you receive a pleasant
fragrance from him. The blacksmith however either burns your clothes or you
acquire a bad smelling odor from him." In another tradition narrated by Abu Daud
and Tirmidhi, may Allah be satisfied with them, the Nabi said, " A man adopts
the din of his close friends, so look carefully at the person you befriend." A
third tradition I want to cite here from the collections of both Bukhari and
Muslim is one often not seen in this context and a hadith I believe to be
critical in any discussion of companionship and friendship. Abu Hurairah, may
Allah be pleased with him, narrates that the Nabi said, " Women are married for
their wealth, pedigree, beauty and din, go and marry them for their din and you
will succeed." The lessons from these prophetic traditions are numerous. We will
consider a few relevant to the issue under discussion. It is human nature to
absorb to a degree the qualities of people we respect, admire, and regularly
associate with. This process of absorption is effectively compared by the Nabi
to the way perfume and the stench of the blacksmith�s shop or even the smoke and
smell of burning wood clings to one�s clothes. It is also generally accepted
that although temperament fails to escape the laws of hereditary, environment
can effectively change and fundamentally modify those traits. If one is serious
about one�s spirituality and moral development and that of one�s children we
have to choose our friends and associates. All of these sayings directly teach
against passive friendships. It�s not a good practice just to fall into a
friendship or companionship no matter how the person�s style or personality
impresses one. Suhbah or companionship is encouraged in Islam. Friendship is to
be valued and respected. They fulfill all sorts of needs the individual might
have. But all this goes with a price. The central focus of a Muslim ought to be
his din for the simple reason that din is ultimately his vehicle of nearness to
Allah, the Most High. This principle is given an interesting context in the
third hadith quoted earlier. After indicating the common and largely
materialistic motives of the choice of partners, the Nabi says ". Go marry them
for their din�". The reason for this, Imam Nawawi in his " Gardens of the Pious"
indicates is precisely because our wives are our closest companions. And when
she is strongly orientated towards the religious life we should actively seek
her companionship to improve our own.
Passive friendships, refusal to exercise our
intellects in the choice of friendships and indiscrimination in the choice of
marital partners can open up all the woes of a sinful and spiritually alienated
life.
Ghazali however reminds us in his "Beginning of
guidance", " Know that your Companion that never leaves you whether you are
travelling or staying at home, asleep or awake, indeed in life as in death is
your Lord, Master, Owner and Creator, and whenever you perform remembrance of
Him, He is your company. And He, the Most High, has said so ( Imam Ghazali is
referring to a hadith qudsi here), " I am the jalis ( someone who regularly sits
with one) of the person who remembers Me."
Shari�ah, Tariqah, Haqiqah
by Shaykh Ahmad Hendricks
The meaning and usage of the terms shari�ah,
tariqah and haqiqah is a question that has been the subject of some controversy.
What exactly do they mean and why do they exist in the first place. The first of
those words "shariah" is to most of us a completely familiar term. When we talk
about "shari�ah" people generally understand that we are either talking about
the din in general or specifically about the legal aspects or fiqh of Islam. The
common expression is " we have to live according to the shari�ah" and we
immediately understand when we hear this " according to the law of Allah, the
Most High". The question that often mystifies Muslims is what else can there
possibly be besides the law of Allah, the Most High? We have our din, we have
the shari�ah the prophetic code to live by, what is the tariqah or haqiqah we
hear about in connection with tasawwuf? We hope to clarify some of this in the
following essay.
I�ve made the point that tafakkur is the
indispensable beginning of the conscious, purposive Muslim life. Without
tafakkur our lives as Muslims have to be shallow. Our Islam wont be more than
imitating our parents or wont go beyond simply falling in line with the Muslim
social and cultural life style. The crucial point here is that tafakkur can be
revolutionary. It can change our lives radically and totally. Through the
barakah and nur of tafakkur the meaning of life is shown to be far more than
merely imitation and blind belief. We become dissatisfied with our simple,
shallow, imitative, material existence. This dissatisfaction often leads to
anguish and confusion. We are in great peril if no reliable and solid guidance
is available during this time. It is best we bide our time in patience and open
ourselves to mature and wise counsel. Tafakkur, we have to remember, can be
induced or even forced on us from unexpected quarters. The ways of guidance are
many and sometimes mysterious. Deep tafakkur can, for instance, be triggered by
a crisis in one�s life - the death of a loved one or the loss and the subsequent
despair of a job lost or a critical accident where the victim looses a limb and
so forth.
To this Muslim "in crises", Allah, the Most High
speaks beckoningly, " Surely this (Quran) is a reminder (tadhkirah) and he who
wishes let him seek a path (sabil) to his Lord."
This verse makes two important points;
- The Quran is a tadhkirah. It serves as a
reminder of fundamental truths we have forgotten, the truth of where we come
from and where we ultimately are all going to. It is a light that re-awakens
us to the nature of reality, to the truth of ourselves and of what is beyond
the grave. We are called to our higher purpose and destiny. "And we have not
created men and jinn except to worship Me". Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased
with him, says, "to worship me," means to "to know me".
- If the Quran reminds the Muslim of this let
him adopt a path that leads to a deeper spiritual knowledge of Allah, the Most
High, to His Pleasure and ultimately to His Paradise. Let him adopt a path
that leads to his ultimate destiny, to the ma�rifah of Allah, the Most High.
The "sabil" or path or general program that
leads to these high goals comprises three interrelated aspects, according to the
�Ulama. Let�s us look briefly at each of these aspects:
- All the rules, ethical principles and beliefs
revealed to the Prophet, may Allah�s peace and blessings be upon him are
collectively called the shari�ah. The scholars of tawhid, fiqh and tasawwuf
did the crucial labour of deriving, extracting and compiling the shari�ah from
its twin sources the Quran and Sunnah.
- The practice of the shari�ah, preferably
under the guidance of a qualified master and teacher. In this particular
context the practice of the shari�ah, or, if you like, staying away from all
the prohibited things outwardly and inwardly and carrying out the commands of
the shar� to the best of ones ability. This is referred to as the tariqah. The
word tariqah which means "road" or "method" is the practice of the shari�ah.
Other uses of this term will be explained later in this series of essays,
insha�allah.
- The third aspect, referred to as the haqiqah,
is the fruit of knowledge and its continuous practice. The haqiqah is the
fruit of the shari�ah and the tariqah. As the Prophet, may the peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, is reported to have said, " He who practices
what he knows, Allah will teach him what he doesn�t know."
The haqiqah in turn involves three important
phases of development:
- The lifting or thinning of the veil between
the seeker and what he believes in of the Divine Essence and His Attributes,
His Majesty and Beauty, His Nearness to us and His Nearer�thaness. As a result
of these realizations and this deeper and more direct heart knowledge the
seeker gains access to the secrets of the tariqah and the lights and insights
of the haqiqah.
- The nafs is cleansed of all the lower
qualities and rebuilt with the praiseworthy qualities. The great akhlaq of the
Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, now becomes his
akhlaq. For instance his patience, repentance, taqwa, istiqamah (regular
worship), reliability and tawakkul (trust in Allah) are deep rooted and
genuine.
- His chest has now finally opened to the nur
of Islam. Ibadah and good deeds comes to him without any effort. He has
reached the stage of al-nafs al-mutmainnah (the peaceful self) and reached a
state of complete acceptance of the din at every level of his being.
So to summarise what we are saying here; the
shari�ah is the boat we all have to sail on, the tariqah is the sea, and the
haqiqah is the jewels and pearls we extract from the sea; or the shari'ah is the
tree, the tariqah are the branches and the haqiqah is the fruit we enjoy.
All three of these aspects together are referred
to as the "sabil" (way) to your "Rabb" in the verse quoted earlier. We cannot
come near to Allah, the Most High, unless we combine all three aspects in our
life; knowledge of the shari�ah, practicing the shari�ah and consequently
reaping the fruits of practicing the shari�ah. The solution to our
dissatisfaction and spiritual alienation is found in combining all of these
aspects. The words shari�ah, tariqah, haqiqah has been coined by the �Ulama to
refer to these crucial aspects of the din.
It is reported that Imam Malik, may Allah be
pleased with him said: He who practices the shari�ah without the haqiqah is a
fasiq (reprobate); and he who lays claim to the haqiqah without the shari�ah has
left the fold of Islam; but he who combines these aspects have truly realized
(the fullness of Islam).
Sainthood (wilayah) and Nearness (qurb).
by Shaykh Ahmad Hendricks
(Part 1)
Sufism has often been criticized for "excessive"
veneration of the saints. The focus of this critique are the many practices, or
as some would say, abuses associated with visiting the shrines of the saints
rather than the station of sainthood as such. In all fairness, some scholars in
our Shafite legacy have also declared some of these practices either munkar or
makruh. Others developed a more nuanced opinion. Imam Ramli for example holds
the position that should a man throw himself onto the grave of a saint, and he
is clearly motivated by a spiritual condition (hal) or the man is overwhelmed by
an emotion, this act of his is neither munkar, makruh nor, least of all,
"shirk". His condition, the Imam says, is like the situation of Sayyidna Bilal
who rubbed his face on the grave of the Nabi, may Allah�s peace and blessings be
upon him, upon his return from Syria. Bilal was in Syria when the Nabi, may
Allah�s peace and blessings be upon him, passed away. The implication here is
that the practice of throwing oneself onto a grave becomes an abuse (munkar) if
people ritualize it. But even here the ruling of "shirk" is absent. The new
development that has recently appeared in reformist circles in general - not
only Wahabism - is to declare these practices "acts of shirk". This view betrays
a basic confusion between the concepts of "act" and of " belief". The truth is
"acts" can never become "shirk" unless they are accompanied by a polytheistic
mindset. Even then the "act" as such is not "shirk" - the "belief" or "mental
orientation" is. The "act" is called "shirk" figuratively. It is simply flawed
to call any "act" that looks like a bow or a prostration "shirk". If this was
true, Bilal is also a mushrik. The angels in bowing or prostrating before Nabi
Adam and the brothers of Nabi Yusuf in performing sujud, as the Quran says,
before him will have to be similarly judged. The purpose of this article however
is not to deal exhaustively with the controversial issues. I want to focus on
the core subject of sainthood. Why is the station of sainthood so sought after?
What is a saint and do they perform miracles? Can someone know that he or she is
a saint? People also often ask, " We hear that the saints are divided into
different categories and that they form some sort of heirarchy, is this true?"
Let us first look at some of the traditions and
verses on the subject.
Imam �Abdul Karim al-Qushayri narrates a
tradition from �Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Nabi, may Allah�s
peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Allah says, The one who hurts a waliyy
has deemed it legal to make war against Me. And there is nothing better for the
slave as a means of coming closer to Me than performing the compulsory deeds.
And the slave never ceases to grow closer to Me by nawafil until I love him. And
I seldom waver in doing something like I waver to draw the soul of My believing
slave; because he dislikes death and I dislike to harm and there is no escape
from death." In another version of this hadith narrated by Imam Nawawi Abu
Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him said, the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah�s peace and blessings be upon him, said " Verily Allah has said, the one
who hurts my waliyy I have declared war against him. And there is nothing better
for the slave as a means of coming closer to Me than performing the compulsory
deeds. And the slave never ceases to grow closer to Me by nawafil until I love
him. And when I love him I am his hearing that he hears by and the sight that he
sees by, and his hand that grips with, and his legs that he walks on. If he asks
Me I will give and if he seeks My refuge I will give him refuge."
Both Ibn Hibban and Nisaai narrates that the
Nabi, may Allah�s peace and blessings be upon him said, " There is a group of
the slaves of Allah that even the Prophets and martyrs will envy," Then someone
said," Who are these people perhaps we can love them." And he said, "They are a
people who love each other through the light of Allah not through wealth or
family ties. Their faces are filled with nur (light) and they are on pulpits of
light, neither do they fear when the people fear nor do they grieve when the
people grieve." Then the Nabi, may Allah�s peace and blessings be upon him,
recited the verse, " Verily the �awliya of Allah do not fear nor do they
grieve." [Yunus, v. 62]
�Awliya in the verse is the plural of waliyy.
This word is used in two broad senses. In ordinary Arabic waliyy means friend,
associate, ally. In this sense every Muslim is a waliyy of Allah because he
believes in Allah and associates himself with His din. For purposes of adopting
the correct attitude towards Muslims in general Imam Ahmad Zarruq recommends we
understand the traditions quoted above in this sense also. We should keep in
mind that Allah declares war against one who harms or hurts a waliyy. This
should be enough deterrence for us to avoid developing a negative attitude and
act negatively towards other Muslims. Waliy however also has a more specific
meaning. In this second usage the term waliyy refers to;
- A Muslim who embraced the �ibadah of Allah in
a special way. He regularly performs his �ibadat without committing a sin
because he has succeeded in freeing himself from sin.
- Or a Muslim who Allah embraced and taken him
under His Care as He says in the Quran, "And He embraces (yatawalla) the pious
(salihin)." [al-A�raf, v. 166] This verse is usually understood to mean that
Allah protects this Muslim from falling into sin. As a result scholars say,
the condition of a Nabi is to be sinless (ma�sum) and of a waliy to be
protected (mahfudh) from sin.
(Part
2)
Continuing our discussion from the previous
article a relevant and important quote is Imam Qushairi�s clear ruling on the
subject, " And both these descriptions are obligatory (waajib) for a waliy to be
a waliy in the first place: It is obligatory for him to comprehensively observe
the rights of Allah, the Most High, both in depth and breadth, and the
protection of Allah in all circumstances good or bad." And further on in his
seminal essay on Sainthood in his "Risalah" he says, "And anyone against whom
the law (shar�) has an objection is deluded and deceived"
One of the important points in these quotations
is the utter and complete respect shown to the shari�ah. Authentic tasawwuf has
everything to do with the shari�ah. Insinuations to the contrary one sometimes
hear coming from the ignorant or earlier orientalist opinions that Sufism
teaches one to "transcend" the law are simply mistaken and uninformed. There is
no tasawwuf without the shari�ah. One of the great features of Islam is that the
shari�ah and thorough observance and knowledge of the shari�ah is the means to
enter the Divine Presence. The salah, for example, we should see as the Divinely
ordained key and instrument through which we "travel" to His Presence. The Nabi,
may Allah�s peace and blessings be upon him, is reported to have said, "The
salah is the mi�raj of the Muslim". We should note the very important comparison
the Nabi, may Allah�s peace and blessings be upon him, is making here. Lets
think through this point for minute. The salah is the great spiritual journey of
a Muslim. Compared in this hadith to the great journey of the Nabi as he
travelled from the Haram in Makkah to the Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem up to
regions of nearness and intimacy to Allah where even angels cannot go. This
journey of the Nabi prefigures the eternal quest of the travelers on the road of
tasawwuf and in terms of this hadith should be the quest of every Muslim.
Naturally ordinary men and women like ourselves cannot travel to Allah both
physically and spiritually as the Nabi did. The point is that the salah is a
gift from Allah and his Nabi to every Muslim and is the means to achieve that
unique and blessed nearness and intimacy with Allah, the Most High, similar to
what the Nabi experienced on that night.
Similar remarks can be made of the entire
shari�ah. In a hadith quoted in a previous essay the Nabi, may Allah�s peace and
blessings be upon him, reported that Allah, the Most High, said, " There is
nothing better (as a means) for my slave to come closer to me than continuous
observance of all I have made obligatory (ma iftaradtu �alayhi) on him". One
quick point I want to make here is we have to remember that salah, fasting, haj,
and zakah are not the only obligations (faraid) in Islam. Some of the other very
important obligations in Islam, are for example, correct behaviour towards one�s
wife, children and neighbours; justice and fairness in one�s business dealings;
justice and fairness if we hold the reigns of power in a country; bravery on the
battlefield against the enemies of Islam; purity of mind and the absence of
jealousy, envy, hatred, arrogance and insincerity and so forth. The shari�ah
deals with all of these matters in great detail. The basic principle in all of
this is, there is no way that Allah will admit us into His Presence nor allow us
to enjoy the great peace of intimacy with Him unless and until we fully respect
and continuously struggle to perfect and realize His sharia�ah in our lives. The
earlier �ulama even went to extent of including, in addition to the obligations
(fards), all the sunnah�s of the Nabi and even all the aadaab of the shari�ah.
Listen to this story of one of the foremost Imams of our din.
Abu Yazid al-Bistami once went to see someone
described as a waliy by his acquaintances and students. When he arrived at the "waliy�s"
masjid he sat down and waited for him to finish-up and leave. As this man left
the masjid he spat, not outside the masjid but inside. Ba Yazid got up and left
without greeting him. Naturally this caused a stir since Ba Yazid was a
particularly prominent visitor, well known in the Muslim world at the time for
both his spiritual status and his scholarship. People feverishly enquired why he
did this obvious public snubbing of the man. Then Ba Yazid said, "This man
cannot be trusted with a single adab of the aadaab of the shari�ah, so how can
he be trusted with the secrets of Allah? ".
(Part 3)
The saint (waliy) is at once close (qarib) to
Allah, the Most High, and drawn near (muqarrab). He comes closer to Allah
through his own efforts in observing the shari�ah, and Allah, the Most High, in
turn, assists, protects and draws the saint close to Him. Abu Hurairah, may
Allah be satisfied wit him, narrates that the Messenger, may the peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, said, Allah says, " I am with the thought of my
slave, if he remembers Me by himself, I remember him by Myself, and if he
remembers Me in a group I remember him in a better group (than his), and if he
comes close to Me the length of an out-stretched hand I draw close to him the
length of a fore-arm, and if he draws close to me the length of a fore-arm I
draw near to him the length an arm, and if he comes to me walking I come to him
like a wind", in another narration " I am with him if he remembers Me".
This hadith is full of meaning. There is great
encouragement here for people who want to enter the path of inner knowledge and
closeness to Allah. " I am with the thought of my slave" and in the other
narration " I am with him if he remembers Me" implies two basic and important
adaab. Firstly, when we perform our �ibadah we ought to do so with the utmost
purity of thought (husn dhann) and good faith towards Allah. Indeed purity of
thought itself is an �ibadah. Pure thought towards Allah (husn dhann) also
implies complete acceptance of His Will. The aspirant has to work hard to remove
all traces of sublimated anger towards Him. Allah gives to others and He
withholds from us. Dissatisfaction with the Will of Allah and indeed seething
anger towards Him is the essence of envy. And secondly, since we are sitting in
the Presence of Allah and He is with us, we have to observe the adab of maximum
concentration on Him. If this is difficult or we cannot focus and concentrate
with our whole being on Allah during our �ibadah we are required either to train
ourselves or seek out someone who can train us to achieve that. The station of
nearness (qurb) and the station of sainthood (wilayah) are inextricably
connected. Both of which should be the desire and objective of every Muslim.
According to this tradition, Allah comes to us "faster" and with greater
�vigour" than we to Him.
The elevated status of the awliyah is alluded to
in the tradition known as the hadith al-awliyah. Allah takes them into His care
and assists them. The one who loves the awliyah loves Allah. And conversely the
one who injures them, "�Allah declares war against him" [Cited by Bukhari from
Abu Hurairah] and in another version of this tradition Allah says, "� he (the
person who commits the injury) has declared it halal for him to make war against
Me" [Cited by Imam Ahmad and Imam Qushairi from �Aishah]. The versions of this
hadith cited by Tabarani differ mainly in the wording. Tabarani�s narrations
also include some very interesting additions not mentioned by the other
narrators. A thorough analysis of these texts will have to be left for another
time and place. Here we need to comment on some of the points raised by this
tradition.
- One important conclusion we can deduce from
this tradition is that love and respect for the awliyah is obligatory (wajib).
And it is prohibited (haram) to dislike or injure the awliyah. There is no
heavier punishment than Divine War. A punishment of this magnitude is clear
evidence of obligation and prohibition. Allah declares war against the one who
injures the awaliyah either by word or deed. Therefore injury to them is
prohibited and the converse, respect and love for them, is an obligation. They
represent the best of Islam and they embody the shari�ah in all its fullness.
And consequently they are the beloved of Allah and His chosen slaves. Abu
Turab Nakhshabi expressed a very important point when he said, " If the heart
turns against Allah it is accompanied by criticism and dislike of the awliyah"
[Narrated by Imam Qushairi]. Every Muslim who fears Allah and cares for his
din should be wary of this. The criticism and sometimes open hostility against
the great scholars and spiritual masters and above all the against the Sahabah,
may Allah be pleased with all of them, one hears from certain quarters is
cause for concern. Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Shafi�i, Sayyid Abdul Qadir Jailani,
Imam Ghazali and many others, if they are not awliyah of Allah, who is?
Scholarly critique of their opinions is one thing, but begrudging and
belittling them is an entirely different thing. The often inexplicable
aggression and hatred against some of our own local scholars and awliyah falls
into the exact same category. According to Abu Turab these are symptoms of a
deeper and more dangerous tendency. The reason for this hate and hostility has
to be looked for in the hearts of the critics rather than in the people they
are criticizing.
- Another basic point in this tradition is that
the path to the station of nearness is the shari�ah. " The best way to attain
nearness to Me is to practice the obligations (ma iftaradtuhu alayhi)" and
further in the tradition "� and My slave does not cease to draw nearer to Me
by going beyond the obligations (nawafil) until I love him�". The path to this
station of nearness and sainthood are the obligations (fara�id) and the
supererogatory deeds (nawafil) both of which are exhaustively dealt with in
the shari�ah. So shari�ah is the teachings, tariqah is the practice of those
teachings and nearness is the objective. The beginning of the path is struggle
(mujahadah) against the self to implement the shari�ah and the end is vision (mushahadah)
of the Majesty and Beauty of Allah in the station of nearness. The first step
anyone interested in following the path of tasawwuf should take is therefore
to make the necessary effort to study the shari�ah. I have also indicated in
an earlier discussion that salah, fasting and hadj are not the only fards or
obligations in Islam. The other important social and ethical teachings are
just as important. In this regard one of the best books to study and digest is
the riyad as-salihin of Imam Nawawi.
- The station of nearness (maqam al-qurb) is
divided into two types, qurb fara�id (nearness of obligations) and qurb
nawafil (nearness of supererogatory acts). We will look at these two
categories is greater detail in our next discussion, insha allah.
Tafakkur
by Shaykh Ahmad Hendricks
Many years ago a book called " Penny for your
thoughts" was published. It would be interesting to see whom of the modern
generation read this book or heard of it. The cliched title shouldn�t fool one.
The intention of the author is to explore the content and quality of everyday
thought. This book is not a treatise on logical thinking or the rules of correct
reasoning. The systematic study of logic has to be looked for in other works and
is usually the forte of experts and scholars. The subject of this book is more
humble but extremely important. People you meet often are so deeply steeped in
some thought or issue. A look of utter surprise comes into their faces when you
ask them, " Penny for your thoughts?". What is of great interest to me is the
fact that often people fail to recall the stream of thought that so deeply
engrossed them. Yes we are aware of some of the many reasons why this happens.
But for a Muslim to be so entirely taken over by everyday worries and concerns
is not good enough. The author of this book suggests interesting and useful
methods to help gain control over ones propensity to sink into purposeless
thinking and well worth a read.
The quality of our thought is a very serious and
important subject for any Muslim to consider. Says Allah, the Most High, in the
Quran surah al �imran verses 190 � 191, " Surely in the creation of the heavens
and the earth and the rotations of the day and night are signs for the ulul
albab. Those who remember ( dhikr) Allah, the Most High, standing, sitting and
whilst reclining on their sides and who think ( tafakkur) about the creation of
the heavens and the earth, [ They say] O our Lord You have not created this in
vain, Glory be to Thee and protect us from the fires of hell". In this verse
Allah, the Most High, speaks highly of the ulul albab or literally the
possessors of mind or the intellectuals. Qualities of this kind are mentioned in
the Quran precisely because Muslims are expected to emulate them. The second
important attribute of this level or quality of Muslim is remembrance (dhikr).
We will discuss that in a later article. Our focus in this article is on the
crucial matter of tafakkur.
Imam �Abdallah �Alawi al-Haddad says in his Book
of Assistance, " Know that the reformation of both the din and the dunya depends
on sound purposive thinking (tafakkur), and the individual who has mastered this
ability has gained a portion of every possible good. It is said: Purposive
thinking ( tafakkur) for an hour is better than a years worship. It is also
related that Sayyidna �Ali, may Allah bless him, said: There is no worship ('ibadah)
like purposive thinking (tafakkur). A certain gnostic is reported to have said:
Purposive thinking ( tafukkur ) is the lamp of the heart, if it removed the
heart has no light."
The reader will notice I�m translating the word
tafakkur as "purposive thinking" not simply �thinking" or "contemplation". Imam
Ahmad al-Haddad in his excellent book "Key to the Garden" defines tafakkur as
follows: "And tafakkur is the focus and movement of the heart and mind through
the meaning of things in order to reach the underlying intention, and by this,
the pearls of truth is reached." Tafakkur is the art, if you like, of churning a
matter around in ones mind. The intention driving this process must be to
discover the truth behind a saying or clarify the real nature of a principle of
belief. We shouldn�t be fooled, this is a skill one has to learn. Thinking to
some purpose is a skill we have to acquire. It is also important to note that
this kind of "quality thinking" formed an integral part of the texture and
culture of Muslims since the time of the Prophet, may Allah�s peace and
blessings be upon him. A saying attributed to both ibn �Abbas and Abu Darda, may
Allah be satisfied with both of them, goes like this " Tafakkur for an hour is
better than a whole nights salaah." This ability and capacity to think deeply
about things is the light of a Muslim. The author compares the human heart to a
house and tafakkur to the lamp that provides the light in it. The heart is
steeped in darkness without the light of tafakkur. Indeed the full and even
basic understanding of our din is beyond the scope of the unthinking.
Tafakkur in the context of din is traditionally
divided into four types.
The first is the level of the ordinary people
(al-�ammah). This level involves the search and discussion proofs and arguments
to arrive at some conviction. Interesting to note is that the requirement or
need for proofs before you believe in Allah, for example, is placed at the most
basic level.
The second type of tafakkur is that of the
worshippers ( al �abidin) whose main interest is to know the rewards of a
particular �ibadah. They want to get on with the work. Knowledge of the rewards
inspire them to greater activity.
A third type is the tafakkur of the ascetics (zuhhad).
At this level the main focus is on the contingency of existence. They are deeply
impressed by the truth of verses such as " everything will disappear and only
the Face of Allah will remain". The results of that kind of thinking, which is
often inspired by Allah, is a complete break from this world. They loose
interest in wealth, fame, power and position.
The fourth type is the tafakkur of the gnostics
(�arifin). They are the great searchers of the truth behind the universe and its
creation. They delve into the secrets of the Names and Attributes of Allah, the
Most High. And often they speak of things that far exceed the capacity of
ordinary people. They are also the great lovers of Allah, the Most High. Love
flows from knowledge of the Beloved. The greater our knowledge of the Beloved
the greater out love for Him. So as Imam Ahmad al-Haddad says, " Knowledge comes
from tafakkur and from knowledge adoration, and from adoration love".
------------- Rasul Allah (sallah llahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord" and whoever knows his Lord has been given His gnosis and nearness.
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