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Sufism

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Topic: Sufism
Posted By: senekerk
Subject: Sufism
Date Posted: 26 December 2006 at 12:40pm
Is Sufism a approved practice of Islam?  the reason I asked is that I has a spiritual awakening when I learned of Sufism. It is from that point I began to look at Islam.  I mediatate using one of the 99 names of Allah.  Is this permitted?

-------------
Kay



Replies:
Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 26 December 2006 at 3:59pm
No no no. This is a sect which links itself to Islam but is very far away from Islam. Beware of such things.


Posted By: senekerk
Date Posted: 26 December 2006 at 6:01pm
OK, but what about  the meditation on the 99 names or attributes of Allah?

-------------
Kay


Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 26 December 2006 at 6:08pm

I dont know that great much about Sufisms practices but the Salat (the prayer) is enough as an act of worship in that essence. Sufies drum and dance on the names of Allah etc this isnt the way you become closer to God. This is not the action of a humble heart. The Prophet peace be upon him never did any of the stuff Sufis do. Yes Allah has 99 names which are his attributes and you can call him with any of them but you cant sing and drum etc the way Sufis do, that isnt an act of worship, its just unrational. Allah says in sura Taha that "to him belongs all beatiful names" all beatiful names are Allahs names. But you should beware who you watch. The prophet told us what is hapening today. That islam would be divided into many many sects near the end of the world, all of them in hell exept for one. They asked which one? He said what I am on right now. This what sunnis do (the majority of the Muslims, almost 85%).

I hope the brothers and sisters will give you a more sufficient answer ;) but the Suffis have many wrong stuff even when it comes to Allah I think they associate partners with him too.

 



Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 26 December 2006 at 6:09pm
Have you converted to Islam brother? have u learned how to pray?


Posted By: senekerk
Date Posted: 26 December 2006 at 6:11pm
I usually select one name or attribute and just close my eyes, breath deep and think about the name quietly. This is in addition to other prayers.  I'm not into any dancing or drumming.

-------------
Kay


Posted By: rubies
Date Posted: 27 December 2006 at 3:23am

There are a lot of misunderstandings out there about what is called Sufism.

I hope you will find this http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/sufitlk.htm - article useful.



Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 27 December 2006 at 4:21am
But did you say your shahada? I think you should go to a mosque, make sure its a sunni mosque and learn with them how to pray the correct way, theyre very sweet people im sure theyd love to show you. Also you can to CAIR have u herd of it? They can give u many free literature and DVDS  about Islam etc showing you how to pray correctly etc. visit there website on the net http://www.cair.com - www.cair.com and u can find there adress in the USA somewhere in the site and u can go 2 them inshAllah brother ;) btw the Salat (the islamic prayer) is very much relaxing and comforting more than the Suffi ways. Its what the Prophet used to do. Its okay for you to think about a name of Allah as much as you want, thats ok and its good because your thinking of Him but you have to know how to pray the right way, you know?


Posted By: senekerk
Date Posted: 27 December 2006 at 5:36am

Originally posted by Arab Arab wrote:

Have you converted to Islam brother? have u learned how to pray?

I'm a sister. No I have not converted  to islam. I am still learning and seeking.



-------------
Kay


Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 27 December 2006 at 6:06am
Oh sorry my apologies I didnt mean to offend you.


Posted By: senekerk
Date Posted: 27 December 2006 at 7:27am

you didn't offend me .  One of the reason I have not said the shahada is because I am scared.  I can say the first part with no problem, but the second part i have reseravation about.  I've ordered the book about Mohammad (pbuh).  I am also not sure I can be a good Muslim and say my prayers 5 times a day and live in the rules that the Qu'ran states.  I also expect to have problems with family and friends.

 



-------------
Kay


Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 27 December 2006 at 7:45am
Hopefully if you read the book it will change your book when you get to know who he really was. I wish you the best, may Allah bless you ;)


Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 27 December 2006 at 7:49am

Well you know no one can be perfect, its impossible, only Allah is perfect. We all struggle to live by the rules of the Quran, and Allah helps us, and even if we dont, we ask for His forgiveness and He forgives us. Islam isnt about being perfect you know, its about trying to be the best you can by living to the best of your good potential. God didnt create us to be perfect, He has His angels for that. he created us unperfect so that when we sin we turn to Him and repent therfore remembering Him and his mercy on us, and in a form, worship him.



Posted By: hat2010
Date Posted: 27 December 2006 at 4:51pm
Peace... blessed Eid and Holiday season, y'all...

"No no no. This is a sect which links itself to Islam but is very far away
from Islam. Beware of such things. "

Rubbish. Even a wiki of Sufism is a more sober step towards an answer -
which is to say, towards 'answers' and not 'an answer' regarding such a
complicated and involved a subject.

For myself, I am currently reading the works of Ibn Arabi - which is a
dense read but rewarding once you have read (and are familiar with) the
Holy Quran. Rumi can awaken you to something of the sufi experience,
the sufi adventure.

I live in a country absolutely swimming with Islamic brotherhoods, most
of which could be called sufi - if they were more into wasting time with
taxonomy than actively loving God.


As far as your reservations on the second part of the shahada, you aren't
alone to say the least.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quran_Alone

There is a list of people at the bottom of that page two very different
viewpoints on what our relationship to the prophet should be, to give you
a balanced view.

Kay, with love and respect, if you still haven't read the Quran you are
getting way, way ahead of yourself.   The new translation by Thomas
Cleary has come out to fantastic reviews...


God help us all,

Jamal Morelli



Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 27 December 2006 at 5:21pm

This is an article which exposes some of the Suffists hidden characteristics:

http://www.islamawareness.net/Deviant/Sufi/truth.html - http://www.islamawareness.net/Deviant/Sufi/truth.html



Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 27 December 2006 at 5:24pm
In end I would also like to tell you sister that gaining Allah is better than losing the entire world. And heaven is better than everything this world can give you and everything it has. Allah is much more dearer than your or my friends for that matter. There comes a time in everyones life where has has to make critical decisions, to be or not to be, that is the question.


Posted By: hat2010
Date Posted: 27 December 2006 at 9:12pm
"This is an article which exposes some of the Suffists hidden
characteristics:

http://www.islamawareness.net/Deviant/Sufi/truth.html"

It's an article that is both bigoted, poorly written and a cartoonish
description of the so-called sufis. If anything, it only exposes the odd
rabid and paroxysmal anger that the sufis seem to awaken in some
muslims.

(Read Rumi and let your heart soften, feel God (swt) blowing into you...)

The wiki sites I listed have no partiality to them - just lists of sufi, anti-
sufi, pro and anti-hadith - the works.   Good place to start for info
gatherers.

And yet again, without having read the Quran it is like one trying to write
an essay on the greatest literature by discussing it with other students,
the book still closed.   

Again, blessed Eid to you, Arab and you all, my sufi, sunni, shia brothers
and sisters, whereever and whoever you are...

Jamal Morelli



Posted By: Andalus
Date Posted: 28 December 2006 at 12:44am

Originally posted by senekerk senekerk wrote:

Is Sufism a approved practice of Islam?  the reason I asked is that I has a spiritual awakening when I learned of Sufism. It is from that point I began to look at Islam.  I mediatate using one of the 99 names of Allah.  Is this permitted?

Greetings senekerk.

I will be as brief as possible with some generalizations (the nuances can be dealt with later if the thread takes certain directions)

Not only is sufism a part of Islam, but there is even a "science" dedicated to the path sufism advocates which is called "the science of tasawuf". This has been a part of traditional Islam for over a thousand years, supported by the greatest minds that Allah has blessed with knowledge and Iman. 

If this topic interests you, I, a convert to Islam, will give you the best advice I can muster. Before you start on a path to try and resolve particualr meanings or definitions of what a sufi is, why not read the works of great minds who were sufis.

Imam Al Ghazali is one place to start. This man was not only a sufi, but one of the greatest theolgians and philosophers that walked the planet. He has been given the title "proof of Islam", a title no one else has been called.

His work "Ihya ulum al-din" (The Revival of the Religous Sciences) is a great place to start.

Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir Al-Jilani is another great mind whose works are worthy of study by any one truly want to know what sufism is.

As a beginner, I highly recommend Futuh Al Ghaib.

This is a intro to a passage from this particular work.

Sixteenth Discourse

The Shaikh (may Allah be well pleased with him, and grant him contentment) said:

Nothing blocks you from direct receiving of Allah's grace and favor except your reliance upon people and connections, on good turns and handouts. Thus creatures are your obstacle to gaining a proper livelihood, in keeping with the exemplary practice of the Prophet. As long as you continue to depend on fellow creatures, hoping for their gifts and favors, going from door to door with your requests, you are associating His creation with Allah. He will therefore punish you with deprivation of that proper livelihood, namely the lawful earnings of this world.

Then, when you have renounced the habit of depending on people and associating them with your Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He), and have resorted to earning your own livelihood, you get to rely on this earning power and become complacent about it, forgetting the gracious favor of your Lord. You are once again behaving like a polytheist [mushrik], only now the polytheism [shirk] is concealed, of a subtler nature than the previous kind. Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) will therefore punish you by depriving you of His favor and of direct access to Him.

When you turn from this in repentance, ceasing to allow the encroachment of polytheism, and forsaking reliance on your own earning power and abilities, you will see that Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) is the Provider. It is He who supplies the means, the facilities and the energy one needs to make a living, and He is the One who enables all good results to be achieved. All sustenance is in His hand. At times He may supply it to you by way of other people, through your appealing to them while in distress or trying straits, or in response to your appeal to Him (Almighty and Glorious is He), sometimes by way of earned remuneration, and at still other times by His spontaneous favor, in such a way that you do not see the intervening cause and means.

You have turned again to Him, casting yourself down before Him, and He has lifted the veil between you and His favor. He has made Himself accessible to you, and graciously ministers to all your needs in the measure appropriate to your condition, acting like a kind and tactful physician who is also a friend to the patient. As a precaution on His part, and to purge you of any attachment to anyone but Him, He satisfies you with His favor.

Once your heart has been detached from all self-will, all lust and indulgence, craving and desire, there is nothing left in your heart except His will (Almighty and Glorious is He). So when He wishes to send you your allotted share (which you are bound to receive and which is not earmarked for any of His creatures apart from you), He will cause a desire for that share to arise within you, and will dispatch it to you so that it reaches you when you need it. Then He will help you to recognize that it comes from Him and to acknowledge Him with conscious gratitude as the sender and supplier of what you have received. As this moves you further away from attachment to creatures, from involvement with people, your inner being is emptied of all besides Him (Almighty and Glorious is He).

Then, when your knowledge and conviction have been fortified, when your feelings have been expanded and your heart has been enlightened, and your nearness to your Lord and your standing in His sight have thereby increased, as well your competence for the guarding of secrets, you will be allowed to know beforehand when you are to receive your allotted share. This privilege will be granted in your honor, to exalt your dignity, as a gracious favor and guidance from Him. Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:

And We appointed from among them leaders guiding by Our command, when they endured patiently, and had sure faith in Our signs. (32:24)

Allah (Exalted is He) also says:

As for those who strive in Our cause, We surely guide them in Our ways. (29:69)

And the Exalted One says:

Observe your duty to Allah. Allah will teach you. (2:282)

Then He will invest you with creative power, which you may exercise with clear and unambiguous permission, with tokens brilliant as the radiant sun, with His sweet words far sweeter than all sweetness, with inspiration true and unequivocal, untainted by the promptings of the self and the whisperings of Satan the accursed. Allah (Exalted is He) has said in one of His scriptures:

O son of Adam, I am Allah. There is none worthy of worship but I alone. I say to a thing, "Be," and it comes into being. Obey Me and I will make you such that you say to a thing, "Be," and it will come into being.

Thus He has dealt with many of His Prophets, His saints, and His special favorites among the children of Adam.

There are groups who have the label as "sufi", and there is a small group within Islam, founded on a 18th century ideal, who profits on misguided groups and uses them to "generalize from the particular", meaning they point out a group, label them sufis, highlite their odd behavior and practices, and conclude to all with such juvenile slander that this is "sufism" in the broader sense. You will find that the works of the greatest sufis that have lived have made harsh criticism of some groups claiming to sufis, and their deviated practices. In every group there are misguided people, but one cannot define the larger from the acts of the smaller. In my opinion, groups that cause fitnah by exaggerating the ignorance of isolated, odd groups claiming to be sufis are just as bad as the group thet are pointing fingers at.

Meditating on the 99 names (attributes) of Allah is a praiseworthy act. Such types of meditation can open your heart to your Creator, and bring you closer to Him. I can suggest some reading on the topic if you would like.

I would be happy to discuss the topic further if you would like. This is also a favorite of mine, and I wish I spent more time in relfection of my Creator. You have inspired me this evening, and I, a Muslim of some years, will make some dhikr (rememberence of Allah) and meditate upon His Noble and Beautiful names because an interested friend mentioned it.

Thank you and may God guide you.



-------------
A feeling of discouragement when you slip up is a sure sign that you put your faith in deeds. -Ibn 'Ata'llah
http://www.sunnipath.com
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/
http://www.pt-go.com/


Posted By: senekerk
Date Posted: 28 December 2006 at 6:52am

Rubies--thank for the link the article was informing

Jamal- Welcome back- I am in processing reading theQu'ran. One of my Doctors suggested that I get someone to teach me about Qu'ran am trying to do that through a local mosque.

I will read all links given to me.

Andalus The Sixteenth Discourse brought tears to my eyes Thank you



-------------
Kay


Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 28 December 2006 at 8:12am
Guys I think you are forgetting that there are two types of Suffism. One, which is the good one as brother Andalus said. Its basically what the sixteenth discource article said. The second is the branch in Islam called Sufism which is different then general Muslims, its the dancing etc etc. The first Suffism is permissible, its very good, to strengthen your relationship with Allahtat way. The second is man inventing stuff and inserting them into the relegion.


Posted By: senekerk
Date Posted: 28 December 2006 at 10:51am

It is the first one I was introduced to, I read a book entitled  What is Sufism  by Martin Lings. Lings does not like to see Sufism exsisting independanty of Islam. He wrote "The Prophet of Islam said, 'Seek knowledge even if it in China.'" and 'there is one communal responsibility the Sufism cannot evade, and this is related to its necessity. Sufism is necessary because it is to Islam what the heart is to the body.'  this must be the good sufism, because later I got a book entitled Muraqaba, The Art of Sufi Meditation that i thought was a little crazy.  This is the point at which I decided to look at Islam.

 



-------------
Kay


Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 28 December 2006 at 5:18pm
Oh, yeah maybe he was talking about the good sufism (to cut yourself off of the world and just dedicate yourself to God, Allah). But the other type of sufism is the bad type (the druming and dancing etc). They are really two different things just with the same name unfortanetly.


Posted By: senekerk
Date Posted: 28 December 2006 at 6:36pm
Like i said I am not into drumming, dancing dream interetation, just mediatation  on Allahs names and attributes. i apoligise if I offended you.

-------------
Kay


Posted By: Andalus
Date Posted: 28 December 2006 at 11:59pm

Originally posted by Arab Arab wrote:

Guys I think you are forgetting that there are two types of Suffism. One, which is the good one as brother Andalus said. Its basically what the sixteenth discource article said. The second is the branch in Islam called Sufism which is different then general Muslims, its the dancing etc etc. The first Suffism is permissible, its very good, to strengthen your relationship with Allahtat way. The second is man inventing stuff and inserting them into the relegion.

Assalam Aleikum.

I do not want to get into a discussion of semantics, and I think we would do injustice to sufism by dividing it up based upon isolated groups. It would be the same as saying that there are different forms of Islam, some permissible and others not. 

Sufism is a path to Allah that is directly connected to Islam, the two cannot be seperated. WHen we say sufism, the connotation is muslims who are developing their inward selves as a way to connect to God, using means that are accepted in Islam in terms of the Shariah.

ma'salaama  



-------------
A feeling of discouragement when you slip up is a sure sign that you put your faith in deeds. -Ibn 'Ata'llah
http://www.sunnipath.com
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/
http://www.pt-go.com/


Posted By: senekerk
Date Posted: 29 December 2006 at 4:17am

Sufism is a path to Allah that is directly connected to Islam, the two cannot be seperated. WHen we say sufism, the connotation is muslims who are developing their inward selves as a way to connect to God, using means that are accepted in Islam in terms of the Shariah.

Thank You Andulas for above statement.



-------------
Kay


Posted By: Arab
Date Posted: 29 December 2006 at 9:49am
Agreed on that


Posted By: Andalus
Date Posted: 29 December 2006 at 10:24pm
Originally posted by senekerk senekerk wrote:

Sufism is a path to Allah that is directly connected to Islam, the two cannot be seperated. WHen we say sufism, the connotation is muslims who are developing their inward selves as a way to connect to God, using means that are accepted in Islam in terms of the Shariah.

Thank You Andulas for above statement.

and peace to you



-------------
A feeling of discouragement when you slip up is a sure sign that you put your faith in deeds. -Ibn 'Ata'llah
http://www.sunnipath.com
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/
http://www.pt-go.com/


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 30 December 2006 at 8:29am

Originally posted by Andalus Andalus wrote:

Not only is sufism a part of Islam, but there is even a "science" dedicated to the path sufism advocates which is called "the science of tasawuf". This has been a part of traditional Islam for over a thousand years, supported by the greatest minds that Allah has blessed with knowledge and Iman.

Sufism is the heart of islam, it is the spiritual side, the estoric of islam.

I like the subject of sufism, nausheen and I had many enjoyable discussions on it in the past, along with a few others and then there were those few who came in and said that sufism is not islam and such but nausheen and i would interject them ;-)

Quote I would be happy to discuss the topic further if you would like. This is also a favorite of mine, and I wish I spent more time in relfection of my Creator.

Perhaps i will re-post my discussions on sufism  



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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 30 December 2006 at 8:34am
Originally posted by Andalus Andalus wrote:

Sufism is a path to Allah that is directly connected to Islam, the two cannot be seperated. WHen we say sufism, the connotation is muslims who are developing their inward selves as a way to connect to God, using means that are accepted in Islam in terms of the Shariah.

ma'salaama  

that's a good way to sum it up.



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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: senekerk
Date Posted: 30 December 2006 at 8:56am
Angel, I would like to read your post on Sufism.   Today I am mediatating on Al-Wahhab-the Bestower and all the gifts Allah bestows upon us. Peace

-------------
Kay


Posted By: Andalus
Date Posted: 30 December 2006 at 7:27pm
Originally posted by Angel Angel wrote:

Originally posted by Andalus Andalus wrote:

Not only is sufism a part of Islam, but there is even a "science" dedicated to the path sufism advocates which is called "the science of tasawuf". This has been a part of traditional Islam for over a thousand years, supported by the greatest minds that Allah has blessed with knowledge and Iman.

Sufism is the heart of islam, it is the spiritual side, the estoric of islam.

I like the subject of sufism, nausheen and I had many enjoyable discussions on it in the past, along with a few others and then there were those few who came in and said that sufism is not islam and such but nausheen and i would interject them ;-)

Quote I would be happy to discuss the topic further if you would like. This is also a favorite of mine, and I wish I spent more time in relfection of my Creator.

Perhaps i will re-post my discussions on sufism  

I would love to see them!



-------------
A feeling of discouragement when you slip up is a sure sign that you put your faith in deeds. -Ibn 'Ata'llah
http://www.sunnipath.com
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/
http://www.pt-go.com/


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 30 December 2006 at 8:57pm

ok, give me a bit of time and after the new year I will gather them up and post, there's alot thou

In the meantime, where shall i post them?



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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: sgeorge5
Date Posted: 01 January 2007 at 6:26pm
I best Muslim I know is a follower of Sufism, but I would never become a Sufie.

-------------
Sid


Posted By: Andalus
Date Posted: 02 January 2007 at 12:01am
Originally posted by Angel Angel wrote:

ok, give me a bit of time and after the new year I will gather them up and post, there's alot thou

In the meantime, where shall i post them?

I do not see why you could not contribute here. :)



-------------
A feeling of discouragement when you slip up is a sure sign that you put your faith in deeds. -Ibn 'Ata'llah
http://www.sunnipath.com
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/
http://www.pt-go.com/


Posted By: Shamil
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 9:49am
This is a very interesting thread and the discussion is being conducted on such a high level of politeness despite the potentially divisive nature of the subject. Jazakallah; I'm thoroughly enjoying it.


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 10:03am
Stay tuned Shamil, i got more

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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 7:50pm

Hello everyone , 

 

I have brought across my collections and dialogues of the past in the old IC forum, I had much enjoyment with this topic most probably because I have an interest in spirituality, its been awhile since I visited the topic of Sufism the inner aspects or the Gnostic side or the estoric side of Islam.  So when I saw the topic here and I haven�t seen it here since this new forum started, I thought well, I post what I have.

 

First: I have given a few links instead of posting the few articles I consider quite excellect, there are easy to understand and not so deep/or long, as my dialogue is quite long and will be broken up.

The links I will provide first in this post, instead of at the end of the dialogue as I had planned, for those who wish to skip the long discussion and deepness of it.  

 

Secondly: much of the dialogue is refuting (with excellent writings from muslim members of the past) a person �anon� who is quite set that Sufism is not part of islam but almost 50 posts later he admits that it was originally, lol! And still I believe with the mindset of Sufism not part of islam, lol!, anyway if you read you will find out.  

 

Thirdly: I have copied and pasted the discussion as is minus the old links leaving the green bar to separate each persons post, so here it will be in one post possibably more if it doesn�t fit.

 

Forthly: here are the links to the few articles for those who wish to skip the long discussion:

 

http://www.sunnah.org/nl/v0205/tasawwuf.htm - http://www.sunnah.org/nl/v0205/tasawwuf.htm

 

http://www.sunnah.org/tasawwuf/sufisnk.htm - http://www.sunnah.org/tasawwuf/sufisnk.htm

 

http://www.geocities.com/faizee/sufism.htm - http://www.geocities.com/faizee/sufism.htm

 

 

Lastly: please if you can not post anything until I have finished so my pieces can flow easily and nicely  AND just sit back and Enjoy!



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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 8:27pm

 

Topic:

*Islamic Dilemma & the Sufi Message* (1 of 55), Read 511 times

Conf:

http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/confinfo?58 -

From:

http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/userpeek?17736 -

Date:

Monday, October 07, 2002 02:35 AM


"Take away love and our earth is a tomb".

~Please dont frown! For you never know who may be falling in love with your smile!~
------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------

Another long article, go and grab a coffee or tea or hot chocolate :-)).

Well, I don't know how basic this is to some of you ;-) but its solely on Islam.

Article called:
Islamic Dilemma and the Sufi Message

By Jay Kinney

As the West comes to grips with the terrorist attacks and threats, there is a strong temptation to see things in simple terms of Good and Evil. But before we are stampeded into a �clash of civilisations,� we need to step back for a moment and examine the real forces at work. Islam is undergoing its own crisis, with many conflicting voices clamouring to be heard. The angry cries for Jihad threaten to drown out the saner counsel of Islam�s living mystics, the Sufis. What follows is one attempt to clear the air, in the hope that disaster might be averted.

Ironies abound. Amidst all the uproar it is easy to forget that in Arabic, �Islam� means �surrender,� and that it is derived from the same root word as �peace.� Those who are disposed to dismiss religion itself as an irrational scourge are happy to see this as just another case of religious hypocrisy. After all, if we add up all the casualties caused by holy wars, crusades, inquisitions, and other battles taken up in the name of God, the endless line of corpses would seem to give the lie to religious claims of a higher morality or compassion.

�All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few,� Stendhal cynically observed. But, as Oscar Wilde noted: �Who is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.� While religions have failed to live up to their own ideals, the same charge can be levelled against Democracy, Communism, Humanism, Monarchy, Science, and every other means of human self-organisation and inquiry. Of this we can be sure: no sooner will a model for social benefit be formulated than a dozen uses will be found to employ it for social ill. Social institutions � by their very nature � become arenas for the exercise of power and greed: the forces of the reptilian brain which take us back to Step One, over and over again.

Yet despite the abysmal record of folly and destruction, there is an enduring human need for a sense of spiritual connection to something greater than ourselves. Religions may be imperfect, but they have nevertheless provided a moral anchor for billions of people throughout history. Even if a believer�s faith be relatively unsophisticated and dependent on others� say so, when sincerely held, it does offer some sense of connection with the Universe. This is no small thing, but it hardly exhausts the possibilities.

Fortunately, there is clear testimony that some individuals and groups have been able to fully realise the kernel of truth that too often lies slumbering within the religious husk. Anyone who has given sincere attention to the accounts and writings of genuine mystics, such as Meister Eckhart, Ibn �Arabi, or Plotinus, cannot fail to see that a higher consciousness, which encompasses both the Infinite Source of Being and the human individual, is possible.

This consciousness, as a direct and authentic experience, does not depend for its existence on theological or religious doctrine. Indeed, mystics say that this consciousness itself clarifies and illuminates doctrine.

Religions, as theological and social structures built around the realisations of their founders, must accommodate themselves to and address the traditions and customs of the cultures in which they evolve. Had Jesus been born in a Chinese manger or had Buddha been enlightened while sitting under
Newton�s apple tree, the religions that followed in their wake would have been far different affairs. In order to better understand the current state of Islam, a brief look at its origin and evolution is in order.

There is no question that Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, was a profound mystic whose lot it was to be born into a Bedouin tribal society shaped by intense family ties, trading routes, localised pagan gods, and relatively primitive cultural forms. The Qur�anic message, articulated by Muhammad in poetic Arabic, was received in discreet parts over the course of 22 years � years marked by attacks on the Prophet and his small band of followers by other hostile tribes.

Muhammad�s communion with the Real was called upon to provide guidance to the Muslims as they struggled to defend their faith amidst war and social chaos. As observed by some Qur�anic scholars, such as Fazlur Rahman, some passages of the Qur�an are addressed to a specific time and place, while others are of a more universal nature. This is important to note, as it accounts for some of the seeming contradictions between verses, as well as the problems that arise when verses are quoted out of context. But in any event, the Qur�an�s identity as a dialogue with the Supreme Being is so intertwined with the circumstances of its birth that, to this day, Muslims only consider a Qur�an to be the Qur�an if it is in its original Arabic. All translations into other languages are merely �interpretations� and inexact facsimiles.

This is an admirable attempt to preserve fidelity in transmission, though one wonders if even this devotion to the original text isn�t a case of closing the barn door after the mule is gone. For the special value of a living mystic or prophet is the dynamic nature of their expression of the Real, to which they have access. The Qur�an�s words in the absence of Muhammad�s living interpretation, like Jesus�s parables without his own commentary, are susceptible to a dogmatic crystallisation induced by the limited understanding of later followers who risk mistaking their own piety for insight.

One early attempt within Islam to head off a decline in religious practice following Muhammad�s death, was the collection and preservation of hadiths (quotations from the Prophet), among which are the hadiths qudsi (Prophetic quotations conveying messages from God, given outside of Qur�anic passages). Hadiths typically contain testimonies, by the Prophet�s companions, of Muhammad�s suggestions and judgments on the details of daily life and specific questions of practice, law or family concerns. The hadiths qudsi are understood to provide an extra-Qura�nic source of Divine guidance. A secondary source of information is the �Sunna,� a recording of the Prophet�s own personal habits and practices, including quite intimate reports by his wives.

Unfortunately, even preserving the specifics of the Prophet�s interpretations, insights and behaviours still finds them anchored to their time and place. At the same time, there is much dispute over various hadiths� authenticity, with many being suspected of later manufacture for partisan purposes.

Islam�s institutionalisation, once the Prophet was gone, saw Muhammad defined as the most perfect exemplar of Islam, with all questions of right behaviour and scriptural meaning referred back to his own statements and behaviour, or to the Qur�an. The best means that later Ulema (scholars and jurists) could suggest in rendering decisions was �analogy� and �consensus of the community� � processes that have left little room for creative insights or inspired interpretations.

Because Muhammad served his community as resident mystic, prophet, commander in chief, and social arbiter, Islam � again, in taking him as its exemplar � developed an ideal of theocratic rule as its civilisation grew. As in Medieval Christianity, there was little sense of separate spheres for religion and civil society � Islam was �a way of life.� The combined figure of Sultan (Ruler) and Caliph (Religious leader), though hardly consistent throughout the succession of Islamic empires, was in place in the final centuries of the Ottoman Empire, only to collapse along with the implosion of the Ottomans following WWI. The Caliphate was abolished by Ataturk in his effort to constitute a secular Turkish republic on the ruins of the Empire.

The inroads made by European colonialism in the waning decades of the Ottomans, and particularly post-WWI, helped stir the pot of Arab nationalism, Pan-Arabism, and radical Islam, all of which arose in response to the splintering of Islamic civilisation. There was no single Islamic solution put forth that commanded universal support. A multitude of Islams, ethnic nationalisms, and dictatorial regimes carried the day.

It is this sequence of events that brings us to the present reality of a decentralised and dispirited Islamic world mourning its former glories, riven along nationalist and sectarian lines, resentful of previous Western colonialism, and defensive towards an encroaching globalisation that promises to be more pervasive and invasive than mere colonialism ever was.

The lightning rod for Muslim resentment towards this state of affairs has come to be symbolised, for better or worse, in the creation of
Israel, in what was previously Palestine. What was seen by Jews as a refuge from Nazi persecution, and by the Zionists as the fulfilment of a scriptural and political dream, was seen by many Muslims as an exclusionary Western wedge, achieved by Haganah, Irgun, and Stern Gang terrorism: an ethnically-defined state disenfranchising its former residents, and a surrogate for the present Western superpower, the USA. The Israeli/Palestinian blood-feud, terrible enough in itself, has metastasised throughout the Muslim body, taxing the Islamic immune system, and readily diagnosed as the underlying Western cancer which can be blamed for every painful social malady.

As stated at the beginning, ironies abound. The very virtue that enables millions of Muslims to feel a brotherhood across national and racial divides � the sense of an Umma (community) of believers � also fuels the presumption of extremist Islamic terrorists to represent the whole of Islam in their assault on the West. In truth, bin Laden and Co. (or Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah) no more represent Islam than the judicially-selected Bush regime represents the whole of Western democracy. Behind each camp�s stated purposes and PR, loom the reptilian brain�s Will to Power � the opposite of the mystic�s realisation and of the stated goal of most religions: surrender to the will of God.

Religion, devoid of the mystic�s link to the Real, may not save us � in fact when religion is used as a rationale to wage political warfare, it may condemn us to a hell on earth of its own creation. But that doesn�t mean that we should turn our backs on the spiritual impulse toward realisation and human perfection that lies at the root of religion. The survival of Sufism within the broader confines of Islam is a significant case in point.

Sufism is a term coined by Western orientalists for the mystical path in Islam, commonly known as tasawwuf by Muslims. I�ll continue to use it here for the sake of simplicity. Sufism isn�t a sect or subgroup within Islam, so much as it is an expression of the mystical understanding underlying Islam.

Despite Muhammad�s roles of prophet, commander in chief, and social arbiter, it was his vocation as mystic that preceded and subsumed his other responsibilities. According to Sufi tradition, Muhammad acknowledged Ali, his nephew and son in law, as his spiritual successor, i.e., as the one Muslim within his inner circle who had also been blessed with a potent mystical awakening. Because the roles of spiritual and political leader had been combined in Muhammad, they became the object of the power struggles following the Prophet�s death. Those struggles eventually resulted in the division between Sunni and Shia Islam, though that need not concern us here. Suffice it to say, that for most Sufis, Ali represents the continuation of the mystical impulse within Islam, and nearly all Sufi brotherhoods trace their initiatory lineage back to Ali.

The operating premise of Sufism is that the mystical consciousness (but not the Prophetic role) of the Prophet and Ali is possible for others. The encounter with the Real � in which the dynamic paradox of the Infinite and the finite, the Absolute and the particular is known and experienced � is not relegated to the distant past or possessed by a designated few, but is within the capacity of everyone, should they so desire.

Authentic mystics have usually occupied a position in tension with established religion, because their dynamic relationship with the Infinite has often placed them at cross-purposes to the theological certainties promulgated by religious authorities. It is to Islam�s credit that it made more room for its mystics than did Christianity, its chief rival. This leeway was sometimes due to the patronage of Sultans who were interested in tasawwuf, and sometimes due to the popular support that some saints enjoyed. This is not to say that Sufis were always honoured or even tolerated. They were sometimes persecuted as heretics, executed or merely silenced; but whether welcomed or deplored, they were able to pass along their wisdom and methods from generation to generation.

The predominant means of this transmission was through Sufi brotherhoods or Orders (tariqas) � caretakers of continuous lines of teaching methods derived from the founding inspiration of a particular mystic. Unlike Christian contemplative monastic orders that demanded celibacy and a sequestered life, the Sufi tariqas were generally composed of everyday people, with families and outside professions. Thus, up to the present, the Sufis have provided a street-level access to mystical experience.

Jalaluddin Rumi, whose mystical poetry has enjoyed great popularity in the West in recent years, is the best known representative of Sufism. His emphasis on Love as the key entry-point to communion with the Divine has led many people to assume that this is true of all Sufism. However, just as Yoga can be subdivided into several parallel paths to the Divine, including Hatha (physical), Jnana (mental), Bhakti (devotional), etc., so each Sufi order has its own flavour and emphasis, derived from its founding saint. Still, whatever their emphasis or methods, all Sufis share the ultimate goal of a spiritual awakening or �opening,� where the seeker comes to intimate knowledge of the Real.

This may sound terribly remote from anything of practical value, especially if one imagines this awakening to be a state of everlasting bliss which renders its recipient incapable of dealing with mundane affairs. However, Sufism teaches the need for the mystic to �descend� again into daily life, where he can function in normal situations while maintaining an expanded awareness. This is truly the path of Muhammad, who from the mystical point of view stands as exemplar for the �completed human:� one who is both physically and spiritually alive, and able to interpret his own Qur�an.

Such individuals light the way for others, often serving inconspicuously as conduits of inspiration and encouragement. A pharmacist in
Istanbul, a shopkeeper in Fez, a poet in Damascus � there is no predicting where one may find those who are called �friends of God.�

Fundamentalist movements originate out of a form of spiritual inspiration themselves. Despairing of the decadence and corruption they perceive in the present expression of their Faith, the fundamentalists � as their name suggests � try to return to the pure fundamentals.

For �religions of the Book� � religions based on revealed scriptures � this commonly takes the form of cleaving even closer to scriptural authority. But rejecting the succeeding centuries of religious evolution, and not privy to dynamic interpretation of the founder or of mystics, the fundamentalists commonly opt for the most literal readings of their holy texts. And when those texts are as ambiguous and nuanced as the Qur�an, this can lead to confusion and incoherence, thinly veiled by rigidity.

The result is a proliferation of mini-Caliphs or Popes, certain of their own purity and the truth of their interpretation, cut off from scholarly commentary and discourse, and contemptuous and dismissive of all who disagree. In eras of profound change and discord, the fundamentalists reduce the Infinite Source of Being to a static icon created in their own image, in a tragic reversal of the creative process.

Those who kill and terrorise in the name of God demonstrate their own distance from any real connectedness with the Whole. This is the dilemma of Islam at the dawn of the 21st century. The Umma of believers are themselves held hostage by the terrorists who claim to represent them. As Zia Sardar has written in The Observer (
UK - Sept 23, 2001): �. . . all good and concerned Muslims are implicated in the unchecked rise of fanaticism in Muslim societies. . . . We have been silent as they proclaim themselves martyrs, mangling beyond recognition the most sacred meaning of what it is to be a Muslim. . . . The terrorists are among us, the Muslim communities of the world. . . . And it is our duty to stand up against them.�

The Prophet affirmed that �Allah�s Mercy supersedes his Wrath.� (Hadith al-Qudsi). One can only hope that the moderate Muslim majority will draw upon the wisdom of those within their own tradition who know that Mercy intimately and find the courage to stand up.

___________________________________________________________
� Jay Kinney, 2001. Jay Kinney is the co-author, with Richard Smoley, of Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions (Penguin/Arkana, 1999). He is editor of The Inner West (forthcoming from J.P. Tarcher, 2002). More of his writings can be found at http://www.gnosismagazine.com.


The above article appeared in
New Dawn No. 69 (November-December 2001)


Angel.

 

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Monday, October 07, 2002 04:38 AM


Bismillah
Assalamu alaikum
brothers , i'm a new kid in the block...
Alhamdulillah, it 's nice to know, that lot of good islamic topics being discussed on...

Concerning this mail, i have some of my opinion, which i would like to share with all of u..

If i am right , the author of so called article is Non muslim....It is a real worst situation, where non muslim trying to teach wat is Islam ?! and there is no response from our muslims brothers...

first of all the article talks about chaos and confusion right now in this world....to build background for their orginal intended message...

The intention is alhamdulillah clear to me..these non muslims trying to uses this sufi method to pacify muslims resurgence...

"After all, if we add up all the casualties caused by holy wars, crusades, inquisitions, and other battles taken up in the name of God, the endless line of corpses would seem to give the lie to religious claims of a higher morality or compassion."

The author of the article failed to understand the action and meanings of Islamic war.It is a fight against oppression. It is a fight against people, who were rebellious to god(Allah).Islamic soldiers are the first group of fighters ,who practised Do's and Don't 's even in the war.No way anybody can include islamic wars in the above category.Moreover, it is the same mystic prophet, who led hundreds of people in the battle field...so how could one gives important to one practice of beloved prophet and discardes the other.

"In truth, bin Laden and Co. (or Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah) no more represent Islam than the judicially-selected Bush regime represents the whole of Western democracy. Behind each camp�s stated purposes and PR, loom the reptilian brain�s Will to Power � the opposite of the mystic�s realisation and of the stated goal of most religions: surrender to the will of God"

who gives authority to anybody to judge the other .No one has knowledge about other except Allah(S.W.T).Tell me, can anybody say America(i refer government and it s foreign policies) is a friend of muslims?!
Even, it is easy to say ,it is a enemy of Muslims...I am not sure about the type of their fight...but their intention of fighting against enemy of muslims , even though they are mightier than us...can't be belittled.

"Despite Muhammad�s roles of prophet, commander in chief, and social arbiter, it was his vocation as mystic that preceded and subsumed his other responsibilities."

Ok., he had another way of living, to receive messages form Allah(s.w.t),no one denies that...But allah (s.w.t) says the religion is completed...then, y we have to live that way of life..when its doors are closed until the day of judgement..

"This may sound terribly remote from anything of practical value, especially if one imagines this awakening to be a state of everlasting bliss which renders its recipient incapable of dealing with mundane affairs. However, Sufism teaches the need for the mystic to �descend� again into daily life, where he can function in normal situations while maintaining an expanded awareness. This is truly the path of Muhammad"

This article had talked about how nice it would be , if all the muslims are sufis.....had they narrated wat they have to do to be sufi....?!
If you happens to know, u might wonder, where did prophet taught all this ?!

you will find answer like this...he has taught Ali(R.a)...ok

y did our prophet(pbuh), benefactor of all the mankind teach his nephew alone...?!

You will find they are mouth shut ..

i don't want to comment on the authenticity of their claim, that they have tradition upto Ali (r.a)....but watever they practice...is not taught by prophet(pbuh) to his followers.....atleast not for everyone.

So, if a prophet (pbuh) decided not to take this form of his live to everyone, y does anyone ,who claims to follow his principles do so?!

Islam is not about jus' believing in something....It also about putting into practice of which u believe...

Alhamdulillah....i have try to give out my opinion in this issue...

Allah(S.w.t) knows the best...

wassalam

 

 

 

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Monday, October 07, 2002 06:37 PM

Hello Angel,

Thank you for such a beautiful article. I must say it is awesome how a non-muslim has understood sufism so well, yet there are muslims who fall short in doing so.

You will find only those contradicting the article who are either not well informed with this science of Islam, or those who have an agenda to malign it.

Most popularly among those are our salafi or wahabi brothers, and who's authority do they do this? Not many, only a handful of scholars, the path of whom can be converged to Ibn Taymiyah.

How intelligently has the author mentioned hadith qudsi here ... the salafi brothers have to reject this portion of our hadith books to deny tasawwuf as the heart and soul of Islam, to call it nothing but a mere 'sect'.

They dont know that if they reject this 'sect' (as per their definition of tasawwuf), they will have to burn 80 out of every 100 books of islamic literature, and they will have to throw in garbage 80% of the learned scholars of islam, coz most of the knowledge we have on islam is streaming from the great sufi scholars. But wait a minute, they have already accomplished that, that is why their islam is so dry and devoid of beauty.

May allah forgive their mistakes and enlighten them with His nur, ameen!

Nausheen


Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.

 

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Monday, October 07, 2002 08:18 PM

"Despite Muhammad�s roles of prophet, commander in chief, and social arbiter, it was his vocation as mystic that preceded and subsumed his other responsibilities."

Ok., he had another way of living, to receive messages form Allah(s.w.t),no one denies that...But allah (s.w.t) says the religion is completed...then, y we have to live that way of life..when its doors are closed until the day of judgement..




Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim
What is Sufism?

His Eminence, Shaykh, Sidi Muhammed Sa�`id Al Jamal
Imam and Khateeb, Al Aqsa Mosque, Al Quds


Tasawuf, by definition, derives from Safa. In other words, it is the sum of two words, Tahliya and Takhliya. Tahliya, means to acquire every good characteristic, and Takhliya, is to get rid of every bad characteristic which Allah (Tabaraka wa Ta�'ala) does not approve nor accept. In other words, Tahliya is to decorate one's self with the Divine Commandments, which have been transmitted by Rasoolullah, (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) in his holy traditions, and the book of Allah which has descended upon his heart as a revelation carried by Jibreel Alaihi Salaam, as he (salla Allaho alaihi wa sallam) said: I have left in (among) you two things, if you hold fast to them you will never go astray, the book of Allah and the Sunnah of his Prophet. So, the first Sufi is Al-Mustafa (the chosen one) salla Allho alaihi wa sallam, for the first one who went (entered) into seclusion is Rasoolullah, salla Allaho alihi wa sallam, that was in Ghar (cave) Hiraa, where he used to contemplate (meditate) yatahannath, and worship Allah according to the milla (religion) of our Master Ibrahim, which is the religion of Tawheed, (Allah's oneness). So, he worked on purifying his nafs, (self), his holy nafs, and his holy heart, and his holy soul, until Allah sent down to him Jibreel, who said to him: Iqra (read), he, salla Allaho Alaihi wa sallam, said: Ma ana bi Qari (I don't know how to read), that happened twice, in the third time, (Jibreel) said: Iqra bismi Rabbika la thee khalaq. ( Read in the Name of thy Lord, the one who created). The Prophet, Salla Allaho alaihi wa sallam, said: I have been sent to perfect the honrable Akhlaq (morals, ethics, morality, (good) manners). Allah says: "You are on (have) great Akhlaq."

Therefore, Tasawwuf, basically, is (comes) from purifying the Selves, Hearts and Souls, to have all of them directed towards Allah Ta'ala. The Mutasawwif (Sufi) must be a perfect example, an embodiment, as if he is a Qur'an walking on earth, and an embodiment of the Sunnah. He, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, was the first to call for the refinement of the Selves, the Akhlaq, the Souls and purifying them. How can a human being be happy, unless his Self and his heart, being purified, and become attached to his Lord. Therefor our master the Great Beloved said in the Hadith which has been narrated through a number of different chains of transmissim (Mutawatir), and related by Sayyidina Omar Ibn Al Khattab, "One day while we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings of Allah be upon him) there appeared before us a man whose clothes were exceedingly white and whose hair was exceedingly black; no signs of journeying were to be seen on him and none of us knew him. He walked up and sat down by the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Resting his knees against his and placing the palms of his hands on his thighs, he said: O Muhammad Al Salaamu Alaika, He (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: Wa alaika as Salaam. He said: tell me about Islam. The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to perform the prayers, to pay the zakat, to fast Ramahaan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so. He said: You have spoken rightly this is Islam. We were amazed at him asking him and saying that he had spoken rightly. He said: Then tell me about Iman. He said: It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in Divine Decree, both the good and the evil thereof. He said: You have spoken rightly. He said: Then tell me about ihsan (and it is the third station), He said: It is to worship Allah as though you are seeing Him, for even when you are not (in lam takun) seeing him, yet truly he sees you.

How does that happen--it happens when you are not (in lam takun)*

Then He took himself off and I stayed for a time. Then he said: O Umar, do you know who the questioner was: I said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: It was Gabriel, who came to you to teach you your religion.

Therefor, there are three stations, Islam, that is, of course, what Rasoolullah has brought in the form of Kitab and Sunnah, it organizes the relationship between the Human being and his Lord, through the Ibadaat, and between him and his follow human beings through Mu'amalaat (rules of conduct, behavior, transactions), and his relationship with himself. This is the external (outward, outer) aspect, the Shari'a. A person might pray, while he is in the masjid, but after he leaves the masjid, he would cheat or steal, therefor nothing would be left (remain) of his salat, for one gets out of his salat only the part (portion) where his mind is present ( ma akila minha), then, on the day of Qiyama it will be folded like a piece of old cloth and thrown at his face and tell him: may Allah ruin (waste) you the way you have ruined me. So, outwardly, the sufi is eager to establish the rituals of Allah, the sufi is a man of determination, who does not look for easy ways (rukhas). He performs salaat on time, gives zakat, and never misses any thing.

There is a second stage in ascending, it is Iman, which is what takes place in the heart and confirmed by actions.

However, there is yet a third stage. We have the Shari'a, the Tariqh, and the Haqiqa. The tariqa (way) is the Iman, and the Haqiqa is the Ihsan. We have said: To warship Allah. How? How to worship him? Doesn't every muslim worship Allah? He prays, doesn't he? It is to worship him as though you are seeing him. How do you see Him? How can I see Him? In lam takun. If you are not, (literary, in Arabic, it means- if you do not exist-) You have to have no existence along side with His existence, to destroy all images, to see the Haqq, through the (khalq) creation, to walk with Allah. This is where Tasawwuf and the Muhammadan inheritors (Al worrath al Muhammadioon), those who inherited the Muhammadan weigh (Al Thiql al Muhammadi) and the Muhammadan reality ( Al Haqiqa al Muhammadiyya) come from. He, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, said in a holy hadith: I am from Allah, meaning I am from the light (noor) of Allah, and the believers are form my light. So, essentially, the light does not vanish, the light of The Truth, (Noor Al Haqq) never vanishes. Therefor, you have to realize your existence through His existence, in other words, not to have an existence of your own along side with His existence, to see Him in every form (appearance, image). In every appearance He appears, if you disappear from Him, He appears like a sun or a moon. You have to realize the existence of Al Haqq. If Al Haqq is not established within you, what existence are you talking about? Is there any (one, thing) which exist with out the one who gives existence? Where is it? Show it to me? How can something that perishes have an existence? So,what are you? Our beloved, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, narrates a Divine Tradition, (Hadith Qudsi): I have created Adam on my image (ala Surati). Therefor, you are the place of manifestations. Allah has ninety nine Names attributes, or names, only one is the Supreme Name (Al Ism Al A'zham), while the rest are attributes which manifest on the creation. He manifest himself on you with his name Al Samee, (The Hearer), so you began to hear with (the name) Al Samee. He manifest himself on you with Al Baseer, so you began to see with Al Baseer, therefor, He said: Asmi' bihi wa absir (19-38), He manifested him self on you with his name Al Mutakallim and you began to speak. In fact it is not you the one who speaks, It is Allah. All these attributes (Sifaat) are manifestations (Tajalliyaat). Therefor , Sufism guides the murid to Allah in order to teach him the the reality of his own self and the reality of his existence, and to show him that nothing exists but Al Haqq. Therefor he is a gift of mercy, Allah said: We have not sent you save a mercy to the worlds. So he carries nothing but the message of complete (unconditional) love to every thing that Allah has created, even animals, even plants and birds, for instance, he will not even step on an ant, even an ant a sufi does not step on, because it is Allah’s creation, because they (ants) are a nation, "One of the ants said: O you ants, get into your, habitations lest Solomon and his hosts crush you" (27-18). It's a nation.

Therefor, we as sufis guide the murid to know the reality of his self, in order that he will speak by Allah, hear by Allah, see by Allah, walk by Allah, and, destroy all images to reach to the one who created these images. Therefor, it has been said: you think that you are an insignificant germ, while the whole great world is within you. ((I was a hidden treasure, and I wanted to be known, so I created (the) creation, and through Me they knew Me)) It means that he was known through the creation. When Allah ordered (the angels) to prostrate to Adam by saying: "When I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down in prostration into him (Lahu)" (15-29) who is "him" it is not Adam, it is the decree (Amr) that is in Adam. Adam is only a metaphor, an illusion, but this illusion is sanctified (holly), because He created him with his own hands, (sawwaitu hu bi yadi, wa nafakhtu fihi min ruhi). (To Allah applies the highest similitude) (16-60).

Therefor, the sufi is not what people think, he might feel sad, but he is sad when others are sad, and he is happy for their happiness, and he is the farthest from miserliness, and from hatred mankind, because he is educated (cultured) according to the (education, culture) of the Great Beloved, on the table of mercy, therefor, he will never violate peoples rights, and never disobey the Lord of people, or neglect his duty towards his religion and his nation. This is the way of our masters, may Allah be pleased with them, coming from our Master Rasoolullah.

Look at how he, salla Allaho alaihi wa sallam, used to fight oppression and oppressors, in the battle of Uhud and Badr. He wasn't lazy, sufism doesn't mean that we tell the sufi to sit in the zawia and that's it, no, he has to be like a bee, after Fajr he dashes to his work, adhering to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of his Messenger, carrying mercy to the worlds. He is a Divine fragrance, wherever he goes, people smell his fresh sweet fragrance. All our masters, may Allah be pleased with them, have taken part in their nations affairs, in the people's problems and their suffering, all of them were Mujahids who never hesitate to defend their religion, their nation, or humanity in general. Yes, and this is a part of my mission. I am a man of tasawwuf, but I have been in cells (prisons) many times for the cause of the Truth, because Allah orders us to do so, and our master Rasoolullah ordered us to do so, not to give in for oppressors and their oppression, we call on the oppressors to back down on their oppression to people, and to do good for the sake of people, but we do not keep silent with our hands tied and lit them do what they want and oppress people, and eat up their property unjustly. No.

Sufism, then is the essence of Islam and the eternal reality which no one knows but us, who walk the path of knowing the essential reality of the Truth in their being.

This is only a brief (discourse), otherwise, tasawwuf is "Say: 'If the ocean were ink (wherewith to write out) the words of my Lord, sooner would the ocean be exhausted than would the words of my Lord, even if we added another ocean like it, for its aid.' (18-109)

____________________________________________________________ __________


Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.

 

Topic:

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From:

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Date:

Tuesday, October 08, 2002 12:25 AM

Assalamu alaikum brothers..

first of all, i seek sorry from everyone, for mismanaging the threads...i am a new here...pls bear with me...May allah(s.w.t) showers his mercy to u and to me...Ameen


To nausheen,

Wat is the message of the article? i cannot grasp and not only me normal people can't understand that article....

Wat is the intention of the author of the article?!

a. Is he trying to say, Allah and Human are one?!

{{{ (Hadith Qudsi): I have created Adam on my image (ala Surati). Therefor, you are the place of manifestations. }}}

b. Sufi's are the only ppl who follows the religion called "ISLAM"?!

Give the intended message clear....We r not scholars...We r ppl trying to learn , Islam as it is revealed to prophet (pbuh)

In ur article, i have found something, which need counter arguments

such like :

{{{He said: It is to worship Allah as though you are seeing Him, for even when you are not (in lam takun) seeing him, yet truly he sees you.}}}

Yes, When u have to pray , we have to think that we r meeting Allah(s.w.t), if u cannot atleast think that...Allah(s.w.t) is seeing you...

The intention of prophet in saying "If not" is alhamdulillah...he knows that everybody will not be so strong enough to think ,they r meeting allah....So prophet (pbuh) intended to make it less burden... he allowed the clause..."If not"...When prophet (pbuh) permitted the clause.....So, it is possible to live as muslim without wat sufi's claims to do....it means it is not necessary at all for watever they ask us to do ?! right?!
I am repeating the same question, which i posted in my earlier reply to Angel again...Did prophet (pbuh) taught or asked sahabahs(companions of prophet) to practice this tasawwuf..openly, i mean for everyone?!...when he didn't, u have to propose and preach things which prophet (pbuh) made himself silent....?

to say exactly, i don't have much knowledge on Tasawwuf matters ..ok., i accept for the sake of argument, it is there as they say...., but have these sufis ever narrate to u that wat r the steps involved in reaching those stages...how do they practice such tasawwuf..I have heard abt lot of tarikas where they take Baiat(complete unquestionable obedience, which is for prophets and caliphs alone..) from U , then they narrate to u...all those ways of acheiving it...If they r really truthful about this way of living, why they need the secrecy....?!
i wonder.....I wish..allah(s.w.t) should save ppl , who wants to be His true servant and seeks his ONLY guidnace from the mystic webs woven by elusive ,abominable Shaitan...

Ameen

 

Topic:

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From:

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Date:

Tuesday, October 08, 2002 01:26 AM

On 10/8/2002 12:25:00 AM, munthasir wrote:

>
>
>To nausheen,
>
>Wat is the message of the
>article? i cannot grasp and
>not only me normal people
>can't understand that
>article....

>Wat is the intention of the
>author of the article?!

Munthasir, the article is trying to give you a glimpse of what sufism is.

If you find it too mystical I can direct you to some easy sources also. The only reason why I dont like to get into arguments about this is that it reduces to too much of false stuff being attributed to the pious personalities, and then the sin will be upon myself, if I would encourage someone to do that.

If you sincerely want to learn more, here is a good and simpler read about sufism.

http://sunnah.org/events/hamza/hamza.htm -
sufis are the people who submit themselves 'completely' to the will of allah. if you follow the literal meaning of isalm, it means surrender.
Sufis surrender themselves completely, this is what is meant here. It is not trying to say anything like those who do good deeds according to their will, are not following islam ... the meaning here is somewhat metaphorical.


>Give the intended message
>clear....We r not
>scholars...We r ppl trying to
>learn , Islam as it is
>revealed to prophet (pbuh)

Yes, Munthasir, we are not scholars, but the sufis of olden times WERE great scholars. We cannot say that whatever tHey said was not according to sunnah and Quran. If you read the discourses of scholars like Imam ghazali, there are very strict instructions to stick to the sunnah. Yet he did not deny tawawwuf as one Of the science of islam ... the science of purification of the soul.
>
:
>
>{{{He said: It is to worship
>Allah as though you are seeing
>Him, for even when you are not
>(in lam takun) seeing him, yet
>truly he sees you.}}}
>
>Yes, When u have to pray , we
>have to think that we r
>meeting Allah(s.w.t), if u
>cannot atleast think
>that...Allah(s.w.t) is seeing
>you...
>
>The intention of prophet in
>saying "If not" is
>alhamdulillah...he knows that
>everybody will not be so
>strong enough to think ,they r
>meeting allah....So prophet
>(pbuh) intended to make it
>less burden... he allowed the
>clause..."If not"...When
>prophet (pbuh) permitted the
>clause..

The prophet has permitted the clause, and the sufis are NOT saying that if is not permissible to pray in such a way that you are not seeing allah. The sufis no where say that your salat will not be acceptable if you stand in niyah, and just imagine that you are infront of allah who is watching over you. Instead what is meant here is that for a more excellent salat, try to imagine that you are seeing allah when actually you are not seeing him.


...So, it is possible
>to live as muslim without wat
>sufi's claims to do..

Whatever sufis do, they NEVER say that salvation is not possible without that excellence.

I commend you to read sura waqiya from the holy Quran. Time is short, or I would have quoted, may be later ...

This chapter clearly says that ppl on the day of judgement will be divided into 3 groups.
1. ppl of the left hand (these are the non believers)
2. ppl of the right hand (believers)
3. ppl of the special favor.

Then the chapter describes who are these ppl, and tells us that the ppl of special favor are those who seek nearness of alalh.

All of us ordinary do not try to aspire for such great excellence . We try to put our lives on the track as according to the sunnah and Quran, and seek paradise, but the ppl of special favor, are those who put their lives on such a track according to sunnah and quran that they seek the countenence of allah.

Neither the sufis nor the Quran say that those who do not tred on the sufi tariqas will not achieve the gardens, but the favors are different to all according to our intentions and deeds.

Like the Quran says
17:21 see how we prefer one above the other (in this world), the hereafter will be greater in degrees and greater in preference.

..it
>means it is not necessary at
>all for watever they ask us to
>do ?! right?!

The sufis dont ask anybody to do anything. They do it for themselves, for their own souls. And yes, you are right it is not a matter of life and deah if one does not follow a tariqa.

>I am repeating the same
>question, which i posted in my
>earlier reply to Angel
>again...Did prophet (pbuh)
>taught or asked
>sahabahs(companions of
>prophet) to practice this
>tasawwuf..openly, i mean for
>everyone?!

I am not sure. But there is a hadith narrated by hadrath abu bakr that he said the prophet gave him two nasiha, one was to follow the sunnah and quran and the other if he would tell, ppl will accuse him of shirk. I was searching high and low for the source of this one since I read all the questions on tasawwuf, but have failed so far, so I request anyone to help me here.

...when he didn't, u
>have to propose and preach
>things which prophet (pbuh)
>made himself silent....?


>to say exactly, i don't have
>much knowledge on Tasawwuf
>matters ..ok., i accept for
>the sake of argument, it is
>there as they say...., but
>have these sufis ever narrate
>to u that wat r the steps
>involved in reaching those
>stages..

:-) Shaikh abdal qadir jilani (RAA) writes in his Futuh al ghaib ... (and many shld be bored of my quoting him so often on matters of tasawwuf):

There are two steps one needs to take to his lord. One is away from his nafs and the other away from His creatures.

Well, that has deep meaning and one can write paragraphs upon this one, but yes the scholars have taught the steps, which they followed, and the guides help their students in these steps on the path. The first step is to over power your nafs, ie tazkiyat an nafs.



.how do they practice
>such tasawwuf.

If you read in more detail you will know. (ie if you are interested in searching for truth about this topic)

You can practise in your day to day life. If is an excercise to clean your heart from all the polutions of lower self, desires, passion and the temptations of satan.
If you look closely there is nothing practised by the sufis that is not instructed in the quran or the sunnah, but this is science that gives more emphasis on the inward actions keeping straight all the outward actions as well.

.I have heard
>abt lot of tarikas where they
>take Baiat(complete
>unquestionable obedience,
>which is for prophets and
>caliphs alone..) from U ,
>then they narrate to u...all
>those ways of acheiving
>it...If they r really truthful
>about this way of living, why
>they need the secrecy....?!

There is no secrecy munthasir, at least I have no problem in letting you know all that I know, but I only avoid arguments where ppl dont want to accept a hadith, and label falsehood on the awliyah.

>i wonder.....I
>wish..allah(s.w.t) should save
>ppl , who wants to be His true
>servant and seeks his ONLY
>guidnace from the mystic webs
>woven by elusive ,abominable
>Shaitan...
>

There you go. After asking all the Qs so sincerely(or may be i could not read you so well), in the end you said what is so abominale against the pious saints.

May allah forgive you for your msitakes and help you to proper guidence. Ameen

If you are interested to learn on this subject, I can answer your questions, but if you only want to say in the end that the 'mystics' have woven a web and the shaitan makes you fall in is, then consider this as my last response to you in this string.

ma salama.
N


Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.

 



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 8:40pm

Topic:

*Islamic Dilemma & the Sufi Message* (9 of 55), Read 459 times

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Date:

Tuesday, October 08, 2002 06:21 AM

>>a. Is he trying to say, Allah and Human are one?!
(Hadith Qudsi): I have created Adam on my image
(ala Surati). Therefor, you are the place of
manifestations. <<

The first sentence appears in the book of Genesis
and is often interpreted to mean that God made
Adam with the ability to create (reproduce soulful
beings). A Judeo-Christian interpretation but it
seems consistent with Islam. I have been told here
by Muslims that angels and jinn do not have this
ability.

DavidC

 

 

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Tuesday, October 08, 2002 02:29 PM

Praise be to Allaah.

The word �Sufism� was not known at the time of the Messenger or the
Sahaabah or the Taabi�een. It arose at the time when a group of ascetics
who wore wool (�soof�) emerged, and this name was given to them. It was
also said that the name was taken from the word �soofiya� (�sophia�)
which means �wisdom� in Greek. The word is not derived from al-safa�
(�purity�) as some of them claim, because the adjective derived from safa�
is safaa�i, not soofi (sufi). The emergence of this new name and the group
to whom it is applied exacerbated the divisions among Muslims. The early
Sufis differed from the later Sufis who spread bid�ah (innovation) to a
greater extent and made shirk in both minor and major forms
commonplace among the people, as well as the innovations against which
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us
when he said, �Beware of newly-invented things, for every newly-invented
thing is an innovation and every innovation is a going-astray.� (Reported by
al-Tirmidhi, who said it is saheeh hasan).

The following is a comparison between the beliefs and rituals of Sufism
and Islam which is based on the Qur�aan and Sunnah.

Sufism has numerous branches or tareeqahs, such as the Teejaniyyah,
Qaadiriyyah, Naqshbandiyyah, Shaadhiliyyah, Rifaa�iyyah, etc., the
followers of which all claim that their particular tareeqah is on the path of
truth whilst the others are following falsehood. Islam forbids such
sectarianism. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

�� and be not of al-mushrikoon (the disbelievers in the Oneness of
Allaah, polytheists, idolaters, etc),

Of those who split up their religion (i.e., who left the true Islamic
monotheism), and became sects, [i.e., they invented new things in the
religion (bid�ah) and followed their vain desires], each sect rejoicing in
that which is with it.� [al-Room 30:31-32]

The Sufis worship others than Allaah, such as Prophets and �awliya��
[�saints�], living or dead. They say, �Yaa Jeelaani�, �Yaa Rifaa�i� [calling on
their awliya�], or �O Messenger of Allaah, help and save� or �O Messenger
of Allaah, our dependence is on you�, etc.

But Allaah forbids us to call on anyone except Him in matters that are
beyond the person's capabilities. If a person does this, Allaah will count
him as a mushrik, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

�And invoke not, besides Allaah, any that will neither profit you, nor
hurt you, but if (in case) you did so, you shall certainly be one of the
zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers).� [Yoonus 10:106]

The Sufis believe that there are abdaal, aqtaab and awliya� (kinds of
�saints�) to whom Allaah has given the power to run the affairs of the
universe. Allaah tells us about the mushrikeen (interpretation of the
meaning):

�Say [O Muhammad]: ��And who disposes the affairs?� They will say.
�Allaah.��� [Yoonus 10:31]

The mushrik Arabs knew more about Allaah than these Sufis!

The Sufis turn to other than Allaah when calamity strikes, but Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

�And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if
He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things.� [al-An�aam
6:17]

Some Sufis believe in wahdat al-wujood (unity of existence). They do not
have the idea of a Creator and His creation, instead they say that everything
is creation and everything is god.

The Sufis advocate extreme asceticism in this life and do not believe in
taking the necessary means or in jihaad, but Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):

�But seek with that (wealth) which Allaah has bestowed on you, the
home of the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of legal enjoyment
in this world�� [al-Qasas 28:77]

�And make ready against them all that you can of power�� [al-Anfaal
8:60]

The Sufis refer the idea of ihsaan to their shaykhs and tell their followers
to have a picture of their shaykh in mind when they remember Allaah and
even when they are praying. Some of them even put a picture of their
shaykh in front of them when they are praying. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �Ihsaan is when you worship Allaah
as if you can see Him, and although you cannot see Him, He can see you.�
(Reported by Muslim).

The Sufis allow dancing, drums and musical instruments, and raising the
voice when making dhikr, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

�The believers are only those who, when Allaah is mentioned, feel a
fear in their hearts�� [al-Anfaal 8:2]

Moreover, you see some of them making dhikr by only pronouncing the
Name of Allaah, saying, �Allaah, Allaah, Allaah.� This is bid�ah and has no
meaning in Islam. They even go to the extreme of saying, �Ah, ah� or �Hu,
Hu.� The Sunnah is for the Muslim to remember his Lord in words that
have a true meaning for which he will be rewarded, such as saying
Subhaan Allaah wa Alhamdulillah wa Laa ilaaha illa Allaah wa
Allaahu akbar, and so on.

The Sufis recite love poems mentioning the names of women and boys in
their dhikr gatherings, and they repeat words such as �love�, �passion�,
�desire� and so on, as if they are in a gathering where people dance and
drink wine and clap and shout. All of this has to do with the customs and
acts of worship of the mushrikeen. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):

�Their salaah (prayer) at the House (of Allaah, i.e., the Ka�bah at
Makkah) was nothing but whistling and clapping of hands��

[al-Anfaal 8:35]

Some Sufis pierce themselves with rods of iron, saying, �O my
grandfather!� So the shayaateen come to them and help them, because they
are seeking the help of someone other than Allaah . Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

�And whosoever turns away (blinds himself) from the remembrance of
the Most Beneficent (Allaah), We appoint for him a shaytaan (devil) to
be a qareen (intimate companion) for him.�

[al-Zukhruf 43:36]

The Sufis claim to have gnosis and knowledge of the unseen, but the
Qur�aan shows them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):

�Say: �None in the heavens and the earth knows the ghayb (unseen)
except Allaah��� [al-Naml 27:65]

The Sufis claim that Allaah created the world for the sake of Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but the Qur�aan shows
them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

�And I (Allaah) created not the jinns and humans except they should
worship Me (Alone).� [al-Dhaariyaat 51:56]

Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, addressed His Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with the words (interpretation of the
meaning):

�And worship your Lord until there comes unto the certainty (i.e.,
death).� [al-Hijr 15:99]

The Sufis claim that they can see Allaah in this life, but the Qur�aan shows
them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

�[Moosa said:] �O my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon
You.� Allaah said, �You cannot see Me��� [al-A�raaf 7:143]

The Sufis claim that they take knowledge directly from Allaah, without the
mediation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
and in a conscious state (as opposed to dreams). So are they better than the
Sahaabah??

The Sufis claim that they take knowledge directly from Allaah, without the
mediation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
They say, �Haddathani qalbi �an Rabbi (My heart told me from my
Lord).�

The Sufis celebrate Mawlid and hold gatherings for sending blessings on
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but they go
against his teachings by raising their voices in dhikr and anaasheed
(religious songs) and qaseedahs (poems) that contain blatant shirk. Did the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) celebrate his
birthday? Did Abu Bakr, �Umar, �Uthman, �Ali, the four imaams or anyone
else celebrate his birthday? Who knows more and is more correct in
worship, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
the Salaf, or the Sufis?

The Sufis travel to visit graves and seek blessings from their occupants or
to make tawaaf (ritual circumambulation) around them or to make
sacrifices at these sites, all of which goes against the teachings of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): �Do not travel to
visit any place but three mosques: al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah], this
mosque of mine [in Madeenah] and al-Masjid al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem].�
(Agreed upon).

The Sufis are blindly loyal to their shaykhs, even when what they go
against the words of Allaah and His Messenger. But Allaah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

�O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allaah and
His Messenger�� [al-Hujuraat 49:1]

The Sufis use talismans, letters and numbers for making decisions and for
making amulets and charms and so on.

The Sufis do not restrict themselves to the specific blessings on the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that were
narrated from him. They invented new formulas that involve seeking his
blessings and other kinds of blatant shirk which are unacceptable to the
one on whom they are sending blessings.

With regard to the question of the whether the Sufi shaykhs have some
kind of contact, this is true, but their contact is with the shayaateen, not
with Allaah, so they inspire one another with adorned speech as a delusion
(or by way of deception), as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

�And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies � shayaateen
(devils) among mankind and jinns, inspiring one another with adorned
speech as a delusion (or by way of deception). If your Lord had so
willed, they would not have done it�� [al-An�aam 6:112]

And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

�� And, certainly, the shayaateen (devils) do inspire their friends (from
mankind)�� [al-An�aam 6:121]

�Shall I inform you (O people!) upon whom the shayaateen (devils)
descend?

They descend on every lying, sinful person.� [al-Shu�ara 221-222]

This is the contact that is real, not the contact that they falsely claim to
have with Allaah. Exalted be Allaah far above that. (See Mu�jam al-Bida�, 346
�359).

When some of these Sufi shaykhs disappear suddenly from the sight of
their followers, this is the result of their contact with the shayaateen, who
may even carry them to a distant place and bring them back in the same day
or night, to mislead their human followers.

So the important rule here is not to judge people by the extraordinary feats
that they may do. We should judge them by how closely or otherwise they
adhere to the Qur�aan and Sunnah. The true friends of Allaah (awliya�) are
not necessarily known for performing astounding feats. On the contrary,
they are the ones who worship Allaah in the manner that He has prescribed,
and not by doing acts of bid�ah. The true awliya� or friends of Allaah are
those whom our Lord has described in the hadeeth qudsi narrated by
al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh (5/2384) from Abu Hurayrah, who said:

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: �Allaah said, �Whoever shows enmity towards a friend (wali) of Mine,
I declare war against him. My slave does not draw close to Me with
anything more loved by Me than the religious duties that I have enjoined on
him, and My slave continues to draw close to Me with supererogatory
(naafil) acts, so that I will love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with
which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he
strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of
Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I
would surely grant him it.��

And Allaah is the Source of Strength and the Guide to the Straight Path.

 

 

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Date:

Tuesday, October 08, 2002 11:23 PM


"Take away love and our earth is a tomb".

~Please dont frown! For you never know who may be falling in love with your smile!~
------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------

Interesting, thank you :-).


Angel.



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 8:42pm

Topic:

*Islamic Dilemma & the Sufi Message* (12 of 55), Read 463 times

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From:

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Date:

Wednesday, October 09, 2002 02:15 AM

Bismillah
Assalamu alaikum

Alhamdulillah,

brother anonymous, i pray to allah(s.w.t) that he should be pleased with ur effort...Insa allah, we will try to fight the enemies of Islam in all modes and all forms of live.....Pls pray for the best of every muslims...and guidance for really seeking non muslims....

Wassalam

 

 

Topic:

*To munthasir* (13 of 55), Read 461 times

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From:

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Date:

Wednesday, October 09, 2002 03:03 AM


"Take away love and our earth is a tomb".

~Please dont frown! For you never know who may be falling in love with your smile!~
------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------

Hi munthasir,

[[[If i am right , the author of so called article is Non muslim....It is a real worst situation, where non muslim trying to teach wat is Islam ?! and there is no response from our muslims brothers...]]]

yes you are right the author is non muslim but from my small research is well conversed in religions both esoteric and exoteric parts both eastern and western, if someone is not muslim doesn't mean that they don't know Islam or any other religion.

[[[first of all the article talks about chaos and confusion right now in this world....to build background for their orginal intended message...
The intention is alhamdulillah clear to me..these non muslims trying to uses this sufi method to pacify muslims resurgence...]]]

I think you may have misunderstand the article as I interpret it in another way, didn't see any pacifying muslims, I simply found it be an inner aspect of Islam that somewhat lays hidden because to some it's a foreign place and not regarded as islam at all.

[[["After all, if we add up all the casualties caused by holy wars, crusades, inquisitions, and other battles taken up in the name of God, the endless line of corpses would seem to give the lie to religious claims of a higher morality or compassion."]]]

O.k this paragraph I'm sure is talking about all religions basically and that majority of wars are done in the name of God but the casualties, the corpses if added up speak for themselves that it is a lie that wars are done in the name of God.
As for your bit below, I'm sure he understands, he seems to know quite a lot about Islam, but he is talking about all religions not just islam solely in the paragraph.
Actually the article is from a book that talks/explains the esoteric aspects of religions for those who have lost their meaning of path they are on that are not filling spiritually or gives them inner joy to find new paths that give spiritual meaning and purpose in life and for those who are looking in general.

[[[The author of the article failed to understand the action and meanings of Islamic war.It is a fight against oppression. It is a fight against people, who were rebellious to god(Allah).Islamic soldiers are the first group of fighters ,who practised Do's and Don't 's even in the war.No way anybody can include islamic wars in the above category.Moreover, it is the same mystic prophet, who led hundreds of people in the battle field...so how could one gives important to one practice of beloved prophet and discardes the other.]]]

[[["In truth, bin Laden and Co. (or Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah) no more represent Islam than the judicially-selected Bush regime represents the whole of Western democracy. Behind each camp�s stated purposes and PR, loom the reptilian brain�s Will to Power � the opposite of the mystic�s realisation and of the stated goal of most religions: surrender to the will of God"
who gives authority to anybody to judge the other .No one has knowledge about other except Allah(S.W.T).Tell me, can anybody say America(i refer government and it s foreign policies) is a friend of muslims?!
Even, it is easy to say ,it is a enemy of Muslims...I am not sure about the type of their fight...but their intention of fighting against enemy of muslims , even though they are mightier than us...can't be belittled.]]]

I thinkyou failed to understand the passage, it means that bin laden is not a representative of islam anymore than Bush is of the west, either of them cannot speak for all on both parties and that behind them is power the power to rule which most say takes you away from yourself and your goal to surrender to the will of God.

[[["Despite Muhammad�s roles of prophet, commander in chief, and social arbiter, it was his vocation as mystic that preceded and subsumed his other responsibilities."
Ok., he had another way of living, to receive messages form Allah(s.w.t),no one denies that...But allah (s.w.t) says the religion is completed...then, y we have to live that way of life..when its doors are closed until the day of judgement..]]]

O.k, al muslims here agree that Muhammed is a spiritual/religious leader, right? then how did the spiritual side of islam come into play if Muhammed did not teach it ?

[[["This may sound terribly remote from anything of practical value, especially if one imagines this awakening to be a state of everlasting bliss which renders its recipient incapable of dealing with mundane affairs. However, Sufism teaches the need for the mystic to �descend� again into daily life, where he can function in normal situations while maintaining an expanded awareness. This is truly the path of Muhammad"
This article had talked about how nice it would be , if all the muslims are sufis.....had they narrated wat they have to do to be sufi....?!
If you happens to know, u might wonder, where did prophet taught all this ?!]]]

Can you answer your own questions in what you think ?

The above passage you quoted, do you understand it ? and you faild yo put this bit in which completes the passage *This is truly the path of Muhammed, who from the mystical point of view stands as exemplar for the "completed human:" one who is both physically and spiritually alive, and able to interpret his own Qur'an.*
Obviously all muslims agree, right ?

[[[i don't want to comment on the authenticity of their claim, that they have tradition upto Ali (r.a)....but watever they practice...is not taught by prophet(pbuh) to his followers.....atleast not for everyone.]]]

The only reason I can give as to why all is not taught because some will not understand or twist things, not all were eqipped to know what the prophet knew or not ready to know, I have a saying that Muhammed said: "I recieved from the messenger of God two kinds of knowledge," said the Prophet Muhammed, "One of these I taught...but if I taught them the other it would have broken their throats."
Now I don't know where this is or if it is the actually words, now from what I am learning that there is an outer and an inner or hidden aspect of religion, the inner is taught to a select few who seem to possess a higher level of learning to understand, like having a higher conscious and usually by word of mouth not written down. It's similar to Jesus when he spoke to his disciples alone supposedly taking about the inner aspects of religion by word of mouth behind closed doors, not everything was written down.
I do know a couple of verses to back this up but don't know it of by hand, the from the qur'ran has something to do with only the learned will know how to interpret the knowledge and there's another can't remember and the verses from Jesus I have one here "I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundations of the world" - Jesus(Matthew 13:35) there afew that I can interpret that way.

[[[Islam is not about jus' believing in something....It also about putting into practice of which u believe...]]]

I agree with you.

[[[Alhamdulillah....i have try to give out my opinion in this issue...]]]

And I myself :-)


Angel.



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 8:43pm

Topic:

*Islamic Dilemma & the Sufi Message* (14 of 55), Read 470 times

Conf:

http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/confinfo?58 -

From:

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Date:

Wednesday, October 09, 2002 03:17 AM


"Take away love and our earth is a tomb".

~Please dont frown! For you never know who may be falling in love with your smile!~
------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------

I need some help from the Muslims, please.
I haven't seen this before, amongst many ;-)
Just want to know if there is more to it or if it's right somehow if it's the actual words.
I understand the verse so there is no need to explain the meaning

I have this saying,
that Muhammed said: "I recieved from the messager of God two kinds of Knowledge," said the Prophet Muhammed, "One of these I taught...but if I taught them the other it would have broken their throats."

Thanks in advance if anyone can help, maybe it's new to you to :-)


Angel.

 

 

 

Topic:

*Islamic Dilemma & the Sufi Message* (16 of 55), Read 457 times

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From:

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Date:

Thursday, October 10, 2002 10:09 AM

This is in Response to the long long article posted by anonymous :)

""Sufism has numerous branches or tareeqahs, such as the Teejaniyyah,
Qaadiriyyah, Naqshbandiyyah, Shaadhiliyyah, Rifaa�iyyah, etc., the
followers of which all claim that their particular tareeqah is on the path of
truth whilst the others are following falsehood. Islam forbids such
sectarianism. ""

Not true. This shows that u dont know the facts abt the real sufis!!.
In truth u may find that none say that the other tareeqah is wrong.
Quiet the contrary often u will find that one Shiekh belongs peacfully to two or more tareeqahs!!

""Some Sufis believe in wahdat al-wujood (unity of existence). They do not
have the idea of a Creator and His creation, instead they say that everything
is creation and everything is god""

Oh dont tell me u dont believe in that. How can one not believe in Wahdut Ul wajood. Think over it man. do u limit GOD! God Almighty Allah the limitless the Boundless. do u limit him. He has no limits He exists every where. He is in everything. Not beleiving that is actually limiting Allah!!!!. And in writing this article please dont exaggerate. just for the sake of good heated reading material u have written or if u pasted this article the author has written " they say that everything is creation and evrything is god"
be practical how can everything be creation. why would the sufi's say that God Almighty Allah is creation!! Slandering! (Again)

""The Sufis advocate extreme asceticism in this life and do not believe in taking the necessary means or in jihaad, ""

u havent read abt the sufis in history?. though some sufi's continue an acsetic life. MOST after a limited period of confinement come out to live a normal life. some have a wife and children!!

Now u have raised too many arguments in one article. some can be answered but only if a person gives a pateint hearing to the other side. it is a habit of your group to pile on so many slandering attacks that the other side simply loses heart to answer them all. :)
Angel has posted the Hadith. the second later knowledge!!. It is that knowledge that the sufis have. it is that knowledge that the Tareeqas's Sheikh have a part of.

Fe Aman Allah
Habib



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 8:44pm

Topic:

Islam and the sufi dilemma (17 of 55), Read 459 times

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From:

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Date:

Thursday, October 10, 2002 09:49 PM

Allah, Most High, gave us His Book and Sunnah of His Messenger (pbuh) as a sufficient source of His Sharee'ah. He revealed to the Prophet (pbuh) during the farewell Hajj, on Arafat, "This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion." Alma'ida

Therefore, the Quran and authentic Sunnah regulate the life of individuals as well as societies, guaranteeing happiness in this world and the next, whether one turns away from them by replacing them with fabricated narrations, stories and authored verses of poetry.

All that brings one closer to Allah, Most High, must be within the limits of legislation. This is a fundamental principle in the Deen of Islam, and a rule set by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) in his saying, "Whoever does an action which is not in accordance with our matter (Deen), he will have it rejected." (Muslim and Bukhari)

It is related from Ibn Abbas that he said, "While the Prophet, (pbuh) was speaking, there was a man standing, so he asked about him and they said, "He is abu Israil. He vowed to stand, not to sit, not to seek shade, not to speak and to fast." So the Prophet (pbuh) said, "Order him to speak, to seek shade and to sit, and let him complete his fast." (Bukhari and abu Dawud) Therefore, the Prophet acknowledged what is legislated, that is fasting, and renounced what is not legislated, that is leaving of speech and standing in the sun.

So it is not permissible for one to seek closeness to Allah, Most High, by worship which Allah, Most High, has not legislated, just like it is not permissible to exaggerated and overstep the limits set by Allah. The guidance of the Prophet (pbuh) is the best example in this regard. It is not permissible for anyone from his Ummah to add to it, or to think that his worship is more complete than that of the Messenger.

Many people have turned to books of sufism, looking for ways to soften their hearts. While they do cure some diseases of the heart-due to what they contain of evidences from the Book and authentic Sunnah, they also include weak and fabricated elements, unbelievable movements in ecstasy, and exaggerated admiration of some creatures, which makes their harm greater than their benefit.

 

 

Topic:

Islamic Dilemma & the Sufi Message (18 of 55), Read 463 times

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From:

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Date:

Friday, October 11, 2002 02:15 AM


"Take away love and our earth is a tomb".

~Please dont frown! For you never know who may be falling in love with your smile!~
------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------

Anon,
you might want to check this page out but I don't think you are interested, you seem to have your ideas set :-)

http://www.geocities.com/faizee/sufism.htm


Angel.

 

 

Topic:

Islamic Dilemma & the Sufi Message (19 of 55), Read 462 times

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Friday, October 11, 2002 10:25 AM

Below is a quote taken from site that our non-Muslim guest suggested:

"Yes, the thought of self, which some say as the ego or nafs, is our first enemy. And nafs always gives us our thought. Allah wants us to think of Him. Sufism is the way, which teaches us to think of Allah, so much that we should forget ourselves. Our Prophet (Peace be upon Him), who is Habib of Allah, asked us to remember Allah, so much that others would start to call us insane people."

Quoting weak and fabricated ahaadeeth, without any limit or restrain. We seek refuge with Allah.

 

 

Topic:

Islam and the sufi dilemma (20 of 55), Read 455 times

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From:

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Date:

Friday, October 11, 2002 12:23 PM

Assalamu alaikum,

Anon, you wrote:

>It is not permissible for anyone from his Ummah to add to it, or to think that his worship is more complete than that of the Messenger.<

This one sentence carries more weight than all the thousands of pages written against bida.

Allah Hafiz,
Yusuf

 

 

Topic:

*Islamic Dilemma & the Sufi Message* (21 of 55), Read 294 times

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From:

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Date:

Saturday, November 09, 2002 08:43 PM

Assalaamo Alaikum.

I read this article by Mr. Jay Kinney just today. Indeed it is a well written piece and the author must be commended for his insight. Then I saw that two groups of Muslims have filled pages and pages in a seemingly unending dual. Sure it has generated a lot of light with some heat that is unavoidable.

I have a few words on Mr. Kinney's early paragraphs.

>>While religions have failed to live up to their own ideals, the same charge can be levelled against Democracy, Communism, Humanism, Monarchy, Science, and every other means of human self-organisation and inquiry. Of this we can be sure: no sooner will a model for social benefit be formulated than a dozen uses will be found to employ it for social ill. Social institutions � by their very nature � become arenas for the exercise of power and greed: the forces of the reptilian brain which take us back to Step One, over and over again.<<

Mukhlis: How to solve this problem � not just for one section but for the whole of the society ?
******

>>Fortunately, there is clear testimony that some individuals and groups have been able to fully realise the kernel of truth that too often lies slumbering within the religious husk. � This consciousness, as a direct and authentic experience, does not depend for its existence on theological or religious doctrine. Indeed, mystics say that this consciousness itself clarifies and illuminates doctrine.<<

Mukhlis: This is certainly possible for some individuals.

*********
>>As stated at the beginning, ironies abound. The very virtue that enables millions of Muslims to feel a brotherhood across national and racial divides � the sense of an Umma (community) of believers � also fuels the presumption of extremist Islamic terrorists to represent the whole of Islam in their assault on the West. In truth, bin Laden and Co. (or Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah) no more represent Islam than the judicially-selected Bush regime represents the whole of Western democracy. Behind each camp�s stated purposes and PR, loom the reptilian brain�s Will to Power � the opposite of the mystic�s realisation and of the stated goal of most religions: surrender to the will of God.<<

Mukhlis: This is true not only of Muslims or Arabs / Afghans but of other religions & races too. Please consider all the atrocities that have taken place in different parts of the world in recent times.

*****
Religion, devoid of the mystic�s link to the Real, may not save us � in fact when religion is used as a rationale to wage political warfare, it may condemn us to a hell on earth of its own creation. But that doesn�t mean that we should turn our backs on the spiritual impulse toward realisation and human perfection that lies at the root of religion. The survival of Sufism within the broader confines of Islam is a significant case in point.

Mukhlis: �If a hell is to come on the earth, it will be brought by American, British & Israeli forces, not by stone throwing, stick wielding or self immolating under dogs. What suggestion Mr. Kinney has for those who are commanders-in-Chief of these weapons of Mass Destruction ? Do we also need some Sufi�s among Americans, Israelis & the British ?
****
May Allah show us light.

Wassalaam,

Br.
Mukhlis

 

 

Topic:

*Islamic Dilemma & the Sufi Message* (22 of 55), Read 416 times

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From:

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Date:

Sunday, October 13, 2002 12:08 PM

As Salamu Alaykum,

Unfortunately, this topic is misunderstood by some, and others go to excesses in it. The truth is in moderation and in the middle way. "Sufism" and "Tasawwuf", these are both words. We can use these words in whatever way we like. Firstly, there have been groups and people who call themselves as "Sufis" or followers of Tasawwuf and have misused it and gone to excesses. What is it? Basically, tasawwuf or sufism is referring to the science of the purification of the heart, to have Ihsan, and to be sincere in worship (ibada). To deny this science and understanding of Islam, would be to deny an important part of Islam. Just like the Muslim scholars have developed the sciences of Jurisprudence, Ahadith, Qur'an and so on, the scholars of Islam have also written on the subject of purification of the heart. We, as Muslims, accept that which is according to the Qur'an, Sunnah, and sources, and only reject that which is complete innovation or has no basis within Islamic principles. The following of a certain Tariqah (way, group or methodology) is not the subject we are talking about. No one is demanding that or considering that obligatory on Muslims. If you use the word "Sufism" or "Tasawwuf", that does not immediately mean that you are talking about a certain group or tariqah. Unfortunately, this is a misunderstanding that seems to be advanced by some people today in order to belittle the word, anyone associated with the word, and the vast meaning it contains.

Ahl ul-Suffa, were the people and group of companions, among them the poor, who are briefly described in a Hadith by Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) in Sahih al-Bukhari. Essentially, the true people of Tasawwuf were they, and those who followed in their path by renouncing the excessive love of this Dunya (world) and followed Allah and His messenger strictly. For those people who strictly use the word Tasawwuf or Sufism as a derogatory term, they should know that this was neither the understanding of the Salaf or the righteous scholars of Islam. Imam al-Hakim al-Nisaburi (one of the teachers of Imam al-Bayhaqi) was one of the great Muslim scholar of Ahadith and wrote his collection al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn following the methodology and conditions of Imam Bukhari and Muslim, he died in 405 AH. He wrote in his collection and stated:

"I have pondered these narrations concerning the People of the Veranda (Ahl ul-Suffa), and I have found them to be among the greatest of companions in scrupulousness (wara) and reliance upon Allah, and in constant service of Allah and His Messenger. For them, Allah chose what He chose for His Prophet by way of poverty, indigence, and humbleness in worship of Allah, and leaving the Dunya to its people. They are the group to which the Sufis (people of Tasawwuf) belong, generation after generation; so that whoever follows their sunna (way), and their patient endurance of renouncing the things of this world, and their familiar intimacy with poverty, and their refusal to beg, are in every age the followers of the ahl al-suffa and the people of reliance upon their Creator."

al-Hakim al-Nisaburi, also added that: "Allah's Messenger (SalAllahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) has described this group (Ahl ul-Suffa) in terms of the qualities by which Allah has singled them out from among the other groups; so whoever possesses these qualities, rightly possesses the name of Tasawwuf." (al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn, v.3, published in
Hyderabad and elsewhere)

The scholars of Islam have written on the subject of purification, and this is what we understand to be Tasawwuf. Anyone who reads their works, will understand what is truly meant by Tasawwuf. From the works of Imam al-Nawawi, Ibn Hajr, Imam al-Ghazzali, Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn al-Jawzi, and the list goes on, we see that they understood and wrote about the science of purification and even used the word Tasawwuf in their writings. If you look in the most well-known and authoritative commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari (in Kitab ul-Raqaiq, Book on Words that soften the Heart, for example) titled Fath ul-Bari by Imam Ibn Hajr, you will find quotes from the early scholars on purification. For example, he quotes from Abul Qasim al-Qushayri (in Kitab al-Raqaiq), a Shafi'i scholar who wrote a treatise (Risala) on the foundations of the path of Tasawwuf. At another point he makes use from the words of wisdom from Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari, or Imam Junayd, and the list goes on. Imam al-Shafi�i�s (one of greatest Imams and one of the Salaf) attitude towards Tasawwuf was as strict as with the science known as Kalam (Dialectics, debating about tenets of belief), and he both praised it and denigrated its abuse at the hands of its corrupters. In criticism of the latter he said: "No-one becomes a Sufi in the morning except he ends up a dolt by
noon" while on the other hand he declared in his well known Diwan (a book of his Arabic sayings and Poetry): "Be at the same time a faq�h (dealing with Islamic Law) and a Sufi." The meaning understood here is to follow the middle path and not to go to excesses in following wrong or innovated practice, yet at the same time not to deny the spirit of this Deen in struggling against and purifying the inner self. This is because those who only deal with matters of Jurisprudence and rules become rigid and are without the true spirit and understanding of this Deen, while those who only devote time to learn Tasawwuf lack knowledge of the proper methods of worship and fall into innovation. Therefore, the true and correct way is in the middle, virtue is a mean in between excesses. Imam al-Nawawi (the well known Shafi� scholar) also wrote a book called Bustan al-`Arifin fi al-Zuhd wa al-Tasawwuf ("The Garden of the Gnostics in Asceticism and Tasawwuf", the book is well known). It is clearly understood, from the understanding of the greatest scholars of the Quran and Sunnah, that there is a praiseworthy science known as Tasawwuf which deals with specific beneficial topics.

No one is stating here that we need to abandon Islamic law, our principles, or to innovate actions, but the truth is that from the Qur�an and Sunnah the scholars had the understanding and development of the science that deals with purification. No one is asking anyone to read any odd or unknown works, or to follow some unknown path. Read the works of Imam Ibn Hajr and his commentary, read the works of Imam al-Nawawi, Imam al-Ghazali, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (Jami� al-Ulum wa al-Hikam), Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn al-Qayyim, Shaykh Ahmad al-Zarruq (from North Africa), and the list goes on and on. And then the question arises, what if we can�t read these, or do not have the means or access to such works. Then the answer is, learn from the righteous scholars of our time who have studied this science and learned the works of our scholars. Not only do we read and acquire knowledge about this science, but to take it to heart and have an awareness that Allah is All-Seeing and All-knowing, and to have Taqwa, Ihsan, to acquire good character (of the Prophet), and to struggle for all that is good. To learn, and then implement the knowledge that is gained (upon ourselves), and spread the knowledge to others by enjoining that which is good and forbidding that which is evil. If you do this without resorting to odd or unknown practices, then you are on the path of Tasawwuf. This is why when you come across the biographies of the scholars of the past, you will notice them often being described as those who had mastered the inward (Tasawwuf) and outward (Fiqh, Hadith, Arabic, etc) sciences.

The most appropriate definition given to us about Tasawwuf is the following one written by Shaykh Ahmad al-Zarruq (846-899 A.H.) of
Fez. The following is translated and written by a brother of knowledge, Faraz Rabbani:

A complete definition of Tasawwuf was given by Ahmad Zarruq, who defined it as �Sincerity in turning to Allah�. He explained that "The necessary condition of sincerity of approach is that it be what the Truth (Allah) Most High accepts, and by the means He accepts. Now, something lacking this necessary condition cannot exist, "And He does not accept unbelief for His servants." (Qur'an, 39: 7), so one must realize true faith (iman), "and if you show gratitude, He will accept it of you."(Qur'an, 39: 7), which entails applying Islam. So there is no Sufism except through comprehension of Sacred Law, for the outward rules of Allah Most High are not known save through it, and there is no comprehension of Sacred Law without Sufism, for works are nothing without sincerity of approach, as expressed by the words of Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him):

"He who practices Sufism without learning Sacred Law corrupts his faith, while he who leans Sacred Law without practicing Sufism corrupts himself. Only he who combines the two proves true." (Iqaz al-Himam fi Sharh al-Hikam, 5-6 from The Reliance of the Traveller, w9.3, 862)

Similarly, Shaykh Muftafa Naja explained that basis of the spiritual way is,

"Absolute uprightness (al-istiqma al-tamma), being with Allah, having presence of heart in one's slavehood (�ubudiyya), and conforming to the Qur'an and Sunna in every breath, step, spiritual experience, and state. Its Pillar is keeping the company of the people divine knowledge and Sacred Law, and making much remembrance, with presence of heart." (Kitab Kashf al-Asrar li Tanwir al-Afkar, 41)


Lastly, the understanding of Shaykh Taqi ul-Deen Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim (Allah's Mercy be upon them), who were most strict on the subject, is different than those who today make claims to be their strict followers and at the same time denigrate Tasawwuf. This can be seen from what Ibn al-Qayyim wrote in one of his writings on the subject of Tasawwuf (Madarij ul-Saalikeen, 2:307) :

Religion is all moral character (khuluq), and whoever bests you in moral character, bests you in Religion. It is the same with tasawwuf. Al-Kattani said: Tasawwuf is moral character, and whoever bests you in moral character, bests you in Religion�. Truly, the hardest thing for human nature is the modification of the moral qualities and traits with which the selves have been stamped. Those who earnestly enga­ged in harsh discipline and arduous strivings worked on nothing else. Most of them did not succeed in changing the self, but the latter became fully employed in those exercises and thus unable to wield its influence�. One day I asked Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya � may Allah have mercy on him! � about this matter and how to eliminate defects and occupy oneself with the cleansing of one�s path. The gist of his reply was that the self is like a garbage pile: the more you dig in it, the more of it comes out to the surface; if you can pave a pathway over it and go past it, do so, and do not preoccupy yourself with digging into it for you shall never reach its bottom!�. Tasawwuf is one of the cornerstones (zaw�y�) of true wayfaring (al-sul�k al-haq�q�) and the purification and disciplining of the self (tazkiya al-nafs wa tahdh�buh�) so that it may prepare itself for its journey to the company of the Highest Assembly and for being together with its beloved. For �One is with the one he loves� as Sumnun stated: �The lovers of Allah have gained the honor of both the world and the hereafter, for �he is with the one he loves.�

[from an article by G.F Haddad]

I hope that there was benefit in this post (insha Allah) and that we take away a proper understanding of the subject. Forgive me if I have said something wrong or made some mistake. Perfection belongs to Allah, whatever was correct and good is from Allah and the mistakes are mine alone. And Allah Most High knows best.

 

 

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - 1 (23 of 55), Read 409 times

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Wednesday, October 16, 2002 07:43 PM

34:48-50"Verily my Lord doth cast the (mantle of) Truth (over His servants),- He that has full knowledge of (all) that is hidden."
"The Truth has arrived, and Falsehood neither creates anything new, nor restores anything."
"If I am astray, I only stray to the loss of my own soul: but if I receive guidance, it is because of the inspiration of my Lord to me: it is He Who hears all things, and is (ever) near."


Allah (SWT) says in the book that 'the state of purity' is of highest excellence, and that He draws His servants near to Him according to the level of purity in their hearts. It is said several times in the Quran that to seek allah
ユs countenance or His nearness is the best of all things saught!

91:1-9 By the Sun and his (glorious) splendour;
By the Moon as she follows him;
By the Day as it shows up (the Sun's) glory;
By the Night as it conceals it;
By the Firmament and its (wonderful) structure;
By the Earth and its (wide) expanse:
By the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it;
And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right;-
Truly he succeeds that purifies it,


Here allah is clearly mentioning the importance of the purification of one
ユs soul. He says that ヤtrue successユ lies in this purification.

92:18-21 Those who spend their wealth for increase in self-purification, And have in their minds no favour from anyone for which a reward is expected in return, But only the desire to seek for the Countenance of their Lord Most High; And soon will they attain (complete) satisfaction.

20:75-27. But such as come to Him as Believers who have worked righteous deeds,- for them are ranks exalted,-Gardens of Eternity, beneath which flow rivers: they will dwell therein for aye: such is the reward of those who purify themselves (from evil).


Further, He says that on the day of sorting out, he will divide His servants into 3 categories:-

56:1-7. When the Event inevitable cometh to pass,
Then will no (soul) entertain falsehood concerning its coming.
(Many) will it bring low; (many) will it exalt;
When the earth shall be shaken to its depths,
And the mountains shall be crumbled to atoms,
Becoming dust scattered abroad,
And ye shall be sorted out into three classes.


out of these three categories, allah says that the best of all will be the people foremost in faith, and these are those who are
ヤnearest to allahユ - the muqarrabun

56: 8-11Then (there will be) the Companions of the Right Hand;- What will be the Companions of the Right Hand?
And the Companions of the Left Hand,- what will be the Companions of the Left Hand?
And those Foremost (in Faith) will be Foremost (in the Hereafter).
These will be those Nearest to Allah.


Who are the �Muqarrabun?� They are just not the companions of the Right Hand only - otherwise they would have not been placed in the separate category. The Sufis believe that it is just another name for those who are not only on the right path guided by their Lord, but also know the right relation between the �Haqq� and �Khalq� or between the Creator and the created, between God and man.

To be more explicit, those who regard their Creator as their �Ilah� or Deity and worship Him alone and ask for His help alone and believe that there is none other than He [Him Who is] worthy of our devotion and able to help us, are called in Qur'an the Companions of the Right Hand. And those who regard some created beings as their Deities and worship them and seek their aid, thus rejecting the faith which lays down that God alone is our Cherisher and Sustainer, are termed the Companions of the left. The Muqarrabun are those who not only believe their Creator as their only Deity and worship Him alone and seek for His help alone, but also know the true relationship that exists between them and their Creator. They have been promised �Rest and Peace and a
Garden of Bliss.�

Thus the great Sufi Sheikh Shahabuddin Suharwardi in his famous Sufi Compendium �Awarif-al-Maarif� (Chapter I) holds that though the term 'Sufi' is not used in the Holy Qur'an, the word �Muqarrab� connotes the same meaning, which is expressed by the term Sufi.

A little later, once again he makes explicit: �know that by the word Sufis we imply �Muqqarabun� only, those whom God draws nearer to Himself.�


To achieve this special status ie to get into this special catergory (the muqarrabun), and to purify oneユs soul
demands extra efforts than just believing in allah and his prophet(saw). It takes more efforts to remain on the straight path in such a way that one NEVER forgets his duties and NEVER forgets that he is supposed to be in a state of submission. This in itself is a mercy from allah, as allah himself says in the book that He purifies those whom He wills.

24:21 ... and were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, not one of you would ever have been pure: but Allah doth purify whom He pleases: and Allah is One Who hears and knows (all things).

37: 57 "Had it not been for the Grace of my Lord, I should certainly have been among those brought (there)!

6:83 We raise whom We will, degree after degree: for thy Lord is full of wisdom and knowledge.


All the great Ulema in islam have acknowledged that purification of soul is a tedious path, that has grades and levels. It begins with tahara , and is accomplished with the illumination of the inner being (the sirr).

In a definition formulated by Shaykh-al-Islam Zakariyah Ansari, which is as follows.
�Sufism teaches how to purify one's self, improve one's morals, and build up ones inner and outer life in order to attain perpetual bliss. Its subject matter is the purification of the soul and its end or aim is the attainment of eternal felicity and blessedness.�
Imam Qushayri, the author of the great Sufi compendium Rasa�il, takes Sufism in the sense of the purity of inner and outer life and says that �purity is something praiseworthy in whatever language it may be expressed and its opposite, impurity (kadar) is to be eschewed.�
In support of it he cites a tradition, which explains the meaning of Sufism and affords proof for it:
�Abu Hujaifa told us that once the Holy Prophet Muhammad visited us and his face showed us that he was deeply perturbed. He said: �The Safw (pure part i.e. the best) of this world is gone and only its kadar (impurity) remains.� Consequently death is now a boon for every Muslim.�

Imam Ghazzali, under the heading "On the way of the Sufis� in his book entitled Al-Munqidh min-al-Dalal (Rescuer from Error) states:
�When after acquiring proficiency in these sciences, I turned my attention to the methods of the Sufis, I came to know that their method attains perfection by means of theory and practice The gist of their knowledge is to mortify the self and acquire freedom from baser passions and evil attributes so that the heart may get rid of the thought of any thing save God and to embellish it with Divine remembrance.�

In praise of Sufism Abu�l Hasan Nuri says: �Sufism is the renunciation of all selfish pleasures.� In other words it is giving up of unlawful carnal pleasures. A Sufi is usually free from greed and lust and knows that, �so long as he is a victim of lust he is, as it were, in a prison.� He makes his self subservient to God's will, thus his greed and lusts are annihilated. He is well aware that following the dictates of desires and lusts is misleading and is destructive. As the Qur'an Says:
6:19�And follow not the lusts (of thy heart), for they will mislead thee from the Path of God.�

It is clear, then, that according to these great Sufis, sufism is nothing but the purification of the senses and the will. It is the effacement of one's desires in the will of God. It is the building up of a solid wall between the pure self and the Gog and Magog of passions and desires. It is, in a word, 'self-discipline', the avoidance of what is forbidden and the performance of what is ordained.

Alkalabadhi thus sums up their �doctrine of the duties imposed by God on adults, [the Sufis] are agreed that all the ordinances imposed by God on His servants in His Holy Book and all the duties laid down by the Prophet (in the Traditions) are a necessary obligation and a binding imposition for adults of mature intelligence; that they may not be abandoned or forsaken in any way by the man, whether he be a veracious believer (Siddiq), or a saint or a gnostic, even though he may have attained the furthest rank, the highest degree, the noblest station, or the most exalted stage. They hold that there is no station in which a man may dispense with the prescriptions of the religious law, by holding permissible what God has prohibited, or making illegal what God has declared legal, or legal what God has pronounced illegal, or omitting to perform any religious duty without due excuse or reason, which excuse or reason is defined by the agreed judgement of all Muslims and approved by the prescriptions of the religious law. The more inwardly pure a man is, the higher his rank and the nobler his station, so much the more arduously he labours with sincerer performance and a greater fear of God.�

In this sense Sufism is a purely Islamic discipline, which builds up the character and inner life of the Muslims by imposing certain ordinances and duties, obligations and impositions, which may not be abandoned in any way by any man. The Prophet Muhammad was sent to �instruct� mankind �in Scripture and Wisdom and to sanctify them.� The Sufis keep these �instructions� before their eyes; strive their utmost to perform what has been prescribed for them to do and to discharge what they have been called upon to do, subsequent to that prescription. God says; �And those who fight strenuously for us We will surely guide them into Our way.� And again: �Oh ye who believe! Do your duty to God, seek the means of approach unto Him and strive with might and main in His cause: that ye may prosper.�
Believing in these exhortations the great Sufi Yahya has said; �the spirit of gnosis will never reach thy heart, so long as there is a duty owing to God which thou hast not discharged!� Thus Sufism, in the words of Abu� Ali al Rudhbari is �giving one's lust the taste of tyranny� and �journeying in the pathway of the Holy Prophet.�

Thus a sufi is not an innovator or mushrikh, as so many wrongfully accuse him of but is one who yearns and endeavours hard to purify himself in the most excellent manner because he has this desire for nearness and countenance of His Lord.

Junayd has defined a Sufi as �dead to his self and alive in God.� He passes away from what belongs to himself and persists through what belongs to God. When he is dead in relation to his own self, he becomes alive in his relation to the self of God.

Husayn b. Mansur al Hallaj thinks that a Sufi is, �singular in his being, he neither accepts anybody nor does anybody accept him.� He feels the immediate Presence of God alone within and senses the Presence of God without and his mental faculty gets rid of the thought of anything save God and is totally captivated by God:
The eye does not see anything except God!
Predication of everything is of Him only.

When �Amr b. �Uthman-Makki was asked the meaning of Sufism he replied: �A Sufi is alive to the value of time and is given every moment to what that moment demands.�

(Jami) When Abu Muhammad Ruwaym was asked to defines Sufism he said: �Sufism is nothing else save submitting one's own self to the will of God. A Sufi becomes dead to his self-will and God Almighty�s will alone enters in him and as a consequence of it, he has no wish of his own, neither does he want, desire or yearn for anything.

In the words of Shaykh Jilani now becomes: �At rest in body, contented in mind, broad chested, his face beaming with the light of God, with an enlightened heart and oblivious of all things due to his nearness with God.�

Ma' aruf Karkhi defines Sufism as: �The grasping of realities and disappointment from what is in the hands of people.� When the truth is revealed to the Sufi that really God Almighty alone can inflict pain and bestow blessing, He alone can resuscitate and deal death to us, He alone is the Creator, the Cherisher, he becomes blind to every other thing except Him. In calamity and in affluence, he considers God Almighty alone to be the real agent, the real doer, and does not accept any other being as cause or instrument.

Shibli says: �A Sufi is severed from the world (Khalq) and connected with God (Haqq) alone, as God Almighty had said to Moses, �I have chosen thee for Myself (for service) and have disconnected thee from others." Later addressing Moses He said: �By no means canst thou see Me.�

The same meaning is conveyed by what Dhu�l-Nun said: �Sufis are those who preferred God Almighty to all things and liked Him, God Almighty, too, then, preferred them to all things and liked them.�
The end and aim of a Sufi�s life is God alone; he loves God alone; his thinking, meditation and prayer are for God alone. He is ever ignorant of everything save God and when he thinks of God alone his mind is purified, and in this sense he finds himself attached to God and disconnected with everything save God. He is totally captivated by God alone!

To be continued...


Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 8:46pm

Topic:

Islam and Sufi Message (24 of 55), Read 413 times

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Wednesday, October 16, 2002 08:33 PM

During the primary stages of Sufism, Sufis were characterized by their particular attachment to zikr (remembrance of Allah) and asceticism (seclusion), as well as the beginning of innovated practices to 'aid' in the religious practices. Yet even at the early stage of Sufism, before their involvement in innovated rituals and structured orders, the scholars warned the masses of the extremity of Sufi practices. Imam Al-Shafi' had the opinion that "If a person exercised Sufism (Tasawafa) at the beginning of the day, he doesn't come at Zuhur except an idiot". Imam Malik and Ahmad bin Hanbal also shared similar ideas on this new movement which emanated from Basrah, Iraq. Although it began as a move towards excessive Ibaadah, such practices were doomed to lead to corruption, since their basis did not come from authentic religious doctrines, but rather from exaggerated human emotions. Sufism as an organized movement arose among pious Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad period (AD 661-750)4. The Sufis exploited the chaotic state of affairs that existed during the fifth and sixth centuries A.H. and invited people to follow their way, alleging that the remedy to this chaos was conformity to the guidance of their order's Sheikhs. Dar al-Hikmah was established during the reign of Khalifah Ma'moon, where he invited the scholars of the Romans and Greeks to meet with the Muslims and 'discuss' their respective positions. This provided the perfect breeding ground for the synthesis between Islam and Pagan theology, to produce the Sufism of the like of Ibn Arabi.

Since the Qur'an and Saheeh Hadith cannot be changed, the Sufi's have reverted to Ta'weel, a method of changing the apparent meaning of the verse or hadith to have a hidden one. This provided them with sufficient lee-way to support any concept they desired, by simply stating that the verse/hadith had an inner meaning which only the Sheikh himself could know. In the Bezels of Wisdom, Ibn Arabi presents certain aspects of what he terms "Divine Wisdom," as he conceives it. But Ibn al-Arabi interprets the relevant verses of Surat Noah in the most outrageous fashion, since he suggests meanings diametrically opposed to those accepted by all Muslim scholars. He interprets the "wrongdoer," "infidels," and "sinners" in Surat Noah as 'saints and Gnostics' drowning and burning not in the torment of Hell, but rather in the flames and water of knowledge of God. Ibn Arabi regarded the idols worshipped by Noah's people as divine deities. Allah condemned their deed saying: "And they (Noah's people) said, 'Do not abandon your gods, neither Wad, Suwa', Yaghooth, Ya'ooq nor Nasr'. " [71: 23] On which Ibn Arabi commented: "If they (Noah's people) had abandoned them, they would have become ignorant of the Reality ... for in every object of worship there is a reflection of Reality, whether it be recognized or not."

The act of making Zikr in circles and jumping/moving frantically is also totally unfounded. Zikr in the true Arabic sense means "Remembrance of Allah." The Prophet's (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) method, which Muslims agree to be the best and only acceptable one, of zikr consisted in reciting Qur'an, discussing religion with his companions, and making Tasbeeh on his hands. Yet the act of sitting in circles and loudly or silently chanting "Allah, Allah" was never practised by the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) nor the Salaf, and all hadith which state that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) did so (such as when he supposedly went into a room, told the companions to lift up their hands and chant "La Ilaha Illa Allah" ) are unanimously agreed upon to be forged. Ibn Taymiyyah stated that this practice opened the door to Shaytaan, whereby the Shaytaan would enter the gathering (since they were involved in innovation) and take the form of a pious person. He also stated that the recital of "Allah, Allah" was forbidden, as it was never declared to be a form of Dhikr, and has no attached word to complete it (such as Allahu Akbar, Subhaan Allah).

The leader of the Naqshibandi Tareeqa in
America, was quoted in the media as saying the following: "You have to be both material and spiritual. Sufis can give people joy in their spiritual life. Well, Madonna is giving people a kind of joy in their material life... You cannot say she is wrong. Sufis don't object and criticize - they are accepting everything. That's why, when my children are looking at Madonna on MTV, I say, 'Let me come and look also!'"

In truth, Islam is sufficient for us, and it is only Shaytaan who wishes to turn us away from our religion, to make us exceed the limits, and fall into his trap. The only sure way to avoid this is to grasp tightly onto what was left to us by our beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), the Qur'an and Sunnah, as understood and believed and acted upon by the best people to have lived: the Companions and those who followed their footsteps.

 

 

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - 2 (25 of 55), Read 424 times

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Wednesday, October 16, 2002 10:01 PM

Bismillah ir rehman ir raheem

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah, My dear brothers and sisters in islam and respected guests on this forum,

For the benefit of all who are sincerely interested in understanding what Sufism in Islam is, I have taken upon myself to address the issue, and in my best capability to help.
As may be seen from the trend of this thread so far, Sufism is most popularly
�misunderstood� by especially those who come forward to 'explain' it in the light of Quran and sunnah, in order to prove it a 'sect', 'bida', 'blatant shirk' and 'kufr'.
My aim here is not to argue or debate with anybody, or to convince anybody that what ever I say is the truth. I am only going to present facts, as stated in Quran, Hadith and thru the discources of great sufi scholars, and shall leave upto the readers to conclude for themselves, which representation of tasawwuf, they want to accept for the satisfaction of their understanding. May allah help those who seek knowledge and truth, ameen.

2:256-257. Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.
Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light.


In one of the above posts there are many false allegations thrown on the Sufis. It is not in scope of one post to address all the issues, nor shall it be fair for the readers, if I post on mile long book on Sufism in a single post. Therefore, for the sake of simplicity, I have divided the
�charges� in 2 categories, numbered them and shall be dealing with systematically in a few posts to follow, insha allah. However, I am not going to address every allegations separately, as many of these are connected with each other, and dealing with one may automatically make the other issue transparent. If there are any questions and comments on my posts, you may choose to write here or save for the end, but I shall not interrupt my series, to address them � for this little bit of discourtesy I apologize before hand.

Category A: In this category I have listed those mino
r allegations which are plainly lies against the Sufis. There is no evidence in the teachings of great sufi scholars to prove these allegations, at least none have been brought forth by the accuser. No matter how charitable I try to be, I cannot say these are innocent charges, drawn because of lack of understanding. These are either agendas to malign the Sufis, or to misguide those ppl about the Sufis, who know nothing/ very little about their practices.

Category B: The points that fall in this category are serious objections over the practices of Sufis, which are present in Sufism, but are misunderstood-here by our beloved anon, and elsewhere by many more, owing to the facts that some aspects of faith are denied by some either because they do not understand a particular hadith or a set of them, and a particular ayat or set of them fully, or because they deny a set of hadith. As I have stated earlier in the thread, there are muslims who say that hadith Qudsi is a fabrication, astaghfirullah, and thus conveniently have dropped out a major aspect of their faith.

List of allegations in category A
1. The followers of different tariqa, do not acknowledge others
� tariqa to be correct.
2a. Sufis worship others besides allah.(prophets and awliya).
*self contradictio
n* - Sufis take knowledge directly from allah without the mediation of the prophet.
2b. Sufis turn to other than allah when calamity strikes.
3. Sufis Advocate extreme asceticism. Profess that jihad is not necessary.
4. Sufis keep a picture of shykh while praying, pierce themselves with rods etc, and say abalatant shirk in Qaseedas.
5. Sufis seek blessings from graves and do tawaf.

List of allegations in category B
1. Abdals, aqtabs and awliya run the affairs of the world.
2. Belief in wahdat ul wujud
3. Sufis allow dancing drums and musical instruments.
4. Dhikr/rememberence.
5. Poems
6. Knowledge of unseen.
7. Allah created the world for the sake of Muhammad (saw)
8. Claim to see allah in this life
9. Direct knowledge.
10. Mawlid
11. Loyalty to shaikh.

Peace,
Nausheen

Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.

 

 

Topic:

Islam and Sufi Message (26 of 55), Read 421 times

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Thursday, October 17, 2002 01:29 AM


"Take away love and our earth is a tomb".

~Please dont frown! For you never know who may be falling in love with your smile!~
------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------

Thanks Nausheen :-)

I will read them shortly :-)


Angel.

 

 

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Islam and Sufi Message (27 of 55), Read 425 times

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Thursday, October 17, 2002 05:53 AM

The Sheikh or Wali is given a similar standing as that of a Catholic Saint, or the Dalai Lama himself. Complete obedience is enforced on his followers, and any questions are deemed as a betrayal of trust: "The seeker must submit to the will of the Sheikh and to obey him in all his orders and advice, because the Sheikh has more experience and more knowledge in Haqiqat, in Tariqat and in Shari'ah," and "he must agree with the opinion of his Sheikh completely, as the patient agrees with the physician". Yet Muslims believe that any single act of worship must be substantiated by the Qur'an and Sunnah only. Allah the Exalted says: "Say (to them), 'Produce your proof if you are truthful'." [2: 111], and the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said "The created is not to be obeyed over the Creator." The Sheikh is given the standing of a deity in Sufism. Attributes which belong to Allah, are also assigned to their Sheikhs. They seek help from them, whether they are dead or 10,000km away. They believe that their sheikhs know everything their students are thinking, and that they converse with the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) on a regular basis (in reality).


Imaam Ash-Shaa'fee on Sufism:

"If a person exercised Sufism (Tasawafa) at the beginning of the day, he does not come to Dhuhur except an idiot." [Talbees Iblees].
"Nobody accompanied the Sufis forty days and had his brain return (ever)." [Talbees Iblees].

Concerning the famous Sufi leader, Al-Harith Al-Muhasbi, Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbaal (R) said:

"Warn (people) from Al-Harith (a Sufi leader) the strongest warning!... He is the shelter of the Ahl Kalaam (people of rhetoric)." [Talbees Iblis].

The famous Sheikh Abu Bakr Al-Jaza'iri stated:

"Sufism is a shameful deception which begins with Dhikr and ends with Kufr. Its outward manifestation appears to be piety, but its inward reality forsakes the Commandments of Allah." [Illat-Tasawwuf Yaa Ibadallah].
Ash-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Rabee' ibn Haadee Al-Madkhalee, a well known teacher at the Islamic University of Medinah brings in his book "Haqeeqatus Soofiyyah Fee Dau'il Kitaabi Was Sunnah", the following:

Concerning the practice of the Sufiyyah in wearing woolen clothing as a sign of Zuhd (abstemiousness/disassociation from the wordly life) and in their attempt to mirror the Prophet 'Isa (AS):

"Ibn Taymiyah (R) mentions in Al-Fataawaa (11/7) from Muhammad ibn Seereen (a famous Tabi'ee who died in 110H) that it reached him that a certain people had taken to wearing woollen clothes in order to resemble 'Isa ibn Maryam (AS), so he said: 'There are a people (Sufis) who have chosen and preferred the wearing of woollen clothes, claiming that they want to resemble Al-Maseeh ibn Maryam (AS). But the way of our Prophet (SAAW) is more beloved to us, and the Prophet (SAAW) used to wear cotton and other garments."

Sheikh Al-Madkhalee goes on:

"As regards the first appearance of Sufism, then the word "Sufism" was not known in the time of the Sahabah, indeed it was not well-known in the first three and best centuries. Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyah (R), mentions that the first appearance of Sufism was in Basrah in 'Iraaq, where some people went to extremes in worship and in avoiding the worldly life, such as was not seen in other lands. [Al-Fataawaa (11/6)]."
Commenting on the reaction of the early Sufis while hearing Qur'an being recited (it was their pratice to fall out and act dumb-struck), Ibn Taymiyah (R) says:
"This was not found to occur amongst the Sahabah, so when it appeared a group of the Companions and the Tabi'een such as Asmaa bint Abi Bakr and 'Abd Allah Az-Zubair and Muhammad ibn Seereen criticsed that since they saw that it was an innovation and contrary to what they knew from the manners of the Sahabah." [Al-Fataawaa (11/6)].

Concerning the spread of Sufism, Ibn Al-Jawzy said: "Sufism is a way whose beginning was complete avoidance of the affairs of worldly life, then those who attached themselves to it became lax in allowing singing and dancing. Therefore, the seekers of the Hereafter from the common people became attracted to them due to the avoidance of the worldly life which they manifested, and the seekers after this world were also attracted to them due to the life of ease and frivolity which they were seen to live." [Talbees Iblis].

Shaikh Abu Zahrah (R) said concerning the reason for the appearance of Sufism and the sources from which it sprung:

1. The first source: Some worshippers amongst the Muslims turned all their attention to avoidance of the worldly life and to cutting themselves off in order to worship. This first began in the lifetime of the Prophet (SAAW) when some of the Sahabah decided to spend the night striving in Prayer and abandoning sleep. Others decided to fast every day without fail. Others decided to cease having marital relations with women. So when that reached the Prophet (SAAW) he said: "What is wrong with a people who say such and such. But rather I fat and I refrain from fasting, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. So whoever turns away from my Sunnah, then he is not from me (Al-Bukharee and Muslim). Furthermore, the innovation of living like monks (monasticism) is forbiddeen in the Qur'an. He said:

"...the Monasticism which they invented for themselves..." [57:27].

However, when the Prophet (SAAW) passed on to join the company of the highest angels, and many people entered into Islam from the previous religions then the number of those who went to extremes in avoidance of worldly life and its blessings grew and Sufism found a place in the hearts of these people since it had come across a fertile planting ground.

2. The second matter which attracted peoples' souls was something which appeared amongst the Muslims in the form of two ideologies. One of them was philosophical whilst the other was from the previous religions. As for the first, then it was the view of the Illumist school of philosophers who held that knowledge and awareness is brought about in the soul by spiritual exercies and purification of the soul. As for the second ideology, then it was the belief that the Deity dwells in human souls, or that the Deity is incarnate in humanity. This idea began to find a place amongst those sects who falsely attributed themselves to Islam in the earlier times, when the Muslims became mixed with the Christians. This idea appeared amongst the Sabians and some of the Kaysaamiyyah, then the Qaraamitah, then amongst the Baatinees, then in its final shape it appeared amongst some of the Sufis...There is another source from which it took, and which causes the manifestation of Sufi tendencies, which is the idea that the texts of the Book and the Sunnah have an outer, apparent meaning and an inner, hidden meaning...it seems clear that they took this idea from the Baatinees." [Ibn Taymiyah by Abu Zahra].

Ibn Al-Jawzy said after criticising the Sufis for their impostition of hardship upon themselves and for their going beyond bounds of abstemiousness to the point of self torture:

"So this self seprivation which went beyond bounds, which we have been forbideen from, has been turned around by the Sufis of our time, ie. the sixth century, so that they have become as deserious of food as their predecessors were of hunger, and they enjoy morning meals, evening meals and sweet delicacies, all of which or most of which they attain through impure wealth. They have abandoned lawful earnings, turned away from worship and spread out carpets on which they idly recline, most of them have no desire except for food, drink and frivolous activities. [Talbees Iblis].

Speaking of the false miracles claimed by many Sufi leaders, Ibn Taymiyah said:

"It may also be done with the help of their devils as they are a people who are as closely attended by devils as they are by their own brothers... These people who experience these satanic happenings are under a great delusion, in their foolishness they are deprived of all blessings, they only increase that which is feared, they devour the wealth of the people in futile acts, they do not order the good, nor do they forbid evil, and they do not fight Jihaad in Allah's Cause." [Al-Fataawaa].
Futher, Sheikh Al-Madkhalee says:

"Then I return to the point that when I saw that most of the callers were negligent of the most important aspects of Islam which is the call to Tawheed and the correction and purification of 'Aqeedah from all Shirk, which takes the form of worshipping the dead, attachment to the graves and calling upon the dead and the absent, and they remained silent about the other deviation of the present day Sufi orders which are very widespread in the lands of the Muslims, and anyone who travels outside this land will see the predominace that the Sufi orders ahve over the minds of the Muslims in Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Africa and India. Whether is is the Rifaa'ee order, or the Tijanis, or the Ahmadiyyah, or the Qaadiriyyah, or the Burhamiyyah, or the Shadhiliyyah, or the Khattaaniyyah, or the Darqaawees, or the Naqshabandis or whichever of the large number of Sufi orders...when I saw this I wished to remind of that which I held to be something very important. Likewise, I wished to provide my brothers, who study in the highly regarded Daarul Hadeeth, and they come from various Islamic lands where there are many Sufi orders, with some knowledge and some protection from the deadly sickness of Sufism."

 



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 8:55pm

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - 3 [The Tariqa (the path)] (28 of 55), Read 423 times

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Thursday, October 17, 2002 08:38 PM

Hi Angel,

I am glad to have secured at least one 'positive' attention on this thread :-)

Since I got an audience, am glad it would be easy to focus. So, far the feedback i got was that i have not explained tasawwuf adequately, so if you feel so, I think i should make more effort to explain the essence before moving further, however, i do plan to explain when addressing some of the points listed in category B.

To begin with, I want to say that at no point I claim ALL sufis are blameless. Just like in any other religion, islam has its bad followers and the sphere of tasawwuf in islam is also not kept pure from this disease.

The whole idea here however is that the bad followers had indeed succeeded in corrupting their souls, but their corruptions cannot negate the validity of tasawwuf in general.

To represent Islam thru the actions, intentions and speeches of the worst representative (muslim), is I think not a very intelligent or sensible approach. So if someone says that so n so sufi claims it is not important to observe the time of salat while one is involved in zikr, and this is the basis of tasawwuf, obviously his approach is wrong. The question is do the great scholars preach the same thing? or is it one of the bad sufi, who said so.

That is why for all the aspects, i would like to quote only those scholars who are widely accepted, by all the sufi tariqas. And if in their teachings any discrepancy is not found, the blames pasted on the scholars of tasawwuf in general is a misunderstanding.

For now i would like to begin with the first allegation.

On the tariqa...

To begin with, one should know what tariqa is. Literally it means 'the way' and in the science of purification of soul, it is the way that leads to the creator, through love and devotion.

The methods of achieving the goal may differ in detail, but essentially they are all same.

First of all it should be understood that to search allah and to reach allah thru good deeds is not a concept out of the realms of Islam.

As the Quran says:
6:32 What is the life of this world but play and amusement? But best is the home in the hereafter, for those who are righteous. Will ye not then understand?

The concept of not treating this life of any consequence but a means to gain the hereafter is repeated many times in the quran. The path of tasaawwuf focuses on this and instructs the followers to seek allah and His good pleasure, alone.

Next comes the method thru which this goal is sought. In any tariqa, the method is according to the quran and sunnah of the prophet.

There is no concept of bypassing the obligatory duties, and doing only the supererogatory ones.

Below is a quote from a book of supererogatory prayers from the Qadiri Tariqa:

A REMINDER CONCERNING THE IMPORTANCE OF (A) FULFILLING ONE'S OBLIGATORY RELIGIOUS DUTIES [FARA'ID] BEFORE ENGAGING IN THE PERFORMANCE OF SUPEREROGATORY DEVOTIONS [NAWAFIL], AND (B) PERFORMING SUPEREROGATORY DEVOTIONS [NAWAFIL] WITH THE INTENTION OF MAKING UP FOR PREVIOUS OMISSIONS IN THE PERFORMANCE OF OBLIGATORY RELIGIOUS DUTIES [FARA'ID].

The worshipper's first priority must be the complete and proper performance of all obligatory religious duties [fara'id] and customary observances [sunan]. After these have been discharged, and only then, he may engage in supererogatory devotions [nawafil], whether these be connected with ritual prayer [salat], fasting [siyam], charitable donation [sadaqa], or any of the various forms of worshipful service ['ibadat].

In all his acts of worshipful service ['ibadat], of whatever type they may be, his conscious intention should be to fulfill the strict obligations [fara'id] that are incumbent upon him. Thus, with respect to all these [voluntary] ritual prayers [salawat] we have mentioned, as being appropriate to the various nights and days of the week, the worshipper should perform them with the intention of making up [qada'] for previous omissions. He will thereby acquit himself of outstanding duty [fard], and he will also obtain additional merit [fadl]. Allah (Exalted is He) will combine the two, through His grace, His mercy, and His noble generosity.

Finally, once he has really and truly acquitted himself of strictly obligatory duties [fara'id], the worshipper may legitimately intend [yanwi] his performance of all that [additional worship] to be a purely supererogatory devotion [nafila].


If a tariqa does not acknowledge that the five pillars of islam is the foundation of the religion, and 'the way' should begin from here, then ofcourse that tariqa is not correct. However, if they differ only in the supererogatory prayers, as to how many cycles of prayers in the third quarter of the night or how many times one should say astaghfar in a day or recite la ilaha illallah, these are only minor details, and there is nothing wrong in differing in them. As there are no prescribed numbers for the voluntary actions in Quran and traditional reports:

73:2-4 Stand (to prayer) by night, but not all night,- Half of it,-or a little less, Or a little more; and recite the Qur'an in slow, measured rhythmic tones.

Riyadus saliheen: chapter 11 On striving (mujahada)

106. Abu Firas Rabi'a ibn Ka'b al-Aslami, the servant of the Messenger of Allah and one of the People of the Suffa, who said, "I used to spend the night with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and I would bring him his wudu' water and whatever he needed. He said, 'Ask of me.' I said, 'I ask you for your friendship in the Garden.' He said, 'Something else as well?' I said, 'I only want that.' He said, 'Help me against your self by means of a lot of prostration.'" [Muslim]

107. Abu 'Abdullah (or it is said Abu 'Abdu'r-Rahman) Thawban, the client of the Messenger of Allah, said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'You must do a lot of prostration. For you do not do a single prostration to Allah without Allah raising you up a degree by it and shedding a wrong action from you.'" [Muslim]


As to what the sufis say about the different tariqas, here are some quotes from the sufis:

Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi in one of his discources on 'the Path':
You can talk about its extraordinary exterior, turuqs: Naqshbandiyya, Shadhiliyya, Darwaqiyya, Chistiyya; about shuyukh: this shaykh and that shaykh; about karamat, about the maqam of this one and the maqam of that one; about Aqtab, Awtad, Salihun � all these different ways you can talk about Tasawwuf. Or you can make up your own story and still talk about it, no one will contradict you. Shaykh al-Fayturi said, "We're not interested in wirds; we're not interested in wazifas, this shaykh and that shaykh, the sadiqun are only interested in one thing: ma'rifa. Recognition of Allah tabaraka wa ta'ala. Nothing else matters. One of the Sufis of the east in Pakistan has said, "Shuyukh do not fly; their murids make them seem to fly. The shuyukh do not fight each other, their murids make them seem to fight each other." In other words, the ahl al-haqiqat, the people of reality, are in complete agreement, in complete harmony, there is no debate between them.

In the foreward by Sayed Abdul Latif for 'the Quranic Sufism' by mir vali-ud-din he says:

Mysticism as practised by the followers of Islam has had a chequered history. In its earliest manifestation, it meant nothing but living from moment to moment, so to say, in the eyes of God, implicitly following the lines of thought and conduct as the Prophet had laid both for himself and his followers. The primary aim was to transform every spiritual flight in the realm of self perfection into an urge for the spiritual perfection of human society at large. But as Islam expanded into a widening political power, drawing into its fold people born to other modes of life and thought, the mystic tendency among Muslims underwent a kaleidoscopic change. The change was marked by the rise of a bewildering variety of mystic schools influenced chiefly by the Neo-platonism of Alexandria and the Vedantism of India, promoting in the mystic mind the mood for self-negation. A feeling of alarm was therefore felt in serious minds. As a way out, attempts were made at important stages in the history of Sufism to reconcile the early approach to the new forces at work. But the purists among the Sufis, though resolved into several orders themselves by the pressure of time and factors of geography, and though unable to dispense altogether with the terminology of the innovating heterodox schools, have struggled hard to keep to the original way of thought and living.

I hope this is explains that the different tariqa are not practises advocating to deviate from Islam, and also that the different tariqas are not at par with eachother.

Peace,
Nausheen



Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.

 

 

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - 3 [The Tariqa (the path)] (29 of 55), Read 417 times

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Thursday, October 17, 2002 09:12 PM

The Tariqa:

Sufism presumes a fundamental link between the shaikh, head of the Sufi tareeqah (order), and the murid (novice), extending throughout their lifetime and continuing after their death. The murid takes an 'ahd (oath) of loyalty and swears obedience to the shaikh, who in turn promises to solve the murid's problems and deliver him from every dilema whenever he calls on his shaikh for help. The shaikh also promises to interced for him with Allah so that he may be admitted to Jannah.

The murid pledges to be conscientious in practicing the set of dthikr (chants) assigned to him by his shaikh, to adhere to the rules of the order and to accept its claim on his loyalty for life over a wide range of behaviour affecting the well-being of the order. The quality and extent of the shaikh's hold over the murid is therefore almost total.

The murid's behavior even outside the order's group setting is expected to conform to rules laid down by the order. And where conflict with outside obligations arises, the murid must resolve it by acting as a Sufi and following his order's rules. The Tijaniyyeh Order makes every candidate for initiation pledge not to visit the grave of pious personality or visit any living scholar. This is one of the major factors in widening the rift between one order and another, causing an order to enter into conflict against his others in an attempt to convert, conquer or annihilate them.

The mechanism of the order structure in Sufism leads to many evil results:

Division of the Muslim ummah into fractions and orders ruled by deviant and ignorant shaikhs, thus making the ummah an easy prey for conquest by non-Muslims.

Enmity among the adherents of different orders, to the point that they will not marry into one another's families or cooperate with one another.

Deception on the part of the shaikh, who falsely claims the ability to deliver the murid from difficulties and deadly problems the befall him. The shaikh even claims he will be present at the murid's death, regardless of time or place, and ridiculously enough, will instruct him in his grave on what to tell the two angels of the grave, and will argue with them on his behalf. Finally, the shaikh promises to intercede for him with Allah on the Day of Judgment, and to help cross over as-Siraat (the bridge over Hell) on that Day, and accompany him to Jannah.

This kind of deception, offering security in the grave as well as in the Hereafter, is a flagrant lie, not permissible under any circumstance. Sufi shaikhs lead simple-minded Muslims to believe in such claims, and the result is shirk (polytheism). Deceiving Muslims is one of the major sins.
Insulating the murid as far as possible from the world outside the order as to exploit and manipulate him.

 

 

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Friday, October 18, 2002 11:42 AM

Salam,
Just wish to share this Hadith Qudsi.
No. 25

""Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.""

And i wish to thank Nausheen for taking the time and effort to answer Anonymous.
JazakAllah
Allah Hafiz
Habib

 

 

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Sufism in Islam - 3 [The Tariqa (the path)] (31 of 55), Read 405 times

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Friday, October 18, 2002 10:37 PM

Bismillah

Asalamu Alaikum

The following is mainly for the Br who misquoted the great imams of Islam.

here are the great scholars opinions on the matter with references.

Imam Abu Hanifa (85 H. - 150 H)
"If it were not for two years, I would have perished." He said, "for two years I accompanied Sayyidina Ja'far as-Sadiq and I acquired the spiritual knowledge that made me a gnostic in the Way." [Ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, vol 1. p. 43]

Imam Malik (95 H. - 179 H.)
"whoever studies Jurisprudence [tafaqaha] and didn't study Sufism [tasawwafa] will be corrupted; and whoever studied Sufism and
didn't study Jurisprudence will become a heretic; and whoever combined both will be reach the Truth." [the scholar 'Ali al-Adawi , vol.2, p 195.]

Imam Shafi'i (150 - 205 AH.)
"I accompanied the Sufi people and I received from them three knowledges: ...how to speak; .. how to treat people with leniency and a soft heart... and they... guided me in the ways of Sufism." [Kashf al-Khafa, 'Ajluni, vol. 1, p 341.]

Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (164 - 241 AH.)
"O my son, you have to sit with the People of Sufism, because they are like a fountain of knowledge and they keep the Remembrance of
Allah in their hearts. they are the ascetics and they have the most spiritual power." [Tanwir al-Qulub p. 405]

Imam Ghazzali (450 - 505 AH.)
"I knew verily that Sufis are the seekers in Allah's Way, and their conduct is the best conduct, and their way is the best way, and their
manners are the most sanctified. They have cleaned their hearts from other than Allah and they have made them as pathways for rivers
to run receiving knowledge of the Divine Presence." [al-Munqidh, p. 131].

Fakhr ad-Din ar-Razi (544 - 606 AH)
"the way of Sufis for seeking Knowledge, is to disconnect themselves from this worldly life, and they keep themselves constantly busy....with Dhikrullah, in all their actions and behaviors. " ['Itiqadaat Furaq al-Muslimeen, p. 72, 73]

Ibn Qayyim (691 - 751 AH.)
"We can witness the greatness of the People of Sufism, in the eyes of the earliest generations of Muslims by what has been mentioned
by Sufyan ath-Thawri (d. 161 AH), one of the greatest imams of the second century and one of the foremost legal scholars. He said, "If
it had not been for Abu Hisham as-Sufi (d. 115) I would never have perceived the action of the subtlest forms of hypocrisy in the self...
Among the best of people is the Sufi learned in jurisprudence." [Manazil as-Sa'ireen.]

Ibn Taymiyya is quoted by Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Hadi, affirming his Sufi affiliation in more than one Sufi order:

"have worn the Sufi cloak [khirqata at-Tasawwuf] of a number of shaikhs belonging to various tariqas [min turuqi jama'atin min
ash-shuyukhi] , among them the Shaikh 'Abdul Qadir al-Jili, whose tariqa is the greatest of the well-known ones."

Further on he continues: "The greatest tariqa [ajallu-t-turuqi] is that of my master [sayyidi], 'Abdul Qadir al-Jili, may Allah have
mercy on him."

[found in "Al-Hadi" manuscript in Princeton Library, Collection fol. 154a, 169b, 171b-172a and Damascus University, copy of original
Arabic manuscript, 985H.; also mentioned in "at-Talyani", manuscript Chester Beatty 3296 (8) in Dublin, fol. 67a.]

I can also provide you quotes from the following great imams.

al-Harith al-Muhasibi (d. 243)

Imam al-Junayd al-Baghdadi (d. 297)

al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi (d. 320)

Imam Abu Mansur `Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (d. 429)

Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri (d. 465)

Shaykh Abu Isma`il `Abd Allah al-Harawi al-Ansari (d. 481)

Shaykh `Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani (d. 561)

Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597)

Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili (d. 656)

Imam Nawawi (d. 676)

Ibn `Ata' Allah al-Iskandari (d. 709)

Ibn Khaldun (d. 808)

Imam al-Sakhawi (d. 902)

Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911)

Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 974)

Ibn `Abidin (d. 1252)

Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi

and many many more.

How can some one say tazkiyah an nafs taharah is inovated in islam when rasul allah (Pbuh) said jihad an nafs is the greater jihad.

The fact is tasawuuf and tazkiyah an nafs was tought in all the schools of islam up until the colapse of the otoman empire, we are in a time of ignorance not enlightenment.

>>>Knowledge of the diseases of the heart, what causes them, and how to remove them is an obligation incumbent upon every human being: it is a binding obligation on every adult Muslim. According to the scholars of Islam, you must have some knowledge of the diseases in order to be able to free yourself from them. This ruling is based on the Quranic verse: "Qad aflaha man zakaha wa qad khaba man dasaha: the one who nurtures his soul is the one who has success, and the one who stunts its growth is destroyed"(91:9-10). Thus, the Quran is talking about tazkiya of the nafs. Allah also says, "Yawma la yanfa'u malun wa la banuna illa man ata Allaha bi qalban salim: on that day, neither wealth nor children will benefit, only the one who comes to Allah with a pure heart" (26:88-89). Thus, according to the Quran, the only people saved on the Day of Judgment are people with qulub salima (sound hearts). "Salim" (sound) is related to the word ! "aslama" because "Islam" is moving towards that state of soundness

From Alchemy of the Heart
by Shaykh Muhammad Maulud<<<

"God does not change the condition of a people until they change the condition of their own selves."

the Prophet, upon whom be blessings and peace, says that

"Verily in the body there is a piece of flesh. If it is sound, the body is all sound. If it is corrupt, the body is all corrupt. Verily, it is the heart."

"It is He who sent to an illiterate people a messenger from amongst themselves, reciting to them His signs and purifying them and teaching them the Book and the wisdom even though before they were clearly in error." [Soorah al-Jumu`ah (62):2

>>>Although the words �Taharah� and �Tazkiyah� can sometimes be used as synonymous, yet there is a slight difference in the connotation of the two. The word �Taharah� is used primarily for cleansing and purification of from any undesired effects or qualities, while the word �Tazkiyah�, in addition to cleansing and purification, from the undesired effects and qualities, also entails the promotion, development and elevation of any desired qualities. In other words, �Tazkiyah�, in contrast to �Taharah� is not merely to remove the undesired effects and qualities, but actually to replace such undesired effects and qualities with positive or desired qualities.

When used together, as is the case in Al-Taubah 9: 103, the word �Taharah� implies cleansing from the undesired, while �Tazkiyah� implies the development and the development and the elevation of the desired.

In the referred verse, the Prophet (pbuh) is directed to be kind toward those people, who, even though are true in their faith � as against the hypocrites � yet, due to their weaknesses, keep getting involved in sin. The verse directs the Prophet (pbuh) to accept their contributions. This acceptance and kindness of the Prophet (pbuh) and his prayers for their forgiveness, would not only help them overcome their weaknesses (taharah) but would also replace these weaknesses by spiritual and moral strengths (Tazkiyah).

By Moiz Amjad<<<

9:103
Take alms of their wealth, wherewith thou mayst "PURIFY" them and mayst "MAKE THEM GROW", and pray for them. Lo! thy prayer is an assuagement for them. Allah is Hearer, Knower.

 

 

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Sunday, October 20, 2002 08:12 PM

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah,

When I started posting on this thread, I knew, I was going to learn a few things, but was not sure what all knowledge and signs will I be presented with.

First of all, I thank my brothers in Islam and tasawwuf for coming forward with such insightful posts. Please bear with me when I say this -. Our anonymous is not to be blamed too much for his postings, as he is only copying from a book which is written by an 'anti-sufi' brother. The book is said to be written by some AA Tabari in arabic first and then is translated by M.M. Saleem in english. It is called 'the other side of sufism'. It is put out by the "Revival of Islamic Heritage Society", as they call themselves, to which no address or location is given. This book was distributed by the Saudi backed mosques to spread ill-will about sufis among the masses, and allah knows best. May allah forgive all his servants for the mistakes they commit in ignorance, animosity and hate. May allah "purify" the ummah from the evils that our lower selves and our temptation to satan's misguidance happens to make our judgements clouded. Ameen.

Going back to the tariqa - in this booklet there are objections to 'obedience' towards the murshid or shaykh.

It should be noted that a murshid has to be a very pious and learned muslim. He cannot be just anybody.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:

You must not sit at the feet of a religious scholar ['alim], unless he summons you away from five toward five, namely:
(1) away from indulgence [raghba], in the direction of abstinence [zuhd];
(2)away from hypocritical display [riya'], in the direction of sincere devotion [ikhlas];
(3)away from arrogant pride [kibr], in the direction of modest humility [tawadu'];
(4) away from fawning flattery [mudahana], in the direction of honest advice [munasaha]; and
(5) away from ignorance [jahl], in the direction of knowledge ['ilm].


A scholar who has the above qualities in him, if ask a person to obey in religious matters, should we expect him to make us commit acts unislamic? By force? When a sufi pledges obedience, he pledges obedience to the messenger of allah and the laws of allah, under the instructions and guidance of his shaykh. The pledge, that the shaykh takes is to be steadfast on the way of allah - the concept of this pledge is coming from the pledge that the sahabas took at the hand of our holy prophet which is mentioned in the Quran as 'baytul ridwan'. And allah says one who holds the hand of the prophet actually holds My hand. Why does allah say that? Are the sahabas holding allah's hand in a literal sense? NO, they pledged 'obedience' to the holy prophet who instructs and guides them on the way of allah! Pledge of obedience is what one does when he says his shahada. - This obedience is towards the laws of allah and ways of of our holy prophet. This obedience is not for some material wordly, short term gains of the shaykh taken by his mureed.

Second point: NOBODY IS FORCED TO TAKE THIS OATH. A sufi - salik, who WISHES to 'purify' himself and WISHES to remain in discipline and receive instructions to exercise his religious (supererogatory) duties enters into the tariqa. I don
ユt remember exactly, may allah forgive me if I am wrong, but as far as can recall, it was Yazid Bastami, who changed 11 shaykhs in his life time, before he settled into a tariqa and pledged his obedience to a shaykh 'forever'!

Thrid point: There have been sufi saints who had NO MURSHID, NO TARIQA. Therefore it is not an absolute necessity to enter into a tariqa and receive guidance from a learned shaykh. One example is that of the great woman saint Rabia al Adawia, who is also popularly known as Rabia Basri - she had no guide, no tariqa and no mureed. Yet she is respected and known for her piety and scholarliness till today, alhamdulillah. Yet Hadrath Abdal Qadir Jilani (RAA) who is known as the greatest sufi saint of all times, whom people have acknowledged as a personality that if any other person supersedes him in piety, it is only our holy prophet (SAW) and nobody else (well, some hard facts, probably the anti-sufi campaigners will not be able to digest :p), he had a shaykh and he entered into tariqa and accepted the cloak from him.

Fourth point: The fight between people of tariqa. It is too hard for me to accept the concept. I am a mureed in TWO TARIQA. Which means I can practice the supererogatory duties in two different ways, yet I have no problem, no clash, no fight within myself :-) What Mr Tabari is claiming that people fight because of the difference in their tariqa, is probably his misunderstanding, if his intentions are not to paint the sufis as those who divide the ummah and propagate hatred.

Fifth point: Intercession of the prophet is guaranteed to those who are obedient to Allah and his messenger. As we have known through several hadith.

The Quran says:
On that day no intercession avail EXCEPT FOR THOSE WHOM PERMISSION HAS BEEN GRANTED by (Allah) most gracious and WHOS WORD IS ACCEPTED TO HIM (20:109)

It should be understood that Allah WILL GRANT PERSMISSION to some to intercede on the day of judgement. However who it will be, is not known. No shaykh can guarantee his intercession to his mureed, unless he has knowledge of the future and ghaib. And SHAYKHS DO NOT GIVE AWAY THESE FALSE PROMISES TO THEIR MUREEDS.




I would now like to move on to the second allegation, which I listed in category A.

It has been claimed that sufis worship people besides Allah. Further it is being said that that the Sufis bypass the authority of the prophet in their practices.
I find the claims self-contradictory and to some extent laudable. If a person is being worshiped - astaghfirula, then is it logical that his authority is also being bypassed?
Well, may be according to Mr Tabari the sufis are guilty of such 'laudable' sins ;)

As the sufis have already been accused of 'ardently' obeying their shaykhs, I would like to quote some of the teachings of my grand shaykh, Hadrath Abdal Qadir Jilani (RAA). Readers are requested to find the 'instructions' of shirk if there are any in the following excerpts.

Taken from:
Twenty-third Discourse from Futuh al-Ghaib
On contentment with one's lot from Allah



Be very wary of associating anything with Allah; do not come anywhere near it. Avoid it in all your behavior, both active and passive, by night and day, in private and in public. Beware of disobedience altogether, in your limbs and organs as well as in your heart. Abandon all sin, both outwardly and inwardly. Do not run away from Him (Almighty and Glorious is He), for He will overtake you. Do not quarrel with Him over His decision; He will demolish you. Do not question the wisdom of His judgment; He will put you to shame. Do not treat Him negligently; He will bring you to your senses and put you to the test. Do not start innovations in His house; He will destroy you. Do not speak of His religion to suit your own whim; He will ruin you and darken your heart, rob you of your faith and understanding, and make you subject to your devil, your lower self, your passions and desires, your family, your neighbors, your companions, your friends and all the rest of His creatures, even your domestic scorpions, snakes, jinn and other vermin. Thus He will upset your life in this world and prolong your punishment in the hereafter.


Seventh Discourse from Futuh al-Ghaib
On removing the cares of the heart [qalb]



Polytheism [shirk] is not merely the worship of idols. It is also polytheism to yield to your own passionate desire, and to equate with your Lord anything whatsoever besides Him, be it of this world and its contents or of the Hereafter and what is contained therein. What is besides Him (Almighty and Glorious is He) is other than He, so when you rely on anything other than Him you are associating something else with Him (Almighty and Glorious is He). Therefore be wary and do not relax your guard, be fearful and do not develop a sense of security, and keep your wits about you so that you do not become careless and complacent.

Step out of your own self and keep your distance from it. Practice detachment from your possessiveness, and surrender everything to Allah. Become His doorman at the door of your heart, obeying His command by admitting those He instructs you to admit, and respecting His prohibition by shutting out those He instructs you to turn away, so that you do not let passion back into your heart once it has been evicted. Passion is expelled from the heart by resistance to it and refusal to follow its urges, whatever the circumstances, while compliance and acquiescence allow it to gain entry. So do not exert any will apart from His will, for anything else is your own desire, and that is the Vale of Folly, where death and destruction await you, and falling from His sight and becoming secluded from Him. Always keep His commandments, always respect His prohibitions, and always submit to what He has decreed. Do not associate Him with any part of His creation. Your will, your passions and your carnal appetites all belong to His creation, so refrain from indulging any of them lest you become a polytheist. Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

Whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do righteous work, and make none sharer in the worship due unto his Lord. (18:110)

Faith al Rabbani - 11
It was in the schoolhouse, in the early morning of Friday, the 29th of Shawwal, A.H. 545, that the Shaikh (may Allah be well pleased with him) said:


O my people! Be aware of Allah and do not be ignorant of Him. Obey Allah and do not rebel against Him. Comply with His wishes and do not oppose Him. Accept His decision gladly and do not quarrel with Him. Recognize the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) by His handiwork. He is the Creator [al-Khaliq], the Sustainer [ar-Razzaq], the First [al-Awwal], the Last [al-Akhir], and the Outer [az-Zahir] and the Inner [al-Batin]. He is the First from All Eternity [al-Qadim al-Awwal], the Endlessly Everlasting [ad-Da'im al-Abadi], the Doer [al-Fa''al] of whatever He will.

He shall not be questioned as to what He does, but they shall be questioned. (
21:23)

O young man! Act in conformity with His ordinance [hukm] and His knowledge, and do not go beyond what is prudent. Do not forget the covenant ['ahd]. Struggle with your lower self, your passions, your devils, your natural impulses and your [attachment to] this world. Never despair of the helpful support [nusra] of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), because it will come to you with your steady perseverance. Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:

Surely Allah is with those who are patient. (2:153)

The party [hizb] of Allah, surely they will be the victors. (
5:56)

As for those who strive in Our cause, surely We shall guide them to Our paths. (29:69)

O my people! Respect the Book of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) and take it as the guide to your behavior. It is the link between you and Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He). Do not consider it to be a thing created [makhluq]. Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) says: "This is My speech [kalam]," and you are saying "No!" Anyone who contradicts Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), and maintains that the Qur'an is a created object, is guilty of unbelief [kufr] in Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), and this Qur'an is quit of him. This Qur'an which is recited, which is read, which is heard, which is seen, which is written down in copied texts [masahif], this is His speech (Almighty and Glorious is He). Imam ash-Shafi'i and Imam Ahmad [ibn Hanbal] (may Allah be well pleased with them both) maintain that the pen [al-qalam] is created, but what is written with it is uncreated, and that the heart [qalb] is created, but what is learned by heart is uncreated [ghayr makhluq].

O my people! Prove the sincerity of your respect for the Qur'an by putting its teachings into practice, not by arguing about it. Firm belief [i'tiqad] is a matter of few words and many deeds. You must have faith in it. Accept its truth in your hearts, and act upon it with your physical limbs and organs. Concentrate on what is beneficial to you. Pay no attention to defective and inferior intellects.

O my people! That which is handed down by tradition [manqul] cannot be arrived at by mental deduction, and the received text [nass] cannot be superseded by analogical reasoning [qiyas]. Do not pass over the clear evidence [bayyina] and settle for the unsubstantiated claim. People's property is not confiscated on the strength of a claim for which there is no proof. As the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has said:

If people had only to make their claims to have them accepted, one group would claim the blood and property of another. But the burden of proof rests on the plaintiff, and the oath on the one who denies [the claim].

It is useless to have a learned tongue but an ignorant heart. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is reported as having said:

There is nothing I am more afraid of for my Community [umma] than a hypocrite with a learned tongue.

O learned ones! O ignoramuses! O you who are present and you who are absent! Feel a sense of shame before Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He). Pay attention to Him with your hearts. Humbly submit to Him. Let yourselves be forged beneath the hammers of His decree. Be constantly thankful for His blessings. Shed light on the darkness in obedience to Him. Then, when this has become real as far as you are concerned, you will receive the grace [karama] of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), His honor and His
Paradise in this world and the hereafter.

Al Fath ar Rabbani - 15 It was in the guesthouse, on Sunday the 9th of Dhu'l-Qa'da, A.H. 545, that the Shaikh (may Allah be well pleased with him) said:

What benefit can you derive from knowledge without sincere belief [sidq], since Allah may allow you to go knowingly astray? You acquire learning and do the salat-prayers and keep the fast, all for the sake of people, to get them to be well disposed toward you, to lavish their goods on you, and to sing your praises in their homes and their social gatherings. Suppose you do get all this from them; when death comes to you, and torment and anguish and terror, you will be cut off from them and they will do nothing to help you. The goods you got from them will be consumed by others, while you must suffer punishment and face the final reckoning. O deserter! O outcast! You are one of those who are "toiling, weary" (88:3) in this world, and weary tomorrow in the Fire [of Hell].

Worshipful service ['ibada] is a skilled craft, and its experts are the saints [al-awliya'] and the sincere Abdal [spiritual deputies] who are brought close to the presence of the Lord of Truth (Glorious and Exalted is He). Those scholars who put their knowledge into practice are the deputies [nuwwab] of Allah upon His earth, and of His Envoys [rusul]; they are the heirs of the Prophets [al-anbiya'] and the Messenger [al-mursalun]. Not you, O deluded fools, O you who are preoccupied with tongue-wagging and legalistic knowledge [fiqh] of the outer [az-zahir], accompanied by ignorance of the inner [al-batin].

O young man! You do not amount to anything. Islam [submission to the will of Allah] has not become a fact for you. Islam is the foundation upon which everything is built. The profession of faith [ash-shahada] has not become completely real for you. You say: "There is no god but Allah [la ilaha illa'llah]," but you are lying. In your heart there is a whole collection of gods [aliha]. Your fears of your ruler [sultan] and of your local governor [wali] are gods. Your reliance on your earned income and your profit, on your power and your strength, on your hearing and your sight and your energy, all these are gods. Your ways of viewing creatures as the source of injury and benefit, of giving and withholding, are also gods. Many people talk about these things with their hearts, while making it appear that they are talking about the Lord of Truth (Glorious and Exalted is He). Their mentioning the Lord of Truth (Glorious and Exalted is He) has become a habit for their tongues, not for their hearts. When they are challenged on this score, they fly into a rage and say: "How can such things be said of us? Are we not Muslims?" Tomorrow the shameful facts will be disclosed, and things kept hidden will be revealed.


I request those who quote from Mr Tabari, to sight ONE LINE from this grand shaykh that stands as an evidence in support of their allegations, against the the great sufis of Islam.

Jazak allah khair,
Nausheen


Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 8:57pm

Topic:

Sufism in Islam -4[sufi worship other than allah?] (33 of 55), Read 401 times

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From:

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Date:

Sunday, October 20, 2002 09:42 PM

Three fundamentals of Sufism which are innovations not sanctioned by the Qur'an or the Sunnah:

The division of knowledge into exoteric, or manifest, asoteric, or hidden;

The division of Islam into shari'ah (religious sciences) and the sciences of truth; and

the addition to Islam of the Sufi order as the path leading to the truth.

Manifest knowledge and the sciences of jurisprudence, they assert, belong to the theologians and scholars of the general run of ordinary Muslims, whereas the hidden knowledge and the knowledge of truth are reserved for the Sufi priests, who preferred to call themselves the elite. They who claim the right to interpret the Qur'anic verses and Prophetic traditions in ways not only different from the apparent meanings, but contradict them.

All these dichotomies of knowledge are blameworthy innovations, of which the Prophet (s.a.w) said:

"The practicing or upholding innovations in religion leads to Hell-Fire." He also said, "He who introduces into our religion unwarranted things shall be rejected."

Sufis support the innovative dichotomies by citing the abnormal things done by al-Khidhr when Musa was in his company, such as making a hole in a ship, killing a boy and restoring a falling wall, as chronicled in
surat al-Kahf (18.60-82). They justify Musa's objections to al-Khidhr's deed on the grounds that Musa had acquired exoteric or manifest knowledge only, while al-Khidr was one of the elite possessed esoteric or hidden knowledge.

The Sufis do not realize that whatever al-Khidhr did was in accordance with Divine revelation, nor do they know that Musa's objections were due to the fact that his Divine Laws were different from al-Khidhr's. That is why al-Khidhr responded to Musa by saying,

"I have knowledge given to me by Allah which you do not know, and you have other knowledge given to you by Allah which I do not know,"

whereupon Musa acquiesced.

The Message of Islam makes no distinction between exoteric and esoteric, because they are the same. It abrogated all previous messages and religions. Those who founded Sufism and introduced it to Muslims as pure Islam meant to turn the Muslim nation into a static, dependent, indifferent and ascetic nation, living in poverty and degradation. They have opened the door to a host of clandestine and secretive sects to promote their perverse dogmas. They use esoterism as a pretext for misinterpreting the Qur'an and Sunnah, in order to drive Muslims away from sound religious knowledge, as indicated by some Sufi zealot, who consider knowledge as a hindrance in the way of the murid and a curtain which blocks his vision, "I prefer that the beginner (murid) does not occupy his mind with these three things: earning his living, seeking the Prophetic traditions or learning how to read and write, so that his worries may be confined."

What does it mean when a Muslim does not read or write? It means he does not learn, and if he does not, how, then, can he worship Allah in the manner that would qualify him to become His constant servant and His favorite? Al-Junaid's assertion actually means that the murid is to be kept ignorant and "pure" enough to occupy himself with dthikr or wird , so that he may join the ranks of those who receive "direct revelation from God," i.e. esoteric knowledge.

Thus the murid becomes content with esoteric knowledge in lieu of exoteric, and with knowledge of the hidden "truth" in lieu of Shari'ah, and therefore lives in both ignorance and apostasy, without piety or iman.

 

 

Topic:

Sufism in Islam -4[sufi worship other than allah?] (34 of 55), Read 398 times

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Sunday, October 20, 2002 10:04 PM

I was invited to visit the Naqshbandi homepage. Having seen some clear polytheism on the site, I decided to demonstrate once again the presence of greatest Shirk in their writings.

The article, "Meded - Asking Support From Grandsheikh", which I include below, contains several jaahili concepts, among which:
Du`aa to Allah to derive from the Grandsheikh (Ad-Daghistani) from his spiritual care even from the grave.
"We derive our spiritual power from his heart center."
"�the breaths of Allah�s Saints give life to their followers, to their spiritual sons and daughters."
"�a real Grandsheikh always keeps a watchful eye on his followers" [even if passed away]
Claim that to stand firmly in the face of our enemies: the lower self, Satan, vain desires and worldliness, "we need his support," and that "without such a strong support a person will be vanquished."
Their saying, "Therefore, we seek our Grandsheikh�s support by saying: "Meded Ya Sayyidi", "Support, oh my Master." "You must call upon your Grandsheikh in such a manner when you are in need of support, then that support may reach you."
Their claim that guidance reaches to our hearts through the Saints.
Their saying, "you must look for the support of the Saints in a Universe in which you are totally weak."

This article is useful for explaining how some people fall in shirk in all aspects of Tauheed:

Shirk in Tauheed ur-Ruboobeeyah:

Their claim that the Grandsheikh can bring good fortune or remove calamities; he can govern the affairs of this world and he is believed to have power and influence besides Allaah, or that Allaah creates creations that can cause harm and benefit to His creatures. The Grandsheikh is one upon whom we are dependent for guidance and spiritual strength.

Shirk in Tauheed ul-`Ibaadah:

Directing one�s acts of worship, such as du`aa (supplication), seeking help, tawakkul (trust and reliance), and hope for good fortune to other than Allaah.

Shirk in Tauheed ul-Asmaa�i was-Sifaat:

Attributing divine power to Allaah�s creation. Attributing to man the power to keep a watchful eye on his followers, whether alive or dead, the power and ability of guiding people�s hearts that belongs to Allah alone, and ability to answer prayers of Allaah�s creation and provide them with aid.


Refutation from the Qur�aan:

Allaah says in the Qur�aan, "And who is more astray than one who calls besides Allaah, such as will not answer him till the Day of Resurrection; and who are (even) unaware of their calls to them? And when mankind gathered (on the Day of Resurrection), they (false deities) will become enemies for them and will deny their worshipping." (46:5-6)

"You Alone we worship and from You Alone we seek help." (1:5)

"Do they attribute to Allah those who created nothing but they themselves are created? No help can they give them, nor can they help themselves." (7:191-2)

"Those on whom you call besides Allaah are only slaves like yourselves." (7:194)

"Do not worship besides Allaah that which cannot help or harm you." (21:66)

"And those whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmir (the thin membrane over the date-stone). If you invoke them, they hear not your call, and if they were to hear, they could not grant it to you. And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them. And none can inform you like Him Who is the All-Knower." (35:13-14)

"And invoke not besides Allaah any that will neither profit you nor hurt you, but if (in case) you do so, you shall certainly be one of the Dhaalimooon. And if Allaah touches you with heart, there is none who can remove it but He; and if He intends any good for you, there is none who can repel His Favour which He causes it to reach whomsoever of His slaves He will. And He is the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (16:107)

Also, "You worship besides Allah only idols, and you only invent falsehood. Verily, those whom you worship besides Allaah have no power to give you provision, so seek your provision from Allaah (Alone) and worship Him (Alone), and be grateful to Him. To Him (Alone) you will be brought back." (29:17)

Refutation from the Sunnah:

"If you ask in prayer ask only Allah, and if you seek help, seek it only from Allaah." [At-Tirmidhee, an-Nawawi�s Forth Hadith]

"He who dies while praying to someone as rival to Allaah, the reward for such a person shall be the Fire of Hell." (Narrated by Al-Bukhaaree)

"O people of Quraish, sell your own souls. I will not be of any help to you before Allaah; O Abbaas ibn Abdul-Muttalib, I will not be of any help to you before Allaah; O Safiyah, aunt of Allaah�s Messenger, I will not be of any help to you before Allaah; O Faatimah, daughter of Muhammad, ask of my wealth what you wish, I will be of no avail to you before Allaah." (Narrated by al-Bukhaaree)

During the days of the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, there was a hypocrite who used to harm the believers, some of them (the believers) said: "Come (support) with us whie we appeal to Allaah�s Messenger for assistance against this hypocrite." The Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, replied, "Verily, no one should seek to me for assistance." Indeed, it is Allaah Who is to be sought for assistance and help." (at-Tabaraanee)

Saying of a scholar, Ibn Rajab, rahmatullaahi `alayhi:

"Know that it is an obligation to invoke Allah Alone in Du`aa, and not His creation. Invoking entails showing humiliation, destitution, need and poverty by the one who is invoking while admitting that the one who is being invoked has power over delivering such matters as removing hardship, delivering the need, bringing about benefit and fending off harm. Admitting (and showing) humility and meekness can only be revealed to Allaah, Alone, for this is the essence of worship."

Proofs are numerous, since Shirk is crystal clear in their article, wa laa Hawla wa la quwwata illaa billaah (and there is no ability or power save by Allaah).

- - -

Their article is found on www.best.com/~informe/mateen/Sufi/meded.html

Meded - Asking Support From Grandsheikh


Our Grandsheikh is Sheikh Abdullah Al-Faiz Ad-Daghistani, may Allah Almighty sanctify his blessed soul and draw him ever closer to His Divine Presence. May He Almighty cause us to benefit from Grandsheikh's blessings and teachings, and from his spiritual care for us even from the grave. We derive our spiritual power from his heart center. If he cuts us off we are stranded. Every breath that our Grandsheikh turns toward us from his spiritual breaths is like a warm spring breeze
which blows on the bare branches of trees, causing buds and blossoms to burst forth.

Like the spring breeze that carries the revival of life within it, so do the breaths of Allah's Saints give life to their followers, to their spiritual sons and daughters. That relationship is stronger than the relationship to our parents, as there is only a short period of time in which they are all and everything to their small children, and,
ultimately, it is very difficult for them to influence their children to follow the way of life that they would choose for them. Perhaps those children will leave them and go away to the far corners of the Earth and choose a way of life totally unrelated to that of their parents. But a real Grandsheikh always keeps a watchful eye on his followers, whether that Grandsheikh be living in this world or already has passed on to the existence beyond this world. He never abandons them.

Yes, we are always seeking our Grandsheikh's support, support that will help us act according to our Lord's commands, and support to help us stand firmly in the face of our enemies: the lower self, Satan, vain desires and worldliness. For both of these goals - progress on the right way and avoiding deviation from it completely - we need his support. Without such a strong support a person will be vanquished.

Therefore, we seek our Grandsheikh's support by saying: "Meded Ya Sayyidi", "Support, oh my Master." You must call upon your Grandsheikh in such a manner when you are in need of support, then that support may reach to you. The more you feel yourself to be weak and in need of support, the more support he will extend to you. But the more you depend on your own knowledge and your mind's powers, the less support you will receive, as Grandsheikh will say: "He is self-sufficient, so why lend him support. Leave him in the hands of his ego."

When the Holy Prophet asked his Lord, "Oh my Lord, don't leave me in the hands of my ego even for a moment", he was seeking refuge from two undesirable possibilities: 1) to be left in the hands of his ego's base desires, and 2) to be left alone to guide himself only by his mind and knowledge. In both these ways the ego attempts to separate us from true guidance, and in admitting our weakness and seeking support in the face of the ego's trickery we gain that help.

Divine Guidance and help reached to our Prophet through the Archangel Gabriel who acted as Allah's representative in carrying His revelation to the Prophets, so that Divine Help reaches to the Saints via the Holy Prophet, who acted as Allah Almighty's representative in bringing guidance to his Nation. And ultimately, after the Prophet's time, that guidance reaches to our hearts through the Saints, his inheritors, as we have not yet developed the senses with which to listen directly to the
Prophet's guidance. Some foolish people, even among the Muslims, will undoubtedly deny this, saying that all that remains of the Holy Prophet's guidance is what is written in books. This point of view, far from being the reality, is a blind man's view, for were the Holy Prophet to have taken those powers with him upon his death there would remain no more religion, no more faith, no nothing from Islam. No, that prophetic power never leaves the Earth; it is only transformed and distributed through the awareness of the Holy Prophet's inheritors.

Therefore, you must look for the support of the Saints in a Universe in which you are totally weak. Once you have established a good connection with such a person you will always be in contact with him: a "wire" will carry current to your heart from his power source. That aid will make itself felt most in times of need. Now it is daytime and you don't seek a torch, no need; but at night such a small light will prevent you from falling into a pit.

 



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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 8:58pm

Topic:

Sufism in Islam -4[sufi worship other than allah?] (35 of 55), Read 421 times

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Date:

Sunday, October 20, 2002 10:12 PM

Praise be to Allaah.

Al-Ghazzaali was Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Toosi, who was known as al-Ghazzaali. He was born in Toos in 450 AH. His father used to spin wool and sell it in his shop in Toos.

The life of al-Ghazzaali needs to be discussed at length because he went through a number of stages. He indulged in philosophy, then he recanted and rejected that. After that he indulged in what is known as �ilm al-kalaam (Islamic philosophy) and gained a sound grasp of its basic principles; then he rejected that after it became clear to him that it was corrupt and filled with contradictions. He was focusing on �ilm al-kalaam during the period when he refuted philosophy, and at that time he was given the title of Hujjat al-Islam, after he had refuted the arguments of the philosophers. Then he recanted �ilm al-kalaam and turned away from it. He followed the path of the Baatiniyyah (esotericists) and learned their knowledge, but then he rejected that and showed the beliefs of the Baatiniyyah to be false, and exposed the manner in which they tamper with the texts and rulings. Then he followed the path of Sufism. These are the four stages that al-Ghazzaali went through. Shaykh Abu �Umar ibn al-Salaah (may Allaah have mercy on him) spoke well of him when he said: �A lot has been said about Abu Haamid and a lot has been narrated from him. As for these books � meaning al-Ghazzaali�s books which contradict the truth � no attention should be paid to them. As for the man himself, we should keep quiet about him, and refer his case to Allaah.� See Abu Haamid al-Ghazzaali wa�l-Tasawwuf by �Abd al-Rahmaan Dimashqiyyah.

No fair-minded person would deny the rare level of intelligence, ingenuity and cleverness that Abu Haamid al-Ghazzaali attained. Al-Dhahabi said of him: �Al-Ghazzaali, the imaam and shaykh, the prominent scholar, Hujjat al-Islam, the wonder of his time, Zayn al-Deem Abu Haamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Toosi al-Shaafa�i al-Ghazzaali, the author of many books and one possessed of utter intelligence. He studied fiqh in his own town, then he moved to Nisapur in the company of a group of students. He stayed with the Imaam al-Haramayn and gained a deep knowledge of fiqh within a short period. He became well-versed in �ilm al-kalaam and debate, until he became the best of debaters�� (Siyar A�laam al-Nubala�, part 9, p. 323)

You will find that even though Abu Haamid al-Ghazzaali had such a deep knowledge of fiqh, Sufism, �ilm al-kalaam, usool al-fiqh, etc., and even though he was such an ascetic and devoted worshipper, and had such a good intention and vast knowledge of Islamic sciences, he still had an inclination towards philosophy. But his philosophy emerged in the form of Sufism and was expressed through Islamic ideas. Hence the Muslim scholars, including his closest companion Abu Bakr ibn al-�Arabi, refuted his ideas. Abu Bakr ibn al-�Arabi said: Our shaykh Abu Haamid went deep into philosophy, then he wanted to come out of it but he was unable to. There were narrated from him opinions which sound like the Baatini way of speaking, and that may be verified by looking in al-Ghazzaali�s books. See Majmoo� al-Fataawa, part 4, p. 66.

Even though al-Ghazzaali was very advanced in knowledge, he had little knowledge of hadeeth and its sciences, and he could not distinguish between sound ahaadeeth and weak ones. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: �If we assume that someone narrated the view of the salaf but what he narrated is far removed from what the view of the salaf actually is, then he has little knowledge of the view of the salaf, such as Abu�l-Ma�aali, Abu Haamid al-Ghazzaali, Ibn al-Khateeb and the like, who did not have enough knowledge of hadeeth to qualify them as ordinary scholars of hadeeth, let alone as prominent scholars in that field. For none of these people had any knowledge of al-Bukhaari and Muslim and their ahaadeeth, apart from what they heard, which is similar to the situation of the ordinary Muslim, who cannot distinguish between a hadeeth which is regarded as saheeh and mutawaatir according to the scholars of hadeeth, and a hadeeth which is fabricated and false. Their books bear witness to that, for they contain strange things and most of these scholars of �ilm al-kalaam and Sufis who have drifted away from the path of the salaf admit that, either at the time of death or before death. There are many such well-known stories. This Abu Haamid al-Ghazzaali, despite his brilliance, his devotion to Allaah, his knowledge of kalaam and philosophy, his asceticism and spiritual practices and his Sufism, ended up in a state of confusion and resorted to the path of those who claim to find out things through dreams and spiritual methods. (Majmoo� al-Fataawa, part 4, p. 71).

He also said: Hence, even though Abu Haamid refuted the philosophers and classed them as kaafirs, and expressed veneration of Prophethood [as opposed to philosophy], etc., and even though some of what he says is true and good, and indeed of great benefit, nevertheless some of his writings contain philosophical material and matters where he followed the corrupt principles of philosophy that contradict Prophethood and even contradict sound common sense. Hence a group of scholars from
Khurasaan, Iraq and the Maghreb criticized him, such as his friend Abu Ishaaq al-Margheenaani, Abu�l-Wafa� ibn �Aqeel, al-Qushayri, al-Tartooshi, Ibn Rushd, al-Maaziri and a group of earlier scholars. This was even mentioned by Shaykh Abu �Amr ibn al-Salaah in his book Tabaqaat Ashaab al-Shaafa�i, and was confirmed by Shaykh Abu Zakariya al-Nawawi, who said in his book: �Chapter explaining some important things for which Imaam al-Ghazzaali was denounced in his books which were unacceptable to the scholars of his madhhab and others, namely his odd statements such as what he said in Muqaddimat al-Mantiq at the beginning of al-Mustasfa: �This is the introduction to all knowledge, and whoever does not learn this, his knowledge cannot be trusted at all.��

Shaykh Abu �Amr said: �I heard Shaykh al-�Imaad ibn Yoonus narrating from Yoosuf al-Dimashqi, the teacher of al-Nizaamiyyah in Baghdad, who was one of the famous deans of the school, that he used to denounce these words and say, �Abu Bakr and �Umar and So-and-so and So-and-so�� meaning that these great leaders had a great deal of certainty and faith even though they had no knowledge of this Muqaddimah and of any of the ideas contained in it.� (al-�Aqeedah al-Isfahaaniyyah, part 1, p. 169).

Al-Dhahabi narrated in his book Siyar A�laam al-Nubala� that Muhammad ibn al-Waleed al-Tartooshi said in a letter which he sent to Ibn Muzaffar: As for what you mentioned about Abu Haamid, I have seen him and spoken to him, and I think that he is a man of great knowledge, he is intelligent and capable, and has been studying all of his life, spending most of his time in study, but then he drifted away from the path of the scholars and entered the crowd of worshippers. Then he became a Sufi and forsook knowledge and its people, then he got involved with �inspiration�, those who claim to have spiritual knowledge, and the insinuating whispers of the Shaytaan. Then he mixed that with the views of the philosophers and the symbolic phrases of al-Hallaaj, and he started to criticize the fuqaha� and the scholars of �ilm al-kalaam. He almost went astray from the religion altogether. When he wrote al-Ihya� [i.e., Ihya� �Uloom al-Deen], he started to speak of the inspiration and symbolic words of the Sufis, although he was not qualified to do that and had no deep knowledge of such matters. Hence he failed, and filled his book with fabricated reports.

I (al-Dhahabi) say: as for al-Ihya�, it contains many false ahaadeeth, and it contains much that is good. I wish that it did not contain etiquette, rituals and asceticism that are in accordance with the ways of the philosophers and deviant Sufis. We ask Allaah for beneficial knowledge. Do you know what is beneficial knowledge? It is that which Allaah revealed in the Qur�aan, which was explained by the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in word and deed, and the type of knowledge which we are not forbidden to acquire. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �Whoever turns away from my Sunnah does not belong to me.� So, my brother, you must ponder the words of Allaah and persist in studying al-Saheehayn, Sunan al-Nasaa�i, Riyaadh al-Nawawi and al-Adhkaar by al-Nawawi, then you will succeed and prosper.

Beware of the opinions of the philosophers, the practice of spiritual exercises, the starvation of monks, and the nonsense talk of those who stay alone for long periods in their monasteries. All goodness is to be found in following the pure and tolerant way of the haneefs. And seek the help of Allaah. O Allaah, guide us to Your straight path.

Al-Maaziri praised Abu Haamid with regard to fiqh, and said that he had more knowledge of fiqh than of usool al-fiqh (the basic principles of fiqh). With regard to �ilm al-kalaam which is usool al-deen, he wrote books in this field, but he did not have deep knowledge of it. I realized that he was lacking in experience in this field, because he studied the branches of philosophy before he studied usool al-fiqh, so philosophy made him audacious in criticizing ideas and attacking facts, because philosophy goes along with one�s train of thought, without any shar�i guidelines.

A friend of his told me that he spent a lot of time studying Rasaa�il Ikhwaan al-Safa, which contains fifty-one essays. It was written by someone who has studied sharee�ah and philosophy, then had mixed the two. He was a man who was known as Ibn Seena, who filled the world with his books. He had a good knowledge of philosophy, which led him to try to refer all the basic principles of �aqeedah to philosophy. He strove hard and achieved what others had failed to do. I have seen some of his books and I noticed that Abu Haamid quotes him a great deal when he speaks of philosophy. With regard to Sufi views, I do not know where he got them from, but I have seen that some of his companions mention the books of Ibn Seena and their contents, and he also mentioned the books of Abu Hayyaan al-Tawheedi. As far as I am concerned, he picked up his Sufi ideas from him. I was told that Abu Hayyaan wrote a huge book about these Sufi ideas, and al-Ihya� contains a lot of baseless ideas� then he said: In al-Ihya� he mentioned ideas that have no basis, such as starting with the index finger when cutting the nails because it is superior to the other fingers, as it is the finger used in tasbeeh; then moving on to the middle finger because it is to the right of the index finger, and ending with the thumb of the right hand. He narrated a report concerning that.

I (al-Dhahabi) say: this is a fabricated report. Abu�l-Faraj al-Jawzi said: Abu Haamid wrote al-Ihya� and filled it with fabricated ahaadeeth which he did not know were fabricated. He spoke of inspiration and deviated from the framework of fiqh. He said that what is meant by the stars, moon and sun that Ibraaheem saw was the barriers of light that keep a person from Allaah, not the things that are well known. This is like the words of the Baatiniyyah.

(Siyar A�laam al-Nubala�, part 19, p. 340).

Then at the end of his life, al-Ghazzaali (may Allaah have mercy on him) came back to the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah wa�l-Jamaa�ah. He focused on the Qur�aan and Sunnah and condemned �ilm al-kalaam and its proponents. He advised the ummah to come back to the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and to act in accordance with them, as was the way of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them and those who follow them in truth until the Day of Judgement). Shaykh al-Islam (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: After that he came back to the path of the scholars of hadeeth, and wrote Iljaam al-�Awwaam �an �Ilm al-Kalaam.

(Majmoo Fataawa, part 4, p. 72)

A glance at Iljaam al-�Awwaam �an �Ilm al-Kalaam will prove to us that he had indeed changed in many ways:

1 � In this book he advocated the belief of the salaf, and pointed out that the way of the salaf was the truth, and that whoever went against them was an innovator or follower of bid�ah.

2 � He emphatically denounced ta�weel (interpretation of the attributes of Allaah in a manner that differs from their apparent meaning). He advocated affirming the attributes of Allaah and not misinterpreting them in a manner that would lead to denying the attributes of Allaah.

3 � He emphatically denounced the scholars of �ilm al-kalaam and described all their principles and standards as �reprehensible innovations� which had harmed a great number of people and created trouble for the Muslims. He said: �The harm caused to a great number of people is something that has been seen, witnessed and experienced. The evil that has resulted since �ilm al-kalaam began has become widespread even though people at the time of the Sahaabah forbade that. This is also indicated by the fact that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Sahaabah, by consensus, did not follow the way of the scholars of �ilm al-kalaam when they produced arguments and evidence and analysis. That was not because they were incapable of doing so; if they had thought that was something good, they would have done it in the best manner, and they would have studied the matter hard, more than they did with regard to the division of the estate among the heirs (al-faraa�id).�

He also said: �The Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) needed to prove the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the Jews and Christians, but they did not add anything to the evidence of the Qur�aan; they did not resort to arguments or lay down philosophical principles. That was because they knew that doing so would provoke trouble and cause confusion. Whoever is not convinced by the evidence of the Qur�aan will not be convinced by anything other than the sword, for there is no proof after the proof of Allaah.�

See Abu Haamid al-Ghazzaali wa�l-Tasawwuf.

These are a few of the comments that trustworthy scholars have made about al-Ghazzaali (may Allaah have mercy on him). Perhaps this is enough for those who wish to be guided. And Allaah is the Guide to the straight path.

 

 

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>>>Three fundamentals of Sufism which are innovations not sanctioned by the Qur'an or the Sunnah:
The division of knowledge into exoteric, or manifest, asoteric, or hidden;<<<

How do the salafis read their Quran? or is it that in the spree to accuse somebody they forget a few verses? Well, i know that the Holy Quran is a huge book, and it is not easy to remember all of it at all times. May be this time brother anonymous has quoted from a salafi (anti-sufi) brother, who forgot sura imran :p.

H Q: 3:7 He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah.

Well brothers and sisters, is allah saying that there are NO HIDDEN meanings in quran? or He is saying that THERE ARE HIDDEN MEANINGS, BUT NOBODY HAS THE KNOWLEDGE OF EM except He Himself?

The fundamental understood about quran as to have NO HIDDEN MEANING is wrong! And this wrong fundamental is also produced WITHOUT EVIDENCE. So here is the quranic evidence for you in 3:7 to know for sure that the holy Quran CONTAINS hidden meanings!!

The second part of the allegation is the (false) claim of sufis that they know those hidden meanings. Again this accusation is without evidence! as for those who have claimed to understand the Quran in its hidden meanings ..... when there are hidden meanings, the knowledge of those also lies with the creator, and the creator has said NOWHERE, that He does not possess that knowledge, the creator has said NOWHERE that He cannot give that knowledge to those who persue, and He has said NOWHERE, that He will not share that knowledge. Or has He?
So the possibility of acquiring that hidden knowledge from Allah almighty exists. The question is whether the possibility has ever become reality or not. Well, those who claim it falsely, may allah deal with them justly, and those who have claimed this truthfully, may allah deal with those justly in this case of the later, who call them lairs!

The Quran says that the knowledge of allah is so vast, that if all trees were pen and all oceans were ink, and if you were to write it down, your resource will be exhausted, but the knowledge will still remain. Then is it possible that all that is written in the Quran is complete knowledge? The knowledge in quran is definitely sufficient for salvation, but allah's knowledge cannot be ascribed limits to.

The third allegation in category A is that sufis profess asceticism, and dont give importance to jihad!

Well, the holy prophet(SAW) said when the sahaba were returning from jang-e-badar, we are moving from jihad-al-asghar, to jihad-al-akbar. Upon being asked what he meant by that he explained that jihad of swords in a battle feild is a 'lesser' jihad, and the jihad with nafs is the greater jihad.

There are hardly any sufis who did not marry or had kids. So sufis dont become monks. They profess zuhud in heart. To remain in crowd and still stay detached with the temptations of this world... this is what the sufis prescribe and practice - and this is the meaning of jihad an nafs - to control yourself.

Are there no sufis who fought battles? well,

Nuh ha Mim Keller writes in his 'Reliance of the Traveller' on page 863

such men as the Naqshbandi sheikh Shamil al-Daghestani, who fought a prolonged war against the Russians in the Caucasus in the nineteenth century; Sayyid Muhammad �Abdullah al-Somali, a sheikh of the Salihiyya order who led Muslims against the British and Italians in Somalia from 1899 to 1920; the Qadiri sheikh �Uthman ibn Fodi, who led jihad in Northern Nigeria from 1804 to 1808 to establish Islamic rule; the Qadiri sheikh �Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza�iri, who led the Algerians against the French from 1832 to 1847; the Darqawi faqir al-Hajj Muhammad al-Ahrash, who fought the French in Egypt in 1799; the Tijani sheikh al-Hajj �Umar Tal, who led Islamic Jihad in Guinea, Senegal, and Mali from 1852 to 1864; and the Qadiri sheikh Ma� al-�Aynayn al-Qalqami, who helped marshal Muslim resistance to the French in northern Mauritania and southern Morocco from 1905 to 1909.

Among the Sufis whose missionary work Islamized entire regions are such men as the founder of the Sanusiyya order, Muhammad �Ali Sanusi, whose efforts and jihad from 1807 to 1859 consolidated Islam as the religion of peoples from the Libyan Desert to sub-Saharan Africa; [and] the Shadhili sheikh Muhammad Ma�ruf and Qadiri sheikh Uways al-Barawi, whose efforts spread Islam westward and inland from the East African Coast . . . . (Reliance of the Traveller,863).


Peace,
Nausheen


-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 9:00pm

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Al-Hallaaj was al-Husayn ibn Mansoor al-Hallaaj, who was known as Abu Mugheeth, or Abu �Abd-Allaah. He grew up in Waasit, or it was said in Tastar, and he was connected with a group of Sufis including Sahl al-Tastari, al-Junayd, Abu�l-Hasan al-Noori and others.

He traveled to many places, including Makkah and Khurasaan, and
India where he learned sihr (magic, witchcraft). He finally settled in Baghdaad, where he was killed.

He learned magic in
India, and he was a trickster and cheat. He deceived many ignorant people thereby, and they were attracted by him, until they thought that he was one of the greatest awliya� (close friends or �saints�) of Allaah.

He is liked by most of the Orientalists, and they think that he was killed wrongfully because, as we shall see below, his beliefs were close to Christian beliefs and he preached a similar message.

He was executed in
Baghdad in 309 AH, because it was proven by his own confession and otherwise that he was a kaafir and a heretic.

The scholars of his time were agreed that he was to be executed because of the words of kufr and heresy that were narrated from him.

The following are some of the things that he said:

1- He claimed to be a prophet, then he went further and said that he was God. He used to say, �I am Allaah,� and he commanded his daughter-in-law to prostrate to him. She said, �Should I prostrate to someone other than Allaah?� He said, �There is a god in the heavens and a god on earth.�

2- He believed in incarnation and union with the Divine, i.e., that Allaah was incarnated in him, and that he and Allaah had become one and the same � exalted be Allaah far above that.

This is what made him acceptable to the Christian Orientalists, because he shared their belief in incarnation, for they believe that God was incarnated in Jesus (�Eesa, peace be upon him). Hence al-Hallaaj spoke of divine nature and human nature as the Christians do.

Some of the lines of verse that he composed said:

�Glory be to the one Whose human form manifested the secret of His divinity

Then He emerged among His creation in the form of one who eats and drinks.�

When Ibn Haneef heard these lines, he said, �May the curse of Allaah be upon the one who said this.� It was said to him, �This is the poetry of al-Hallaaj.� He said, �If this is what he believes, then he is a kaafir.�

3- He heard someone reciting a verse from the Qur�aan, and he said, �I am able to compose something like that.�

4- Another of his lines of poetry says:

�People formed different beliefs about God, and I believe in everything that they believed.�

These words imply that he approved of and believed in all forms of kufr that the misguided sects of humanity believe in, but it is a contradictory notion that no sound mind can accept. How can anyone believe in Tawheed and shirk at the same time?

5- He said things which denied the pillars and basic principles of Islam, namely prayer, zakaah, fasting and Hajj.

6- He used to say that the souls of the Prophets had been reincarnated in the bodies of his companions and students. So he would say to one of them, �You are Nooh�; and to another, �You are Moosa�; and to another, �You are Muhammad.�

7- When he was taken out to be executed, he said to his companions, �Do not worry about this, for I will return to you after thirty days,� He was executed and he never came back.

Because of these sayings and others, the scholars were agreed that he was a kaafir and a heretic, and for this reason he was executed in
Baghdad in 309 AH. Similarly, most of the Sufis denounced him and denied that he was one of them. Among those who denounced him was al-Junayd, and he was not mentioned by Abu�l-Qaasim al-Qushayri in his book in which he mentioned many of the Sufi shaykhs.

The one who strove to have him executed and who held a council in which he ruled that he deserved to be executed was al-Qaadi Abu �Umar Muhammad ibn Yoosuf al-Maaliki (may Allaah have mercy on him). Ibn Katheer praised him for that and said, �One of his greatest and most correct judgements was his ruling that al-Husayn ibn Mansoor al-Hallaaj was to be executed.� (al-Bidaayah wa�l-Nihaayah, 11/172)

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: �Whoever believes what al-Hallaaj believed in and agrees with the ideas for which al-Hallaaj was executed, is a kaafir and an apostate, according to the consensus of the Muslims. For the Muslims executed him because of his belief in incarnation, union with the Divine and other heretical beliefs, such as his saying, �I am Allaah,� and, �There is a god in the heavens and a god on earth.� � Al-Hallaaj performed extraordinary feats and various kinds of magic, and there are books of magic which are attributed to him. In conclusion, there is no dispute among the ummah that whoever believes that Allaah can be incarnated in a human being and be as one with him, or that a human being can be a god, is a kaafir whose blood it is permissible to shed. On this basis al-Hallaaj was executed.�

(Majmoo� al-Fataawa, 2/480)

He also said: �We do not know of anyone among the imams of the Muslims who spoke well of al-Hallaaj, neither among the scholars nor among the shaykhs. But some of the people did not comment on him because they did not know about him.�

(Majmoo� al-Fataawa, 2/483)

 

 

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Abu Yazeed al-Bistaami is Tayfoor ibn �Eesa, d. 261 AH.

He is not known to have studied hadeeth. Al-Dhahabi did not state that about him in his biography. Rather he mentioned something about him which could be taken as meaning that he mocked Ahl al-Hadeeth and claimed to get his knowledge directly from Allaah! That is that he said, �Who do these muhaddithoon (hadeeth scholars) think they are? If a man narrated to another man, our heart has narrated to us from the Lord!�

Many shatahaat (ecstatic utterances) have been narrated from him, such as his saying �There is nothing inside this cloak except Allaah� and �What is the Fire? I will lean on it tomorrow and say, �Make me a sacrifice for its people, otherwise I am going to swallow it�� and, �What is
Paradise? It is a children�s game and the desire of the people of this world.�

Because of these statements, which appear to be kufr and heresy, some of the scholars ruled that his beliefs were corrupt and that he was an innovator, but other scholars excused him.

Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: It was narrated that he uttered some weird shatahaat, for which many of the fuqaha� and Sufis tried to find acceptable interpretations by explaining them in a far-fetched manner. Some of them said that he spoke these words in a state of oblivion. Some of the scholars labeled him an innovator and said that he was wrong, and they said that this was a major form of bid�ah, and that it was indicative of corrupt beliefs that were entrenched in his heart and manifested themselves at certain times.

Al-Badaayah wa�l-Nahaayah, 11/38

If you refer to Siyar A�laam al-Nubala� by al-Dhahabi you will see that al-Dhahabi did not describe Abu Yazeed as a faqeeh, and he did not regard him as a source of hadeeth. Rather he narrated some good words from him, and he also narrated these shatahaat from him, and said:

There were narrated from him � i.e., from Abu Yazeed � some weird things that cannot be accepted. If it is proven that he said them, or that he said them in a state of oblivion and ecstasy, then they should be overlooked and should not be quoted as evidence, because their apparent meaning is heresy, such as �Glory be to me� and �There is nothing in this cloak except Allaah� and �What is the Fire? I will lean on it tomorrow and say, �Make me a sacrifice for its people, otherwise I am going to swallow it�� and, �What is
Paradise? It is a children�s game and the desire of the people of this world.�

Siyar A�laam al-Nubala�, 13/88

Perhaps the reason why some of the scholars tried to make excuses for him is the fact that some good words have been narrated from him, which encourage following sharee�ah and adhering to the limits it sets, and the fact that it is narrated that when he came around (from his state of oblivion), he denied these shatahaat.

See Manhaaj al-Sunnah, 5/357; Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 2/119

It should also be noted that at best, the one who says such words may be excused for them and not blamed for them. It is not correct to take these words as a sign of being a wali (�saint�) or having attained a high degree of knowledge.

Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] said:

Those who quote Abu Yazeed as saying that he was united with the Creator and denied that there was any difference between him and the Creator, and excuse him for that, say that he became oblivious to the extent that he said �I am the truth� and �Glory be to me� and �There is nothing in this cloak except Allaah�. They say that when love overwhelms a person who is weak, he loses his mind and can only think of his beloved and is unaware of anything else; he will only think of the One Who created him and will no longer be aware of his own existence, focusing so completely on the One Whom he is remembering and not aware of what he is doing at all. When a person reaches that state, he can no longer see any distinction between the Lord and the slave, between what is enjoined and what is forbidden. This is not a state in which a person can produce knowledge or speak sense, rather the best that we can say is that he has lost control of his mental faculties by which he can distinguish between this and that, and at best he is to be excused and what he says cannot be considered to be deep insight or knowledge.

Majmoo� al-Fataawa, 8/313

Moreover, this excuse can only be accepted when a man reaches that state of oblivion involuntarily. If he does it deliberately, however, he is undoubtedly to be blamed for doing that, such as if he drinks alcohol or starts to dance in the circle of dhikr until he reaches a state of oblivion.

Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] said:

But some of those who have this experience may become intoxicated and irrational when in that state of oblivion, in which state they may say things like �Glory be to me� or �There is nothing in this cloak except Allaah� and other such words that were narrated from Abu Yazeed al-Bistaami. Whatever an intoxicated person says is to be overlooked; it should not be narrated or told to others, if his intoxication has not come about through haraam means such as forbidden acts of worship or performing acts of worship in ways that are not allowed. But if the cause of intoxication is something haraam, then the intoxicated person is no longer to be excused. In this regard there is no difference between physical and spiritual intoxication.

Majmoo� al-Fataawa, 2/461

But praising such words, or praising the words of the man who in his intense joy made a mistake and said, �O Allaah, You are my slave and I am your Lord� is a serious error. How can we praise such words when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has described them as a mistake, as he said, �He made a mistake because of the intensity of his joy�?

These words indicate that a person is not aware of what he is saying, or that he has completely lost control of his mental faculties. How can losing control of one's faculties be regarded as something praiseworthy or a sign of perfection or �sainthood� (wilaayah)?!

The companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) were the most perfect of mankind, after the Prophets, in their fear of Allaah and their hopes in Him. They attained the status of true slaves and close friends of Allaah. But it is not narrated that they uttered such words, because of their perfect wisdom and perfect following of sharee�ah. May Allaah be pleased with them all.

 

 

Topic:

Sufism and Weak Hadith (39 of 55), Read 431 times

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Monday, October 21, 2002 09:33 PM

Sufism and Weak Hadith:

Praise be to Allaah.

What they mentioned is from the Israa�eeliyyaat [reports narrated from Jewish sources], no isnaad is known for it from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). What it means is that Allaah puts love and knowledge of Himself in the heart of His slave.

The report, �The heart is the house of the Lord� is like the first report. The heart is the home or seat of faith in Allaah and of knowledge and love of Him.

They reported the words, �I was an unknown treasure and I wanted to be known, so I created mankind and taught them about Myself so that they would know Me.� These are not the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and I know of no isnaad for this, either saheeh (sound) or da�eef (weak).

They reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �Allaah created reason, and said to it, �Come here,� and it came. He said to it, �Go there,� and it went. He said, �By My Glory and Majesty, I have not created anything more noble than you. I shall reward and punish because of you.�� This hadeeth is baatil (false) and mawdoo� (fabricated) according to the consensus of hadeeth scholars.

They narrate the words, �Love of this world is the root of all evil.� This is known from Jundub ibn �Abd-Allaah al-Bajali, but there is no known isnaad from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

They report the words, �This world is merely a step for the believing man.� This is not known from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or from the salaf of this ummah or its imams.

They report the words, �Whoever is blessed with a thing, let him stick with it� and, �Whoever commits himself to something, let him stick with it.� The first report was narrated from one of the salaf. The second report is baatil (false), for whoever commits himself to something may have to stick to it or he may not, according to what Allaah and His Messenger have commanded.

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, �Do favours for the poor, for tomorrow they will have authority, and what authority!� and, �Poverty is my pride and I boast of it.� Both of these are lies and are not known in any way in the well known books of the Muslims.

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �I am the city of knowledge and �Ali is its gate.� This hadeeth is da�eef (weak); indeed it is mawdoo� (fabricated) according to the scholars of hadeeth. It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others, but it is a lie.

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, �The poor will sit down on the Day of Resurrection, and [Allaah] will say, �By My Glory and Majesty, I did not deprive you of worldly things because you are insignificant. Rather I wanted to raise your status on this Day. Go to the place where the people are standing, and whoever gave you a piece of bread, or water to drink, or clothes to wear, take him to
Paradise.�� The shaykh said: this report is a lie which was not narrated by any of the scholars of hadeeth. It is baatil (false) and goes against the Qur�aan and Sunnah and scholarly consensus (ijmaa�).

They report that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to Madeenah, the daughters of al-Najjaar came out with daffs (hand-drums) and sang �Tala�a al-Badru �alayna min thaniyyat al-Widaa�, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to them, �Shake your tambourines, may Allaah bless you.� The hadeeth about women beating the daff on joyous occasions is saheeh, and this was done at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but it is not known that he said, �Shake your tambourines.�

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, �O Allaah, You have brought me out of the place which is most beloved to me, so cause me to dwell in the place which is most beloved to You.� This hadeeth is also baatil (false), although it was narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others. Rather he said to Makkah, �You are the most beloved part of Allaah�s land to me.� And he said, �You are the most beloved land to Allaah.�

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �Whoever visits me and my father Ibraaheem in one year will enter
Paradise.� This is a fabricated lie which was not narrated by any of the scholars of hadeeth.

They report that a Bedouin prayed (quickly), pecking (like a bird) in his prayer. �Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, �Do not peck in your prayer.� The Bedouin said, �O �Ali, if your father had pecked in prayer he would not have entered Hell.� This is a lie.

They report that �Umar killed his father. This is a lie, for his father died before the mission of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) began.

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, �I was a Prophet when Adam was between the water and the clay. I was a Prophet when Adam was neither water nor clay.� This wording is false.

They report the words, �The bed of a single man is fire. Poor is the man who has no woman and the woman who has no man.� These are not the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

It was narrated that when Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) built the Ka�bah, he prayed one thousand rak�ahs in each corner, then Allaah revealed to him, �O Ibraaheem, this is not like feeding a hungry man or clothing a man who cannot cover his �awrah.� This is obviously a lie, and it is not known in the books of the Muslims.

They narrate the words, �Do not despise tribulation, for it will reap the hypocrites.� These words are not known from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

They narrate the words, �Whoever teaches his brother an aayah from the Book of Allaah becomes his master.� This is a lie which is not known at all in the books of the scholars.

They narrate that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, �I looked at the sins of my ummah and I did not find any greater sin than that of one who learns an aayah then forgets it.� If this hadeeth is saheeh, what is meant is forgetting in the sense of not reciting. The wording of the hadeeth is: �Among the sins of my ummah is that of a man to whom Allaah gave an aayah of the Qur�aan, but he neglected it until he forgot it.� This forgetting means turning away from the Qur�aan and not believing in it or acting upon it. With regard to neglecting to study it until one forgets it, this is a sin.

They report the words, �One aayah of the Qur�aan is better than Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. The Qur�aan is the word of Allaah, revealed not created, and there is nothing like it.� This wording was not reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �Whoever learns something beneficial and conceals it from the Muslims, Allaah will bridle him with reins of fire on the Day of Resurrection.� A similar meaning is to be found in al-Sunan: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, �Whoever is asked about a matter of [Islamic] knowledge which he knows but he conceals it, Allaah will bridle him with reins of fire on the Day of Resurrection.�

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, �When you come to talk about disputes which took place among my companions, be quiet. When you come to talk about the Divine will and decree (al-qadaa� wa�l-qadar), keep quiet.� This was reported with munqati� (broken or interrupted) isnaads.

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to Salmaan al-Farsi when he was eating grapes, �Du, du,� meaning eat them two by two. These are not the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); this is baatil (false).

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, �Whoever commits zina (fornication) with a woman and she gives birth to a girl, the fornicator may marry his daughter who was born as a result of zina.� This was said by those who were not among the companions of al-Shaafa�i. Some of them attributed it to al-Shaafa�i, and some of the companions of al-Shaafa�i denied that he said that. They said, he did not state that this is permitted, but he did state that this is permissible in the case of radaa�ah (breastfeeding), if he breastfed from the milk of a woman who got pregnant as a result of zina. Most of the scholars, such as Ahmad, Abu Haneefah and others, are agreed that this is haraam, and this is the stronger of the two opinions narrated in the madhhab of Maalik.

They report the words, �the most deserving thing for which you take payment is the Book of Allaah.� Yes, it is proven that [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] said, �The most deserving thing for which you take payment is the Book of Allaah,� but that was in the hadeeth about ruqyah (reciting Qur�aan and du�aa�s for the purpose of healing), and the reward was for the recovery of that sick person, not for the recitation.

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, �Whoever mistreats a dhimmi (a Jew or Christian living under Islamic rule), Allaah will be his opponent on the Day of Resurrection� or �I will be his opponent on the Day of Resurrection.� This is da�eef (weak). What is known from him is that he said: �Whoever kills a mu�aahid (member of a kaafir nation which has a peace treaty with the Muslims) for no lawful reason will not smell the fragrance of
Paradise.�

They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �Whoever lights a lamp in the mosque, the angels and the bearers of the Throne will not cease to pray for forgiveness for him so long as the light of that lamp is shining in the mosque.� I know of no isnaad for this from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

 



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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 9:01pm

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - 6 (Tawassul) (40 of 55), Read 440 times

Conf:

http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/confinfo?58 -

From:

http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/userpeek?11524 -

Date:

Tuesday, October 22, 2002 12:07 AM

Assalamualaikum wa rahamtulalh wa barkatuhu,

I apologize for not responding to each and every claim that anonymous is bringing forth, as i said in the beginning, I have chalked out a plan for myself, which I wrote in the post 'sufism in Islam -2' but, I plan to go back on this thread once I am done, and see if there is anything left unanswered, but needs a response. Like this hadith post.

So according to this plan next comes the issue of tawassul.

well, actually inchronology, there is another claim, but its too absurd to be addressed. i think after talking so much about the type of polytheism that I quoted from my grand shaikh hadrath abdal qadir jilani(RAA) I dont think there is room to address such a baseless allegation, so I am skipping it.

On tawassul, much has already been said on these boards, so please allow me to take a short cut :-)

I quote two old threads:

1. http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/%20http:/wb.islamicity.com:8080/read?19667,13 - - Tawassul. Verdict of Al Azhar scholars

N

Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.

 

 

Topic:

Sufism and Weak Hadith (41 of 55), Read 396 times

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From:

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Date:

Sunday, October 27, 2002 06:26 PM

as Salamu Alaykum,

Brother Anonymous,

Unfortunately, since you are anonymous I cannot say this to you personally (by paging you). But, nevertheless, it is still necessary to do so. Could you please always mention the author of the works or article you are posting. The post that you have made titled "Sufism and Weak Hadith" is attributed to Shaykh Taqi ul-Deen Ibn Taymiyya (Rahimahu Allah) on another website. The least that the scholars and people of the past deserve is for us to give them respect and acknowledge them for what they have written or produced, although differences in opinion may exist. For this reason, it is part of our adab (etiquette), and I'm sure you will agree, to state the source from where information or knowledge is coming from. It can cause confusion among readers when they see a post that contains grading of Ahadith, but yet the name of the scholar who is grading the Ahadith is not mentioned. Perhaps it was simply a mistake on your part, I hope you take note and change the post in order to show the author, insha Allah.

 



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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 9:07pm

Topic:

Ghazali on tasawwuf and others on Ghazali (42 of 55), Read 417 times

Conf:

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From:

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Date:

Monday, October 21, 2002 08:18 PM

On 10/20/2002 10:12:00 PM, Anonymous wrote:

1.
>The life of al-Ghazzaali needs
>to be discussed at length
>because he went through a
>number of stages. He indulged
>in philosophy, then he
>recanted and rejected that.

2.
>After that he indulged in what
>is known as �ilm al-kalaam
>(Islamic philosophy) and
>gained a sound grasp of its
>basic principles; then he
>rejected that after it became
>clear to him that it was
>corrupt and filled with
>contradictions. He was
>focusing on �ilm al-kalaam
>during the period when he
>refuted philosophy, and at
>that time he was given the
>title of Hujjat al-Islam,
>after he had refuted the
>arguments of the philosophers.
>Then he recanted �ilm
>al-kalaam and turned away from
>it.

3.
He followed the path of
>the Baatiniyyah (esotericists)
>and learned their knowledge,
>but then he rejected that and
>showed the beliefs of the
>Baatiniyyah to be false, and
>exposed the manner in which
>they tamper with the texts and
>rulings.

4.
>Then he followed the the path of sufism.

and??
Did he find it false too and rejected it?

Imam Ghazali is one of the most reputed islamic scholars, and those who have the nerve to criticize him, can surely depend on nobody to acquire knowledge on the deen except their own intellect.
May allah give them wisdom.


Imam Ghazzali, under the heading "On the way of the Sufis� in his book entitled Al-Munqidh min-al-Dalal (Rescuer from Error) states:
�When after acquiring proficiency in these sciences, I turned my attention to the methods of the Sufis, I came to know that their method attains perfection by means of theory and practice The gist of their knowledge is to mortify the self and acquire freedom from baser passions and evil attributes so that the heart may get rid of the thought of any thing save God and to embellish it with Divine remembrance.�

In the essay on Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, Professor Muntansir Mir writes: ". . .
Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali, medieval Muslim theologian, jurist, and mystic. Few individuals in the intellectual history of Islam have exerted influence as powerful and varied as did Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali. When he died at the age of fifty-two, he had attempted, with an exceptionally perspicacious mind and a powerful pen, a grand synthesis of the Islamic sciences that has ever since evoked the wonder and admiration of scholars, both Muslims and non-Muslims. He gained distinction in the court of the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk, and at the age of thirty-four he was appointed professor at the Nizamiyah College at Baghdad. After teaching there for several years, al-Ghazzali suffered a crisis of confidence. Losing faith in the efficacy and purpose of the learning he has acquired and was now disseminating, he searched for the truth and certitude that alone could set his moral doubt at rest. He left his position at the Nizamiyah, withdrew from practical life, and spent eleven years in travel, meditation, and reflection. When he returned he had found the object of his search - in sufism. The details of al-Ghazzali's quest for knowledge that would give certitude are found in his autobiography, Al-munqidh min al-dalal (Deliverer from Error). Al-Ghazzali tells us that, of the four groups of people who claimed to be in possession of the truth, only the sufis, who walked the right path, because they combined knowledge with action, had sincerity of purpose, and actually experienced the serenity and contentment that comes from direct illumination of the heart by God.

Al-Ghazzali's critique of the philosophers, the esotericists, and the theologians constituted the critical aspect of his work, but there is a constructive aspect to it also; in fact the two aspects are closely linked. In a sense the principal motif of all al-Ghazzali's work is spiritualization of religious thought and practice; form must be imbued with spirit, and law and ritual with ethical vision. Taking salvation in the hereafter as the final goal, and therefore the ultimate point of reference, he set out to identify and analyze the aids and impediments to that goal. This resulted in his best-known work, Ihya ulum al-Din, an attempt to integrate the major disciplines of Islamic religion - theology and law, ethics and mysticism. Here as in other works, al-Ghazzali seeks to demystify Islam. He maintains, for example, that in order to be a Muslim it is sufficient to hold the beliefs that have been laid down by God and his Prophet in the Quran and sunnah, and that knowledge of the complex arguments advanced by the theologians is not requisite of faith. The essence of religion is experience, not mere profession, and the sufis are the ones who are able to experience the realities that theologians only talk about. [vol. 2, pp. 61-63].

Recently one of the leading Muslim journals in US, the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, [a joint publication of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT)], vol. 12, no. 4, Winter 1995, published a paper titled "Al Ghazali between Philosophy and Sufism" [authored by Professor Yasin Ceylan]. The author describes al Ghazali's experience with sufism in these words: "Al Ghazali embarked on his investigation of four different schools of thought that were influential in his time - Batinism, theology, philosophy, and Sufism - in order to find truth in them. The first three did not satisfy him, while Sufism provided him the truth for which he had been searching. There have always been notable Sufis of varied backgrounds throughout the history of Islamic thought. Whereas most of them received the traditional education, some had so much interest in logic and philosophy that they pursued these fields in depth. However, none of them penetrated into these sciences as far as al Ghazali, who acquired an intimate knowledge of both philosophy and theology. Al Ghazali himself discloses why he was frustrated by philosophy in his quest for truth and why he choose to adopt Sufism instead. His account may be summed up as follows: His disillusionment with philosophy was derived from its destructive effect on the fundamentals of religion, while his attraction to Sufism was rooted in the fact that ethical refinement and the purification of the soul were necessary conditions in this discipline." [p. 584] "Al Ghazali mentions three fundamental features related to his mystical experience: a) the purification of the soul from those evils and worldly desires that hinder moral perfection; b) those spiritual dispositions or explorations that occur after the process of purification reaches the level of maturity (described as extraordinary intellectual intuitions); and c) that these dispositions are not explicable through reason." [p. 587]


N


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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 9:10pm

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - 7 (Dhikr) (43 of 55), Read 401 times

Conf:

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From:

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Date:

Friday, October 25, 2002 12:47 AM


What The Qur'an Says About Dhikr-Allah

Those men and women who engage much in Allah's praise. For them has Allah prepared forgiveness and a great reward. (33:35)

He is successful who purifies himself, and remembers the name of his Lord, and so prays. (87:14-15)

Allah Ta'ala said in His Book: And mention the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with a complete devotion (73:8).

Those who believe, and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah! Behold in the Remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction. (13-28)

O ye who believe let not your riches or your children divert you from the Remembrance of Allah if any act thus, the loss is their own. (63:9)

Then do ye remember Me I will remember you. (2-152)

Men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from Remembrance of Allah nor from regular Salaat, nor from regular practice of Zakaat. (24-37)

He who turns away from the remembrance of His Lord He will cause him to undergo a severe Penalty. (72-17)

Those who remember Allah while standing , sitting, and lying on their sides (3:191)

Sura Al-Baqara [Yusuf Ali Translation 2:152]
Then do ye remember Me; I will remember you. Be grateful to Me and reject not faith.

Note 156:
The word "remember" is too pale a word for zikr, which has now acquired a large number of associations in our religious literature, especially Sufi literature. In its verbal signification it implies: to remember, to praise by frequently mentioning; to rehearse; to celebrate or commemorate; to make much of; to cherish the memory of as a precious possession. In Sufi devotions zikr represents both a solemn ritual and a spiritual state of mind or heart, in which the devotee seeks to realise the presence of God. Thus there is zikr of the mind and zikr of the heart. For beginners the one may lead to the other, but in many cases the two may be simultaneous. There is a subtler distinction, between the zikr that is open, and the zikr that is secret, corresponding to the two doors of the heart, the fleshly and the spiritual.


From: Kitab at-Tasheel li 'Uloom at-Tanzeel" - "The Sciences of Tafsir"

Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab said, "Its meaning is 'Remember Me with obedience and I will remember you with reward'." It has been said that it means 'Remember Me with supplication and glorification and the like of that.

The commentators, particularly the Sufis, have said a great deal in commentary on this subject using words with restricted and qualified meanings, and there is no proof of restriction. In general this ayah is an explanation of the nobility of dhikr, which the saying of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made clear, as he narrated it from his Lord, "I am in My slave's opinion of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I remember him in My self. If he remembers Me in an assembly, I will remember him in an assembly better than them."

There are three types of dhikr:

* the dhikr of the heart,
* dhikr with the tongue,
* with the two of them together.

Know that dhikr is the best of actions in general, even if in some hadith there is related some superiority to some other action, such as the prayer, etc., for that is only because of what they contain of the meaning of dhikr and being present with Allah ta'ala.

There are three aspects to the proof of the superiority of dhikr:
First, the texts which have been narrated about its superiority over all other actions. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Shall I not tell you of the best of your actions, and the most pure of them with your King, and the most exalted of them in your ranks, [those which are] better for you than your meeting your enemy and striking their necks and they striking your necks?" They said, "Certainly, Messenger of Allah." He said, "Dhikr of Allah." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, "Which actions are the best?" He said, "Dhikr of Allah." Someone said, "Is dhikr better or jihad in the way of Allah?" He said, "Even if the mujahid were to strike at the kuffar until his sword broke and he was coloured with the blood, the person of dhikr would be better than him."

Second , that Allah exalted is He, wherever He commands us to do dhikr or praises dhikr, He has stipulated a great deal of it, so He says, "Remember Allah with much remembrance" and "those who remember Allah a great deal" and He does not stipulate that for any other action.

Third, that dhikr has something extra which belongs to it especially and does not belong to anything else, which is presence in the Highest Presence, and arrival to nearness which is indicated by that which is narrated in the hadith which mention 'sitting with' and 'withness', for Allah, exalted is He, says [in the hadith Qudsi], "I sit with the one who remembers Me", and He says, "I am in My slave's opinion of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me."

People have two stations with respect to their intentions in dhikr:

* the intention of the generality is to earn rewards,
* the intention of the elect is nearness and presence.

How great a distance there is between the two stations, and how great it is between one who takes his reward and he is behind a veil, and one who draws near until he is one of the elect of the beloved ones.

Know that dhikr has many types, of which there is "La ilaha illa'llah", and tasbeeh, takbir, praise, "La hawla wa law quwwata illa billah", "husbuna'llahu wa ni'ma'l-wakeel" and the dhikr of every name of Allah ta'ala, and sending blessings on the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and seeking forgiveness, etc. Each dhikr has its special quality and its fruit.

* As for "La ilaha illa'llah - There is no god but Allah", its fruit is tawhid , and I mean the tawhid of the elect because every believer obtains the tawhid of the ordinary people.
* As for takbir "Allahu Akbar - Allah is greater", its fruit is exaltation of the Possessor of Majesty.
* As for praise and the [Divine] Names whose meanings are good treatment and mercy such as ar-Rahman "The Universally Merciful" and ar-Raheem "The Specifically Compassionate" and al-Kareem "The Nobly Generous", and al-Ghaffar "The Oft Forgiving" and the like of them, their fruit is three stations, gratitude, strength of hope, and love, for the One Who Treats [us] Well is unavoidably beloved.
* As for "La hawla wa law quwwata illa billah - There is no power and no strength but by Allah" and "husbuna'llahu wa ni'ma'l-wakeel - Allah is enough for us and an excellent guardian" their fruit is dependence on Allah and surrendering [all affairs] to Him, and strong trust in Allah.
* As for the [Divine] Names whose meanings are showing and grasping, such as al-'Aleem "the All-Knowing" and as-Samee' "the All-Hearing" and al-Baseer "the All-Seeing" and al-Qareeb "the Near" and the like of them, their fruit is muraqabah "fearful watchfulness".
* As for sending blessings on the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, its fruit is strong love for him, and carefully guarding the following of his sunnah.
* As for istighfar "seeking forgiveness" its fruit is going straight in taqwa , and guarding the preconditions of turning in penitence [to Allah from one's wrongdoing] along with the hearts rejection of the causes which led to previous wrong actions.
*Then the fruit of the dhikr which unites the names and attributes is gathered together in the unique dhikr which is our saying, "Allah, Allah". This is the goal and the limit.


The Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) about Zikr

A chapter is devoted to the Prophet's injunctions on the subject in all large books of traditions, called Babu 'z-Zikr, from which the following sayings of Muhammad have been selected:

* Whenever people sit and remember God, they are surrounded by angels which cover them with God's favor, and peace descends upon them, and God remembers them in that assembly which is near him.
* Verily there are angels who move to and fro on the road and seek for the rememberers of God, and when they find an assembly remembering God, they say to one another, "Come ye to that which ye were seeking." Then the angels cover them with their wings as far as the lowest heaven, called the region of the world. The Prophet said: - When the angels go to the court of God, God asks them, while knowing better than they, "What do My servants say and do?" Then the angels say, "They are reciting the Tasbih, the Takbir, the Tahmid, and the Tamjid for Thee." And God says, "Have they seen Me?" The angels say, "No, by God, they have not seen Thee." Then God says, "What would their condition be if they had seen Me?" The angels say, "If they had seen Thee, they would be more energetic in worshiping Thee and in reciting the Tamjid, and they would be more excessive in repeating the Tasbih." God says, "Then what do they want?" The angels say, "
Paradise." Then God says, "Have they seen Paradise?" The angels say, "We swear by God they have not." Then God says, "What would their state have been had they seen Paradise?" The angels say, "If they had seen Paradise, they would be very ambitious for it, and would be excessive wishers of it, and very great desirers of it." God says, "What thing is it they seek protection from?" The angels say, "from Hellfire." God says, "Have they seen the fire?" The angels say, "No, by God, if they had seen the fire. -- " God says, "How would they have been had they seen the fire?" The angels say, "If they had seen the fire, they would be great runners from it, and would be great bearers of it." Then God says, "I take ye as witnesses that verily I have pardoned them." One of the angels said, "There is a person amongst them who is not a rememberer of Thee, and is only come on account of his own needs."
* There is a polish for everything that takes rust, and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of God, and there is no act that redeems from God's punishments so much as the remembrance of Him. The Companions said, "Is not fighting with the infidels also like this? He said, "No, although he fights until his sword be broken."
* Shall I not inform you of an action which is better for you than fighting with infidels and cutting off their heads, and their cutting off yours?" The Companions said, "Yes, inform us." The Prophet said, "These actions are remembering God."
* 'Abdullah ibn Aus said: - An 'Arabi came to the Prophet and asked, "Which is the best of men?" the Prophet said, "Blessed is the person whose life is long and whose actions are good." The 'Arabi said, "O Prophet! Which is the best of actions, and the most rewarded?" He said, "The best of actions is this, that you separate from the world, and die whilst your tongue is moist in repeating the name of God."
* A man said, "O Prophet of God, really the rules of Islam are many, tell me a thing by which I may lay hold of rewards." The Prophet said, "Let your tongue be always moist in the remembrance of God."
* "Verily there are ninety-nine names of God; whosoever counts them up shall enter into
Paradise."
* When Zu 'n-Nun (Jonah) the prophet prayed to his Lord when he was in the fish's belly, he said, "There is no Deity but Thee. I extol Thy holiness. Verily I am of the unjust ones." And a Mussulman who supplicates God with this petition will have his prayer granted.
* The best expressions are these four: Subhana Allahi, al-Hamdu Lillahi, La ilaha illa Allah, and Allahu akbar; and it does not matter with which of them you begin.
* Verily I like repeating these four expressions: O Holy God! Praise be to God! There is no deity but God! And God is Great! better than anything upon which the sun shines.
* No one can bring a better deed on the Day of Resurrection (unless he shall have said the like or added to it) than he who has recited, "O Holy God! Praise be to Thee!" one hundred times every morning and evening.
* There are two expressions light upon the tongue and heavy in the scale of good works, and they are, "O holy God! Praise be to Thee!" and "O Holy God! The Mighty One!"
* That person who shall say, "There is no deity but God, who has no partner, to whom is dominion and praise and power," one hundred times, shall receive rewards equal to the emancipating of ten slaves; and one hundred good actions shall be written for him, and one hundred of his sins shall be blotted out; and those words shall be a protection to him from the devil and his wickedness, in that day in which he shall have repeated them, until the night. Nor can anyone perform a better deed for the Day of Resurrection than this, unless he has done even more.
* Moses said, "O my Lord, teach me how I am to call upon Thee." And God said, "O Moses, recite, 'There is no deity but God!'" Then Moses said, "O my Lord every one of thy people say this." And God said, "O Moses, if the seven heavens and their inhabitants and the seven earths were put into one scale, and this expression, 'There is no deity but God,' into another, these words would exceed in weight."
* Reciting "O Holy God" is half the scale of good works, and reciting "God be praised" fills the scale. The recital of "There is no deity but one," removes the curtain between the worshipper and his God.
* He who recites with an unsullied heart, "There is no deity but God," shall have the doors of heaven open for him until he reaches the throne of God, as long as he abstains from great sins.
* The ejaculation, "There is no power and strength but in God," is medicine for ninety-nine pains, the least of which is melancholy.
* There are two qualities which, being practised by anyone, shall cause him to enter
Paradise; they are small and easy, and it is easy for anyone to practise them. One of them is saying 'God is holy' ten times after every prayer, 'Praised be God' ten times, and 'God is great' ten times. And verily I saw the Prophet counting these words on his hand, and he would say, "then these words are one hundred and fifty with the tongue in the day and night, but they are one thousand and five hundred in the scale of actions, reckoning ten for one. And the second is this: when he goes to his bedchamber, let him say, 'God is holy' and 'God be praised,' and 'God is great,' then that is one hundred on the tongue and a thousand in the scales. Then which of you is it that commits two thousand five hundred vices in the day night, so that these words may cover them?" The Companions said, "If when we repeat these words we have so many rewards, why should we not say them?" The Prophet said, "The Devil comes to one of you when at prayers and says to him, 'Remember so-and-so,' till you have finished your prayers; and the Devil comes to you in your bed-chamber, and is always making you sleep."



Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.

 

 

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - 7 (Dhikr) (44 of 55), Read 400 times

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Friday, October 25, 2002 07:17 AM

It is not permissible for a Muslim to innovate any dhikr to recite regularly or to tell others to do so � such as awraad/wird,
ma�thooraat or du�aas. The adhkaar that were reported in the saheeh Sunnah are sufficient for this, otherwise a person is an innovator
or one who calls others to bid�ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �Whoever innovates something in
this matter of ours [i.e., Islam] that is not a part of it, will have it rejected.� (Narrated by Al-Bukhaari, 2550; Muslim, 1718).

According to a report narrated by Muslim: �Whoever does any action that is not in accordance with this matter of ours (i.e., Islam)
will have it rejected.�

Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: �This hadeeth represents one of the most important principles in Islam.
It is like a scale against which the external appearances of deeds are measured, just as the hadeeth �Actions are but by intention� is the
scale against which the inner motivations of actions are measured. Just as every deed which is not done for the sake of Allaah will
bring no reward for the one who does it, so also every deed which is not in accordance with the way of Allaah and His Messenger will
be rejected
and thrown back at the one who does it. Anyone who innovates new things in the religion and does things for which Allaah and His
Messenger have not granted permission, this is not a part of the religion at all.� (Jaami� al-�Uloom wa�l-Hukam, 1/180).

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: �This hadeeth is one of the most important basic principles of Islam, and it is one
of the most concise and comprehensive sayings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It clearly states that
innovations and newly invented matters will be rejected.

The second report adds another idea, which is that some of those who follow the innovations of others may become stubborn when
they are presented with the evidence of the first report which says, �Whoever
innovates something�� They may say, �I am not innovating anything�. But he may in this case be presented with the evidence of the
second report, which says, �Whoever does any action�� This clearly shows that all innovated actions will be rejected, whether the
one who does them innovates them himself or is following someone else who innovated it� This hadeeth is one that should be learned
by heart and used to denounce evil actions and be spread as evidence so that all people may use it.� (Sharh Muslim, 12/16).

Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

�No doubt adhkaar and du�aa�s are among the best forms of worship, and worship is one of the matters in which there is no room
for personal opinions � we have to follow what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did and taught, not our own
whims and desires or innovations. The du�aa�s and adhkaar of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are the best
that anyone could find. The one who follows this way will be safe and sound, and the benefits and positive results that he will gain are
beyond description. Any other du�aa�s and adhkaar may be haraam or they may be makrooh; they may involve shirk even though most
people do not realize that � the details of this would take too long to explain here.

No one has the right to teach the people any kinds of du�aa�s or adhkaar apart from those that are mentioned in the Sunnah, or to
make it a kind of regular worship which he expects the people to do regularly as they do the five daily prayers � this is the innovation
in religion which Allaah does not allow� As for adopting a wird or
regularly reciting a dhikr that is not prescribed in sharee�ah, this is one of the things that is not allowed. The du�aa�s and adhkaar
prescribed by sharee�ah are the best that anyone could ever hope to find, and no
one ignores them in favour of newly-invented, innovated adhkaar except one who is ignorant, negligent or a wrongdoer.� (Majmoo�
al-Fataawa, 22/510-511).

 



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 9:13pm

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - 7 (Dhikr) (45 of 55), Read 389 times

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Date:

Sunday, October 27, 2002 08:34 PM


brother Anonymous writes above on Friday, October 25, 2002 07:17 AM:

>>It is not permissible for a Muslim to innovate any dhikr to recite regularly or to tell others to do so � such as awraad/wird, ma�thooraat or du�aas.<<

After this there is a long lecture, telling us what bidah or innovation is, and how we are supposed to abstain from it, lest we may be guilty of introducing reprehensible practices in Islam, and may be regardes as a disbeliever.

From Dhikrullah what is meant is remembrance of Allah (SWT). And even those who call the dhikr gathering of sufis bidah, cannot say that Dhikrullah in itself is bidah.

Does allah lay any limit for the number of times, He should be remembered?
After how many remembrance, does the next become a bidah? Is there any hadith that says, for example 100 times remembering allah with the tongue and in the heart during a day is permissible, but if anyone does it 100+1 times, and invites others to do the same he is guilty of bidah?

The very first verse which I quoted says:
Those men and women who engage much in Allah's praise. For them has Allah prepared forgiveness and a great reward. (33:35)

does allah limit us to the occasions when we can remember Him, and others when we cannot?

O ye who believe let not your riches or your children divert you from the Remembrance of Allah if any act thus, the loss is their own. (63:9)

Those who remember Allah while standing , sitting, and lying on their sides (3:191)


Allah says to Him belong the most beautiful names, and we can call him with any of His names .... because in the remembrance of allah hearts find comfort

Is it an innovation to remember allah with any of His names? Where is the hadith that says calling allah with a particular name is not permissible?

Does allah say anywhere in Quran that He can be remembered with such and such name but not by such and such?


I am reminded of a hadith of hadrath musa (AS) he heard a man supplicating to allah in manner which is not suitable for allah, and Musa(AS) tells him not to do so as it is not proper to address the almighty in such a way. Later when he goes to have a word with allah (as this prophet is also know as kalimullah .... or the one who used to talk with allah), allah said to him He liked the way that man used to address allah, and musa(AS) should not have checked him.

Subhan allah!

Dhikr allah is the kind of ibadah where allah deos not impose any rule. He loves those of His servants who remember Him in heart and from tongue, and says that He remembers those who remember Him. He does not say He accepts a particular kind of remembrance but rejects the other.

Once rasul allah (SAW) left hadrath Juwariah(RAA) on the prayer mat in fajr prayer, went out and when came back after a few hours, he found her still engaged in dhikr. The prophet of allah said may i teach you something better? Which means what she had kept herself involved with an exercise that was 'good' that is why he did not tell her to stop, or to abandon. He told her something that was better - a comparative degree of the word 'good', and not 'bad'.

And he said if one says the following praise to allah thrice, is better than a thousand dhikr:
Subhan allah wa bihamdihi, adada khalqihi, wa ridha nafsihi, wa zinate arshihi wa medada kalimatihi.

Those who invite people to dhikr of allah (SWT) invite for something good, and they cannot be charged of reprehension.

He is successful who purifies himself, and remembers the name of his Lord, and so prays. (87:14-15)



Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.

 

 

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - 7 (Dhikr) (46 of 55), Read 395 times

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Monday, October 28, 2002 07:13 AM

Exaggeration and Innovation of Sufis in Worship (Dhikr):

It has been mentioned from sufi sources that among the conditions for dhikr is to acquire the dhikr from a Shaikh of Dhikr as the Sahabah took dhikr from Rasoolullah.

This "condition" gives the sufis their allowance to prescribe innovative forms of dhikr to their mureeds (disciples).

Comparing the sufi sheikhs to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is a clear error, because Sahabah referred to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) for guidance since he was the sole recipient of revelation from Allah. Sufi sheikhs do no receive any revelation from Allah that their disciples must take dhikr from them. This comparison is therefore false because comparison is only done in similar matters.

Allah says: "O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and make not vain your deeds." Hence, any matter of the religion that does not have its origin from the Sunnah can never be beneficial as a source of guidance. This is why the sufi dhikr is a source of hardship, torture, anxiety and insanity - to site a few examples:

They (sufis) say: "The dhakir (one involved in dhikr) should acquire perfect purity by wudhu and ghusl and then sit in the Tashahud position facing Kiblah, keeping both his hands on his thighs in close proximity to the knees. Alternatively, hold back the right hand with the palm of the left hand, gripping the right thumb with the left thumb.... Thereafter, closethe eyes and either inaudibly or slightly raised voice (or loud depending on the tareeqah) in what manner the Sheikh has instructed focusing the heart on Allah, recite La-ilaha illaAllah repeatedly, expelling with full force and full attention of the heart all good and bad thought from the heart. Draw La-ilaha from the heart and deliver with full force illAllah into the heart."

This quote describes one manner of the dhikr of the sufis, for which there is no proof in the Sunnah. The sufis act upon these types of dhikr upon the prescription of their "Shaikhs of Dhikr."

Another addition to khikr that has been prescribed by sufi sheikhs, and many refereces can be found in books of the sufis to it, this practice is very similar to the way the yogis and ascetics in other oriental religions practice: "Holding the breath in dhikr"

The sufi sheikh instructs: "Recite Allahu 90 times, in a single breathe, gradually increasing the number in accordance with his ability. Ultimately he developed his ability to extend of up to 400 times with a single breath."

In Islam, the quantity of deeds does not ensure reward with Allah; rather deeds are accepted by the obedience to Allah's Messenger (pbuh). Deeds become insignificant and yield no gain if they are not performed with Ittiba (guidance and following) of Allah's Messenger (pbuh).

 

 

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - 7 (Dhikr) (47 of 55), Read 382 times

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Wednesday, October 30, 2002 07:53 PM


Brother Anonymous says:
>>>Exaggeration and Innovation of Sufis in Worship (Dhikr):<<<

I would like to know if this is a personal opinion of the poster or a borrowed notion from any website, who think its their 'divine duty' to inform the muslim ummah of the "evils" of sufism.
Anyway it should be noted, that what I kike may not be treated as a binding on anybody. You may feel free even to remain silent on the authorship of any and every post that is broadcasted here.

>>>It has been mentioned from sufi sources that among the conditions for dhikr is to acquire the dhikr from a Shaikh of Dhikr as the Sahabah took dhikr from Rasoolullah.<<<

Acquire the dhikr? I dont really understand what it means. Dhikr is an act, a deed. And a deed cannot be "acquired" from anybody. Only its method of performance can be "learnt" from someone, if desired.

>>>Comparing the sufi sheikhs to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is a clear error,<<<

I am unable to see the "error" in "clarity" here if one sees the "role" of his shaikh "like" that of the prophet(saw) in "a certain" way.
Point to be noted, that although to "acquire dhikr" sounds absurd to the ears, still i address this notion of comparison because.... a muslim is supposed to emulate the prophet in all his actions. This does not mean he should consider himself a prophet. Nevertheless it is one's duty to lead life as the prophet taught us, and in certain spheres of life perform the roles that he(SAW) did, to serve the mankind. Like he(SAW) was a teacher, and a torch bearer of the message of allah. After he is gone, the message still needs to be transmitted, the religion still needs to be taught. Of course one does not need to go through the ordeal of devising "new methods" to do the job, as the "methods" have already been chalked out, but the job is still there and we need sincere muslims to accomplish it.

Transmission of the word of allah "from allah to people" was done by the prophet and this was a unique role, for which allah will not choose anybody in future till the judgement day. However to transmit the word of allah (as in the quran) from people to people still needs to be done.

And allah says in the quran, if you dont worship allah like He should be worshiped .. He will create a generation who will ... and nothing is difficult for allah.

To see a muslim in one of those roles that prophet performed to accelerate the cause of deen, be it of social or spiritual nature, if is an error, we need to prove it as an error through some authentic sources.

>>> Hence, any matter of the religion that does not have its origin from the Sunnah can never be beneficial as a source of guidance. This is why the sufi dhikr is a source of hardship, torture, anxiety and insanity - to site a few examples:

They (sufis) say: "The dhakir (one involved in dhikr) should acquire perfect purity by wudhu and ghusl and then sit in the Tashahud position facing Kiblah, keeping both his hands on his thighs in close proximity to the knees.<<<

Imam Nawawi has said about etiquettes of dua, that one should be in a state of ghusl or wudu and face the qibla, raise ones hands, recite sura fateha, and seek allah thru the intercession of his beloved servants (prophet and awliya)

Dua is ibadah, and the "best way" of ibadah is to do it in such a way as one performs the salat - "which is the most excellent ibadah".

The prophet(SAW) said, shall I teach you which is the most excellent action for you .... it is dhikr allah.

So is dhikr not sunnah?
Is dhikr not ibadah?
Is doing ibadah in a state of total ablution not sunnah?

Do sufis say that if you are not in a state of total ablution for dhikr it will not be accepted by allah?
NO THEY DONT!
yet sufis say, it is for the training of your ownself, if you remain in a state of ablution while doing dhikr.

Do we not have a hadith that says one should try to remain in a state of ablution in all times?
Is this a torture? If not then how is dhikr in a state of ablution a torture?
If one likes he can see more purity, more devotion and more beauty in this act, yet some choose to see only 'insanity'. May allah guide them through His wisdom.

The sufis do teach how to concentrate on ones acts of devotion.

The Quran instructs us to perform our religious duties with 'presence of mind' although the method to keep one's mind present is not described. If one repeats the name of allah with his tongue, but his heart does not echo the words, one can still get the reward, but how come keeping one's heart and tongue in unison a bidah - is it not moving towards perfection? So is doing lip service to the name of allah and letting the heart and mind wander to some other spot favorite to the nafs Islamic? astaghfirullah!! May allah forgive those who have weak understandings of His deen.

>>>Another addition to khikr that has been prescribed by sufi sheikhs, and many refereces can be found in books of the sufis to it, this practice is very similar to the way the yogis and ascetics in other oriental religions practice: "Holding the breath in dhikr"

The sufi sheikh instructs: "Recite Allahu 90 times, in a single breathe, gradually increasing the number in accordance with his ability. Ultimately he developed his ability to extend of up to 400 times with a single breath."<<<

I would have asked to give the source of this information, but it is not important because there have been so many lies attributed to the sufis in this thread, that this one seems frugal :)

N


-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 9:16pm

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - 7 (Dhikr) (48 of 55), Read 380 times

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Date:

Thursday, October 31, 2002 10:24 AM

In explaining the state of the Sufis, the intention is not to gloat over their faults, nor to make mockery of them. Rather to warn Muslims from being duped by falsehood, tricks and ruses.

All sects of Sufis have gone beyond bounds in veneration of their Sheikhs and in complete submission of the follower (mureed) to his teacher (sheikh), not showing the slightest resistance, so that he becomes like a dead body beneath the hand of the person washing it.

Muhammad Uthman as-Sufi the author of al-Habaatul Muqtabisha says while discussing the manner befitting the follower: "From them is that he sits in his presence as he sits in the prayer, and that he loses himself in his presence, and that he does not sit above his mat, nor make wudoo with his pot, nor lean upon his stick. Listen to what one of the pure people said: "Whoever says 'Why?' to his teacher will never prosper."

Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (2:185) It has been made permissible for the Muslim to refrain from fasting in Ramadan when he is a traveller or is ill as a mercy to us, so all praise adn thanks are due to Allah, for His favors.

Sufis, endurance of self-imposed hardship was found amongst the first Sufis, but as regards later Sufis, their imposition of hardship upon themselves have gone beyond bounds. Ibnul Jawzee in Talbees Ibless, has criticized the Sufis for their abstemiousness to the point of self torture.
What Ibnul-Jawzee relates is also the state of the Sufis of our time, indeed they are many times worse.

 

 

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - (ctisism ?) (49 of 55), Read 385 times

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Thursday, October 31, 2002 04:39 PM

Ibn Jawzee is not criticizing 'tasawwuf' in general. The scholars of old who you DO NOT read, but hear of from ppl WHO YOU READ and then conclude sufism has no basis in islam, always acknowledged the science. Their critic is on the "sufis" who have gone astray in the practices, and not on "sufism".

I am almost sure, you have not read all of my inputs on this thread.

To negate the science in itself is an error. you can surely raise a finger at those who dont follow the principles, but you cannot say that the principles are themselves wrong - that they have no foundation in Islam.

This concept of opposition of tasawwuf is as new as the newly corrupted practices of "some" sufis.

I have said in the very beginning that i do not condone all the sufis. Still I cannot accept from anybody what all they say about tasawwuf "in particular". So far you could have no answer to any of my refutation, which in itself is a proof that you have to accept your accusation are wrong.

If a person does not follow islam properly is it a fault of islam and the the prophet of islam or an error of the individual?

And yes, there are plenty of ppl who do things that are not sanctioned in the religion, and say that it is okay, for them islam is this. How should you deal with them? Should one say islam is a practice that should be rejected? i dont think so.

May i ask you, have you read iblees tablees? I say this because I read my rebuttals since i started posting on this thread, and the conclusion I came to is that even sufis are not at par with those scholars who have critisized some of the practices.

i have read essays in support of sufism, where authors have said how Ibn Taymiyah did not reject sufism as a whole, but the wrong practices that were developed by some of the sufis.

You think what you have said so far should sound like mockery? Dear brother, go thru the whole thing from the beginning, if you really care. But no, you have a one sided view, borrowed from a particular ideology, and you dont want to understand anything that falls outside the realm of this ideology - in such a state you cannot benefit from any word that is posted here. It is a pity, and dont think i a angry at you ... no I am not. but when you post something that is not in line with my beliefs, i have a responsibility to come here and post the truth.

Peace,
Nausheen


Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.

 

 

Topic:

Sufism in Islam - (ctisism ?) (50 of 55), Read 387 times

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Thursday, October 31, 2002 06:16 PM

"i have a responsibility to come here and post the truth."

Where is this "responsibility" when posting "The Fifth Paradise: The Garden of Beauty and Felicity," to post the truth concerning what our Prophet (pbuh) said, or for that matter what Allah, Most High has said. Certainly Sufism began having noble intentions, upholding Quran and Sunnah; but where are they today?

 

 

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Sufism in Islam - (ctisism ?) (51 of 55), Read 399 times

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Thursday, October 31, 2002 08:18 PM

On 10/31/2002 6:16:00 PM, Anonymous wrote:
>"i have a responsibility to
>come here and post the truth."
>
>Where is this "responsibility"
>when posting "The Fifth
>
Paradise: The Garden of Beauty
>and Felicity," to post the
>truth concerning what our
>Prophet (pbuh) said, or for
>that matter what Allah, Most
>High has said. Certainly
>Sufism began having noble
>intentions, upholding Quran
>and Sunnah;
but where are they
>today?
>
>
Is this what you just said? or am I seeing things :-)

It took you almost 50 posts to say that sufism began with "noble" intentions.
That sufi principles are indeed those that uphold Quran and sunnah. So far I only heard the words "bidah" and "haram" - that sufism has no place in islam.

If you could only stick to this stance, then probably i can presume that you have "grudges" with the sufis "of today", and not with tasawwuf in principle :-)

I dont stand here and speak for those who call themselves "sufis", but for the path that is called tasawwuf or "purification of self". If you call it a fraud, I wont ask you to stop, or change your mind. In fact quite the contrary, please continue to believe what you may. Still I have posted much for those who are searching for truth with an open mind.

My posts are not going to benefit you, I knew even before deciding to post anything here, and may allah increase you in Imaan in which ever way you pursue His deen, still i will refute your allegations.

As for what I posted in women's corner.

1. this was not the first time i posted something and you objected it. (if you remember the first time your book of AA tabari came on the discussion board when i posted something THAT WAS MUCH IN LINE WITH QURAN AND SUNNAH) - so it is not important, you will object when the source is a sufi website.

2. I did not ask anybody to accept my post in women's corner as a fact, infact the little disclaimer i gave was just that i liked it very much.

3. I did not object or argue with you on your objection on the very thread when you came up with it.

4. I posted the exact hadith which you demanded AND STILL DID NOT INSIST ANYBODY TO ACCEPT what you called a "story" as truth.

So if you have anything personal with me, I still dont have anything against you. This is as clear as day because it is you who has charged me with allegations, but i did not resort to your methods to reply you.

You may think your book is not refuted, and you may think there is nothing on the net to talk against those who have beliefs like yours, but this is not true. Still i dont want an ugly fight here. To argue with you will not help anybody, and nobody likes to read two people returning gestures in kind. My intention is to remove misconceptions and charges which some so fondly and blindly paste on the great sufi scholars of Islam.

Peace,
Nausheen


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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 9:19pm

Topic:

Sufism in Islam-The Proof of Islam, al-Ghazali (52 of 55), Read 401 times

Conf:

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From:

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Date:

Sunday, October 27, 2002 01:23 PM


All praise is indeed for Allah, Most High, Most Gracious. It is out of his mercy that allows us to see the truth and be guided. And it is out of His Mercy that He brings forth the revivers and scholars of this nation to guide the public. Their (the scholars of the past) right upon us is that we do not speak ill of them in any bad manner, and that we withhold from being haste in making judgement upon that which we ourselves may not understand.

As to those who are totally convinced of their standing in their opinion on certain scholars of the past (based on a limited understanding coming from reading a few sayings of scholars), for them this discussion may not bring any benefit. Even if we were to present contradictory sayings and comments from the majority of the scholars that are in opposition to their own personal views, they would not care to agree to it or believe in what you give them. Nevertheless, it is only befitting and among the rights of the righteous (Saaliheen) who came before us, for us to state the truth of the matter concerning the Imams (leaders and scholars).

Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Tusi al-Ghazali (Allah�s Mercy be upon him).

For some general information, note that Imam al-Ghazali studied and mastered Shafii� school of Jurisprudence as well as other sciences of Islam, and his work al-Mustasfa is considered an invaluable work in the science of Usul al-Fiqh and is used to this day. He wrote this book on legal theory a year or so before his death. The minister of that region and time, Nizam ul-Mulk selected Imam al-Ghazali (who was at this point well-known for his knowledge) and appointed him as a teacher and lecturer at the world famous (at that time!)
Nizamiyya University in Baghdad. The post by anonymous seems to suggest that al-Ghazali�s knowledge of Ahadith was no better than ours (mine and yours). This is completely incorrect, as al-Ghazali had studied Ahadith (more so towards the end of his life) and to be even considered as a scholar one had to go through some study of Ahadith. Towards the end of his life he studied Sahih ul-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim under the scholar Hafidh Amr ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Rawasi. This subject will be addressed again. We can go on and on concerning the details of the life of this personality, but that can be read elsewhere and at another time.

The previous post on Imam al-Ghazali has unfortunately presented to the reader various personal opinions and a mixed variety of sayings, some of them not reflecting the correct understanding and opinion on the scholar of Islam, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. If we are to describe the life of this Imam and the various �stages� that he went through, the most authentic source in that case would be his autobiographical account for the search for the truth titled al-Munqidh min ad-Dalal (Deliverance from Error). Sister Nausheen quoted from there as well and anyone interested can take a look at that. I will restate, that Imam al-Ghazali mentions that there were four groups (at that time) who were in search for the truth. The first, were the dialecticians (people of Kalam) and debaters, and who claimed to possess insight and wisdom. The second, were the Batiniyya (Batinites) who insisted on a hidden or esoteric knowledge. The third, were the Philosophers who became proud and arrogant in considering themselves superior in logic and reason. The last, are the people of Tasawwuf (Sufiyya). He went on to refute and mention the fallacies on the first three groups. What is odd about the claims of the anonymous brother is that he keeps on mentioning that somehow the Sufis have the same interpretations as the Batiniyya. For this reason it is most important to understand who the Batiniyya were in order not to be deceived by those who go around labeling others as sects. It is a sad situation today, when we see the modern day phenomenon (among Muslim groups) of labeling others as the Batiniyya, Jahmiyya, Kharijiyya, and other sects that don�t even exist today! Yet, they will use these names (of sects that existed) and any other words they can attach the suffix �iyya� to as labels upon others!

Batiniyya, were a sect and group that were most prominent during the years previous to the life of Imam al-Ghazali and then afterwards as well. Note that it was Imam al-Ghazali himself who was most instrumental in refuting their false claims. An example of what they believe is in the book Qawaid al-Aqaid (by Muhammad al-Dailimi Yamani, p.16-18):

�The Prophet is a person illuminated by the Holy Spirit of Divine Being. Gabriel is not an Angel but an allegorical name for Diving Grace�.Fornication (Zina) is a transmission of the secret and occult knowledge to one who is not initiated (or capable)�.Ablution (Wudu) means the acquirement of knowledge from an illuminated teacher (Batini Imam). Prayer (Salah) is a call to obey the leader, Zakah is the initiation of the faithful (Batinites) into the hidden knowledge. Fasting (Saum) is to take precaution to guard the secret, and Hajj is the seeking of knowledge and true wisdom�



This sect and their followers basically tried to negate all the established rituals and beliefs of Islam through an esoteric and symbolic interpretation. Anyone who has read the works of the people of Tasawwuf knows that none of them call to the abandonment of rituals, as the Batiniyya did. None of them hold views like the one quoted. The only people today that are following the way of the Batiniyya are the modern day Qadianis and Bahai group. For this reason it is most odd to see anonymous suggest to us that the Sufis are in fact the Batinis. My question is, bring us some proof and evidence (instead of making allegations) from the works of the known people of Tasawwuf (like al-Ghazali, Abdul Qadir Jilani, and the many others) that they are indeed the Batiniyya. What I will quote, myself, is the most well-known work of Tafsir based on the interpretations and understanding of the Sufiyya. The work by the renowned scholar of Baghdad (d.1270 AH) Imam Muhammad Alusi titled Ruh al-Ma�ani is well known and is often quoted and studied by the people of Tazkiya and Tasawwuf. About it, the scholar Sayyid Muhammad Yusuf Binori wrote in an article (Yatimat ul Bayan): �Tafsir Ruh al-Ma�ani which in my opinion is an exegesis for the Quran on the pattern of Fath ul-Bari (by Ibn Hajr), the exegesis of Sahih ul-Bukhari, except that Fath ul-Bari is the interpretation of human words.� In his Tafsir Ruh al-Ma�ani the scholar al-Alusi states:

�The deliberations reported from the Sufis in connection with the Qur�an in fact point to those deep and fine disclosures that they read in it. These disclosures are truly based on the apparent meaning. The Sufis do not believe that the apparent meanings are to be ignored against intuitive meanings because this is the belief of the Batiniyya apostates who have adopted its as stepping stone to negate the laws of Islam. Our Sufiyya (people of Tasawwuf) have nothing to do with this belief, and it cannot be since they (Sufiyya) insist that the apparent meanings of the Qur�an must be adopted first.�


[Ruh ul-Ma�ani, v.1, p.7 in the Introduction. Also note that the esteemed scholar Jalal ul-Din ul-Suyuti has also mentioned this same material in al-Itqan, v.2, p.185]

I find it even more odd that anonymous mentions that al-Imam al-Ghazali mentions views that are similar to the Batiniyya view! My question is, from where did such an allegation come from? Was it based on personal study and looking with an unbiased view into the works of al-Ghazali? Or was it from some articles found on some website in which the quotes of scholars are misunderstood and jumbled?

Firstly, the methodology of Imam al-Ghazali in his most well known and most beneficial book Ihya Ulum al-Din (Reviving the Religious Sciences) is as follows. Whenever he is speaking about a subject, he first quotes verses from the Qur�an, then gives statements from the Messenger of Allah, then gives statements from the Companions, Successors, and scholars. This is the consistent methodology of Imam al-Ghazali, and no one who has actually read the works of Hujjat ul-Islam can claim otherwise. Secondly, the one who is most recognized by the historians and biographers as being among the first to refute the Batiniyya was Imam al-Ghazali himself. After the request of the Abbasid Caliph Mustazhir Billah, who held the Imam in high esteem, al-Ghazali wrote his work al-Mustazhiri (titled after the Caliph) specifically to refute the Batiniyya cult.

To add to this, it must also be known that the state of Imam al-Ghazali should be not be considered as being something odd. After realizing the fallacies of the three groups (Batiniyya, people of Kalam and debate, and the Philosophers) the esteemed Imam finally realized that the pleasures of this world should be renounced and that he needed to follow the path of true sincerity and self-purification. He states in his autobiography:

�One day I would determine to leave
Baghdad and these circumstances, and the next day change my mind� The desires of this world pulled at me and entreated me to remain, while the voice of faith cried out �Go! Go! Only little of your life remains, yet before you there lies a lengthy voyage. All the knowledge and works that are yours today are but eyeservice and deceit. If you do not prepare now for the Afterlife then when shall you do so?�� [Munqidh min al-Dalal, p.36-37]

After this point, he went for search of knowledge and to purify himself, his work Ihya Ulum al-Din only bears witness to his sincerity and spiritual accomplishment. For this reason and others, the commentators of the Ihya, al-Zabidi and al-Safadi (in Miftah al-Sa�ada wa Misbah al-Siyada) state: �were all the books of Islam be lost save the Revival alone, it would supply for them in full�. There is so much more to be said about his book Ihya and its benefits, and the circumstances and reasons for his writing it, but that also can be talked about some other time.

Getting to the original point, nowhere is there any trace of Batini views or esoteric symbolism in Imam al-Ghazali�s most famous work (Ihya). He describes the punishment of the grave, the Scales, and features of the Day of Judgement as literal facts by revelation. In fact, he states in another book that �the man who denies the existence of physical punishment in the Afterlife�must be considered an unbeliever�.

The next point that often some people bring up is the issue of the authenticity of the Ahadith and sayings in Ihya Ulum al-Din. There are certainly a number of authors and even scholars who have criticized the Ihya on this basis. It must be said though that Imam al-Ghazali was not a scholar or master of the science of Ahadith. This is something recognized by all and specifically metioned by the scholar al-Subki in his biographical work Tabaqat al-Shafi�iyya. I will only confine myself to mention a few short points on this subject, and then give a link to an article that goes into more detail about Ahadith in the Ihya and what the various scholars state.

Firstly, unfortunately, the opinions of Shaykh Taqi ul-Din Ibn Taymiyya (Allah�s mercy be upon him) and his student Imam al-Dhahabi (who is a recognized and well known scholar of Ahadith) was generally more critical and harsh against Imam al-Ghazali and other scholars of Tasawwuf. That, however, does not mean that theirs is the only opinion on this matter. Many scholars hold opinions opposite to theirs and state the great benefit in the Ihya outweighs this fault in it. It is recognized that there are some weak Ahadith in Ihya Ulum al-Din, however this fact has been somewhat exaggerated by some scholars and writers, such as Imam al-Dhahabi who were harsh and critical. There are examples of him (Imam al-Dhahabi) discrediting the Sufiyya and Ashairah without hesitation in the minutest matter in which he regarded them to be contradicting the Shariah. For this reason, the eminent scholar Taj al-Din al-Subki (who was a Qadi, Shafii� scholar, and son of the scholar Taqi al-Deen al-Subki. From
Egypt, and passed away in 771 AH) has stated in his biographical work Tabaqat al-Shafi�iyya:

Here our Shaikh al-Dhahabi with all his learning and piety displays an excessive bias against Ahl al-Sunnah, therefore it is not permissible to follow his opinion. Thenceforth, although he is our master and teacher, but the truth is more deserving of being followed. And the truth is that he has reached a risible level of extreme partisanship, and I fear for his on the Day of Resurrection on the part of the majority of the Muslim scholars and their Imams, who have been the standard bearers of the Islamic law for us, for they are Ash�aris for the most part and when he criticized and Ash�ari he was unsparing and unrelenting.�

[1/190]

Similarly, Imam Jalal ul-Din al-Suyuti has mentioned in his book Qam �al-Mu�arid fi Nusrat ibn al-Farid:

�Do not be deceived by the criticism of al-Dhahabi because his criticism transcended to the likes of Imam Fakhr al-Din ibn al-Khatib and even as far as one who is more eminent than he, Abu Talib al-Makki the author of Qut al-Qulub. He was even unsparing of those of the caliber of Shaykh Abul Hasan al-Ashari whose fame blossoms far and wide. His books al-Mizan, al-Tarikh and Siyar al-Nubala are laden with undeserving comments.�



Although it is admitted that there are weak traditions in the most beneficial work of al-Ghazali (Ihya), people today have exaggerated it and taken away an incorrect understanding. Firstly, a number of the masters and scholars of Ahadith have written works on the Ihya Ulum al-Din. The well known scholar and master of Ahadith, Hafidh Zayn ul-Din al-�Iraqi did Takhrij of the book by documenting where the Ahadith in Ihya Ulum al-Din are from and their authenticity. His well known work al-Mughni 'an Haml al-Asfar is often used by those who study the Ihya. Another well known book is the commentary by the Hadith master Murtada al-Zabidi who wrote his work in 10 volumes on the Ihya, which contains the most comprehensive documentation of the hadith narrations cited by al-Ghazali. For anyone interested, they can take a look at the Introduction by al-Zabidi in his book on the Ihya:

http://umcc.ais.org/~maftab/ip/pdf/ithaf.pdf (in Arabic)

Ibn Hajar, who was a student of Zayn ul-Din al-Iraqi, also wrote a documentation of the traditions in Ihya titled al-Istidrak 'ala Takhrij Ahadith al-Ihya.

The scholar Ibn al-Jawzi was another critic of Ihya Ulum al-Din and he mentioned several things against it. However, he himself acknowledged the effectiveness of the Ihya and the need for it. For this reason, he himself, summarized Ihya Ulum al-Din in his book titled Minhaj ul-Qasidin (The Path of the Truthful Seekers) in which he has deleted certain portions.

The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of the scholars found the works of Imam al-Ghazali to be of benefit, and they did not stop people from reading them. Some people who go to extremes in criticzing al-Ghazali in Ahadith, should firstly fear Allah since we are accountable for everything we should say, and next they should know that weak Ahadith are not necessarily completely disregarded. There is a difference between Weak Ahadith (Da�eef) and those that are fabricated (Mawdu�). Those that are fabricated are not even allowed to be transmitted according to the scholars of Ahadith. However, weak Ahadith can be used, keeping certain rules in mind. One of the conditions for the use of weak Ahadith is that they cannot be used to establish a ruling, they are only allowed to be mentioned in order to show the benefit of doing something, for recommending or encouraging a good deed (that is already established), or when inspiring hope or fear. This principle for the use of weak Ahadith is mentioned by the majority of Ahadith scholars. Imam al-Nawawi mentions this in his own commentary on his collection of Forty Ahadith (Sharh Matn al-Arba�in al-Nawawiya), and as well in the book Tibyan fi Ulum al-Qur�an: �The Ulama (scholars) are agreed on the legitimacy of using weak hadiths in the realm of virtuous works (fada�il al-a�mal)�.

For those who want to see the proof of using weak Ahadith and the conditions that go with them, please see the following article:

http://www.abc.se/~m9783/n/vwh_e.html

Although a small number of scholars criticized Imam al-Ghazali (Allah forgive them and shower His mercy on them), they did not necessarily completely disregard his works, as some people suggest. In fact, after mentioning his opinion on the defects and mistakes in Ihya Ulum al-Din, Ibn Taymiyya states:

�Not withstanding these defects, the Ihya contains the teachings of the numerous illuminated mentors and the Sufiyya, and their experiences in regard to the purification of the self and the intuitive knowledge, which are identical with the laws (or principles) of the Qur�an and the Sunnah and can thus be acceptable from a theological point of view. It is because of this reason that the scholars hold different opinions about the Ihya and all of them are not opposed to it.�


[Fatawah, vol.2, p.194]

Nowhere in his works did al-Ghazali refute or take back what he had written in Ihya, in fact it can be said that the Ihya was in fact his most outstanding and beneficial book, his magnum opus. His book Iljam ul-�Awwam �an �Ilm il-Kalam (The Restraining of the Common People from the Science of Dialectics) establishes the authority and superiority of the Qur�an and its principles and reasoning over philosophy and other forms of reasoning and logic.

Finally, I ask those who are sincere and interested in the truth to see it for themselves. Instead of making personal judgments resulting from reading a few articles on the internet, or even before accepting my opinion, please read the works of Imam al-Ghazali (Allah�s mercy be upon him) for yourself to see his methodology and the clear benefit of his works. The books to start off with are the excellent translations (of Ihya Ulum al-Din) available in English (with notes and documentation of the Ahadith) done by T.J. Winters (Abdul Hakim Murad) and published by Islamic Texts Society (can be purchased at www.islamicbookstore.com).

All that is correct and good is from Allah alone, the mistakes are mine, and Allah knows best. May Allah forgive us and guide us to the truth.

The Life of Imam al-Ghazali, with a Section on the Ahadith in Ihya Ulum al-Din:

http://www.abc.se/~m9783/ghaz_e.html - http://www.abc.se/~m9783/ghaz_e.html

 



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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 9:25pm

Topic:

Sufism in Islam-8 (seeing God as we worship Him) (53 of 55), Read 376 times

Conf:

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From:

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Date:

Thursday, October 31, 2002 07:28 PM

It has been said in this thread that sufis "claim" to have seen God. The fact is their "claim" is misinterpreted. To be literal, there is no such "claim" and the people who follow trditional islam and tasawwuf emphasize on the essence of a hadith(that folows), that comes to us from hadrath Umar ibn al-Khattab(RAA).
This is a Qudsi hadith and in this our prophet explains what is "Ehsan". The prophet says we should worship God "as if" we see him. The literal meaning is not to see allah in reality, but to be in such a state of mind and heart "as if" we are in his presence and seeing him. In other words to be conscious of His divine presence. This is a very sufi concept, WHICH EXISTS IN ISLAM AS TAUGHT BY THE HOLY PROPHET (SAW), and EVERYBODY should "try to acquire" this state of mind during worship. However, as I have said earlier also, the sufis DO NOT IMPOSE THEIR PRACTICES ON ANYBODY. If a muslim finds it feasible he may acquire, if he does not, then indeed the religion is what it is, and even a person who has as little as a grain of faith shall be saved from hell fire, insha allah.

Brother Anonymous has tried to argue that allah has made the religion easy, so one SHOULD NOT STRIVE HARD for perfection in faith. However allah has also said that the hereafter is more excellent in ranks.

Allah says:
See how we prefer one above the other (in this world), the hereafter will be greater in degrees and greater in preference. (17:21).

So when there is no compulsion is religion (2:257) and every one will be rewarded according to their deeds, and will be preferred according to how they excelled in righteousness (17:21), then one SHOULD FEAR ALLAH AND NOT POINT A FINGER AT THOSE WHO WANT TO STRIVE "HARDER!"

Allah also shows His anger and displeasure at those who "hinder" men in good deeds.

There is a hadith that says one should "compete" each other in good deeds. Religion is made easy, I do not deny, but to strive to be one of the muqqarrabun (56:8) is some thing that will be rewarded with most beautiful rewards insha allah.


Going back to the hadith of Ehsan it is reported in Muslim, that �Umar ibn al-Khattab said:

As we sat one day with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), a man in pure white clothing and jet black hair came to us, without a trace of travelling upon him, though none of us knew him.

He sat down before the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) bracing his knees against his, resting his hands on his legs, and said: "Muhammad, tell me about Islam." The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and to perform the prayer, give zakat, fast in Ramadan, and perform the pilgrimage to the House if you can find a way."

He said: "You have spoken the truth," and we were surprised that he should ask and then confirm the answer. Then he said: "Tell me about true faith (iman)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered: "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His inspired Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and in destiny, its good and evil."

"You have spoken the truth," he said, "Now tell me about the perfection of faith (ihsan)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered:"It is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you see Him not, He nevertheless sees you."

The hadith continues to where �Umar said:

Then the visitor left. I waited a long while, and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to me, "Do you know, �Umar, who was the questioner?" and I replied, "Allah and His messenger know best." He said,

"It was Gabriel, who came to you to teach you your religion" (Sahih Muslim, 1.37: hadith 8).


This is a sahih hadith, described by Imam Nawawi as
one of the hadiths upon which the Islamic religion turns. The use of din in the last words of it, Atakum yu�allimukum dinakum, "came to you to teach you your religion" entails that the religion of Islam is composed of the three fundamentals mentioned in the hadith: Islam, or external compliance with what Allah asks of us; Iman, or the belief in the unseen that the prophets have informed us of; and Ihsan, or to worship Allah as though one sees Him.

In Islamic Faith and Practice by Mohammad Manzoor Nomani, chapter 9, he says:

The stage of Ehsan is reached when awareness of God becomes the greatest reality of one's life and one's every act is performed under a constant sense of His presence for although man cannot see God - it is just not possible in this material world-God does see him all the time.

This state of sublimity can exist only when faith has worked itself out to the highest degree and become one's life-breath. It was for the attainment of this state that the Prophet would beg fervently to God. "O God!" he would say, "Let such be my state that I feared Thee and revered Thee as if I was seeing Thee constantly till (at last) my time came and I went up to join Thee,"

This condition is known among the Sufis (Muslim mystics) as Huzoori (presence) and Yad-Dasht (remembrance) and Nisbat (affinity), and when anyone is described by them as Saheb-i-Nishbat it denotes that he has arrived at it in a considerable way. When this state of spirituality is reached, a person gets permanently attuned to God and becomes immune to all kinds of doubts and misgivings concerning His Being.

As a natural outcome of this all-pervading effulgence of faith, this all engulfing sense of Divine presence all other ties and attachments are merged and lose their identity the one great allegiance to the Almighty, and external acts, such as, love, friendship, enmity and social and business intercourse begin to be gone through and carried out for His sake alone. A Tradition of " the Prophet on the subject of Ehsan tells that "a person whose state may be that when he loves, he loves for the sake of God and when he hates, he hates for the sake of God, and when he gives, he gives for the sake of God, and when he withholds his hand from giving, he withholds it for the sake of God - he has attained perfection in his faith."

The most exalted position in this respect was that of the Prophet. He operated at the highest level to which a man can evolve his destiny from the point of view of faith and Ehsan. In his life there was contained the most ideal blending of knowledge and awareness, and piety and the fear of God. He used often to say of himself, "No one among you fears God more than me, no one reveres Him more intensely than me and no one possesses a greater knowledge and a more complete awareness of Him than I do."
As Hazrat Gangohi, a Sufi-saint of the current century, writes. "This is not a single doubt or temptation can creep into it. Nay, it cannot creep into it the ultimate goal of all systems (of Sufism) ... Why had holy Companions sacrificed all that they had - life, family, property and everything? What had they seen? It was simply because that they had acquired absolute faith in God through their association with the Prophe [this was, with them, the measure of all things. How did Abdul Qadir Jilani, Moinuddin Chishti and Bahauddin Bukhari climb to greatness? Through this very faith." A few lines later, the great Sufi goes on to observe: "This forging of a link with God is called Ehsan. The raising of the Prophet was for it's sake alone and all the holy Companions were endowed with it in different degrees.

The real thing, therefore, is the acquirement of the light of faith and the inner feeling of Ehsan. The holy Companions had realized this state through the fullness of their love for and devotion to the Prophet, through the intimateness of their association with him, and through dedication themselves to a life of virtue under his advice and direction and making utmost sacrifices in the cause of God. At the death of the Prophet, the Companions, both individually and as a body, functioned as his successors and representatives in the line, and as long as they remained in the world the exalted state of Ehsan could be gained by sitting at their feet.

When the Companions, too, were gone and symptoms of moral and spiritual degradation began to make themselves manifest in the Muslim society with the lapse of time, a stage came when the high-souled men in the Ummat,' cherished in their hearts the heritage of Ehsan and occupied the same elevated position in their branch as Mujtahids in Fiqh, and this stirred them into activity. Seeing that the inspiriational society of the Prophet and the Companions was no longer available and the Muslim Millet was moving down steadily from the ideal of righteous-doing to corruption, they evolved certain methods for the kindling of the flame of faith in the hearts and the generation of that feeling of God-realization which is the essence of Ehsan. These methods included excessive remembrance of God, meditation, and the control and discipline desires and impulses of the self.


Nuh Ha Mim Keller says:



All Muslims believe in Allah, and that He is transcendently beyond anything conceivable to the minds of men, for the human intellect is imprisoned within its own sense impressions and the categories of thought derived from them, such as number, directionality, spatial extention, place, time, and so forth. Allah is beyond all of that; in His own words,

"There is nothing whatesover like unto Him" (Koran 42:11)

If we reflect for a moment on this verse, in the light of the hadith of Muslim about Ihsan that "it is to worship Allah as though you see Him," we realize that the means of seeing here is not the eye, which can only behold physical things like itself; nor yet the mind, which cannot transcend its own impressions to reach the Divine, but rather certitude, the light of Iman, whose locus is not the eye or the brain, but rather the ruh, a subtle faculty Allah has created within each of us called the soul, whose knowledge is unobstructed by the bounds of the created universe. Allah Most High says, by way of exalting the nature of this faculty by leaving it a mystery,

"Say: �The soul is of the affair of my Lord�" (Koran 17:85).

The food of this ruh is dhikr or the �remembrance of Allah.� Why? Because acts of obedience increase the light of certainty and Iman in the soul, and dhikr is among the greatest of them, as is attested to by the sahih hadith related by al-Hakim that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,

"Shall I not tell you of the best of your works, the purest of them in the eyes of your Master, the highest in raising your rank, better than giving gold and silver, and better for you than to meet your enemy and smite their necks, and they smite yours?" They said, "This�what is it, O Messenger of Allah?" and he said: Dhikru Llahi �azza wa jall, "The remembrance of Allah Mighty and Majestic." (al-Mustadrak �ala al-Sahihayn, 1.496).
Increasing the strength of Iman through good actions, and particularly through the medium of dhikr has tremendous implications for the Islamic religion and traditional spirituality.



Be not heedless of thy Lord
for even the blink of an eye,
Lest He directs His attention towards you,
and finds you unawares.

 

 

Topic:

Sufism in Islam-8 (seeing God as we worship Him) (54 of 55), Read 370 times

Conf:

http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/confinfo?58 -

From:

http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/userpeek?1178 -

Date:

Sunday, December 08, 2002 07:18 AM

Bismillah,

The information exchanged in the above dialogue is both useful and dangerous: useful for those who have some knowledge and dangerous to those who have no knowledge (by knowledge we mean knowledge of the Quran and the Sunnah). People without knowledge are al-mutaqualideen (the blind followers) and they are in the greatest danger of being misguided. So every Muslim should be careful in what he says. If somebody is misled and misguided to follow erroneous beliefs then until such time that bad practice continues the person responsible for introducing it will get a part of that sinn.

Efforts by the first party to defend its point of view on Sufism are appreciable, as she has taken so much time and pain to research her posts.All efforts will be judged by Allah in the Hereafter according to their intention and sincerity. However,I go with the stand of the second party and pray Allah to reward him for his efforts to portray the truth and correct position of Sufism in the light of the Quran and Hadith. I hope his posts have made many readers aware of the dangers posed by Sufi claims. Some of their claims are really preposterous such as one of the Sufi Sects, known as al-Halolillah wa al-Itihadiah, belive that they see Allah in this world in the shape of a human being.

Moreover, some of their ways may find far-related connections with the Quranic interpretation but, All Praises be to Allah, Who has not left his servants without guidance in this regard. For instance, when the pagans asked about the gambling Allah revealed in the Quran that it has some benefit for the mankind but its harm is greater to them than its benefit. Thus it is not allowed to practice. Similarly, some Sufi methods may have usefulness for mankind but its overall danger of taking away the faithfuls from the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws) is greater beyond any doubt; hence it has to be abandoned

I have another small advice for the readers to judge all such claims in the light of the following Hadith. When the Prophet (saws) mentioned that the Muslims would be divided into many sects and only one of them will be on the right path, the companions asked him how people would know the sect on the right path. He replied:" Man kana alla mithl ma anna alayhi alyoom wa assahabi"; it could be translated as 'those who would be on the path on what I and my companions are today'

Hence readers must judge all claims of Sufis to purify and get nearer to Allah in their Ibadh and Dhikr in the light of this Hadith. Did Prophet (saws) and his companions practise any of these methods in their Ibadh to get nearer to Allah. Who could be more nearer to Allah than His Prophet (saws)!! Who could do better and perfect Ibadh than the Prophet (saws)!! Who could more clearly and vividly understand the meaning and interpretation of the Quran than Allah's Prophet (saws)!! Anybody who claims to know more or better meanings, intentions, and interpretations of the Quran than the Prophet (saws) is verily a misguided one. May Allah save all of us from falling into this pit of arrogance.

Therefore,if you find that the Prophet (saws) and his companion did not practice such methods in their Ibadh or zeal to get purified or be nearer to Allah, then you too should not adopt any such methods - how beautiful and useful they may sound - and you will, Insha Allah, find yourself on the right path, the path of the Prophet (saws) and his companions.

Allah commands Muslims to obey Him and His Prophet (saws) in many places in the Quran. And that should be the criteria of a Muslim to only follow in the foot steps of the Prophet (saws)in his Ibadh, purification and getting near to Allah, and not any Sufi, Sheikh, Imam, Alim or Abid.

Remember that any Ibadh, whether bodily or materialy, which is not done according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws) has no weight in the sight of Allah. The Quran has warned mankind to be aware of this.For instance, there will be people in the Hereafter who will find that all their good deeds (as they believed them to be good deeds) will have no wight because they were not performed according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws) and having discovered this truth those people will wish vainly: had they followed the Prophet (saws) in their worldly life and in despair would chew their fingers. Allah may save us all from being among those losers.

Wama Taufiqi Illa Billah

Ibnbatota

 

 

http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/read?64672,58e#64672 - http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/read?64672,58e#64672

 

*****************************************

Topic:

Sufism.... what is it???? (7 of 9), Read 67 times

Conf:

http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/~IslamiCity/confinfo?5 -

From:

http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/~IslamiCity/userpeek?11524 -

Date:

Tuesday, June 17, 2003 01:23 AM

Assalamuaalikum wa rahmatullah wa abrkatuhu,

 1.
Sufism is not a sect of Islam... it is the science of purification heart. That purification which is required by every soul for its success in the hereafter of which the Quran reminds us time and again.

2. Sufism did not originate in
India.

Sufism was very much there in the arabian penninsula, where there have been so many sufis in
Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Iran etc, before and around the same time when they came to India.

I agree with most of what Umm Abed is saying above, that there are many ppl who have distorted the beliefs - many who are practising for money and fame instead of for the love of allah, and pure devotion to Him.

However, this practice in its original form was never bida. http://www.sunnah.org/tasawwuf/sufisnk.htm - - is a good read, if u are interested.

There was a debate on this board, where many allegations on the true sufi practices were refuted in the http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/~islamicity/read?62621,10 -

 

http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/read?76513,5e - http://wb.islamicity.com:8080/read?76513,5e



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 10 January 2007 at 9:28pm

That concludes the discussion/dialogue

I know there is a lot there to take in but its here and just take little bit by little or read bit now and a bit later another bit later on 



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: rami
Date Posted: 16 January 2007 at 11:09pm
Bi ismillahir rahmanir raheem

assalamu alaikum sister senekerk

Like i said I am not into drumming, dancing dream interetation, just mediatation  on Allahs names and attributes. i apoligise if I offended you.

Insha Allah you benefit and enjoy reading this,

99 atributes of allah by imam al Ghazali.

Martin Lings allah yerhamu is a great author i highly recommend his book on http://www.amazon.com/Muhammad-Life-Based-Earliest-Sources/dp/1594771537/sr=8-1/qid=1169017846/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-7967968-9722425?ie=UTF8&s=books - the prophet , the reviews speak for themselves.


-------------
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.


Posted By: senekerk
Date Posted: 17 January 2007 at 4:56am

 Assalaam alaikum

Martin Lings allah yerhamu is a great author i highly recommend his book on http://www.amazon.com/Muhammad-Life-Based-Earliest-Sources/dp/1594771537/sr=8-1/qid=1169017846/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-7967968-9722425?ie=UTF8&s=books - the prophet , the reviews speak for themselves

Thank you for the links  I have the book by Martin Lings, almost have it finished.  Also have a CD set of the 99 attributes of Allah which I listen to in the car.  I find them comforting.

Angel- Thank you so much for posting the articles about sufism. it is a lot more complicated than I would have thought.  I will just stick with mediatation and comtemplation of Allah and his 99 atributes



-------------
Kay


Posted By: rami
Date Posted: 17 January 2007 at 5:07am
Bi ismillahir rahmanir raheem

Is this the CD set by Sh. Hamzah Yusuf and another shaykh,cant remember his name.

You have probably recieved this advice already but i will say it just in case, you can do dhikr (remembrance in a chanting manner) by allah's 99 atributes.

example would be repeating any of the names with "ya" in front of it, "ya allah, ya rahman, ya raheem, ya kareem, ya wali, ya hadi, ya qudus".

Ya is similar in meaning to "oh" as in oh Allah except there is no questioning aspect to it but rather a requesting one, any combinatiosion is fine or you could just use one of the names.

"Dhikr" is a major part of islam and is mentioned many itimes in the Quran, "O Believers, make abundant mention of ALLAH!" (33:41),

"Lo! Worship guards one from lewdness and iniquity, but verily, remembrance of Allah is greater/more important." (29:45)

"He is successful who purifies himself, and remembers the name of his Lord, and so prays." (87:14-15)

"So establish prayer for My remembrance." (20:14)

The Prophet said: "If your hearts were always in the state that they are in during dhikr, the angels would come to see you to the point that they would greet you in the middle of the road."



-------------
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.


Posted By: senekerk
Date Posted: 17 January 2007 at 6:37am

Salaam

This is a 4 disc set by Sister Aminah Assilmi, w/ Nazir Shaheen.

I ordered it from the Islamicity bazar.



-------------
Kay


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 14 December 2007 at 3:57am

 

just bumping it up for those who wished to have a look



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: poga
Date Posted: 06 January 2008 at 7:27am

Originally posted by Arab Arab wrote:

No no no. This is a sect which links itself to Islam but is very far away from Islam. Beware of such things.

Posted: 13 December 2007 at 6:49am | IP Logged http://www.islamicity.com/forum/edit_post.asp?M=Q&PID=94699&TPN=1">Quote poga

SWEETSWORDS 65 [ Marrifatic Map ]

3 - 2 - 1 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 5 + 8

BISMILLAH

By Poga Humayun Dundiwala

Trust in ALLAH but tie the Camel
Tie the TAQDEER but trust in AMAL
Book of open deeds and Sealed acts of disbelief
The Science of innocent Niyat guilt free accomplishment and the AMAL of sinful KHALIF
Therefore trust in ALLAH and tie the Camel
Because we won't be punished for our act of rude answers and or Niyat of innocent call
Because our intuitional Niyat develops within us without our Premeditated plan
Nor we can decree anything if ALLAH doesn't want it to be done
Therefore we are punished because choice of our AMAL and submitting our will to it
It is by submitting our Niyat we under seal our heavenly writ

Poga Say's in a foolington Maze

Even BE IMAN believes ALLAH and MUHAMMAD in theirs gambling bet
But only MUSLIM knows gambling and intoxicant are forbidden by ALLAH and his last Prophet
Even BE IMAN believes ALLAH and RASUL ALLAH
But only MUSLIM knows faithfully MUHAMMAD Sallel La Hu Alahi Wa Sallim is the last Prophet of ALLAH
La Ilaha Illel La MUHAMMADUR RASUL ALLAH

Awaluddin Marrifatullah Say's Aujubillahi Minash Qadianur Razim
Oh ALLAH save us from Jealous Jahil Qadaiani Zalim
Oh ALLAH save us from scheming Qadiani Shaitani sly
Awaluddin Marrifathullah Say's Aujubillahi Minash Qadiani lie

Mr Barzakh Fitrath Ullah : From nameless nowhere comes the nonsense
From the loquacious ilm e laduni comes the tongueless silence
From the origin of baseless appears the apparition
From the talkative ilm e laduni comes the silent narration

From the nameless nowhere comes the dream
From the scolding ilm e laduni comes the silent scream
From the origin of baseless appears the inauguration
From the breathing ilm e laduni comes silent pulsation

From the nameless nowhere comes the nescience
From the crowded ilm e laduni comes the silent alliance
From the mouth of muteness comes the mike
From the crowded ilm e laduni comes the alone alike

Mrs Be Aql Khan Usta : If Sufi is Islamic word then so is Shadu and Swami
If Sufi is Amirul Muminun then our Imam can be any one HARAMI
I say no this is Jahaliya
Do not associate Sufi with our Wali and Auliya
Remember when you accept Sufism
You accept Bismillah Khan Tabla and the dancing darvesh with his devilish rhythm
Sufi the root word came from the wool
From the bah bah white sheep the Christian fool
They wore the woolen vest infested with lice
They lived in monastery like the hermit mice
They lived as they will with theirs self inflicted suffering
They had nothing but theirs madness as theirs ritualistic offering
These fool Say's wool while it was the petal
The first dress of Adam and Eve COTTON
From the living trees not the leather from the dead cattle
Just as our Holy Prophet choose the Egyptian and Yemeni COTTON
Above the Chinese and Indian wool
Wool is not the Islamic comfort but self suffering of the Christian fool
Therefore oh my brothers do not cry
By slaughtering of Sufi swine porky pie
All Sufi's are swines therefore they are bacon gammon and ham
Living or dead they are Kullu Haram
Therefore just as the Jesus to save the men
He placed the Devil in the pig
Similarly to save the Sufi swines we must put his Mr Satanic Thoughts
In the mind of the Dr ISLAMIC Toblig
We must kill to cull But no harm may come to theirs body
Kill theirs ignorance by enforcing them with the SUNNAH study
Now to see ISLAM go to BANGLADESH INDIA or PAKISTAN
Now see the shrine of Sai Baba the Sufi goofy Shaitan
See your self the temple of Rama or the Rahim's tomb
See how Ajmeer became the Business boom
See your self that every Qari Alim Wali Auliya needs to meet certain qualifications
But to become Sufi one only needs singing acting dancing and mental delusions
The act with righteous deeds and pretend to be the scholar
They don't write to give living book
They only write to become the pen killer
Now this scheming Iblis or ignorant Insaan
Claiming Sufism came from the MUHAMMADAN clan
If Sufi is Islamic word then our Kalimah is Qawali
Song of Shaitan is same as the Azan of our Wali
I say no
I will fill theirs loughington with the most horrible sorrow
I will bind the fools with my foolington maze
I will kill all theirs dark mysticism with the stark SWEETSWORDS blaze
Because i know the house of Fathima is the house of NOOR
While house Sufi is the house of swine manure
I know i am using my tongue to clean the toilet
But they too are my brother how can i ever forget
I am the victim of all sin i know the sinner
Therefore i ask my Muslim brothers
Wali is Wali Sufi is Sufi Dome is Dome Minar is Minar
Now this Sufi swine Say's it is permissible to seek Prophets help
Because that what we will seek at the day of judgment
HARAMI knows not Haram does not become Halal by salacious Sufi sentiment
In did it is permissible to seek Prophets help while he is present
Every Sahabi did it by united agreement
At the hour he will be there because it is his MAKAM E MAHMOOD
Even there even MUHAMMAD will intercede by will of his MABUD
Therefore when we are present at the AKIRAH we will seek his intercession
But here at DUNIYA we hold ALLAH'S direct revelation
Here we hold AL QURAN and AL SUNNAH what directly intercedes all our deeds
Our Halal Hawas and our Kuffar Greed's
We know our prophet is the Hayatun Nabi
But does dead man know his visitor
Does dead man know what living utter
Does dead man receive living offering
Yes Holy Prophet MUHAMMAD Sallel La Hu Alahi Wa Sallim said
ALLAH return theirs souls to reply theirs greetings
Therefore one who is always remembered even for his good bay
He who becomes the Immortal he who will never die
Therefore ALLAH and his Angels remember MUHAMMADUR RASUL ALLAH
Sallel La Hu Alahi Wa Sallim in theirs Durood
Therefore send praises for MUHAMMAD and prayers for his MABUD
And know in did it is permissible to seek Prophets help at the hour of need
To energize our soul with the RUHANI feed
And we also know all RUH testified by the name of ALLAH before our birth
And from the grave we will send the live cry as we are crushed by the earth
Therefore death is the door to the immortality and this life is temporal
And we will surly die therefore technically we are all immortal
And he who has realized this immortality in this mortal form
He who becomes the master of metaphysics the physical phantom
And as every phantom as every manifest
Knows theirs work plays and in theirs rest
He knows to seek anything beside ALLAH IS shirk
And he who seek any thing beside ALLAH is the MUSHRIQUE
Now you ask any Sufi Swine about theirs concept of seekers
He will say Murid must seek Murshid to learn the secret of the ZIKRS
They with theirs pantheistic belief of Wahdatul Wujud
They seek Khawal and Khanqa of theirs masters to do theirs SUJUD
This Sufi they teach theirs students to seek the master to go to ALLAH
They ask about Muraqabah and Fanafillah
Yet ALLAH Say's come to me without any association
Yet the Sufi swine Say's no one can reach ALLAH
Without masters intersession and supervision
They with theirs six circular subtleties of reality the nafs qalb ruh sirr khafi and akhfa
Creates the mischief where there is the clear octagonal reality of the cubical KAABA
They say six because six is the sign of the circular KURSI
But they take as the octagonal cubical ARSH
Thus creating the Sufi goofy heresy
They say six because three six nine is the sign of the Infinite circle
While it is one two four and eight is the sign of the eternal cubicle
They say six and i say there is only four path
The RUH the AQL the NAFS and the FITRATH
They say it is written in this book
Other say it is write in that book
I say come to one book what we all agree
The book of mathematics as sure as one two and three
Agreed by not only Hindu musalaman but even by the deaf dumb and blind
Agreed by every race cast type and kind
Now i ask all theirs Sufi goofy Saliks to do Suluk and show theirs Karamat
I challenge with my eight cubicle reality
Against six stage st**idity of all Sufi Goofy idiot
Come and tell us about ours pious brothers of veranda
And about your polluted sister of Shopia
Tell us did word Sufi came from Tassauuf Suffa Sufia or your st**id Jahailiya
Come and talk to me with clear numbers not with ambiguous Aya of AL QURAN
I wont share AL QURAN or AL SUNNAH with you because it is for true Mumin or real Kaffir Be Iman
Our sacred books are not for you Sufi play and Mushrique game
I don't want you to choose portions of our books what is easy for you use
And leave what is hard for you to tame
I don't want you to choose the Aya only what benefits your term
And make Haram Halal and Halal Haram
You Associate Allah by claiming The poem by Sufi Rumi of Iran
Is the Persian version of AL QURAN the FURQAN
Because Al Quran is the Word of ALLAH
Therefore it is our Lateral GOD
Yet you claim Masnabi is similar book by word by word
Here you you associate word of ALLAH with the word of men
Yet ALLAH claims if Human Angels Jinn all combine Together
Yet all fail to create such a pen
You under you blind Mind Mesh cover see only five ALAMS
Where there is eight absolute
Yet you say there is only the Nasut Malakut Jabarut Lahut and Hahut
Don't you know there are the Seven heavens
Even that too have something on the top
Under the heavenly tree where all angelic duty must stop
So there is the Seven and one on the top makes it eight
So i ask every Sufi swines to give this KAFFIR ways before its too late
Yes i agree you will say i lack your Adhab Aksh breath and Chirag
I tell you i am the free spirit
Without any weight on my shoulder without any backward drag
Yes i lack Adhab because i don't respect any Shaitan
I will never show any respect to any Qadian or any Sufi goofy Be Iman
You say Fana is connecting with other to become the all united one
There is no more self no more ego all is one by this Fanafillah Union
Yet again you say next and ultimate state is Baqabillah of self annihilation
But how can you commit the double suicide even in your imagination
You have already have killed you ego to reach the level of Fana
But you kill your self again at baqabillah and still sing Hamd and Sana
Tell me many times does a creature needs to loose its self
To find that it is not the creator
I say a pen can loose zillion times
But it will still never find its self as the writer
Therefore i Say give up this evil practice
And learn the true Tassauuf if you want to grow
Read the SWEETSWORDS 108 [ The elemental Setting of Four foe ]
Learn the mathematics of His Highness Ali Mortuza
To count his progeny till the MAHDI
Learn about the Islamic KAABA and give up evil practice of the Kabalistic Yehudi
Learn fro for Noble Imams the HANIFA MALIK SHAFI and HANBAL
Only one of them is from the house Quraish
Rest are form different race colour and Nasal
Yet you say have family chain and Silsila
While there is the only one rope of faith
The Noose for Shauda to die on the way of ALLAH
By the call of Ahle Baith
The only Silsila only chain you hold is your chain letter scam
The Sufi goofi gnosis in the name of the mystical ISLAM
Now i will take you to the fourth station of the octagonal line
But i know it is only up to level three is the going limit for all Sufi swine
Now if you seek to go further then learn pigs are all Haram
And look at the top of this poem you will see there are some numbers in Fibonacci term
Out of this eight i Will tell you about the first four
So hold your body breath and mind for the RUHANI tour
You know Fibonacci series begins with one but i have stared with the three
Now see at your ego the soul is the one
And other is everything and every one else as your surrounding sanctuary
Now as you see you and the surrounding you know you did not create your self
Nor the surrounding is capable of creating its own being
So you take into the account there have to be the third
Who created me and everything else and every one else
Now you find your self
In the first level of the true trinity of this creation of fact and false
Now you find your self in this trinity of the self surrounding and the creator
And to go to the second stage you must become the one to one debtor
Just as if you truly want to Analise any particular problem
Then you have to pay all your attention to this particular item
This is your second stage the stage of the seeker
What the Sufi goofy call the Tariqathi Fiqar
And as you concentrate harder upon this one and only issue
And suddenly you forget everything else every one else you even forget you
Only the issue remains all else are gone
This is the third stage the Fanafillah the WHADATUL WUJOOD the union
But this is the level of Fanafillah
Where everything is God everything is ALLAH
To describe this conditions i will give you the living and the dead legends
The materialistic and the spiritualistic of the Fanafillah blends
From the materialistic side who say everything is matter so just relax
They are Dawkin Hawkin Darwin and Carl Marx
From the spiritual side who say everything soul so be Sufi
They are Sarwardi Hallaj Arabi Farabi and all Harami Philosophy
They fail to understand just as the body soul too is the creation of ALLAH
Therefore come out oh my brothers from the zombie land of Fanafillah
And think brothers those materialistic who truly do not believe in the spiritual real
The are not committing SHIRK knowingly they are ignorant but sincere solemn
But those materialistic those who are in doubt
And those spiritualistic those who are sure
When they associate any spiritual or material with ALLAH
They are committing the act of KUFFR
Now you may say if material is not ALLAH and spiritual is also not ALLAH
ALLAH is nor this ALLAH is nor that
Then tell us ALLAH is who ALLAH is what
Therefore listen ALLAH is he who shaped the men with his own hand
And breathed into him his own RUH and said be
So RUH is like air and the sound like the wave upon the sea
Just like sound and air is interlinked like the height and the weight
And we know when we speak it is our air and the sound
What records our echo in the carbon slate
And just as our recorded echo does not have our physical or spiritual part portion or sections
Similarly ALLAH sits on the ARSH creates in the KURSI
By his all unique unequal unneedful actions
No need can compel him to act because he all needless
Yet he creates out of mercy to be the listener of all heedless
It he who listens it is he who answers to whom he please
It is he creates the SUNNAH medicine and the QURANIC disease
With QURANIC disease he creates the Kharijite
But with the SUNNAH medicine he sends the Doctor AHLE BAITH
Therefore for this plague of master the Sufi Sheikh malady
Hold the rope of AHLE BAITH and await for the Imam MAHDI
I say brothers accept the SUNNAH and become the SUNNI
I say brothers accept IMAN and become the IMANI
I say brothers give up Fanafillah where you see all is one
Because illusion is its reality
But as every Wali Auliya knew one cannot remain in Fanafillah
Because of our bodily needs and necessity
It is when in our normal conditions of human life
You know you are the product of the dirty water of men and wife
You are not the divine creator who created all
It is when you separate your self from the one to save your fall
Once you separate from one
Only then you will find another singular
It is then you realize the first creation of ALLAH
The Noor Un Ala Noor
The MUHAMMDAN MUNAWWAR
But you must also realize this are only the four stage out of the octagonal eight
From there no one can go up or down
Without going through the Illuminati ALI MORTUZA'S gate
So beware when you send the Durood as the sing song Sama
It is when you accept sacred AL QURAN can read like salacious Sufi Sa Re Ga Ma
Therefore i the BE AQL break the treaty of the great Ahamad sirhindi
The Wahdatul Shahud the unity of the witness like peace loving Gandhi
I say there is no peace no compromise
No more goody goody ugliness by Mr Nice
I say when we witness the evil we declare Jihad
We won't compromise by any Gandhi Sirhindi peace loving word
See how easy it is to dis refute all your Dalil just like flash
All i had to do is just to visit your deceiving web
To find all your Sufi goofy trash
Your Sufi goofy gnosis
Your linguistic terms and your deaf and dumb and blind hypothesis
I can answer all your word games but i don't have the Patience
Because to think st**idity is the waste of human intelligence
I don't need books to prove you wrong
What approved by one sect and disproved by other brother
I will use only one book told by our Marrifatic father
Just as he divided the seventeen camel by three heir
So to you must divide the one by the self the sustainer and the Sansar
What is this single creation what resurrects all
Once you do this you enter the cubical reality
From the fictional circular ball
You will then understand the true meaning of Ihasan
You will witness the perfect condition
The formation of cosmos in the frame of Insaan
The ADAM KADAM the universal men
No ink no letter no books no grammar
But only one all encompassing pen
The very first thing what created by ALLAH
Writing the single repetition again again
La Ila Ha Illel La
MUHAMMAD UR RASULULLAH
But even then this simple Kalimah or the complex AL QURAN
Can mislead the Angels Jinn And the Insaan
Yes it is AL QURAN what misleads Mathematical Khrijite Rashid Khalifa
Yet SUNNAH of MUHAMMAD UR RASULULLAH what guides nonnumerical waiter
Awaluddin with the ilm of the mathematical Marrifa
Yes it is AL QURAN what created the Kharijite clan
But our Fibonacci Fitna our SWEETSWORD
We don't claim prophet hood we don't claim SWEETSWORDS is the word of GOD
Far from it
It is written by Innocent BE AQL and her husband the Ganja addict criminal
Who came to destroy all levels of the trance Samadi Fanafillah and HAL
Our position is this simple fact
By discovering the mathematical miracle of AL QURAN
Rashid Khalifa enlisted his name in the list of false prophet
But our discovery of mathematical miracle of SUNNAH of holy prophet MUHAMMAD
Is the last SUNNAH of prophet hood same as the AL QURAN is the last word of GOD
SWEETSWORDS is the proof Ilm e laduni can be gain by any one who have the desire
And you don't need any Guru Murshid Pir Teacher or Master
It is as simple as we have the SUNNAH and we have the AL QURAN
And we have the previous books the Thora Bible Veda Geetha and Puran
And we have living instructors in every Darul Uloom in every Madrasha
We don't need any secretive Sufi meeting room of Huzrah or any Hindu Akrah
We have all the immortal books and all the living learned
They just ask for some lump some fees in return for knowledge
They don't ask for our wholesome head
But the Sufi Goofy Say's show adhab to the sheikh till he commits the SHIRK
Even then be content do not be argumentative do not use you GOD given logic
Be patient and observe because Masters are Masters of all reason
When HAL is over when hangover is gone Master will give his sober sermon
But i say brothers do we really need to be the deaf dumb and blind
When we can see the dancing darvesh and drunken Masters of the kung fu kind
I say listen brothers when we felt to write our shouting mute
We found we cannot read the punctuations marks of the grammatical route
We cannot read the signs of the literary street
Therefore we got our self the poetical license for all academic criteria to meet
Now we got the masters license therefore we do the freelance
No st**id coma semicolon just pure intelligence
So think brothers if one waiter can do this then think about our writer
So do you really need any Sufi Goofy Guru Murshid and The Master
I say no brothers we have the rope of ALLAH what can bind us all
To believe in the AKHIRAH the meeting of the MAKAM E MAHMOOD hall
We can all meet there when we learn the true meaning of the WASILAH and FAZILAH
We can all meet there when we recite La Ila Ha Illel La
MUHAMMADUR RASULULLAH
So i the BE AQL put this four challenge to all Sufi swines
First tell me how do you get five ALAMS in the eight octagonal lines
For number two
Tell who are you
Are you the decorated woolish fools
Or the wisdom of naked needless brothers of verandah
Who died like Kings on the way of ALLAH
While lived as the beggar vagabond bandah
Now if you say wool
Then tell me fool
SUNNAH of the Prophet is to like what he likes
Dislike what he dislikes
And he wore cotton the comfort
Not the wool what gives suffering with spikes
On occasions he used wool and silk to show he is not an extremist
And for three tell me between Moses and Khidr
Who is the Miraculous paranormal activist
Tell me what MARRIFA could ever be more high
Talking directly to ALLAH Almighty here on earth without going to the sky
So if MOSES holds all miracles and metaphysics
Then what is Al Khidr's LADUNI deal
Tell me what is knowledge of the Green Man Gupta Ibn Chlorophyll
And now for the number four
Tell me about the Fanafillah your Ruhani tour
If Wahdatul Wujood is the unity of the beings
Then tell me why there is separation
Between the cubical ARSH and KURSI with the circular rings
Is the seven rings of the earths and seven of the sky
ARSH and KURSI all are united there is no low nor there is any high
Tell me about our real bitter SWEETSWORDS in your Sweet Sufi Goofy lie

 

Mr Barzakh Fitrath Ullah : The voice came from voiceless mouthless phone
It came from the lightless darkless twilight zone
It said when there was no light it doesn't mean there was the darkness
It only means there was no concept of colours of that image less
It was there the realm of two
Place of breathing air and talking RUH
it said single thing let there be light
And behold two thing came the marrifatic blindness and the shariatic sight
It said tale and testimony is not one thing but two
One is narrated by the mouth other by the RUH
It said NOOR is not light
But it is the beggeter of all fire
It said NOOR is the father of all light and darkness of this SANSAR
It said NOOR is the drop of sperm
What impregnated all feminine womb
NOOR is the groom awaited by every bride of the honeymoon tomb
Our own grave
The honeymoon suite for the MUHAMMADAN slave
There the salve seeks not the freedom but the tie
There they bind theirs earthen body with the MUHAMMADAN sky
There they unite with the singular creation
To realize the all separate creator
There they know light and darkness are two created entity from the singular beggeter
Therefore understand to create this creation
The very first thing ALLAH created was the system called evaluation
He created the first dot then expanded it to become the line
Then he placed the weight upon square
So it may grow to become the cubical sign
And in this cube
Heart of one lover made the circular repetition
Rabb Rabb Rabb oh my Mehboob
And by his praises and greetings within this cubical ARSH
He created the circular FOOTSTOOL
Within the cubical ARSH he created the circular KURSI for his omnipresent RASUL
It was the first dot the infinitely minute MUHAMMAD what created the big bang
The sound of this creation the MUHAMMADAN song
It is here everything is MUHAMMAD but everything is the creation of ALLAH
Therefore it is ALLAH who grants everything and MUHAMMAD is the WASILAH
And the WASILAH cannot grant anything because granter is the ALLAH the all giver
Therefore to seek to ALLAH is permitted
But to seek to RASUL is to commit the act of KUFFR
It is like putting partner to ALLAH what is against our deen of ISLAM
It is against the SUNNAH of the MUHAMMAD
Sallel La Hu Alahi Wa Sallm
Therefore give up this polytheistic Sufi policy and adopt the monotheistic ISLAMIC plan
Adopt the true ISLAMIC Iman Amal and Ihsaan
You must discard this Satanic Sufi word from the ISLAMIC creed
To save the ISLAMIC words Wali Auliya Pir and Murshid
Because this word Wali Auliya Qari Muazzin Comes with the certified qualifications
But word Sufi could be adopted any one who suffers from the mental delusions
And once they titled them self such words as Guru or Sufi
One they start to speculate about the Ilmul Gaib and the Phantom philosophy
They not only pretend to be the Wali Auliya
But they say the are Prophets the are Gods
Therefore i the BARZAKH reveal theirs lying words
I the BARZAKH disassociate ISLAM from the Sufi swines
I will separate theirs hidden Sufi circular symbols
With my manifest cubical ISLAMIC signs
I say no one have monopoly over ILM E LADUNI apart from the ALLAH
Therefore seek this knowledge i begun with this repetition of names
La Illa Ha illel La MUHAMMADUR RASULULLAH
To see the Ilme E Laduni i asked my visual inspiration
It said to me to understand the Laduni learn what is connection between Cain and Newton
Learn what is the connection between apple and the Gravity between crow and the Cain
Learn if Ilm e Marrifa is phantom force
Then why AL KHIDR have to suffer the physical toil hunger and the pain
If he could materialize appear and disappear with his power
Then surly he would kill the oppressed king at this punishing hour
He killed the bad son but not the evil father of the nation
Because it was the duty of the Moses his miracles and his sermon
So as you see hear it is the Moses who holds the secrets of all Miracle
Yet he too had to go to AL KHIDR for the unknown knowledge and the hidden AQL
And what is that knowledge apart from the most obvious answer
All events concerning AL KHIDR is the events of theirs future
In future boy will become naughty
In future boat will be taken
In future will the inheritors will get theirs booty
Now with this connection as you bind AL KHIDR
You will find one learned men with the power Zikr and Fiqr
He learned the secrets of the nature he learned the process of inspiration
And now with the same connection you bind the Cain and the Newton
There one apple drops and he gains the knowledge of the gravity
Here one crow digs and killer learns
The dead deserves the burial dignity
He gives death to one and becomes the father of all graves
By the power of intention he kills one men
But by the power of the inspiration the whole humanity he saves
Therefore Ilm E Marrifa is the Ilm of Inspiration
The divine gift from the creator to his earthen creation
Ilm E Marrifa is not the monopoly of any man
It is not only for the Hindu Musalaman or the Christian
It is even used by the trout as the swim toward theirs birth place
Used by monkey donkey and the ants race
What can live without this Ilm
Without exercising the logic in theirs mental gym
Ilm E Laduni is the knowledge gained by the name of GOD
Ilm E Laduni is the knowledge gained by our inner word
Just as SHARIAH is the knowledge the guidance by the revelation
By the rightly guided deeds by the previous generation
And the MARRIFA is the knowledge the spontaneous genius inspiration
The Ilm E Laduni of the Cain and the Newton
Ilm E Marrifa is the acquired information
Same as Ilm E Shariah is the given revelation
It this sixth sensory perception what led Edison to discover the light bulb
It was the Muslim Noor Un Ala Noor what glowed in his Christian Qulb
It is the most merciful ALLAH
Who wants to see the growth of the humanity as the whole
Not only for the Mullah mice and Murshid mole
Yet it is the ALLAH who wanted the humanity to gain the knowledge of the electronics
Now would ALLAH let humanity go without it if it is not the subject matter of the senile Sufi cynics
It was the ILM E MARRIFA what led one adulterous Adam to discover the condom
While another pious ADAM forgot the SHARIAH and ate the forbidden Gondom
Therefore to understand the MARIIFA you must know ILM E MARRIFA is based on the inspirations
Therefore it is from the human mind it is the human creation
But SHARIAH is based on the book of ALLAH
To challenge forever the deviant MUTAZILLAH
AL QURAN is the SHARIAH therefore all human inspiration must submit to the rule of the RABB
But inspiration should be used to distinguish the true word of the Yakub
From the fabricated word of the Job
Because no inspiration is necessary to know the fact of the one creator
But inspiration is necessary to interpret the many many mysteries of the nature
Ask any Christian Yehudi or Hindu
Do the need any inspiration to now there is only one GOD
But inspiration should be used to understand the ambiguous AL QURAN his final word
But the clear Aya of the AL QURAN leaves no doubt about the ALLAH Angels Prophets Jinns and the day of judgment
Therefore revelation of AL QURAN comes first and full
And the Laduni inspiration comes by the secondary installment 
You must understand the secrets of the creation the hidden and the manifest
The duality of the good and the evil
The degrees of the SHARIAH and the MARRIFA and the east and the west

ref......................................................... ..


 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 
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Al�Ihsaan - Perfection In Acts Of Worship
by Im�m al-Mad�na al-Munawarrah 'Al� Abd-ur-Rahm�n al-Hudhaif�
------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------

Friday Sermon from the Prophet's Mosque in Madina

on Al-Jum'ah 7 Dhul-Hijjah 1421 (March 2, 2001)

All praise is due to Allaah the Most Beneficent, Most Merciful. I testify that there is no god worthy of worship save Allaah and I also testify that Muhammad saws is the messenger of Allaah.

O you Muslims! Fear Allaah, for fear of Allaah is one�s provision for the next world and his treasure in this world. Hold fast unto your religion. Allaah has chosen Islaam as the religion for the inhabitants of the Earth and the Heavens and He has guided to it whomsoever He wishes among His slaves. Allaah has also made for those who follow this religion three ranks: Islaam, eeman, and ihsaan, which is the highest of the three ranks. Ihsaan is the best rank of Islaam, for one attains closeness to Allaah only through ihsaan. Ihsaan means doing good to oneself by worshipping Allaah with perfection and doing good to people. Allaah says,

 

  "And who can be better in religion than one who submits his face (himself) to Allaah (i.e. follows Allaah�s religion of Islaamic monotheism); and he is a muhsin (a good doer)." (An-Nisaa 4:125).   

He also says,

  "And do good. Truly Allaah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good doers)." (Al-Baqarah 2:195).   

The Almighty has also promised a great reward for the good doers in this world and the next. He promises them protection and good things of this life when he says,

  "Truly Allaah is with those who fear Him (keep their duty unto Him), and those who are good-doers." (An-Nahl 16:128)   

Among the reward of good deeds is that it makes good-doers win Allaah�s love. Allaah says,

  "Verily, Allaah loves the good-doers." (Aal Imraan 3:134).   

Doing good also makes Allaah provide relief for the good-doer whenever he is in distress and makes Allaah save Him from his enemies. Allaah also blesses the good-doers with different kinds of blessings and lets them have a happy ending. He says regarding Yoosuf,

  "Verily, he who fears Allaah with obedience to Him and is patient, then surely, Allaah makes not the reward of the good-doers to be lost." (Yoosuf 12:90)   

Among the rewards of good deeds is that Allaah will impart knowledge into the heart of the good-doer, which will enable him to differentiate between lawful and unlawful things, and between truth and falsehood. Allaah says about Yoosuf,

  "And when he (Yoosuf) attained his full manhood, We gave him wisdom and knowledge. Thus We reward the doers of good." (Yoosuf 12:22).   

Allaah also rewards the good-doers by making later good doers join their predecessors, giving them of His bounties and completing His favour on them. He says,

  "And the foremost to embrace Islaam of the Muhajirun (those who migrated from Mecca to Medina) and the Ansar (the citizens of Medina who helped and gave help to the Muhajirun) and also those who follow them exactly (in faith), Allaah is Well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success." (At-Tawbah 9:100).   

Allaah also rewards good doers by praising them and making His slaves praise them as well. The Almighty says about prophet Nooh (Noah),

  "Salaam (peace) be upon Nooh (from Us) among the Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists)."   

He also says regarding prophet Ibraheem (Abraham),

  "Peace upon Ibraheem! Thus indeed do We reward the Muhsinun."   

And about prophets Musa and Harun, He says,

  "Peace be upon Musa and Harun. Verily, thus do We reward the good-doers." (As-Saafaat 37:119-120).   

Although the verses mentioned above speak about prophets, yet the rewards mentioned in it will be the same to be given to other good-doers. He also says,

  "For those who do good in this world there is good, and the home of the hereafter will be better. And excellent indeed will be the home (i.e. Paradise) of the Muttaqun (the pious)." (An-Nahl 16:30)   

About the reward of the good-doers in the hereafter, Allaah says,

  "For those who have done good is the best (reward i.e. Paradise) and even more (i.e. having the honour of glancing upon the countenance of Allaah). Neither darkness nor dust nor any humiliating disgrace shall cover their faces. They are the dwellers of Paradise, they will abide therein forever." (Yoonus 10:26)   

The word "more" means having the prestige of seeing the Countenance of Allaah as it has been successively related in hadeeths that the believers will see their Lord on the day of Judgement. As a matter of fact having the privilege of seeing the Gracious Countenance of Allaah on the last day is a suitable reward for Ihsaan (i.e. good deeds) because ihsaan means to worship Allaah in this world as if one sees Him. Glancing at His Gracious Countenance plainly on the Day of Judgement then becomes the greatest reward for good deeds. As regards the unbelievers, their eyes will be screened from seeing Allaah on that day, as their hearts were veiled from knowing Allaah and fearing Him in this world. Allaah says,

  "Nay! Surely they (the evil-doers) shall be veiled from seeing their Lord that day." (Al-Mutaffifeen 83:15)   

Fellow Muslims! What then is this ihsan (good deed) that attracts such a high position before Allaah and such a great reward? The answer was provided by the Messenger of Allaah saws when he said

  , "Al-Ihsaan is to worship Allaah as if you see Him. And even though you do not see Him, He sees you!" (Muslim). 

This hadeeth means that man should worship Allaah, mindful of his closeness to Him and his standing before Him just as if he is seeing Him plainly. This state brings about God-consciousness and love of Allaah and purifies ones acts of worship. Anas bin Malik narrated that a man said,

  "O Messenger of Allaah! Tell me a short word." The Prophet saws replied, "Pray as if you are in your farewell prayer, for if you do not see Allaah, He sees you." And the meaning of the phrase "if you do not see Him, He sees you" is that if one cannot worship Allaah as if one sees Him, he should then worship Him with the conviction that Allaah does see him and that none of his affairs is concealed from Allaah. Haarithah related that the Prophet saws told him, "O Haarithah! How did you enter into your morning?" He said, "I replied, �I entered into the morning as a true believer.�" He said, "The Prophet saws then told me, �Watch what you say, for every word has a reality.�" He said, "I then said, �O Messenger of Allaah, I keep myself away from the (leisures of this) world, spend my nights in prayer and fast during my days. I am now as if I am looking at the throne of my Lord appearing. I am also as if I am looking at the inhabitants of Paradise as they visit one another. And it seems as if I am looking at the dwellers of hell as they howl therein!" The Prophet saws then said, "You have indeed seen (what you claimed to have seen). Therefore continue on your state of Ibaadah, O slave whom Allaah has illuminated his heart with faith!" 

Al-Ihsaan is to observe prayer in the best form, moving closer to Allaah and beseeching Him secretly during the night when people are asleep. So also is doing good to people. Allaah says,

  "Verily, they were before this good doers. They used to sleep but little by night (invoking their Lord and praying with fear and hope). And in the hours before dawn they were (found) asking (Allaah) for forgiveness. And in their properties there was the right of the beggar (who asked) and the poor (who do not ask others)." (Adh-Dhaariyaat 51:17-19)   

Al-Ihsaan also means striving against one�s soul, struggle against Satan, hypocrites and unbelievers. Allaah says,

  "And many a Prophet fought (in Allaah�s cause) and along with him (fought) large bands of religious learned men. But they never lost heart for that which did befall them in Allaah�s way, nor did they weaken nor degrade themselves. And Allaah loves the patient ones. And they said nothing but, �Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and our transgressions (in keeping our duties to you). Establish our feet firmly and give us victory over the disbelieving folk! So Allaah gave them the reward of this world, and the excellent reward of the hereafter. And Allaah loves the good-doers." (Aal-Imraan 3:146-148).   

It is also an aspect of Ihsan to spend in the way of Allaah whether one is rich or poor, to suppress ones anger and forgive the ignorant ones when they misbehave. Allaah says,

  "Those who spend (in Allaah�s cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger and who pardon men; verily, Allaah loves the good-doers." (Aal-Imraan 3:134).   

It is a part of Ihsaan to surrender to the truth, to love it and to listen to the revealed book of Allaah with sound and healthy minds and attentive ears. Allaah says,

  "And when they listen to what has been sent down to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the truth they have recognised. They say, "Our Lord! We believe; so write us among the witnesses. And why should we not believe in Allaah and in that which has come to us of the truth (Islaamic monotheism)? And we wish that our Lord will admit us (in Paradise on the Day of Resurrection along with the righteous people (Prophet Muhammad saws and his companions). So because of what they said, Allaah rewarded them with gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise), they will abide therein forever. Such is the reward of the good-doers." (Al-Maa�idah 5:83-85)   

Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah as He should be feared and race towards His pleasure. Know that His pleasure can never be attained except by carrying out his commandments and abstaining from what He prohibits, for this is really the worship, for which He created the man and jinn. Allaah has also bestowed his favour on you by explaining to you preferable periods in which one should increase his act of worship so as to get great rewards. Among these periods are the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. Standing at Arafah also falls within these days, and it is on this great day that Allaah forgives great sins. The Prophet saws said,

  "There is no day in which Allaah redeems as many souls from hell as the day of Arafah. Allaah comes near and boasts with His servants in front of the angels. He then says, "What do these people want?" (Muslim). 

Abo Qataadah ra also narrated that the Messenger of Allaah saws was asked about fasting on the day of Arafah, and he replied,

  "It removes the sins of the previous year and the current year." (Muslim). 

Strive therefore to do as many good deeds in this day as possible. Remember Allaah much and keep yourslef away from the prohibited things. Allaah says,

  "And march forth in the way (which leads) to forgiveness from your Lord and Paradise as wide as are the Heavens and the Earth, prepared for the pious. Those who spend (in Allaah�s cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger and who pardon men; verily, Allaah loves the good-doers." (Aal-Imraan 3:133:134).   


 Ihsan � the Gnostic Knowledge of Mankind


 


The Arabic word ihsan, which begins the title of this talk, comes from the verb ahsana which means t"o act well, to do something expertly, to master something", but although these meanings are indeed included in it, the word as it is used here comes from a well-known saying of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in which he was asked to define the deen or life-practice he was sent to convey to mankind. He divided it into three parts: firstly Islam which he defined in terms of the five pillars, the actions every Muslim must perform; secondly Iman or faith which he defined in terms of the things every Muslim must believe; and thirdly Ihsan which he defined by saying, "It is to worship Allah as if you could see Him, for though you may not see Him, He crtainly sees you." In other words Ihsan involves the bringing together of the other two aspects of the deen by a human being who is in a state of intense awareness of the presence of his Lord. Many great Sufis have said that this is sufism. Our master, Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi, says as part of his definition of sufism, and therefore Ihsan, at the beginning of his book The Hundred Steps:


Sufism is the science of the journey to the King� It is taking the ancient way, the primordial path of direct experience of the Real.

The sufi is universal. He has reduced and then eliminated the marks of selfhood to allow a clear view of the cosmic reality. He has rolled up the cosmos in its turn and obliterated it. He has gone beyond. The sufi has said "Allah" � until he has understood.


Something of the meaning of these words will unfold, Allah willing, during the course of this talk.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib, the first shaykh of Shaykh Abdalqadir, says with reference to Ihsan in the long supplication which forms part of his wird, one of the central practices of the path we follow:


We ask for an Ihsan which will drive us into the presence of the unseen worlds and which will purify us from every kind of forgetfulness and defect.

This brings the matter right back to home to us sitting here in this zawiyya which is a place dedicated to making Ihsan a reality in the lives of those who use it. What is being talked about is not some theoretical construct but rather what is possible for us as human beings; what direction we are going to take in our own lives. The shaykh speaks here about the presence of unseen worlds and he also speaks about forgetfulness and defects, and this brings us immediately face to face with two very different paths we might follow in our lives. The word for human being in Arabic is insan. One meaning of this word is the pupil of the eye; another possibility is that it comes from the word which means to forget. So the word itself contains the two directions which a human being can take. One possibility is that we become completely engrossed in this world, forgetting that it is merely part of a much longer journey which started before we were born and will continue beyond our death. The other possibility open to us is that, like the pupil of the eye, we become a lens, except that whereas the pupil stands as the interface between the outer world of forms and the inner world of sense perception, the human being as a whole stands potentially as the conscious interface between this material world and the unseen world of spiritual realities.

So how does it come about that we hold this exalted position in the scheme of things? There are three sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, which together make up a complete description of the true nature of existence and of our place as human beings in it and which take us to the very root of our humanness and put us beyond all the evolutionary or historical definitions with which we have been so profoundly indoctrinated.

The first is: "Allah was and there was nothing with Him � and He is as He was."

The second is Allah's words on the tongue of His Messenger: "I was a hidden treasure and I desired to be known. So I created the creation in order to be known."

And the third is Allah's words conveyed by the Prophet: "The whole universe cannot contain Me but the heart of My believing servant contains Me."

"Allah was and there was nothing with Him�" The current climate of opinion has turned the existence of God into a matter of philosophical speculation with the result that for most people, including many who consider themselves believers, the existence of God has been turned into a speculative hypothesis. How far we have come from the Truth! The existence of Allah is the most absolute certainty. Not, it is true, the distant, capricious, potentate God of misinterpreted scripture but Reality itself, that Oneness on Whom everything is totally and continually dependant for its being, but Who is Himself beyond need of anything � Oneness, not in the arithmetical sense of being the first of two or three but rather that absolute singularity the physicists talk of which does not permit the independent existence of anything else along side it. Everything else comes into existence and goes out of it again, begins and ends, is born and dies. Allah is before and after. There is no beginning to His firstness, no end to His lastness. Nothing is like Him or can be compared with Him nor is it possible to have any conception of what He is like.

"And He is as He was." If this is the case how come we are sitting here now living on this planet which is part of the solar system in one of countless galaxies in a universe which seems to go on for ever? The answer to this question is that the absolute, majestic and overwhelming transcendence of the first tradition is conditioned by the second: "I was a hidden treasure and I desired to be known. So I created the creation in order to be known." It was the desire for self-knowledge expressed in the depths of the Essence of the Divine Being that caused the process of creation and led to the unfolding of the many layers of existence and all the forms contained in them including ourselves and the universe we inhabit. And there is another tradition about the actual moment of creation which says that when Allah decreed that the creation should come into existence out of non-existence He grasped a handful of His light and said to it, "Be Muhammad!" And then from that light He created everything else in existence.

Now we have to be careful when we hear this that we do not dismiss it by considering it to be merely a figure of speech or a poetic metaphor. It is literally what happened. Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib says in his Diwan at the beginning of the qasida entitled The Qualities of Muhammad:


Muhammad is the fountain-head of lights and darkness and
      the source of their emergence from the presence of before-time.
So his light was the first of lights when He determined
     the manifestation of His Names in the first world.

From him all things were clothed in their origination in being,
     and their support comes from him without any interruption.


And this, of course, as it applies to the whole of existence also applies to our own universe and everything in it including our own emergence as human beings on the earth. I must repeat: be careful you do not take this as metaphor; it is a literal description of how things have come into existence. Taking the present state of the expanding universe and working backwards from it, cosmologists, both astronomers and quantum physicists, have come up with a more or less consistent picture of the first moments of the universe. They say that the universe developed from a singularity, an infinitely small, infinitely dense point emerging out of nothingness. It was a fireball, they say, and by that they mean, of course, not fire as we know it today, but rather a ball of pure energy. Its rate of expansion was incredibly fast as we understand time now but because in those early moments space and time were inextricably bound up together we can have no real idea of what the conditions were like within it. The important point for us in the present context is that the whole event in these very early stages can only be described as being made up of undifferentiated light.

So what has, through the aeons of expansion, turned into innumerable galaxies made up of stars and planets, a few of which are visible to us when we look up into the breathtaking beauty of the sky at night, was all present in a latent form in this literally fistful sized ball of light. Because of the inconceivable degree of chance necessary to bring about the conditions which made our emergence as sentient human beings on this planet a possibility, the scientists have developed a theory they call the anthropic principle. They say that if we make the simple assumption that human beings exist, all the principle qualities of the universe, all the natural laws, even all the physical constants, can be derived from this assumption. In other words what they are saying is that the whole universe exists only in order to give human beings somewhere to live, so that they, in turn, will be able to describe the universe. How little they understand!

In the 13th Century Shaykh Muhyi'd-din ibn al-'Arabi, whose family came from Murcia and who lived down the road in Seville, enunciated clearly what was in any case common knowledge among the Muslims: "In the universe it was man who was intended." This was, of course, because they knew that the first impulse of creation took the form of the Muhammadan Light: in other words they understood that the whole purpose of existence was the coming into being of the perfect human form which became physically manifest in the succession of incorruptible Messengers and Prophets of Allah, may the peace of Allah be upon all of them, who reached their apogee and fulfilment with the advent of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. That was the mirror in which the "Hidden Treasure" became known by revealing Himself to Himself in all His Majesty and Beauty.

Now we are approaching the subject matter of this talk: the gnostic knowledge of mankind; what Shaykh



-------------
awal


Posted By: Nur_Ilahi
Date Posted: 19 January 2008 at 3:11am

Assalamualaikum,

I am a new comer here and I would like to add some comments about sufism.

As we know Rasulullah started preaching Islam in Mecca for 13 years. The ayahs or sentences that came down in Mecca were mostly on aqidah or faith. Once their faith were strong and they started to emigrate to Medinah and started a Muslim society, then Allah brought down ayahs that stress more on the shariah. Once their aqidah or faith were strong, whatever laws or command that Allah introduced were accepted with open hands.

I had been reading about tasawwuf for the past 20 years and had been searching for a Sufi teacher. Only recently had I met with one and the zikir and meditation seems simple but it in reality it is so very difficult. It is an internal war against our own nafs (lust/desire/passion/ego) It is a silent zikir (saying Allah in the heart.) I found that this 'amal is the best of all the ibadah that I had learnt my entire life. (by the way I am nearing 50). And I thank Allah for giving me this knowledge. Indeed Sufism is the essence of Islamic teaching.

The meaning of tasawwuf is - Note:  Tasawwuf, Tazk�yah al Nafs, Tasf�yyah al Qalb, Irf�n, Sufism, Isl�mic Mysticism, Esoteric or Inner Dimension of Isl�m, Purification of the Heart/Self/Soul and more recently Isl�mic or Sufic Psychology are used inter-changeably.

Tasawwuf is an acronym made up of the four consonant letters: t, s, w, and f.
t stands for tawbah, repentance
s stands for safa, purity, peace and joy
w stands for wilayah, the sanctity of the lovers and friends of Allah
f stands for fana, the annihilation of self into the nothingness.

http://www.crescentlife.com/spirituality/sufism.htm - http://www.crescentlife.com/spirituality/sufism.htm

As to the initiator of this question, I recommend that you stick to this practise because you will feel the calmness of the soul. If possible cry as much as you can when you meditate. The tears are for washing the sins of our souls.

 The only advise I would like to give you is that do not wait too long to say the shahadah. You may never know when you will die. Please do not die before you accept Allah as your True Salvation.

Salam.



-------------
Ilahi Anta Maksudi, Wa Redhaka Mathlubi - Oh Allah, You are my destination, Your Pleasure is my Intention.


Posted By: poga
Date Posted: 29 January 2008 at 12:45pm
Originally posted by Nur_Ilahi Nur_Ilahi wrote:

Assalamualaikum,

I am a new comer here and I would like to add some comments about sufism.

As we know Rasulullah started preaching Islam in Mecca for 13 years. The ayahs or sentences that came down in Mecca were mostly on aqidah or faith. Once their faith were strong and they started to emigrate to Medinah and started a Muslim society, then Allah brought down ayahs that stress more on the shariah. Once their aqidah or faith were strong, whatever laws or command that Allah introduced were accepted with open hands.

I had been reading about tasawwuf for the past 20 years and had been searching for a Sufi teacher. Only recently had I met with one and the zikir and meditation seems simple but it in reality it is so very difficult. It is an internal war against our own nafs (lust/desire/passion/ego) It is a silent zikir (saying Allah in the heart.) I found that this 'amal is the best of all the ibadah that I had learnt my entire life. (by the way I am nearing 50). And I thank Allah for giving me this knowledge. Indeed Sufism is the essence of Islamic teaching.

The meaning of tasawwuf is - Note:  Tasawwuf, Tazk�yah al Nafs, Tasf�yyah al Qalb, Irf�n, Sufism, Isl�mic Mysticism, Esoteric or Inner Dimension of Isl�m, Purification of the Heart/Self/Soul and more recently Isl�mic or Sufic Psychology are used inter-changeably.

Tasawwuf is an acronym made up of the four consonant letters: t, s, w, and f.
t stands for tawbah, repentance
s stands for safa, purity, peace and joy
w stands for wilayah, the sanctity of the lovers and friends of Allah
f stands for fana, the annihilation of self into the nothingness.

http://www.crescentlife.com/spirituality/sufism.htm - http://www.crescentlife.com/spirituality/sufism.htm

As to the initiator of this question, I recommend that you stick to this practise because you will feel the calmness of the soul. If possible cry as much as you can when you meditate. The tears are for washing the sins of our souls.

 The only advise I would like to give you is that do not wait too long to say the shahadah. You may never know when you will die. Please do not die before you accept Allah as your True Salvation.

Salam.

ASSALAMUALAIKUM

firstly i congratulate you for right decision to accept ISLAM

now you know the concept of one creator and his system of prophet hood and you also know prophet hood is ended with MUHAMMAD Sallel La Hu Alahi Wa Sallim

Because you now believe this firmly than you also know QUARAN and HADIS are complete

Because prophet hood has ended QUARAN and HADIS must provide answer to the end time

now this Sufi swines says they only know something what if they do not give no one can get

therefore QURAN and HADIS is not enough we also need Sufi and this is against ISLAM

and as for theirs TSWF

T for TOILET

S for sh1t

W for waste

F for filth

 



-------------
awal


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 31 January 2008 at 9:43pm
Originally posted by poga poga wrote:

now this Sufi swines says they only know something what if they do not give no one can get

therefore QURAN and HADIS is not enough we also need Sufi and this is against ISLAM

Please learn more about sufism. Have you read all of this thread?  

Quote and as for theirs TSWF

T for TOILET

S for sh1t

W for waste

F for filth

I don't think this is acceptable here.



-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: rami
Date Posted: 31 January 2008 at 10:07pm
Bi ismillahi rahmani raheem

firstly i congratulate you for right decision to accept ISLAM

now you know the concept of one creator and his system of prophet hood and you also know prophet hood is ended with MUHAMMAD Sallel La Hu Alahi Wa Sallim

Because you now believe this firmly than you also know QUARAN and HADIS are complete

Because prophet hood has ended QUARAN and HADIS must provide answer to the end time

now this Sufi swines says they only know something what if they do not give no one can get

therefore QURAN and HADIS is not enough we also need Sufi and this is against ISLAM

and as for theirs TSWF

T for TOILET

S for sh1t

W for waste

F for filth


There must be some master book that all sufis learn there deviant beliefs from because hey all sufis believe the exact same thing in every country around the world....oh and its all deviant.

If you havnt even noticed that there are different sufi groups all believing different things yet than you know nothing about it. Do you know the difference between a muslim sufi and a non muslim one? and yes there are many sufis who dont even believe in the Quran or the prophet but you somehow have boiled it down to one simple label SUFI just like some dumb westerners think all muslims are terrorist, you beliefs are no better.

Educate yourself before you educate others.




-------------
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.


Posted By: poga
Date Posted: 01 February 2008 at 5:43am
Originally posted by rami rami wrote:

Bi ismillahi rahmani raheem

firstly i congratulate you for right decision to accept ISLAM

now you know the concept of one creator and his system of prophet hood and you also know prophet hood is ended with MUHAMMAD Sallel La Hu Alahi Wa Sallim

Because you now believe this firmly than you also know QUARAN and HADIS are complete

Because prophet hood has ended QUARAN and HADIS must provide answer to the end time

now this Sufi swines says they only know something what if they do not give no one can get

therefore QURAN and HADIS is not enough we also need Sufi and this is against ISLAM

and as for theirs TSWF

T for TOILET

S for sh1t

W for waste

F for filth


There must be some master book that all sufis learn there deviant beliefs from because hey all sufis believe the exact same thing in every country around the world....oh and its all deviant.

If you havnt even noticed that there are different sufi groups all believing different things yet than you know nothing about it. Do you know the difference between a muslim sufi and a non muslim one? and yes there are many sufis who dont even believe in the Quran or the prophet but you somehow have boiled it down to one simple label SUFI just like some dumb westerners think all muslims are terrorist, you beliefs are no better.

Educate yourself before you educate others.


Therefore give up this polytheistic Sufi policy and adopt the monotheistic ISLAMIC plan
Adopt the true ISLAMIC Iman Amal and Ihsaan
You must discard this Satanic Sufi word from the ISLAMIC creed
To save the ISLAMIC words Wali Auliya Pir and Murshid
Because this word Wali Auliya Qari Muazzin Comes with the certified qualifications
But word Sufi could be adopted any one who suffers from the mental delusions
And once they titled them self such words as Guru or Sufi
Once they start to speculate about the Ilmul Gaib and the Phantom philosophy
They not only pretend to be the Wali Auliya but they say the are Prophets they are Gods
Therefore i the BARZAKH reveal theirs lying words
I the BARZAKH disassociate ISLAM from the Sufi swines
I will separate theirs hidden Sufi circular symbols with my manifest cubical ISLAMIC signs
I say no one have monopoly over ILM E LADUNI apart from the ALLAH
Therefore seek this knowledge i begun with this repetition of names
La Illa Ha illel La MUHAMMADUR RASULULLAH

from SWEETSWORDS 65 [ Marrifatic Map ]

 



-------------
awal


Posted By: rami
Date Posted: 01 February 2008 at 6:33am
Bi ismillahi rahmani raheem

it would be much simpler if you just learn to differentiate between those who do what you are saying and those who dont rather than accuse half the muslim population on this earth of being kufar.

there is no excuse for your jahaliyah, you have killed and have not even bothered to ask about the crime the person committed, you have found people guilty simply becouse of there names.

you even accused me and you know nothing about me how pathetic!


-------------
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.


Posted By: poga
Date Posted: 01 February 2008 at 9:14am

there is no excuse for your jahaliyah, you have killed and have not even bothered to ask about the crime the person committed, you have found people guilty simply becouse of there names.

ASSALAMUALAIKUM

yes i name the names to save the names of my Masters AHLE BAITH

i am theirs barking dog who also bites

yes i name the names and only names i disgrace is SUFI SWINES

QADIANI KAFFIRS

KHAJIRITE MUSHIRKS

now i ask you if we lose word SUFI from ISLAMIC grammar what to to ISLAM through western neoplatonic mind of Spanish ibn ARABI what ISLAM going to loose apart from the filth

 

 



-------------
awal


Posted By: poga
Date Posted: 01 February 2008 at 9:18am
Originally posted by poga poga wrote:

there is no excuse for your jahaliyah, you have killed and have not even bothered to ask about the crime the person committed, you have found people guilty simply becouse of there names.

ASSALAMUALAIKUM

yes i name the names to save the names of my Masters AHLE BAITH

i am theirs barking dog who also bites

yes i name the names and only names i disgrace is SUFI SWINES

QADIANI KAFFIRS

KHAJIRITE MUSHIRKS

now i ask you if we lose word SUFI from ISLAMIC grammar what came into ISLAM through western neoplatonic mind of Spanish ibn ARABI what ISLAM going to loose apart from the filth

 

 

Sufi the root word came from the wool
From the bah bah white sheep the Christian fool
They wore the woolen vest infested with lice
They lived in monastery like the hermit mice
They lived as they will with theirs self inflicted suffering
They had nothing but theirs madness as theirs ritualistic offering
These fool Say's wool while it was the petal
The first dress of Adam and Eve COTTON
From the living trees not the leather from the dead cattle
Just as our Holy Prophet choose the Egyptian and Yemeni COTTON
Above the Chinese and Indian wool
Wool is not the Islamic comfort but self suffering of the Christian fool
Therefore oh my brothers do not cry
By slaughtering of Sufi swine porky pie
All Sufi's are swines therefore they are bacon gammon and ham
Living or dead they are Kullu Haram
Therefore just as the Jesus to save the men
He placed the Devil in the pig
Similarly to save the Sufi swines we must put his Mr Satanic Thoughts
In the mind of the Dr ISLAMIC Toblig
We must kill to cull But no harm may come to theirs body
Kill theirs ignorance by enforcing them with the SUNNAH study
Now to see ISLAM go to BANGLADESH INDIA or PAKISTAN
Now see the shrine of Sai Baba the Sufi goofy Shaitan
See your self the temple of Rama or the Rahim's tomb
See how Ajmeer became the Business boom
See your self that every Qari Alim Wali Auliya needs to meet certain qualifications
But to become Sufi one only needs singing acting dancing and mental delusions
The act with righteous deeds and pretend to be the scholar
They don't write to give living book
They only write to become the pen killer
Now this scheming Iblis or ignorant Insaan
Claiming Sufism came from the MUHAMMADAN clan
If Sufi is Islamic word then our Kalimah is Qawali
Song of Shaitan is same as the Azan of our Wali
I say no
I will fill theirs loughington face with the most horrible sorrow
I will bind the fools with my foolington maze
I will kill all theirs dark mysticism with the stark SWEETSWORDS blaze
Because i know the house of Fathima is the house of NOOR
While house Sufi is the house of swine manure
I know i am using my tongue to clean the toilet
But they too are my brother how can i ever forget
I am the victim of all sin i know the sinner
Therefore i ask my Muslim brothers
Wali is Wali Sufi is Sufi Dome is Dome Minar is Minar

from SWEETSWORDS 65 [ Marrifatic Map ]

 



-------------
awal


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 01 February 2008 at 5:43pm

Poga please leave this thread, create another one if you will but I don't won't this thread to be ruined by your antics of sufi swine and lengthy poems.

I will say to you again, Sufism is part of islam it is the spiritual heart of it. Please go and learn about it.  



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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: poga
Date Posted: 03 February 2008 at 2:46am
Originally posted by Angel Angel wrote:

Poga please leave this thread, create another one if you will but I don't won't this thread to be ruined by your antics of sufi swine and lengthy poems.

I will say to you again, Sufism is part of islam it is the spiritual heart of it. Please go and learn about it.  

if word SUFI is part of ISLAM produce your proof now

 



-------------
awal


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 03 February 2008 at 6:20am
Read the thread then you might see

-------------
~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: poga
Date Posted: 03 February 2008 at 7:04am


 

 

proof about SUFI SWINES

from begining jewish and nassara they used this spys to infiltrate ISLAM and create sects

thus from spain the master spy the seal of JAHILIYAA ibn arabi

and from india his deputy KAFFIR QADIAN

now they want to become political and create theirs own SHARIAH COUNCIL

here is the PROOF


Sufi Muslim Council Exposed

Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Haras Rafiq wants Ruth Kelly's money

As Ruth Kelly spoke at the Local Government Association today, you could see Haras Rafiq of the Neoconservative "Sufi Muslim Council" sitting by her side and almost rubbing his hands in glee when he heard that all he had to do was tow the government line in order to get funding from the Government.

In communist speak, Kelly spoke of "deradicalisation programmes" and basically talked about a state-sponsored version of Islam - step in Haras Rafiq - fresh from his trip to the Kibbutz, while Israeli bombs pounded Lebanon and Gaza.

Again, Haras Rafiq was dragged in front of the television cameras to support the government line - We ask once again - who are the "Sufi Muslim Council"? Who funds them? What are their links to the Labour Party? Why do they have such a close relationship with the neocons in Washington? What are the links between the SMC and the Zionists?

posted by Sufi at 2:27 PM | 0 comments 

Tuesday, August 29, 2006
7 Questions to ask the Sufi Muslim Council

(1) What is the source of funding for the Sufi Muslim Council? There are rumours that leaders (not sure if this should be plural, as there only seems to be one!) have been offering around wads of cash for this project. The Muslim community deserves to know.

(2) What are the links between the Sufi Muslim Council, Haras Rafiq and the British government? What meetings has Rafiq had with government, politicians or civil servants, other than those that have been publicised. Suddenly, Rafiq is invited by the government to join the post 7/7 working groups and all meetings thereafter - he was unknown before then.

(3) What is the link between the Sufi Muslim Council and the Labour Party? Azhar Ali - one of the "co-founders" of the Sufi Muslim Council has no Sufi credentials but has been a Labour Party councillor. Does the SMC adopt a "New Sufism" approach, akin to "New Labour"?

(4) What are the links between the Sufi Muslim Council and the much criticised Bush and Cheney supporting "Islamic Supreme Council of America"?

(5) What are the links between the Sufi Muslim Council and neoconservatives in the USA? Much of the analysis on the Sufi Muslim Council website is taken from neoconservative writers and think tanks. The criticism of Muslim Brotherhood and HT is taken direct from the writings of the neocons.

(6) What are the links between the Sufi Muslim Council and Zionists? The Sufi Muslim Council has boasted of its links to Jewish organisations in the UK that are ardent supporters of the Israeli state.

(7) What is the view of the Sufi Muslim Council on Qadianis, who claim to be Muslims? Private sources have told us that the Sufi Muslim Council is willing to accept that Qadianis are Muslims, even though they reject the finality of the final Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (saw).

posted by Sufi at 3:32 PM | 0 comments 

Wednesday, August 23, 2006
New Sufis for New Labour

 

Sufi Muslim Council Exposed

Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Haras Rafiq wants Ruth Kelly's money

As Ruth Kelly spoke at the Local Government Association today, you could see Haras Rafiq of the Neoconservative "Sufi Muslim Council" sitting by her side and almost rubbing his hands in glee when he heard that all he had to do was tow the government line in order to get funding from the Government.

In communist speak, Kelly spoke of "deradicalisation programmes" and basically talked about a state-sponsored version of Islam - step in Haras Rafiq - fresh from his trip to the Kibbutz, while Israeli bombs pounded Lebanon and Gaza.

Again, Haras Rafiq was dragged in front of the television cameras to support the government line - We ask once again - who are the "Sufi Muslim Council"? Who funds them? What are their links to the Labour Party? Why do they have such a close relationship with the neocons in Washington? What are the links between the SMC and the Zionists?

posted by Sufi at 2:27 PM | 0 comments 

Tuesday, August 29, 2006
7 Questions to ask the Sufi Muslim Council

(1) What is the source of funding for the Sufi Muslim Council? There are rumours that leaders (not sure if this should be plural, as there only seems to be one!) have been offering around wads of cash for this project. The Muslim community deserves to know.

(2) What are the links between the Sufi Muslim Council, Haras Rafiq and the British government? What meetings has Rafiq had with government, politicians or civil servants, other than those that have been publicised. Suddenly, Rafiq is invited by the government to join the post 7/7 working groups and all meetings thereafter - he was unknown before then.

(3) What is the link between the Sufi Muslim Council and the Labour Party? Azhar Ali - one of the "co-founders" of the Sufi Muslim Council has no Sufi credentials but has been a Labour Party councillor. Does the SMC adopt a "New Sufism" approach, akin to "New Labour"?

(4) What are the links between the Sufi Muslim Council and the much criticised Bush and Cheney supporting "Islamic Supreme Council of America"?

(5) What are the links between the Sufi Muslim Council and neoconservatives in the USA? Much of the analysis on the Sufi Muslim Council website is taken from neoconservative writers and think tanks. The criticism of Muslim Brotherhood and HT is taken direct from the writings of the neocons.

(6) What are the links between the Sufi Muslim Council and Zionists? The Sufi Muslim Council has boasted of its links to Jewish organisations in the UK that are ardent supporters of the Israeli state.

(7) What is the view of the Sufi Muslim Council on Qadianis, who claim to be Muslims? Private sources have told us that the Sufi Muslim Council is willing to accept that Qadianis are Muslims, even though they reject the finality of the final Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (saw).

posted by Sufi at 3:32 PM | 0 comments 

Wednesday, August 23, 2006
New Sufis for New Labour

 

these are take from hindu NEO NAZI sites see how the hate islam and love SUFI SWINES

 

other. SufiSaints and Bhakti Cults, both were very popular with following amongstsubalterns. Sufis were more tilted towards spiritual side of Islam. They had to opposethe orthodox Ulema of Islam (those learned in Islamic Theology) who wereclose to the elite and power center of the society. These Sufis were closeto Christians and Jew mystics and also to the spirituality of some Hindusects. Moinuddin Ibn Arabi founded the doctrine of Wahadat-Al-Wajud (i.e.Unity of being,), this doctrine promoted spiritual universalism anddemolished the barriers of caste and creed. According to their preaching,real being is one and we are all His manifestations. Baba Farid of Punjabwrote his poetry in Punjabi and his verses were quoted in the AdiGranth,(Granth Saheb) by Guru Nanak. Mir Miyan another Sufi saint was requested to lay the foundation stoneof Harmandir in golden temple. Sayyid Waris Shah wrote Hir Ranzha,greatest classic of medieval Punjabi literature.

 



-------------
awal


Posted By: poga
Date Posted: 03 February 2008 at 7:08am

Originally posted by Angel Angel wrote:

Read the thread then you might see

 

only proof i can see is what i see on tv about alchoholic drink that gives the drunks the wings

~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~

in dream any one can fly



-------------
awal


Posted By: rami
Date Posted: 03 February 2008 at 8:50am
Bi ismillahi rahmani raheem

do you know how to think?

do you know how to Analise?

do you know what Logic is?

are you just emotional?

if you answered yes to the last one then you are not doing any of the three before it i.e your posts are just rants?

you ask for proof then when you are pointed towards it you ignorantly and emotionally say no i dont want to read it.

Point A: the word sufi as it is used today represents an unimaginable number of different groups all having different beliefs.

Question: if this is the absolute truth [which it is] how on earth can showing  what one two three or even 100 different sufi groups are doing wrong represent every single sufi on earth that not only is alive today but lived in the PAST AND HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SUFIS YOU KNOW.

point B: you are blindly talking about almost every single major scholar in Islam, there isnt a single scholar on the face of this earth who isnt indebted to the fiqh works of a past sufi scholars.

based on the two points above YOU have to conclude that either what you know is wrong or LIMITED to what ever sufi groups you have run into. becouse to say a man is guilty for the sins of another man is to just about declare your self a kafir.

only proof i can see is what i see on tv about alchoholic drink that gives the drunks the wings

you are filled with hate, how ironic that you label your writing "sweetwords" when you lace them with venom.

learn to think, Analise and use logic emotions are nothing but you satisfying your self at the expense of others and for that people are called to account especially in a public domain where your words are tantamount to an open and public slander.


-------------
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.


Posted By: sgeorge5
Date Posted: 03 February 2008 at 10:24am

At one point in my life, I thought that I knew something about Sufis, but have since learned that I know nothing.  As a non-Muslim, why all this hostility toward Sufis?

Sid



-------------
Sid


Posted By: poga
Date Posted: 03 February 2008 at 10:03pm

Originally posted by rami rami wrote:

Bi ismillahi rahmani raheem

do you know how to think? yes brother when i wonder

do you know how to Analise? yes when i ponder

do you know what Logic is? Mrs Be Aql Khan Usta

are you just emotional? no but Dr Humayun Nafi Natram Is

if you answered yes to the last one then you are not doing any of the three before it i.e your posts are just rants? i answered yes and no

you ask for proof then when you are pointed towards it you ignorantly and emotionally say no i dont want to read it. there was no proof above but i did put some bellow[ proof is establish facts not hyphothesis

Point A: the word sufi as it is used today represents an unimaginable number of different groups all having different beliefs. not as much as you think

Question: if this is the absolute truth [which it is] how on earth can showing  what one two three or even 100 different sufi groups are doing wrong represent every single sufi on earth that not only is alive today but lived in the PAST AND HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SUFIS YOU KNOW. even some jinns are also mumin but are they better than any regular guy

point B: you are blindly talking about almost every single major scholar in Islam, there isnt a single scholar on the face of this earth who isnt indebted to the fiqh works of a past sufi scholars.

not a single word i uttered agains four Khalifa four imam any SHAHABI any TABIEEN any TAB TABIEEN not single word against any auliya pir gaus

based on the two points above YOU have to conclude that either what you know is wrong or LIMITED to what ever sufi groups you have run into. becouse to say a man is guilty for the sins of another man is to just about declare your self a kafir. what two point

only proof i can see is what i see on tv about alchoholic drink that gives the drunks the wings

you are filled with hate, how ironic that you label your writing "sweetwords" when you lace them with venom. yes SWEETSWORDS is like vemom to the bacteria wound what is being treated by honey

learn to think, Analise and use logic emotions are nothing but you satisfying your self at the expense of others and for that people are called to account especially in a public domain where your words are tantamount to an open and public slander. my ever word is also being written by two angels and ALLAH will judge it well

 

Brother i do not say there is no marrifa how can i say such thing when i who promote it my self

if anyone who thinks just shariah is enough he is wrong

but if someone says marrifa is enough i know he is right

i know you said you been in this for 25 years i give you brother something what will not take twenty five moments but i guarantee it will give you more

and how can i say what i say

brother any one can claim any degree but if i say i am class eight

then to prove me wrong you ask me the question of class eight

if you are of class five then ask question of class five and if pass level of five then atleast you will know i know what you know but because i claimed i am class eight i also might know more then you

so brother i say with out any pride may ALLAH save me from such i am the fountainhead of my sequence and to prove it i have posted estimate of kursi and arsh go through the post and see if you find any flaw in the diagram of the cubical na laynn

brother i am not against marrifa and metaphysics of islam but i am aginst SUFI SWINE this two word i will make joined like sh1t and smell

brother it is adab to speak politly and it is easy but what i am doing is hard but many wise came and gone but this dogs they just keep on rolling theirs tongue

and as for marrifa please brother read this

I the BARZAKH disassociate ISLAM from the Sufi swines
I will separate theirs hidden Sufi circular symbols with my manifest cubical ISLAMIC signs
I say no one have monopoly over ILM E LADUNI apart from the ALLAH
Therefore to seek this knowledge i begun with this repetition of names
La Illa Ha illel La MUHAMMADUR RASULULLAH
To see the Ilme E Laduni i asked my visual inspiration
It said to me to understand the Laduni learn what is connection between Cain and Newton
Learn what is the connection between apple and the Gravity between crow and the Cain
Learn if Ilm e Marrifa is phantom force
Then why AL KHIDR have to suffer the physical toil hunger and the pain
If he could materialize appear and disappear with his power
Then surly he would kill the oppressed king at this punishing hour
He killed the bad son but not the evil father of the nation
Because it was the duty of the Moses his miracles and his sermon
So as you see hear it is the Moses who holds the secrets of all Miracle
Yet he too had to go to AL KHIDR for the unknown knowledge and the hidden AQL
And what is that knowledge apart from the most obvious answer
All events concerning AL KHIDR is the events of theirs future
In future boy will become naughty
In future boat will be taken
In future will the inheritors will get theirs booty
Now with this connection as you bind AL KHIDR
You will find one learned men with the power Zikr and Fiqr
He learned the secrets of the nature he learned the process of inspiration
And now with the same connection you bind the Cain and the Newton
There one apple drops and he gains the knowledge of the gravity
Here one crow digs and killer learns
The dead deserves the burial dignity
He gives death to one and becomes the father of all graves
By the power of intention he kills one men
But by the power of the inspiration the whole humanity he saves
Therefore Ilm E Marrifa is the Ilm of Inspiration
The divine gift from the creator to his earthen creation
Ilm E Marrifa is not the monopoly of any man
It is not only for the Hindu Musalaman or the Christian
It is even used by the trout as the swim toward theirs birth place
Used by monkey donkey and the ants race
What can live without this Ilm
Without exercising the logic in theirs mental gym
Ilm E Laduni is the knowledge gained by the name of GOD
Ilm E Laduni is the knowledge gained by our inner word

from SWEETSWORDS 65 [ Marrifatic Map ]




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awal


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 04 February 2008 at 12:05am

Poga, Sufism is also know as tasawwuf.

Sure there are some who call themselves sufis but they are not true sufis. PLEASE DO SOME RESEARCH!! READ THIS THREAD AND THE LINKS TO.

AND PLEASE STOP USING THE TERM SUFI SWINES!!

If you so desire to keep going then please create another thread and NOT dissort this one!



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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: rami
Date Posted: 04 February 2008 at 12:20am
Bi ismillahi rahmani raheem

i know you said you been in this for 25 years i give you brother something what will not take twenty five moments but i guarantee it will give you more.

if you are referring to sufism can you provide a quote for me, i am not part of any sufi tariqah and have never claimed to be.

if you are of class five then ask question of class five and if pass level of five then atleast you will know i know what you know but because i claimed i am class eight i also might know more then you

I dont know what you are talking about. so far you havnt demonstrated any knowledge of anything.

so brother i say with out any pride may ALLAH save me from such i am the fountainhead of my sequence and to prove it i have posted estimate of kursi and arsh go through the post and see if you find any flaw in the diagram of the cubical na laynn

again i dont know what you are talking about or what you mean by sequence. You seem to be using some translator to translate your words into English but they never get the structure of the phrase exactly right.

but i am aginst SUFI SWINE this two word i will make joined like sh1t and smell

i highly doubt you even know what the word sufi means. it is a general term used to describe various groups around the world so who on earth are talking about.

brother it is adab to speak politly and it is easy but what i am doing is hard but many wise came and gone but this dogs they just keep on rolling theirs tongue

you ask me to be polite and in the same sentence you swear and curse, dont YOU see anything wrong with that.

i suspect your english is at such a low level you probably dont realise what you are saying.


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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.


Posted By: imp87
Date Posted: 05 February 2008 at 10:29am

Why aint know one banned this guy yet for calling people a kuffar?

 



Posted By: honeto
Date Posted: 03 April 2008 at 2:26pm

Hi,

in my non-scholarly opinion the short answer to that is that Sufism has evolved out to be what we now know it today, a sect. It probably was not so as great Muslim Sufis through their practice of devotion within Islam spread their religion into south asia, and it is because of their practice of Islam through devotion that the Muslims of sub-continent are Muslims not Sufis today.

Many Sufi practices may be deviations from the straight teaching of Islam, and thus not Islamic.

Hasan



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The friends of God will certainly have nothing to fear, nor will they be grieved. Al Quran 10:62



Posted By: believer
Date Posted: 04 April 2008 at 2:59pm

My cousin is a Sufi- She never describes herself as a Sufi Muslim. 

LOL!!  I have heard from different Muslims both ways that she is Muslim and that she is not Muslim!!



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John 3
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


Posted By: honeto
Date Posted: 07 April 2008 at 6:02pm
Originally posted by believer believer wrote:

My cousin is a Sufi- She never describes herself as a Sufi Muslim. 

LOL!!  I have heard from different Muslims both ways that she is Muslim and that she is not Muslim!!

Hi believer,

if she (your cousin) or anyone who believes in One God, believes in God's messangers and books, follows God commands and and applies them as should be, and believes in the Judgement day, is a Muslim according to my understanding.

Hasan

 



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The friends of God will certainly have nothing to fear, nor will they be grieved. Al Quran 10:62



Posted By: minuteman
Date Posted: 08 April 2008 at 11:30pm

 

 Also as per saying of the holy prophet, "If any one pronounces kalimah (that there is only One God i.e. Allah and Muhammad is his messenger) and he prays facing to Qiblah at Makkah, he eats from our food, He/She is a Muslim. There is guarantee of safety from Allah and his prophet for that person and O, you muslim people, do not break that guarantee, ever."

 That is a hadith I have quoted. It tells more accurately, about who is a Muslim.



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If any one is bad some one must suffer


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 09 April 2008 at 3:19am
Honeto, I think you should learn more about sufism, sure some may have taken aspects of it to be a sect, but the heart of islam is sufism without it would be just an empty shell devoid of spirituality.

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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: MORIYAAZ
Date Posted: 09 April 2008 at 4:49am

Slmz,

Well said Angel !

I am a Muslim from South Africa and in my country the 'traditional Islaam' that was followed since the first Muslim Pir (Sheikh) Yusuf From Java (Malaysia) - who was a political prisoner - established Islaam here. He was a 'Sufi' and the Malaysian practices like Meelad un Nabi, Urs etc. are still followed to this day by hundreds of thousands of Cape Malays. It was only in the second half of the last century that some adherents of the Deobandi school (came from India) calling themselves the Tablighi Jamaat and had a difference of opinion to the traditional way Islaam was followed calling some of our practices as Bidat (innovation.) We say that innovation can be good (if it serves our Din and Master Allaah (SWT).)We still follow the Tariqas Riffai, Naqshbandiyya and Qadirriya here. We have had many debates with the Deobandi's/Tablighi's regarding these issues. For us making communal Zikr etc. is a very powerful way/path to attain closeness/connectiveness to our Creator and Sustainor Allaah (SWT.) 

We do not call ourselves 'Sufi's' but Muslims as we follow the Quraan al Kareem and Sunnah of our beloved Nabi Muhammad Mustapha (SAW.)

Regards & Wa Salaam

Bro' Mo      



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"You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin what is right and forbid evil and you believe in Allah" - Surah Ali Imran 3:110.


Posted By: honeto
Date Posted: 09 April 2008 at 5:10pm

Originally posted by Angel Angel wrote:

Honeto, I think you should learn more about sufism, sure some may have taken aspects of it to be a sect, but the heart of islam is sufism without it would be just an empty shell devoid of spirituality.

Hi Angel,

I think you misunderstood me,  the thing I have said (in the post on the top of this page) was that Sufism actually brought Islam to the sub-continent and is the devotional or spiritual part of Islam not a sect of Islam, otherwise we (those from the sub-continent) would have been Sufis. When I say that Sufism has evloved out of main stream Islam and now may be a sect is because if any one leave or superceed a prescribed practice of Islam with another one, he/she leaves  mainstream Islam. What I am refering to is if any of the basic practices such as (Salath) is replaced with devotion even at times, for example, it is deviating from the basic teachings thus makes it a sect. Nothing should superceed what is prescribed by the Quran and the prophet (pbuh).

No doubt that devotion and spirituality are important parts of our religion.

Hasan

 



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The friends of God will certainly have nothing to fear, nor will they be grieved. Al Quran 10:62



Posted By: monasjazz
Date Posted: 10 April 2008 at 2:35am
.
 
 
the truth of sufism never comes out from your mouth ( by your  limitation  knowledge on it ) , but the truth of sufism come out from itself , sufism ..
 
let it be ..
 
belive it or not .. even you was a muslim ( believers) ..
 
Smile
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Posted By: Angel
Date Posted: 13 April 2008 at 8:28pm
thanks for the clarificiation Honeto.

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~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~


Posted By: MORIYAAZ
Date Posted: 13 April 2008 at 11:19pm
Slmz,
 
Reciting Quraan Al Kareem, adhering to the Sunnah, performing the five daily Salaat & observing the remaining four pillars of Islaam is the essence of Din. Everything else (except for making constant Zikr - rememberence of Allaah (SWT)) is devotional and optional, but should be ecouraged if it is good and assists one to be a better Muslim of higher spiritual stature in the Dunya and in the Aghira - Insha-Allaah, Ameen.
 
Wa aleikum Salaam Warahmatullah.
 
Bro' Mo. 


-------------
"You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin what is right and forbid evil and you believe in Allah" - Surah Ali Imran 3:110.



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