Are the Sufi shaykhs really in contact with Allaah?
Q: What is the
place of sufism in Islam? What truth is there in 'religious
experiences', contacts with the Divine, etc.? Some people hold such
phenomena in high regard, claiming the similarities between
experiences of people from different religions and from opposite
corners of the globe, to be proof. How should people who claim to
be sufis or believers/followers of sufism be seen? Isn't prayer and
remembrance also a form of contact with the Almighty, SWT?
A:
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].
{وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
(31) مِنَ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا ۖ كُلُّ
حِزْبٍ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُونَ}, Transliteration: Wa Lā
Takūnū Mina Al-Mushrikīna, Mina Al-Ladhīna Farraqū Dīnahum Wa Kānū
Shiya`āan Kullu Ĥizbin Bimā Ladayhim Fariĥūna
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].
{وَلَا تَدْعُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا
لَا يَنْفَعُكَ وَلَا يَضُرُّكَ ۖ فَإِنْ فَعَلْتَ فَإِنَّكَ إِذًا
مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ}, Transliteration: Wa Lā Tad`u Min Dūni
Allāhi Mā Lā Yanfa`uka Wa Lā Yađurruka Fa'in Fa`alta Fa'innaka
'Idhāan Mina Až-Žālimīna
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], {قُلْ...
وَمَنْ يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ ۚ فَسَيَقُولُونَ اللَّهُ},
Transliteration: Qul... Wa Man Yudabbiru Al-'Amra Fasayaqūlūna
Allāhu
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].
{وَإِنْ يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ
فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ وَإِنْ يَمْسَسْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَهُوَ
عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ}, Transliteration: Wa 'In
Yamsaska Allāhu Biđurrin Falā Kāshifa Lahu 'Illā Huwa Wa 'In
Yamsaska Bikhayrin Fahuwa `Alá Kulli Shay'in
Qadīrun
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].
{وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّهُ
الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ ۖ وَلَا تَنْسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ
الدُّنْيَا}, Transliteration: Wa Abtaghi Fīmā 'Ātāka Allāhu
Ad-Dāra Al-'Ākhirata Wa Lā Tansa Naşībaka Mina Ad-Dunyā
"And make ready against them all that you can of power…" [al-Anfaal
8:60].
{وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ
مِنْ قُوَّةٍ}, Transliteration: Wa 'A`iddū Lahum Mā
Astaţa`tum Min Qūwatin
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].
{إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ
إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ}, Transliteration:
'Innamā Al-Mu'uminūna Al-Ladhīna 'Idhā Dhukira Allāhu Wajilat
Qulūbuhum
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].
{وَمَا كَانَ صَلَاتُهُمْ عِنْدَ
الْبَيْتِ إِلَّا مُكَاءً وَتَصْدِيَةً...}, Transliteration:
Wa Mā Kāna Şalātuhum `Inda Al-Bayti 'Illā Mukā'an Wa
Taşdiyatan
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].
{وَمَنْ يَعْشُ عَنْ ذِكْرِ
الرَّحْمَٰنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَانًا فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ},
Transliteration: Wa Man Ya`shu `An Dhikri Ar-Raĥmāni Nuqayyiđ Lahu
Shayţānāan Fahuwa Lahu Qarīnun
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].
{قُلْ لَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ فِي
السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ},
Transliteration: Qul Lā Ya`lamu Man Fī As-Samāwāti Wa Al-'Arđi
Al-Ghayba 'Illā Allāhu
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].
{وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ
إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ}, Transliteration: Wa Mā Khalaqtu
Al-Jinna Wa Al-'Insa 'Illā Liya`budūni
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].
{وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَكَ
الْيَقِينُ}, Transliteration: Wa A`bud Rabbaka
Ĥattá Ya'tiyaka Al-Yaqīnu
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].
{قَالَ رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنْظُرْ إِلَيْكَ
ۚ قَالَ لَنْ تَرَانِي}, Transliteration: Qāla Rabbi 'Arinī
'Anžur 'Ilayka Qāla Lan Tarānī
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].
{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا
تُقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ},
Transliteration: Yā 'Ayyuhā Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū Lā Tuqaddimū Bayna
Yadayi Allāhi Wa Rasūlihi
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].
{وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ
عَدُوًّا شَيَاطِينَ الْإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ
بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا ۚ وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ مَا
فَعَلُوهُ}, Transliteration: Wa Kadhalika Ja`alnā Likulli
Nabīyin `Adūwāan Shayāţīna Al-'Insi Wa Al-Jinni Yūĥī Ba`đuhum
'Ilá Ba`đin Zukhrufa Al-Qawli Ghurūrāan Wa Law Shā'a
Rabbuka Mā Fa`alūhu
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"… And, certainly, the shayaateen (devils) do inspire their friends
(from mankind)…" [al-An'aam 6:121].
{وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ
إِلَىٰ أَوْلِيَائِهِمْ}, Transliteration: Wa 'Inna
Ash-Shayāţīna Layūĥūna 'Ilá 'Awliyā'ihim
"Shall I inform you (O people!) upon whom the shayaateen (devils)
descend?
They descend on every lying, sinful person." [al-Shu'ara
221-222].
{هَلْ أُنَبِّئُكُمْ عَلَىٰ مَنْ
تَنَزَّلُ الشَّيَاطِينُ (221) تَنَزَّلُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ أَفَّاكٍ
أَثِيمٍ}, Transliteration: Hal 'Unabbi'ukum `Alá
Man Tanazzalu Ash-Shayāţīnu, Tanazzalu `Alá Kulli
'Affākin 'Athīmin
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.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
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