Extravagant Sufism 3/3
I - The Sufis believe that the prayer, the fast,
the Hajj and the Zakat are all types of worship that are reserved
for the commoners! The Sufis are special people, and thus practice
a higher type of worship. Hence, the various Sufi Turuq have
invented their own method of practicing Thikr, that is, remembering
Allah in supplication. They also practice isolation, avoid seeing
people for extended periods of time, eat special kinds of food,
wear special uniforms, etc.
The legal acts of worship in Islam are a means to purify the
individual's soul, and the community at large. The Sufi acts of
worship, on the other hand, are claimed to put the Sufi 's heart
into direct contact with Allah, so that the Sufi will be able to
receive direct revelation from Allah!! The Sufis also seek to
acquire the status of Fanaa' and to acquire Allah's Attributes,
until when the Sufi says to a thing "Be". it comes into
existence!
Further, it is not important for the Sufi to adhere to the apparent
acts of worship in Islam. or to refrain from the prohibitions. such
as alcohol consumption and mingling between men and women etc. This
is because Prophet Muhammed's (SAWS) law is for the commoners.
while the Sufis have their own law which is reserved for the
special breeds of people, so they claim.
2 - With regards the prohibitions: As we have stated the Sufis have
their own law that Allah Himself reveals directly to their hearts.
Hence, there were those among the Sufis who would commit adultery,
sodomy, and even have sexual intercourse with donkeys, in public!
Ahmad ibn Mubarak said that he
once heard about a Sufi Shaykh who had several students, among whom
was one student whom the teacher thought showed promise. So the
Shaykh made the image of a woman appear to his students (!), and
she then entered the private room with him. Since the students
thought that the Shaykh was committing adultery with the woman,
they all left, except for that one student. This student then
started heating some water, so that his Shaykh could use it to take
a shower (after he had sex with that woman).
When the Shaykh went out, he asked the student, "What are you
doing?" He said, "I saw the woman enter with you, and I thought
that you will need to perform Ghusul, so I heated the water for
you!" His Shaykh then said, "O my son! That was the Dunya (meaning
the woman was actually the life of this world, not a real woman!),
taking the image of a woman. I did this intentionally, so that the
people (meaning his students who did not have faith in their
adulterer teacher) would abandon me." [Al-lbreez, p.188].
3. The Sufis try their best to eradicate any independent thinking
that the new Sufl might have. They also strive to enlarge the role
of the Sufi Tareeqah, so that the new Sufis will strictly and
loyally adhere to their Tareeqah, never think about abandoning it
even to any other Tareeah. Al-Qushayri in Al-Qushayriyyah, p180,
said: "It is not allowed for the Mureed (the Sufi commoner) to join
any other Mathhab (creed) whose members are not followers of the
Sufi Tareeqhah; and if this occurs, the Mureed will be testifying
to his ignorance."
The Resources of Knowledge to the
Sufis
1. The Sufi Shaykhs and teachers, who claim that they receive
direct revelation from Allah. Abds-Aziz Ad-Dabbagh said, "Know, may
Allah direct you unto success, that the Wali whom Allah has rightly
guided, knows the truth and the correct way, and does not follow a
certain Mathhab. Even if it happens that all the Mathahib that
exist disappear, the Wali will still be able to revive the Shari
'ah (meaning Islamic Law, for the Wali does not need the Mathahib,
as he receives direct revelation from Allah, the Sufis claim!). And
why not, since he does not leave the Messenger for even an
instant!" [AlIbreez,p.
192].
2. The Messenger of Allah, who regularly attends the Sufi meetings,
so they claim. At-Tijani falsely
claimed, "I was told by the master of existence (meaning
Prophet Muhammad), while I was awake not asleep, and he said to me
and he revealed to him some matters of the religion. Ad-Dabbagh also said that,
"Sometimes, the Prophet attends (the Diwan where the Walis meet to
decide on the future) and when he arrives, he sits in the Ghawth's
place." [Al-Ibreez, p.
164].
3. The angels and the Jinn. As-Suljuinasi claimed that his Shaykh,
Ad-Dabbagh, said, "First, the Diwan was inhabited by the angels."
[AI-Jbreez, p. 174]. Also,
Ahmad Ar-Rifa'i said, "If the heart becomes pure, it will be the
residence of the revelation, the secrets... and the angels." [Tabaqat Ash-Shi'rani, p.141].
4 - AI-Kashf, that is, when the
Wali's heart uncovers the Unseen, thus having access to the secrets
of the heavens and the earth, so the Sufis claim. AI-jeeli
describes a grand scene during which, "I saw all the Messengers and
the Prophets, all the Awliyaa', the close angels, the angels who
control (the various powers of nature that Allah facilitated for
mankind) and the spirits of all that which exists, and was able to
achieve Al-Kashf regarding the true nature of all things, from the
infinite beginning to the infinite end." [AI-Insan AlKamil, p.97' v.2].
Further, AI-Ghazali said, "The
Prophets and the Awliyaa' have Kashf powers that uncover all
matters, as the light (of knowledge) flows on their hearts without
teaching, studying, or writing," until
he said, "The Sufi sits by himself, repeating the word,
'Allah, Allah', continuously, with his heart paying full
attention.... until the only thing left for him to achieve is for
Allah to send down His Mercy (meaning granting the Sufi the Kashf
that uncovers all secrets and knowledge of the Unseen), as He has
sent it upon the Prophets and the Awliyaa'!" [I'hyaa' 'Uloom Ad-Deen, V. 3,
p.19-20].
The Imams of Islam on the Sufis
Imam Ash-Shafi'i said, "No one
accompanies the Sufis for forty days will ever be able to reclaim
his sanity!" He also said, "I left Baghdad after the Zanadiqah
(heretics) innovated something which they call As-Sama'." As-Sama'
is the dancing and singing that the Sufis have invented in the
third century of Islam and which still exists until the present
time. Yet, the Sufis call such innovated deviated practice,
"Thikr". The legal Thikr, on the other hand, entails remembering
Allah by adhering to the legal practices and types of Du'aa that
Allah and His Messenger have legislated-. not the Bid'ahs of the
Sufis.
Further, Imam Ahmad ibn 'Hanbal used to strongly warn Muslims
against embracing the deviant beliefs and practices of the Sufis.
In addition. Imam ibn AI-Jawzi wrote a book that he called. Talbees
Iblees (Satan's Deceit [of those who fall into deviant beliefs and
practice, such as and especially the Sufis]). He dedicated most of
this book's chapters to criticizing the Sufis.
Finally, we should note again that the Imam who was the most active
with regards to exposing the Sufi deviation from the true Islam.
was Imam ibn Taymiah who wrote many books that exposed the
misguided opinions and the deviant beliefs of the Sufis. One of his
beneficial books in this regard is his book, AL-Furqan Bayna
Awliyaa' Ar-Rahman wa Awliyaa Ash- Shaytan (The Distinction Between the Loyalists of
Allah and the Loyalists of Satan)"
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Extravagant Sufism 1/3
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