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?
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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