Way of the Sufis

[Darqawi]

Way of the Sufis

 

By Shaykh Abdal Qadir as-Sufi

 

The fuqara must ask always to be in change.

 

The du’a of the Muslim is, “O Allah, keep me in change.†Keep me always changing because everything is changing and every day Allah is on a new creation.

 

You must be renewing and renewing yourself. You have to always be in change. You must remember that the company of the fuqara is the highest company. You must keep each other company. You must travel to other places where there are fuqara. You must sit with the fuqara in every place. You must be an example to them and take example from them when you meet people of quality. Seek the people of knowledge, seek the people of love of Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, and the people of love of Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. To take the adab of the great ones you have to sit with them, you have to sit with the people of knowledge. It is by your company that you are purified.

 

Tasawwuf is keeping company, then tasawwuf is listening, then tasawwuf is acting upon what you hear. There is only one enemy and that is your self. The nafs has nothing good in it. The worst of all things to the Sufis is the recognition of their own good qualities over and against that of other people – it is what sets them back and smashes them on the rocks of destiny. You must not look at your good qualities. You must consider them something that in themselves have been spoiled even by your being conscious of them. You do not look at your self.

 

You do not find fault with others, you find fault with your self.

 

You must look at your self and say, “What is wrong with it?†Harith al-Muhasibi went over his day, then went over his hours and then went over his minutes, then went over his breath until he had verified that it was pleasing to Allah, that it was acceptable to Allah. Two great ‘ulama met in Baghdad and they argued and fought with each other. At the end one of them said, “Let us meet tomorrow and discuss this matter further and the other one said, “No, let us meet tomorrow and make peace and forget all about it.â€

 

This is the way of the Sufis – to begin again.

 

You must not be limited in your forgiveness of the faults of others but you must not have any measurement of any attention to yourself. Any consciousness of your self you must turn from. You must turn away from the nafs and the method of turning away from the nafs is not a psychological method, it is dhikrullah. (Surat ar-Ra’d, 28 ) “Only in the dhikr of Allah can the heart find peace.†You must do dhikr of Allah. You must remember Allah standing, sitting and reclining on your side. You must call upon Allah. You cannot afford to be out of the company of the people who love Allah for any amount of time in this age that we live in. You must be with the people who love Allah, you need them. You need the people of Allah because they will remind you of Allah. You need the people of knowledge because you have to be strong in your Deen and you have to be correct in your Deen in an age where every mosque has a different way of going into sajda, let alone the higher things of the Deen. You must speak well of people and have a good opinion of people. You must become people of futuwwa, you must become these people who are spoken of because of the high aspiration, the high himma you have which is on a universal scale that when you go to the Ka’ba, with all the troubles that are there, you must look for the people of Allah there and sit with them. Beware of the people of dunya. Beware of the people of dunya until you are safe, and when you are safe it does not matter where you go. If you are not safe then you must be careful. You must have taqwa and you must have wara’. You must take care, take care, watch, until you are on Sirat al-Mustaqim because when things go wrong you have to remember that all you have got is then to turn to Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala.

 

Remember, even tawba is nothing to do with you – it is because Allah has decreed for you tawba because He wants you, so even that is not yours, it is not your good achievement.

 

Your asking forgiveness is not your good achievement, it is simply Allah claiming you and you recognising that He has claimed you. You belong to Allah. You have come from Allah and you are going to Allah. This is what you have to tell yourself. You must not be hypnotised by dunya.

 

Remember that Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, indicated that the small coin of the poor person is as dangerous as the gold of the rich, so you must be generous. To be generous is to follow the way of Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. You must be generous, you must have a good opinion of other people, you must not say bad things about other people and if you do say them you must go back and clean it out and you must ask their forgiveness. If someone is totally against you and totally in the wrong then you have to forgive them and you have to forget it and you have to go back and put things right. This is how the Deen has always been. This is how these great men have lived in the past.

 

Just finally to remind you – look what has become of futuwwa – the elders of the organisation of people calling themselves al- Fatah are tying dynamite to youngsters’ bellies and shoving them out to blow themselves up, when the people who fought with Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, pushed the young people aside in order that they could go and fight fisabilillah, fight in the service of Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. So the whole Deen has to start all over again.

 

You are the people who must start it and in this continent is where it will begin. It is from your people and from your children, but you must have an adab to them, you must treat them with courtesy. You must treat your children with courtesy, you must treat the young with courtesy just as you must treat the old with courtesy. You must become the people of adab and if you become the people of adab you will be safe. If you become people of adab you will be Sufis. At-Tariqa kulluha-adab. The Tariqa is nothing but adab, that is all it is – adab.

 

You must also have some respect for yourself. That respect for yourself is only manifest by the fact that all the people around you are at ease and in harmony with you and pleased that you are there. This is how you must be. You must be a blessing on the earth. You must be a baraka for everybody. You must be ones that when you enter a room it all lights up because of your love of Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, your love of Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, and because your tongue is supple with the name of Allah and not the matters of dunya. Dunya will not fail to happen. All its strategems and spoils will not fail to crash about your ears, they have always done it and they will continue to do it. When the People of the Cave came out, there they were again faced with the world and all its problems and all its difficulties, but Allah loves the people of tawhid and loves the people who love Him and this is the company, the company of the Sufis.

 

We ask Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, that we prefer to go to the company of people who only want to go to Allah in preference to anyone who may do anything to help us and give us advantage in this world.

 

We ask Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, to make us ready for the tests that come so that we can respond to Him and remember to praise Him in every situation. Alhamdulillahi ‘ala kulli hal.

[Nur]

The Writer says:

 

To be generous is to follow the way of Rasul, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

 

Keyword here is WAY OF RASUUL ALLAH

 

The SUNNAH as the guiding principle of our faith.

 

InshAllah we shall hold this benchmark and the Holy Quraan as the only two sources that guide a Muslims life.

 

Tasawwuf is indeed part of Islam, however like any other aspect of Islam around which its followers have built many other divergent teachings, we need to put them in perspective in the context Allah would have accepted from us, inshAllah I shall contribute more on this thread

 

 

Nur

[Uthman1]

The refutation of many of the Sufi Ahaadeeth by Sheikhul Islam ibn Taymiyyah

 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah was asked about the words which were narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “My heaven and my earth could not contain Me, but the heart of My believing slave contains Me�

 

He replied: 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-Widaaâ€, 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.â€

 

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.â€

 

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.â€

 

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.â€

 

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).

 

Al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 5/88-93